Ethan’s reflexes took over. It was not the first time someone charged him out of the blue. His fights with Mr.Yashida have been hours of staring at each other and even more hours of trying to catch each other off-guard at the right moment in hopes of landing a blow.

However, the rat was not Mr.Yashida - an elderly Japanese man resembling your kind neighborhood grandpa. And Ethan did not have his trustworthy wooden sword. He had nothing, in fact, and that was mostly the reason why he responded instinctually with an awkward half-punch, half-chop to the side of the rat’s head. It was enough to punch the beast out of its charge and into the corridor wall.

What the hell? Zombie rats now? Ethan thought, backing away, his heart pumping adrenaline furiously through his system from the scare he got when he first saw the oversize rodent. The monster quickly got up and shook its head, looking back at Ethan with malice.

The rat did not give him time to collect himself. Instead, seemingly unaffected by Ethan’s awkward punch, one his boxing coach would cringe over, the rat charged him again, this time from the side, aiming low at his left knee.

Once close enough, Ethan kicked the beast in its toothy maw without a pause, sending it sprawling a couple of meters further down the corridor. He stopped momentarily, glancing at his knuckles, and noticed a slight bruising. Tough little shit. What do I do? Run away, back to the corridor, or face the beast?

The rat did not give Ethan time to decide, choosing for him instead. Then, with a loud screech that bounced off the corridor's stone walls, it charged Ethan again. This time, surprising him, it first ran straight at him but then leaped on the wall at the last moment before jumping off it, aiming at his face.

Ethan’s eyes widened for a split second as he was shocked at seeing an airborne rat the size of a dog flying straight for his nose. His self-defense instinct kicked in again as he responded with a punch, landing an uppercut on the airborne rat’s maw, feeling a crunch.

The rat landed on the floor again, a couple of meters away from Ethan, rolling a few times before making a gurgling sound, a black ooze coming from its maw. Then, as he remembered the monstrous cat in the forest below, Ethan’s primal brain took over. Ethan did not notice the foul stench as he charged the rat instead - frustrated, with naked feet and nowhere else to go.

He almost immediately arrived at the still-downed rat and kicked it with a yell, throwing it against the wall. Then, uncaring about the damage the monster would cause to him, Ethan dropped down on his knees, pinning the rat’s neck under one knee as he punched its milky, white eye.

He hit it repeatedly, feeling the bruising on his knuckles, not daring to stop in case the rat managed to bite back. After a moment, the rat stilled as Ethan got up and delivered a few kicks for good measure until he was sure the monster was done. Then a new window popped up.

You have defeated [Tainted rat]!

Do you want to loot [Tainted rat]?

Yes/No

Ethan breathed heavily, leaning against the corridor wall before slumping down to sit on the ground. He started laughing as he noticed the small gray window pop up, asking him to loot the monster. “Loot? Seriously? It could not get any better, could it?” he asked, frustrated by the lack of answers to the many questions plaguing his mind.

He turned his head toward the dead rat and observed the black ooze coming from its mouth, the creature's head mangled and partially crushed against the wall. He turned away in disgust, understanding that he had done it to the critter in a moment of blind rage.

He checked his knuckles and noticed some black goo had gotten on his hands, stinging the wounds. He quickly brushed them against the floor, not wanting to taint his only piece of clothing.

Loot, huh? he thought back as he mentally selected Yes. Then, the monster started to dissolve, its body losing shape and transforming into black sludge. Ethan jumped to his feet, getting out of the way, as a foul stench hit his nose, almost making him throw up.

He promptly ran outside back to the courtyard, trying to get fresh air, as he coughed, doubling over, hands on his knees. Damn, that is bad. Does it happen every time with monsters, or is this the tainted part of the rat that smells so awful? he thought as his coughing subsided.

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Calming his nerves and regaining his wits, Ethan opened his eyes and looked at his feet covered in mud. The feeling was getting on his nerves, and he thought, I need to get some damn boots. Next, he noticed another grey window that replaced the previous prompt.

[Tainted rat] has been looted!

[Monster essence (tin)] has been added to your storage.

15 [Aspect tokens (tin)] have been added to your storage.

He read the notification and straightened. Then, looking around to the sides, he checked if more monsters would come out running, given the ruckus he made with his short fight and coughing in the middle of the courtyard. Seeing no movement, finally, he turned his attention back to the grey window.

“How do I check the loot?” Ethan asked quietly, thinking about how to trigger his so-called storage power. Then, a grey window with a four-by-five grid popped up before him. Instead of being empty, it had two slots filled with the looted items.

One looked like a metal orb, darker than silver, with brown spots on it. The other was a stack of coins the same color as the orb, with the number fifteen next to it.

Interesting. Coins that stack in piles, he mused and slowly stretched his hand toward the window. With no idea how to use the strange power, Ethan thought the smart move would be to take the items out of the window he saw. Instead, his hand reached the window and passed through it as if it was not there in the first place.

Ethan sagged, looking at the sky, raising his hands, “C'mon! I can see the things but cannot take them out? What type of dumb power is that?”

As he finished his rant, fifteen coins popped out of nowhere and dropped on his face, some slipping past him, others hitting him on the forehead. He yelped and jumped back, noting the spilled coins on the ground. Startled, Ethan stepped forward and looked at coins scattered around him. He picked one of them up and examined it.

[Aspect token] (currency, tin rank, common)

A diluted form of unadulterated magic.

“Great, I have money. What do I buy, though?” he mused to himself, examining the tin token, seeing no unique imprints on it. Instead, the thing was plain, with some lining around the sides you would expect to see on an ancient coin. Ethan looked around the empty courtyard and wondered when he would find civilization, if at all.

Understanding that the windows could not be touched, but his thoughts controlled them, he willed the coin back into storage, it promptly vanishing. He quickly gathered the remaining coins, stacking them in his hand before storing them. Again, they disappeared from his hand and appeared in the storage window. I wonder how much stuff I can buy with this? Or how many boots? he thought wistfully.

“What am I thinking about?” he shook his head and looked at his hands, noticing the black ooze was gone. He felt weary suddenly. The events of the past few minutes catching up to him. For the first time, Ethan recognized that he was not somewhere in Iceland. No one was playing a sick joke on him, dropping him naked and shaving in the middle of the forest. Instead, he was alone in a strange world away from his friends and family.

I am not getting back anymore, am I? he thought, looking around at the cold stone walls surrounding him, slumping his shoulders. He saw that the sky was grey, and the sun was setting, casting long shadows around the corners of the tall walls. A chill ran over him.

He shivered at the thought of being lost in the middle of some fantasy land with no tools to fight and survive. Ethan had dreamt of escaping the simple crutches of his routine life for many years but not like this. Not alone and half naked, with no people around to provide some answers.

He never wanted to vanish without a trace like some teenage runaway. What would his mother think? And Jorge? They would worry sick about him, trying to understand what had happened to him. And Mr.Yashida? He talked with the old man just today. Or was it yesterday?

Ethan shook his head and slapped himself on the cheeks. Something he did when trying to concentrate or to gather his wits before a fight. No time to be a sissy. Grey windows are a thing, and this is not a dream. Nor am I crazy. I will find a way to get out of here, he thought, turning back to the entrance where he had fought.

The priorities are the same. I need to find shelter if the corridors of this damn castle are teeming with more of the sick rat things. Next is water and then food. God, I hope there is food. I do not want to cook those rats before they vanish. He slowly walked back to the corridor.

He popped his head in, sniffed the air, and noticed that it did not smell anymore and had returned to its usual moist self. Then, next to the corridor entrance, he saw the light crystal he had dropped and picked it up, storing it. Excellent, so it works on other items, not just those I looted. He brought it back out and entered the corridor.

Returning to where he fought the rat, Ethan saw that nothing remained. No black blood, no monster, nothing. At least I do not need to hide any corpses, he thought to himself as he proceeded cautiously further down the corridor.