《Against the World. Chronicles of melancholy》


 Chapter 1

    It was a rather chilly friday night on the outskirts of London. Only a single man could be seen walking the streets of this rather quiet neighbourhood. A man with the height of a hundred and ninety centimeters and with shoulder length blonde hair. His physique unknown due to the thick layer of clothes and a scarf around half his face, in a rather poor attempt to stop the freezing gusts of wind from attacking his skin. One thing in this man, however, would immediately catch one¡¯s eye, his bright, glowing amber eyes with a hint of bright green swirls.


    Before long the man stopped in front of an ordinary two story high building, rummaging through his pants and coat. Taking out his key the man slowly inserted it in the keyhole and unlocked the door, stepping inside his home.


    ¡°*Sigh*, another day in the live aye?¡±, exclaimed the man as he put away his coat, revealing an athletic and muscular, yet lean physique, as if he was a sprinter. He slumped down on the soft sofa, opened his laptop and played his playlist. ¡°I guess I¡¯ll just chill and perhaps take a little nap until Mark comes to pick me up.¡±


    This was Tyler Roblin, 20 years old man who has practically lived only 2 years, due to a severe case of amnesia. Tyler doesn¡¯t remember a single think of his first 18 years of life. A rather apathetic young man with, as some might say, great intellect and powerful brain power, but absolutely undriven and unambitious. He¡¯d on numerous occasions sum up his life as boring and unchanging. The only thing driving him forward was his twisted and dark sense of humour. Besides he was the type of person to always go with the flow. Accepting whatever happens as it is. ¡°There¡¯s no point in trying to make plans for the future, when you don¡¯t know if you will even have a future¡±, is what he always says.


    *Yaawn*. ¡° I guess I really should take a nap before he¡¯s here. ¡°, not even five minutes later, Tyler was already asleep and the only noise on the room was that of his playlist. A lazy and undriven person who loves to sleep prefers to listen to darker aggressive rap/hip-hop music. A strange person indeed.


    The nap slowly turned in a full-fledged sleep as a couple of hours went by without Mark coming by to wake him up. Finally on the third hour of his beauty sleep, Tyler stirred awake as he slowly stretched with contentment, ¡°nothing beats some good ol¡¯ sleep.¡±, his eyes slowly trace the wall of his room as they land on the wall clock, sternly inspecting it for a couple of seconds.


    ¡°That¡¯s really strange, Mark is never and I mean NEVER late for.. Anything. Hmm.. Let¡¯s check up on him¡±, slowly getting up from the sofa, Tyler began to slowly walk towards his coat were he had forgotten his phone. Upon reaching the coat his irises contracted a slight amount as Tyler suddenly jumped back and rolled away from the front door, which was located right next to his coat stand. It must be noted Tyler has, unknowingly somehow, developed something akin to a sixth sense, his hairs stands up and irises contract when his very being feels threatened. On top of that he had always known, as far as he could remember, how to fight, both with guns, bare handed and with knives.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    Surely enough, not even a second later his front door gets smashed, wooden splinters flying everywhere as two masked men carrying guns step inside the house. Unfortunately for them, they¡¯ve landed on the wrong house of the neighbourhood. Before they can even take a look at the interior of the house each of them gets a small dart to the neck.


    ¡°Hello boys, meet my self-made fast working sleep poison, I wish you never seen before nightmares¡±, a cheerful Tyler said as the two men collapsed on the ground instantly. ¡°Huh, maybe fast working is a bit of an understatement, it¡¯s the first time I am trying it on humans though. I don¡¯t even want to imagine the headache they¡¯ll be having when they wake up, perhaps it¡¯d be a show of mercy to kill them on the spot..¡±


    Well boredom does make people a bit insane doesn¡¯t it? Who would¡¯ve thought that this 20 year old, seemingly harmless young man would play around and invent different poisons. With a tiny shrug Tyler walked up to the two unconscious men so he could take away their guns and restrain them for some good old styled intergotiation.


    Something wasn¡¯t right, a bad feeling assaulting him. Stiffening a little while he put all his focus on the surroundings, trying to figure out what¡¯s triggering his senses. After waiting for a couple of minutes without moving a single muscle in his body, Tyler finally visibly relaxed. Are my senses playing a joke on me? I can¡¯t seem to sense anything else except this foreboding feeling. I must be tired..


    Having come to terms with himself that it was just his tiredness, Tyler bent down in order to collect the fire arms when suddenly wooden splinters hit and cut him all over his legs. A hand had punctured a hole in the floor and grabbed his ankle.


    ¡°What the..?¡±, with a sudden jerk, the hand pulled him downwards through the hole. Tyler instantly lost vision as everything around him became completely dark, his senses dulled as his body went in a free-falling mode. The weightlessness feeling eerily good and enchanting.


    What on Earth is going on? Did I just get pulled through the ground by a green hand? Has Satan finally demanded my transportation to hell.. I mean.. I might have been a dick at some times.. I might have had dark thoughts here and there, but was that enough to send him to hell?


    And why does this.. Freefall feel so strange and relaxing? As if I am floating in water.. Without the water. A feeling that cannot be descri-


    With a sudden thud Tyler¡¯s body met with sweet cold ground. ¡°Ah fuck..¡±, he massaged his butt with a pained groan and a grumpy face. ¡°That definitely was not the landing for such a long-time free fall.. Honestly I should¡¯ve already died from the air pressure¡­ What is this place now?¡±


    Quickly looking around Tyler found himself in an enclosed circular space. Perfectly flat and polished metal surface that reflected everything like water and a caveish wall all around him. The cave walls were adorned with torches burning an eerie dim blue flames. There was no exit in sight whatsoever.


    ¡°CONTENDER NUMBER 2014924523, I WHOLEHEARTEDLY WELCOME YOU TO OUR LITTLE GAME. I WISH YOU THE BEST OF LUCK ON THE CHALLENGES TO COME, FOR YOU WILL MOST LIKELY NEED IT.¡±


    A thunderous voice that made the very room around him shake spoke with a serious, yet a bit cheery tone. Tyler looked dumbfounded at a nonexistent dot on the wall, his brain unable to comprehend what exactly just happened. After a couple of seconds of unresponsive staring his eyes widened slightly and his lips moved, ¡°Wait wait, what? Who .. no where are you!? What¡¯s this pla-¡±


    ¡°NO TIME FOR CHIT CHAT CONTENDER. WE SHALL TALK IF YOU SURVIVE, HAHAHA¡±


    ¡°LET THE TRAILS FOR ENTERING THE GAME BEGIN!¡±

 Chapter 2

    Riiiiight.. Okay.. what¡¯s that supposed to mean? What damned trails and what damned game? Honestly, I should sleep more.. I bet this is a nightmare caused by my sleep deprivation. I mean I only sleep like 13-14 hours a days, surely that¡¯s not enough!


    A deep rumbling noise cut right through Tyler¡¯s inner musings as the cave wall split in half. After some really long seconds of torturous screeching and ear bursting sounds the noise finally quieted down, a two by two meter wide hole had formed in the wall right in front of his eyes.


    Ears still ringing and senses disorientated from the loud noise, Tyler fell down to his knees.


    Holy cave walls, that was louder than a magnum 500.. And that speaks a lot, believe me. Now what on earth is this hole? An escape from this stupid dream perhaps? Waking up in my oh so soft sofa sounds quite pleasant, wouldn¡¯t say no! Let¡¯s go.


    Just as Tyler straightened up and was about to take the first step towards his desired escape a man stepped out of the hole, confusing and surprising Tyler quite a bit.


    What.. on the? Why is this dude naked?


    ¡°Oi mate? What the fuck? What are you doing in my sleep? I¡¯d rather had a naked chick, you stupid brain of mine!¡±


    Too preoccupied with his thoughts Tyler did not notice the man fasten his pace until he was practically charging at him with a sprinter¡¯s grace! In the span of a second the man was already in front of Tyler, swinging his fist with mighty momentum bend on caving Tyler¡¯s skull in.


    His instincts kicking in, Tyler was just barely able to get his guard up before the kick landed with a massive force, causing him to lose balance and lifting him off his feet, sending him sprawling to the ground.


    What. The. Fuck was that? That bitch struck like a 50 BMG bullet on a bullet proof vest, Jesus. And.. the pain.. It was definitely real? I thought you couldn¡¯t feel pain in dreams?


    Tyler laid on the ground, left hand bruised and stinging from the punch received, while the naked attacker started to walk towards him yet again. Not having enough time to get up on his feet, Tyler decided to go in a brazilian jiu jitsu guard, waiting for his opponent¡¯s advance. As the naked man neared him, Tyler¡¯s leg snaked around his ankle whilst with his other foot Tyler pushed the man¡¯s quad backwards, causing him to fall down on his back.


    Without waiting for a cue Tyler jumped a full mount on his opponent and started barraging him with his fists and elbows. It took only a couple of seconds before the man¡¯s guard crumbled and fell unconscious, his face a mess.


    God, was his face fucking hard. What the actual fuck is going on here? This definitely feels real.. I¡¯ve heard of people actually smelling stuff in their dreams, but.. The smell of iron from the blood, it¡¯s too real..


    The unconscious body suddenly started disintegrating under Tyler¡¯s mount, causing him to jump back with a surprised face. ¡°Okaaay¡­ what?¡± , not a second later a low growling vibrated throughout the cave, it¡¯s source a glowing pair of eyes hidden in the hole of the cave wall.


    Oh great.. Now what? Eyes widening as a german german shepherd with ominous glowing red eyes jumped out of the hole. You are kidding m- What? Seemingly out of nowhere Tyler felt a weight press down on his right hand. Upon moving his eyes downwards he found himself tightly gripping a basic dagger.


    Metallic glint, a 20 cm long blade with a normal wooden handle lacking any sort of decoration. Did I have this dagger with me from the start or..? Not waiting any longer, the dog sprinted at his baffled opponent with opened jaw, revealing a row of sharpened long teeth, wet from the saliva that was being thrown everywhere. The dog ended his sprint with a jump bite, aimed at Tyler¡¯s shoulder.


    Putting a his left foot in front of his right with a practiced grace, he easily avoided the mad dash, as he now found himself staring at the back of the landing dog. ¡°Now, now doggo, I am kind of against animal abuse.. So can we not?¡±, his plea found only deaf ears as the dog turned around to face him once again, a crazed mad look in his red eyes. A growl his only answer.


    ¡°..I guess that¡¯s a no.. Oh well, I never really stay true to my words hah¡± Crouching down, concentrating his senses on his thighs and calves, Tyler exploded with momentum as he lunged at the growling dog, plunging his dagger right through the animal¡¯s left eye, all the way through until the blade poked a hole on the back of the dog¡¯s head.


    ¡°The Special Force¡¯s training does have its merits after all, huh.¡±, he continued staring at the body of the dog, as it slowly started disintegrating just like the man had. As if it¡¯s atoms were slowly being pulled apart in a show of blue and yellow light particles. Soon enough the dog was completely gone.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    Damn not even it¡¯s blood remained on the dag¡­ Wait? The dagger is gone as well? Okay, this is starting to get creepy.. I mean, I try not to think too much about this situation.. But what if it really isn¡¯t a dream? That would be kind of exciting in a.. Really strange and fucked up way, but exciting nonetheless!


    If this is real it might finally bring some change in my stale life. It¡¯s been the same things over and over again for the past year. It is really mentally exhausting if I am to be honest, even if I don¡¯t really physically show it.


    A tiny movement in the corner of his eyes cut his monologue of his existential crisis short. As he refocused his sight on the movement, his jaw slightly opened as his eyes widened. ¡°Oh no you didn¡¯t!¡± , deadly 5 cm long claws, twice as long and at least 3-4 cm thick pearl white fangs and of course red glowing eyes staring right at him. There was a massive 2,5 m long tiger at the entrance to his enclosed room, weighing at least at 400 kilos. An apex predator, a ture killing machine.


    ¡°You are joking right? At least give me a damned weapon!¡± as if waiting for this very stating Tyler suddenly found himself gripping a european styled short sword with his right hand and a medium sized circular wooden shield with iron reinforcements in his left. ¡°Huh, thanks! That¡¯s definitely going to help against arguably the best predator on Earth! 400 kgs of muscles, claws and fangs! How¡¯s that supposed to help you dickhead?¡±


    Oblivious to his plight, the tiger had different intentions as a deep powerful roar sounded from deep within it¡¯s chest. The sound so thick and strong that it caused a slight earthquake effect.


    ¡°Does this thing have a subwoofer installed in it¡¯s chest!? What the fu-¡±


    *ROOOAAAAAAR*


    This time the huge cat roared in full force as the very room shook, completely getting Tyler¡¯s guard down as he tried to cover his ears up. As if making an intelligent observation the tiger denounced this as the best time to make it¡¯s move.


    A huge half claw half paw was sent flying straight to Tyler, causing him to hastily bring his shield up in a pitiful attempt to block. Eyes widening as the shield couldn¡¯t quite take the massive cat¡¯s onslaught and simply crumbled beneath the weight of the swing, sending him rolling to the ground like a sack of potatoes.


    There is, however, no rest for the wicked as the Tiger followed through by pumping blood in it¡¯s powerful hind legs and lunging towards the still confused Tyler. The wild cat landed right on top of his body, bringing it¡¯s massive maw in an attempt to clasp it¡¯s razor sharp teeth around his neck and end the fight. Quick thinking, or more likely, his instincts are the only thing that saved his life, as Tyler put the sword between himself and the opened mouth of horrors, just barely stopping the teeth from sinking into his flesh.


    Seeing that it¡¯s attack was successfully stopped the Tiger swang it¡¯s massive paw at Tyler¡¯s right side abdomen, taking a huge chunk of skin and flesh with it. The sudden pain causing Tyler to grunt and grit his teeth in pain, fortunately the adrenaline keeping it to a minimum for now.


    Thanks to the sudden jolt of pain, Tyler¡¯s mind finally came to the present and panic slowly settled onto his very being. He started throwing everything he could think of with his left, free hand. From jabs, to punches at the side of the tiger¡¯s head and nose, even trying to poke it¡¯s eyes out with his fingers, alas with no success.


    Having had enough of playing around the Tiger made another swing at the same spot, this time the jolt of pain that ran through his body was at least twice as strong. He definitely had at least one broken rib at this time, if he was lucky.


    Fucking hell I can think of only one way to escape this predicament. And I really, really don¡¯t like it. His thoughts were swimming, the gears in his brain turning at impossible speeds, trying to figure out a way out of this situation. No matter how much he thought about it, though only a single solution kept popping in his mind. And when he finally saw the tiger preparing to launch a third swing, he grit his teeth with as much strength as he could muster and decided to act.


    Fuck you, you stupid cat. Suddenly removing his sword out of it¡¯s mouth, surprising the tiger with his actions and giving him enough time to put his left, free hand inside the maw of razor sharp teeth. The tiger, not thinking much of the foolish human¡¯s actions clamped his jaw around the hand with a sickening crunch as Tyler screamed with all his might, shoving the sword straight through the windpipe of the giant cat.


    The cat¡¯s body instantly going limp as it collapsed on top of his body, causing a massive grunt as it put pressure on his abdominal wound. Now being completely immobilized from the weight of the cat, Tyler could only wait in silent agony as he waited for the body to slowly disintegrate, just like it¡¯s predecessors.


    After five or so minutes, which Tyler perceived as an eternity the body was finally gone and with it, his wounds suddenly healed back to normal.


    Okay, that was definitely real, real pain real fight. I was actually about to die. What the heck is going on here? What exactly are these trails and for what?


    Having no answer for any of his questions and nothing better to do, Tyler simply waited to see what happens next, denouncing it as the best course of action for now.


    Tyler was currently swimming in his own thoughts when suddenly the same imposing, powerful voice boomed throughout, causing his very bones to tremble from the vibration.


    ¡°GOOD, GOOD! YOU SURPRISE ME HUMAN! TRULY INTERESTING HAHAHA. CONGRATULATIONS ON COMPLETING THE FIRST PART OF THE TRAILS! DO NOT CELEBRATE YET THOUGH! AS THE SECOND, HARDER PART IS YET TO COME! THIS TIME YOU WILL NOT BE FIGHTING CREATURES FROM YOUR HOME WORLD THOUGH! SO YOU BEST PREPARE FOR THE UNKNOWN, BECAUSE LIKE IT OR NOT IT¡¯S IS COMING!


    ENTERTAIN ME FURTHER AND YOU MIGHT JUST LIVE ANOTHER DAY! HAHAHA¡±


    ¡­.


    ¡­.


    Well fuck.

 Chapter 3

    This is definitely not a good thing. Definitely, definitely¡­ If when I was given a sword and a shield I had to face a tiger, a top predator, I don¡¯t even want to begin to imagine what I would face next based on the huuuuge rack full of weapons that just spawned.


    Should I just accept my fate? I am fucked aren¡¯t I? And what is not from your world supposed to mean? Is this a movie? Is my life simply a subconscious dream of a teenager? Or am I a mindless character in a fantasy novel? So many questions and only one sure thing, I am going to be fighting something horrific soon.


    It is what it is in the end, isn¡¯t it? Better to just accept the facts and at least pick some weapons. Let¡¯s see now.


    A huge rack laid sprawled right in front of Tyler. All kinds of fantasy weapons to choose from. Next to the rack were 3 armour stands with 3 different types of armours. The first one from left to right was what Tyler presumed to be the heavy armour. A full plated medieval knigtish looking armor with barely any openings. Next to it was a leather armour, with some under cloth. The right-most barely qualified as an armour. It was basically a robe with just some minor leather protection around the midsection and groin.


    The weapons themselves ranged from a simple knife to some real fantasy bullshit. Tyler continued his inner musing on whether he really wasn¡¯t a character in a fantasy movie or novel as he stared at a huge 2 meter long bladed half sword half axe hybrid.


    How is that a viable weapon!? Is it even possible to lift this thing? It must weight over a hundred kilos if the blade is metal.. Right, whatever, let¡¯s focus on myself. Basically I am forced to fight, doesn¡¯t matter if I like it or not. So I am at least going to do it properly. What style would best suit me, hmmm.


    I guess I have always been a more offensive type of person. Something that will help me keep a fight in my control, plus I want maneuverability. Something that hits hard, but not too hard, I¡¯d prefer to have quite a bit of speed and agility in a fight.


    Suddenly his eyes landed exactly on what he wanted. The perfect weapon that represents his fighting style - a spear with a curved twenty cmr long blade at the end. The shaft was a white wood material with black carved lines spirling all around it. Eyes sparkling, Tyler slowly grabbed the weapon and felt the shaft. Cold to the touch of his skin, the wood of the shaft felt strangely accepting and comforting, as if all his worries would wash away, stopped dead in their path by a single thrust of this beautiful spear.


    Why does it feel so familiar, so friendly? Like I have just found a lost friend, or as if I am just remembering something that I have forgotten for years! No matter the reason, I like the feeling!


    Quite pleased with his choice Tyler did some basic swings and thrusts with the spear, figuring out the weight and reach. After a couple of minutes of playing with the spear, a strange empty feeling started to make itself apparent. First slowly, then as time ticked by it continued growing stronger and stronger. Currently it was at the brink of being painful. Absolutely baffled by what is going on, Tyler simply grit his teeth and tried to think. Was it perhaps the wound from the tiger playing games on him? Probably not, it was completely healed, just like his arm.. It doesn¡¯t make sense for it  to start hurting. Besides the feeling was not one of physical pain.. It was more spiritual, an empty feeling, just like the feeling of losing someone really close to you.


    A wave of sadness and mental agony assaulted him as he started to silently cry.


    This pain.. This feeling of not being full.. Of missing something. Is it perhaps..


    Slowly getting up on his feet, while his whole body was trembling, Tyler started to slowly walk towards the weapon rack once again. The conclusion he came to was that the feeling of emptiness was, perhaps, because he actually wasn¡¯t completed yet. What if he needed another weapon or shield, not only the spear.


    On the surface it seemed like a completely stupid deduction, made by a madman, however, it was the only thing that he could come up with under the pain.


    After an agonizing couple of minutes of thinking, Tyler finally chose what his second arm would be.  Judging by the past experience with the shield and how poorly it actually performed, he decided to pick a second weapon. Yes, perhaps the shield collapsed because he was inexperienced and couldn¡¯t use it properly, however, Tyler was not risking it again.


    Besides, the best defensive is a great offensive, right?


    Picking up his second weapon, Tyler slowly brought it in front of his face, to closely inspect it. It was a short sword, with a basic brownish leathery grip with a metal spike looking pommel. The guard and the blade itself were completely black in colour, with a faint wave-like pattern of dark purples and yellows flowing through them like little streams of water.


    Tyler found himself staring like a braindead zombie at the sword for a couple of seconds, forgetting to even breathe.


    ¡°Absolutely beautiful¡±, following the exclamation the pain and pressure he felt thus far lifted itself off of his shoulders, making him smile a bit and sigh with relief.


    So it really was that, huh. Was that the being that spoke to me earlier? Trying to make me subconsciously pick another weapon? Is it a trap or is he trying to help me? Or was that actually my subconsciousness , my very being making itself heard?Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.


    Arghhh I don¡¯t know anymore! The questions keep piling up! Whatever, I will find an answer when the time comes, if I even live long enough to seek any answers..


    Right now, I cannot let my mind wander. I can feel it, a faint numbing sense of danger. My next opponents are coming.


    And so they did.


    A humanoid dark figure stepped out of the wall-hole. A tall, around 1.90 meters, slender figure with dark, almost black skin covered with fur. Lithe and strong muscles coiling around it¡¯s bones like snakes, the figure was not bulky, yet the explosiveness and tension of it¡¯s muscles could be felt by just a single glance.


    The thing had two long dark purple-ish horns protruding it¡¯s forehead, going straight upwards. It had red glowing eyes with which I can swear it stares right through my soul. It doesn¡¯t appear that it has any weapons on it, however, it does have large, really deadly looking claws. It¡¯d rather not get hit by those.


    What is strange, is that even though I am currently faced in a life and death battle against an.. I don¡¯t know a fantasy alien looking motherfucker I feel somehow calm and.. Even a bit of anticipation. These weapons.. I feel free.. As if my body is water, an unstoppable force that can go through anything and evade everything.


    With this strange feeling slowly encompassing my whole body I feel a small smile draw across my face as I step forward, towards my opponent.


    There is no place for hesitation, no place for mistakes, let these feelings guide you, you are water, you cannot be stopped.


    And with this little matra I let go of all my worries and indulged myself in the thrill of a death battle as my spear met with the monster¡¯s claws in a storm of sparks and ringing ears.


    Trying to keep my distance and controlling my enemy, I try to grasp my foe¡¯s strength with some light jabs at different vital spots on its body. It seems it has good reactions as it blocked all my strikes with a single hand, not stopping or fretting for even a second. As expected, it wouldn¡¯t be as easy as the previous challenges, this enemy has at least some measure of intelligence, as it seems it is studying me as well.


    Well, let¡¯s try changing to tempo a bit. Taking a step back, I pull my spear back and immediately follow with an overhead spear slash, putting almost all of my strength in the strike.


    Meanwhile I prepare my left hand, gripping the sword tightly, waiting for the exact moment the creature tries to block my attack, so I can stab it. Unfortunately it seems like it saw through my plan as it didn¡¯t try to block my attack this time, it simply used it¡¯s left hand to slightly deflect it out of its trajectory, making it completely miss, while using it¡¯s right hand claw to block my sword thrust.


    Damn, it really isn¡¯t going to be easy is it. I jump backwards and try to straighten my posture, however, I am left with little to no time as the creature jumps right after me, claws raised for a slash.


    I try to parry and block the fury of attacks as best as I can with my sword, however, my defenses are lacking. I am simply not skilled enough to block both claws with only one sword, my right hand still gripping tightly the spear, even tho at this range it¡¯s basically a hindrance, something in the back of my head stops me from dropping it.


    Soon I my hands and shoulders were riddled with small cuts as I somehow manage to slither around most of the attacks that came through my sword-defence. The thing is that my hand is slowly starting to get numb, this thing packs quite the punch. I don¡¯t think I will manage to continue blocking and parrying for much longer, I need a plan.


    It should be easy right¡­ I am water after all. Block, evade, spin, parry and strike. The combination suddenly sparked in my mind out of nowhere. There isn¡¯t much to be lost right, only my life haha.. Right, let¡¯s try it!


    Squinting my eyes I sternly observe the way it strikes, how it brings it¡¯s claws back, the mad fury in its eyes, the barred teeth, the bloodthirsty look it gives me, I engraved everything in my mind. Tensing my muscles, my body goes in overdrive, adrenaline pumping like it never had before. The sounds from the clashes dies down and everything slows down.


    This is the moment, I wait with anticipation as the creature¡¯s claw nears my sword, the moment it touches I spring into action. Blocking the strike, I weave to the right as it¡¯s left claw nears my face, evading it by a hair¡¯s length, following with a complete 360 spin on my right heel. Using all the strength of my thighs and core, I grip my spear and thrust forward with all my might as I yet again block another strike with my sword.


    The creature being completely caught off-guard by the sudden movement could only stare with a slightly slacked jaw as my spear splits the air with a faint hum and meets it¡¯s midsection. The spear went completely through, coming out of the back side of its body.


    The confused creature slowly disappeared in numerous motes of light as I fell down to my knees with an unnaturally heavy panting. Nothing like this had ever happened before. This strange sensation in my body, this.. Uncanny calmness during the fight. It all felt extremely foreign, like it wasn¡¯t part of me. Even the movements.. The water like fluidness that my body moved with it, it all felt as if something outside of my consciousness had an influence over my body, but at the same time strangely familiar and pleasant. It was a strange experience for a lack of better words.


    HA HA HA, CONGRATULATIONS YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY PASSED THE TRAIL! WHAT A DAMN SURPRISE HA HA, IF I HAD KNOWN YOU WERE A NATURAL I WOULD¡¯VE GIVEN YOU A HARDER TRIAL! BAH, ALL IS PAST NOW THOUGH, BUT TO THINK THAT THIS OLD FOOL WOULD GET TO OVERLOOK AND SPECTATE NOT ONLY ONE, BUT TWO NATURALS!


    TRULY WONDERFUL CREATURES, YOU HUMANS!


    The booming voice of this.. Whatever he is, cut through my train of thought and his words bombarded my mind with even more answerless questions. I am a Natural? What does that even mean? Only one way to find out right?


    HA HA DON¡¯T FRET OVER IT BOY. MY ROLE IS TO INTRODUCE YOU TO THE SYSTEM AND ITS MECHANISMS. FROM THERE ONWARDS I AM SIMPLY A SPECTATOR WHOSE ONLY PURPOSE IS TO RECORD WHAT HAPPENS. YOU WILL GET YOUR ANSWERS WITH TIME, IF YOU SURVIVE LONG ENOUGH, OF COURSE, HA HA HA!


    That was a rather rude interruption of my thoughts.. Again, wait. Does that mean that he can read my mind? That¡¯s not good, is it?


    NOT QUITE, BUT CLOSE ENOUGH, YOUNG ONE. ENOUGH CHIT-CHATTING THOUGH. LET US GET STARTED! YOU ARE THE LAST ONE OF YOUR BATCH AND I DON¡¯T HAVE ALL DAY HA HA!


    Thus darkness started to slowly creep it¡¯s way around my vision, slowly encompassing it, until I could only see pure black. Then I start to slowly feel my consciousness slip away. Trying my best to overcome the ever powerful feeling of sleepiness I fail miserably and soon enough sweet unconsciousness befalls me..

 Chapter 4

    Darkness again. What I am currently feeling can only be described as a sleep paralysis. I am pretty certain that I am conscious, however, I cannot move my body one bit. This state is becoming a recurrence too fast for comfort, I¡¯d much rather be completely awake and conscious.


    It soon felt like a couple of hours had gone by and I am slowly becoming anxious. Every normal human would be slowly, but surely eaten away by anxiety in this situation. Believe me, it is incredibly uncomfortable to have only your thoughts and not your body. At least I feel like I can think clearly than usual when my brain isn¡¯t unconsciously occupied with looking after my body¡¯s different kinds of systems that keep a human alive.


    It¡¯s a win! A small one, but a win nonetheless. It has helped me carefully think through everything that happened. And for the sake of my well being, no matter how absurd and ridiculous it seems, I am taking everything that happened as a reality and not as some real dream.


    I mean yes, it does sound quite strange and well fantasy-like, however, it is not entirely impossible. Nothing is. With how much we know about the universe as a whole, I wouldn¡¯t put anything in the section impossible.


    What I got from my brainstorming session is the following. Judging from the way the Voice spoke, apparently I am being, well transported I guess, to some kind of a game or competition? And these trails that I was put through detern if I am apt to participate. And then judging from the trails this particular competition is not going to be friendly or safe.


    Then there was disconnected state I fell under when I used the weapons to fight against the last trail, it felt like it was me, but not me. There definitely was some kind of outside influence, which is disconcerning. I¡¯d like to at least have my own thoughts and consciousness to myself.


    Suddenly I felt the sensation of atmospheric air brush against my skin, the surroundings around me shifted and my vision was bombarded with light. I took me a couple of moments to adjust my vision from complete darkness to my new surroundings.


    It was still relatively dark, it seemed like I am in some kind of a.. Ritualistic or altar room. It a relatively big dome-shaped room with all kinds of different drawings on the floor and walls. The drawings definitely had some hidden meaning behind them, they seemed to follow some kind of a system. There were lines that curved around each other creating strange, yet appealing shapes, with some circles and different symbols here and there. There was a big two sided wooden gate, while at the center of the room laid what I believe is a broken and long-forsaken altar. The whole room was quite foggy and dirty, coupled with the dim light that barely slipped past the long cathedral looking windows high on the walls, it gave the place a rather ghastly and creeping feeling.


    I was always a bit creeped out from the prospect of religious cults and their strange rituals and altars. This definitely looked like one.


    WELCOME TO THE REALM OF AGELESSNESS, IT IS TO BE YOUR HOME FOR THE FOLLOWING YEARS AND MOST LIKELY YOUR GRAVE! HA HA HA.


    Oh great, it is mr Voice again. And that was quite the ominous greeting.. Leaves me quite excited for the future..


    HA! THAT¡¯S THE SPIRIT HUMAN. NOW LISTEN CAREFULLY FOR I SHALL EXPLAIN IT ONLY ONCE.


    THE REALM OF AGELESSNESS WAS NURTURED EXACTLY FOR THIS GAME THAT YOU ARE GOING TO, OR SHOULD I SAY ALREADY PARTICIPATING IN. WE CALL IT THE GAME. THE RULES ARE QUITE SIMPLE, SURVIVE, THRIVE, GET STRONG, STRONGER THAN ALL. THIS REALM HAS NUMEROUS WORLDS UNDER IT, YOU AND FOUR MORE HUMANS FROM YOUR PLANET HAVE BEEN CHOSEN BY A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT CRITERIA AND TELEPORTED TO DIFFERENT RANDOM POINTS ON THIS PARTICULAR WORLD - THILARIA.


    THE EXACT SAME PROCESS HAS OCCURRED ON FIFTEEN DIFFERENT WORLDS, DIFFERENT BEINGS AND RACES WERE TRANSPORTED IN STACKS OF FIVE AWAY THEIR HOMES TO DIFFERENT WORLDS UNDER THE REALM OF AGELESSNESS. THEIR FATE THE SAME AS YOURS.


    IN EXACTLY TEN YEARS FROM THIS MOMENT THE FIFTEEN DIFFERENT STACKS OF FIVE BEINGS WOULD BE TRANSPORTED AWAY FROM THEIR WORLDS INTO THE GRAND ARENA WHERE A MORTAL COMBAT TOURNAMENT BETWEEN THE RACES WILL BE HELD.


    THE GOALS IS SIMPLE, BECOME STRONG ENOUGH AND WIN THE TOURNAMENT BY ELIMINATING ALL OTHER GROUPS OF BEINGS. THE OBVIOUS STRATEGY WOULD BE SIMPLE, FIND AND TEAM UP WITH THE OTHER FOUR HUMANS. STRENGTH IN NUMBERS RIGHT? BUT NOT REALLY. THE THING IS THAT IF YOU KILL ANOTHER CHOSEN ONE YOU WILL GET A 50% PORTION OF THEIR STRENGTH, BOOSTING YOUR OWN IMMENSELY. AND EVEN IF ALL OF YOU KEEP YOUR URGES UNDER CONTROL AND DO NOT KILL EACH OTHER, GOING AS A TEAM OF FIVE TO THE TOURNAMENT DOESN¡¯T GUARANTEE YOU ANYTHING.


    THERE CAN ALWAYS BE SOMEONE ON YOUR TEAM WHO IS WEAK AND IS ONLY DRAGGING YOU DOWN. THERE HAVE BEEN PREVIOUS INSTANCES WHEN A TEAM OF FIVE PEOPLE HAVE LOST AGAINST A SINGLE OPPONENT DURING THE TOURNAMENT. DON¡¯T FORGET THAT THE RULE OF GETTING 50% OF THE POWER OF A KILLED CHOSEN APPLIES TO THE BEINGS FROM THE OTHER WORLDS AS WELL. THEREFORE IF ONE OF THEM KILLS ONE OF YOU DURING THE TOURNAMENT THEY GET 50% OF THE VICTIM¡¯S POWER INSTANTLY, PUTTING THEM IN A BIG ADVANTAGE. AND BEFORE YOU ASK, DO NOT WORRY, YOU WILL KNOW SOMEONE IS A CHOSEN JUST LIKE YOU WHEN YOU SEE HIM OR HER. IT IS INSTINCTUAL.


    HAHA MY PERSONAL ADVICE IS TO GET RID OF THE SLOW LEARNERS AND WEAKLINGS IF YOU WANT TO SURVIVE. BUT, IN THE END IT¡¯S YOUR AND THE OTHER FOUR HUMANS¡¯ CHOICE HOW TO PROCEED FROM HERE ONWARD. YOU MAY SEEK EACH OTHER AND TRY TO GET STRONGER TOGETHER, KILL EACH OTHER FOR MORE STRENGTH OR SIMPLY NOT EVEN MEET EACH OTHER UNTIL THE TEN YEARS ARE UP AND YOU ARE TELEPORTED TO THE TOURNAMENT SITE, THAT IS IF YOU EVEN SURVIVE THE TEN YEARS HA HA.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators!


    NOW THAT IS ENOUGH FOR THE TOURNAMENT, I AM SURE YOU GET THE IDEA. NOW ONTO THE WORLD ITSELF.


    I AM NOT ALLOWED TO GIVE OUT MUCH OR ANYTHING REALLY. YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO GO IN AS BLIND AS POSSIBLE, SO YOUR ADAPTABILITY AND CREATIVITY ARE TESTED TO ITS FULLEST. WHAT I CAN TELL YOU THOUGH IS THAT IT IS INDEED A FANTASY WORLD. EVERYTHING THAT YOU CAN IMAGINE AND ASSOCIATE WITH FANTASY EXIST AND EVEN MORE EXISTS ON THE WORLD. REMEMBER, EVEN IF YOU ARE CHOSEN TO PARTICIPATE IN THE TOURNAMENT YOU DO NOT GET SPECIAL PROTECTIONS, DO SOMETHING STUPID AND YOU DIE. THERE ARE BEINGS ON THE WORLD WHOSE POWER YOU CANNOT EVEN BEGIN TO FATHOM HAHA.


    FINALLY LET¡¯S MOVE TO THE MORE PRESSING MATTERS, THE SYSTEM WORKS. IT IS BASICALLY A SYSTEM ASSISTANT. IT IS AN UNBORN SEMI-CONSCIOUSNESS THAT WORKS BASED ON DIFFERENT RULES AND PRINCIPLES INGRAINED IN IT¡¯S INNER SELF. THE CLOSEST THING THAT I CAN COMPARE IT TO FROM YOUR WORLD IS AN ALMOST PERFECT ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE. HOW EXACTLY IT WORKS AND HOW IT WAS CREATED IS A TOP SECRET THAT ONLY THE MEMBERS OF THE CIRCLE KNOW.


    JUST LIKE IN THE RPG GAMES OF YOUR WORLD, IT BESTOWS DIFFERENT STATS AND TRAITS TO BEINGS BASED ON THEIR ACTIONS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS THROUGHOUT THE WHOLE REALM. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SEE SOMETHING LIKE STATS, SUCH AS YOUR STRENGTH OR AGILITY IN NUMBERS, HOWEVER, YOU WILL BE ABLE TO MILDLY FEEL EACH OF YOUR BODY¡¯S CHARACTERISTICS AND HOW THEY ADVANCE.


    THE SYSTEM IS PRONE TO EXPLAINING DIFFERENT ITEMS, TITLES AND TRAITS.  TITLES AND TRAITS CAN BE ATTAINED THROUGH DIFFERENT ACTIONS AND ALL HAVE DIFFERENT CONSEQUENCES AND BONUSES.


    ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN THE REALM IS STRICTLY OBSERVED BY THE SYSTEM, EVERY LITTLE ACTION CAN HAVE A CONSEQUENCES TO YOU AND YOUR FUTURE.


    EVERYTHING ELSE ABOUT THE SYSTEM YOU MUST FIND OUT YOURSELF. A WORD OF ADVICE THOUGH, BECAUSE I LIKE YOU. THE SYSTEM IS NOT TO BE FULLY TRUSTED. FOR IT IS FORBIDDEN TO LIE TO YOU, IT CAN QUITE EASILY CURVE AND SNAKE AROUND THE TRUTH AND MISLEAD AND MANIPULATE YOU. YOU ARE BETTER OFF NOT TAKING WHAT IT SAYS LITERALLY. IT IS USUALLY SOME INTERPRETATION OF THE TRUTH, BUT NOT EXACTLY THE TRUTH.


    I WISH I HAD MORE TIME TO EXPLAIN THINGS FURTHER, MY DEAR NATURAL, HOWEVER, I AM ALL OUT OF TIME. MY LAST ADVICE TO YOU IS:


    I KNOW THAT YOU ARE BEAMING WITH QUESTIONS, WHY WHERE YOU CHOSEN, WHY THIS TWISTED GAME, WHAT¡¯S THE POINT AND WHAT¡¯S THE BENEFIT OF IT ALL. YOU KNOW HOW IT GOES, TO COMPLETELY UNDERSTAND AND CONQUER A GAME YOU HAVE TO FINISH IT. AND TO FINISH A GAME YOU MUST FIRST PLAY IT.


    FORGET THAT YOU ARE HUMAN, FORGET YOU ARE PAST, FOR THEY WILL ONLY BURDEN YOU IN THIS NEW LIFE OF YOURS. EVOLVE BOTH PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY, ADAPT AND WIN.


    And with these final parting words, the voice ceased completely, leaving with a throbbing and hurting head in the middle of a completely still and quiet creepy-ass ceremonial/ritual chamber.


    That.. was a lot of information at once. This stupid voice means to tell me that I was forcibly extracted from my home to play some kind of a twisted, demented game? And for what? For the sick pleasure of some beings with power? Well, that¡¯s definitely fair.


    Okay, okay focus, let¡¯s think this through.


    Taking a feel deep breaths I relax myself completely. I guess it is done, nothing to do about it now. I shall work with what I know. Firstly, he did mention a system, that I am apparently not to.. Fully trust? Brings up the question should I even trust the voice not to trust the system? Damn.


    And apparently this is one of those RPG worlds, a genre of novels that is quite popular back on Earth. Now when I think about it, I am in quite the cliche situation, aren¡¯t I¡­ That¡¯s just great. Fantasy? Magic? Different beings and creatures that I have only thought of as fairy tales up until now? Can¡¯t say that it doesn¡¯t make me a bit jittery inside. The prospect is quite interesting. And not only that, but there are four more humans on this world as me? When I first heard him say that, I immediately thought it would be for the best if I find them. Perhaps it was the sense of safety that I was going after, you know, when you are some place that¡¯s completely unknown to you, something familiar can ease the stress and anxiety quite a lot.


    However, now when I think about it, that¡¯s quite a dangerous risk. Human¡¯s do tend to be extremely egoistic and illogical when it comes to their personal safety and power. It¡¯d be for the best to avoid them.


    For now.


    Haaaah, my head actually started hurting from trying to process what is happening. The human brain is not prone to such big shocks. I¡¯ll think about all of it later, first, I need to find some water, my mouth is beginning to feel quite dry.


    Slowly my eyes landed on the huge gate across the room and I slowly made my way towards it. A slight grin plastered over my face. Is this excitement that I feel bubbling in my gut?


    Slowly I reach for the door knob and push the wooden gate forward, revealing a breathtaking scene. I find myself on top of a small hill, surrounding my are lush green valleys and mountains full of thick and moist forests. The air is humid, quite pleasantly brushing my skin with mild bursts if wind. A few rainbows could be seen arching over different parts of the forest, creating painterly, surreal feel to the environment. The sky, clear blue, not a single sign of clouds, reveals three absolutely huge moons, or at least that¡¯s what I think they are. One gray, almost white, similar to our own moon back on Earth. The other two washed out red and light blue respectively.


    ¡°Damn, a new world huh?¡±, the words slip away from my lips unconsciously. When I think about it, there really wasn¡¯t anything interesting in my life back on Earth. I didn¡¯t have any relatives, at least none that I could remember. True I had some friends, however, we weren¡¯t exactly close to each other, it was more like a mutual pact, trying get rid of the boredom that we all felt. But this, this is an opportunity. An opportunity to escape my previous life, an adventure that I couldn¡¯t possibly experience back home.


    Slowly my grin grows wide as now even my teeth are showing.


    ¡°Play the Game huh? I might as well do it¡±, thus I took the first step towards this new future.


    What can possibly go wrong?


    Well, according to the Voice.. A damn fucking lot. But that¡¯s part of the adventure, isn¡¯t it ha ha ha!

 Chapter 5

    It has been a bit over one hour since Tyler left the place where he was teleported to this world. The building had looked like an old run-down chapel that had definitely seen better days. In Tyler¡¯s mind though, it definitely was a place for rituals, perhaps even sacrificial. Even thinking about it made his hairs stand up.


    Now, after the initial excitement past a few realizations downed upon Tyler. Firstly let¡¯s be honest, everyone would be excited when he first finds out that he is summoned/teleported to a fantasy world that basically has no limits. If you are strong enough you can live however you want and no one can call you out. However, what this initial first excitement masked out was what came crashing down on Tyler¡¯s mind about thirty minutes after he left the chapel and started climbing down the mountain.


    The Voice was quite serious about how dangerous this world is and as any other normal human being, Tyler was not a fan of the prospect of death. He¡¯d rather avoid it. And this is where his other plights come into play. He has absolutely no idea how to survive in the wild, except some basic knowledge about camp fires and traps.


    And then on top of that out of the blue hit him another tiny little realization. He was in a whole new world for God¡¯s sake. Two opposing forces had a raging battle inside his head. On one side was the afraid Tyler, who didn¡¯t want to die, who felt alone and miserable and on the other side was the adventurous Tyler, who was excited, who wanted to explore all that this new world could offer him.


    In the midst of the raging battle and splitting headache that was slowly starting to form, Tyler finally remembered something so obvious that it made him feel ashamed that he forgot and ignored about it.


    This new world had RPG elements!


    Which brings us to the present, a young man sitting on a rock in the middle of a valley that was completely surrounded by forests, softly mumbling something under his breath like a madman.


    That¡¯s interesting. I deduced a couple of things from my experiments. Firstly when I thought about my status a small almost translucent window appeared in my vision. As if that triggered something, a ding sounded seemingly from all around me and a couple of notifications came to existence.


    Congratulations: Titles Gained:


    A Chosen - A being that has been chosen based on different criteria and managed to survive the trails, qualifying him to participate in The Game.


    + It is 50% easier for you to gain Classes, Titles and Traits. Beware though, there are not only good ones with positive effects. You reap what you sow. What? You thought you are special?


    Natural - Not much is known about these beings. However, apparently they are natural at doing something, thus exceeding at that very field of expertise that they are natural at. Whether that is being a warrior or a basic farmer is yet to be seen.


    Congratulations: Trait Gained:


    Uncanny Prehension - You have an unnatural gift to sniff out inconsistencies within your surroundings. Allowing you to get a feeling of what¡¯s about to happen to yourself in the immediate future. Strength and efficiency of trait can be increased further. The holder currently knows not how.


    After I read the notifications they disappeared on their own accord and my status window slowly started changing. Letters slowly appeared. It looked something like this:


    Status Window


    Titles:


    -A Chosen


    -Natural


    Traits:


    -Uncanny Prehension


    All this was quite amusing and exciting for me. I cannot say that I am not a fan of fantasy stories and this definitely brings me some amount of childish joy. Uncanny Prehension, huh, I guess I really did have some kind of a sixth sense, I was not going mad after all! On the other hand I don¡¯t quite like the description of the Natural title..  And I can gain bad Titles and Traits 50% easier? I see what the Voice meant, the System really is quite the prick. And what the fuck does it mean that I don¡¯t know how to increase the strength of my trait! Isn¡¯t that why you, System, are here? To tell me!? I thought you should know everything on the realm, give me a good description and don¡¯t be a dick! Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    After coming to terms that the system really is a dick and wouldn¡¯t be much of a help, if at all, I tried to relax and feel the condition of my body. Just like the Voice said there wasn¡¯t a pop-up window that showed my stats, however, I could faintly feel my ¡°stats¡±, as in I could feel each ¡°stat¡± in relativity to the others. It was really strange and I couldn¡¯t find words to explain in. It was akin to just knowing how powerful each of your characteristics were compared to the others.


    Currently it seemed that all my characteristics were at around the same level of power. Put in better words, so I could scale and compare it in the future, I¡¯d say that everything, be it agility, strength, vitality, endurance, intelligence, was at around 10.


    The feeling was really fascinating to me, as one could deduce from the fact that I spent around half an hour sitting on a rock playing around with my Status window and feeling around my body and different characteristics.


    Finally satisfying my curiosity, I decided it¡¯s time to move. The best course of action in this situation would be just accept my new reality. The more I try to deny it and the more I grieve of Earth, the less chance I have for survival. One thing that I agree with, that the Voice said, was that if I want to survive and if I want any answers, I will have to play and beat the Game.


    Which means that I have to get strong. Apparently, incredibly strong. And here is where I meet yet another problem. I have absolutely no idea how.


    There are too many unknowns fight now. What I think I should try and do is find some civilization. Hopefully there is some.


    My eyes scan everything around me in 360 circle, trying to find any hints for what I am searching. No signs of civilization, however, I did see a river running across the forests directly on my right. Logically thinking if there is any civilization around, here it should be somewhere around a water source. And that rivier is my best bet.


    Looking at the sky, the sun seems to have come behind the horizon a couple of hours ago, meaning that it¡¯s still early in the morning. I am slowly getting thirstier and hungrier and that river doesn¡¯t seem that close. I¡¯d say about 5 kilometers away, however, going through the forest wouldn¡¯t be as easy as walking a straight line so I better start going.


    Hopefully I do find something before it starts getting dark, especially when I am still in a forest.


    Thus with set determination I set forward to the river, mumbling streams of prayers that there are not any kinds of monsters in the forest and that I would find a friendly civilization.


    It did not take long to reach the edge of the forest. The walking was even quite comfortable, I was giving some kind of really soft and tight fitting shoes that make walking easier and do not strain the feet.


    Finally being so close to the forest, I could analyze it properly. The trees are definitely some type that I have not seen back on Earth. They were all of a varying size, however, even the smallest one was at least 7-8 meters in height and at least a meter in diameter. And the bigger ones? Well.. they were huge. Definitely larger than the largest tree on Earth.


    The leaves were of an unknown shape to me as well and.. Had differently colour spots on them. I have no idea what biological purpose those spots could even have, but at least now I am certain - this is not my home world.


    Bracing myself I step forward into the forest, using the scarce sunlight that barely cuts through the massive tree tops to navigate my way towards the river, based on the position of the sun. If it is like the Earth and the sun rises from the east, then I should be going north-west.


    I¡¯ve been walking for at least an hour now. If I am judging the distance correctly I should be really close to the river. There is, however, some strange happening. For the last five or so minutes I have been feeling.. Watched. On numerous times I scanned the flora around me, trying to not make it obvious of course, but I couldn¡¯t see anything out of the ordinary. That didn¡¯t ease my feeling though, quite the contrary, it¡¯s been getting bigger and stronger with each step that I take. I can now almost feel tug at my heart, my senses screaming to me.


    Congratulations: Trait gained:


    Sense beyond senses - The being that has this trait is able to sense when something is amiss or not how it should be. It works best when the holder of the trait is in danger.


    Well.. I guess that¡¯s a way to confirm it. There¡¯s no point in continuing this charade. Let¡¯s face.. Whatever it is that is following me.


    Stopping my walking, I slowly turned around, eyes darting to my left and right, ¡°Who¡¯s there? Why are you following me?¡±


    Nothing.


    I could feel my left eye start trembling with irritation. Do they take me for a fool? Are they mocking me?


    ¡°I know you are there, come out at once!¡±, I said while taking a step forward when suddenly I heard a slooshing sound. An arrow buried itself just centimeters away from my front foot, causing me to stop dead. Cold sweat slowly forming and dripping down my back.


    Without any indication or sound a silhouette fell from one of the tree tops and landed a couple of meters in front of me. Upon further inspection the silhouette turned out to be a some kind of an.. She-animal? Or if I were to use a correct fantasy term it would be a beastwoman or rather a demi-human. The girl seemed to be in her late teens, judging from her face. She had a small nose, big green eyes. On top of her head I could see a pair of perked up black-dotted orange feline ears and a similarly coloured tail frozen in caution behind her back.


    What mostly gathered my attention was the rather large bow with drawn string and an arrow pointed directly at me.


    ¡°Am.. hello?¡±, just as I finished my awkward first interaction in this new world at least a dozen other beastmen fell down all around me. Each one with similarly coloured ears and tails. All with pointed bows at me.


    The girl, that was the first to come down slowly lowered her bow and took a step towards me, ¡°What are you and what are you doing in our territory?¡±


    Oh, at least I can understand them. That¡¯s a good sign right? ¡°Am, I didn¡¯t mean to trespass your territory, I seem to be a bit los-¡±


    A sudden pain in the back of my neck is the last thing I found my body buckling and falling forward like a doll with that had its strings cut. My consciousness escaped me before I even hit the ground.

 Chapter 6

    The sun was starting to slowly make its way down, signaling the the start of the darker part of the day. A certain forest within a certain land was completely devoid of any sound, except the footsteps of a dozen or so people.


    After being roughly awakened by having some cold water poured all over him, Tyler found himself tied by the feet and hands to a large pole. From there onward he was carried unceremoniously, like some butchered cattle, by two of the male half-humans half-beasts.


    The group had been walking for a few hours now. On numerous occasions did Tyler try to ask questions and explain himself, however, no one seemed like they were listening to him. Simply content to ignore him and continue forward with purpose, as if he did not even exist.


    The tense and eerie silence that soon befall the group only served to further intensify the dark thoughts that Tyler kept buried deep in his mind. Is he going to get eaten? This was frighteningly close to how cannibals that lived on deserted islands carried their unfortunate meal, according to movies and media back on Earth. Or perhaps he is to be used as a sacrifice for some unholy ritual, his soul stripped away from his body and turned to nothingness. Or even worse, maybe he was to be their toy, tortured, but not killed until he died of old age.


    Not only was Tyler haunted by such dark thoughts, after the first couple of minutes, he completely threw away any chances that he previously thought he had running away from his captors. These beastkin were either incredibly strong or impossibly light. They were jumping several meters high without breaking a sweat, jumping from branch to branch, from tree to tree without even making the leaves rustle.


    Tyler found the whole act mystifying and enchanting, like a theatre play with incredibly special effects. Surely they were amazing hunters, not only were they moving and acting like such, but their outfits were exactly what you¡¯d think fantasy forest hunters would look like. Tight fitting tops and bottoms, definitely chosen for their comfortability and the fact that they would not give away any sounds or incidentally hit a leaf by flapping wildly, were they baggy. Over the tight fitting clothes, they wore light leather armor over their vitals and thighs. Definitely not a whole lot of protection, but most suitable for hunting and stalking prey.


    For weapons they had a rather long makeshift spear and a large hunting bow, tied to their backs. A quiver full of arrows and a short, but dangerously sharp dagger, both strapped respectively to each of their thighs.


    Tyler couldn¡¯t help but to really come terms with how fantasy-like it all looked. Ninja-hunters beast people were currently escorting him as their captive to who knows where. Was he about to die during his first encounter with civilization on this new world? Just some short hours after being teleported here.


    Definitely not, tightening his jaw and fists, until his knuckles were white, Tyler mentally promised himself that he is not going to let himself die so early, when this huge exciting new world awaited his exploration.


    The trek across the forest continued in the same fashion, absolute silence between all individuals within the group. With Tyler trying to shift and make as little noise as possible after he got hit on the top of his head by one of his captors, the beastman incapable to endure the endless stream of questions flowing out of Tyler¡¯s mouth.


    Finally after what Tyler perceived  as an endless torture, full of motion sickness and dizziness, caused by the ever moving and swaying pole that he was tied to, his little group finally arrived at a clearing. The sight could only be described as exactly what you would expect a fantasy village that was located in the middle of a forest to look like. Compact single floor houses made primarily out of wood, leaves and various plant stems to tied them together. It must¡¯ve had around a hundred such small houses, all of them surrounded by a makeshift one-one and a half high wooden wall, with wooden spikes pointing outwards from the village, as if awaiting an attack. Two guards, clothed the same way as his captors, each having a long and slender spear in hand, stood on post in front of the small entrance.Stolen story; please report.


    Tyler couldn¡¯t help but notice how the guards¡¯ expressions changed after they saw him. Their eyes becoming more concentrated, closed in attention, intently observing him. The grip on their spears slightly tightened and their posture became more alert. He definitely wouldn¡¯t say that he was welcomed here. But it¡¯s not like he had a choice now.


    The guards must be quite well disciplined, or the group that captured him had a high enough standing within this settlement, as they simply saluted when his group neared and didn¡¯t voice any questions about him. Even though their eyes screamed murder, as if they would attack, penetrating his skull with their spears.


    Upon entering the enclosed settlement, Tyler had the opportunity to more closely inspect the inside. As he had previously deducted the houses, or it would be more appropriate to define them as yurts, were made completely out of forest materials. They didn¡¯t look durable at all, but they accomplish their purpose in giving shelter. The road, or what is supposed to be a road, was all dirt with a couple of stones here and there. Definitely not created in mind for any kinds of vehicles.


    What caught Tyler¡¯s attention the most, however, was the people living here. They all looked to be the same tiger-ish breed of beastmen, definitely not all of them were warriors. Compared to the group that captured him, most of the beastmen inside the village seemed normal. They wore different fiber-based pitiful excuses for clothing. They make do with what they have, thought Tyler.


    Another definite attention capturer was how, just like the guards, their expressions shifted from relaxed and rather happy to, in their case, fearful and cautious. That either meant that they hated humans, they were generally introverted and not open to outsiders or that he was something new, that they haven¡¯t seen before. The first two didn¡¯t sit quite well for Tyler, he rockoned he wouldn¡¯t survive much if that was the case. Fortunately, from the first few words the tiger girl said to him when she first landed in front of him and the tiny amount of curious glances that he got from some of the people inside the settlement shifted his opinion that, perhaps the latter deduction was the correct one. That he was something that these people have not seen before.


    That came in hand with other problems though. It could mean a three things, that Tyler could think of at the moment. First these people were native to and live only within this forest and do not have a lot, or any contact with the outside world. The second answer would be that humans do not live on this part of the world or are really scarce in their number.


    The last and possibly worst answer would be that¡­ humans did not exist in this world to begin with, or were extinct.


    Repressing the heart-clenching feeling that he got from the thought of possibly being one of the last and soon to be executed humans on this world, Tyler swallowed his frustrations and accepted reality as it is.


    The group slowed down their gait, most likely, to not alert or needlessly scare the other townsfolk by seeming too urgent with their walk. From the corner of his eyes Tyler could see the older people urging the kids inside their houses, as if this all was a witch hunt and something so grotesque was about to happen, that kids were not allowed to watch. Perhaps he would be burned at the stake and feel unimaginable pain, or perhaps people around here were merciful enough to give him a quick decapitation death.


    Not willing to delve deeper into his not-so-bright immediate future, Tyler elected to simply focus on the structure and architecture of the settlement, in a vain attempt to soothe and mask his worries.


    The settlement seemed to be build in a circular fashion. Made of five circles of houses in total, each one getting smaller than the previous. A rather big, compared to the other residences, structure laid in the middle of the last and smallest circle. The town administration¡¯s building, Tyler guessed - it seemed to be the place were his captors were taking him, most likely to present him to their leader, who would single-handedly determine his future.


    The end of the road had come, as they finally arrived in front of the big structure. There were no guards staying in attention at the entrance, but that was most likely because it was in the middle of the settlement, as far away from danger as possible. Two of his so far rather silent escorts opened the double doors revealing a spacious inside. Two rows of two big columns, supporting the weight of the big structure, towered over everything else in the building. In the middle of the room laid a big rectangle table with four vacant chairs on each side.


    After slowly examining everything in front of him, Tyler¡¯s eyes finally landed on the best clothed tiger-man he¡¯d seen so far. The figure sat on a throne-like structure backed against the furthest away wall from the entrance, face facing straight to the entrance.


    Even if the tigerman was at least fifteen meters away from him, Tyler could easily say that this guy had the most impressive physique that he had seen so far, not to mention the intense glowing green eyes that were staring directly into his own.

 Chapter 7

    Silence predominated the building, tension slowly building up as the obviously prominent figure sharply scrutinize Tyler. Things continued in similar fashion for at least a few more minutes when the figure finally decided that he got all the information he could from simply observing and decided speak.


    ¡°Who are you and what were you doing in our territory?¡±, the voice was deep and echo-y, as if it came from deep down his stomach, similarly to the roar of a true tiger. His tone and gaze definitely didn¡¯t strike Tyler as light-hearted and humorous.


    A couple of options for answers instantly started jumping around his mind. The guy was definitely a no-bullshit-type of person, perhaps in this situation honesty was for the best. Unfortunately, his circumastes were quite.. Peculiar, being completely honest might not play to his advantage. On the other hand completely lying was out of the equation as well. A feeling of wariness from deep down his gut, told him that this man would most probably detect his obvious and hastily-crafted lie, which wouldn¡¯t end well with him.


    In the end Tyler decided to pick the safest option that he could think of in this fraction of a second that he for an answer. He would neither outright lie to them, however, he would leave most of the truth unsaid. In a strange stroke of luck, or maybe the twisted humour of the universe.. Or this system, his answer would be one of the things that he hated the most. A complete cliche.


    ¡°Am.. I don¡¯t really know. I do not recall anything else, except suddenly waking up on a valley, surrounded on all sides by forests¡±, Tyler did try to sound as sure, confident and relaxed as he could, in the end he kind of melted under the unwavering stare and had a small stutter at the start of his sentence. Answering with a deceit, even though it was not a lie, because he did actually suffer amnesia one time already, was still really risky.


    Hopefully this little blunder didn¡¯t cost his life.


    Another minute of silence followed as the beastman continued staring at him, unblinking. The pressure was slowly piling up on Tyler, his shoulders became heavy and cold sweat formed on his back.


    With a long sigh the tigerman¡¯s voice came, now a tiny bit softer, exhausted even ¡°A lucky man, I cannot seem to detect any dishonesty in your answer and posture. However, we are neither dumb nor naive enough to let you be.¡±


    His fingers tapped the throne-like structure a couple of times and a second sigh came ¡°We are not bloodthirsty murderers either. We have a code to follow, The codex of the Everchanging Forest¡¯s hunters, that our ancestors left us.


    You are to be kept in custody until Melisa, our only shaman, returns from her mission. Whereas my skill to detect some lies is mostly intuitive and instinctual, which means it can be bypassed by the more skilled people, she can use shaman magic to verify what you¡¯re saying.¡±


    Tyler could immediately feel the weight come off of his shoulders and unconsciously released a breath he didn¡¯t even know he had held.


    ¡°If you did lie to us though¡­ well, you¡¯d curse the fact that you were not killed on the spot, when the hunters first encountered you¡±, the tone was chillingly cold and the glow in the tiger¡¯s gaze shifted to something more sinister. Tyler felt millions of tiny chills crawl all over his body, his tongue tightening, his lungs contracting and refusing to inhale air.


    The pressure was so heavy and thick that he almost lost blacked out when it all stopped. Like a weird remembrance of a past event, it simply vanished as if it was never there.


    ¡°Well, enough of that. I go by the name of Ruxos, I am part of the Council of Four and currently the one in charge of the settlement. As well as the leader of the hunter/warriors. And what you just experienced was my Aura or Battle intent if you will. Now, mind telling me your name?¡±


    ¡°Thank you for your understanding. My name is Tyler.¡±, trying to be as polite as he could, even though he still had trouble talking from the ghostly remains that the Aura left on his psyche, Tyler answered as articulated tone as possible.


    Maybe not the best first encounter with one if this world¡¯s alien civilizations, but if this shaman woman can really verify that he is not lying it can turn out for better.Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.


    ¡°Excellent. Well, Tyler, hopefully you were not lying to me, it¡¯s the first time I¡¯ve seen one of your kind and it¡¯d be a pity to lose you so quickly.¡±, the man rumbled with joyful tone, yet Tyler couldn¡¯t shake of the sinister feeling those words gave him. Hopefully this shaman lady really, really knew what she¡¯s doing.


    ¡°Take our guest to one of the empty houses and put two guards outside at all time.¡±


    And just like that he, still tied up to the pole, was lifted in the air yet again and carried away to his new abode. No second thoughts were given to the changing surroundings as Tyler¡¯s mind was preoccupied and still trying to process some of the new information that he gained.


    Firstly and most importantly, the word shaman is closely tied with magic, the very thought was almost enough to make Tyler jump in excitement, that was if he was not currently tied up.


    Even though he saw the mystical way these hunters/warriors moved about, definitely using some kind of fantasy-like ability or skill, the very notion of actual magic was way too overpowering. It seemed to really be an RPG-like fantasy world. In this case a rather complicated decision was soon to be dropped on Tyler¡¯s shoulders. If it is like he suspects, he would most likely have to choose to be a warrior, mage or hopefully something in between. Never had Tyler any doubt that if he could incorporate a warrior¡¯s abilities with a mage¡¯s he would miss the chance.But then again, if he had to choose one of them, being a mage was definitely the choice that comes to mind.


    After thinking a bit longer about it, he finally decided that currently there is too much lack off information about both, or how they work. Either way, his adventurous side was ecstatic about the future to come.


    While all this mess was happening inside of his head, the hunters had already carried him to the front door of his new temporary abode. A small house, identical to all others around it. The vines used to tie him up were then cut and he was pushed inside the small house.


    The inside was definitely not something to get excited about. Especially you are someone who has gotten accustomed to live in the luxury of 21 century Earth.


    A simple wooden bed with some leather and fur as blankets and padding on one side, a small table with 3 chairs around it on the opposite side and a cooking area with a small empty bookshelf right in front. There were two windows that light shined through, one to the wall on his left and the other to the wall on his right.


    Two words came to mind when looking at the shallow inside - scarce and simple. But judging by the structure of the village, the weapons, the clothing - this world definitely reeked of medieval times on Earth, just coupled with fantasy. Truly a cliche.


    Slowly Tyler got his body to the bed and sat down. The events of the day finally catching up on him, making him feel extremely mentally and physically exhausted. Especially now that the adrenaline has run out and his body was low on fuel. Tyler mentally scolded himself for not asking for some food, he got too caught up with everything that went down, his mind completely shut off any such insignificant thoughts at the time. Even though that he understood that he basically still had the status of a prisoner, the rumbling of his stomach and the pain of hunger that started assaulting him crushed any dignity he had left.


    Just as he was about to stand up and shamelessly ask the guards, that are most likely stationed at the entrance, for some food the door of the house opened and a girl walked in. She was wearing non-armour looking clothing, the same as the other townsfolk - a patched up robe made from a combination of cloth, big leaves and fur. She was not overly beautiful, but definitely not ugly either. Perhaps a bit over average. A round face, normal-sized nose and almond-ish shaped brown eyes that looked at him warily. She seemed to be in her mid teens and Tyler was positive that she did not trust him.


    Tyler simple watched her move and nothing more. He did not even stare, nor did he make any sharp movements. He had a several reasons for his actions. First, the girl was carrying a tray that seemed to have food on it, it would not be in his advantage to scare the girl further and risk her either dropping the food or leaving without giving it to him. Then there was the strange concept that a young girl, that was obviously frightened, would be left to deliver food to some stranger that was just taken captive not even an hour ago.


    This was definitely a test, he was most likely being observed, they were trying to gauge his intentions and one wrong move would probably cost him his life.


    Thus Tyler continued acting like a statue and smiling at the nervous girl as she put the tray with food on the table. Then she quickly glanced at him, he simply nodded in her direction. She was visibly surprised by that her face lost some of the nervousness that it previously packed, her muscles slowly relaxing. She returned the nod and quickly left the house.


    Sighting slightly, Tyler ordered his exhausted body to make its way to the tray. That was a close call. At least now he knows that they DEFINITELY do not trust him, a mental note was made to keep an eye for more such tests.


    Slumping down on the chair, he started eating the delivered food. It was some kind of a broth, a bit spicy, but overall the feeling in his mouth screamed deliciousness. Next to the bowl of broth was a wooden cup filled with a red-ish liquid. Upon degustation Tyler¡¯s eyes widened a bit, it basically had the taste of strawberry and cherry mixed together.


    In no time whatsoever both the cup and bowl were empty. Feeling empty and content with himself, Tyler pushed all the worries and questions that were swirling about in his mindspace and simply let himself to be taken by the currents of drowsiness to the sweet and worry-free land of dreams.

 chapter 8

    From the very first moment of her life that she could remember, everyone around her always had huge expectations about Talisa. And not without reason. She excelled in everything she did, be it fighting, learning, cooking, leading. She was the foremost and brightest child in her generation.


    That didn''t  mean that she had it easy though. Quite the contrary, Talisa was always pushed harder than the other kids, she always trained more and her greater achievements were left unappreciated in contrast to the praise the other kids got for their lesser achievements.


    She was smart though. She knew it was for her own good, so that she could continue improving. She was also incredibly curious and adventurous, thia distant, cut-away from the world village life was not her cup of tea. She dreamed for grand adventures, for hunting and battling mythical creatures, exploring ancient ruins. To see the grand age-old cities of different might empires and kingdoms. To experience different cultures and see all kinds of different people.


    Exactly this way of thinking got her all too often in a neverending verbal dispute with her father, the chieftain. From early age he tried to train her not only as a warrior and hunter, and teach her the Hunter¡¯s codex, but to be a capable leader as well. Teaching her to read, write and mannerism. Passing down the teachings that his tutor, the previous chieftain, teached to him and what his ancestors had teached him, and so on and so forth from the very founding of the settlement.


    Even though she was against that and did not want to become the next chieftain and to be tied down to this small boring place, Talisa accepted his teachings and cut short her physical training just to make her father happy. It was the only thing that made him smile since her mother died. Her father kept blaming himself for her death, even though everyone knew that it wasn''t his fault. It was an accident and a completely natural and honourable death for a hunter. To die fighting a mighty beast in a heroic battle of a hunter and hunted.


    The beast in question, a 2 headed Reinclop, a formidable behemoth of a beast. Standing a bit over 2 meters in height on all four and over 5 meters long. 2 heads taken right out of a nightmare, rough purple scales, glowing white eyes without irises , 2 long curved horns for each head and a maw full of endless razor sharp teeth. A body packed with intertwined muscles, sharp claws and a spiked morning star-ish tail.


    Truly a beast from the depths of hell. Her mother, the strongest hunter the forest has seen challenged the beast to a one on one hunt showdown. In that regard Talia takes after her mother. Adventurous and reckless to death, once her mind is set, there''s no changing it.


    After almost 2 weeks of continues hunting, chasing, stalking and small skirmishes, her mother had finally managed to take down the beast, unfortunately paying the ultimate price in  return, succumbing to her battle wounds two days later.


    At the time Talisa was too small and couldn¡¯t comprehend completely the concept of death and what had happened, but with time and slowly learning the codex she understood that her mother died with honour and dignity, doing what she loved to do - adventuring and hunting. Their settlement was one of hunters, and they lived as such.


    To hunt is to live and to die hunting is to die happy, a never ending cycle for the hunters. Such deaths were treated akin to natural deaths, such as old age.


    From then on Talisa did not mourn her mother, for such was the life of a hunter, she used her as an inspiration. Pushing forward ever so harder, training, learning and at the same time the bubbling feeling for grand adventures was slowly transforming into a monster inside of her. And still she did not have the heart to leave her father and these villagers alone, so she persisted ever onward. Meeting and crushing expectations, excelling in both academic and physical exercises, soon enough she was the strongest huntress right behind her father, Roxus.


    The tipping point for her ever-growing need for new experiences was when, two years ago a shaman tigress suddenly came to the village. Talisa found out with a great shock that the shamaness, Melisa, was actually her late mother¡¯s sister. In no time her new-found aunt became her most favourite person. Apparently the two sisters used to adventure around the country numerous years before her mother fell in love with her father and settled down in his home village.


    Melisa, however, had continued adventuring and travelling for years, until she finally decided to come and visit. Talisa watched with heavy eyes as a tonne of different emotions attacked her aunt the first day she arrived. From the utter happiness and bliss she felt from finding out she had a beautiful niece, to absolute horror and immense sadness when Roxus told her about her sister¡¯s fate. That night they both cried their eyes out from dusk to twilight.


    Her aunt promised to stay in the village for a couple of years to help around and teach the kids what she knows, both about magic and the world. And so came the endless nights of questioning, where Melisa would tell her all about her different adventures, meetings, the people she¡¯s seen, the places she¡¯s been. Talisa would listen with sparkling eyes and burning desire, unable to sleep for hours, repeating every word her aunt told her and imagining herself on these adventures.


    She couldn¡¯t take it any longer, she had to change her future. After endless hours of discussions, brawls and pleading, Talisa finally received what she most desired. Her aunt agreed on taking Talisa with her when she leaves the village after two years - when she becomes 18 years of age, of course, without the knowledge of her father, Roxus.


    And thus two years had come and gone, in the blink of an eye. They were due to depart after a month and she could barely contain her excitement. Unable to stay in one place she volunteered to go on scouting and hunting missions every day, without pause or rest.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    It is exactly on one of these scouting missions that something completely unexpected happened. She and the other youths that were on a three hour scouting mission of any games nearby the village were just returning home when they suddenly stumbled upon tracks that were going in the direction of the village. That in itself wouldn¡¯t be strange, however, the tracks were two-pedal and humanoid.


    She and her group decided to follow the tracks, soon enough they caught up to the perpetrator. Her eyes widened with shock, yet a mild, almost unnoticeable fire light up inside them. The thing that had left the tracks was something that she had never seen before. That wasn¡¯t the shocking part of course, she had not seen any other humanoid beings except her people - The Forest Tiger beastmen.


    No, what was shocking is that her aunt had been to numerous places all around the Empire, yet from the numerous stories of her encounters with different beings, she had never described a humanoid that looked like this one.


    At first glance it looked normal, but upon closer inspection it didn¡¯t have any of the characteristics of the races that she knows of. Goblins, Dragonlings, Drawfs, Vajorns and Giants were immediately out of question. Nor did it have the characteristics of the beastmen clans, the elves or demons.  Was it perhaps some kind of a halfbreed? Or an exotic creature that her aunt forgot to mention or hadn¡¯t encountered?


    Her excitement bubbled uncontrollably, however, even in such a circumstance, she knew that she had to be extremely careful. Most of the people from the village, including herself, have not met any outsiders thus far. That makes things even more strange and dangerous, for the first time, to her knowledge someone is walking towards the village. What intentions does he have? Is he friendly or or not. They must proceed with great care.


    Making a couple of hand signs Talisa singled the other youths to continue following the being from afar, carefully analyzing it¡¯s behavior, as if it was a game that they were about to hunt.


    A couple of hours of careful following later, it was painfully obvious that the person had somehow noticed them. But since he didn¡¯t do anything about it, they were content to simply continue following and observing him.


    Sooner rather than later, the man apparently finally had enough of the charade and sharply turned around, scanning the forest left and right. She and her group were trained from the moment they could walk, their abilities to hide and move through the forest was top-notch, it was not a surprise that he couldn¡¯t locate them. But, that leaves the question how had he even known they were following him? A skill?


    His face adopted a scowl, ¡° Who¡¯s there? Why are you following me?¡±, her team all looked at her questiongly, she was somehow, unanimously chosen as the leader, not only because she was the chieftain¡¯s daughter, but mostly because of her prowess.


    When she didn¡¯t make any move to respond, neither did the others.


    ¡°I know you are there, come out at once!¡± , There¡¯s nothing left to do, he definitely knows we are here, she thought. With a small sigh, yet sparkling eyes, she made a couple of hand signs and then jumped down from the branch that she had been using as a platform.


    Mid air she masterfully drew her bow and nocked an arrow, ready to release it at the slightest sign of aggression from the person.


    Landing in front of him with an arrow pointed directly at his head, she finally had the opportunity to inspect him more closely. Definitely not a race she¡¯ve heard of before, but from the descriptions she has been given, the race he looked most like was the high elves. Just except the ears and blonde hair.


    Staring directly at his eyes she was at loss for words. Instead of showing fear or any drop of panic, his expression was more that of shock, excitement and bewilderment. Was he just that strong that there was nothing for him to fear? No, it can¡¯t be, nothing about him screamed of danger or strength. Talisa was pretty certain in her ability to determine the power of a being in front of her, something she and the other hunters have acquired from a lifetime of fighting fearsome beasts.


    Then.. was he simply shocked to see her? But didn¡¯t he already know he was being followed? Or was it an expert bluff? No it couldn¡¯t be, perhaps.. It¡¯s his first time seeing a tiger beastmen? That must be it, it was the most logical explanation, Talisa deduced.


    ¡°Am.. Hello?¡±, he said, voice infused with his bewilderment. At that point the rest of the group came down as well, creating an almost perfect circle around the man.


    ¡°Who are you and what are you doing in our territory?¡±, she asked deliberately whilst taking a step forward, trying to seem more threatening. At this point Talisa was almost sure that the man didn''t have any bad intentions, that or he was an incredibly good actor.


    ¡°Am.. sorry, I ..¡±, when suddenly Dory, her childhood rival and the most annoying person she knows, used the edge of his bow and landed a clean blow to the back of the man¡¯s head, knocking him out cold.


    ¡°What was that for? We were just about to get some clues about why he''s here!¡±, she yeled in his direction, ¡°Oh please, do you really think he would¡¯ve told us the truth?¡±, the reply came instantly, followed by a glare.


    Talisa could feel her face turning red with anger. ¡°He was clearly as shocked as we were, or more, besides he was alone and didn''t seem like a combatant. We wouldn''t have lost anything hearing him out!¡±


    ¡°Oh bullshit, look at how relaxed he seemed. His posture didn''t look like the one of a scared or cornered being. I say we kill him right now and don''t take any risks.¡±


    ¡°No! We are hunters and we abide by the codex. As long as we are in this forest we will not kill, unless it is a game that we hunt, for food or if our lives are endangered.¡±


    ¡°Again with your cockiness Talisa! How would you know that he isn¡¯t a danger to us! Just because you are the best of the youths, by a small margin at that, doesn''t  mean you are invincible!¡±, Dory practically screamed at her at this point ¡°You know how many hunters lost their lives by underestimating their enemies!¡±


    ¡°Enough!¡±, a booming voice put an end to her reply. Turning her head around she saw her best friend, Julie walking towards her and Dory.


    Stepping in between them, pointing each of her hands in both their directions, ¡°It''s not the time to argue you idiots! This is something that has never happened before and it concerns the fate of the while village! We will the guy", theatrically waving her hand at the coldy knocked out person in her legs ¡°and bring him to the chieftain¡±


    She ushered forward the others from the group, ¡°Get a pole or something and tie him up, please", followed by a sigh and rubbing her temples, ¡°You are such kids, guys.. stop fighting over everything will you".


    The sight brought a smile to Talisa¡¯s face and instantly lifted the rage mask. Julie always was the most mature of them all, having the ability to calm them down and cease their fighting at any time.


    Truly a great friend¡±

 Chapter 9

    It has been a bit over three days since Tyler was locked inside the house. From the moment he stepped in, he was not allowed to go outside, no matter what.


    ¡°After the shamaness has come and confirmed you are not a threat, is when you will be released¡±, is the only answer he was given by the guards, from then onwards he was completely ignored. That gave him a lot of time to think over what¡¯s happened and his future. Unfortunately a lack of information.. Any information at all, to be more precise, always put his brainstorming to a headache-y end. There were simply too many variables and unknowns for him to formulate any cohesive plan for the future.


    With a heavy sigh he slumped down on the bed yet again, reminiscent of his earlier conversation.


    His only interactions were around five minutes in total throughout the whole day and they were the brief moments the girl brought him food and drinks. Since it was always the same girl that brought him foods and drinks, she visibly became more relaxed and confident around him.


    Today he finally mustered the courage to ask her, what might be his only saving from insanity while waiting for the damned shamaness to come back, books. He asked her if they had any books and if so, could he borrow any of them. He was harbouring the hope that since he could understand this world¡¯s inhabitants¡¯ speech, he most probably would understand their writing as well.


    The hope was squashed in a matter of seconds as her reply came with an apologetic expression, ¡°Am.. the only books the village has are the ones Melisa brought back with her from her adventures.. You¡¯ll have to directly ask her to lend you some, when you meet.. I am sorry¡±, with a slight bow the girl exited the house, leaving Tyler at his current position.


    Slouched over the bed and emptily staring in a dot, on the wall in front of him. He reckoned he might actually lose some of his sanity of the shamaness doesn¡¯t come soon. Being locked up in a medieval-time room like that, without any entertainment whatsoever was quite terrifying and anxiety inflicting.


    At least they didn¡¯t outright kill him. That¡¯s the good in the bad, Tyler thought as he laid down, trying to fall asleep yet again, as that was the only thing he could do to past time. Literally.


    Finally on the morning of the 4 day the long-awaited moment came. As he was slowly casting the drowsiness away from his eyes, the door to his abode swung open. Tyler watched with bewilderment and quite a bit of panic as the chieftain strolled into the house followed by three armed hunters and a woman wearing a green, void of any decorations, robe.


    Eyes opening with sight confusion then understanding and finally a dose of excitement. Tyler¡¯s mind became an ocean storm with waves of excitement and anticipation that crashed all around. The woman in front of him was definitely the long awaited shamaness that could supposedly rescue from this nightmare of entrapment.


    ¡°Oh in the name of Nansuelta, it really is a Corisan! But.. why? What is it doing here.. how?¡±, the woman exclaimed rather loudly, causing Tyler to cringe a bit. Her wording and reaction was.. not desirable to say the least. His future seemed bleak, dark even.


    The hunters in the room tightening their grips and putting all their attention and concentration on him didn''t help to easy his growing depression either.


    ¡°What do you mean Melisa!? Do you know what he is?¡±, the chieftain was the first to speak, the urgency in his voice seemed to wake up the shamaness out of her stupor. ¡°I.. I think.. I am not sure. Before I try to explain, first let¡¯s see if what he¡¯s told you is true.¡±If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    The shamaness, Melisa seemed to regain a bit of her self-control as she closed her eyes in concentration. After about 10 seconds of unimaginably uncomfortable silence, for Tyler at least, as the 3 hunters were staring holes through him while their knuckles became white from gripping their weapons toi hard, she finally opened her eyes.


    The previously mild green-grayish colour of her eyes had turned bright green, glowing even. Sparks of energy could be seen dancing around her irises. The now glowing-eyed woman took a step towards Tyler and suddenly a huge pressure befell him, crushing him, stopping him from breathing. It was akin to that of Roxus, however, more.. powerful.. more primal, more unstoppable, like a force of nature.


    ¡°Relax, accept the pressure and it will not torment you. The more you fight it the worse it¡¯ll get¡±, Melisa continued walking towards him, until she was right in front of him and then stopped. Slowly reaching out she put her hand on the still petrified and very much under-panic-attack Tyler, putting it on his forehead.


    ¡°In the name of Nansuelta, The Old and New gods, let divine judgement be our witness. Tyler, did you lie to Roxus when you told him that you do not remember your past and do not why or where you are?¡±


    Gulping loudly, Tyler tried to ignore the pressure and get his act together to answer. It took him a couple of seconds, but finally he was able to muster out an answer, ¡°Yes, I have not lied to Roxus.¡±


    What followed were incredibly long, endless, excruciating seconds of silence as the shamaness furrowed her brows in concentration while Tyler was sweating buckets.


    Without so much as an indication the pressure disappeared, Melisa sighed with relief and opened her eyes, now back to their normal mild green. She looked softly at Tyler, causing him to make a sigh of relief himself.


    Meeting her eyes, there was something else, another emotion mixed in together with relief. However, Tyler couldn''t discern it for the life of him, was it perhaps.. sadness? Or pity? But why would she look at him like that.


    Finally breaking their eye contact, she turned her head to Roxus, ¡°Everything is fine, he is not lying¡±, she said causing the hunters inside to yet again give a sigh of their own and relax the grips of their weapons. ¡°That is fine and all, however, it only deepens the mystery. Who is he, why is he here, how did he lose his memories?¡±, Roxus continued while gesturing with his hand towards Tyler, ¡°You said he was.. a Corsian, was it? What is that?¡±


    ¡°*Sigh*.. to many sighs in too fast. It is.. quite the long story. And I don¡¯t know if it is true or not, all I¡¯ve heard were either rumours or really, really old myths and legends. ¡°, looking around for a bit, Melisa gestured with her hand to the outside ¡°let''s go somewhere more comfortable and get a drink or too¡±.


    A couple of minutes later Tyler found himself seated around the table of what he came to know is the village hall, or the big building in the middle of the village where he first met Roxus. Occupying the other seats were Roxus, Melisa, the two other hunters that were with Roxus, which he now new were his two younger brothers and finally the girl that was the first sentient being that he met in this world. At the start he was baffled why she was there, but it turned out that she was Roxus¡¯ daughter.


    The setting and atmosphere, at first glance seemed really relaxed, as if just some friends were seated around for a light-hearted conversation and catching up. A cup of hot herbal tea in front of everyone further contributed for this feeling. In reality, however, it was anything but that. Every single person around the table was currently concentrated and giving of a non-bullshit vibe, the conversation to come was definitely a heavy one. More so tensed and anxious was Tyler. The shamaness was about to, apparently, reveal exactly what he was to the people of this world, which from what he got, he was a Corsian. The revelation that was soon to come will greatly affect his future plans and actions, hoping that it¡¯s nothing too bad he took one last sip of his tea and tried to relax and think as straight as possible.


    ¡°Haah, no point in postponing it any further. Before I tell you the widely known and accepted story, I must warn you that it is just that. An incredibly old story, borderline a myth and there is no way for me to guarantee it¡¯s authenticity. ¡°, Melisa looked around, stopping her gaze at each person¡¯s eyes for just a second, presumably to let the information sink and when she was certain that they are all listening she continued,


    ¡°Long time ago, in ages long forgotten and lost¡­¡±

 Chapter 10

    ¡°... it is said there was an ancient race, the greatest race to have ever lived on this world. A race that had overcome its limits, climbing from the bottom of the food chain, to the strongest on the world. It is said that they did not possess the capability to use mana, the energy of the universe. The very thing that is thought to have existed and coursed through every living thing since the beginning of time . Almost nothing is known about the race, nor why they could not use mana, however, we have come to call that era - The Age of Transcendence.¡±, stopping for a dramatic effect the shamaness took a close look at each of us, her eyes stopping for a tad bit longer when they met mine.


    ¡°Because that''s exactly what had happened, they had transcended their mortal limits, perhaps reaching even a higher place of existence. The scarce records from that time, that have survived through untold millenia were studied for centuries on end by our greatest scholars and we still have almost no idea what they mean.¡±


    Taking a deep breath and a sip from her tea, Melisa continued with a heavy tone ¡°I have not seen any of them with my own eyes, as they are top secret and only a handful of people have access to them, however, from what I''ve heard they are written with an intricate characters, creating an impossibly complex language, more so than even the ancient runes and on par with the ancient magical languages.


    Apparently the found records illustrate different concepts pertaining to our life, it''s meaning, the world and even about The Beyond. Each record containing numerous theories and depictions of such great machinery and technology that it makes the dwarves and their amazing works look like toddlers that play with the simplest of toys. Machine-like metal constructs and huge mechanical armours were depicted to be controlled by the people if this very race. Judging from the drawings in the manual, the beings that control  and build the technology look almost exactly as the high elves. The only difference being that they do not have long pointed ears and they all had different hair styles.¡±


    As she ended her sentence her eyes locked with mine. Apparently.. I am a part of this.. highly advanced race that seems to be using.. mecha-suits of some kind? I thought it was a high fantasy world.


    ¡°Now you all might be asking yourselves how have you not heard anything of this race of beings that completely dominated this entire world for millennia, staying in top of the food chain with ease.


    Well according to some kind of a diary that was recently found and recovered. And yes I do mean found and recovered, but I shall explain that when I am done with the story¡±, she quickly added as she saw the questioning looks that everyone, including me gave her.


    ¡°According to what little information se could extract from the diary, a close to the truth theory was created. Apparently this race of incredible beings had one bad perk, a deadly sin that would spell their doom.


    Lust. Lust for knowledge. They had reached the peak of the mortal beings, using their advanced knowledge and technology to step into the boundaries of immortality. That both accelerated their growth, but it also opened the doors of doubt and questioning. Why are we here? What¡¯s our purpose, why and how were we created? Why do we worship beings, Gods, that have left us without that, which every other being has and can use inherently - mana? Why follow their rules, their games?


    All these questions and more sprung about in their minds, strengthening their lust for knowledge, for answers.¡±, the intensity in her voice intensified many-fold and as she stopped for a short tea sip, I took a look around and saw the other 4 people in the room doing the same as me. Looking around with eager expressions, studying the other¡¯s reaction to the story thus far.


    I cannot deny that I am incredibly interested. It seems like the humans of this world didn¡¯t have exactly a good fate, judging from the vibes I am getting of the story thus far. This may complicate things, a lot. How am I to explain what I am doing here.. I can feel a headache forming.


    Having gulped down her tea, Melisa yet again looked straight into my eyes and continued, ¡°They committed the greatest sin. Ignoring what every other race told them, ignoring even the warning of the Gods themselves, they used their technology and knowledge to reach far beyond. Bending reality and tinkering with what even the Gods themselves do not dare, fate. Splitting fabric and world essence, bypassing both life and death, going beyond even Beyond, down to the core of the world, all in search for the Truth.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    Whether they found what they were searching for or not, is not known. However, what is known is that from that very day, the race died. Not physically, but spiritually. A primordial power descending on them, cursing their very existence, bringing death and misery to the world. Their lust causing millions of deaths, plagues, natural disasters and curses all befell the world for countless years. The race became empty shells of their past, of their glory. Their machines and technology destroyed and wiped out of existence, they were quickly driven away from the continents, from The Coalition created by the rage of the other races, in hope of revenge for pain and misery they had to endure due to the foolishness of this one race.


    Driven back into a corner with nowhere else to go, they made a deserted island, on the edge of the world, their new home. A thick miasma quickly engulfing the poor island, their cursed nature tainting the very land around it. That very island was from then onwards named The Forgotten Island.


    In rage all records of their existence was wiped out. As if such a race never existed, even the coordination and knowledge of the island was erased. Not even a single person spoke about the existence of this race and its fate to their kids. Thus came The Age of Rebirth, in which the world tried to survive and recover from the damages caused by the cursed race, the forgotten race.


    And it stayed as such for a very, very long time. Until a few centuries ago a dwarven expedition ship, found itself in the middle of an enormous ocean storm that changed its course, causing it to stumble upon The Forgotten Island, simply by chance.. Or perhaps fate.


    From that point numerous expeditions were sent to the island, trying to uncover its mysteries, however, they all ended the same. 90% of the people who went further than one kilometer deep into the island disappeared completely, the other 10%, that actually return are completely broken. They eyes unfocused as they go on to mumble gibberish under their breath for as long as they live. Basically becoming a broken vessel without a functioning soul or brain.


    The only thing that was retrieved so far from the island were the few manuals and records that laid on the beach of the island, that I mention in the beginning of my story. It is through them that we came to know of the existence of the Forgotten and Cursed race- thus naming them Corsians, meaning to be cursed.


    An unimaginable amount of time must have passed since they made that island their home, we have no idea if they are even still any members of the Corsians alive, however, the logical answer would be no. What causes the strange disappearances and states of the pioneers and expeditioners, we have blamed on the curse itself that has imbued itself in the very core of that island.¡±


    Finishing with a heavy sigh and downcast eyes, Melisa took the cup of tea in her hands, swishing the liquid back and forth, without drinking it. Her story leaving me completely dumbfounded. I am fucked. How am I to explain my existence, when the race that I presumably have come from had died off God knows how many years ago? There probably is some magical fantasy-like way to explain my existence, without revealing the truth, right? There must be!


    Then I realized that all the eyes on the room were glued on me, every gaze having a different emotion, bewilderment, excitement, curiosity even confusion. But they all had the same tint, the tint of wariness. That is not good, I have to do something and fast,


    ¡°I..-¡±


    ¡°So you can imagine my astonishment when I heard that my niece and her group of hunters have found a being that perfectly matches the description of a Corsian. A member of a race that not only is thought to have gone completely mad and broken, but should have gone extinct countless ages ago¡±, the shamaness interrupted me the second I tried to get some kind of an excuse out, her eyes sparkling with interest, ¡°However, I did use a divination magic to test the authenticity of your words, and you indeed do not lie. So that brings some complicated questions, are you really a Corsian? How did you come here and why?¡±


    Sighig yet again, her green eyes studied me, like a scientist would study a lab rat after giving it some kind of a new drug. She is making me uneasy, and so are the wary and curious other 4 sets of eyes in the room that are needlessly adding up to the already over the top heavy atmosphere.. Couldn¡¯t they leave me with her alone.. I guess no.


    ¡°I do have my theory though. And I do have a way to check if it¡¯s true¡±, she continued and smiled wide. A rather simplistic and genuine smile, if it wasn¡¯t for the way her eyes looked at me.. I am definitely starting to feel like a test subject right now and she a devilish scientist. Let¡¯s at least hope that whatever  she has in mind will not go wrong for me. Living as a member of an extinct race doesn¡¯t seem either easy or nice.