A hot, humid wind blew against my body, causing my entire consciousness to jot awake. I was overcome with an unusual heat that far surpassed the supposed climate of the first weeks of spring. Was this the fault of climate change?

 

Also, the pain was all gone. Although I could still feel them when I reminded myself of it, it felt like a dream. But clothes were still soaked. I took off my vest and used it to fan myself, but it was only blowing hot air.

 

I looked around me. Instead of the view of the mountain range, there was nothing but tall, broad-leafed trees with thick trunks sparsely distributed across uneven dry terrain. If it weren’t for the shade of these summer trees, I could've probably died of heatstroke.

 

Wait, summer? Trees? Where was the establishment I worked at? What happened? Was I kidnapped?

 

I was plucking my lips out of anxiety. I could feel my heartbeats pumping faster, and my feet started to rock.

 

I took a second look around me and shut my eyes. I opened it up, but the same scenery was still there. I did this a few times, but there were no changes—not even a subtle one—and doom overcame my body in the form of anxiety.

 

“W-what should I do?”

 

My breathing had gone faster. My eyes sauntered on my surroundings. But seeing that there wasn’t anything aside from trees, my vision grew narrow. I had to scream for help.

 

 “H-help! Is there anyone there!?”

 

All of a sudden, a man appeared behind the trees. He was tall and broad. He wore a pointed metal helmet that only revealed his eyes, and the lower half of his face was thick of beard. His body donned lamellar armor on top of a loose, red pair of long sleeves. On his hand was a javelin—three more in his back—and on the other a round shield.

 

My eyes widened at the sight of his weapons, prompting me to step backward. That man had a sharp glare on his face. I wanted to flee, but my legs froze in place.

 

As I was slowly being taken out of breath, the man lowered his javelin, stood straight, and sighed.

 

“By the Sedelions, I thought there were monsters around.”

 

Did he just lower his weapon? No, that might be an ambush to kill me. I hid behind the tree and poked my head out.

 

“Hey, come out there! I won’t hurt you. There’s no honor in harming unarmed strangers.”

 

The man returned his javelin to his quiver as he stood still.

 

“Don’t make me stand here for long. If a monster appeared, I could fight for myself. Can you?”

 

A monster? What sort of monster would it be? Either way, I slowly stepped out with my knees on half squat. No one knew what this guy might do.

 

“There you go. You act like a scaredy-cat for someone your age. And what’s up with that attire? Are you a lost son of a noble?”

 

Son of a noble? This guy had been spouting nonsense since the beginning! How could I ask him about my current situation if I couldn’t fully comprehend him in the first place?

 

“H-hey, dude, you won’t hurt me, right?”

 

The man chuckled.

 

“As if! And I am not ‘dood’ or whoever that might be. Anyway, come here! Monsters love young flesh like yours.”

 

As I was about to lower my guard, another man appeared. He wore the same attire as the first dude, but his helmet only covered the top of his head, his long corn-yellow hair flowed down. His sudden appearance with his javelin withdrawn made me retreat.

 

“Whoa, Aslas! Don’t startle him! Lower your weapons!” the first man said.

 

“What? Wait, why does he look like a scaredy-cat?”

 

Thanks for repeating that.

 

“What’re you doing here, anyway?”

 

“You're taking too long. The boss told me to check on you to see if you’ve been done in by the monster.”

 

The first man laughed. As he did so, Aslas took a second look at me.

 

“Who is he? The monster? He looked like a stray noble.”

 

“Doesn’t he? Anyway, just come with us quick!”

 

I had so many questions piling on top of one another inside my mind. I wanted to lessen that mental burden, but I didn’t know where and how to start. I just followed them trek downhill as we clung onto the trunks of trees, careful not to roll down.

 

We exited the thin forest where a dirt path was paved between the two slopes. There were three wooden wagons pulled by what seemed to be malnourished beige raptors. They carried crates and rolled carpets, guarded by more than twenty soldiers that wore different armors and held different types of weapons—all of them looking at us.

 

The first man slid down the slope and went to a man with a much bigger physique, sitting next to the coachman that held the reigns of a raptor. 

 

Did those creatures even exist? I had surfed the internet for many years, but I didn’t see even one of them aside from historical ones. They did look exactly like the raptors in historical channels, and they were scary since they were much taller than me.

 

“Did you find the cause of the mana surge?” a deep voice boomed as I was busy looking at the raptors.

 

“Nope. Not even a single bug aside from this young man right here.”

 

The first man grabbed me in front of his superior. His boss was gigantic. I was surprised that the wagon was holding onto him just fine.

 

“He looked like a Northerner. Kid, how’d you end up here?”

 

“I just woke up here— well, anyway! I have a lot of questions. Where am I? What’s with you guys wearing those metal armors and old-fashioned weapons, too? And those raptors – are they real? Am I in a set filming for J*rassic Park?”

 

I expected a chained answer, but I received nothing but silence and baffled expressions. Did I say something offensive? Did I ask something I shouldn’t have?

 

“Have you gone mad wandering the Myrwilt forest, boy? What’re you talking about?”

 

“No, no, no, what are you talking about?”

 

There seemed to be a misunderstanding. The boss exhaled sharply.

 

“Bah! Just travel with us. I don’t want to hear any of your nonsensical spoutings! Esyndal, back to your position! Let’s get outta here before whatever that monster that caused the strong mana surge to hunt us.”

 

He said to the first man I met whose name was Esyndal.

 

The wagons began to move. Regardless of how heavy the crates looked, the wagons moved smoothly as if they weighed nothing to the raptors. I thought I was gonna ride the wagons, but they had me walk beside the boss and Esyndal in the front.