First Contact

Lying on his back, Haruto opened his eyes to a clear, blue sky. A light breeze of fresh air gently brushed his face, carrying a subtle scent of grass and wildflowers to his nostrils. Only the rustling of leaves and the singing of birds disrupted the silence.

“Wasn’t I on the morning train? Ouch! The migraine is still here,” he grumbled as he struggled to sit up. “What is this forest? And where on earth is the train station?” he muttered.

Looking around, the young man realized he was sitting in the middle of a dirt road, bordered on both sides by a thick, lush forest.

Most of the trees were recognizable, but others were unfamiliar, seemingly straight out of a dream. Their massive trunks were over two meters wide, and their branches hung down like those of a willow, laden with long strands of greenish moss.

Apart from this verdant sea of trees surrounding him, there were no visual landmarks on the horizon except for the sun rising above the road.

Clearly bewildered, Haruto stood up and looked around for his bag. He slung it over his shoulder and took a few moments to brush the dust off his clothes and check his belongings.

“At least all of my stuff seems to still be here… Thank goodness no one robbed me.” With a sigh of relief, Haruto pulled his cell phone out of his pocket.

“Am I dreaming?! How is this even possible?” he exclaimed in disbelief.

The phone screen showed that a little over an hour had passed since the train’s scheduled departure time and that the phone’s battery was still fully charged. However, the device wasn’t picking up any network signal or internet connection. The GPS app was down, and the built-in compass was going haywire for no apparent reason.

“I… I don’t understand, and none of this makes any sense… Where am I, anyway?”

After a few panic-stricken minutes, Haruto calmed down, taking a deep breath. He put his phone in his jacket pocket and assessed the situation more rationally.

“I remember a bright white light on the train just before I ended up here. Maybe a forced connection to a VR game?”

He tried to open an interface window, just as he would in a game, but the gesture had no effect. Unable to come up with a reasonable explanation and left with no other options, Haruto decided to set off.

He was hoping to find a gas station or a small country village, but he didn’t realize that, with every step he took, he was drifting further away from the world he knew.

“How long have I been walking on this damn road?!” he asked after a while.

He looked up at the bright sun and noticed it was nearing its zenith. The morning coolness had been replaced by oppressive heat, forcing Haruto to take off his jacket, which he carefully stowed in his bag.

“I really could use a break…”

Haruto was scanning the area for a large tree to escape the relentless sun when a shimmer in the woods caught his attention.

Through the dense foliage, he could barely make out what appeared to be the reflective surface of a body of water.

After leaving the dirt road and weaving his way through roughly twenty meters of brush, he discovered a small lake. It was actually more of a pond and appeared to be, at most, a hundred meters wide.

Haruto walked up to the bank and knelt down to scoop up some water in his hands. It was crystal clear and didn’t seem stale, as there were no unpleasant odors.

“Perfect! I’ll be able to cool off and take a breather,” he thought to himself while wetting his face. Then he heard a sudden splashing nearby and looked up.

Here and there, numerous patches of seaweed were visible, along with water lilies of gigantic proportions, which resembled enormous plates. However, there was no clue as to what had disturbed the water’s gentle lapping.

“A frog, perhaps? That wouldn’t be much of a surprise in a place like this,” Haruto mused.

Leaning down to splash water on his face a second time, he noticed something strange beneath the surface—a pair of golden spheres the size of large apples. As he focused his attention on them, Haruto noticed a strange resemblance to the eyes of the amphibians he used to catch as a child. And they seemed to be staring intently at him.

“What the…”

His train of thought was interrupted when the surface of the water began to bubble. A deafening hiss pierced his eardrums, and then, in a heartbeat, everything went white.

The man was propelled into the woods, a few meters from the water’s edge. He slammed into the ground with a thud.

“Ugh!”

Haruto felt the air leave his lungs as a searing pain flooded his entire body. Covered in bruises and still dazed by what had just happened, he didn’t even have time to get back on his feet before a creature burst out of the water.

The foul stench of rotten fish immediately overwhelmed his nostrils. The beast looked very much like a giant newt the size of a car. It had smooth, brownish skin covered in black spots and a huge, paddle-shaped tail.

The creature’s gaze met his, and it immediately lunged toward him, stretching its maw wide. Its impressive set of teeth struck Haruto with terror and made all his instincts scream: “Run! I have to get the hell out of here!”

Even though it was on dry land, the brute moved with surprising speed. Haruto had only a few seconds to react before being swallowed whole. Fortunately, the adrenaline rush gave him the strength and momentum he needed to flee just in the nick of time, as the monster’s jaws snapped behind him.

Back on the dirt road, Haruto finally dared to glance back toward the forest. The pond in the distance had regained its calm, but he knew that the reality was quite different.

“A creature like that! That doesn’t exist in nature!” he exclaimed. “Shit! It looks like those monsters I saw in books or other works of fiction… And why does it hurt so much? I’m not supposed to actually feel pain in dreams or nightmares.”

The anxiety of the situation was slowly taking over, and Haruto thrashed about aimlessly. He looked like a terrified child who was convinced a ghost was in his room.

Time seemed to stretch endlessly before Haruto managed to calm down and regain his composure.

Around him, only the rustling of the wind disturbed the silence as he sat cross-legged in the middle of the road, deep in thought.

“All these sensations… They go far beyond the scope of a simple game, that’s obvious,” he thought.

Aside from this unsettling realization, another question deeply troubled him.

“How the hell am I going to get home?”

Even though he didn’t know where he was, Haruto painfully got to his feet and noticed that the sun was still high in the sky.

“No point in staying here any longer. I might as well take advantage of the daylight to look for shelter,” he thought.

Just as he was about to set off, Haruto took one last look around and suddenly realized that his bag was no longer on his shoulder.

That’s when he remembered being sent flying when the newt had jumped out of the water to attack him.

“It must be lying around somewhere over there…”

Haruto then remembered that the bag contained not only his jacket but also his phone in one of its pockets.

“Damn it… fuck!” he cursed aloud.

Terrified at the thought of meeting the monster again, he felt his heart pound as the image of that gaping maw lined with sharp teeth flashed before his eyes.

Every instinct urged him to flee and never go near that cursed pond again.

“But the phone… it’s my only way to contact emergency services…”

After a moment’s hesitation, Haruto clenched his fists and mustered what courage he had left. He slowly made his way toward the pond, determined not to let his guard down a second time.

His experiences with monsters in games taught him several useful things. Notably, their behaviors and movements were often inspired by real animals, making them somewhat predictable.

Haruto couldn’t help but shudder at the thought of what would happen in a real confrontation with the bronze snake from the Labyrinth.

“I’d better not think about that and just focus on finding the bag,” he thought to himself as he set off.

Even though there were no signs of imminent danger or the slightest suspicious sound, all his senses were on high alert. He moved slowly through the brush, his gaze glued to the surface of the pond.

When he got within a few meters of the spot, he heard splashing nearby. Haruto froze in place and scanned the surroundings carefully. No monster in sight. He could feel his heart pounding against his chest, but fortunately, he managed to locate the bag.

“Of course, the damn thing is right at the water’s edge,” he growled through gritted teeth.

As he crouched down to pick it up, the foul stench of rotten fish again assaulted his nostrils.

“That bastard is close by… but where?”

After a moment’s hesitation, Haruto seized the strap of his bag and yanked it toward him. His right elbow struck something slimy. He felt the blood freeze in his veins as he looked backwards.

The giant newt stood behind him, its mouth wide open, ready to swallow him whole.

“Holy shit!”

Out of sheer reflex or incredible luck, Haruto leaped to the left, slipping between two closely spaced trees. The monster’s jaws snapped shut in the air, mere centimeters away.

Haruto bolted at full speed toward the road, breathing heavily, his lungs on fire.

“Predictable? No, am I an idiot or what? This thing isn’t a game… no, no…”

He shook his head to shake off the thought, his hands sweaty and trembling around the shoulder strap.

“At least I got my cell phone back… That’s something,” he whispered, gasping for air.

❖

The sun was setting as the clouds took on an increasingly yellowish hue. The day’s heat had given way to a chill that forced Haruto to put on his jacket.

The young man had never walked this much before and was exhausted. His legs were shaking, and the shoulder bearing the backpack strap ached.

“I’m completely spent…”

Just as he was about to lose hope, the forest opened up before Haruto’s eyes. There was a vast expanse of undulating vegetation, divided into crude rectangular shapes. The air felt lighter and carried the scent of cut grass rather than that of undergrowth.

He could make out dwellings in the distance. They stood along the road that followed the course of a small river, randomly zigzagging through a patchwork of fields.

“Is that a village? Finally, a return to normality?”

At this sight, the pain that had wracked Haruto’s body was quickly replaced by a profound sense of relief.

Reinvigorated, he quickened his pace toward the first visible structure.

A few minutes later, Haruto stopped about a hundred meters from his destination, phone in hand. A pungent smell hung in the air, and the dirt on the road had become much looser, almost muddy in some places.

Haruto paid it no mind, glancing at his screen.

“Still nothing!? That doesn’t make any sense…”

Pouting in disappointment at the persistent lack of a signal, Haruto looked up, his eyes immediately falling on the vehicle in front of him.

“A horse-drawn cart!?”

The wagon was in a pitiful state, and the wood had a light, grayish hue.

As for the horse, it didn’t look healthy. Its skin was thin, revealing the outlines of its shoulder blades, pelvis, and ribs.

Much to his dismay, the young man noticed a small, brownish pile lying on the ground behind the animal. He immediately realized what it was and quickly checked his shoes.

“Phew. I didn’t step in it, but at least that explains the stench here,” he grumbled, covering his nose.

Shaking his head in disgust, Haruto then continued on his way toward the center of town.

He was so absorbed in his search for a phone signal that he didn’t pay attention to anything else—not even to the locals with their suspicious glares in his direction.

A shiver disrupted Haruto’s concentration for a split second before a heavy hand came crashing down on his left shoulder.

“Damn it!” he shouted, jumping in surprise.

The phone slipped from his hands and was caught by the man who had startled him.

“You frightened me to death!” he exclaimed, sizing him up from head to toe.

Tall, with weathered skin and broad shoulders, the stranger towered over him by a head. His dark hair pulled back in a ponytail and his short beard gave him a rugged look.

“Great… We start with a monster straight out of a horror film and end up with a guy who looks like a peasant from another era,” Haruto grumbled.

But the man wasn’t paying attention. His eyes, burning with curiosity, remained locked on the glowing screen he held between his calloused fingers.

After examining the phone from every angle, the stranger moved closer to Haruto, handing back the device and whispering something incomprehensible.

The dialect sounded foreign to Haruto’s ears, but it strangely reminded him of the English classes he had taken during his school days.

“Could you repeat that? I didn’t quite catch what you just said,” replied the young man, looking confused.

The man’s face betrayed genuine surprise. He murmured something again, looking Haruto straight in the eye. However, save for a few words, the gibberish remained just as incomprehensible to Haruto.

The man suddenly set off, motioning for him to follow. Haruto stood still for a few moments, troubled and hesitant.

“I don’t know anything about him, but if I stay out here in this cold… No, I’d rather not think about it,” he concluded.

Having made up his mind, he tucked his phone away safely before following his guide.

A little over fifteen minutes later, Haruto and the man had crossed the entire village. Darkness was fast approaching when the two of them stopped in front of what appeared to be a small cabin on the outskirts of the hamlet. It looked older than the other buildings, but it bore some similarities. Its wooden beams were visible through the clay and straw walls. The roof appeared to be thatched and was topped by a chimney built of stones held together with mortar.

The man briefly turned toward Haruto and, without a word, motioned for him to wait. He walked up to the door, knocked twice, and went inside.

He returned a few minutes later, muttering something in the same foreign language and gesturing for Haruto to enter the cabin.

“What a terrible stench! It smells like sweat, as if the occupant had never washed,” Haruto muttered, pinching his nose.

Inside, he was offered a seat on a bench facing an old table. The cramped space, dimly lit by candles, consisted of a single room devoid of any form of decoration. A hearth and fireplace were visible on the wall across from the entrance, as well as a makeshift counter in one corner. In another corner, resting on the dirt floor, was a large straw mat upon which lay ragged pillows.

“People live here?” he thought in surprise.

Still taken aback, Haruto hadn’t even noticed the presence of a woman and her child. She appeared a bit younger than the countryman and was dressed in a loose-fitting, light-colored dress with long sleeves. Her belly noticeably protruded through the fabric, indicating a pregnancy.

Most of her black hair was tied back in a bun, and the rest framed her gaunt face. Her amethyst-colored eyes were shrouded with worry and suspicion. The little boy adamantly refused to leave his mother’s side.

Realizing how tense the atmosphere had become, the young man stood up and introduced himself with a broad smile.

“Hello. My name is Haruto Akimitsu, and I’m pleased to meet you.”

The woman stood there speechless for a moment before turning to her husband. She then began to shout at him in a harsh tone.

Haruto decided it would be best to wait for the argument to end. He sat back down and absentmindedly took his phone out of his pocket. The screen lit up. Its white light instantly outshone the candlelight, and the room went completely silent.

Fascinated, the child ventured away from his mother and approached the table. Haruto could clearly see his innocent face. He noticed that the boy had his father’s brown hair and his mother’s violet eyes.

“You’re a curious one, aren’t you?”

Haruto turned the screen toward the boy, but the mother immediately sprang up, snatching her son away. She shot a dark glare at her husband, who tried to calm her down before giving Haruto a faint, knowing smile.

He then stepped outside the cabin, leaving the young man sitting there, puzzled.

“Okay… So, what happens now?”

The next twenty minutes went by in utter silence, with no sign of the man’s return. Meanwhile, the peasant woman hadn’t even deigned to look at him. She was more focused on preparing a meal by the fire. Her son remained by her side, no doubt out of fear of another incident.

A few moments later, the woman approached the table and set down a wooden bowl filled with some kind of thick soup. She gestured to Haruto to eat.

“Is this for me? Thank you for your hospitality,” Haruto said to the woman, who did not respond.

At first glance, the soup didn’t look very good. However, he was too hungry after such a long day to be picky.

Haruto had just set his empty bowl down when the villager returned home. He was carrying several animal pelts over one of his broad shoulders, which he set down in a corner of the room.

The man began speaking to Haruto in his strange dialect, gesturing for him to follow him outside.

“All right, I’ll follow you,” he said, even though he knew that no one understood his words.

Haruto noticed that twilight had given way to the darkness and coolness of the night. He also noticed the complete absence of light coming from the village.

“Where are the streetlights and the rest of the town’s lighting?”

Although surprised by this eerie atmosphere, Haruto sensed that there was something else behind this feeling.

He quickly realized where it came from when he looked up at the clear sky and saw a strange, yet magnificent, scene.

“Are those auroras?! This is the first time I’ve ever seen real ones,” he exclaimed, unable to hide his amazement.

The broad bands of green light shimmered and undulated across the sky, as if following the waves of an invisible ocean. Moreover, countless stars were clearly visible in the background.

But the most striking sight was undoubtedly the presence of the shattered remains of a celestial body. The debris appeared to be orbiting the world in which the young man found himself.

“It feels as if we’re in one of the starting villages of Fantasy Frontiers. It doesn’t make any sense, and yet… it feels so… real?”

A calloused hand pressed down on Haruto’s shoulder, pulling him out of his sky-gazing. The farmer looked at him kindly and motioned for him to come with him.

The two men returned to the cabin. Haruto noticed that the woman was working busily in a corner, not far from the hearth.

“Another bed?”

His assumption was confirmed by the woman, who gestured for him to lie down and sleep.

Unsure of what to do, Haruto decided it was best for him to simply accept the help offered without questioning it.

“I’ll find a way to repay them…”

The young man nodded and grabbed his jacket, which he rolled into a ball to use as a pillow.

Lying on the makeshift mattress, Haruto replayed the day’s events in his mind: the newt, the medieval village, the glaring lack of any modern technology.

As he drifted into a deep slumber, he again hoped that all of this was nothing but a strange dream.