After I opened my eyes to a vast, endless grassland, my first thought was: Is this a dream? No, dreams are products of the human brain, and I'm pretty sure my brain isn't capable of dreaming up something this high-fantasy. So, this isn't a dream. But wait... if this really is a fantasy world, I'm screwed. I've never even read a fantasy novel. I'm definitely not going to survive this.
But whatever. I slowly scanned my surroundings and saw strangers everywhere. But hold on... why do I feel a bit shorter? I lifted my arm and noticed its size had changed. What on earth happened to me?!
Soon, the people around me started talking. What stopped me in my tracks was their names—they were the same as my neighbors. However, some people were missing. Wait, is it possible that everyone's appearance was changed? No, that's impossible. Changing a physical form is too delicate; you'd have to move nerves and everything... but then again, if The Ignis can pierce through the earth, why couldn't it handle a simple physical transformation?
I slowly stood up and looked around. In the distance, I saw a massive city. Strangely, it looked like something out of the Middle Ages. I paused to calculate where my school should have been located relative to my current position. It lined up exactly with that city. That meant my friends who were still at school must have manifested there.
The problem was, the city was incredibly far away. I decided to talk to a guy everyone was calling "Chun-An"—likely my next-door neighbor. I walked up to him.
"Uh... excuse me. Are you Chun-An?"
My voice sounded bizarre to my own ears. I guess since my appearance changed, my vocal cords did too. I wasn't used to it yet.
He replied, "Yes, I'm Chun-An. And who are you?"
That way of speaking... yeah, this is definitely the Shun-An I know. "Uh... it's me, Pugan."
I still felt weird hearing my own voice, but I figured I'd get used to it.
"Eh?! Phukan? I thought you'd disappeared! A few other people are missing too," he said cheerfully, a sharp contrast to my stressed-out expression.
"Yeah... anyway, you read fantasy novels all the time, right? Do you have any idea what's going on?" I asked, hoping for some kind of lead.
"Uh, not really. I've never seen anything like this in a novel before."
Great, no answers. Whatever. I decided to head straight for the city without a second thought.
"Whoa! Where are you going?" Chun-An shouted after me. I didn't answer, and it didn't seem like he was following.
I dashed toward the city, but I hit a snag: a forest was blocking the path. Even without reading fantasy novels, I knew instinctively that something was lurking in those woods. But if I went around the forest, a one-day trip would turn into five. That was a problem because my only food supply was three slices of bread in my pocket.
I was baffled. My appearance changed, my clothes changed, but the bread came with me? Everything else in my pockets was gone. Weird, but I wasn't complaining—at least I had food.
I reached the forest, hesitated for a moment, and then ventured in. Half a day passed smoothly. If it stayed like this, I'd be fine. But then, in the heart of the forest, I encountered a bear. It was bizarre—it had spikes on its back, claws longer than normal, and it was massive, easily over two meters tall.
I chose to avoid it, patiently taking a small detour. Finally, I made it out of the forest. Nearly a day had passed. I wolfed down the three slices of bread, driven by hunger. Just a little further...
Finally, I reached the city. The problem? I had no money, no nothing. Fortunately, no ID or pass was required to enter. I wandered through the streets trying to find my friends, but it was hard—there were so many strange, unfamiliar names everywhere. I listened intently to every conversation. I froze when I heard the name "Alice."
Wait, is it her? Must be. The reason a Chinese school had a girl named Alice was simple: it was located near an international community, so the students were very diverse.
I rushed toward her and heard more familiar names: John, Long. I smiled and squeezed through the crowd before dropping a line that would immediately let them know I was from their world.
"What on earth... why are there so many people?"
They froze. They turned to me and asked, "Who are you? And why did you say 'What on earth'?"
The reason they knew I was an outsider was likely because people here don't use the word "Earth." I replied with a sentence that confirmed my identity instantly.
"Who do you think?"
They gasped and spoke in unison, "Phukan?!"
I sighed. "Who else would it be?"
Sometimes I wonder why my personality is like this. John asked suspiciously, "Wait, didn't you go home already? How did you get here?"
I answered without thinking. "I walked. Did you think I could fly?"
They went silent for a moment before Alice spoke up. "Still a smart-ass, I see."
I quickly cross-referenced how much of a smart-ass I usually am. The conclusion? I'm usually much worse. "Actually, I'm being less of one right now."
Ugh, I said it. Why did I grow up with this compulsive need to correct minor details? I sighed again.
Alice noted, "Okay, that's 100% Phukan."
I sighed a second time. After a moment, I realized I didn't know where they stayed at night. "So, where have you guys been staying?"
They hesitated before answering, "The library. It's free and open 24/7."
I was stunned. These guys act like they're dying the moment they see a book, yet they're sleeping in a library? Whatever. They probably read something while they were there. "So, did you read anything useful?"
They looked stressed for a second before giving me an awkward look. "Not a thing."
But Long chimed in, "Uh, I read a book about magic. I only remember a little bit, though."
Magic? So this world really is strange. It has magic. Well, that's good—it would've been hard to fight that two-meter bear without it. Wait, who invented magic? How do they know it exists? How does it work? What triggers it?
STOP! My brain started questioning everything again, a bad habit of mine. I cut myself off and asked Long, "What do you remember?"
Long thought for a second. "Uh... something about Mana and Elements."
Mana? What's that? And Elements? Like the periodic table? I was curious, but I kept it to myself. Then I noticed a coin purse hanging from Alice's waist. "Alice, where did you get the money?"
"I picked it up off the ground," she replied. "The people around here are either incredibly clumsy or so rich they just throw money away. Either way, we're trying to save up."
Too rich? No, this is the outskirts of the city; there aren't many rich people here. They must just be clumsy. "By the way, where are the others?"
Alice replied instantly, "Out picking up money too. We're all meeting at the library after sunset."
I realized the sun was already setting. "Take me to the library."
"No," she said bluntly.
Wait, what? But she, Long, and John started walking toward the library anyway. Are they seriously trolling me back now?
I followed them to the library and opened the door...