Emma was a tough-hearted female who had short brown hair, military shorts, a crop top, and rubber gloves. Her appearance was a reflection of her personality. The love of a man could never sway her. In fact, Emma had been single for quite a while now.

She and her party were just an inch away from catching Viperiont, the viper snake.

It was a snake that had been terrorizing the local village - mercilessly killing and eating any villagers that wandered too far from the safety of the village.

They had set bait for it in the forest - a double-eared rabbit. The double-eared rabbit was a delicacy even the vilest monsters acknowledged it to be, it was even more so when cooked. However, catching it was quite the task, it would have gone extinct from being too delicious if it didn't have some tactics to avoid predators after all.

The double-eared rabbit could jump ridiculously long distances in a short time, making some of the predators which were unsuccessful in catching it by surprise give up after a few seconds of fruitless chasing.

If it weren't for Mason's good archery skills - who shot an arrow with paralysis poison while the rabbit was in mid-air after jumping, Emma knew she and her party would have never managed to subdue or capture the rabbit.

Sure enough, Viperion had taken the bait, claiming the rabbit's life, which wasn't 'frozen' in fear in the middle of the forest. Viperion had eaten the rabbit right at that moment - not even hesitating.

She and her party had followed Viperion back to its cave. Sure they could have slaughtered the snake in the forest, but hey - Emma was no vet and couldn't tell whether Viperion was a female or male snake; she clearly remembered the instructions from the Adventurer's association telling her party to make sure Viperion's next of kin was eliminated.

However, after following it to a large well-lit cave, the snake had used a small hole inside the cave and swiftly escaped the trailing of the party as if intentional. The party had been maintaining a wide distance between themselves and the snake in order not to alert it, so not even the fastest in the party could have reached the snake when it escaped.

However, after an hour of searching, Emma started noticing more holes in the walls of the cave and some even on the dungeon floor. Of course, she and her party had checked each one of them and even threw some 'explosive' gifts for Viperion in each hole if he was in one of them. The holes had immediately crumbled after the explosion, limiting the snake's escape routes.

Recently they had been in the deepest part of the cave, where one small hole and a larger one remained, Emma then had smirked - ready to throw another explosive in the smaller hole when she and her party saw something writhing out.

She had been sure it was that sinister snake - Viperion. Imagine her surprise when it turned out to be a human, and he was naked!

However, he fainted immediately after seeing them.

" What do you think Jacob? "

Emma now asked one of her party members -Jacob, who had to give up his jacket to cover the naked model.

He was a man who had black hair and an appearance that made some girls fume with jealousy every time they saw him next to Emma, with a perfect jawline and a manly face that just didn't look his age. Of course, this lady-lover had tried to court Emma in the past but only to end up with a rejection.

" Hmm, I don't know. There hasn't been any missing person reported - I'd assume he was a villager but then again, why would he still be alive knowing that snake likes to eat its prey the moment it gets the chance to? "

Jacob answered.

Emma glanced at the man on the floor and immediately clucked her tongue.

' Look at him sleeping without a care in the world, we had to pause the raid because of him - he looks pretty though so maybe he might be some rich noble's son. '

Emma thought, her eyes scanning his face;

It was the first time Emma had seen someone so handsome!

Of course, she didn't lose herself though, and maintained her composure, just because he was handsome didn't mean she would fall for him at first glance like a lovestruck maiden.

" Hey, you've sure been staring at him for a while - and I thought our little Emma had a stone-cold heart that couldn't be shaken by the appearance of a man. "

Jacob teased, causing Emma to immediately throw a middle finger at him.

" Screw you. "

Yeah, he was handsome alright - too handsome.

What was someone who looked like they were pampered from the day of their birth doing on the outskirts of a village? He was way too soft-looking to belong in a primitive village like Grem.

This reeked of a scheme Emma didn't even want to know, surely it would bring trouble for her and the party if they rescued him if whoever or whatever left him in the cave found out about it - but then again, Emma wasn't as heartless as to leave the unconscious guy here.

" Aargh, just why did we have to bump into such a weirdo ?"

Emma cursed out loudly, earning the gaze of Jacob.

" I know right, in any case, we should take him with us. "

" Yeah, I know. "

Emma replied.

" But what about his clothe- "

Emma didn't get to finish her sentence, because the person in question started moving.

Maybe they'd get some answers if they asked him.

***

Ryan regained consciousness.

Actually, he had regained it 3 minutes ago and had gotten his recap of what had transpired before he passed out.....again.

'goddamn it, just why is this happening to me ?!'

Of course, Ryan was somewhat still naked, but he did feel something on top of him that covered him - a coat or a jacket maybe? But that wasn't enough for him to recover from his embarrassment. He was sure he was probably already a celebrity on social media by now.

Ryan slowly opened his eyes. Pretending to be still unconscious wouldn't put him out of his predicament. Along his line of sight, he saw a woman who stared back at him with a tint of annoyance, no doubt holding back openly clucking her tongue at him.

' I think that guy called her Emma'

" Hi "

Ryan sheepishly let out.

There was an awkward silence - Ryan was staring at Emma who was staring back at him without uttering a word. There was the tall man next to her, but he seemed too uncaring to say anything.

Ryan cleared his throat.

" Hello ? "

He greeted again.

" I heard you the first time dimwit, I bet you have a wonderful story to tell us big guy - I've rarely seen anyone spawn naked in a cave after all. "

Emma said , a bit of sarcasm in her voice.

What would Ryan say? That he got hit by a truck and somehow found himself in a cave? That was crazy no matter how you thought of it !

But then again , he didn't have anything better to say.

Ryan grabbed the Jacket which had been covering him and tied it behind his back ; this served as a tactic to hide his little Ryan in front as he stood up. His bare back was sore from being on the harsh ground.

" You see , I kinda got hit by a truck. "

Ryan said , closely observing the expressions of the strangers. There was first amazement then confusion; particularly on Emma's face.

" You got hit by a t-wreck?"

" Yes a truck.. "

Ryan let out, making a wry smile.

" Hmm I see.. "

Emma slowly said before she looked at her mate and then whispered in a barely audible voice.

" This guy is totally bonkers, he has more than a single screw loose inside his head. I don't want to tangle myself in whatever is happening to him. "

'The hell..'

" I can hear you, you know !"

Ryan shouted in protest , earning a 'this guy is definitely crazy' expression from Emma.

He had expected that kind of reaction from them, but seeing it actually happen was far worse.

" Ah yes, I suppose you aren't crazy then... will you explain to us how you got here and miraculously lost all your clothes? We've combed most of this cave so don't even think of lying and say you've placed them elsewhere. "

Ryan was tight-lipped, he didn't know how he lost his clothes or why - he could only hope the truck guy didn't do anything perverted to him. However, admitting his ignorance would make him look even more of a lunatic.

" Oh, and what about the t-wreck thing you got hit by? I've been an adventurer for quite a while now and went out to many towns, it's the first time I've heard about someone - no , anyone getting hit by something called a t-wreck"

'Wait wait...'

Ryan suddenly realized something.

" What did you say you were? "

" An adventurer, why? "

'Adventurer?! Isn't that a Job that only exists in those isekai manga and anime? And who in the twenty-first century doesn't know what a truck is.... '

Ryan's felt like he was high on adrenaline as his mind started getting a huge flash of realization, he could even hear his own heart beating violently in the cage of his chest.

Stolen story; please report.

" W-where am I ? "

Ryan asked in a shaky voice, gently holding the last straw of his sanity.

" Grem, why? "

Emma flatly replied, not noticing Ryan's inner turmoil.

' Grem ? Where the hell is that'

" And on which continent ? :

Ryan finally asked the question he knew would wager whether his sanity crumbled.

" Who doesn't know we're in Aetheria? "

Emma casually let out, like it was common knowledge for anyone to know.

Ryan didn't believe it, Aetheria? Adventurer? if this wasn't a fantasy manga theme he would throw himself off a cliff!

'Yep. I think I've seriously lost it. I guess she wasn't wrong about me being crazy huh ?'

Maybe he was in a coma and would wake up soon.

" Do you have a mirro- I mean something I could use to look at my reflection? "

Ryan asked, looking at Emma. If she was twenty percent sure before that Ryan was crazy, Ryan was sure she must have been a hundred percent certain now.

Emma simply stared at him.

" Give it to him. "

The man who had been quietly observing everything suddenly said. Emma looked at him before looking at Ryan, the gesture seemed to indicate a 'are you sure about this?' Question.

The man nodded and Emma took out a nice circular mirror that definitely didn't look like flattened and extra shiny silver. Ryan was too distressed to care.

He grabbed the mirror - which he wasn't sure he could even call it that, and when he stared at it, he saw an unfamiliar face he wouldn't dare call his; short grey hair with a tint of silver, pale smooth skin, and ruby red eyes which stared back at him.

Ryan immediately started laughing hysterically.

'You've got to be bullshitting me. I got Isekaid into a different world! And I thought all that crap about truck-kun being a ticket to another world was just lazy writing made by manga writers and anime directors..'

Wasn't this life bitch-slapping him? He got hit by a truck and got thrown into a different world and a different body.

At least those protagonists in the manga he read weren't sent into a naked body in the middle of nowhere.

'Wait, if it's what I am thinking then at least I should have some overpowered ability or ridiculous strong system right ?'

Yes, Ryan had been unfairly transported to a different world, it sucked a bit yeah - but who wouldn't be happy about being in a world where fantasy stories were a reality? And if the good Karma he built up in his previous life played him right then he probably had a super overpowered ability or skill for sure.

'Status'

Ryan internally said - nothing appeared.

He waited for a few seconds before saying it again.

'Status..'

However, Ryan didn't get the pop-up screen he was expecting to appear in front of his face.

" Status.... "

Ryan said it out loud this time, the impatience clearly in his voice. Yet to his disappointment, the screen didn't appear in front of him.

'This is bullshit! Where is my status template with ridiculously powerful stats for a beginner or my overpowered ability which allows me to defeat anyone without lifting a finger?! Just what did I do in my previous life to deserve this cruel punishment!'

Ryan cursed in his mind.

" Okay big guy, I think we've seen enough. "

Emma suddenly said, forcefully taking her mirror from him.

" At first, I thought you were crazy with your t-wreck and nonsense you were talking about but after everything I've seen, I have reason to believe that was just a ploy to fool us.. "

Emma said slowly, her eyes scanning Ryan, simultaneously her arms reached for something on her waist.

She pulled out a long sharp dagger which looked like a military knife before running her finger on the dagger's side.

" You see this, this is a lovely babe I had a blacksmith made for me with the bones of a wyvern - he might have been young, but boy was he strong - almost lost my life, thankfully our party managed to kill him, and split the profit. Not without casualties of course. With this dagger I've managed to reap the lives of several monsters - some even B rank, the flesh of a normie like you would get diced with the slightest touch of it even with protective gear on. You get what am I saying, right? "

'Oh no, this is a misunderstanding!'

"Wait... this isn't what it looks like "

Ryan began pleading for his life - Emma's expression became cold instantly.

"Oh, It doesn't? I must be losing my mind then because you surely don't seem to be quite the suspicious individual - only God knows what you are here for, you could be a spy from a rival country or some weird continent here to gather information or even worse..."

Her voice began trailing before she continued -

" You could be an assassin sent to reap the lives of our party. "

'Me, an assassin?'

Ryan almost laughed at the accusation.

'I got sent into a different world and am about to get killed! What Karma is this!'

" How could I be an assassin? I don't even have a weapon if you haven't checked yet! "

Ryan argued; However, Emma didn't seem convinced enough to draw back her dagger.

" You could be hiding it somewhere?

' Where could I be possibly hiding It? Between my balls?!'

" Yeah right, I am naked for god's sake! "

Emma kept quiet as if realizing the holes in her accusation - Ryan was too weak to be a threat, she had called him a normie herself, and being naked meant he didn't have a place he could use to conceal a weapon. Infact, Ryan was no different from a sitting duck waiting to be slaughtered.

" He does have a point, Emma "

Jacob - the man with the perfect jawline voiced out his opinion, causing Emma to slightly back down.

" My gut tells me if I don't kill this guy now, he will be trouble for us in the future.. and you know my gut has never been wrong. "

Emma muttered with a bit of bitterness.

Ryan couldn't believe it, was he going to get killed just because her gut told her to do so?

" This is ridiculous. "

Ryan finally voiced out, earning himself a hate glare from Emma.

Jacob finally sighed before he took a black metal ring which was inserted into the bare lace of a pendant.

" This is the ring my grandfather gave to me; I remember how he would always tell me that this ring was the holder of truths and whoever put it into their finger could never tell lies.. "

Jacob said, looking at Ryan with obvious intent as he began taking out the ring inside the pedant.

" What? I am not putting that into my finger. "

Of course, putting a suspicious item into your finger when you are in a fantasy world was a sure way to die, who knew if this wasn't actually a trap, and the ring would blow him up after putting it into his finger.

" Very well then. "

Emma said , her eyes becoming colder as she slowly started moving towards Ryan - dagger in hand.

Ryan was sure she would actually skin him alive.

" WAIT!! I changed my mind, putting the ring doesn't seem like a bad thing after all. "

'Dammit'

Ryan felt like he was caught between a rock and a hard place; if he chose not to put on the ring - he would definitely be stabbed to death ; However, if he did choose to wear the ring - he could potentially go to the other side with a kaboom!

Ryan could only bite his lower lip, he was like a lamb that didn't even have any power to resist the might of a slaughterer.

' But then again, if they wanted to kill me anyways - why not do it directly instead of using underhanded methods such as rings '

Jacob walked nearer to Ryan, ring in hand.

" Your hand, please. "

He said in a gentle tone which made Ryan almost vomit.

" Eww, give me the ring - I'll wear it myself. "

Ryan snatched the ring from him and started putting it on his right index finger. The larger ring immediately started shrinking to fit Ryan's smaller finger.

" Wow, that is definitely new. "

Jacob suddenly said, a look of astonishment clearly on his face.

Ryan didn't like the way he said it.

" What do you mean this is new, isn't this what is supposed to happen? "

Jacob had a dumb expression as he stared at Ryan.

" I don't know, I've never put the ring in any of my fingers before- my grandfather never mentioned it either. But then again, he did buy it from an old suspicious man in a cheap pawnshop. "

'Old suspicious man.... cheap pawn shop?'

Ryan didn't know whether to laugh or cry, he had agreed to wear the ring because he had assumed it was some sort of heirloom, he had unknowingly worn a ring that came from a cheap pawnshop.

Sure that wasn't such a bad thing, right?

'As if! If the ring was anywhere near normal it wouldn't have shrunk to begin with! Who knows if the pawn shop owner isn't an old monster who put a magic nuke inside this seemingly normal ring!'

" Shut up idiots, I think I've heard enough of your bickering. The ring is obviously for decoration. "

Emma cut in, finally tucking away her dagger -

" And If it isn't for decoration, then this idiot here will meet his maker. "

Ryan could see a bit of smirk from the corners of Emma's lips as she said the last poisonous words, she immediately then turned - grabbing Jacob by the shoulder.

" Alright, let's leave the idiot - we have some more important things to do , if we are lucky then this idiot will act as prey and bring out the viper for us. "

Emma shamelessly said, as if Ryan was no longer even there.

This however caused Ryan to actually be alarmed.

'Viper, prey?... right, I forgot they said they are adventurers. hmm, if they are adventures then that'd mean they were here on a raid before they met me ?'

Ryan suddenly realized his life was potentially in danger. Obviously he would actually become bait if not a meal if he was left behind inside a monster's den alone , he had read enough manga to know monsters that roamed in caves were ruthless and savage - striking when you least expected it, and adding to the fact that Ryan was a naked weakling - he couldn't have been any better prey.

'shit , shit.'

Ryan began running towards Emma and Jacob, who had surprisingly opened a large gap for Ryan in the short time.

Wham!!

Two seconds after, Ryan heard something strike the spot he was standing on - in a vicious and brutal manner that some ground fragments even began flying. He turned to look.

Sure enough a long, red colored snake with abyss black eyes was there.

'The actual fuck, I literally just almost died!'

It was scary how fragile his life was at that moment. If he had moved just two seconds slower, he would have ended up as the viper's next meal.

Ryan immediately started running away from the snake, it seemed to be slightly disoriented from missing him and hitting the ground with such an impact on its head. Ryan wasn't like those idiots in movies who would watch danger approach and only start running when it was too close.

"Help! "

Ryan started shouting , however help was already on the way as Emma and her party showed up - no doubt alarmed by the sound from the snake's impact.

" You must be a seer Emma, because this guy almost got eaten by the snake. he became bait after all "

Jacob said, chuckling.

'Tch , you think me almost dying is a joking matter?'

Ryan cursed him internally.

The group immediately sprang into action, taking advantage of the fact that the snake was temporarily stunned. The group worked in such great co-ordination that it seemed like something out of a tall tale; the party immediately started surrounding it, therefore preventing it from escaping.

Ryan then saw a person amongst the party who was wearing a robe suddenly mutter something, reading his lips he seemingly said -

" Element of fire, bring forth your destructiveness - I plead for you to lend me your power : Fire ball !"

In the next moment, Ryan saw red flames quickly condensing and taking the shape of a flowery round flame in front of the man. The mage didn't waste any time and immediately threw the flames towards the snake.

" Hiss !! "

Ryan heard the snake writhe in pain, no doubt feeling the viciousness of the flames as they started frying it alive.

'Ha, serves you right - thought I was an easy target, eh ? See you in hell!'

Ryan thought with a smirk.

He was enjoying every second of what was happening. Two mages like the first one began collectively chanting then threw magic spells at the snake which was starting to retaliate by thrashing its tail all over the place. However, there was a single archer among the party who Ryan acknowledged to have insanely good archery skills; even though the snake was moving all over the place, his arrows somehow found their way into its skin.

Jacob and two other party members seemed to be good with direct assaults as they made pincers attacks with their weapons, Jacob was slashing with a sword - one was bashing it with a large hammer and the other repeatedly stabbing it with a spear.

With the snake being attacked by three mages, three pincer attacks and arrows - anywhere it escaped to it immediately suffered serious wounds, Ryan felt that it could die at any moment with its bleeding wounds.

Emma was simply next to Ryan, watching it happen along with him.

However, in the next moment, Ryan saw the snake's abyss black eyes flash in a cold red light and immediately the two mages it had been facing stopped dead in their tracks as if bound by a mysterious force - it didn't take long before their bodies immediately inflated and exploded like popped water balloons.

'Holy...'

Immediately after the mages exploded, their blood started floating towards the snake as if the blood were iron fillings drawn by a large magnet. Sure enough the snake's wounds immediately started self-healing at a rapid speed, even Emma who Ryan assumed to be a hard-core adventurer couldn't hide her shock as she watched this happen.

" Shit, if this continu- "

Emma didn't even get to finish her sentence because the snake's red eyes quickly flashed and landed on two other party members - one who had a spear and the one with the large hammer, they immediately froze unintentionally.

Ryan knew it was only a matter of seconds before they too swelled up and exploded like the last two.

However, Emma immediately took out her treasured military dagger and threw it at the snake at an astonishing speed which seemed to disobey the laws of physics, the dagger landed on one of the snake's eyes and permanently blinded one of its eye.

" Hiss!!! "

Ryan heard the snake cry out, no doubt feeling pain from the sudden and unexpected brutal attack. This saved the lives of the two party members as it lost its focus.

It then quickly turned and face him and Emma, Ryan could somehow see a bit of anger in its expressionless face. It halted its movements for a second, staring deeply at the two as if contemplating.

Ryan knew in that moment that he was definitely screwed.

' Shit. '

The snake's eyes finally landed on him and flashed in the familiar red light. Immediately after Ryan felt like his body was tied by several coiled ropes and he couldn't move even an eyelash.

The snake then immediately began elegantly moving in a way that betrayed its weight - it moved up the cave's walls then down - a twist in the shape of a spring, as if the dungeon's walls were the stickiest thing in the world. Needless to say, it effortlessly escaped being besieged by the party, who had been somehow frozen in shock after seeing people popping like balloons.

It was moving towards Ryan, and very quickly too!

Ryan knew in that moment it intended to eat him; he should have been a bloody mess a long time ago after all. Ryan didn't have the power to resist the incoming attack, the snake's killer move had made him no different from a statue after all.

At the last moment Ryan regained his movement again, however it was too late -

The snake was too close and had already opened its wide mouth, immediately swallowed him whole in one go.