My eyes close as darkness threatens to overcome my whole being. Is this what death feels like? Was I fated to never to see the light of day again?

Well, it's not like I'm dying or anything of the sort. It's just one of those thoughts that crosses your mind whenever you try to sleep in the middle of the night. All jokes aside, it's been a tiring day. Online school just isn't that merciful to young teenagers like me. I turned 16 two months ago and do you know what I got as a present?

Drumroll, please.

I got more schoolwork, how fun! It's not like I'm complaining about it. Definitely not, of course. In retrospect, my days of attending class at home have been somewhat fulfilling. I'm not bragging or anything, but I'm actually one of those smart kids at schools. Heh! Hard to believe at first glance when I think about it. I've always been called book smart more often than not. While it's true, I can't help it if I have such a wonderful mother at home! I may not be the most responsible person in the room but no one is perfect. Enough about me though, I'm sure no one wants to listen to my late-night monologues. In any case, I actually am kinda sleepy. I yawned and the last of my consciousness drifted to flying sheep and fluffy clouds as sleep overcame me.

--

 I slowly roused from sleep and the sound of... birds chirping and the rustling of leaves was the first thing my groggy brain received. Well, that can't be right. I'm pretty sure I slept on my bed last night. When I opened my eyes, a sky so blue it reminded me of the sea greeted me. The clouds were as fluffy as ever too mind you. Aside from suddenly being outside, nothing seems to be out of place. Though I could've sworn the sun was yellowish and absolutely not blue. In retrospect, I can't feel the rays of the sun at all even while it's clearly noon...

Well, I'm doomed. 

As panic threatens to surge within my being, I forcibly pushed it back down. Breathe Dominic, one thing at a time. I controlled my breathing for the new few minutes because honestly, this was stupid. This is obviously not earth anymore so there's absolutely no need to deny it. Also, to be completely honest, I remembered this stage being distinctly easier in the novels that I read back home...  

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Home?

I controlled my breathing once more. I'll deal with the mental consequences when I'm sure no monsters or heck, bandits can kill me right in the open. This may not be a magical world since I'm pretty sure nothing feels off aside from the entirely new sun. I know enough about web novel culture to know where this is going. What's worse, I didn't even get a system notification or any of those common cliches. Wait, does this mean that I'm completely by myself with no clue about how I got here. Well, that's just great.

 I pushed the thought aside as it was a rabbit hole that I'm not willing to think about just yet. I have more immediate problems to consider. For example, if I'm safe just lying here on some kind of grassy clearing. The familiar green plant was normal on a surface level at least.

I breathed in and out once more.

"Nothing good comes from panicking, keep that in mind me," I whispered. While it kinda helped, I can still feel butterflies churning in my stomach. It was worth the try at least. "First things first, I should probably find out where the heck I am."

I got up and stretched. I looked around after making sure my muscles were nice and ready. The grass may look comfortable but damn, my back hurt just from lying there. Thinking about it more, it actually did make sense. I have been lying there for who knows how long. Unfortunately or maybe fortunately, it was just an ordinary forest clearing with a shape roughly resembling a circle, 10 meters in diameter. As for the trees past my immediate area? They were thick and green, with those farther north reaching hundreds or even thousands of meters tall. 

Yep, you heard me right. Some of them even reached the clouds!

Well, damn. It really is a new world. If the odd sun didn't drive that point home, those humungous trees sure did. I can't lie, it was an awe-inspiring sight. Nothing drives the point of being in another world more than looking at trees that defy the laws of physics itself. I'm more than a hundred kilometers away but some of their trunks must be tens of meters in diameter at the minimum! My fascination and inner nerd almost made me forget about my immediate problems. With 'almost' being the keyword here. Think about it more. If there were trees the size of buildings, what is there to stop monsters the size of houses to appear?