Stuck In An Adventuring World!? Part 2

3

Night time.

After staying in the room provided by the farm owner for a long time, the otherworldly man had decided that what he was doing now was boring..

He chose to leave the house to get some fresh air, while continuing his observations of the foreign world.

“Ah... It really is fantasy, right?”

Basically, what he saw at this moment was just the scenery of an ordinary village and its vast plantations. As well as a few meters in the distance, there were huge trees that were being the boundary between the village and the heterogeneous forest there. The night was cool, and the villagers were already inside.

The scene clearly existed in the world he lived in before. However, the difference was... he had never once seen nature this close before. All he had seen in the past were modern things with tall buildings adorning... or rather covering the beauty of the sky in his world.

“I can only see things like this on the internet or in fantasy stories.”

However, the feeling that came over the man's heart wasn't one of excitement or fear. Rather, he didn't know how to react to his current situation.

If he feels happy, he feels that he should return to his old world.

If he feels sad, the world he is currently visiting is a very beautiful world.

In the end, all he feels is a troubled heart that has no clear origin

“Hahhh...”

While he was contemplating his fate in solitude, he could hear the same unrest from the man who came out of the same house as him. The man was the son of the farm owner.

When they realized each other's presence, they looked at each other.

“Y-Yo! Do you need someone to talk to?” the man asked, while the boy who owned the field just tilted his head in confusion at the man's words.

Eventually, though, they started chatting as they looked out over the vast rice fields.

"Aspa Pandawa. Because some people find my name strange, so in my hometown people call me Asep.”

“If so, Bro Aspa is fine.”

“thank you.”

He knew Asep's name sounded ridiculous so he said it right away, didn't he?

"My name is Randa Askelad. You can call me Randa if you want."

"Randa, huh? Okay. But, hey... if I may know, how old are you?"

"Age? I'm 19 years old this year..”

The man who had introduced himself as Aspa Pandawa returned to his ‘observation’ state. This time it was about the humans in that world.

19 years old, right? His body is big, but his face is too young for that. And again... I can see the eyes of a young man who still has dreams.

Yes ... He's still a child in general. It seems like I've fallen into human territory, huh.

“That's it ... Can you tell me about this village, Randa??”

“Ah, that's fine. But for what??”

The man named Aspa took a deep breath as he thought about his answer, “Maybe… just curious?” then he said that answer with a smile.

“Okay then. But this is going to be a really long story, you know!”

“Wow, it seems like this village is really special, huh.”

Randa is ready to tell the story he has heard many times since he was a child. A story that always lulls him to sleep, and a story that has inspired his life.

“This happened tens of thousands of years ago. That was an era where the various races in this world did not have the slightest harmony and always decorated the world with endless war. We humans experienced defeat in that war, and were the first race to withdraw from the war. Things got worst since then, with humans experiencing complete oppression by other races. We are the lowest creatures in this world. However, in the following era another major tragedy occurred. A Demon King rose and shook the world with his army. All races were in the same state of chaos, therefore... a hero from the human race proposed to unite the forces of all races to defeat the Demon King. They all succeeded in defeating the Demon King, and all races gained equal rights without oppression afterwards. These multiracial kingdoms, including the Helio Kingdom, have increasingly developed since then, and the world has finally achieved peace. Then... the Hero who finished This happened tens of thousands of years ago. It was an era where the various races in this world did not have the slightest harmony and always decorated the world with endless wars. His duties as a hero rest on the outskirts of the Helio Kingdom. People began to follow him and finally a village was created in this place. That's why this village is known as the village of heroes.”

“And because the hero is a human, that's why this village is filled with humans too, you know.?”

“Most of the population was human, though. Why would they come here anyway? After all, this was just a regular village. At most, there would be adventurers from other races passing by..”

“adventurers!?”

It was a word that sounded unique to Aspa, but it was also a ‘wow’ word because he often heard it in fantasy stories. More precisely, it was the main topic in fantasy stories.

“Yes, adventurers are those who explore places that have not been touched by anyone, they do this while accepting tasks from Guilds in various kingdoms..”

“Woaaaahhh! It's really like a fantasy story!”

Seeing the enthusiasm of the young man, Randa, who is a native, clearly felt strange about Aspa's behavior. Even so, he was still happy that someone wanted to hear hstory.

“Do you want to hear another story? About the great war, the Hero, the Kingdom of Helio, or maybe about adventurers? I also know the story of a hero from another world. Maybe that will be a clue for you to return..”

“Yes! Yes, yes.!”

The man no longer looked like an adult when he was so enthusiastic about listening to another story.. His face and his sparkling eyes reminded Randa of his reaction when he was a child and would hear similar stories. It embarrassed him a little.

“Well then, first I will tell you about the hero of the human race. He is very amazing, you know! He is the first human whose strength can be equal to other races.. Remembering that in the past humans were just a group of creatures without any special powers like the magic of the Elves., or even great power like other demi humans, we only rely on our brains to survive.”

“Humans in any world are like that, right? In my world too, you know.!”

“But, everything changed since the appearance of the Hero. He showed that humans can also have magic, and also become as strong as other demi humans. He defeated a general from the Werewolf race to prove it. Since then humans have begun to hone their abilities until now.”

“the power of adaptability, huh.”

“the power of adaptability?”

“Every living thing must have it. Your body adapts to the surrounding environment, so it can adjust to its conditions. Human life in those days must have been very complex to be able to evolve like that. That's amazing, but quite normal in my opinion..”

“I see, I see. Wow.. your way of thinking is like a scholar, huh?!”

“Ah, it's normal. It's a normal thing for us..........”

Aspa was taken aback for a moment, the thought that he didn't need to give irrelevant information to the natives of that world crossed his mind..

“So how does the Hero get all that power? Training??”

“If that is still a mystery. There is no story that tells how he got his powers in the first place..”

“Hooo~ There is still a lot that has not been revealed in this world, yes?”

And it seems that the Hero is very closed off from his limited information..

“And even so...”

“Hm?”

“You seem to admire that hero a lot, huh. It was evident in your eyes when you were telling him. And also, when you came and thought I was a hero from another world.”

“A- Ehh ... Yeah... Because I've always heard his stories since I was little. And also... his grave is in this village. That's why I always feel close to him. Then...”

For no reason that Aspa could realize, Randa seemed to show signs of embarrassment when he wanted to express something.

“You won't laugh after hearing it, right??”

Aspa with her usual expression gave a thumbs up sign.

“Actually... I dream of becoming a hero.”

“Is that so? That's an interesting dream..”

“R-really!?”

“Never feel like your dream is something to be ashamed of. It won't allow you to achieve it. Even if your dream is to become a savior hero or a hero of justice. Even if it's a childish dream. Well ... At least as long you're dreaming...”

This child is still very young. And in this other world, such a dream...

Don't let him lose his dream like the poor old man like me....

“Yeah! Try it! You can start by becoming a knight of the kingdom and marrying the princess, right? Muah, muah!”

Aspa demonstrates an annoying kissing style, ruining Randa's view who previously saw him as a wise person..

“You're... a bit annoying, huh??”

“That's how I am.”

In the middle of the conversation, suddenly a scream was heard which broke the peaceful atmosphere at night.. It was so loud that it made almost every house in the village turn on their lights.

“Please! Someone help them!”

The person who shouted for help was a middle-aged woman who was helplessly begging the village chief who had just arrived.

Aspa and Randa, who also heard the screams, also came to find out.

“What happened, ma'am? Tell me slowly,” asked the village chief..

“My children! They haven't come home since dusk! They said they were going to get firewood for me, who is sick., but ... They have yet to come back!”

What Aspa as a foreigner got there was a silent reaction that made him confused. The residents did look stressed, but the silence gave off an air of ‘usual’ that made no sense to him.

“What are you waiting for!? We have to save them!”

Aspa had warned them, but not a single citizen was moved by his words.

And instead of doing what Aspa expected, he listened to the quiet musings of the villagers.

“And it happened again, huh...”

“The witch ate them...”

“It's over...”

Annoyed, Aspa approached the village chief and grabbed him by the collar. Full of emotion he said, “Isn't this the village of heroes!? You should be saving those children!”

The village chief still looked calm with a sad expression, he avoided eye contact with Aspa while saying, “We... will wait for the knights or adventurers to come here.”

That obviously made Aspa even more annoyed.

“How long will it take for those guys to come, huh!? I'm sure the knights need a troublesome procedure to come here, and not all adventurers will immediately accept a small task like this! Even before they came, the children would definitely... Therefore, this is the right time for us to save them before it's too late.!”

“But... don't you look around? Most of us are just old people who can't even do anything anymore. Many of the young men in this village have gone out of the village to trade and adventure. Only a few girls and Randa are left here..”

Aspa had understood the situation after being explained by the village chief. And now, there was only one solution he could think of..

“Then... Do you have any weapons in this village??”

Hearing the question from the stranger, the village head and the other villagers could immediately understand the purpose of the question..

Meanwhile, Randa, who also understood it, could only look on in disbelief at the man he had just met..

“In this current situation, what would it be called in the game? Oh, yeah... Please give me a quest, all you NPCs.!”

4

After all the brief considerations thought by the village head, finally the hardest decision for him was the solution to the problem that occurred..

A stranger, a stranger, a victim. A man who came from nowhere has decided to go save the lost children of the village. Despite the fact that the residents believed it was impossible for the newcomer to return alive, in the end they still let him go.

“This is a black cloak for camouflage and three healing bottles. Sorry, we don't have any armor or other weapons.. This village, it was perhaps called the hero village because the grave of a hero rests here. However...”

“It's okay... Mr. Village Chief.”

The man, Aspa, was wearing a pitch black robe that was given to him, and was holding three bottles containing a blood red liquid that he said could cure all diseases and injuries.

“This is more than enough for me! .......... I think.” Aspa smiled with cold sweat dripping down his face. Making the villagers even more pessimistic about his success.

“Ah... And for the weapon, can you give me that axe??”

Aspa pointed to an axe stuck in a tree trunk that had been cut off and only a small part of the bottom of the tree remained.

“Sure. That's all we have anyway..”

“No! We still have this.!”

A big man, the only young man left in the village—Randa Askelad appeared with a rusty sword in his hand..

“T-That! What are you doing, Randa!?” The owner of the field, the father, looked shocked and angry when he saw his son appear with the sword.

The villagers also looked panicked when they saw that the sword was not in its place.

“This is the sword from the Hero's tomb! I will use it to save those children!”

“Hoooo~ So you'll come with me, Randa? That's fine..”

“Should not!”

It is clear that the owner of the field, as a father, would not let his only son go to a dangerous place that had a low percentage of safety.

Hearing the rejection, Randa looked at Aspa with an expression full of pleading. He hoped the man could do something to help him. However, Aspa just smiled and turned his face away, saying, “Men should have their own stance. You are the one who decides.” Indirectly, it has motivated Randa.

“Sorry, father... I'll still go save them.!”

“Randa!”

“Father has told me many stories of heroes since I was little! It made me admire them all. It makes me...want to be like them! My dream is to become a hero!”

“...”

“Sorry... but if death is the end, then I don't want to die as a farmer. Sorry... I'm so proud to have a father like you. But...”

No one spoke, until the owner of the field took a deep breath and said, “Go.”

“Father...”

“If that is your purpose in life, then go. I will not hold you back. But promise me one thing…”

The father approached his daughter Randa, making Randa bend down because he knew his father's small and old body would not be able to touch him..

Afterwards, the father held his son's shoulders and said.

“Come back alive, my son..”

“...... Yes, of course! I'll be back later!”

With that it was decided, two people would go into the forest to save the missing village children.

A man from another world, and a village boy who wants to be a hero.

Their first quest... has begun!