As the silhouette advances and the light dims, the large, imposing, and powerful figure of a knight appears before me…or at least that is what I would like to say.
Kato: "Why is the knight so short and, dare I say, cute?"
I wonder as I look down at the knight, though it does not utter a single word I can sense some dissatisfaction exuding from the little knight.
The knight in question is very similar to a crusader, with a somewhat cylindrical helmet with white details on the face that resemble a cross or a sword. Steel plates can be seen on the shoulders, arms, legs, and feet. A white tunic that covers only the torso and part of the waist, with a simple gray drawing of a small health symbol on the chest. The tunic also appears to conceal chain mail underneath.
As the small disappointment in my heart fades away, a memory from my childhood begins to resurface. In the memory, you can see a little boy with his two brothers, all huddled together playing on a single computer. On the computer, you can see a somewhat childish video game, nothing sophisticated, a 2D game with a design that looks like it was drawn by hand. In it, you can see three knights that look the same but with different colors. There was a Red Knight, a Blue Knight, and lastly an Orange Knight. All of them were causing havoc as enemies kept flooding the screen.
As the memory seems to be stored in a warm place in my soul, I turn to the little knight in front of me with a rediscovered innocent joy proper of a child. And I address the little knight by his name.
Kato: "Long time no see, Grey Knight"
[Image here]
The king's common knight, one of the first friendly NPCs who fights alongside you, as well as the first unlockable character in the video game [Castle Crasher] made by The Behemoth Studio.
Kato: "Even though you look like that you should be quite strong right?" 'The Grey Knight magic is not really remarkable but still just by maxing his speed, he can become a fearsome archer'
'But this raises the question: what about strength and defense?'
'And what about arrows? In the game, they were infinite, so you could finish the game simply by maximizing your speed stats, since this increased the projectile speed, firing speed, and damage of your arrows, as well as the character's speed. You could go full auto.'
'In addition, depending on your choice of weapons, your stats would increase or decrease.'
Kato: "Well there seems to be a fair amount of work for us to do, I'm looking forward to the journey that awaits us ahead Grey Knight" I say as I reach down for a handshake.
As the Knight reaches my hand I notice something strange about myself.
Kato: 'Is it just me or my skin is darker than usual?' After a second I realize, this is my second life which means that I most probably am in a different body.
As I realize this, I scan my surroundings for a mirror. Seeing nothing, I try to think of a solution and remember that there should be a small lake for fishing very close to the entrance.
Kato: 'Since this is my base, there shouldn't be any danger, right?'
After thinking it over, I make up my mind and head toward the lake. As I leave the fort, I am overwhelmed by the sight of mountains surrounding the fortress as if they were a natural wall. Immediately afterwards, I am surprised by the purity of the air, which feels as if I were breathing life into my lungs, filling me with a vitality and energy that is nothing short of fantastic. After collecting myself from the foreign view and feelings, I resume my journey to the lake.
Already expecting to be surprised, I find the lake, and what I see is crystal clear water, with fish showing themselves a little further in. The stillness of the lake makes it look like a perfect mirror. And then I see myself.
The one who looks back at me, despite sharing many similarities with my previous self, such as the slight scars on the left side of my face and the color of my hair, also shows clear differences, such as a darker skin tone and a change in eye color. I also notice the absence of the slight wrinkles on my forehead, cheeks, and around my eyes. And at last the most important if not crucial one, the beard.
[Image here]
Kato: "Man, who is this guy? I'm basically a baby" I say as I look at myself, and then when looking at my chin.
Kato: "NOOOOO!!! My beard!!! My sexy and most attractive feature!!!" I cry out with abandon and pain, while tears threaten to overflow from my eyes, which at this point are already reddening.
Moving forward about 5 minutes, I regain control of my emotions.
Kato: "Well I guess I can always regrow another one though I may have to wait a few years before seeing any sign", "I wonder how young I am? I think I went back like 5 years give or take" I say as I suddenly hear steps getting close from my blind spot…