As I was getting up, I suddenly felt the air around me grow heavy. I opened my eyes only to find myself in a completely different place—
a completely different world, even.
Everything surrounding me looked like it belonged to a different continent.
It had even suddenly become daytime, after I had been lost in thought next to the river under the moonlight.
Snapping out of my daze, I saw myself standing before a big town, in a completely different place.
There were big, beautiful, green mountains with snow on the tips surrounding the entire town.
There were also wheat farms I could barely see in the distance. It reminded me of Europe.
I muttered, barely above a whisper, "Where am I…"
I was in utter shock. The peaceful place I had just been resting at vanished without a trace.
I thought I might be hallucinating. I tried blinking over and over to see if I'd return to where I just was. I even bit my tongue, but nothing worked.
It looked like reality.
"Wait… What if this is some kind of… fantasy world? If it is, maybe I can use magic or some kind of powers, right? But no, no. What if this is just a different part of my world? What if I'm just dreaming or hallucinating? Still… I feel the atmosphere is different around here." I kept muttering to myself.
It didn't seem fake at all. I tried to do many reality checks, but to no avail.
I thought I should at least try talking to someone in the town itself, as I was left with no other option.
Even then, I was still petrified.
I was never good with unknown places. Now that I was somewhere completely unfamiliar—possibly a different world—my heart was trembling.
I was scared that I might be placed in a bad situation as soon as I took my first steps toward the lively town.
After some minutes, I calmed myself down, even just a little.
I took a deep breath and proceeded to take my first steps onto the cobblestone street. After all, staying in the same place wouldn't do me any good.
I saw houses closely packed next to each other, making me wonder even further where I was.
They looked abandoned, but at the same time, very well-kept and clean.
The houses had weird—no, unique—window designs, ones I had never seen before.
As I was walking, I noticed the people were dressed in a… special way.
There were some wearing casual clothes with capes covering their backs, and others in long robes.
I stood out like a sore thumb in a place that looked more than just foreign.
I was still distraught, knowing I was in a completely different and unknown world. But seeing the lively town, the happy smiles and laughter on people's faces, made me calm down a little.
I noticed the distinctive features of these people, but surprisingly, nobody came up to me, even though I stood out with my different clothes.
I still had to talk to one of them to learn even the slightest bit of information, I thought as I continued walking.
I was so taken by the surroundings—and so much time passed—that I completely forgot my main focus: to speak to one of the townspeople.
As I wandered around the town, I realized I didn't know where I was heading at all.
"I'm lost," I accidentally said out loud.
But then, all of a sudden, I felt someone tap me on the back. It was a gentle, tender tap—but more than enough to make me jump.
I was very terrified.
I had been so focused on the buildings and people around me, I never expected someone to actually come up to me.
I swallowed, then turned my head—only to see a woman who looked roughly my age.
She was short and had striking pink-reddish hair and big, round, colored eyes. She wore a long black-and-white skirt with a certain symbol on her outfit. It looked like a school uniform.
"H-hello, sir…" she said, her voice stuttering and low.
It took me a few seconds to respond. I was very surprised for many reasons. I thought to myself: How can I understand what she's saying? What does she need from me? Is it my outfit?
Snapping me out of my thoughts, she muttered again, "Sir..?"
"Oh… yeah, I apologize." I paused for a second, then continued, "Do you need something…?" I said, hiding my shaky hands behind my back, feeling like my heart might jump out of my chest.
"Well… I just happened to hear you say very clearly that you were lost. I thought I'd come by and help!" she said, with a smile that reached her eyes.
She looked like a pretty genuine and trustworthy person, so I doubted she was lying.
I needed to learn more, even the slightest bit of information, so I couldn't waste this chance.
"I'm just a… lost… adventurer!" I said with a wide, nervous grin.
"Oh, I see. Let me help you out. I can at least guide you around the place!" she replied.
I was still petrified and scared, but I had no way of refusing her. "I'll be right behind you."
She started walking ahead, with me behind her, following.
It felt weird to me, because I didn't usually go on walks like this with women.
Not to mention—this whole world. It was more than just a mystery to me. It was completely unknown.
"Where are you from?" she suddenly asked as we walked together.
I replied hesitantly, "Why do you wanna know?"
I was sure telling her I was from a different world would frighten her, or shock her.
"Well, it's just the way you look—and the clothes you wear! It's nothing like what I've seen before. Perhaps you're from the East?"
After a brief moment of silence, thinking about what I should say… "I'm from a very far place…"
The girl seemed pretty confused, but somewhat interested as well.
"Well, alright. I won't concern myself any more."
I just looked at her in silence, with a face that made it obvious I was scared and nervous from head to toe.
"Oh yeah!" she suddenly said. "You do have money on you, right? After all, you need to rent yourself a place for the night." Then she added, "It gets pretty dangerous once the sun goes down."
I, with almost nothing on me, gulped. She looked at me—and saw me sweating like never before.
Letting out a sigh, she told me, "I'll lend you enough to rent a place, but in return, I need you to do something for me—"
Suddenly, a loud sound erupted nearby, cutting her off.
A louder sound followed. It sounded like an alarm.
"Oh no," the girl said with widened eyes and a worried expression.
"W-what's going on?! What is that sound?" I asked.
"No time to explain!" she answered.
She hurried to grab me by the hand and started running toward the direction of the sound.
"What—?!" I yelped, completely caught off guard, my face turning red.
She took a deep breath as we ran. She closed her eyes in concentration and said in a low tone, barely audible, "Activate."
All of a sudden, in just a blink of an eye, I found myself and her standing in front of what looked like the source of the commotion.
It was a big beast—resembling a grizzly bear—but far scarier, and more importantly, bigger.
It roared loudly, shaking the entire place as its golden fur waved.
I was stunned. I couldn't even move.
I had already been terrified this whole time. I was on the verge of passing out.
The girl shouted, "Get a grip! This is not the time to be spacing out!"
She looked confident in me. I looked at her as I fell to the ground, showing just how much of a coward I was.
It seemed like she thought I had something to use against the beast, but I was utterly helpless.
I tried to stand up and run away, but my legs were trembling too much, making me fall back to my knees.
The beast, roaring and shaking the ground, saw me collapsed, unable to do anything at all.
I accepted my fate—to die here, in this unknown world.
He raised his hand to swing at me, but then, just as he was about to strike—
The girl appeared, almost instantly.
It seemed like she had used that ability of hers again.
She pushed me out of the way, taking the hit herself.
I crashed into the remains of a destroyed building, grunting in pain.
She was knocked back by the blow and thrown into one of the buildings nearby.
The girl lay unconscious, barely surviving the beast's swing.
I screamed at the top of my lungs. My head throbbed, blood dripping from where it hit the rubble.
Old wounds from my father burned again.
The beast roared, revealing its sharp teeth once more, continuing its destruction.
There was a small dark green symbol engraved into its tooth—I barely noticed it.
And the girl… she lay unconscious, covered in blood.
She got hurt because of me. Because of my own weakness and helplessness.
It always has to be like this.
Showing just how useless I am. I can't even lift a finger when a girl my age is out there fighting.
I don't want this to happen. I won't let this happen. I'll kill him. I'll kill him even if I have to do it with my bare fists.
I felt anger.
I felt pure hatred and frustration toward the beast.
I looked at the unconscious girl in the distance before I got up, facing unbearable pain.
I stared at the beast with madness in my eyes. I was about to give everything I had, even if it meant death—I was willing.
To make up for her.
I stood before the beast. The sheer size difference made me hesitate.
Yet I still threw myself toward him.
As I ran straight at the beast, yelling as loud as I could, he noticed me again, after rampaging through the area.
"You bastard!" I screamed.
He roared back and swung his massive fist straight at me—and I, stupidly, threw my own trembling, small fist toward his, screaming.
I thought I was dead. As our fists were about to collide, my heart pounded violently.
And then—the air shifted.
Along with it came a powerful, confident male voice from the sky:
"That's enough," he said.
A flash of silver fell from the sky, cleanly severing the beast's arm just before it could reach me.
My eyes widened. I didn't know what had just happened. The beast roared in agony, its severed arm falling.
I tried to look at who had done this—but as I turned, I collapsed from exhaustion, barely catching a glimpse of the man who struck the beast.
I heard one last thing before fainting completely:
"Forgive me," he said, almost guilty as he looked at the destruction and blood around us.