Leo's groggy voice muttered in confusion, "When did my bed become so rigid?" He tried to shift his sleeping position, yearning for a more soothing spot. Yet, to his surprise, he found himself gliding across a chilly surface, as if lying on... glass.

"Huh? What's going on?" Leo muttered, his voice filled with confusion, as he slowly opened his eyes, expecting the familiar surroundings of his room. Instead, his gaze fell upon a dense forest, leaving him startled.

Leo blinked in disbelief, as if trying to clear his vision. He blinked once, then twice, and continued to blink several more times, hoping the forest would morph into something familiar. However, the forest remained steadfast in its presence. Perplexed, Leo decided to take a brief 30-second nap, hoping that upon waking up, everything would return to normal.

********

"Shit!" Leo cursed, his exasperation evident, as the 30-second mark passed. The realisation dawned on him that this was not a hallucination or a lingering effect of sleep.

"What the hell is happening?" Leo cursed in a slight panic as a chilling breeze brushed past him, causing a shiver to run down his spine. It was then that he realised he was only wearing boxers and had nothing else on.

The sight of his scantily clad state only intensified the awkwardness of the situation, making Leo's tension mount as he cautiously turned to survey his surroundings. The night enveloped the area in darkness, and he found himself in the heart of an expansive, dense forest.

At first, Leo entertained the thought that this might be an elaborate prank, but the reality sank in as he remembered his lack of friends and his solitary existence as the last member of his family. Dismissing the prank notion, a more terrifying possibility crept into his mind, intensifying his fear.

"Was I kidnapped?" Leo mumbled, his voice filled with apprehension, as he warily observed his surroundings. However, he quickly reconsidered, realising the implausibility of being left so exposed if he were the victim of a seasoned kidnapper. Another thought crept into his mind, unsettling him further.

"Unless they discovered that I'm worthless, someone they can't profit from," Leo pondered, his gaze shifting to his half-naked physique that some young girls might describe as attractive, which was surprising given that Leo should have had a chubby or fat body like some of his fellow low-time authors that barely made a thing from writing.

Leo pondered once again, his thoughts racing to make sense of his situation. "Well, my stomach doesn't appear to be cut open, and my kidneys are intact, so this can't be a kidnapping," he reasoned. However, a tinge of melancholy washed over him as he considered the possibility that even his kidneys were deemed worthless.

To divert his attention from the rising fear and panic within him, Leo lifted his head to gaze at the sky for the first time since awakening. What he witnessed caught him off guard.

"Two moons?" Leo initially questioned his own eyesight, but after blinking and even rubbing his eyes with his hands, the presence of two moons remained unaltered, neither fading nor merging into one.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

The sight of two moons bewildered Leo, leaving him momentarily dazed before his imaginative mind kicked into gear.

"Could it be...?" Leo began to mutter, but his words trailed off as he started touching various parts of his body with his hands.

"Clearly, my body," he muttered, then proceeded to crouch down and feel the grass beneath him.

"Real as well," he muttered once more, a certain feeling and thought growing more intense within him.

Curiosity getting the better of him, he even picked up a small handful of dirt from the ground and tasted it.

Ptui!

Leo grimaced, spitting out the unpleasant taste of the dirt from his mouth. "Just as terrible as I expected," he stated, before refocusing his attention on the sky, fixating on the two moons.

With a wry smile, Leo muttered, "This isn't even a funny joke," as a certain term familiar to authors and readers alike flashed through his mind: transmigration.

"No, it can't be real!" he exclaimed in a hushed shout, attempting to convince himself that his thoughts were merely a result of the bizarre situation.

Leo sought a more rational explanation that most people would deem reasonable for his current predicament. However, his efforts were interrupted when a vibrant blue screen materialised in front of him.

"Ah!" Leo yelped in surprise, startled by the sudden appearance of the blue panel, causing him to tumble backward onto his rear end. The blue interface remained in his line of sight, undeterred by his startled reaction.

Although still afraid, Leo's curiosity piqued, and he muttered, "What is it now?" as he peered at the content displayed on the floating screen before him.

New Quest: [Unfamiliar Environment]

You have awoken in a place you don’t know. Explore your surroundings.

Objective: Explore the forest.

Reward: A Leather Pant.

As Leo gazed at the surreal scene that seemed ripped from a video game, he clasped his head between his hands and cast his eyes downward. "I must be losing my mind," he muttered, desperately hoping that what he was experiencing was a figment of his imagination.

Leo turned his attention to his surroundings, searching for hidden cameras or any signs of a prank being played on him, but his efforts proved fruitless. Disappointment washed over him as he realised he was seemingly alone in this secluded part of the forest.

"An unfamiliar environment that feels strangely real, two moons in the sky, and a mysterious floating panel before me. If I can't make sense of all this, then I've failed as an author," Leo mused, a wry smile forming on his lips. However, before he could delve further into his thoughts or attempt to regain composure, another blue screen materialised in front of him.

───[ Character Profile ]───────────────

Name: Leonard Doe

Rank: *None

Profession: *Locked

Essence Point: 0/100

───[ Engraved Runes ]─────────────────

*None

───[ Skills ]───────────────────────────

Identify

Aetheria Standard Language

───[ Inventory ]───────────────────────

Weapon: *None

Armour: *None

Consumables: *None

Other items: *None

Coins: *None

───[ Quest Log ]───────────────────────

Quest: Unfamiliar Environment

───[ Party ]───────────────────────────

No party members

───[ Notifications ]───────────────────

*None

───[ Map ]─────────────────────────────

*Locked

"Hahahaha. I’m truly going mad."