A Boulder to Overcome

"Huh?" I come to my senses. "But seriously, what is this place?"

I'm soon overcome by despair. No, no, no, no, no! I'm supposed to be having a date right now! What's going on?! Am I dreaming?

"Are you done wondering?" an annoyed thin voice of a female breaks my chain of thoughts.

I turn around in fear. A small creature is standing behind me. She has pointy ears and fair-fabriced white hair tied in a ponytail. Her skin seems smooth and pale white. Her pale-rose lips are barely visible. She gives me an annoyed gaze with those tiny light-blue eyes of hers. She's wearing an oversized almor made of what seemed to be silver, with a short skirt attached to it. She was holding a heavy-looking mace in her hands, with the top made of crystal-like material.

"Hey, do you hear me?" she asks in a loud, annoyed voice, taking a step towards me.

I step back in fear. Where am I? What's this creature? What does it want from me?

Suddenly, the small creature lets out a loud sigh.

"Sorry, I might have startled you. I'm a warrior-elf on a mission," she spoke with a loosened tone as she bowed. Her skirt slightly flipped as she did. "I'm wondering if you could help me..."

"So you're not Rin, right?" I cut her off with my voice carrying a bit of despair in it.

"Rin? I wonder who that might be..." she answers, looking upward as if she were thinking. "A-anyways, I summoned you here, because I need a bit of help overcoming this rock," she said, pointing at a three-and-a-half-meter-tall boulder in the middle of the pathway.

"Huh?"

"I've been trying to climb it, but my hands are too small, so I can't get a good grasp on it," she continues.

"What... What do you mean you summoned me?" I ask her with disbelief.

"Well, I don't use magic often, and I'm not really good at it, but I figured this time it would come in handy, casting a summoning spell for a helper. Are you up for the task?"

"Magic? Summoning? Is this some prank?" I start to get annoyed.

"Prank? Why would it be? I really need help with this rock. I can't just sit here all day. I'm on a mission!" she answered, holding her nose high.

Th-this can't be... I must be just dreaming. I must have gotten a concussion from the nervousness.

"Hey, come on, I don't have all day!" the elf stepped closer and started pinching my face.

"Ouch, hey, stop!"

As she keeps pinching my face, I push her to let go of me; however, she slips, making us both fall onto the ground. I hit my head on impact.

"Ouch, that hurt..." I look up, "Are you o..."

As I lift my head, an interesting sight unfolds before my eyes.

"I didn't see it! I promise, I didn't see anything!" I shout as I turn my head.

"What... What was it that you didn't see?" the elf gets up slightly, her face beet red.

"Pa-pant..."

Before I can finish my short sentence, a sudden shockwave rapidly approaches, shaking the ground around me slightly.

"You're one insolent helper, aren't you?" the elf said annoyedly as she stood up, cleaning herself of dust.

"I'm sorry!" I shout in fear, kneeling before her.

"A-anyways, will you assist me or not?" she asked once more with a bit of sadness in her voice.

I notice the mace in her hand. It looks super heavy. It must weigh several tons. It's unbelievable that she's actually carrying it around.

"That mace sure looks heavy," I note.

"Huh? This? What do you mean? It's as light as a feather," she says as she casually spins it in the air.

I'm weirded out. There's no way someone as small as her could do that. I'm certainly in a dream.

"Oh, if so, why don't you just smash that boulder? It should be easy with the mace!"

"Are you out of your mind?" she looks at me, frowning. "This mace was used by Zyron the Warrior. It was never intended for casual use. Also, a true warrior is looking for smart ways to overcome hardships!"

"This is ridiculous..."

"Huh?! I've been carrying the Mace around for three hundred years! Do you not trust what I say?"

Three hundred years? Just how old is she? She's still acting like a child...

"Ah. I don't have a choice, have I?" I stand up, cleaning my forehead. "If I help you overcome that boulder, will you send me back to where I came from?"

The eyes of the elf suddenly start to sparkle with excitement.

"Of course!" she nods eagerly.

I go to the boulder and get on all fours, showing my back to her. This should do it.

"Hop on!"

"With pleasure," the elf jumps on my back, holding onto my neck for balance.

I can feel her small feet pressing against my back as she struggles with the boulder. Her weight is light, but her sudden movements make balancing myself a bit challenging.

"Just a little higher, I'm almost there," her struggle can be heard in her voice.

I slightly push my back upward. I can feel her body shaking.

"Waaaaah, not so sudden!" the elf shouts as she slips, falling onto my back. I collapse onto the ground.

"You're kidding me," I say, coughing from the dust.

"I'm sorry..." I can feel her snuggling up to me. "Could we try that again?"

"Fine, I can lift you just once more."

"Lift me... Huh, you gave me a brilliant idea!" she says as she punches me in the back with her fist.

"Wait, what are you do..."

I feel something heavy slapping against my back.

"Oh, sorry, I don't know spells by heart," she says with an awkward tone. "Good thing I have this spellbook."

Spellbook? So that's what she slapped against my back... Still, this situation seems strange. Am I dreaming, or am I really in another world?

"Here it is," she says. "Avand afet!"

Suddenly, I feel strange. As if I were weightless, my body suddenly starts to hover into the air, along with her.

"Look, it's working!" the elf turns her head, smiling at me.

"W-woah."

I am amazed. This doesn't feel like a dream anymore. It feels surreal, but weirdly plausible now. For a moment, I am full of excitement. I've never felt anything like this before. As we reach the top of the boulder, the elf steps on the rock and slides down to the other side. I hold onto it and slowly climb up. As I look down, I see the elf standing at the foot of the rock, with a wide grin.

"We did it!"

I make an awkward smile, too, then following her example, I also slide down onto the boulder to the other side. I wipe myself off the dust as I stand up. However, my smile soon turns into a frown at my sudden realization.

"Wait... You had this spell all along?" I ask as I am overcome by fury.

"Well, the thing is..." the elf starts explaining herself.

"The thing is?!" I approach her angrily.

"I'm sorry, I got nervous when I saw this boulder and didn't know what to do... And..."

"And?!"

"I figured a spell would be the best, so I looked for spells in the spellbook. I've been feeling weak alone, so I chose one that would bring me some company, and..."

"And here I am..." I say with a sigh.

"I-I'm sorry!"

I facepalm. I thought my life could change for once. I could finally meet someone who'd bring me some joy. But then something like this happens. I still can't believe this is reality. I must be dreaming. I must be lying somewhere on the street with a concussion. That girl is waiting for me.

"Hey, elf! Could you send me back now?" I snap out of my thoughts.

"A-about that..." she answers nervously. "I looked it up while you were weirdly disassociating just now, but..." she looks at me, her voice implying some bad news. "This book doesn't contain a spell like that."

I feel my despair getting into my veins. She's kidding me. There's no way, right? Am I stuck here, in this unknown world, with this brat alone, with no way back?

"D-don't be sad just yet. Other books might have a spell that may send you back. If you come with me, we might..." she says with a fading voice.

I collapse onto the ground, accepting my fate. That's right... I don't deserve a change in my life. It's not the elf's fault. Even if I went on that date, I wouldn't have known what to do.

"I'm sorry..." she squats down next to me.

My life wouldn't have changed at all, because I would have messed up anyway. I would go back to my apartment and continue my miserable life. The people don't like me anyway. The few friends I had disappeared, too.

"But... You know what," the elf spoke up again, breaking the silence. "I kind of enjoy your company, so if it has already come to this, you could... You could join me on my adventure... I-if you want."

"Huh?" I look up at her, wiping my teary eye. Just who the hell does she think she is?

"Uh... Sorry, I guess I still haven't introduced myself."

She nervously reaches out to me with her hand. Her blue eyes shine purely with a bit of regret in her look.

"Elf-warrior Sylvienne, holder of the Mace of Zyron," she awkwardly scratches her head as she makes a grin. "Nice to meet you, uhmm..."

"Kaito. Michinaga Kaito," I look her in the eyes as I take her hand.