The trees I see as I reach the tree line reminds me of the pine trees you could find in Europe. The sharp, sweet smell reaching me from all around. Reaching out and touching one of the trees I felt the bark underneath my hand.

Taking a few seconds whilst touching the tree I listened. All around I could hear the sound of trees moving slowly. Birds chirping, some familiar and some foreign. Interspersed was the sound of various animals, most sounded quite familiar.

Stepping away from the tree I continued walking towards the west. Should I perhaps start running to speed my passing? Then again if I run and don’t find somewhere safe I would quickly get exhausted. I might have been fit, but I was mostly just keeping in shape. Not to mention the fact that this is not my body!

Calm down… Calm down… No need to panic. Just keep on walking. We will get somewhere safe soon. I am sure.

Huh?

What was that sound?

I stop and look around. Nothing has changed since I entered the woods. Though I think I can make out some birds up in the trees.

Hmm, I can’t see anything, and the sound hasn’t come back. I hope it was nothing, but I think I will increase my speed just a little.

Increasing my speed to a light jog I continue. Every so often I feel like the sound, if it was a sound, is there again. It is just so faint though, that I really can’t tell. However, I think increasing my speed once more would be safer than risking meeting anything bad.

Continuing through the woods I increase my speed each time I hear the sound. Something is following me, I am sure of it. I am starting to get quite exhausted from the running. Not far in front of me, I see some bushes and shrubs blocking the path. Perhaps I can hide behind them?

Barreling through the bushes I barely have time to notice the red, green, and brown color as I smash into something. What the hell? I look at what I crashed into, it seems to be a carriage of some sort. There is a door in the carriage, perhaps I can hide in there? I grab the handle of the door and jump into the carriage.

Crouching down inside the carriage I try to still my heavy breathing. I hope that whatever beast was following me can’t open doors.

“-is-”

Fucking hell that was scary. What the fuck was that?

“Mis-”

I think my heart is going to burst from running.

“MISS!!!”

“Whaa?”

I turn around to the sound of someone shouting inside the carriage. Sitting on a bench is a portly man wearing a suit that just about fit him. He has a full black beard, with stripes of white running through it. His hair is short and slick. Besides him sits a woman short of stature with light brown hair done up in a rather fancy style. Her eyes have a look of motherly kindness and lines on her face suggesting an age not far off the man beside her.

“Miss, why are you in my carriage?”

Just as I am about to answer the door I am hiding behind is violently thrown open and someone grabs me by the scruff of the neck hauling me outside. Landing hard on the ground I look up seeing the man who pulled me out. He is quite imposing wearing smooth leather-like armor in the same colors as the carriage holding a hand-and-a-half sword. The portly man from the carriage follows out from the carriage, taking a look around. Seeming to deem it safe he steps down and stands before me.

“So miss, would you kindly answer my question? And were you with those wastrels from earlier?”

“Wastrels? I have been running away from a monster for hours! I saw those bushes over there and thought I could hide behind them when I crashed into the carriage and hid inside it”

“Ardin, are there any monsters here in the Alm Brook Forest?”

“No sir, there have been no reported sightings of any monsters. Though hunters do sometimes bring wolf pelts. Perhaps the girl ran into a wolf?”

“That can’t have been a wolf! It followed me all the way from that Stonehenge place!”

“Stonehenge? Do you mean the druids circle? What would you be doing out there girl? And you said you ran for hours? That can’t be right, it takes no more than an hour or two to walk that distance. Sir, we should continue on to the city.”

“But? Wait! Please let me come along!”

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“Sir?”

“Help the men and you can follow us girl.”

The portly man stepped back into the carriage and closed the door, leaving me outside with the imposing man, Ardin I think. He looked down at me and offered a hand. I grabbed it and stood up. Looking around I could see three other men wearing the same armor as Ardin carrying swords. There was also a man sitting atop the carriage holding the reins of the team leading the carriage.

Two of the men were just finishing with dragging what looked to be people of to the side of the road. Though I couldn’t make out for sure.

“Just follow behind the carriage, we don’t need any help right now but I will have you help carry stuff when we arrive in the city as payment for the protection.”

I could only nod at the statement from Ardin. Really, what else could I do? They had fucking swords! Not to mention the fact that I would have an armed escort, of sorts, to whatever city they were headed for.

----------------------------------------

I followed along behind the carriage as it started moving on the road through the forest. Whatever had been following me in the woods seems to have given up, or at least it has stopped making sounds. They say it was a wolf. Hah, right. No way, whatever that was it was certainly not a wolf. Hopefully, the monster stays away, so that I can make it safely to whatever city we are heading towards.

In my panic earlier I didn’t pay attention to them calling me ‘miss’ and ‘a girl’. It is still extremely weird being a girl? Woman? Now. But when thinking about it, I don’t have as much disassociation with my body as I would have assumed. I would have assumed that my mind would heavily rebel against the entire situation. Sure I have only been in this body for a few hours at most, so it probably hasn’t sunk in quite yet.

Still, I would have imagined that there would have been some feeling of wrongness at the very least. But there is nothing. And looking at the men walking around the carriage I do find that I wonder if they look hot or not. Sure, I wasn’t entirely straight back on earth, but I would still think about girls first. Whilst now I feel like it might have switched around? I still don’t think I am straight, but instead of being most interested in girls, now it seems perhaps guys are my main focus?

Gah, this is confusing. Just. Stop. Thinking. Why do I even care what I am attracted to? I am in a new fucking world! There are monsters here! That might mean magic! Fucking MAGIC! That means no time to think of how sex… STOP IT! Magic… Think about magic…

Hmm, what magic would suit me I wonder. Casting fireballs sounds pretty epic. Or perhaps striking monsters with bolts of lightning? Wind blades? Water jets? Laser beams? Is that even possible?

“Uhm… What is your name?”

I tapped the man walking closest to me on the shoulder.

“Huh, oh, uhm. I’m Cedric, or just Ced, miss.”

“To— Uhm. Alice. Just call me Alice. Nice to meet you Ced. I was wondering, does magic exists?”

“Ahahahahaha, you’re joking, right? Asking about magic. Have you been living under a rock or something?”

I am fairly sure my face turned red.

“So… Sorry… I guess it doesn’t”

Stupid… Of course, magic isn’t real. Why would it be? Just because I got reincarnated or isekai’d doesn’t mean magic is real.

“Pfft. Hahahaha. You really must have lived under a rock. If magic didn’t exist how would we still be alive?”

Wait. What? It is real! FUCK YEAH! MAGIC BITCHES!

“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! I’m gonna be a magic girl whoop whoop!”

“Are you alright miss Alice? Did you hit your head? And why are you thanking me? I can’t do magic, it supposedly quite hard.”

“Sorry. I just thought for a second there that magic wouldn’t be real.”

Woop! I am going to learn magic! Hmm, okay, back to planning what magic I want. Healing magic perhaps?

“-ice-o-ea-e-”

Nah, that is so typical girls in every isekai ever. What magic isn’t used by MC normally? I am fairly sure I have read stories with most magics. Fire is also quite normal. And if not any of those the MC normally gets access to all magic. Necromancy? Ugh, corpses though. I don’t really want to touch loads of decaying people.

Do even get to choose my magic I wonder? I should probably ask. Perhaps Ced knows?

“Ced! Do you know if I can choose what magic I have?”

“So you are still there miss Alice. You looked quite lost for some time ahaha. Hmm, but choosing magic. I don’t really know. Though I have seen someone using both fire and water, and those should be opposing elements. So perhaps you can use everything if you get magic?”

“Hoho, all the magic then! Thanks, Ced.”

“No pro-”

What magic should I concentrate on first then? No, first I need access to magic or mana or whatever they use in this world. Hmm, how is it normally done? Just feel for it right? Some kind of underlying force of nature? Does it feel like gravity perhaps?

Jumping up and down I do experience gravity as normal. Gravity is as it should be, but is magic similar or not? Perhaps it is closer in nature to the strong or weak nuclear forces? How would I feel it then? I really need to find someone that can teach me.

Come on. Come on. We need to hurry to the city.

Running to the side of the carriage I look down the road we are traveling and I think I can make out something gray in the distance.

“I think I see the city. Hurry everyone! We need to hurry!”

“Calm down girl. We will get there soon. You are quite energetic despite running from a so-called monster.”

I try to look angry as I stare at Ardin. Not that I think I am pulling it off. I am way to giddy to be angry. So close to magic. Just a few hundred meters away. Then I can learn magic.

“Ardin. Do you know where I can learn magic in the city?”

“No.”

Whaa. What’s with that short response? Come on man! Answer a girl. I mean man. I need to know you know!

“Come on Ardin. Tell meeeeee. You must know.”

“I don’t.”

“Is there a college in the city? A wizard tower? An Adventurers guild? Anything?”

“When we get to the city you can ask a guard once you have helped unload the carriage.”

“Awww. Come on Ardin, tell meeeeeee. Pleeeasee. Does your boss know? Can you ask him for me?”

“Girl, be quiet and you can talk when we finish unloading the carriage in the city.”

Hmpf. Ardin is a fucking prick. I just want to learn magic you know. Kicking a small rock I slow down and walk beside Cedric again. At least he was being kind and answered my questions. Though looking at him I think he might be laughing at me. So, I punch his shoulder.

“Ooof, heh, sorry. Miss Alice, you are quite energetic and funny you know.”

Well, of course I am. There is magic to be had. No time to waste and all.

“Hmpf. Ardin is mean, Ced. How long until we reach the city?”

“Hmm, I would guess around 10 or so minutes. Then however long the queue to get in.”

“Thanks, Ced. I’ll just go back to thinking about awesome magic then.”