《The Hole》


 Chapter 1

    There¡¯s a point at night, clear and indivisible. It may differ, depending on the day, and it may be hard to identify. But it¡¯s always there.


    Prior to that point, you know that falling asleep will be helpful. You¡¯ll wake up nice and refreshed, with adequate energy for the day ahead.


    After, however, it makes little difference. You¡¯ve stayed up long enough that waking up will be a mentally painful experience. For the entire day, you¡¯ll be terribly tired and wholeheartedly regret your decision.


    But you also know that it might be worth it. Because as soon as you hit that point of no return, you¡¯re forfeiting yourself. What does another hour or two matter? You¡¯ll be sleepy regardless.


    And that¡¯s exactly the issue David had faced, hours ago. Unfortunately, he forgot a factor. Being productive beyond that point was impossible. The rate of spacing out compared to comprehension ran at 10:1. Short lapses in memory were frequent.


    Senioritis was a bitch. If only he¡¯d started studying before his week of final exams. He was convinced that procrastination was the bane of human beings.


    Sighing, David rubbed the blurriness out of his eyes and forced them back down to the textbook. ¡°Taking place from November 9?10, 1938, Kristallnacht was instrumental in the progression of Hitler¡¯s anti-semitic policies.¡±


    He paused to allow his weakened brain to memorize the information. Yes, dear old Kristallnacht. I remember it. Sort of.


    Before he could continue, some magical force of energy pulled his eyes to his bed. His plush, warm, comfortable bed¡­


    Startled, David shot up. He¡¯d fallen asleep again. Grimacing, he grabbed and downed a water bottle, then looked back down at the paragraph he was reading. Come on. Only twenty more pages.


    ¡°Also known as the Night of Broken Glass¡ª¡±


    ¡°Good morning.¡± His reading was interrupted by a voice. Annoyed, he turned around.


    ¡°Yes?¡± As his gaze settled onto the figure, David¡¯s mind steadily informed him that nobody should have been in his room at four o¡¯clock in the morning.


    The problem was, however, that the ¡®nobody¡¯ in question seemed to be right there, by his closet. A person¡ªno, that wasn¡¯t quite right. It looked almost like a human, but wasn¡¯t quite there.


    The rather masculine looking figure was dressed with light blue skin, very slim, and very tall. An almost uncomfortably form-fitting suit sat on its body.


    ¡°I believe greetings are in order. My name is Tritem Torfendus, also known as God Torfendus, Usurper, Demon-slayer, Bringer of Peace. Might I ask with whom I am speaking to?¡±


    David¡¯s brain took a while to process the words. ¡°David Cristler. Now if you¡¯ll excuse me, I need to get back to work.¡±


    Tritem seemed a little miffed at that. ¡°I apologize for the interruption, but what I need to say is of importance.¡±


    David sighed. He wouldn¡¯t get any work done while being nagged. ¡°Fine. Make it quick, oh-hallucination-of-mine.¡±


    Tritem continued, looking a little bemused. Or, as much as weird looking alien could. ¡°My thanks. This may come as a surprise to you, but other universes exist. They¡ª¡±


    ¡°Shocking,¡± he intervened.


    ¡°They are, in a loose sense, attached to one another.¡±


    ¡°And? Your point?¡±


    ¡°You do not need to know why, but my acquaintances and I have decided to gather beings from other universes.


    David¡¯s sleep-addled brain jumped to the most logical conclusion. ¡°And I was one of the chosen. Jesus, my mind really needs to come up with more original delusions,¡± he muttered. ¡°Okay then,¡± he spoke up, ¡°Answer this. Why me?¡±


    ¡°Choices are based on health, both physical and mental, in addition to age. Chance dictates the rest.¡±


    ¡°How convenient.¡±


    ¡°Indeed, one could call it convenient.¡±


    ¡°Uh huh. Sorry, but I¡¯ve got exams tomorrow¡ªor today, rather.¡± David turned back to his desk.


    ¡°I apologize for the misunderstanding. This was not a request.¡±


    Before David could offer a response, the blue creature stretched its arms out. Piercing gold light filled his vision, and he blacked out.


    ¡­


    The chatter of birds woke him. Opening his eyes, David was met with the yellow glow of dandelions. Still half-asleep, his mind took a while to process it.


    But a few seconds later, it clicked. His brain jump-started, and he shot up in confusion.


    Apparently, he¡¯d woken up in a meadow.


    He looked around. It continued ahead for a while before gradually transitioning into a forest. David turned around. The ground rose up into a strikingly symmetrical hill that stretched as far left and right as he could see.


    David was silent for a moment, recalling the night before. Either this is the craziest prank someone has ever played on me, or that alien guy was real. My ass hurts too. He thought, rubbing his sore behind.This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    Figuring he better find out what the hell was going on, David decided to climb the hill in order to see the surroundings better.


    He reached the summit, and the view took his breath away. The hill he was on was shaped into a ring, large enough that he couldn¡¯t exactly make out the other side. It wrapped around a downward sloping center, which eventually gave way to a huge, sprawling city. Past the side opposite of him was an ocean.


    The strangest thing, however, was the massive hole planted directly in the center of everything. It was enormous, dwarfing the civilization around it.


    David was speechless. He was sure there was nothing like it on Earth.


    At that moment, a gust of wind enveloped him, making his body feel oddly warm.


    As he recovered from the sensation, David noticed the state of the city¡ªeven from his distance, he was able to distinguish its ancient state. No signs of motor-powered vehicles or advanced technology.


    ¡°Well, that¡¯s some pretty damning evidence. But still, would a planet in a different universe really look this similar?¡± He was cautious about approaching an unknown city, but the incessant growling of his stomach was not to be ignored.


    With his mind set, David started walking. The slope seemed to taper off after a certain distance, which was where most of the civilization was. Still, it took an entire half hour before he reached its outskirts.


    It was huge. The perspective he had before didn¡¯t do it justice.


    Eventually, he found what looked to be a dirt road¡ªthere were a few people travelled to and from the gate, usually in groups. They were obviously human, but wore mostly brown rags. Nobody paid any attention to him.


    I guess I probably wasn¡¯t abducted. David said to himself. Although I¡¯m certainly handsome enough.


    He walked up to the road and called out to a middle-aged man riding a horse into the city. The man turned towards him and replied in what seemed to be complete gibberish. Yet, oddly, he could understand it. The feeling was incredibly disconcerting, like remembering something important, but at the same time, not.


    ¡°I¡¯m busy,¡± he seemed to say. ¡°Bother somebody else.¡± With that, the man turned and rode off.


    David stopped. Everything was getting weirder by the second. Somehow, a different language was being clearly translated¡ªWait. That¡¯s it! It must be that auto-translation thing I read about in every transmigration novel.


    But if that¡¯s the case, then why have I seen humans? There¡¯s no way an entirely different universe would have the same species. He shook his head. Whatever. EIther way, I¡¯m in an unfamiliar environment and need to survive until I can figure out what¡¯s going on.


    David followed the path to the city gates, where a couple of guards waved everyone through. They wore medieval-looking armor and were armed with vicious-looking spears.


    Inside was pandemonium. Street vendors were yelling to try and catch the attention of travelers, and people stood anywhere without care for others. But Daniel decided that the worst part was, by far, the smell.


    He tried not to cause a scene, because everyone else seemed used to it, but there were definitely a couple of times that he almost threw up.


    Then something else threw him for a loop. By the side of the road, involved in a conversation with a group of humans, was a lizard-man. It looked straight out of a fantasy book¡ªgreen skin, large, elongated snout.


    And as if that wasn¡¯t enough, the revelation drew his attention to other creatures. Winged, clawed, spider-ish things. There were a bunch of others that didn¡¯t look like anything David had seen before, but curiously, they were all bipeds.


    Unless this is the largest furry convention ever, I¡¯m not on Earth anymore. He frowned, pushing the thought aside. Let¡¯s not get caught up in that. I can think about it later.


    By following the crowd, David was able to get to a more open, pavilion-like area. A bunch of people seemed to be socializing, but it was significantly less crowded. Everything he had seen so far was constructed in the most confusing way possible, with asymmetrical roads and odd-looking houses.


    There were signs on some of the buildings that translated themselves in his mind. Blacksmith, barn, a variety of stores, inns, and others. Conveniently, the sun was beginning to set, so David knew where he had to go.


    He walked into the first half-decent inn he came across. It was rather small, with wooden tables and stools everywhere, and a staircase running up the back wall. The smell of liquor overpowered that of waste¡ªit wasn¡¯t pleasant, but he would take the smell of alcohol over shit any day.


    He went up to the bartender, a normal-looking middle-aged man. ¡°Hi. I¡¯d like a room for the night.¡±


    Looking up, the bartender responded, ¡°Ten coppers. Food included.¡±


    David didn¡¯t have money, but he¡¯d prepared for this. ¡°Actually, I was hoping to pay you back later, once I find a job. I¡¯ll get it tomorrow.¡± He added when he saw the incredulous look on the man¡¯s face.


    ¡°Do ya think I was born in the fuckin¡¯ hole? Get out before I get the stick.¡± David hesitated for a moment, and the bartender motioned threateningly toward a heavy-looking wooden bat behind the counter.


    Shutting the door closed behind him, David angrily muttered to himself. Someone has to be kind enough to trust me for a single night.


    But nobody was. He checked out as many as his nose could bear, but none spared him more than a minute. Maybe I¡¯ll just turn to prostitution, he thought.


    With nothing else to do, he found another inn. It looked pretty average, at least in terms of the shithole town he¡¯d found himself in.


    At the counter, to his surprise, wasn¡¯t a human. Rather, a catgirl was serving drinks to the growing number of customers. Gray cat ears blended with black hair.


    She turned to look at him, and frowned slightly. David realized he was still standing in the doorway with his mouth agape. Embarrassed, he turned away and shut the door, then walked over.


    ¡°Can I touch your ears?¡± He blurted out. Her frown sank deeper. ¡°I mean, uh, a room?¡± He blushed. I like catgirls, so fucking what? Everyone has fetishes.


    ¡°Eight coppers.¡± She responded normally, despite looking bemused.


    ¡°The thing is, well.¡± David cleared his throat. ¡°I need to find a job before I can pay. Please,¡± he insisted, recognizing her expression, ¡°I¡¯ll pay double. It¡¯s getting dark and I¡¯ve asked everywhere else.¡± Slight exaggeration.


    She thought for a moment, her tail floating into view. ¡°You can clean up and serve people, and I¡¯ll give you a single room for tonight.¡± But David barely heard her, his eyes fixated on her tail.


    She snapped her fingers to regain his attention. ¡°Do you have a problem with me, human?¡±


    ¡°No! Of course not. I¡¯ve just never seen someone like you before. So cute,¡± he said, before he could stop himself. ¡°I mean, cuticles. I better clean my cuticles.¡±


    Her mouth curved up slightly. ¡°You¡¯ve never seen a Kanagira? Have you been living under a tree for the last hundred years?¡± Shit, guess that wasn¡¯t a smart idea. Time to play the old amnesia card.


    He sighed in as sad a voice as he could muster. ¡°Well, you probably won¡¯t believe me, but truthfully, I woke up outside the city without any memories. I have no idea where or who I am.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right. I don¡¯t believe you. But I need to get back to work, and you need to start. We¡¯ll talk later.¡±

 Chapter 2

    The next few hours found David faithfully serving and cleaning up after some drunk guests. The entire process was rather uneventful, but it gave him time to think about what had happened.


    He knew he wasn¡¯t dreaming, and he knew he was on another world. Strngely, it had many of the same plants and animals that would be found on Earth. Maybe it was an alternate dimension?


    At that point, David didn¡¯t know what to think. On one hand, he could potentially live rich with knowledge of the modern world at his back. But everyone he knew¡ªeveryone he cared about¡ªthey were all gone. He knew the reality of it hadn¡¯t hit him yet.


    Before he knew it, everyone was either gone or too drunk to move. David finished cleaning a table and leaned against a wall.


    ¡°It looks like everyone¡¯s pretty much done now,¡± the catgirl said, talking in a more relaxed voice than before.


    ¡°Yeah,¡± he said, walking over to the counter. ¡°I¡¯m David, by the way.¡±


    ¡°Aurelia. Here.¡± She passed him a bowl of soup and some bread.


    Only then realizing how hungry he¡¯d been, David inhaled the food in seconds. ¡°Sorry about how I acted earlier. I was surprised.¡±


    Aurelia offered a bit of a smile. ¡°Nobody behaves like you do, and you seem honest. I believe that you lost your memories, it happens sometimes. Anyone who wanted to freeload would be gone as soon as I mentioned work.¡±


    ¡°Thanks. Anyway, I noticed a huge pit in the middle of the city. What is it?¡± He was hoping to learn anything he could about the world he found himself in.


    Aurelia laughed, then noticed his look of confusion. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ve just lived here for my entire life, so it¡¯s weird when someone doesn¡¯t know what it is. People call it The Hole, and the city lives off of it. It¡¯s why this place was settled in the first place.¡±


    ¡°The city lives off it? How?¡± David asked, incredulous.


    She nodded. ¡°It goes deeper than anyone knows, one of the seven wonders of the world. There are animals, some peaceful, and others deadly. There are more trees and plants than anyone knows what to do with.¡±


    ¡°That sounds beautiful. And crazy.¡±


    ¡°It is,¡± Aurelia continued. ¡°I¡¯ve only been once, just fifty feet down. Past there it gets dangerous. The most common and wealthiest jobs of the city involve going deeper. Exploring, mining, harvesting. But the death toll is really high.¡±


    Then she motioned toward a bottle of beer sitting on a shelf. As if gripped by an invisible hand, it floated over to the counter and landed softly.


    David¡¯s jaw hit the floor. ¡°What did you just do?¡±


    Aurelia frowned. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you¡¯re surprised by magic? It¡¯s common knowledge.¡±


    He laughed hollowly. ¡°Yeah. Maybe I¡¯m from a different world or something.¡± Sometimes the best lie is the truth. ¡°But is magic rare? I¡¯ve only seen you use it.¡±


    ¡°No, almost everyone has it. It¡¯s just considered dangerous to use in public. And illegal. Imagine the sort of destruction if someone was showing off their fireball.¡±


    David nodded, but his eyes were once again drawn to her ears. Shaking his head, he chastised himself. No. Don¡¯t ruin the one friendship you¡¯ve made.


    But then she tilted her head toward him. ¡°Go ahead. I don¡¯t know why you¡¯re so fixated on them.¡±


    Eyes widening, David reached up and rubbed her soft ears. The sensation was even better than he could have imagined. After a few seconds Aurelia pulled away, much to his dismay. Her face was a little red.


    ¡°Your room is upstairs, the third door to the left.¡± She took out a key and gave it to him.


    ¡°Okay. Thanks. Again.¡± He made his way up the stairs and to his room.


    It was tiny. The only things there were a bed and cabinet. He took his shirt off, only then noticing its make.


    His clothing was nondescript¡ªbrown and plain. Yet it was comfortable enough for his modern taste not to notice. Interesting. David collapsed onto the bed and passed out.


    ¡­


    He woke with a start, confused at the room he was in. But then his memory booted up. Everything was real. He was actually in a different world.


    It hit him then. The realization that he¡¯d never see his friends or fam¡ªwell, fuck his family. But he¡¯d miss everything else. Although, AP exams were certainly a bitch.


    David sat on his bed, brooding, for a few minutes. Eventually, he decided to get on with his day. There was magic here. Actual magic. The prospect was actually a little exciting.


    It was quiet downstairs. A few people were eating breakfast, but the room was pretty much empty. Aurelia was serving breakfast at the counter.If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Hey,¡± he said, walking up to her.


    She looked up and passed him a plate of what looked like meat and bread. ¡°Good morning.¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s this for?¡± Still, David started eating. He wasn¡¯t about to give up free food.


    ¡°Breakfast is included with a room.¡±


    He nodded, too busy eating to respond. The food didn¡¯t taste amazing to his modern taste buds, but it was still better than he would¡¯ve expected.


    His hunger led to him to finish it in less than a minute. ¡°I¡¯m thinking of going out to get a job. I¡¯ll be back tonight if I make any money.¡±


    ¡°Kozan gets bigger and wealthier closer to the hole. It¡¯d probably be easier to find one there.¡±


    Kozan is probably the city¡¯s name. David stood up. ¡°Well, I¡¯d better be off. Thanks again.¡± He waved goodbye and walked out of the inn.


    The omnipresent stench immediately assaulted his nose, and he had to brace himself. It took quite a bit of willpower to not run back inside.


    After quite a bit of traveling and getting lost, David saw that the houses were gradually becoming larger and nicer, and the smell was even getting a bit better.


    The first up-close sight he had of The Hole took his breath away. It was surrounded by a stone wall a few feet high, but his position let him look over it.


    It was so big that he could barely see the other side¡ªwhich was amazing, considering that the human eye can see for miles if there are no obstacles. The inside was a sheer rock face¡ªhe didn¡¯t have the angle to see further down.


    There were frequently-placed stone buildings at positions around it, and groups of people in line. They were probably waiting for some kind of mechanism that would lower them.


    The area around it was pretty open, with a bunch of merchants and heavily-armed groups of people standing around. Their weapons were pretty interesting, going from normal swords to huge serrated daggers and magical staffs.


    David thought that it was particularly interesting to see the diversity of the groups. Humans blended with many other species seemingly equally. He didn¡¯t know anything about the history here, but humans were inherently greedy, control-hungry creatures. There must be some kind of story behind it.


    The groups seemed to be actively recruiting; it was probably a hotspot for those who were going into The Hole.


    David quickly noticed a pattern. Most groups had five or six people. That was probably the ideal range for what they were doing. So he needed to find one with less, and hopefully one that wasn¡¯t going too deep. He didn¡¯t want to die the day after being transported to a different world. Most of them probably had qualifications he wasn¡¯t going to meet, but he needed to start somewhere.


    The first one he approached had three members. He went to the person who seemed in charge, a large middle-aged man wearing silver armor. David was surprised to see that he dwarfed his own six-foot-two.


    ¡°Hi,¡± he started. ¡°Are you in need of another member for your group?¡±


    The man, who¡¯d been staring at a notebook in his hand, looked up and scrutinized David. ¡°What kind of magical and physical experience do you have?¡±


    There it was. ¡°None, actually. But¡ª¡±


    ¡°The harvesters are over there,¡± the man interrupted, pointing to another section of the ground.


    ¡°Okay,¡± David said. He¡¯d expected this. ¡°Thanks.¡± He walked in the direction that the man had pointed in, and there was a noticeable difference in the people gathered. They seemed younger, with poorer gear and weapons.


    He went up to a group, one with four members, and repeated his question. A man that looked a couple of years older than David stepped forward.


    ¡°Yes, you can join. We¡¯re only going to the first layer.¡± Seeing him nod, the man continued. ¡°We¡¯ll function as a team to kill any larger beasts and find more valuable plants. If you don¡¯t carry your weight, you¡¯ll be kicked out. At the end of the day, we¡¯ll split up the loot.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good.¡± David turned to look at the other members. They were all human, which seemed to be the predominant race in Kozan. A black-haired teenage girl, younger than him. Besides the leader, there were two other males, who were also teenagers. Brown and black hair, which seemed to be the most common color.


    ¡°This is Tabitha,¡± the man said, pointing toward the girl, ¡°and they¡¯re Nathaniel and Daryl.¡± He motioned toward the brown and black-haired kids, respectively. ¡°I¡¯m Forst,¡± he finished.


    ¡°Cool.¡± He waved toward them, but they all seemed confused at the gesture. ¡°I¡¯m David.¡±


    ¡°Alright. I¡¯d say five is enough for today.¡± Forst motioned them to follow and started leading them to the closest building near The Hole. That was pretty simple, although I guess most people do this every day, David thought. It makes sense that they want to be efficient.


    The building was relatively small and plain looking, and a few guards stood in front of it. Forst walked up and handed one of them around five copper coins. He¡¯ll probably take enough out of what we get to cover the cost.


    The guards waved them through, and their group stepped inside. It was not what he was expecting. There was a hole in the middle of the floor, and and a large box hung by a cable over it. It was connected to a huge metal spool.


    The thing was a medieval elevator. You can¡¯t be serious. This thing can¡¯t be safe. But everyone else quickly hopped inside, causing the contraption to swing a bit. David was never afraid of heights, but the thing had to violate some safety regulations.


    ¡°Come on, David,¡± the brown-haired kid said impatiently. Nathaniel was his name. ¡°We haven¡¯t got all day.¡± Looking up, David realized that everyone was waiting. It probably wasn¡¯t in his best interest to tell them this was his first time.


    Taking a deep breath, David hopped across the bottomless hole, landing in the elevator as nonchalantly as he could. It was rather spacious, and easily held the five of them.


    One of the guards slammed the door closed, then slapped the wall. A bright circle lit up, and the elevator started moving. Magic, David realized. It looks like they have some kind of enchantment. Makes sense.


    The elevator was barred, providing the clearest view he¡¯d ever had of The Hole.


    It was beautiful. The rock face was jagged but pretty much vertical. Ledges of grass, which were actually hundreds of feet large, gave rise to huge forests. Some kind of fog restricted his field of view to a depth of about a half mile.


    Then he felt something. Something unlike anything he¡¯d experienced before. It was as if The Hole itself was trying to call out to him, as if it yearned for him. A deep connection formed¡ªit desired him, and wanted him to reciprocate.


    The intense feeling broke as Forst started speaking. ¡°We¡¯ll be going to one of the larger forests close to the first stop. Make sure to stick together.¡±


    David frowned, but given everything that had already happened, wasn¡¯t very surprised. Probably happens to everyone the first time.