Darren Lee did not ask for a random backpacking trip into an unknown forest.

But here he was, in the middle of the woods, with no civilization in sight.

He honestly did not know where he was. The local university he attended was filled with nature, due to the school's "green" policies, but there were always buildings and roads visible from any parts of the campus forests. Not only that, he wasn't even going through the larger forests on the edges of the campus. He was using a shortcut through the forest to get to his next class when he suddenly found himself in the middle of nowhere. 

The college student sighed and slumped onto the ground. He had been looking around the area for several minutes but found nothing but trees and bushes in his vicinity. Feeling defeated, Darren rifled through his backpack and pockets to take inventory of his current belongings. While there were no signs of civilization near him, he was going to hike through the forest in order to seek help and find out just where on Earth he was. Before he did, he needed to ensure that he was somewhat prepared for the journey and utilized any tools he had at hand to his advantage.

In his backpack was his MacBook Pro and charger, several snacks, a hydro flask, several textbooks on history and engineering, writing utensils, notebooks, and his trusty Swiss Army knife. Darren let out a sigh of relief after seeing the snacks and hydro flask, knowing that they would sustain him for a short period of time. The Swiss Army knife would help with marking his trail and other survival necessities. 

From his pocket, he pulled out his iPhone, a lanyard with his keys, and his wallet. When he touched his wallet, he felt a burning sensation coming from it and he dropped it quickly. After cautiously picking it back up, Darren opened up the wallet and saw that his driver's license looked different than before. 

His California driver's license was transformed into an odd silver card with a list of stats on them. It stated: 

Darren Lee

Level 60

Exp to next level: 0

Job Class: Warrior

HP: 1,217

MP: 781

Strength: 82

Dexterity: 68

Intelligence: 62

Luck: 55

"These look like Maplestory stats," Darren muttered as he flipped the card to read the backside. The back of the card revealed a list of abilities and skills for the Warrior class that were "known" to him. While they held similarities to the abilities that were seen in Maplestory, there were significant differences in names and effects. The information on the card seemed vaguely familiar to him somehow, but it only increased the number of questions he had.

While he suspected that the entire situation was a strange prank executed by his dormmates, the college student held out his hand and read one of the abilities from the card, "Hands of Steel." 

Immediately, Darren felt some of his energy drain away and saw his hands toughen and shine. Curiously, he struck his toughened right hand on a nearby tree and fell backward when the tree toppled towards him. 

He inspected his hand and discovered that the hand was unscratched. In fact, it looked stronger than before.

His eyes inspected the card once more and he quickly memorized some of the more notable abilities written on the card. He tested half a dozen skills before he realized that the numbers on the card were fluctuating. 

When he used a skill, his MP fell slightly. Upon examining the card more closely, he discovered that the MP costs for the abilities were written in tiny letters underneath the skill names. Despite using over a half a dozen skills, his MP was still around three-quarters full. 

"That's enough playing around," The American college student was still confused about the "new world" he had landed into, but he was going to panic after he found some people or beings to speak to. Staying in the middle of a forest with minimal supplies and untried skills wasn't going to do him any good.

Reviewing the card once more, Darren activated the "Rapid Dash" skill and began to move quickly through the forest. To his luck, he came upon a dirt road that clearly looked man-made and stopped before he exposed himself out in the open. 

It was a good thing too because he saw a group of suspect men surrounding a lone brown-haired girl just a few meters away. The girl was standing near a number of dead bodies, many of them wearing clothing that was starkly different from the clothing worn by the shady looking men. It seemed as though the girl and her companions were engaged upon by the men, with the girl being the lone survivor out of her group. She was clearly wounded on her arms and legs but remained standing despite her injuries. A blood-stained sword was held in her right hand as she desperately held her opponents at bay, but her beautiful face was unwavering despite her situation. Her green eyes glared hatefully at her enemies as they mocked her.

Even from the distance, Darren could hear the conversation playing out between the two factions. Surprisingly, all of them were speaking English. 

"Come with us willingly, Miss Veronica, and you won't be hurt. As long as your father pays his dues, you'll be sent back to your village without a scratch." The leader of the men, a light-skinned man with a variety of scars and an eyepatch, smirked at the girl, "If you resist, not like you can at this point, then we'll be forced to resort to extreme measures."

The girl spat out her response with venom in her voice, "You can drag me away after I'm dead!" 

Suddenly, memories flooded Darren's mind as he realized why the girl and this world seemed so familiar. The scene happening in front of him was just like the beginning scene of the anime, "Is This Destiny?" The anime was set in a magical world on the verge of an industrial revolution. It revolved around Veronica, the brown-haired girl, and Jaxon, the prince of the primary kingdom in the anime. In the very beginning, Veronica was kidnapped by a bunch of bandits after her father, the village chief, failed to pay the bandits his monthly due to protect his village. The girl would be abused by her captors and then rescued days later by Prince Jaxon and his party. They were in the area after they the discovery of an ancient ruin that was said to have kept valuables and treasures of previous monarchs within. The prince would attack the bandits as they made the ruins their temporary base and rescue Veronica, who was injured and abused, afterward. Initially, the two would be cold to one another due to their difference in status and Veronica's newfound fear of men, but over time, they would gradually be drawn to each other through "fated" events. As the kingdom goes through upheavals and changes due to Industrialization, the two would be forced to work together in order to maintain peace. Eventually, they became a close duo and become romantic partners, with the anime ending with the two being crowned as the new monarchs.

Darren watched most of the episodes, but he wasn't a devoted fan of the series. At best, he gave the series a seven out of ten for its original concept and decent plotline. He knew most of the major events and a few of the minor details, but he wasn't all-knowing about this world.

But the fact that he got isekai-ed into an anime was just starting to hit him and he stared dumbly as the scene unfolded. 

However, the characters of the anime weren't waiting for Darren and were carrying on with their lives. The men closed in on Veronica as she gritted her teeth and slashed unevenly. She wasn't a strong warrior as of yet, so it made sense that she looked extremely unbalanced as she swung the sword. 

Upon realizing her situation, Darren snapped out of his trance and balled his fists. He didn't know why he was here. Or how he got here. But if Veronica was captured like in the anime, then she would be repeatedly abused, both physically and sexually, before being rescued. And damn the fact that he was changing the plot. He wasn't going to let a girl get beaten and raped when he had the chance to stop it. 

Recalling the abilities he memorized just an hour before, he braced himself and launched forward.