"Hey, wake up!" The shout of a woman rang through his ears, "Am I doing this the easy way or the hard way? I dare you to tell me to do it the hard way."
Resting on the ground is a young man unconscious on his back in an unflattering pose with his arms and legs in awkward positions. Dressed in a breezy, turquoise tunic over a long-sleeved cloth shirt, black pants, and leather boots, the man only groaned.
"Hard way it is." The woman who grew a sinister smirk on her face wore a white suit with various shades of gray, a silver cape held by a golden insignia resting on her right shoulder, and long hair wrapped in a ponytail.
With a snap of her fingers, she summoned a ball of water. In the same instance, she conjured a ball of flame. Merging the spells, the flame evaporated within the orb, boiling the water to its limit. With a final check, she glanced over at the man. Clearly showing no signs of wake, she smiled, plopping the restless orb on the man's groin.
Not a moment passed before the man sprung up in pain, clutching onto his nether regions. His shouts echoed through the mountaintop they stood upon, shattering the once serene atmosphere with his barbaric screeching. In his writhing of pain, he tripped, landing in a bucket of decaying meat.
"Arghh!!" His screams grew louder.
"Yeahhh, that was the easy way. I was just going to make you smell it, but you thought of something way funnier," the woman burst into laughter.
With the pain beginning to subside, the man eased the tension around his body, slowly accepting his situation as he peeled the cuts of carrion off his face.
"Could you help me?" He asked, sounding defeated.
"Oh, sure. Just let me etch this into my memory for a bit longer."
"Seriously??"
"I am. Speaking of memories…" The woman waved her finger over the man, slowly cleaning him with a stream of water, while returning the carrion to the bucket, "Relay to me what you can remember."
"I-I… I'm sorry, is that water coming out of you?" He questioned. Being faced with supernatural abilities for the first time in his life, his curiosity consumed his confusion.
"It is," she rolled her eyes, "Now will you answer my question, or will I be dumping you with another bucket of rot?"
"Sorry, sorry. I… I remember…"
-
Hours earlier, the young man was alone in his room. He had a simple space to call his own. A computer at his desk, a ruffled bed, and a small shelf dedicated to a collection of resin figures of an assortment of women in various clothing that shows they are unrelated to each other.
Aimlessly scrolling through his computer, his mind began to drift off, remembering his life in detail. In his youth, his grades in school and his performance in sports were unrivaled, but as he grew older it became more apparent that he became average in life. Soon, he found less and less meaning putting in serious effort into anything. Continuing this spiral of self-doubt and indifference, the years passed. Nodding his head back to the present, today would be the opening ceremony if he had decided to enroll in a college. Finding no use in living a life where he was meant to be a cog in the gears of society, he chose to ignore the few letters of offers his local colleges sent him.
"What am I going to do?" He asked himself. It wasn't as though he didn't want to change, but lacked the meaning to do so. Although his parent's disproval of his change in attitude was something they made clear, it was still true that they loved him.
Despite their efforts to rekindle him into society, it was met with countless failures.
"What's there left for me in this world to actually work for…?"
His thoughts grew more and more depressing as he reflected more on his life. The great number of friends he's lost over the years, and the few number of times he's thought of suicide. Though he's had multiple reflections like these in his recent days, none has persisted as much as this occurrence. Lowering his head and rubbing his eyes, he let out a deep sigh.
"It's just another day," he thought to himself.
Raising his head he found himself alone in a blindingly white room. Though the sudden change of location would shock anyone, he felt empty, undisturbed, indifferent; just as he'd always felt.
Flashes of light echo through his mind until his recollection ends.
-
"I… I don't know, " he continued, "I don't remember how I got here!"
"I thought as much. It's the effects of the divine," she gazed longingly at the skies above.
"Where… where are we?" He asked getting a better look at his surroundings.
A withered tree rested at the center of the small clearing where they stood; the grass was brown, crumbling at the slightest touch. The only structure was a stone pedestal with a beaten sword inlaid within it.
"Atop a mountain south of Qrisley. Ah, but there is an unnamed village somewhere at the foot of this mountain."
Picking himself from the ground, he jogged to the edge of the cliffside to see that the lady was telling the truth. He took a few steps back before turning to the lady, "May I ask your name?"
"Veridas. I was assigned to make your transition into this life more easier for you."
"My transition? Like to fit in?"
"Something like that. From what I'm told, you were given three things of your choosing when you were brought into this world. I couldn't care less about what it is. All I know is that junk is one of them."
Veridas pointed to the sword within the pedestal. The man stared at it for a few seconds before facing Veridas, "I asked for it?"
"Yes. Now moving on, your name. I've decided it to be, Karion. Sourced from your earlier display." The woman had a sadistic grin on her face.
"W-What?? No way, I already have a name and it's… I-It's…" His face turned pale, "I can't remember my name…"
Veridas sighed, "This is precisely why I was against this. I knew you wouldn't retain anything." With a scoff, she continued, "For you to enter this world, the price you paid was with your name. What its value means is something only the gods will know."
She cleared her throat and held a forced smile, "So, Karion, is that all you have to ask? Because I'd like to get this done over with." Veridas was sure to emphasize the name she forced onto him, "Oh, and I'll say that your name is already set in your status, so there's no use in changing it. I will also not answer any other questions regarding this world simply because I don't have to."
He was appalled. Not only was his name forced to be his first embarrassing moment, but Veridas' cruelty was just etched into her personality.
"Fine, " he said, reluctantly accepting his name, "What do I do?"
Veridas smiled, snapping her fingers and summoning a sword in her palm, and one at Karion's foot, "Survive."
"W-What?!" Karion picked up the sword hesitantly, "That's it? Just-"
"You picked it up!" Veridas immediately sprinted towards Karion, unleashing a barrage of wild swings.
Though his technique was unrefined, Karion managed to barely hold his own, "Wait, stop!!"
The clanging of their swords echoed through the area. With each swing Veridas struck, Karion was pushed closer and closer to the edge.
[She's crazy..!!] Karion grew more tense, unable to think straight.
His steps continued backward until he felt his body fall.
[Ah…. I'm dead…]
A sudden jolt of energy surged through him and he found himself lying on his back just a few feet away from Veridas.
"I… What…?" Karion stood up slowly.
"My job is to make it so you can have enough girth to make it against the lowest-level monsters," Veridas explained while swinging her sword, "They aren't the strongest bunch, so I won't be facing you seriously. Still, if you think you'll die, you will be restored and transferred here until your training is over."
"So I won't… die…" Karion breathed slowly, grateful for Veridas' help, but at the same time had a look of annoyance, [Tell me that first you lunatic!!]
"Nn? Are you thinking of something rude?" Veridas raised her eyebrow, "I guess that means you haven't had enough, huh?"
"Wait- Wait!! How long are we doing this??" Karion jumped, steadying his blade as he took a few steps away.
"You're connected to this mountain, mind, body, and soul," Veridas dashed towards Karion, swinging her blade as she spoke, "As your skills grow, so too will this mountain. When this area becomes lush, you can graduate!"
Karion still struggled to combat Veridas properly and was beaten to the ground by a sudden kick.
"I plan to get you strong within a week. So be prepared, because I will not tolerate failure."
[She's ruthless..!!!!]
The mountain once again was filled with the clashes of swords, from dawn to dusk. The constant beatings from Veridas had eventually been drilled into him, if not by effort, but by repetition. As his training continued, six days had passed.
On the morning of the seventh, the once barren land propagated the greenery of a scene from legend, with trees growing around the edges of the mountain summit and vibrant grass rustling from the wind.
The clashes of swords exchanged between the two would be heard for the final time before Karion collapsed from exhaustion.
"How… how was that?" He said while huffing.
"Mm, good enough," Veridas snapped her fingers, dissolving the swords they used into particles that disappeared through the wind, "Keep in mind that only your body has changed, albeit very little. You come from a peaceful world. What I could teach in a week won't be of use to you. Find your own techniques, your own style of battle."
She walked to Karion, crouching over his head, "You did well, Karion," she gently caressed his head.
With a light blush, Karion averted his eyes. Though his training was grueling, Veridas had a beauty that couldn't be overlooked. Though his thoughts of bliss would soon be overtaken, as he suddenly felt a shock through his body, that began to sting every muscle he had.
"ARGH! W-WHAT IS THIS..?!"
Veridas released her hand from Karion, "I disconnected your link to the mountain. The pain you feel now is how you should've been feeling this past week."
"WARN ME FIRST, LUNATIC!!" Karion scowled at Veridas, [Of course, just because she looks like that, what's inside her is THAT!!]
"Hmph, as a reward for graduating, I'll dismiss your comment. But with your link severed, you can and will die if you are reckless. I won't tell you how to live your life, but please, don't make my invested time in you a waste."
"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind…" Karion said as he stood, his legs wobbling, and breath heavy.
"You should be fine, even that junk cleaned itself for you," Veridas pointed to the once-aged sword, "It seems during your efforts, the energy of the earth imbued itself to the sword."
Karion turned his head to the stone pedestal. The beaten-down sword he once saw now had a blade that shined with the sun's reflection, a polished hilt that yearned to be wielded, and a shining jewel at its center that almost seemed to stare back at him.
"Can I really just take it?" His question was left without an answer. When he turned to Veridas, she had disappeared, leaving nothing but the experience they shared as master and student.
"…..Thanks, lunatic." Though he muttered the words with spite, his feelings were genuine. Being brought into a new world alone would have surely crushed him if not for his extreme welcome party, easing him into the potential dangers of the new world.
He walked to the blade, admiring its splendor before firmly grasping the hilt with both hands. He took a deep breath, bending his knees as he slowly pulled the blade from its resting spot.
The sword was claimed without resistance, shining brighter in the sun as if basking in its rays. Holding it in one hand, Karion noticed and reached for the sheathe resting on a rack behind the sword's place of rest. Combining the two relics, he straddled the blade to his back using the attached strap of the sheathing.
Taking another breath, the reality of his new life became more clear to him.
[A different world, huh?]