Despite what the goddess had promised, when I opened my eyes there was no welcoming, or any other cliche. Instead, as soon as the veil of darkness was lifted from my eyes, I found myself underneath a clear blue sky.

I did not know where I was, but the ruined pillars of some ancient civilization stared at me from every angle.

For miles, vegetation seemed to consume every visible structure. I could feel the antiquity of the surrounding area.

If I was to find the purpose of my summoning, then time was of essence.

But before anything else, there was; Woof Woof!

I was not alone anymore.

When I looked down to see what fiend had taken the virginity of my ears, I smiled.

“Look at you,” I said.

The little fluffy ball stared back at me with his puppy blue eyes.

Was it a dog? Or a sheep? It looked like a mix of the two, but I couldn’t tell. But if I had to choose, I said it had to be a dog.

In terms of size, the creature was as small as a chihuahua. But in terms of looks, it resembled a Husky or a Wolf.

“Do you bite?” I asked the creature. But it did not respond.

Unlike any other dog that I had seen before, this one was covered in fur like a sheep. Given his appearance, he had to be docile.

His eyes were begging me for a pat.

I could pat him all day. He was cute.

As soon as I placed my palm on his head, a system notification appeared.

[You have obtained a new companion.]

Confirming what the system had said, the little puppy licked my hand.

“Good boy,” I said. “Now, if you excuse me. I must get down to business.”

Talking to myself felt weird. But if this was a fantasy world, doing things like this might unlock a skill that allows me to communicate with pets.

“While we explore this place, how about I give you a name?” I said. Knowing fully well that my pet did not understand me.

“I shall call you… Elvin!”

[Imperial Husky has been renamed to Elvin]

“Huh?”

This system sure loved waiting until the last minute to give me crucial information. Now if it only could tell me where I was, or how I could find another human being to talk to.

*******

I started my reconnaissance of the area by marching west. If I walked far enough, I had to eventually reach a human town or run into someone.

I walked for two hours and despite having no physical condition; I was not winded.

“But you… You lazy bastard!”

I still couldn’t believe that after walking for only ten minutes, I had to carry Elvin in my arms because he refused to move a further inch forward.

To think that a creature could be so lazy.

“Whatever.”

As for why I could walk so much with little to no condition. The only explanation was that I either had a cheat skill or perhaps it had to do with how the air was different.

Every time I took a deep breath, the air felt fresh. There was no pollution in this world.

In fact, there were not even any signs of agriculture, which meant there were no GMOs in this world either.

“Shut up.”

I told myself. The more I looked at it, the more apparent it became that perhaps there were no humans in this world.

Medieval world or not, agriculture has always been a sign of human civilization. Lack of it meant… a lack of humans.

“Do you know what happened here, Elvin?”

But Elvin did not reply. He just moved his tail to let me know what he was happy that I mentioned his name.

“Could it be that the goddess made an error, and she sent me to a planet with no human life?”

The longer I walked west, the more dreadful my thoughts became.

Then suddenly, I tripped on a pebble.

I softened my fall into something soft. Wait, that was Elvin.

When I stood up again, Elvin looked mad. Really, really mad.

“Look, I am sorry.”

I gave him a pat. He attempted to bite me, but he didn’t put any strength in his jaw. It was just toxic manly posturing. Who knew even dogs were capable of that.

I looked down at the pebble that had caused the little accident. But that was no peddle. It was a broken piece of concrete.

As I looked further into the ruins west, I realized that the tall pillars surrounding me on every side were modern buildings. Skyscrapers.

The grass below was likely covering a layer of concrete. Which is why I couldn’t see the streets.

“But why is there a piece of concrete here?” I asked Elvin.

Then I heard a voice. It sounded like a bastardized combination of German and Russian.

I turned around to see a red-eyed girl holding a pile of rocks. Her hair was long, yet white.

Was she an albino?

“Hey, do you know where we are?” I asked.

She responded in what might amount to Squares and Triangles to me.

“[] ^ ^^^ [] 00 ^ [] ^00 [][][]” She said.

I truly did not speak her language.

“Sorry, I don’t understand you,” I responded.

She frowned and walked past me.

“Hey, wait-” I said.

Any chances for cooperation took a nose dive along with her.

She tripped on a rock.