His initial feeling upon waking up was a sparkle in his eyes. Light filled his vision, and he narrowed his eyes in discomfort. Once his eyes adjusted to the brightness, he found himself looking at a beautiful, clear blue sky.
"What… where am I?"
He tried to get his thoughts together, but he couldn't think clearly; it felt like his conscious self was separate and outside of his physical body.
This is what people call an out-of-body experience, right?
A soft, cold breeze from the air made his consciousness clear, like the air guided his thoughts into his head.
I am outside; how? Just a minute ago, I was in school.
He tried to sit up, but his body felt numb. He did feel a sensation in his fingers and wrists, but he couldn't properly move his body.
It was almost like he gained a new one.
"—-XXX—-XXXX—-" a voice called out to him.
What is he saying?
He couldn't hear clearly and didn't understand it at all.
Could it be that it's not Japanese?
The boy finally got enough strength to get his lower body off the ground. Leaning on his arm, he turned his head towards the voice.
His vision was still blurry, but he could see a figure sitting on a tree trunk.
In front of him was a small campfire.
Sitting beside the campfire was a person in knight armor. He gave off an intimidating aura, like he could blow you away in one single strike.
Why is he cosplaying like a knight? Is this outside Comic-Con or something? The boy thought. I should call out to him, tell him that I am lost, or at least ask him where I am.
He moved his body in a way that he was now sitting on his buttocks.
"Hey, Mr. Knight! I am sorry, but I am lost. Do you know where we are?"
The knight tilled his head, clearly not understanding what the boy was saying.
"—XXX——XX—-" he replied.
It surely wasn't Japanese. It sounded a little bit like Norwegian? Swedish? He wasn't sure, but it definitely wasn't Japanese.
The knight made a 'come here' motion with his hand.
He looks intimidating; I don't know if I can trust him, but where else can I go?
He stood up and took his first steps. He felt his hands shaking; he didn't know if it was from the intimidating aura he gave off because he was afraid to approach him.
He wasn't a social person; he didn't have what you call friends in his life.
With every step he got closer to the knight, his body screamed at him to run away.
I…. I can't; I am too afraid, but why? He isn't like the people back home. I hope?
He had reached the campfire. The knight reached into his bag that rested beside him and took something out.
A book?
An intricately designed, old-fashioned book with a thick, leather-bound cover. The cover has a rich brown color and features embossed ornamental patterns, including circular designs, corners reinforced with decorative metal pieces, and detailed etchings.
The edges of the book are weathered.
He opened the book, and it showed a map.
He looked confused. This doesn't look like the world map from earth at all?
Is this guy pretending to be in some kind of fantasy world or something?
"Uhhmm, sorry, sir, I don't know where this world is."
The knight pointed at the book.
Oh, right, I forgot that we don't speak some language. My memory is still fuzzy, but I can't read anything of this. What are these kinds of weird symbols? I almost have to convince myself that I am not in a fantasy world or something.
His mouth fell open.
There was a text written in Japanese. It read, "You who can understand the things written in this book. This is your guide, your life. Keep it with you at all times. I'll find you, my son."
He turned the page, and it revealed a language learning guide.
I still don't understand any of this. This is your guide? I'll find you, my son?
I can see that this isn't the way they write on Europe or Korea, maybe Russian or Arabic?
But why do I need this? I just want to return home.
He started turning the page, searching for the right sentence to speak.
The title; East continent, the language of Deity.
"I need back home, Japan, Asia continent."
He said this while reading the instructions of the book. In the language of Deity.
"I was called to train you." The knight replied.
Eeeehhh? What did he say?
...
Train?
The boy shook his head. "Home." he said slowly.
"Your home is gone."
The boy didn't understand any of this. He was trying to grasp the situation. but he still believed that it was for a TV show or something.
"Let me introduce myself. I am Paul."
The boy was searching through the book.
"Fukushū Tatsuya, nice to meet you."
The knight got a map and pointed to the location where they found themselves.
"We are at the East continent, in the Speed Dragon Mountains, in the country of Montisora."
"But I am from Japan."
"Tatsuya, boy, there isn't a country like Japan in this world."
There isn't a country that is called Japan? Maybe it's called different here or something.
I should tell him...
"Grhhhaaaaa!!!"
a towering beast, scales whiter than heaven's light, and eyes burning like molten gold. The air shimmered with heat as it spread its massive wings, casting a shadow over the land.
"Stay back, Tatsuya!" Paul ordered.
But Tatsuya couldn't dare move a muscle, his face full of fear and terror.
I need to get out of here! What is this monster? Where am I? This man is going to die. I need to run right when he is going to attack.
Paul unsheathed his sword, its blade gleaming under the setting sun. He took a fighting stance. He gathered his mana and transferred it into his sword.
"With the speed of lightning's sacred grace, guide my journey, quicken my pace. In this moment, blessed and pure, I seek Your light, my heart secure. Velocity Surge!!!"
As Tatsuya wanted to make a run for it. In a flash Paul leaped into the air, the force of his velocity cracking the ground beneath him, and brought his sword down in one swift motion.
The blade cut through the dragon's neck as if it were nothing but air. Time snapped back to its normal pace as Paul landed softly behind the beast, his sword already back in its sheath.
For a moment, the dragon remained motionless, its mighty form frozen in disbelief. Then, with a deafening crash, the head slid from its neck and tumbled to the ground.
Tatsuya blinks once. Twice. His brain struggled to process what he was seeing.
"That's… magic?" He took a step back, glancing around wildly.
The sky was still blue, the grass still green, but nothing felt right anymore. Magic was something from games, anime, and fantasy novels, not real life.
But there it was—right in front of him.
"This... this can't be real." pinching his arm as if that would somehow wake him from whatever bizarre dream this was. "There's no way."
Tatsuya's heart pounded in his chest as the reality of the situation hit him like a brick. He wasn't on Earth. This wasn't some TV show or cosplay event. The impossible magic swirling in front of him made that abundantly clear.
"This is... a different world," Tatsuya whispered, taking another step back, his mind reeling.
He glanced down at his hands, half-expecting them to start glowing or something. I've been transported. Like in a light novel or something?
The thought made him dizzy, but at the same time, excitement sparked in his chest.
"Magic... monsters... another world... " His voice trembled as he whispered the words to himself, trying to make sense of it all.
"I'm still alive."
The truth hit him like a cold wave, stopping him dead in his tracks. He hadn't cared about the next day. He hadn't cared about anything.
He had wanted to die.
That's why he had taken his own life, letting his mind drown in a suffocating emptiness. He had been ready to just disappear, to be done with it all.
Tatsuya's shoulders slumped, his hands shaking at the memory. He had been so tired.
Tired of the monotonous cycle of bullying and loneliness? Tired of pretending everything was fine. He thought that he was done with it, that he had escaped from it, but now it could all happen again.
The thought twisted painfully in his chest.
But instead of the release he had craved, instead of being free from the weight of his existence... he had been transported here.
"This isn't what I wanted," Tatsuya
muttered, his voice thick with frustration. He gripped his hair in his fists, teeth clenched as his mind spiraled. "Why... why am I here?"
He thought of the magic he had seen earlier. The impossible display of strength and wonder had shattered the very laws of reality. For most people, being transported to a fantasy world would be a dream come true.
The kind of thing that kids fantasize about while playing video games or reading novels. But to Tatsuya, it felt like a cruel joke.
"I didn't ask for this," his voice hollow. His knees gave out, and he collapsed onto the cold, damp ground.
A laugh—bitter and sharp—escaped his throat as he stared up at the unfamiliar sky.
It was too beautiful. Too bright. Instead, he was here. In some strange world where magic existed, where the impossible was real.
But what did it matter? What was the point of all of this if he didn't even want to live? Why couldn't I just die?
Tatsuya's vision blurred as he stared blankly at the trees swaying overhead. The chirping of strange birds and the rustle of leaves filled the air, but it all felt distant. Unreachable.
He buried his face in his hands, a pit forming in his stomach. Why couldn't it have ended back there, in the classroom? Why did I have to be pulled into some twisted fantasy when all I wanted was peace?
Part 2
Tatsuya stared at the ground, his eyes tracing the cracks in the dry earth beneath him. His heart felt heavier with each passing second, as if a part of him had been severed and left behind in a place he could never reach.
Footsteps approached, breaking the stillness. Tatsuya didn't have to look up to know who it was.
It was Paul.
He removed his helmet from his head.
His face bore the quiet intensity of a seasoned knight-sharp, defined features tempered by a subtle gentleness in his steel-blue eyes.
Walnut brown hair framed his angular jaw, the strands falling in just the right amount of disarray to hint at both charm and weariness.
His beard was the kind that seemed almost accidental short, well kept, yet rugged enough to betray long days on the road and nights spent beneath the stars.
The man's presence alone was enough to fill the empty space around them, commanding and steady, like a mountain looming in the distance.
He kneeled on one knee, leveling himself to Tatsuya's height. "Young Tatsuya, I am sorry if I startled you with my sword art."
Paul's voice was calm, almost apologetic, but it didn't reach Tatsuya's heart.
Paul's sword art had been something beyond what he could comprehend, but even now, Tatsuya wasn't sure if what he'd seen was extraordinary, or if it was simply how things worked in this strange world.
Were powers like that common here? Was everyone so easily capable of cutting through life as if it meant nothing?
"Well, you are the person someone prophesied about. So I will take you under my protection, and teach you swordsmanship until I think you are ready to go on your."
What could he even say to something like that? No, I don't care? The words rose in his throat, but he swallowed them. That would be reckless. I'll make it on my own? Even he knew how foolish that would sound. The truth was, he was terrified—of Paul, of this world.
He raised his eyes to meet Paul's gaze. There was something calm in the older man's body language, something reassuring in the way he stood there, waiting.
As if he already knew what Tatsuya would decide, and was giving him the space to accept it on his own terms.
Tatsuya exhaled, his breath shaky but resolute. "Alright," he whispered, barely louder than the wind that passed between them. "I accept."
But as the words left his mouth, the burden in his chest didn't lighten. If anything, it deepened, sinking further into him, wrapping around his heart like chains.
He had made a choice, but what that meant… he wasn't ready to face.
Not yet.
Part 3
Paul took me high in the Speed Dragons mountains. Communication between each other is on the rough side, but with my trusty old handbook, I am able to pick up most of it.
Apparently speed dragons are called speed dragons because they are the fastest species on the planet.
Speed dragons aren't the only species of dragons in this world.
Lava dragons live in the east continent, in the country of Pyronica. They live inside the vulcan, in the lava. Their scales are reddish and are able to fly.
Water dragons live in all parts of the ocean. They are also called hydra's. Their scales are dark blue and swim under water; they can't fly.
Earth dragons live mostly in the east and west continents. They aren't able to fly. Mostly brownish color, and they are the only ones that live in packs.
And last are the ice dragons; they live on the north continent, in the country of Borealia. They live in the frozen mountains, mostly in ice caves. Their scales are blue or white.
They arrived at a small, rustic dwelling built into the side of a rocky cliff. The structure appears to be part cave and part small house, with a domed roof and two simple windows framing a weathered door.
A large, faded cross is painted on the exterior wall.
The inside showed walls that are made of rough stone, and the low ceiling slopes downward.
To the right, a simple wooden bench provides seating for those coming to pray or meditate and a hearth stove for cooking.
It is small, but it has anything you need for living.
But there is one problem: here is only one bed.
Right as Tatsuya wanted to open his book to ask him about the bed, Paul interrupted him.
"Bed is yours; don't worry. I'll sleep under the stars tonight."
Tatsuya laid on the bed. The quality of the bed was, of course, worse than what he was used to, but it was pretty comfortable.
Tatsuya closed his eyes, thinking back at everything that had happened.
It was impossible to sleep.
He turned his head to the side and looked through a small window. A big, bright star shines through the window. He stepped out of bed and opened the window.
A warm breeze runs through Tatsuya's hair.
He poked his head through the window and saw not one but two moons lighting up the night sky, both together like guardians of the night.
"I really am in a fantasy world." He said softly to himself. "I should go to sleep."
He laid on the bed and closed his eyes.
And by that, Tatsuya Fukushu's first day in a new world came to a close.