SUTA POV

Since his transmigration, no, he would possibly trace it back to the moment he discovered Po, that strange doe-eyed cyan-coloured fellow who suddenly appeared in his front room that night. Was it then, Suta wondered these days, the moment he finally discovered that this world was such a big place? He sat there, lost for words, still half listening to the boy overexplain the complex tale regarding his transmigration into this world.

Perhaps he had lost much of his memories, too, Suta thought, staring at the boy blabbering on about ten or so different things at once.

'My God, he doesn't shut up, does he?' Suta massaged his temples, trying to keep a cordial stare despite his brain already elsewhere.

"My name is Polkadot, by the way. And you are…" the boy announced with a polite abruptness.

Suta frowned upon hearing that. "Weird name." His mouth seemed to move on its own.

"Hm? did you say something?

"Huh-oh…err-S-suta. Raito Suta is my name."

"Fascinating! And is that your real name or the name you know…the one you stole?" He said that last bit in a mischievous whisper. Suta didn't like hearing it put that way.

"I didn't steal anything. Just like you went through...sigh...this was forced upon me." A swell of sadness descended over him; those dark murmurings about what might've happened to the original owner of this body surfaced again. Luckily, he noticed Verdi's tiny, warm hands rubbing against his cheek tenderly. While trying to console him, the little fairy stared daggers at Polkadot in return for upsetting Suta.

"M-mister, what a traf-a-nation?"

A gentle smile birthed against his face. "Don't worry yourself." Thinking back, his emotions had become too volatile to handle these days. He smiled slightly and nodded, remembering sadness wouldn't change anything. More importantly, he examined Polkadot with a serious look. There was a lot more to him, hidden beneath that veil of his eccentricity. Suta sensed it. He knew it well, being somewhat of the keeper of secrets himself.

"I'm guessing you have a way of escaping this place then?" His voice tinged with a slightly playful tone this time around when he addressed Polkadot. He was trying to mask the curious cat's eye sparkling in his gaze.

Thankfully, his suspicions weren't picked up, and he received a wild smile back, as he had expected. "Absolutely! I have the answers to both of your problems.

Firstly, how to escape from this prison.

And secondly… hehe, how to escape from this accursed realm… altogether."

****

With Verdi perched on his shoulder, Suta remained hunched on all fours, eagerly counting down the seconds. This was one of those moments where he tried everything within his ticking brain to find a way out. How many crazed ideas and schemes had he recalled being privy to? But all seemed to pale when placed beside this plan in particular conjured by none other than the crazy eyed boy.

'A crazy plan to fit a slightly crazed fellow, heh! It seems fitting, I guess.'

Rehearsing over Polkadot's plan again, according to the sniggering boy, their only chance of escaping appeared in the form of the nerve-racking task of slipping out unannounced once the creature of death appeared again from that gaping hole below.

To Suta's surprise, that ominous large hole he recalled seeing on the ground floor connected the whirlpool islands scattered across Candy. He felt a slight sense of enlightenment hearing that, considering he had used the murmurs and half-truths from the jungle inhabitants to formulate the unconfirmed truth that there was, in fact, a tunnel that ran underground. No one could give him a clear answer as to why such tunnels existed, and naturally, the more he studied the scattered truths and suggestions from everyone, the more concerned he became.

"Hey friend, it's about to begin." He heard Polkadot's voice filtering into his ears

Suta locked his focus in. It was time to act, do, or die. The imminent echoes of the creature's arrival rumbled against the entire cave.

A snarling cry vibrated through the entire cave.

A strong wind swept upwards, carrying bits of tiny rocks and kicking up a small cloud of dust.

Suta felt Verdi huddled closely to his back, doing everything it could to hang on. He never removed his gaze away from the pit below.

How could he? And very slowly, he noticed the frame of its helm slowly approaching. Rising from the shadows, that nightmarish-looking creature slowly ascended. This feeling was too overbearing to be taken lightly compared to when he saw it through the other side of the iron bars. It was twice the size of anything he had laid eyes upon, perhaps only the giant broken-horned fiend being its only match.

The nightmarish creature ascended past the floor they huddled silently on, leaving three floors above them. The moment its curled tail whisked past them all, Suta bit down hard against the back of his hand to stabilize himself. Polkadot moved first, staggering to his feet. The crazy-eyed youth paused and slowly tilted his head upright. There was a playful smile as he almost taunted the nightmarish beast still ascending towards the ceiling. He shuffled towards the edge with soft heckles underneath his breath and then stopped.

"Quickly! We need to move now."

Without waiting for their response, he jumped off the ledge.

Suta reacted, too. He climbed away from the earthy ground, with his feet now dangling in the air. He took a lasting look at Gio, who looked completely unimpressed by all of this. 'Damn it, more crazy schemes...he-heh - but why was this so exciting.' He wondered

A wry smile creased against his stiff features before letting go and falling into the hole.

As reckless as this was, his body couldn't deny the euphoric feeling surging through his bones as he allowed the air to carry him down. Suta had been somewhat of a glutton for high-intensity sports: rock climbing, skydiving, and paragliding, to name a few. The theory that his old self was becoming increasingly accustomed to this world became apparent daily. He was Suta in the flesh, but Shoba's tendencies, emotions, and attitudes had been steering his way for quite some time now.

Perhaps the fast-paced nature of recent events better suited him to adopt the mindset of Shoba: quick-witted, thoughtful, and, at times, ruthless in decision-making. In truth, this mindset had very much guaranteed his survival up until this point.

'Shit, what do I do about the landing?'

Nearing the dark hole at a tremendous speed, Suta hadn't decided what to do about the landing. He didn't know any incantations, nor was he physically strong enough to withstand what was set to be a tremendously harsh, impactful landing. He made a cross-guard out of fear of smashing his entire skull in. Mid-fall, he felt his heart racing to the point his breaths were panting tirelessly.

His body finally passed through the threshold and into the deep darkness. The sounds of the cutting winds were drowned out. Suta felt his heartbeat thumping maniacally. Was this the end? He could finally see the strange, fleshy ground incoming. Seconds away from impact, he chose the only thing he could do.

Desperately slamming his eyes shut.

{Meta Art– Soft Belly}

He slammed into the ground; surprisingly, the pain wasn't at the forefront of his problems. Much to his sheer delight, he was met face-first by a spongy, elastic agent, one which harrowingly snatched his breath away for a few moments but quickly sprung him back onto his back without a single bone broken nor muscle torn.

Other than his racing heart, Suta was fine. He placed his hand over his chest, then traced it to his stomach. His ribs and his arms were still here, and thankfully, nothing was broken.

"I'm alive...heh-heh...nice!" He sprung upright into a seated position and exhaled a deep breath.

Suta held no chance to bask in the joys of surviving another leap of faith again. Lifting his gaze above, he saw a large blue figure torpedoing down toward him at a frightening speed.

'Ah crap!'

Suta hastily dived to one side, narrowly avoiding Gio's fall. The blue-shelled creature descent head first into the spongy ground, awaiting his fall.

If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"WAAAAAH-OOF!...W-wait...Am I alive? By the crazed heavens, man-cub, I'm alive- hahaha!" Gio rejoiced

"Hehehe, shall we get a move on then? That thing won't take long to come back," Polkadot suggested, wearing a cordial smile whilst he placed his hands against his hips and performed stretches.

There were sparkling and slightly gaseous violet particles dancing between Polkadots fingertips. It had been a while since Suta had seen mana being used recently. His gaze latched onto it like a moth to a flame. Somehow, all the memories he spent on Granny Farm came flooding back into his thoughts.

"Huh? Is that an incantation?" he mouthed aloud after a short while. Soon enough, another enlightened thought sparked in his mind.

"Wait! You're an arcanist!"

Polkadot childishly heckled. His bony shoulders bounced up and down while he playfully covered his mouth. He was poised to answer when suddenly, a strange, eerie noise from one end of the tunnel stole all their attention.

Suta narrowed his gaze and peered down the fleshy, tunnelled walls.

His gaze held the tense shadows for a few moments in silence. A few blinks later, his brow slightly lifted upon noticing a group of tiny white spiders with spindly legs and bulbous, swelling bodies writhing across the ground towards them.

A wildness flashed across Suta's gaze; he almost sniggered playfully to himself. It felt like forever since he got to use his dagger.

'Shit, maybe I am going crazy...besides.'

He moved his gaze discreetly towards Polkadot. Unexpectedly, the frail-framed youth still wore that crazed, wild look in his eyes. Suta could somehow understand what that feeling was. The excitement of battle. If the situation wasn't dire, he might've revelled more in combat and the euphoric feeling he felt each time he slayed a monster and felt his body growing because of it.

He could only chuckle to himself; maybe it was a common thing amongst transmigrators, he thought.

'Maybe we're all crazy.'

Suta switched his stance and plunged the dagger deep into the spider's body. It let out a frightening cry before it stopped moving. Green blood poured out like a faucet, covering his entire left side. He yanked his crimson dagger free and stared at it for a few moments; it seemed that his dagger wasn't fond of trying to absorb this type of monster's blood.

'Maybe because they're at a low level? Or perhaps there's a type of blood it prefers over others?'

Or the dagger could just be full. He still couldn't pinpoint a clear picture regarding the blood-draining abilities of it. Suta purposely avoided using any of his skills during the skirmishes popping up along the tunnel. Double Slash was still the most practical skill he learned, but it put a lot of strain on his arm muscles. Intimidation would also leave him feeling airily tired for a short while. Whilst Suphon didn't seem at all useful against these kind of foes.

And Suta imagined there had to be a way to strengthen these skills, like improving one's physical prowess when exercising.

Repetitive and consistent usage was likely the key.

Suta twisted on his heels and slashed down, severing one of the spiders in two. He quickly stepped backwards, avoiding a spider's pincered attack from stabbing him in the chest. Two others skittered towards his rear and launched up. He ducked and rolled to the side. Suta steadied his arm and tossed his dagger. A red line stroked the air and punctured both spiders together, nailing them precisely against the fleshy wall.

"Hehehe, nicee!" Suta nodded at his handiwork.

The sound of a low growl bothered his ears from a distance. His eyes darted to the side where the other spider dwelt close enough to pounce against him. Without any weapons in his grasp, he was now completely defenceless. By instinct, he formed a cross-guard and attempted to flee. The spider was quicker and leapt desperately towards his face at an angle, preventing Suta from reacting quickly enough. Midway in the air, something happened. Suta blinked and saw a white line; a short iron sword flashed into the open, splitting the spider from the top of its helm straight down to its pointed nether region.

A telltale shimmer rippled against the air, and Polkadot reappeared into the open.

Suta sat there with his mouth hanging wide.

"Y-you can vanish? H-how did you-"

{Lazy Mirror}

> *Lazy Mirro r -A high-grade skill often learned by assassins. Lazy Mirror creates an illusion of turning the caster's skin into strange material, capable of reflecting lights that create the illusion of being invisible. The user can also conceal their scent and sound.

"Hehehe, neat skill, right? We should probably get a move on. Do you hear that? That scary beast has probably returned. And if you thought he was a slowpoke, you have another thing coming. Wait until you see how quickly he moves when he's annoyed."

Suta nodded in agreement. He turned to the side where Gio had just finished clamping another corpse, adding to the pile of many spiders he had easily dealt with. By now, his entire arm was covered in greenish blood sliding down his giant-sized pincers.

They continued through the tunnel in haste; Suta wasn't going to try fate and see what sort of danger that nightmarish creature posed if troubled

The fleshy walled tunnel was beginning to change beneath his gaze. He couldn't miss the narrowing of the corridor and the slight ascendance of the ground beneath their feet as they ran.

Whilst they continued running along, Suta couldn't hide his deep intrigue towards the boy called Polkadot. He still very much carried a lot of questions and distrust towards the strange youth, but that wasn't nearly overtaking his growing fascination with him.

'He doesn't look strong, but he is quite formidable,' Suta thought, half paying attention to their surroundings

"Hehehe-ya know it's rude to just stare like that without saying anything, gegege." Polkadot heckled childishly

"Au! S-s-sorry," Suta swiftly placed his eyes elsewhere, feeling slightly embarrassed he had been caught staring like that.

"Jejeje-that's alright. You have some stuff to ask me, don't you? Like, how do I know you're also from another world just like myself, hm?"

Suta wallowed his anxiety and bounced his head softly in response.

"Ahaha, of course, you do, but it's nothing too special. I have good eyes, you see, jejeje. I can tell from a few seconds of looking into your eyes. So, you're from east as well? Did you experience it as well then, that night where everything went crazy?" Polkadot asked him simply

The memory of his mother being pulled into the red portal flashed through his thoughts again, and the memory of Ringo wearing a broken smile before being led into the shimmering white light. Suta shook his head forcefully in a bid to dispel those encroaching thoughts threatening to invade his mental state.

"Y-yeah, I d-did. That disaster tore everything apart. My family..." Suta gently muttered.

"Huh, disaster, you say? That was one of the most wonderful days of my entire life." He was slightly startled hearing the spirited voice from Polkadot announce.

"What! Really?"

"Uh-huh, I was finally rid of boredom and was reborn into this crazy world, jejeje. Life has been one great big adventure ever since. Don't you agree?"

Suta could only nervously laugh in response.

'Maybe he's a little too crazy after all.'

"Oh right, that skill you used beforehand. Was that...Arcane?" Suta asked him, suddenly remembering one of the many lingering questions he carried.

"Huh? Ah right, that move. Erm, it's definitely arcane but far from an incantation. My Mana core is still considered undeveloped, hahaha, with a slight deficit, you can call it. So, I can't actually cast strong incantations. What you saw was a super secretive move my master taught me."

"You…you have a master?" repeated Suta raising one of his brows.

"Hahaha, that's the most shocking thing you heard me say? Ara! You're interesting, momoiro."

"Momo-iro? Is that Japanese?" Suta questioned with a slightly tilted expression.

Polkadot laughed heartily

"But to answer your earlier question, it's called Psionics. An ancient principle of Arcane, although you won't find many tutors who still understand the art enough to pass it down. Hence why it's considered a dead principle."

Suta nodded in feint understanding. It was similar to the ancient languages from thousands of years ago, which he vaguely remembered reading about at one point during his childhood. He was, however, surprised to see the arcane principles sharing similarities to his own world.

"My turn now. What's your favourite food?"

That question surprised Suta a little, but it did take him on a mental downfall along memory lane. The face of a sweet old woman with a pure smile appeared in his thoughts. For the first time since his transmigration, Suta remembered Old Lady Ma. A smile creased widely against his usually dour countenance.

"Definitely dango," Announced Suta proudly.

"Buahaha, that's understandable." The boy chuckled playfully

"How about you? What's your favourite food?" Suta inquired

"Hmmm, arah -Baburugamu."

"Eh? Bubblegum?"

"Mmhm-hmm[,]" Polkadot nodded happily.

Suta stared at the boy's side profile in silence.'And I thought I was the weird one.'