My vision swam with colourful stars comparable to having a fistful of glitter thrown in my face. It reminded me a little bit of how I got reincarnated into Izuku. Into me.
The colours flashed by me, growing and shrinking at rapid speeds. Soon I felt something soft under me, grass. The sun, a bright little thing, was far above me, shedding its warm and welcome grace onto me. The cloak I wore, the very Item I had gotten, soon rippled with colour. It originally being grey with a few black spots, became green. A satisfying deep green. The padded boots were still with me, too.
I slowly sat up and looked around me. I was on a hill, far away from the first few settlements I could see in the distance. At most a four hour walk, but If I ran? I would be able to cut it down to a one hour run. There were no trees around, only a single but big forest in the distance, far far away. Then, my phone, freshly acquired and upgraded, fell out of my pocket.
It's screen, different from before, lit up once it hit the ground.
[The Delivery App has been installed, please look for any pending orders.] came a mechanical voice from it's speakers. The notification, much similar to those from the system, didn't feel as impactful. Instead they seemed unurgent, not hurried.
Seeing as the village was rather far away but still manageable at almost any lighting, I chose to stay where I was and check the app. I knew it sounded stupid, why would I do that if there wasn't anyone giving up orders for delivery in the first place? But I trusted the system to give me something practical and unreasonable. And I was proven right once I opened the app.
Order 1: Sauron desires his ring. Take it from Golum and bring it to Mordor.
Rewards: Enslavement and eventual transformation into one of his Nazgūl, +100 Exp
Order 2: Saruman desires the one ring. Bring it to him.
Rewards: No payment ( At least Sauron would give you some gold coins before enslaving you), A favour from Saruman (Essentially worthless as he would rather ignore you instead of actually helping)
Order 3: Bilbo Baggins desires nothing, If not a good story. Deliver a Prophecy of the future to him.
Rewards: Tagging along, some good food, ???
I didn't even consider the first two orders before accepting the last. I probably should have, as I didn't actually read the third order either. God damn it, how will I bring a prophecy to Bilbo Baggins without being a prophet? Should I just make something up on the go? At what time does the expedition even start? Ouch! Where is that damn rod!
My thoughts were interrupted by the rod, still as big as a match stick, poking in my nose before disappearing. But I wasn't one to be outdone by a literal cosmic inconvenience. I began padding my self down, searching for the little shit. Eventually I gave up. It was no where I could reach. My clothes had been searched for folds, my back pressed against the ground to look for it. I even looked repeatedly in the bag hanging by my shoulder. I did not find it. So I stood up, going toward the small village in the distance.
Really? You hid there of all places?
I had suddenly and finally found the rod. It had attached itself to the back of my shoe, inconspicuous while searching, but it's silver glint gave it away once I stepped forward.
The rod disappeared again only to wedge itself behind my ear again, apparently it's favourite place to rest.
My track towards the village began slowly, but I accelerated with every step I took, Terrain Reader making me aware of every piece of ground, grass, rock or otherwise, that was perfect for pushing off of. The Runner's Breath kicked in quickly, giving my breath rhythm and depth ensuring minimal stamina waste and increasing the amount of oxygen rich blood in my vessels.
Soon I was running at my top speed while the world passed quickly around me. My sight was set on the village, quickly closing in and slowly beginning to realise that the "village" might have been bigger than I thought.
The hour I had thought it would take, was quickly recalculated as I realised I was faster than expected. Less than half an hour later and I had already passed the first home. The grassland still seemed uninterrupted as most homes seemed to be built into the ground and surrounding hills.
People, small with proportionally big feet, something I noticed since some of them didn't were shoes, watched as I passed by. Then, finally I passed by a familiar looking garden. The door was open but I was sure that this was the house of one Bilbo Baggins. I came to a halt and slowly entered. Everything felt slow, like I was walking through mudd. It seemed like my body had already grown used to the speed of a courier.
[Level Increase: +2] said a notification the System sent me as soon as I passed the doorway. I heard clattering somewhere inside. Cautiously I walked towards it, Ideas of how to explain the situation and giving a reasonable prophecy flashed through my mind. Rhymes were something I was bad at, especially vague ones. Instead I might just be vaguely infuriating until inspiration hit. Quickly I noticed someone rummaging through a drawer.
"Hello." I greeted. The figure, obviously female, flinched and let go of the silver spoon she was holding.
"You're not Mr. Baggins, are you?" I asked her. A figure, a line from the original book I once read came to mind. "You're that woman, a cousin of him. Why are you inside his home?" I asked, knowingly ignoring that I wasn't supposed to be here either. But at least I wasn't going to claim to be the victim. "Ah...uhm. He asked me to take care of his home for him while he is away." A barely passable excuse. That woman couldn't lie for her life. I decided to test her some and maybe fish for some information while I was at it. "And where, do tell, did Mr. Baggins go to? Will he be gone for long?" Meanwhile I was asking her these questions and some more, each one making her more nervous than the last one, I felt the match stick behind my ear change.
Eventually she cracked and ran out, but my goal was achieved. Bilbo Baggins had left the house just a few days ago, not even a week. But I had to hurry. By the time I would reach them, they could already have entered the home of Elrond and I was unsure if they would let me enter.
The match stick had completed it's change now. Turning into a small key that fit perfectly into the doors lock. So I did the only natural thing. I closed the door and locked it. A small shimmer glossed over the house and then I knew, no one besides me or Bilbo would be able to open that door. Nothing inside would vanish, rott or spoil before Bilbo finished his adventure. The rod, after having ended it's transformation and settled behind my ear, vibrated slowly. One of its effects came to mind. There was something around that I would need in the future. So I looked around the garden. Flowers were touched only to find the vibration had grown weaker, garden tiles had been turned over and the vibration grew weaker still. Then finally, I found a little vase and below it, a key, much similar to the one I had used to lock the door with. I pocketed it inside the extended space of the shoulder bag. Bilbo Baggins might just need his key once he ended his adventure.
I left the village, one that as it turned out was Bag End inside the Shire, behind just as quickly as I had entered it. Now, where did the expedition head to after their departure from Bag End? I didn't know. Only that they were headed to the misty mountains, would be attacked by orcs, saved by the eagles, brought to Elrond/Rivendell, meet the goblins and acquire the ring from Golum after escaping them. Those are the few things I knew, maybe the smallest hit of an encounter with some enemy as they passed the old forest. I heard Bree was rather close to it. I would travel there first. If I was lucky, someone saw the group. And of course I didn't forget about the Mission regarding the old forest.