The strong touch of the wind slapped across Kevin’s face. He had a hard time balancing himself from falling off from this chestnut-colored horse. He had no choice but to followed this elf-like lady. Well, he didn’t mind following a beautiful lady such as her but, one thing for sure, she was colder than ice.

“Woah,” He lost his balance and fell forward. His arms quickly wrapped around the elf-like lady’s waist.

“Do not touch me,” said the elf-like lady.

She pulled the rein on the horse as the steed took an abrupt stop. Her strong glare pierced right through Kevin’s eyes.

“Sorry, it was an accident,” he said while putting up his hands in the air.

“This is a warning, do not ever touch me,” she said.

Kevin nodded and the duo went on their way galloping through the forest floor. After a while, the view changed for the better. The thick trees were left behind and in front of them was the vast grass plains. The tall grass swerving in unison tickled by the gentle breeze. A sight to behold for the city dweller. At the far end of his sight was the magnificent mountain ranges spanning from one corner of his sight to another, an amazing view. Yet Kevin Wang couldn’t appreciate it, since his mind bogged by that floating text window.

A while ago, just before he hopped on the horse, the elf-like lady explained to him a bit.

“You are now in another world and the thing you see is the law of this world,” said the elf-like lady.

Those words kept circling inside his mind as he tried to comprehend the notion of such a thing.

Is she really telling me the truth?

He wondered but still skeptical, as his heart was in denial.

Or is this the afterlife? Since I did clearly remembered being shot at.

The scene where he was mugged and being shot at came back haunting his mind once more. He definitely felt the pain before passing out, was that really how his life ended?

But what about all of this?

His eyes went side to side taking in the view of this beautiful scenery. It could be a place on earth but the sight of this lady’s pointy ears brought him back to reality. He clearly remembered the text on the floating window, it described how his health regeneration was heightened within that few seconds. In a way, what he saw was rather familiar to a game-like description. It was bonkers but his instinct was telling him as such.

If this really what I think it is, then I might as well try. Menu.

An inner monologue that came with a success. His eyes bulged as he saw another floating window in front of him.

Kevin Wang

Level : 1

Class : None

HP : 250

BP : 150

Strength : 5

Agility : 5

Dexterity : 5

Vitality : 5

Intelligence : 5

Wisdom : 5

Points : 0

Skills : Language(Alva)

I can’t believe it, it’s really like a game, is this really happening to me?

He pinched himself by the cheek and the pain jolted his sensory nerves, telling him this was indeed happening. It wasn’t fake or mere imagination, a rather primitive and dubious way to confirm such surreal things but how else could he do it other than that? Then his eyes traced over the skill slot.

Alva? What kind of language is that? Can I see the description of the Language skill?

Another window appeared granting his wish.

Skill : Language(Alva)

One of the oldest languages that still existed ever since the ancient era. Language of the Alva race.

*A free skill obtained when talking to the first you met in this world.

*Only work once.

Wow, a translation skill that only works once. How convenient. Why can’t it just be a simple translation skill where I can talk to anyone without a language barrier? Does this mean I need to learn another language if I want to talk to another person besides an elf? Shit, that's going to be a headache. Learning a new language is going to be hard for this rusty head of mine.

He was spot-on but he still couldn’t stop complaining.

And for a free skill to be language why it can’t be something else? Something useful would be appreciated like something I can use to attack, if it wasn’t for the timely interruption of this elf, I might have died being eaten by that huge pig.

All sorts of random thoughts circled inside his head, as he didn’t have time to appreciate the gorgeous view around him. He was having trouble adapting to the current situation that was definitely beyond the norm. Then suspicion arose from the depth of his heart. He couldn’t help but glance at the elf-like lady in front of him.

Who is she exactly? And why is she helping me, a stranger of all people? To my shallow knowledge, elves definitely aren’t friendly with humans in general, but does that logic applies here? Is she a friend or an enemy?

While he contemplated, the elf-like lady felt uneasy for a while. Her eyes narrowed down as her instinct was telling her something.

“Hey, can’t you at least tell me where you bringing me?” Kevin said.

His question was left unanswered. The elf-like lady outright ignored him as she cast her vigilance expecting something to happen.

“Why am I here and why are you helping me?” Kevin asked. He was pressing for answers, answer for him being here.

“Silence,” she said. One word, enough to shut Kevin from uttering another.

A second later, the ground started to shake. The horse started acting weird, galloping in place as the elf-like lady struggled to rein in the horse. The chestnut color horse refused to go forward as the trembling of the earth turned stronger.

“Earthquake?” Kevin asked. His eyes shifted towards the quaking ground around him.

“No,” said the elf-like lady.

Boom!

The ground cracked apart as a huge hand erupted from the earth. It was humongous, unlike a human hand, as if a giant living underneath the surface of the ground. The skin appeared coarse with stone-like arm-hair flourishing on its wide forearm. The massive hands pulled itself up as a more monstrous figure unearthed itself from within the boundary of the ground. It leaped out from the crack as its eyes stared right at the duo on the horse.

“Rawh!”

A deafening roar coming from a being as it stood tall reaching a height of fifteen feet. It cast a shadow over the duo who were on the horse.

“Troll,” said the elf-like lady as she frowned at the monstrosity standing a few feet away from them.

Kevin couldn’t look away. His jaw dropped as he stared at the sight of this troll. A huge humanoid being with lumps of rocks partially embedded on its skin. As if the rocks acted like armor for the creature.

“Run,” said the elf-like lady as she tapped the horse.

The bulky arm of the troll swung hard at the duo. It was slow yet it carried a terrible pressure. Kevin swore he felt the brush of a harsh wind on his back.

Boom.

The ground trembled as the troll missed its target. By a stroke of luck, the horse fled faster before the troll could get to it. Kevin almost fell as he wrapped his arms around the elf-like lady’s waist. The elf-like lady didn’t cuss at Kevin as she maintained her concentration in reining the horse. Looking back, he saw the troll chasing down on them with its huge strides. For a troll, it was quite fast and it was quick in gaining up-on them.

“It's gaining up-on us,” said Kevin.

The elf-like lady didn’t turn her head around as she knew that sooner or later the troll would catch up to them. The troll growled like mad, its log-sized hand scooped up the earth like it was sand. Kevin looked back once more and saw the action of the troll.

“It’s going to throw something,” he said.

“Take the rein,” said the elf-like lady.

“What? I’ve never ride a horse before,” said Kevin.

The elf-like lady didn’t say a word as she stood up and leaped in the air. Kevin watched in awe as a second later she stood behind Kevin with her bow ready to shoot. Her flawless and sharp action made Kevin reminded of a person in a certain fellowship. Seeing the reins left unattended, Kevin shifted his bottom forward as his hands grabbed on to the reins. A slight tug made the horse neighed as it swerved to the right. The elf-like lady who was aiming her bow felt the sudden change in direction.

“Straighten the horse!” said the elf-like lady.

Kevin tried his best and the elf-like lady took aim at the huge chunk of dirt that was flying towards them.

“Gale Strife,” she uttered as the wind combined at a single point. It took time as the arrow took form. Her eyes were keen at the huge target and as she timed it well, her fingers released the bowstring.

The wind arrow struck the pile of dirt right at the center, instantly shattering it into little crumbling pieces.

But the troll wasn’t finished yet, as numerous chunk of earth went flying in the air. She was calm as her target grew in numbers. She aimed with the composure of a professional archer as she shot down those huge projectiles with her wind-powered arrows.

Kevin who was reining the horse was curious about what was happening at the back. The last thing he saw was that troll flinging a huge chunk of earth.

Shit, what’s going on back there? I thought I saw that troll flinging a chunk of dirt, is everything okay?

Kevin didn’t dare look back as he reined the steed carefully with his stiff hands. The elf-like lady was shooting down those piles of dirt, as her motion turned faster. She started to frown as the troll kept throwing like mad. Yet her arrows foiled the plan of the simpleton troll.

"Groa!" it roared as it abandoned its tactic. The troll ran towards the duo while the elf-like lady rained down her gust arrows hitting the troll head-on. Her attacks hindered the troll’s pace but the giant creature still kept on pursuing them. The distance between them shortened by the second, in the end, the elf-like lady’s attack proved to be useless. Even so, she didn’t stop unleashing a rain of arrows at the troll, no matter if it wasn’t working.

Kevin who was on the rein felt a bad feeling creeping inside his heart. Then he noticed a shadow looming over his head. His anxiety gripped his heart as it didn’t take long for him to turned his head over to the back. Kevin’s eyes enlarged as his whole body froze. The troll was just a foot away from them. Its two huge hands reached out to them intending to smash them in the middle. The elf-like lady finally broke a sweat as she unfurled a torrent of arrows in the shortest of time. But a man was losing hope.

I’m screwed.

As life was about to flash in front of his eyes, he heard a loud swooping noise. A sudden barrage of high-power arrows struck the troll from the side. The troll roared in pain as it went down on the ground. Both Kevin and the elf-like lady turned their glance at the far side.

He narrowed his eyes as he saw a group of people riding on their horses rushing towards them. They were pulling their bows as they were readied for another attack. Soon, another volley of arrows came down striking the grounded troll.

“Who are they?” Kevin asked.

“Reinforcement,” said the elf-like lady. She smiled lightly as if meeting an old friend.

The troll got up as it raised its arm blocking the arrows. It growled once more as it engaged in combat with the reinforcement.

Kevin watched the battle between these two opposite sides as they fought for dominance. Yet the scene grew smaller away as the horse galloped further away from the battleground.

“Pass me the reins,” said the elf-like lady as her gentle voice snapped Kevin back to the present situation.

He handed the rein over and she did a casual flip leaping over him. A swift move as she took the front position. She hastened the pace as the horse galloped faster riding through the plains heading towards the sea of trees.

“Do you know them?” Kevin asked.

Kevin waited. It took a lot of silence before she finally parted her lips.

“They are my people,” she said. “What's left of us,” her words trailed by with a sorrowful tone.

Kevin didn’t know much but at least he knew that from the elf-like lady’s voice, something bad must have happened. He fell quiet as he didn’t speak a word throughout the rest of the journey.

The journey stopped as the horse stood in front of a giant tree barely with some leaves. It looks old and the size was starkly different from back on earth. It was huge on a different level.

The elf-like lady came off the horse and signaled to Kevin to follow along. He jumped down as he dusted off his hands. The elf-like lady approached the horse as both of them connected their heads together as she whispered.

“Thank you.”

The horse neighed as it galloped away leaving the duo behind.

“It’s not your horse?” Kevin asked.

“Rotten to the core,” she said while glaring at Kevin. She left him behind as she walked over to the giant tree.

Kevin stood there dumbfounded by the open hostility shown by the elf-like lady. He didn’t even know what he did to receive such blatant enmity. A thought struck his mind.

Is she really the one who saved me?

For now, a question with no answer. He walked over to the elf-like lady, standing beside her as he saw her pressing the palm of her hand to the trunk of the tree. She closed her eyes and muttered something.

Kevin turned towards the tree trunk as the sound of snapping tree branches echoed in his ears. Then once more, another surprise came, the tree trunk started separating by the grains revealing an entrance.

The elf-like lady entered the tunnel as Kevin followed from behind. The greenish glow of the wall caught Kevin’s interest. The sound of snapping trees returned once more, he turned and saw the entrance closed in awe.

“Woah,” said Kevin.

He gulped down a mouthful of his saliva, nervous about the nearing future. To be fair, he was still clueless after everything that had happened today.

Kevin caught up to the elf-like lady as they descended a flight of spiral stairs. It was a long way down and in the end, Kevin was bending forward with his hands on his knees, panting for his breath.

“Are we… huff… there… huff… yet?” he asked.

“We are here,” she said finally bringing relief to Kevin.

He stood up and walked over to the elf-like lady who already exited the naturally formed arch door. The moment he did, his jaw was left hanging, and again his eyes kept on getting wider.

“Woah,” his eyes stared at the fantasy-like scene. It was a city as if coming straight from a fantasy genre movie.

“Be grateful,” said the elf-like lady. “What you are seeing right now is the city of Edelstein.”