CHAPTER 1 – PART I

Where the sun beats...

"To whoever is reading this, please believe me... I am not lost in the forest, I didn't come out here to kill myself, and I wasn't kidnapped...

I have been isekai'd.

I know, dumb right? What the hell am I on about... but still, here I am, in another world.

Thankfully, I don't seem to have died to get here. I am still in my own body, so this isn't a reincarnation type thing.

I sound like myself when I speak, I am in clothes I have worn dozens of times, I still have my phone, and can recall hazy memories of going on summer vacation with my parents.

Other than that, I can't remember a thing.

I don't know how or when I got here, other than waking with migraines a night or two ago.

I am already certain this isn't some wonderful world filled with comedy and romance.

I have been attacked by monsters in a strange town.

I cannot understand or be understood by the creatures that live here.

I have a house at least, a place with water, firewood, and a solid roof... if nothing else.

There is no modern technology, no electricity, so this will be all I can record before my battery dies. There is no way to charge it again. Hopefully, if nothing else, someone will someday find this and be able to let my parents know what happened.

Mom, Dad, I love you both. I'm sorry if I don't make it home. I just want you to know that I am going to try. I will work out how I got here and try to get back. I miss you so much, I just want to come home. Please. Help."

* * *

I turn my phone off for the last time and securely tuck it back in my pocket, hoping that the last bit of battery will keep it alive until...

I can't remember what the downtime lifespan is for this model, like it matters much when I have no idea if or when it will ever be turned on again. It's better than nothing. I need to not rely on it. I need to not check it every 5 minutes to see if I have signal... knowing full well that it won't.

Staring down the slope at the tiers of the town below, its buildings terracing the hillside like a medieval favela, I try to formulate a plan.

I would like to be able to confidently tell myself that you don't get isekai'd to be a side character or NPC. You get transported to another world to be the protagonist, the OP saviour. Even in parodies with NEET's as the heroes they can instantly speak the language and have some kind of skill or gimmick that lets them beat the odds. All I've got are a broken finger and an empty stomach. I chuckle to myself involuntarily, sardonically, and flinch at the sting in my lip. The hell did I do in a previous life to deserve this kind of karmic justice?

"Well then..." I sigh to myself.

First, I have to figure out what kind of world I've been dumped into, then I can plan the rest based off shows I've seen. I guess that's a start, at least. I know they're fiction, but it's better to have a working theory than going in totally unprepared. Like I'm prepared for any of this. I idle my way towards a ledge on the side of the road while thinking to myself, plopping down on the large rock without paying much heed.

"Hmm..."

So, I've not been reborn, which means I must have been transported somehow. That might explain why my head hurt so much. It could be as simple as I hit it on something after falling through a portal. But, if it was a wormhole, not a perfectly crafted magic circle without side effects, guaranteed, then it's anyone's guess what goes on in there. I could have been turned inside out over an over, or stripped down to atoms and reconstructed on the other end. Who knows how these things work?!.

Okay... I'm not going to be able to work that out now. I don't have enough information, but at least it means there might be magic here, and if that's the case I can try to learn it later to find a way home. Another point towards there possibly being magic, I've already seen orcs and goblins and beastfolk. That means this is a fantasy world, right? Makes sense. Though, it could just mean evolution took a few different routes here, instead of humans being the only sentient race. Guess I gotta confirm that magic is definitely a thing before I can work out any more there.

Fantasy creatures, fantasy world. Maybe magic. Good start. Technology? Well, none. Wood-fire oven, hearth, bath, and an outdoor toilet at the house I awoke in. No street-lights, power-lines, or cars anywhere here in town. I can hear farm animals though, so maybe there are horses or whatever for riding and transporting things. That means it's probably a medieval setting. Ugh, so far so generic... what else?

Absent mindedly, I lean back against the dusty rock jutting out from the base of a raised garden.

It's somewhat comfortable, or as comfortable as a smooth slab of stone can be. There's a coolness about it despite the scorching summer sun. Atleast the climate seems comparable to what I'm used to. Thankfully, I've landed here while it's hot, so I don't need to waste money on extra food and fuel food to hibernate. Actually, this does seem like a plain old starter town, and I've got a house to stay in already. Hell, with the size of it, it's probably meant for a few people to share. You could easily put out several bedrolls in the big rooms, have communal use of the downstairs... makes a lot more sense now.

Right, so this is potentially an established starting area. Even if no one else seems to have been around for a while, what with all that dust back at the house. I hope this isn't a grim fantasy kinda deal. I could be the first of a new recruitment drive, and I did get my ass kicked by that beastman earlier, so it's certainly not set to easy mode. Maybe he'll be my Gary? I sorta hope so... I'd love to level up and beat him down later on.

Although... they may only summon people in specific times of need. The house might be so big as a reward, in honour of those brought here to help, like a temporary perk or a benefits package at work. Could go either way really. Nothing has awoken any hidden knowledge in me, so I assume I'm not some kind of eternal champion, a reincarnated hero, or that I have the soul of a great warrior trapped within me or whatever. Next step would be to go to the Adventurers Guild and register myself, or seek out a plot hook for my starter quest. This really is a by the numbers beginning, isn't it.

"Fuck."

The expletive hanging in the air on its own. Filling the role of sigh, groan, curse, and resignation all at once. I wince at the remembered throbbing in my finger, hating myself for the forgotten pain then flicking a pebble in my ruminations, only for it to be renewed. It lances through me with excruciating clarity, forcing my attention onto how hideously swollen it has gotten.

There's no one to call, no one to go find for help. There's only the aching realisation that I am alone. At least, I assume my parents aren't somewhere out there, transported to a different part of this world. They could even be in a different one, or all three of us could be in different ones. But, they're not here, together with me. I mean, there was that one Mom that got isekai'd too, but I highly doubt that's happening. The odds of one person managing interdimensional travel successfully, even accidentally, is astronomical, let alone two or three ending up in the same time and place.

I go to stand, trying to escape my own thoughts, to get some more air in my lungs, but my head spins violently, so I lower myself back against the rock. I'd begun to clutch my finger to see if pressure would alleviate the pain from the swelling, but all it did was send a tsunami of nausea through me. It takes a few minutes to suppress the dizziness and my impulse to dry heave.

"I wonder how they're doing?"

Barely realising I've spoken, tears well up in my eyes and begin their descent; clearing paths through the remaining dirt on my face. I want to see my parents. For the first time in years I feel like a child. A hug, a word of comfort, something, anything... I just need them right now. My mind quickly turns in on itself, reminding me how pathetic I am to be crying in public, for feeling needy while in pain and lost far from home.

"SHUT UP!!!"

Exploding at myself, I would have found a fence or wall to punch, to vent my frustrations on, but the intense pulsing in my hand holds me back. Instead, I force myself to take some deep breaths. I have to stay calm for now, think of a plan, and do what I can before nightfall. I can worry about my parents later.

Sniffing back my misery, burying it for when I actually have the time to let it out, I focus on my immediate necessities. So, I need to find the who or whatever passes for the first quest giver, get my starting equipment, pick up some rations and healing items, then back to the house. Nice, simple, quick. Real old school RPG kinda stuff. I let out a long quavering breath to steel my resolve.

"Huuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu... okay."

I wipe my face with the other side of my top. Maybe I should also find some water to clean up a bit too. Make myself more presentable for the Guildmaster or Mayor or whoever gets me started. I don't have any other clothes back at the house, but I can probably clean them in left over bath water. Don't want to run through the fresh stuff too quickly, and I'll need to buy some soap too.

I scan the roofs and facades visible to me from my perch on the mountainside, shading my eyes from the early afternoon glare, making binoculars of my hands. A couple of buildings stand out as noticeably bigger and/or grander than the rest. One of them has to be a guildhouse or town hall. I get my thoughts straight while I make my way back down the slope, weaving through alleyways and side streets once again. This time, only to escape the sun's pursuit. I try to keep myself orientated with landmarks that I spotted from earlier, a big tree here, a crumbling wall there. Mostly, I just let my ancient instinct take the wheel. Sun that way, so North this way, and I'm going a few streets along and down.

Getting up close to the buildings again, I wonder how I could have been so blind. They're obviously not of the design or materials I'm used to seeing. You can only blame heat, hunger, and preconceived notions of rural architecture for so much. Laughing my frustrations away, I make it to the first of the places I had marked from above.

It has a gate and a wall, similar to those around the starter house, so I knock and wait. There weren't any streams or water fountains on the way, so hopefully they've got a well I can borrow.

After a few moments, I try again.

Still no response.

After double-checking there isn't anyone around, knowing full well how impolite it is to not wait to be let in, I try the gate, and finding it unlocked, enter the courtyard.

It's a rather grand affair. Either a wealthy high standing person lives here, or a prestigious organisation. I didn't notice a name plate on the wall outside, and there doesn't seem to be one by the front door. Doubt I could have read it anyway. I shrug and walk up to the entrance, ready to accept my first quest and get this adventure started.