... just ... just how did it come to this?

How did I go from being a regular student to being of the verge of death in a couple of hours?

In a different world, no less.

I´d like to stay positive, though that is getting increasingly hard, seeing as how I´ve already walked for miles, yet when I look around, all I see is a wasteland, as well as the purple, poisonous fog engulfing it.

I continue walking – or I try to, at least. That’s when I suddenly collapsed.

Why? Because of this cursed fog of course, I just said it´s poisonous, damnit!

... no use. I try to get angry, but I don’t even have the strength for that.

I wonder how Daniel is doing? I´m not the only one who was teleported here, after all.

Then again, I guess he can´t be doing any worse than I am, seeing as how I´m about die, ha ha... ha.

Is this the end? I guess so. I close my eyes, yet, just when I was about to accept my demise, a warmth enveloped me, forcing me to look up, staring right at ---

---------

7 hours ago; modern day USA, Earth

It was the middle of a regular, hot summer day; we were both exhausted and tired.

Us being my best friend and I, Daniel and Thomas. We had just finished school, taking our math final.

After having left the school building a couple minutes ago, it was just the two of us, having finished the test earlier than the rest of the students.

“You really saved me back there. Thanks for helping me cheat on the test!”

I told him, in all honesty.

“Don´t mention it, I know math isn’t your strongest subject.”

“This has to be one of the best benefits of having you as a best friend.”

“Is that really all I´m good for? You should like me for more than just that, like my personality, you know!”

After that, we both started laughing and carried on having small talk as we continued walking home.

It really was such a regular day; we never would have expected what would happen next.

Despite this being the route we took to and from school every day, we had never experienced something like this before, and how could we? It was a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.

A white light started appearing from beneath us, Daniel was the first to notice.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

“... w-what the hell?!” He suddenly screamed out.

“What is it?” I responded in confusion. He wasn’t the type of guy to raise a fuss for no reason, on the contrary, Daniel, just like myself, is more of a calm and reserved kind of person.

“Look at the ground! It´s glowing, it´s almost like a-

I looked down, and sure enough-

“Magic circle!” the both of us said, in unison.

“You don’t think this could possibly mean what I think it does, do you?” [Thomas]

“I guess so, I never thought this would actually happen, but I guess this is our time.” [Daniel]

“Yeah, I guess this is our time to be transported to another world, just like in those isekai stories we´ve both read so many of!” [Thomas]

The light continued engulfing us, yet we ignored it, looking at each other with excitement and determination.

“You know, usually only one person gets teleported as the main character, the others tend to just be baggage, or are used for comedic relief.”

This guy. I know we´re both making light of the situation, but is he seriously implying what I think he is?

“What do you mean?” I ask, expecting a cocky response.

“What I´m trying to say is, don’t worry, as the main character, I´ll make sure you, the side character, won´t get hurt.”

He smirked at me, proudly proclaiming that he would become some sort of stereotypical hero, while I would be a mere hindrance at his side ... yeah right! As if I would let that happen.

“You wish. I´ll make sure it´s the other way around! Once I kill the demon king, I might try to give you some screen-time as well!”

“Hah! Well, firstly we will have to make it through this entire ordeal without either one of us dying, though. So stay close and we will make it through this ... as long as you won´t hinder me too much, at least.”

That jerk, he once again smirked at me, the light has almost finished swallowing us both completely, only a tiny slit remaining at the top, showing the last bit of the regular blue sky we were used to. I wanted to give my final retort before it closed, yet as I was about to open my mouth, it happened.

A stream of black light started flowing in, it practically tore the space we were in in two, the white parts then re-organized around me, surrounding me once more. At the same time, the black parts, seemingly imitating the white ones, closed around Daniel.

Me: “W-what the hell! Come back, grab my hand!”

As I said that, we started reaching our hands out towards one another, yet mere moments before we would´ve touched, the lights finished.

We were now completely surrounded, I in the white orb, and Daniel in the black one.

We were separated, and the last thing I saw was the panic in his eyes. I´m sure I must have had the same expression, though.

I wanted to try breaking through the orb, but when I touched the wall, the skin on my hand started burning.

I punched it, with all my might, yet it didn’t even have a scratch, the only thing that changed was the state of my knuckles, the skin now being completely burnt.

Just what could have happened?

Did the caster mess up the summoning magic? Or ... don’t tell me, did somebody else interrupt the spell, in order to steal one of us away? If so, Daniel should be the one being taken away, as the black light came in second.

Nothing´s set in stone yet, we could still very well arrive at the same place any minute now, if not, then...

Countless scenarios flashed through my mind, just what could all of this mean? I felt panic creeping up, yet I calmed myself. I shouldn´t let this get the best of me, so I calmed down and started thinking rationally once more.

But before I could reach a clear train of thought, I felt it.

A sharp pain, ripping open my chest, at first only a tiny spot, yet it quickly expanded.

This sensation was unlike anything I had ever felt before. Breaking an arm doesn´t even come close to this. There was no visible change to my body, yet I could feel it being seemingly deconstructed very clearly. I long since started screaming and, as I had lost the power to stand, was on the ground, completely helpless.

I wanted to cry for help, but I knew there was nobody near me, neither when I was on the street, nor when the light surrounded me ... except for Daniel that is.

Is he experiencing the same thing right now? I couldn´t hear him, guess this orb must be soundproof.

As my thoughts derailed, I noticed that, all of a sudden, the pain was gone.

All at once, as if it was never there to begin with.

My screaming stopped, and I regained strength, enough to stand up.

Shortly after standing upright, I noticed the barrier disintegrating, from top to bottom, it steadily vanished.

With all the previous experiences behind me, I realized that, just like that, I was transported to another world!