Aaryn Panmis considered how drastically his life had changed in these past few weeks. He had tending to the fields as usual until he was involuntarily sucked into a white room, he still wondered if what followed was reality.

If one would as Aaryn what his hopes and aspirations were, perhaps he would not understand the question in its entirety. His father was a farmer, and thus he had also taken up that profession to support the household. Opportunity to him was such a far removed concept, that it might as well not exist. While the first world had rapidly progressed, much of the third world largely remained the same.

His small village was one of the three settlements in the area, located in an impoverished region. Very few people stumbled across his village, fewer still were willing to give uneducated villagers a chance to work for them.

Standing at a modest 5 feet 9 inches, what stood out when you looked at the man was his wiry, yet muscular frame. It was as if the man had not a drop of excess fat, only compressed strength. Years of toiling under the sun had given his skin a bronze sheen, while a thin moustache on his face gave the impression of a serious, honest looking man.

Aaryn enjoyed the process of reaping nature's bountiful harvests, but found it a pity that the land he farmed upon was not his.... not anymore. What others found to be a simple and mundane life was one he enjoyed, for there was beauty and complexity in the seemingly ordinary art of farming. One who had not tasted raw honey or dishes made from the freshest of produce couldn't possibly understand its greatness.

Regrettably, after a series of bad harvests his father had taken the decision to mortgage the land in order to survive the upcoming winters. He had no option but to go to a private landowner in his moment of desperation, and had to pay a ludicrous interest rate to get a loan in time. Aaryn still held a bellyful of anger each time he recalled how that despicable man had sent over people to consistently harass his father over the years. If not for his father's optimism throughout the situation, his ever constant cheery tone despite the eventual collapse of his marriage, perhaps Aaryn would be filled with hatred and loathing each day he spent at the farm.

It was not like Aaryn had not thought of moving to the city and working as a chauffeur for some rich family. However he knew nobody in the big city, he had no money to relocate there and perhaps deep down, he didn't want to either. But the issue of the debt was only growing larger, either he or his brother had to take a city job otherwise they might be evicted from the land. Before the destined time arrived however, the system had conveniently absolved them of their debt.

A few hours after the system had integrated with Earth, Aaryn had discovered his new powers which allowed him to keep his father and brother safe until now. The fertile bounty of earth that he had cared for all these years now acknowledged him, or atleast that's how he felt. The system called it the minor dao of soil.

Though the Flora on this new Earth was more colourful and fascinating, the smell of fertile soil remained the same. Armed with nothing but a short sword, the man didn't look very intimidating. However, oddly enough there was a bulging sack fashioned out of animal hide attached to his robes, definitely something that would catch one's eye on first glance.

They were not very far from their destination at this point, but Aaryn suddenly called for a halt. From the tremors in the soil, he had ascertained movement up ahead, Two, perhaps three people were headed in their direction.

A tall, muscular Caucasian man walked in front, accompanied by a beautiful red haired woman that Aaryn found himself enamoured by for a second. Quickly snapping back to reality, he realized that the third person was still concealed. Both of them had their weapons drawn, a spear and a longsword, as was the tradition these days. Having gotten this far, the ones who were survivors were by no means idiots.

"What do you want from us?" Aaryn asked calmly.

" Haha, well no need to be so cautious. We were wondering if you would like to collaborate with us till we get to the citadel? The monsters are getting harder and harder to kill as we go further. I don't know how longer I can take this bullshit." The Caucasian man asked politely.

"Father, Brother. Move behind fifty steps, to the south west." Aaryn replied, completely ignoring the man's proposition. They complied with great haste, almost fleeing in the direction Aaryn pointed out without any hesitation.

The couple in front of Aaryn were confounded by these actions, it made no logical sense to leave Aaryn undefended like that.

"Drop the charade, won't you? You can call your companion out now, there is no longer any point in flanking us."

"Fuck, he must have a magical beast!" The red haired woman exclaimed and both of them retreated.

"Father are you alright!?" The Caucasian man asked loudly.

"Yes, yes I am fine." The rustling of bushes sounded out as a man wielding two daggers ran out, regrouping with his children.

As if lamenting the unfairness of his life, Aaryn spoke in a sonorous tone "In the previous reality, we had no land to our names, no money in our pockets and no precious belongings to cherish. In this reality, once again we are hounded for what little we possess, the wolves unwilling to let us be with what meagre scraps we live contended lives with. Father, I ask for forgiveness..... for I can no longer comply.

Manhan Panmis' face darkened at this comment, but he did not express disagreement.

"I ask you to leave, we do not wish to fight you. Why must you try and kill us?"

"Sorry, kiddo. Hand over your armor and we can let you leave alive. My wife is already dead because I was too soft.... None of us asked for this, but I won't let my children come to harm due to dumb morality. The beasts definitely have no issues massacring us, it's survival of the fittest out here". 

"Hand over our armor? Perhaps you want our weapons as well, because they will pose a threat to you? Might as well just ask us to roll over and die." Replied Aaryn, infuriated at this treacherous double speak. The man didn't even have strength to accept the true nature of his actions.

"Fine then, you asked for it kid. Where's your magical beast hiding, there's no way you'd dare to be this confident without one." 

" I have no such beast in my possession. However, if you raise a weapon at me the only outcome for you will be death."

The Caucasian man took out some Brisantia Leaves. Any magical beasts within 50 meters will be attracted to them, according to the system's information scroll. Surprisingly, there was no reaction.

"The kid must've stacked everything into strength, and now he thinks he's a god. I don't know how he figured out I was hiding, it was probably a bluff. We were duped..... Attack him first!" the father of the Caucasian duo shouted.

Three people charged at Aaryn from different angles, he was up against a long sword, a spear user and a dagger user. The first to reach from the center would undoubtedly be the spear. A distance of 20 meters had separated them initially, which was rapidly narrowing.

Aaryn's response was to simply plunge his sword into the ground. The soil was his domain, one would be foolish to challenge him without prior preparation.

Aspect: Quicksand. For Aaryn, the soil was not something that disgusted him. It was a mysterious process of nature that allowed grand oak trees spout from these fascinating brown granules that consistently lodged between his fingernails. Scientists provided explainations for it, but they could never grasp the intangible part of it. Only one who's livelihood depended on the bounties of the soil could grasp it.

The soil particles in a 50 meter radius rapidly loosened, and the water trapped deep inside the soil now rapidly rose through these newly formed passageways. The area around him was turned into liquefied soil, except the patch he was standing on.

"Shit! The fuck is this?" The red haired woman shouted. Their feet was no longer visible, and although they could still move, their speed was cut down by half.

Aspect: Drought. Wherever Aaryn tread on, a small patch of cracked soil appeared. All the water in the area was rebuffed, as the soil rebuffed all contact with it to provide him with a foothold. Wherever he tread, a path would be created for him. After he had passed the area, it would rapidly devolve back into quicksand.

Only a few metres were left between him and the spear wielding Caucasian man. He was impeded by the quicksand, while Aaryn's speed was unaffected. One step. Two steps. Aaryn extended his sword while he used his right foot to pivot, the left half of his body hanging midair as he retracted it inwards as if a door was pushed, his entire body forming a straight line as he fell towards the man, his sword angled toward his neck.

Unfortunately for Aaryn, this makeshift maneovre still resulted in the spear finding purchase on his body, leaving a long gash on his stomach from which blood was pouring out. The tip of his sword pierced through the man's neck, instantly killing him as he tumbled next to him into the quicksand.

The red haired woman and her father were overcome with grief and rage at these actions. Adrenaline told them to kill this man while he was wounded, or their deaths would be next.

Drenched in mud and his own blood and lying face downward, Aaryn quickly used Drought to stabilise the ground beneath him. From the tremors in the soil, there was still some time before they could reach him. He got up to his feet, and gazed with pity at his opponents while paying no attention to his opponents.

Terrified by this opponent who could use these mystical powers, both the father and daughter decided to halt, unsure of their next move.

"It didn't have to be this way. Please, do not force me further."

"Motherfucker, you killed him! Now that you're about to die, you want to be for mercy? Fuck you, you're dead!" the father shouted.

"About to die? I'm afraid I have to disappoint you." Before anyone could react, Aaryn took out a fistful of brown soil and applied it over the large wound. Aspect: Nurture. The soil around his wound rapidly solidified, turning into a brown scab. It didn't seem to have healed the wound, but instead completely stemmed the bleeding, hoping the natural recovery process would handle the rest.

"You're.....you're not a human. You can't be. Monster. MONSTER!" The red haired woman shouted, as she started inching backwards. The father too, despite the look of hatred on his face was terrified by this abomination.

With a glum expression, Aaryn plunged his sword back into the ground and the soil turned back to its normal state. They had come to kill him, perhaps even his father and brother.... and perhaps they would try to kill more now that they had even more grievances against this world. However, Aaryn did not have the right to judge their actions, neither did he want such a burdensome role. Thankfully, this new reality had given him the power to protect what was most precious to him, or perhaps he too would be a warped, depraved version of his prior self.