“Gahh!!”

I couldn’t help but scream as I leapt from the floor, fully expecting a mangled block of flesh to be all that was left of my body. A quick self assessment determined my body was perfectly fine despite my mind thinking otherwise. 

My breathing was rough as I looked around; the longer I looked, the more I found my new surroundings to be both soothing and unsettling. 

Rolling grasslands sprawled as far as my eye could see. It was a bright sunny day with a cool calming breeze.

But I still didn’t know where I was. Combined with the shocking experience with the robot truck, I wasn’t exactly in the right frame of mind. 

I slowly reassessed my condition, finding nothing new: I was just as healthy as ever. In fact, I felt better, as if I had been rejuvenated

Just as I was finally feeling calm, a burning heat seared the back of my hand.

“Agh! Damn!”

I clutched my wrist and saw a ring of 13 stars, still raw around the edges, tattooed into the back of my right hand. 

“Huh? These stars, they’re kind of like the Betsy Ross flag. I guess it's not the worst tattoo to get, but damn did that hurt.”

I rubbed the ring of stars. The previously piercing pain had faded to a dull throbbing. 

“But this still doesn’t help me. Where the hell am I?”

There was still nothing but grassland. I didn’t know where I was or how the hell I got here. 

After a while though, I just started walking. 

I eventually started following a small river winding its way through golden plains. For almost two hours, there was nothing but the sound of water, wind, and my own thoughts to accompany me, but as I crested a hill, I finally saw signs of civilization.

“City! Town!… Village…?”

I jumped when I saw the structures in the distance. Before me was not a concrete jungle nor the nicely ordered homes of my hometown suburb, but a scattering of houses around a central few buildings. There was also farmland, and I could see people moving about. 

But it was a village, which worried me. Where on Earth did villages still exist?

“I guess if it's Ohio or something where all of three and a half people live, that would make sense. But how did I get to Ohio?”

I mumbled while walking toward the village. 

But the closer I got, the stranger things got. The houses were not made of brick masonry, but uneven stones pasted together with clay or some other binder. The citizens were dressed in bright but rough clothes, almost medieval in appearance. The well next to the center buildings actually had people drawing water from it.

“Amish?”

With a strange smile, I walked into the limits of the village.

Many townspeople stared at the outsider in their midst, curious and apprehensiveness warring in their painfully transparent gazes. I was like some kind of exotic animal that they were all wary of. 

And at least they weren't speaking Spanish or something. I could understand them fine despite their unfamiliar accents. 

“Hey, you.”

I reached out and tapped a man’s shoulder who was passing by with averted eyes and hurried steps. He did a little hop and turned around, caution written all over his face.

I rolled my eyes, thinking he was just a condescending ass. 

“Can you tell me where this is? Like what state and city?”

“I… I must go…”

He had a strained smile as he dodged my question and walked away. 

“Dude, seriously? I thought the Amish were nice! Whatever.”

I sighed before walking further in. 

And after catching enough attention, I was finally approached by a tall man with a full beard. He seemed like someone who carried authority, so I smiled in relief. 

“Hello, sir.”

“Greetings, traveler. What brings you to this humble village?”

“I’m lost.” 

I scratched my head. 

“Can you tell me what state we’re in?”

“State?”

“Yea, or city?”

“...I’m sorry, but the nearest city isn’t for a few dozen miles. To the north you’ll find the City of Haelsverg.”

“Haelsverg? Where am I, in Europe? Nevermind, do you have a phone that I can use? I lost mine.”

“A… fone?”

He looked at me with a dumb face, and suddenly I was a bit more skeptical about my situation. 

I narrowed my eyes. 

“Hey, what year is it?”

“Uh, I believe the calendar year is 622, dear traveler.”

“622… Ah, shit!”

I remembered the words of that insane robot truck. 

“Did I seriously?! Dammit! What the hell is this?! Fucking… Hey, what the hell is this anyway?”

I suddenly brought up the back of my right hand and pushed it to the guy’s face. 

He took a moment to notice the ring of stars on my hand, panicked by the sudden movement. Then, his eyes bulged. 

“Oh, esteemed Magus! Forgive my rudeness!”

He dropped to his knees, bowed over at the waist, and the surrounding villagers hastened to do the same. 

“The hell? What are you doing?”

“I’m terribly sorry for not realizing sooner, great Magus.”

“What the hell is a Magus? 

“...I’m sorry?”

He raised his head, seeing my irked face. 

“I’m asking what the hell a Magus is.”

“...A Magus is one who has been blessed by the Holy Ghost. That Crest is the sign of your blessing, and it grants you special power.”

“Oh? What special power?”

“I-I don’t know, great Magus. You may be a Knight, a Warlock, or a Summoner. I don’t know enough to tell you more.”

“Is that right? So I’ve been brought to a primitive magical fairyland. Fantastic.”

I sighed, taking stock of the situation again. 

I was seriously murdered by a robot semi-truck and dropped into this world. 

A place where I had no friends, no family, not so much as an acquaintance besides this man who was probably the village chief. 

I was all alone in a world that I hadn’t the slightest clue about. 

The only thing that gave me any reassurance was this crest on my hand. If I figured out how to use it.

The reality hit me, and for a long moment, I processed it all. 

After a stretched silence, I closed my eyes. 

“...Fuck it. It is what it is. Hey, village chief.”

“Yes?”

The man rose to his feet cautiously. 

I spoke with a deadpan face. 

“How do I get to the city?”

……

…

It was 3 days later that I realized I may have misspoken. 

When I had said city, I meant the nearest city. But apparently the village chief thought I meant the damn capital city at the center of whatever kingdom we were in. 

Well, at least travel was fast. 

Besides the crest, it was the village chief who introduced me to the first fantastical thing that confirmed this wasn’t Earth. 

Our rides to the city were on giant birds with saddles on their backs. These things had a wingspan of at least 20 meters, and they were more than capable of flying with cargo. 

With only some essentials, the village chief and I each jumped on a bird and took off. 

And I must say, that was the second scariest thing that’s happened to me besides the freak robot truck murder. 

To soar in the sky 3 thousand feet above the ground was thrilling. Even after three days of travel, I didn’t get bored of the sights of landscapes that we passed over. 

And then, we arrived at the city. 

And it was something else. 

I thought it was going to be a run down stone forest with dull gray colors and primitive living conditions. 

But it seemed this magic shit was more prevalent than I thought. 

There was a single giant tower that stood in the center of the city, soaring hundreds of meters into the clouds, numerous pads and constructs on its sides filled with beasts and vehicles of all sorts. It was a magic tower no matter how I looked at it, a body of night blue stone pulsing with veins of energy and a capstone of radiant crystal.

A sprawling palace complex of marble and gold, flanked by smaller but still impressive towers, covered another large portion of the city, its shining splendor illuminating even the furthest slums. That was probably where the kingdom’s royalty resided. 

It was called the Kingdom of Dragon’s Tongue, and according to the village chief, this was the best magic city, and only Kingdom in the world. 

Of course, living in a village constrained his worldview, so I wasn’t sure how valid that statement was. Still, everything was new to me, I didn’t really care. 

If anything, I was enraptured by the mystical sights and atmosphere of the city. 

We landed on the outskirts of the city where the wall was, touching down outside the gate where a river of people flowed through a massive gate. 

I let the chief talk for me, hanging back a little while he walked up to a pair of alert guards in a checkpoint building. 

“Good sirs, I come with a guest with no citizenship. He would like to apply.”

“Temporary visas are 50 coin, and you must go to customs to apply for citizenship.”

“Here.”

The chief paid the 50 coin, getting a thin card in return. He pressed it into my palm. 

“Keep it safe.”

We entered the city. I glanced at the man who led me. 

“I’ll pay you back, once I get my hands on some money.”

“Oh, no worries at all, John.”

He waved, flustered. Honestly, the only reason I was letting him do anything for me was because I had nothing to my name and nowhere to go. I was in a desperate situation, so I could only leech off this man’s kindness. 

But I wasn’t going to let this go without reimbursement. His goodwill would be repaid, someday. 

“So you said I should enter the Magisterium?”

“Yes. There you’ll be able to find a path in life, one that hinges on your crest. It's the most prestigious institution in the kingdom that accepts just about every Magus, at least for the first year.”

I had been briefed on this Magisterium, essentially a magic college. 

It was a place that taught magic to all three types of Magi. It taught the Warlocks how to spell cast, the summoners how to summon, and the Knights how to fight. 

But of course, it did all this for a reason. 

And that was to fight the existential threat of the world. 

They were the Scourge, a non-human race of humanoids and beasts that sought nothing but the destruction of humanity. 

Humanity had been at war with them for hundreds of years, but year after year, the battles only got worse, and the contenders only got stronger. 

The Kingdom of Dragon’s Tongue, being the only Kingdom throughout these lands, was the only one that fought the Scourge. It seemed that this Kingdom was the last bastion of humanity, and any other kingdom was mere legend. 

So, with the ever present threat on their doorstep, the Magisterium was the world’s leader in churning out powerful Magi for the cause. 

And it would be my first step forward in this crazy world. 

“You won’t be able to join immediately though. There are about five months before the new year starts and entries are accepted.”

“Huh? So what do I do for five months?”

“Well…”

The chief looked around as we walked through the city. 

There were a lot of shops, and bills didn’t pay themselves. 

I sighed. 

“I guess I better find a job.”

“Don’t worry, there’s always work to find in this place. I’ll stay with you for a few days until you find one, and then I’ll need to head back to my village.”

“Thank you, chief.”

“Hey, kid!”

My head spun to the right at the sudden shout, my eyes landing on a man who seemed to run one of the shops. 

He was leaned on a doorframe, a wooden toothpick hanging out of the corner of his mouth. 

“You lookin’ for work?”

“Depends.”

I crossed my arms and flicked my head, prompting him to lay out the offer. 

“I’m a delivery man, and I need more runners. Pay by commission and easy hours. I’ll even give you a starting bonus, since you seem to be new here.”

“Huh. What do you think, chief?”

I glanced at the chief, who was rubbing his beard. 

Then, he shrugged. 

“It’s up to you, John. It’s either that or working in a bakery or a store as a counter clerk.”

“Hm, I guess I’ll take this then. Alright guy, I accept.”

I walked over, and as shaking hands seemed to be the symbol it was on Earth, I shook the stranger’s hand. 

He smiled. 

“The name’s Plex.”

“John.”

“Come inside, John. I’ll show you what we do here.”

“Alright.”

I nodded, but before leaving, I turned back to the chief. 

“I don’t think you need to wait for me, chief.”

“Eh, I may as well stick around for a day or so. It’s been a long trip and the capital is fun to visit. John, if you need anything, find me at the Moonlight Inn.”

“Right. Thanks chief. You’ve helped me more than you know.”

“It was nothing, John. Now go on. You know where to find me.”

He waved me off, so I went with Plex into the shop. 

Thus began my first job in this new world.