Hello everyone Momiya Shochomi/ It's Natural here, this is an orginal story I created with a purpose which is obvious but a secret for now, you can also read this story on RoyalRoad. SYNOPSIS The fate of a man who forgot the names and faces of not just his own, but also the people close to him, ended with him accomplishing his lifelong goal but at the price of his life. He thought he could finally rest, but his fate didn't allowed it. When he woke up he was in an unknown place. As he pondered if this is the punishment given to him, the memories of a person called Liam started to meld with his own. [All beings in this world will eventually hit a dead end in life. And that is death. That’s what I always think. But why am I in this place? Or rather, who am I? Who are you… Liam?] He doesn’t know why he has Liam’s memories, or why he is given the chance to live again. Is it redemption for his messed up life in the old world? To find out why he has Liam’s memories? Or to live again just to suffer again? Genre: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Reincarnation, Magic Table of Contents: Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2
Spoiler: Prologue Prologue Between the clear blue sky devoid of any clouds as far as the eye can see and a pitch black sea, lies a man blankly staring in the sky with his back against the black sea. He is a person who completely forgot the name and faces of himself, his family, friends, and people such as teachers and famous people he has seen in his life. He remembers being taken care of by his parents, meeting his friends, and remembering the faces of his teachers or the people who helped him, but for some reason, he can’t make out what they looked liked at all. Anything aside from those memories like learning in school, walking in the streets and see something uncommon, interesting, unbelievable or traumatic to see, he clearly remembers them and can perfectly recall them. Yes. Perfectly. He can perfectly recall the painful experience before he woke up in this scuicide inducing place. “Five thousand and tw- no, it’s the seventy fourth day. Hmmm…. Maybe it’s actually the sixth and not seventy four?” When he woke up in this place, he thought he didn’t die and become hopeful over the fact that he didn’t actually die from that event, but he can’t move his body nor open his eyes and mouth, he can feel the warmth of his body, but he can’t feel the joints in his body so he thought he will really die this time. He completely resolved himself about the fact that he will die in the event before it leads to the present. Now he became fearful of death again at the thought of him slowly dying in this state. His anxiety also increased when he starts recalling memories from a person named [Liam] He thought it is one of those recalling the memories of your past life bullshit he heard about before dying due to the intense headache in accompanies, but nothing happened after that. “Some blue sky, and freaking white sky, please let me die♪♫” Days seemingly passed by after that, and during those days, he suddenly became able to open his eyes. He became hopeful over the fact that he isn't an entirely invalid person and became emotional, but after noticing the clear blue sky and that he can’t move his head, his thoughts changed. “But you already die, da-a-died, looking up in heaven, you will for-ever suffer in this pla-ace♪♫” He started counting the days after that but this place doesn’t have night time at all so he couldn’t know if the day really did pass. “Liam, and the heroes. Liam the saviour.” Counting worsened his anxiety, but he never thought of stopping it, instead he started to distract himself by trying to recall the faces of everyone close to him hoping he would eventually remember them but it led him in organizing Liam’s memories. Liam has hundreds of years worth of memories, he receives these memories everyday and it accompanies a very painful headache. He thought that if all of Liam’s memories came flowing in one go, he wouldn’t be able to bear it, so he is thankful of the fact that it only came once a day. It also became a kind of sign that the day has passed. “The strongest out of the fifteen heroes, prefers fighting alone so he can release his true power.” Liam’s memories can be summarised to the word Epic. Although he only gained a portion of the hundreds of years of Liam’s memories it is also somehow the most important events like how Liam trained to become strong, the failures he experienced, his struggles against an enemy more powerful than himself, his ideals and his commitment to make it happen, and finally defeating their ultimate enemy. It is almost like a show of how a hero who started from the bottom, saved the world from his old world. Unlike those stories though, Liam’s story only had a sad ending. There is one weird feeling as he reminisces about Liam’s memories though. The feeling that he knows this already, or he directly witnessed those events as he can somehow connect it with his own memories. He spent a lot of time trying to know why he had that feeling, and when and how he encountered such an event when there are no such things as monsters, magic, or any supernatural things in his old world. He pondered about it, completely forgetting the time and days that passed by. He finally woke up from the long thinking when he noticed he could open his mouth and talk. He became hopeful again over the fact that maybe he’s just inside a very advanced medical machine, curing his body little by little. He hoped it was true, but if that’s true then someone would have talked to him the moment he gained consciousness. “As I thought, is this really my punishment?” He closed his eyes and inhaled a huge amount of air. He does this regularly. “WHY DO I HAVE TO SUFFER LIKE THIS!” Tears started to flow from his eyes and the surroundings lightly shook as his voice scattered in the surroundings. This place, or dimension, lightly shook every time he let go of his bottled up feelings. But he can’t feel it, and he always closes his eyes every time he does so. “WHY IS IT ME? EVEN... though… and what’s the deal with this Liam?” It is always in his mind. He long realised it when Liam’s memories start to meld with his own so he always thinks ‘Is it necessary to compare me to him? Is this how they torture the people here?’ “SO WHAT IF I’M NOT LIKE LIAM? WHAT’S UP IF I’M NOT A HERO?” The rumblings in his surroundings intensified, but even though the intensity increased he still had not noticed a thing. “Shit… HAAH FUCK!” When he said those words, the black sea shook, and colorful lights started to appear under it. He opened his eyes and again looked at the blue sky that didn’t change. His mind and heart calmed down after he released his bottled up feelings. And again, he closed his eyes again as he prepared his heart for tomorrow that might not come. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In his dream, the memories of his childhood surfaces. The memory of him playing tag with his friends in a park. He is running away being chased by one of his friends. He looked back to see if his friend was about to catch him. But instead he saw a different person that was about to touch his back. “&89** T23ÆhvH^” He can’t make out what words he is saying, but he can somehow understand them. He was just in a park but now he is in the middle of a greeny forest. He looked at the person who ran to catch the other kids. He wears clothes different from him, more handsome than him, and has long ears, somehow, like an elf in fantasy stories. He blankly stared on his supposed friend’s back, when someone tapped his back. “Hey **** let’s catch **** and ****, they are the only one’s left.” It was one of his friends he was playing with in the park. His face seems to be covered by a black veil, and he can’t make out what he looked like. They all started running again, but came to a stop when a man he remembers as his brother called them out. “Everyone! #### calling for you.” From there, he woke up in his dream. His friends started to run enthusiastically towards the man, while he just stood there frightened, trying to open his mouth. “D-don…. dot…. don- …. don’t... don’t. Don’t go… don’t go there. Guys. Brother. Stop. Please.” Despite his calls, his brother and friends didn’t stop moving. “Stop… STOP! PLEASE STOP!” He started screaming at them. But they act like they didn’t hear his screams. “STOP! DON’T… DON’T GO!” He tried to run and stop his brother and friends on going home. No. He tried to move his body to try and stop the impending danger that was about to befall on them. But he can’t move his body. He can’t do anything but just hang his head unable to do anything. His mind screams of ‘MOVE!’ but it's all for nought. After a while, he was finally able to move his head, but when he lifted up his head, the surroundings changed to the forest again. But unlike the earlier where the color is green, it is now red. “Wha- what. What?” “LIAM!” He turned around and looked at the person who called out his name. And there he saw a young handsome man with long ears, running towards him. And there he saw a burning forest. Behind the elf, people who are also elfs are running away from the burning forest. When the man finally arrived in front of him. He started to wrap his arms around him and carry him around. He is dumbfounded as to what is happening. And as the man didn’t say anything and instead just ran carrying him around. There, he saw his nightmare. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ “AAAAAAAH!!!!! Haa… Haaa…” He woke up from the nightmare of his past life. And the tears from his eyes won’t stop pouring out so he moved his arms towards his eyes. And there, he let his tears flow out without stopping. He continued wiping the tears away from his eyes. And when he finally calmed down. He stared on the ground that is field with black colored water. No it isn’t completely, black because if you look closely, you can see some colorful threads flowing under it. He doesn’t know what it was, but since it was very fascinating to see it calmed his mind. “Anyway. Where is this? He touched the black colored water, or maybe sea since when he looked around and saw nothing but clear blue sky and black colored water all the way to the horizon. “Blue… Sky….” He looked up to confirm it, and when he saw it. It was the heaven he can only look up to. The familiar scenery he can’t turn away or not look at, with the exception of closing his eyes, as he can’t even move his body away, or move his neck. That’s when he noticed one more thing. “My body.” It can move.
Spoiler: CHAPTER 1: THE CRYSTAL WORLD CHAPTER 1: THE CRYSTAL WORLD “It moves… I can move!” As he danced in an ugly manner, his tears that stopped earlier again flowed. But isn’t tears of sadness anymore, but tears of happiness. He even jumped to dive in the black sea, but when his fingers touched the sea, instead of the feeling of water, he instead felt a really hard surface. *Splat!* A sound of a head hitting something hard reverberated around him. “Ouch…” He gets up feeling embarrassed as he rubs his nose that swelled after the unexpected solid water. “Just what the hell is this?” He touched the water to examine it. “Is this a rock?” He knocks it to confirm it’s hardness, and a sound of *Tok* came out. “Rock, no, it seems like those very hard glass.” His excitement died down in that moment. “There’s nothing.” Blue sky, black sea. As far as the eye can see. He is sick of this heaven like hell, he felt that even if he can now move, seeing nothing but this very same scenery over and over again will again drain his sanity. So he decided to walk around and when he was about to reach his three hundredth step, he again hit his head. “What the hell?” He moved his hand forward, and there he again felt something solid. “An invisible wall this time? What’s next? An invisibl-” He stopped his sentence when he saw a different color between the boundary of the blue sky and black sea on the invisible wall. He can’t make out what it was because of how vivid it is, so when he looked at it closely he was surprised that it was a hole. He became even more surprised at what he saw inside it. “A… sword?” A sword placed atop of a colorful stone. No he thought it was a stone, upon seeing how transparent the glowing stone was, he became certain it’s some kind of crystal. No, it isn;t just the stone that was crystal like, the floor and ceiling, pebbles of various sizes, and the stalactites here and there are all made out of crystals. He rubbed his eyes to check if he was just hallucinating, but he isn’t. “What is this?” He tried to see more so he placed his head even closer to the hole. So when he used more force in his arms, bright light suddenly shined and his hands suddenly sinked and disappeared in the invisible wall. “Ah!” Unable to stop himself from falling forward, his whole body was absorbed by the invisible wall. On this day, the man that was stuck in heaven like hell without being able to move his body for a long time, disappeared from this place completely. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Is he underwater? He doesn’t really know but it feels like he really is underwater. “But I can speak.” And can breathe. So is he really underwater? He thinks so, as he can see a colorful stream of unknown energy. It is similar to what he saw in the black sea. “It means I am in the bottom of that hard liquid huh.” If earlier it’s just fascinating, now it is really a stunning view. But he is more curious about the place which projects the sword in a crystal like place not a little far from him. He started to walk towards that place, and in his every step, the image of the crystal world slowly became bigger. And when he was almost there, he felt his body becoming heavy. He ignored it at first, but when the heaviness of his body came close to a level where he can hardly move, he stopped. “What the *Gasp* hell *Gasp* is happening?” He had a feeling. A feeling that he will die if he continues. It’s like that place is calling him to go back. To not proceed any longer. So he steeled himself, and took a step. “You want me *Gasping* to go back?” He feels like he's pulling a truck. “To *Gasping* that hell?” He wants to stop and take a break. “*Gasping*” His breathing became rougher and rougher as he became more tired. “Guuu… haaah…” The air his lungs grasp, feels like becoming more thinner. “Just a little *Gasping* more…” Two more steps, just two more is what he needs. The scenery of the crystal world which was small just earlier, is now big to cover his whole vision. [One step] An unknown force starts to pull him back. He fought it by forcing his already tired body to the limits, and the moment he relaxes his muscles he will surely be pulled back. [Second step] He is now in front of the crystal world, but it seems like it’s just a giant image. “Gaah!” A strong force forced him to take a step back. So he moved his heavy arms forward. “Maybe… just maybe.” And touched the crystal world. And like what happened earlier. His hands. “*Gasp*” Entered. An ominous wind suddenly passed his tired body, and the stream of colorful lights suddenly became crazy and formed a tornado wanting to suck him in. “Ah… Aaaaaaaaah!” He screamed as his feet left the ground. And his body began to float as the force of the tornado intensified. It must be a good thing, but he is stuck in front of the crystal world. But actually a bad thing when he felt an intense pain like his hands stuck inside the crystal world will be cut off from his body. “One…” He doesn’t really wanna leave that place. “Final…” As he felt he really deserves the punishment there. “PUSH!” But what if. Just what if. He can live again. “AAAAH” Clenching his buttocks, he muster every last ounce of strength his body can offer “AAAAAAAA!” The muscles on his arms solidified, and the blood vessels bulged out, but some of it also burst out letting out a colorful blood. “Please!” He wants to experience it. “Please!” The life, his fate didn’t allow. “Please!” He managed to bring in almost half of his right arm. But he doesn’t have any strength left anymore. He can move his arms around inside the crystal world. But he can’t grab anything inside it. “PLEASE!” He pleaded to anyone, god, deities, his parents, his brother, his friends, to anyone who can help. “PLE… ease… he… lp…” But no one helped him. “me.” There, he passed out, with his bloodshot eyes wide open. Full of injuries all over his body, mostly from blood vessels that popped, strong razor winds that grasped him, and broken arms. And in just one look in his face, you can surely know what he wants. A face in despair, It isn’t really for someone to help him get out, nor get a power to get out of this situation. He. He wants salvation. Hope. Forgiveness. Chance …… …….. ………... ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Sometimes, Liam will suddenly cry in the middle of our journeys.” “The Saviour is?” “Maybe he is just having a nightmare.” In a room covered in luxurious furnitures, a man with silver hair and long ears wearing aristocratic clothes is an elf. Beside him is a little girl that has short purple hair in a twin tail, eating a cake with her hands, and a tall woman with red hair covered by a large hat in a dress. They are sitting in front of a table chatting while drinking tea and eating confectionery and cakes. In the corner, there is a tall and large man wearing golden armor with intimidating draconic horns on his head, and a gentle blue haired girl wearing a fashionable blue with a mix of black robe. “Nightmare… yes we also think so. It’s just that he says it is not a nightmare.”(Elf) “It is not?”(Little Girl) “Yes, he says he can see someone else's life. He says that the man is cursed by fate, and never led a straight path in life.”(Elf) Everytime, whenever he sees that man’s life, tears will flow out from Liam’s eyes, and a sad expression will appear on his face. “Liam can properly manage his emotions, even if the people despair over the overwhelming enemy, he will just look ahead and accomplish his goals. He won’t even hesitate to unleash his true power even if he knows we will be caught up in it.”(Elf) He looks at the tall woman’s way, as if he is trying to imply something. “That man seems like someone very inconsiderate, just what kind of manipulation did he do to be called the Saviour?”(Woman) The elven man’s eyes twitched before the woman’s words. This woman, even if her hat covers her face, you can clearly feel the innocent aura she’s emitting. This innocent aura will be further amplified if she openly shows her face. But since she has something she doesn’t like to show, she wears a hat. But this innocence is just a front, this woman is twisted, she’s drowning in her overwhelming power, if she is ever angered, she will surely raze down the people who invoke her anger to ashes while smiling. Be it a friend or foe. But. “Inconsiderate? He actually cares about our safety though. He doesn’t really fire strong techniques our way without thinking, it’s just that if we are ever hit by one by accident, then it is our fault not his. The moment we gather under him he already said he will not hold back at all if there’s ever a fight. “Proceed with caution around me, don’t ever go in front of me, and lastly don’t ever die because of me.” These are his words of consideration towards us. It may sound cruel and very inconsiderate to other people, but to us, it is the sign that there really is hope. Anyway, What I really want to say is change your attitude.”(Elf) “Why is it me all of a sudden? I did not even do anything or hurt everyone this time. Also in those cases, it is not me who is at fault, it is their fault they are in my way of fire.”(Woman) The woman pridefully declared as such, making the elven man have a headache. “Haaah… will you really ever change someday, Lenna.”(Elf) “It is not me but my surroundings that needs to change, Sir Mark-”(Woman > Lenna)” Lenna declared as such, but when she saw Mark’s angry glare, she quickly stopped her words and drank tea to conceal her fear. “If I hear another report of-”(Elf > Mark) Mark was about to say some words of sermon when the little girl pulled the hem of his clothes. “The dream… of Liam… continue.”(Girl) The girl continues to eat a cake as she says those words. It prompts Mark to stop his words to reprimand Lenna’s behaviour. Lenna let out a sigh of relief and thanked the little girl in her mind, though what was actually in her mind is her letting the little girl lick her feet. Mark didn’t let her go though. “Do not even think your mistakes are forgiven, we will discuss it later.”(Mark) Lenna continued to drink tea, even though her cup is already empty, but you can see some sweat forming on her face. Lenna looked at the girl's way asking for help, but the girl didn’t want to help her anyway, she just wanted Mark to continue the story about Liam. But before Mark could continue, the door of the room opened and a woman with light blue hair wearing a blue robe similar to the girl in the corner entered out of breath. “Hmmp.”(Girl) “What insolence.”(Dragonic Man) “Sister!”(Blue Haired girl) The man with the golden armor and the little sister of the woman who entered became surprised at the very rude way of entering the room. While the little girl sulked because of that woman to suddenly enter this room hastily and out of breath. “Master *Gasping* an emergency…. haaaah….”(Blue Haired Woman) She took a break for a second, gather some considerable amount of oxygen in her lungs. “Cabaret! Cabaret showed a very unusual activity.”(Blue Haired Woman) “...”(Mark) Mark stares at the woman. “Hmmmmmmmmmpppppp!”(Little Girl) The Little Girl puffed her cheeks as the story doesn’t seem it will continue anymore. “Oh my oh my… Fufufu.”(Lenna) And Lenna thinks with this event, she will not receive Mark’s sermon anymore. “Gladius, prepare the wyvern immediately. Also, gather the warriors and instruct them to carry the important equipment we might need, make them carry a lot.”(Mark) “By your will.”(Draconic Man > Gladius) Gladius bowed before leaving the room, and quickly ran once he was outside. “You too Livia.”(Mark) “Y-yes.”(Blue Haired Girl > Livia) Livia also left the room, but unlike Gladius, she didn’t bow and instead just ran, but once she left the room, a sound of her screaming and stumbling could be heard. This made the tense Mark and her Sister calm down. “So, Linna. So what is happening there?”(Mark) “Right. Haaaah… the crystal mountain, it suddenly let out a large amount of mana around, right now I assume there is a mana disturbance phenomenon happening there. The devices around it are also breaking one by one, and when I linked my vision to Blitz, I saw that a part of the crystal mountain is glowing and changing colors.”(Blue Haired Woman > Linna) Mark pondered, while the sulking little girl, sulked even further by puffing her cheeks more. “I cannot link with Blitz anymore due to the intense mana there, so I can’t tell the current situation anymore. I’m sorry, Master.”(Linna) “No, it’s fine, rest now, we will go there first and examine the situation, you will also come with us.”(Mark) “I understand.”(Linna) “Hmmmmmmmppp!”(Girl) The Little Girl, unable to endure it anymore, left her chair and moved towards the door. “You won’t be coming with us, Noa.”(Mark) The girl that was walking out suddenly stopped and looked at Mark. “Why?”(Girl > Noa) “Because you are not part of our organization, just sit back here with Lenna for now. And you Lenna, do not even dare fly back in your home.”(Mark) Lenna lifts her cup close to her mouth, but it’s still empty. “Hmm… Then I guess I can move on my own then.”(Noa) A dark cloud suddenly appeared in the way of the door, and when she walked through it, her appearance changed. Earlier, she looks like just an adorable little girl, but now she looks like an adult. She is almost as tall as the other people in the room, her hair that is short earlier grew close to her waists. She fixed her hair into a twin tail and walked in the corridor. “Are you not going to stop her?”(Linna) “We can’t really stop her unless she does something bad, all she would probably do is help us finish this quickly so I can continue telling her about our adventures, five thousand years ago.”(Mark) Mark, one of the heroes who helped Liam in his adventures five thousand ago. So. He is a person that should never be able to live to this day. Even if he is an elf. “A man who won the battle but lost the war. Liam cried wanting to help him, but in the end, he wasn’t able to.”(Mark) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ “Where… is this?” The man gets up and sees that he is in a very weird place. He is in the middle of the city, and towering buildings are around him. He knows that this isn’t real, and must be a dream, but somehow there’s some realism mixed in it. He looks around the city, but there’s no cars or even people walking. As he looked around, he saw mountains in the distance, those mountains, they somehow don’t look like one, they look more like a large iceberg rather than a mountain. He got back on his feet and began walking around, but as he walked, he noticed something following him. He turned around to look and there, he found a person. “Liam?” His appearance, he is sure of it. He looks entirely like Liam in his memories, he has red hair with a tinge of black in it, and has a fearless look on his face. “So…… are……. man.”(Liam) “Huh?” His voice is very faint, and only some words can be understood. “Are you, just an illusion?” He approached Liam and tried to confirm if he is one, but before he did so, Liam turned his head left and right denying him. “Aah…. Aaah. Ehem, is my… voice clearer now?”(Liam) “Y-yes.” “I… don’t have that… &^6h time, so I want # j^st w@nt to ask”(Liam) His voice is trembling, and some words fail to form in his mouth, but he can somehow understand it. “With0^t power… h!w are you… able t#... acc%mpl!sh your… goal?”(Liam) Without power. “Are you talking about my revenge?” He wants to ask Liam how he came to know that, but maybe, just like some Liam’s memories meld with his own, the opposite also happened. When he asked, Liam spoke, but no words formed, but he understood what he was trying to say. “You clearly know the answer right?” “I… St3ll… want to… hear it… fr#% you.”(Liam) “Is that so. Then maybe because I don’t have any choice.” His fate, it looks like it was set in stone. Just by living, he suffered. Asking god for why he had to live like this, he became religious, trying to make his life straight again, he studied, but even with all of that, his life still turned into an ugly mess. He turned his attention away from reality, but by doing so the roads he could cross disappeared one by one, until only two left. To die, or to take revenge. Liam didn’t ask anymore after that. Is he satisfied with his answer? Maybe not, because he had a look of regret in his face. “Say, do you know what just happened to me?” Liam looked at him, and moved his head saying yes. “Then do you think… I deserved all of those… things that happened?” “No.”(Liam) Tears started flowing in his eyes. “But I tried to forget, and all I can do is take revenge.” “Yes. And?”(Liam) “Yes and?” “You sa*# it yo#r…. right? Y^& have… n# choice.”(Liam) In Liam’s smile, he came to respect the person in front of him. Since unlike him who can live a long life, for this man to achieve revenge in such a small amount of time, is already an incredible feat. Revenge actually isn’t a good thing, but that isn’t his ultimate goal in life. He just wants to live. He wanted to straighten his life again, but in order to do so, he needs to first achieve this revenge. That’s why he doesn’t have any choice. Just like his own goal. Liam watched the man wipe his tears in regret, he wanted to help him, but how can he help when the event is already done, moreover it is an event in a different world. “Say, what is this place? No, that's not important. Can you help me?” He is still stuck in that place, he can’t feel anything at all here but he is sure his body is still suffering outside. “Fi#t question… this pl**e is… the… sanc- sanctuary.”(Liam) Liam turns around as he says those words. “Second… you… ar# ok.”(Liam) After saying those words, Liam became suddenly covered in dazzling light, and when the light died down, he became a sphere. “C*n I… ask yO*a… favor?”(Liam) “W-what is it?” “Can you… free me?”(Liam) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The light of his eyes slowly returned, and after he blinked several times, he looked at the crystal world in front of him. He looked at his body, there were still a lot of wounds but he is pretty sure he can move. The unknown force pulling him back seems to have died down too, as the tornado behind him became small compared to before. “Does that mean I have to endure it?” With this, he can now actually leave this place. He didn’t hold back at all and welcomed this change, he pushed his still tired body into the crystal world, and when he fully pushed his whole body in. The injuries around his body, all of it disappeared. He was even more surprised when he saw the face reflected on the shiny red crystal floor. Because what was reflected on it, is Liam’s face. The body, the clothes, all of it belong to Liam. “Liam! What is this? Why?” He tried to speak to Liam. “Hey? Why am I…” But there’s no response no matter how hard he calls him. So he decided to look at the situation right now. But he can’t move his body properly, he crawls on the floor to where the sword is located, he grabs the sword and confirms if it can be used to support him in standing up. “Guuh. This body… I can’t control it.” He can’t balance himself well, so he firmly holds the sword so he won’t fall to his knees. But that choice of action. *Cracks* “Wha…” The crystal stone the sword was placed breaks, causing him to fall on his back. Sweat filled his whole body, and the feeling made it so nostalgic. He never experienced this feeling when he is still in that dimension. “Will I experience it again, hunger, thirst, excretion, and….. Wait.” Hunger, and thirst. Hearing himself say those words caused him to forcefully move his body. Using the sword as a cane, he moved slowly around the crystal world. He wants to admire this place, but the feeling of his stomach growling or his throat becoming dry made him worried. He isn’t particularly hungry or thirsty right now, but his anxiety tells him to move. As he walked, the crystals all over the place changed their colors, from red, to yellow, to blue, white and so on. “This place is painful to the eyes.” If a person who has seizure problems enters this place, it will surely trigger their seizure right away. After an hour of walking he reached a dead end. This is the only route he can take, so he pondered on what to do. There’s nothing on his way here at all, like a way to go down or up. “Maybe I will just pass by this if I push myself in it.” He touched the crystal wall and pushed it, hoping he could just pass by it like earlier. But nothing happened at all. “Maybe I need to use more force.” He proceeds to do so, but still nothing happens. So he used more force. “Guuuuuh! Come on. Do your wonders.” He keeps on pushing, when suddenly, a large crack appears around him. He looked at it while still pushing his body, and suddenly, a large rumbling sound echoes and tremors spread over the crystal world. “No way. Don’t tell me… No way!” He removed his arms in the wall. The wall which is the dead end earlier suddenly stopped glowing, and it returned to a blackish red color before finally starting detaching from the place he is standing at, it accompanies a large tremors and multiple cracks appear all over the crystals. He sat and braced himself for any accident, as he closed his eyes. But he opened it immediately after sensing a dazzling light accompanied by strong winds. “The… sun.” An inexplicable feeling filled his chest, as he stared at the sun, the sky, the clouds, and the mountains in the distance. The forest under that scenery was very thick; it looked like it was untouched by any human hands. He further looked down. And there he determined the place he was at. “It’s not a crystal world, but a crystal mountain…” Three? Maybe four stories? He can’t determine exactly how high he was. “I better get back and find another-” Before he can even finish his sentence, he noticed that the color of the place he is standing at is darkish red now. So he makes a run for it. But he stumbled because he lost his balance, not only because he can’t control this body properly, it is also because of the rumblings that happened. He fell directly into the ground, and rolled several times in the foot of the crystal mountain, before finally stopping on dry land. Surprisingly he didn’t feel any pain even though he fell that high. He looked at the place he was just at but his eyes were wide open. It’s because a large object covered the entire sun. A large chunk of crystal is falling. A large sound was created as it fell a bit far from him. The debris coming from it assaulted him. He thought it was over, but another large sound was generated and this time it was a bit closer to where he was. “Aah! Move dammit!” He made a run for it, but it was too late. The debris from not just the large chuck of crystal close to him buried him, but also another one that was rolling as it fell to the ground. He never noticed it, but the height of the crystal mountain was very high, and it literally made a rock slide. “No way… i’m… going… to… DIE… HERE!” He mustered the strength in his body. He is sure that this body. If it really was Liam’s body. Could make him get out of this. “Goooo!” It didn't even take one minute for him. “Hahahaha… damn Liam, to think you have a monstrous strength like this.” To free himself from being buried. As the feeling of relief filled his chest, he suddenly lost control of his body and fell on his back.
Spoiler: CHAPTER 2: NAME CHAPTER 2: NAME He figured out the reason he can’t control Liam’s body well. It may have to do with his head but one of the primary reasons is because Liam had a very strong body. After moving away from the crystal mountain, he started doing various tests with this body. He crushed a stone with his bare hands and kicked a tree which resulted in it breaking. “As I thought it has to do with my head.” He mumbled as he slowly walked towards the inner forest. The mind and body isn’t synching really well, that’s why even just walking is hard. “This must be what a newborn fawn feels.” The only difference though, is that he has a large amount of uncontrollable strength, uncontrollable to the point he is sure he won’t be able to live properly if he doesn't learn how to properly use it. “Anyway, I need a new branch- found one.” During the test earlier, he also found out that the sword is super sharp, and possibly supper hard too, as it easily slices not just the ground or tree, but a rock too. Thus it’s not suitable to use as a cane anymore. So he needs a new object to support him in walking, and this long stick is one of the best he can get. He used it with extra care since if he breaks this, he will again crawl or walk like a drunkard again, and it’s a pain to search for another one. As he walked, he heard the sound of flowing water, he carefully moved to the direction of the sound and found a small river. It is a river with clear water, so clear that you can properly see what’s in the bottom of the river. He didn’t hesitate to drink it as he felt somehow thirsty from all of that happened, he also washed his face but after thinking for a second, he just completely submerged his head in it. “Haaah! Yep, that’s real water.” After refreshing himself, he soon found some trees with a lot of fruits not far from the river. There are many kinds, some of it resembles the fruits in his previous life but the others didn’t so he only grabbed the fruits he knows it’s safe to eat. The tastes of the fruits are great, the tastiest all of the other fruits that he has eaten in his previous life. He wants to stay here and figure for a bit longer to figure out a way to carry some food, but he can’t find anything useful to use as a bag or basket. He can use the shirt he is wearing but he chose not to. The reason is because he wants to get away as fast and as far as possible before the crystal mountain. It’s just a feeling, but his guts is alerting him of any sudden events that might happen. Was it because of the collapse of a very peculiar mountain made of crystal? The forest that was untouched? The lack of any animal activity in the area. Or the calmness that seems to signify that a storm is coming. He doesn’t want to face any troublesome situations right now. Forget fighting even if he has Liam’s really strong body, he won’t even be able to run if the situation is bad. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ “It’s almost night.” He moves by the river when the light is still not out, so he won’t worry about being thirsty. He found some very large leaves along the way, he used it to carry the fruits he picked off the trees and so the problem about food is somehow solved as well. There’s still no activity along the way, there isn’t even a single bug in the way. But along those times, he saw something crazy. A bird, no it’s an eagle, a giant eagle. It freely soars in the sky carrying a boar on its talons, when suddenly, a lizard with wings suddenly appeared and attacked the eagle. The wyvern fired some fireballs towards the eagle, which was avoided, but when it got close it attacked the eagle’s neck incapacitating it. It was a very smart way of fighting. He shivered that maybe if he encounters one of those wyverns in his state, then he will be damned. Good thing the direction of where the wyvern and the eagle was fighting is in a completely different direction he was going. But he still needs to be vigilant. A small tiger capable of moving at a speed of sound, a magical wolf that is not only strong but also fast, a giant bear that can annihilate dozens of soldiers alone. Those creatures from Liam’s memories, are the monsters that gave him a hard time when he is still in training. But he wonders though, why are there no monsters near the crystal mountain? As he wonders about that, instead of thinking that this place is safe, he thought it was a very dangerous place that even those creatures avoid it. So he hasten his pace. He also thought about Liam's eyesight when he observed the battle earlier. Liam’s eyes, it’s very sharp, it cannot only see from afar, but can also catch high speed movements perfectly. He also noticed at that time that Liam’s hearing is also on another level. Since he is able to hear the water flowing on the river even though he is far from it at that time helping him on finding it quickly. Liam has conducted numerous experiments on his own body, but he doesn’t know what it changed in his body because it isn’t part of the memories he inherited. Back to the present, the night is slowly covering the whole forest. He still wanted to move as he wasn’t really tired despite the hours of walking, but the darkness made him worry that he might make a mistake in his footing and break his precious walking stick. He looks at the crystal mountain that is still visible, and estimates just how far he has walked. But he quickly gave up and thought [If I can still see it clearly like this it means I’m still not that far from it.] As he had those thoughts, the darkness of the night completely covered the whole place. Stars in the sky started to appear, and two moons close to each other appeared as well. It was an amazing view. He put down things he is carrying and decided to spend the night at this place. His body might not be tired but his mind is. “But seriously.” He looked around his vicinity which he deemed safe. “You can also see clearly in the dark, just what kind of things have you done to yourself.” It kind of reminds him of a certain character in his past life, where a thin muscle less nerd was chosen for an experiment and became a hero. Compared to that though, Liam’s body modification is just plain horror, that even his friends who helped him do it, literally cried asking him to stop. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- In Liam’s memories, his final moment ended in a place called Gargantia. That means the place he was at is that place. However, in Liam’s time this place was nothing but a wasteland caused by their enemy, it isn’t what it was like now where trees have overgrown and there's a mountain made of crystal. He assumed that the crystal mountain was the result of Liam and his enemy at that time’s battle. And the trees have grown again after not being touched for years. It is livable now, but he can’t help but think that maybe there’s no people living in this place. He still doesn’t know just how many years has passed since Liam defeated the evil, so he can only hope for now. He also has another thought after resting. Is Liam still alive? Liam talked to him when he was still inside that crystal mountain, and he thought he could speak again with him once he fell asleep but there’s no dream, no consciousness awakening in a strange city, or any other thing. And the words said by Liam concerns him. “Could you free me?” What does he mean, and what will happen to him if he frees him? Maybe he was just temporarily controlling this body, and soon if Liam is freed, then he will take over his own body and he will be left to nothing. His mind is split, one is saying he should enjoy this body and live a new life never freeing Liam so he won’t have to worry about him losing control and going back to nothing. Because he had a clue on where Liam was. He was in a so-called Sanctuary, as long as he doesn’t go there and free him, then he will be ok. That’s why the other says otherwise and wants to free Liam. It isn’t really his body, and the other person literally worked hard on saving the world causing him a lot of pain and suffering to himself, and he wants to deny his sacrifice by completely hi-jacking his body for his own selfishness. Then isn’t he like those people he despised so much in his previous world. “No good, no good.” If he becomes like them then he will not only be despised by his parents and friends, he will surely eat shit if Liam figures out a way to return to his body. Also even if it was the last thing he can become, he will still refuse it and he will proceed to commence scuicide. There must be another way, and if there isn’t, then he will gladly give back this body to the owner. He will worry about it once the time comes, after all there are still no clues on the place called sanctuary. He has been walking for almost half a day now, and the view on the crystal mountain has become blurry. Bugs are now also appearing, and there’s fishes on the river. He welcomed and rejected this change. Because it means he is finally entering a place where danger might appear. So he put more effort on observing his surroundings. But even after an hour of walking nothing changed besides the river becoming large and deeper, and the fishes that looked like a tuna appearing. He wants to catch it but somehow becomes afraid since he doesn’t know what it can do. And it literally happened, and swam so fast and ate a lot of small fishes, frogs and other things in a flash. “That, maybe it’s an oversized piranha…” Dangerous, very dangerous. He doesn’t really know if it was, since he never saw a tuna or piranha but he heard a piranha is carnivorous He nervously walked and instinctively broke his walking stick when he heard a scream from a distance. “Aaaaah!” The scream came from a large gorilla that was bitten by a wolf in the legs. It was a one vs many since it is facing a pack of wolves. It swung it’s large hand on the wolves causing them to take some distance away from it. “Damn it my stick!” Everyone, the gorilla and the pack of wolves looked at where the scream came from, and the wolves, thinking it’s hard to hunt the large gorilla, went to where they heard the voice. And they easily saw a man grieving on his broken stick. *Growl!* “Ah…” He noticed it late, and the pack of wolves slowly surrounded him. He lifted the sword in front of him and began to take a stance. These situations are the things he absolutely wants to avoid, but he began grieving on a stick and completely ignored the scream. Now what does he need to do to get out of this situation? He rapidly thinks but a wolf that was on his side attacks as he does so. He managed to avoid it after properly using Liam’s superior senses but another one immediately attacks him on his blind side. He still wanted to think of a way to get out, but he is completely surrounded, and the only way he can go is the river with large piranhas. He never used a sword but he can probably do it. “Work with me, Liam!” He swung the sword on the oncoming wolf and noticed something weird. The wolf that jumped on him had his brains cut off, and ceased to move after. He wanted to swing it like how he swung a bat, but his body somehow corrects how he holds the sword enabling him to cut the wolf precisely. “Wow, that’s really-” When he does that a wolf suddenly bites his legs. “Guuh… it didn’t hurt.” The wolf keeps on gnawing his legs but it’s dumbfounded since it’s teeth aren't sinking. He attacked the wolf but it noticed his attack and moved away. *Growl!* It looks angry, but now he knows that he can fight them. But even just standing is hard for him, he needs to somehow find a way to quickly end it. Damage isn’t a problem, but these wolves are cunning, so maybe, if he reduces his numbers they might run away believing they can’t win. He readied his body to run on where the most of the wolves gathered, but the moment he step forward, his feet suddenly limped, and stumbled face first on the ground. “Fuck.” It happened as he said that. All the wolves around him instantly attack him and they all bite him on both his arms and legs. “Stinks, you all stinks!” Of course their attacks aren't hurting him but it’s very annoying and stinky. He grabbed a wolf’s arm and slugged it with another wolf. And stab the one that is gnawing on his knees. He crawled away as the wolves retreated, and there set his guard up again. *Grrrrr!* The wolves didn’t immediately attack him, and became more cautious once they realized the person they are fighting is not an easy prey. Moreover, even though they bite him, it didn’t even give him a wound. Realising this, one of the wolves who is totally different from others howled and they all moved back to the forest. He let out a sigh of relief seeing them leaving, and gave a thank you to Liam with all of his heart in his mind. This is the very first time he met wild animals, and their ferocious nature cracks the fear in his mind. He looked at the two wolves he killed, and once again remembered a thing about himself. “I… I hate animals.” Even though he said that, the look on his face is one of pity instead of hate, but regardless of what you ask him why he hates animals, then he will just say he hates them, no particular reason. After that encounter, the activity in the area rose to the extreme. As he finds a new walking stick to use, he notices multiple presences and sounds of screams, growls and howls all over the forest. He even encountered a stampede of multiple animals and beasts. Good thing he managed to hide in time, because he saw some really dangerous beasts and monsters mixed in. It was his first time meeting monsters close up, and the first one he saw is an orc. A humanoid creature with a large fat body with a pig's head. They carry around logs with their large arms, and have exceptional strength. These guys are small fries for Liam though, including goblins, lizardmen, and other creatures with not that bright intelligence. But still, even if they won’t be able to wound him, it doesn’t mean he will drop his guard. He doesn’t really know how he doesn’t get injured on his fall from the mountain, or from the bite from the wolves, but he is sure he can be injured if they use more force or some kind of power. He continued walking while avoiding beasts and monsters, and at some time when he met some and was attacked, he somehow managed by scaring them away or by killing them. Is it luck? this time instead of a group he only met one or two. The day ends with no major incidents happening, and the day after that is also the same. And the day after that. And the day after that. However, on the fifth day troubles started to sprung out one by one. His food was getting low, and with no fruit trees near the river, he started to worry. He doesn’t really have any survival skills and he is afraid of going deep inside the forest to find food because of the animal, beasts and monster activity becoming more frequent which is the second problem. And third will be the difficulty of getting drinkable water. Right now he is no longer walking beside the river and the reason is because of the change in terrain. After that day, the terrain became ok beside the river but he was forced to take a detour. The reason is because a group of goblins are camping beside the river. He estimated that the number of goblins there is above forty. They aren’t really strong, and he experienced killing dozens of them this past few days but he’ll rather be cautious than become arrogant when he can’t even wield Liam’s power efficiently. Even now, he still needs a stick to walk, and it doesn’t seem he would be able to move without it for a month. He moved towards the forests, and went completely in a circle, but he managed to walk beside the river again. But he became unable to walk beside the river two days after that. The reason now is because there are a lot of large crocodiles, and fish head humanoids. He can’t walk beside the river anymore since monsters also inhabit it. “Looks like my luck ran out.” He can only say those words as he looks at the dangerous riverside and forest. He looked back in the direction where the Crystal Mountain can be found, he could no longer see it, but dark clouds accompanied by an intense lightning can be seen on it. “Thank you my guts. And also thank you my stupid brain.” He thanked everyone he could thank as he looked at the storm brewing on the sky of the Crystal Mountain when suddenly a flash of light came down from it. “What!?” That is the last thing he heard, as a very loud sound of something exploding made him lose hearing and a shockwave that came late. Everything is getting blown away. He managed to grab a tree, but that tree was uprooted causing him and the tree to be blown away. He flew up high in the sky, and he was able to see the place where Crystal Mountain is located. But since he can’t control himself in the air, he didn’t get a good look. The last thing he remembered was the orange sky as the night came. Somehow, he is relieved that it was the last thing he saw instead of a blue cloudless sky. ------------------------------------------------- “Raise your shields! Don’t let them through!” “Archers! Fire as fast as you can!” “Ready your strongest spell immediately!” In a place far from the Crystal Mountain, a war is happening. Vicious Beasts, Monsters of various races, Even flying creatures of great danger. Against. Soldiers, Archers, and Magicians. “General! The 3rd… the 3rd company… they are already annihilated!” “What!” “General! The 4th company is being surrounded, they are requesting support!” The person wearing ceremonious armor looked at the direction where he believed the company was located, and ordered the man who reported to him about it. The general has brown hair and black eyes, and has a stern face befitting an adult man in his forties. He calmly pondered on what to do, because they can’t really send support right away, and a man wearing a high class cape and armor put a hand on his shoulder. “Tell them to retreat. We will hold them here.” “Y-your majesty…”(General) The General was surprised that the person who he was serving came to a dangerous place, but he quickly gained composure and bowed. He is naturally a King as seen on his crown adorned with many jewels and is made of gold. He has black hair and blue sharp eyes, he is as old as him, but the dignity he is emitting makes him in a different league from him. “General Daz, you have done well holding the monsters.”(King) The General raised his body, as he was urged to do so. He immediately relayed the message using the people beside him and spoke to the king. But he took notice of the two people who are also wearing crowns but are smaller than the king’s. “My King-”(General) “Call me Julius, Hanz. Right now isn’t the time for formalities.”(King > King Julius) The two looked at each other, and seeing the serious eyes of the King, he conceded. They are long term friends after all, he is always the king’s partner in sword practice when he is still a prince and they also learn military arts together and also fight by each other many times. “I understand but I can’t do that, I'll call you King Julius instead. So, why did you bring the Prince and Princess with you.”(General > General Hanz) The General who is acting with formality dropped it completely, and looked at the Prince who has the exact same look as the king when he is still young, and the princess who has blonde hair and has a childish but beautiful face similar to her mother. “King Julius, well if you simply call me Julius the other will be confused.”(King Julius) The King Looked at his son, and the eyes of the King looking at the Prince is terrifying. “You will know soon.”(King Julius) The General quickly noticed, it’s not just a word aimed at him, but also to the Prince that was in his back. “Father! Those are just monsters, I can easily annihilate them all!”(Prince) “Hmm… I see. Then Julius, I will assign you thirty people-” “Those are just monsters, Father. I do not need any guards. Like I said I can annihilate them on my own.”(Prince > Julius) The King looked at the people around him, they are people that have a rank of commander. They didn’t receive any words from the King, but they all bowed and left the place one by one. “I see. Then I will give you the freedom to move at this battle freely.”(King Julius) The Princess looked at his father biting his lips, he knew what that look he gave to the commanders meant, but he didn’t say anything and left the place to wear his armor and his favorite sword. The General looked at the King feeling a deep sense of similarity, as he has also done this to his own son. “I’ll also order the special force to keep a close eye to the Prince.”(General Hanz) “Thank you.”(King Julius) The King looked at the place his son was just standing earlier. He wants to open his eyes and quickly change his attitude about looking down on anything because he was gifted, but he also doesn’t want his son to be hurt. Now he could just pray. Pray that nothing serious will befall his son. After he prayed he looked at the Princess who just came here with unknown intentions. “So why did you come here, Laura, and also Lady Cynthia.”(King Julius) The princess called Laura, smiled upon being called by his father, and a person from the outside that has Blonde red hair color and is wearing clothes that is easy to move enters and bowed to him. “I am sorry for the sudden appearance, Uncle Julius. I was also brought here by Laura, and I could not really refuse so-”(Cynthia) “Aaah! Why are you just dumping all of the blame on me? You are here because you are also curious right? About the explosion from Grand Cabaret and the sudden monster invasion. So do not just blame me because you came here at your complete own will!”(Laura) The King looked at Cynthia, and Cynthia avoided his gaze. She is completely guilty because she’s not only avoiding his gaze, but also started sweating after Laura revealed why they are here. “You already know what I am going to say, right?”(King Julius) “Why, I can just stand at the rear and watch.”(Laura) “No means no, no matter where you are, danger will be there. We aren’t fighting just any monsters, but the monster beyond the forest barrier!”(King) The princess is shaken, because her always composed father raised his voice. But it was out of concern for her. She understands this. She understands that's why she silently followed the order his father has given to Cynthia and some knights to escort her back. Or that is what supposed that happened. “There is no way I will go back after hearing that.”(Laura) One week ago, a person called Livia who proclaimed herself as one of Mark Silverbirch apprentice magicians, visited the Kingdom of Daybreak bringing along a warning. At first they doubted her, so they sent some scouts to confirm it, but before the scouts could even confirm it, an explosion that was heard all over the continent occurred followed by an earthquake that damaged their kingdom. Laura, who loves adventure stories, learned that an ancient crystal mountain can be found beyond the forest barrier. It was an uncharted zone where various monsters and beasts live. But she has read a certain book imported overseas of a story about how a hero who saved the world from an evil god and how the crystal mountain formed after the final battle. She thought it’s just fiction created by someone who heard the folktales about it from their kingdom but the events that happened led him to think if it was actually true. The magician called Livia only visited them to warn them about potential dangers that may happen, and she never went again after that. “So, are you all going with me?”(Laura) She looked at the guards that were supposed to escort her back home with a smile, but the guards just sighed thinking it was impossible to stop her. “You’ll just sneak away anyway, so why not just go along with it.”(Guard 1) “Yeah, the Princess is just like that, it really makes me wonder if you really are Lady Cynthia’s cousin.”(Guard 2) The guards laughed at their Princess which made her sulk and look at Cynthia. “What is it?”(Cynthia) They are riding horses and moving towards the river where there are less monsters to encounter. And she is riding together with Cynthia on a horse. She is small and Cynthia's tall so she is in front, and in front, she can feel a pillow of meat on her head. She looked at her own chest, and became sad. “I am still growing.”(Laura) “What?”(Cynthia) “I said I am still growing!”(Laura) Cynthia doesn’t really know why she’s saying those words and turned her focus on her surroundings. She noticed a presence hiding on a tree so she called the presence out. “Olivia, you can come out now.”(Cynthia) “I welcome the Princess and Lady Cynthia.”(Olivia) “So? Any monsters?”(Cynthia) “I met some but they are only low level monsters and beasts. Say, are we really gonna do this?”(Olivia) She looked at the Princess who was smiling, and realising what that smile was she can only let out a sigh. “You quickly gave up this time.”(Guard 1) “Yeah, it’s unusual but we can’t really blame you.”(Guard 2) “Here, your horse.”(Guard 1) She hops on the horse they pseudo brought as a spare, and they all moved down the riverside. After a minute of moving, they heard a commotion not so far from their position. “I’ll scout it.”(Olivia) “We are counting on you.”(Cynthia) Olivia who moved quickly through the woods like an acrobat quickly disappeared, and after a minute cameback. The commotion died down too, and they all listened to her report. “Is it monsters?”(Guard 1) “Probably right? Then let’s go back.”(Guard 2) The two male guards looked at the Princess, but she never looked at their faces, who pleaded they should go back. “It is just some small fries, why are you two getting scared?”(Laura) “No no no Princess, that’s just the earlier report, you will never know what will happen if you are in the forest, and a battle is happening just on the other side, you won’t know what will pounce out of this place.”(Guard 2) As the Princess and one of the guards argued, Cynthia turned her eyes to Olivia. “So?”(Cynthia) “It’s a group of goblins.”(Olivia) “So it is just goblins, are they armed with weapons?” “Well, it doesn’t really matter if they armed, they are already dead when I saw them.”(Olivia) “What? Is it a beast?”(Cynthia) “I… i don’t know. It’s just that when I came there they were already dead.”(Olivia) Cynthia pondered if they should really retreat, but as she looked at Olivia, she saw a silhouette of a person far from their position. “Ruel, Allen!”(Cynthia) At the call of Cynthia, the two guards called Ruel and Allen immediately pulled their weapons and moved in front. Cynthia and Olivia moved towards the Princess side and they looked on their front. There, a man wearing a white T shirt full of stains and pants with similar color which is also dirty, can be seen standing away from them. He has red hair tinged with black here and there, and a somehow handsome but intimidating look. He is about as tall as Cynthia and you can also tell his age is close to hers. He readied the weapon he was holding in his hands. The sword has a simple yet solid design and if she based it on the swords made from their estate, then this will probably be better overall in performance. Just appraising him like this made her heart thump on nervousness, and the others also feel the same. “Say, his stance and sword is somehow kind of similar to Master’s, Lady Cynthia.”(Ruel) “Yeah, and his giving off this intimidating vibe.”(Allen) The man didn’t move away from his post, and seems to be appraising them as well. He is very careful. The Princess looked at their nervous faces, and turned to look at the person in front of them. “Ask him what he is doing in this forest.”(Laura) “Ruel.”(Cynthia) Being urged, he moved forward towards the guy and ask. “What are you doing in this forest? Right now everyone should evacuate far from here you know.”(Ruel) The man looked at the person who asked, and lowered his weapon. “I-i’m lost. Eh… how should I explain this.” “Lost? This forest is well known and you're lost? There’s also a battle on the other side. Don’t tell me, you’re a bandit?”(Ruel) Ruel raised his vigilance towards the man and readied himself. But the man denied it in a flustered way. “No no no no, I really am lost, and also-” As he said that, he fell down to his knees. “Lady Cynthia.”(Ruel) “....”(Cynthia) Cynthia carefully observed the man, and spoke to Ruel after deciding. “He doesn’t seem faking it.”(Cynthia) The man looked at them with a lot of sweat on his face. In his mind, he wonders how he can explain about how he came deep from the forest. He remembers the time when he fell in the sky, and didn’t expect to survive. And now, he met these people who seemed like soldiers, but they are thinking that maybe he’s a bandit. “Name, what’s your name?”(Laura) The princess moved forward from the team. “Me? I… i’m…” “Don’t you ever dare lie about your name!”(Ruel) He rapidly thinks as their vigilance towards him rises every second. “Nedi.” “What?”(Ruel) “I said my name is Nedi! And I came deep from the forest!”(Nedi) Hearing his reply, the team became warry, but the Princess on the other hand is thinking differently.