In the night of the dazzling moon, inside a guard box, a lone human sighed at an open window. Reaching for the cup handle containing wine, Guard Gibson stretched his arm as he grumbled.

“Damn! Of all the places in Jansen Village, who would have thought, that on this very occasion, I would be stationed at the gate”

Silver light illuminated the inside of the box.

Gulping the wine, Gibson rustled the inside of his pocket and black, hard bread came out. The sounds of cheers reached and resonated in the guard house. Just listening to it alone, pissed him off.

“Damn it.”

Gibson was on duty; Protocol. Ah protocol and duties! The only reason why he was situated on this gate… A duty including him that most guards want. It was of no coincidence, that manning this place was dubbed as a safe haven for people like Gibson. A guard would definitely avoid the usual disputes, drunken brawls and chasing of thieves. A paradise of lazy persons for a better description… unless if one’s placed there in the midst of a celebration.

Crumbs fell as he took another bread housed inside his pocket “A Happy Halavat’s Festival to you Mr Bread and Mrs Wine. May the shine of Halavat’s ass fall upon the people of Jansen” as he gave a middle finger into the direction of the merry sounds.

“The least they could do was give me some meat!” He dunked the bread furiously on the wine. Gibson cursed his fellow villagers for each bite he took. Sighing, he waltzed for every beat dropped by the drums, spinning every three steps while balancing the bread and wine in his grasp. He closed his eyes, hummed with the beat and hoped that peaceful nights such as this would continue.

In his drunken state, Gibson heard faint footsteps. Is someone there? he peeked through the window’s opening. The crunching of leaves was heard until a shadow of a man emerged from the paved road. What strange clothes Gibson thought, noticing the shirt of the unknown man. It had circular spots of black and white. The shine of the moon complemented the man’s black hair as Gibson felt a strange aura surrounding the stranger. Gibson rushed to the door, took the spear beside him and tightened his grip on the shaft.

“Hey there young sir, you don’t look like from around here. What seems to be your business in this humble village?”

…

The man’s face looked eerie. There seemed to be an absence of expression on his face. He looked straight up to Gibson’s eyes. The Guard drew his breath, the man looked obviously harmless, but despite that, Gibson locked gazes with the black-haired stranger. Sweat formed from his forehead as they continued their staring contest.

A few beats after, the spotted man folded his hands, kneeling as though praying. Serenity and terror engulfed the atmosphere until… the man’s body shook, looking at Gibson with a face of seriousness and bloodshot eyes.

Gibson’s life flashed before this very moment, the bedtime stories he heard as a kid which terrorized him till now and the warnings of the wandering priests. An old bumpkin he may be, he knew, just from the vibes he felt. This must be-

It’s a Pra—

A crisp and cold voice then resounded.

“Food, money and a job… I’m hardworking so please help me!”

…

What? Gibson thought. With that ominous aura he felt, the guard expected some kind of bizarre and strange black magic happening. The kind where a man suddenly grew wings, flying with half of a body and had his guts dangling— would then start cursing a poor guard because he appeared rather juicy. Or it could also be the reports he received, on which a group of bandits had raided the towns and villages located near the borders of his Halgard Kingdom. These troubling times were dangerous and Gibson had all the right to be nervous.

“Oh. So you’re a refugee then?” Gibson let out a sigh and observed that the dirt on the stranger’s face gave the illusion of a menacing monster. To be honest, now that he had taken a good peek on the man’s makeover, he seemed to have wept recently, considering that the stranger’s dark eyes were still red and it would strengthen the fact that lines of dried-up dirt flowed under the strangers eyes. Gibson chuckled silently and loosened the strength of his grip.

A nod escaped from the stranger.

“We have lots of you coming here but don’t worry, the Kingdom had sent patrols to protect us; no amount of fucking bandits will be brave enough to loot from this small village. Look at me! This place is so confident that I’m the only one guarding this gate” Gibson smacked his chest, having said his speech.

“So does that mean I can go inside?” Ray uttered in his happiest tone. He was already resolute on kneeling and acting his heart wrenching script, an idea born from watching soap operas on his childhood.

His practice on acting out a drama might be useless as of now, but the image of a refugee would be a strong alibi in this current situation, considering that the guard already assumed Ray was a refugee.

“Yes, do come in. Just look for the largest house you can find on this side of the road” Gibson pointed out with his thumb “And ask for Sister Lily. Tell her Old Gibson sent you” Smiling as he pulled the lever of the palisade gate.

Ray took a deep bow, exhausted from all of the events that transpired.

“Thank you…” He voiced sincerely and walked towards the road Gibson directed, on which a tall house could already be seen.

…

The sound of Ray’s footsteps receded as Gibson finished munching his bread.

“Well, there he goes” Gibson voiced out loud. “Why did you stop midway? He looked like he was about to-”

The wine in the cup trembled, spilling a fair amount of drops.

“Ok! Ok! Sheesh, I was just asking”

Downing the remaining wine, Gibson went back to his post, flicking the remaining crumbs on his pants as he sat on a chair.

Trekking on the paved ground, Ray analyzed his surroundings. Houses made of wood trailed on each side were orderly aligned with alleyways appearing for every two or three structures.

“Finally I’m now in civilization.”

Ray didn’t expect to be let inside that easily. Since there were bandit raids, shouldn’t the guard at least interrogate him first? Ray glanced at his back once again… he sighed in relief, knowing the guard really did let him in. Guard Gibson said the Kingdom was on high alert and there were soldiers sent to protect this village, so maybe he decided Ray was insignificant to care.

“Well not my problem anymore. I should focus on gathering information and get some job while I’m at it”

From his recent experience in this “Isekai World,” Ray concluded this world was based on a typical medieval setting, where people use spears and swords with the added sprinkle of magic. Just as he expected, there were no modern equipment resembling that of earth. No traces of modern materials found on the houses, it was mostly wood and some stones. But Ray couldn’t be hundred percent sure, assuming he arrived in this backwater village rather than a big Capital.

Arriving on what seem to be the “largest house,” Ray whistled on its size. It towered over the other houses he saw, about the size of an indoor basketball court. And look! They even had a small garden of vegetables growing outside.

As a lover of veggies and fruits, Ray observed the various sprouts growing on the mini field. Potatoes, Tomatoes, and some spices like garlic; they were very much the same back in Earth.

Retracting his gaze, Ray inhaled deeply as he knocked on a wooden door.

“Hellooo! Is Sister Lily here?”

…

“Helloo!”

Throughout Ray’s calling, a peephole suddenly clutched itself open, with a pair of eyes checking on who the rambler was.

“You don’t look familiar. Who are you?”

First Impression Ray, don’t fuck it up…

Just like in a job interview, Ray inhaled deeply as he readied for a speech.

“Good evening! I was sent here by Old Gibson. I deeply apologize for taking your precious time in this beautiful night, but I desperately need your help, for I am a refugee who had his home desolated by the bandits. It pains me to say this, but I have no more money and a place to live, and I hope that your merciful heart-.”

“I understand, so which village?”

“Uhh-”

…

…

“WHICH VILLAGE?!”

Oh no! Should I just run?

The door creaked as it was slammed opened. A wave of red velvety hair welcomed his sight.

Beautiful.

Within the room was a woman in a full white dress. A pair of brown eyes fixed themselves on Ray. Her arms were readied and aimed as smudges of green mist emitted from her hand. Ray couldn’t believe it; the girl’s features were similar to the red robed people. Although she looked more innocent than the deathly and sexy image of the reds, Ray felt something prick on his skin.

Now that he thought about it, the girl in front looked like an elf, while the red-robes before were straight-up vampires.

Examining her more closely, Ray was smitten by her looks, forgetting the present dilemma he was in.

“If you don’t answer in less than three seconds, I will blast your head off”

“3”

“2”

“I don’t know! I’m sorry I lied!” he put his hands up, as Ray decided for diplomacy.

“Hoho. What an honest guy. So tell me, where are you really from?” She snarled, revealing a fang, protruding from the left part of her lip. The woman seemed amused at Ray’s confession.

“It might be hard to believe, but I really don’t know”

She raised an eyebrow and tapped her foot three times.

“You see, I woke up on this pile of dead bodies. I was pretty scared you know? All those blood around was really disgusting. So I went and ran away from that place, but after a few moments of running, I thought on why this happened… and I had just realized, that I can’t remember anything except for my name!”

“In other words, you lost your memory?”

“Yes it might appear so, that’s why I followed the smoke over there and hoped someone could help me. After that I met the guard, Gibson, and he said that I should go to Sister Lily”

Ray exhaled as he confessed some of the truth. He was technically not lying, just hiding some facts. If he were to reveal that he was “Isekai’d” in this world, the girl might paint him as a madman and that would mean trouble.

Please believe my bullshit!

“Ok I believe you”

Phew. She took the bait.

“Thank you” Ray bowed, not forgetting to be polite as she fully opened the door, making a way for him inside.

He walked inside, and finally overcoming his first hurdle, Ray grinned happily, knowing he was about to start a new life in this fantasy world. A new beginning. Embarking on an amazing adventure. And… Magic. The fantasies he imagined since childhood were now in his reality.

Fantasy and reality as one… I like it. Hehehe

He chuckled silently as Ray heard the door clank. Oh! I forgot to ask for her name. Silly me.

Rotating his body in a hundred and eighty degree angle, Ray was about to ask for the girl’s name until-

A shard of green light suddenly covered three-fourths of his vision. He realized a sizzling feeling was burning itself on his forehead. His hand wandered to the back of his skull, then to the front. Something was lodged there. Something solid. What’s this? It took a moment but it was then Ray realized… he was impaled.

Glancing at the pathway of floating green residue, Ray saw the cause of his demise; it was a girl’s deadpan expression staring down at his now limp body, facing her with smokes of green mist emitting from her fingertips.

His strength faded rapidly, Ray fell to the floorboard as his vision darkened.