It was a dark evening, and only the moonlight above gave Shin a hint as to where he was, and it appears that he had ended up inside a forest. The scenery of the forest left him speechless, with the beauty of the full moon shining down on him and the glowing mushrooms and crystals that vary in colour, giving the forest a more fantasy feel.

In the distance, a large and beautiful cherry blossom tree on top of a hill piqued his interest. It was the only tree that stood out in the forest, and it was also the most beautiful tree he had ever seen in his life. The soothing sensation of looking at it drew him in closer.

He followed the path that lead to the cherry blossom, all because he wanted to come and see it close to enjoy the view nearby, but along the path, he faintly hears his name being called out to him.

The constant whispers of his name really made him wonder if he was just hearing things.

Shin began to feel a chilling sensation that gave him goosebumps with each step he took towards the small hill. He eventually questioned whether it was worthwhile to get so close to the cherry blossoms, but he noticed his heart racing with excitement as he got closer.

He noticed a beautiful black rose that faintly glowed only a few steps away from the top. The rose black rose gave him a familiar feeling that he had felt before, and he tried to recall where he had seen it before, then it struck him, the beautiful black rose was the same one he had seen on the streetlight back then.

Shin was wary of touching the flower because he was afraid that something disturbing would happen again if he did. Instead of acknowledging his admiration for the plant, he simply ignored it and proceeded to make his way toward the summit.

It was a sight to behold for Shin, and he couldn't believe his eyes as the view took his breath away. The ground was littered with tree petals as well as red roses. He hears his name called out to him again as he gets closer to the rather large tree, telling Shin to come close and touch the trunk.

However, the concerning feeling did not fade from his chest and was rather wary about following the whispers calling out his name. The feeling grew stronger and stronger which eventually made him terrified of the unknown.

He began questioning his decision of visiting the cherry blossom, but could not decide on an answer. Breathing heavily and scared for his life, his chest began cramping making him howl in pain.

Looking around in front of him there was an uncertain situation that he had seen before, the mist. Covering everything in sight, the dark mist blocked his sight and all he could do was look around, hoping to see where he was.

Putting his hand to his chest he noticed that there was something wrong. There was a wet sensation around his chest and as he looked at his hand, blood began to drip on his fingers. Shin's eyes were suddenly wide open in shock after realizing that he had just been stabbed in the chest from behind.

Blood emerged out of his lips like a waterfall, dripping and covering the petals with his blood. He began to breathe uncontrollably, and it seems that in his weakened state, his mind began to turn entirely blank.

Just as he began to fall onto the ground, a faint voice can be heard from behind him saying "I'm sorry, Shin." Questioning himself, he wondered what did he do to ever deserve this, he simply just wanted to see the blossom up close.

The cold muddy earth pressed against his face as he stared at the ground that was filled with his own blood. Tears fell out of his cheeks like a waterfall as he coughed violently, covering the ground with more blood. It was only then he realizes that it was indeed a mistake to ever visit the blossom.

His consciousness slowly began to fade away from him, he hears a strange voice which filled his surroundings. It felt like something was calling out to him, or perhaps even warning him. It was rather strange to him that he experienced a familiar situation once again but never thought that the second one might be worse.

The strange voice soon became louder and clearer and it appears that it was telling him to wake up.

He was soon awakened by the startling sound of someone yelling. Lying down and still exhausted, he tried to open his eyes gently and was surprised to find an old man wiping his forehead with a damp cloth.

Shin looked around inside the building, confused as to where he was. The first thing that he noticed was that he is no longer in the forest, but rather the inside of what appeared to be a cabin.

The old man let out a big sigh of relief that Shin had woken up. He appeared to be in his fifties at most, and he had a nice physique that looked like he took care of himself quite well. He had long ponytailed hair with a goatee-type facial feature that was both the colour white.

He tried to speak with the old man but he could barely move his lips and the words that came out of his mouth sounded muffled.

"Don't try and move. Just relax and stay calm."

"You've been asleep for about 3 days now and it looks like you're not healed up fully yet."

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

The old man lightly said to him "I'll be right back. Don't force yourself to move."

Shin nodded and decided to put his trust in him.

3 days? He was rather astounded at how he could sleep for 3 days and with no recollection of it, he tried to remember what had happened since he entered the forest but nothing came to mind. What disturbs him about the entire thing was the nightmare he just had before he was woken up.

It had felt extremely realistic to him and the voice that was called out to him piqued his curiosity, and it almost felt familiar to him, like he had heard it before.

"Never mind that, where did the old man go?"

Putting himself in an upright position on the hard wooden bed, he looked around the room and was surprised to see that there were very few things that caught his eye. It was just like any other room in a house, a wardrobe, a desk, a bed, and a wooden chair.

He set his eyes on the window to his right. He found it odd that there was no glass on the window and that the only way to close it was with the shutters. He liked the view outside and it appears that the cabin was on top of a hill, as the tip of the trees poked out in the distance.

The door creaked behind him and he averted his attention to the direction of the door. "Sorry kid, I'm back." There, standing at the door was the old man holding a wooden cup.

"I made you some herbal tea, this should help you feel better."

Shin was handed the tea and to his delight, he found the taste of the tea to be amusing to him. It had a sweet and refreshing taste to it.

"I'm glad to see that you took a liking to my tea."

"Pardon my manners, I should introduce myself. . . My name is Wilfried Holte, feel free to just call me Wilfried."

"Likewise Mr. Wilfried, my name is Nishikawa Shinsei and I'm grateful for your assistance."

"Nishikawa? That's a rather odd name."

"Oh no, no, no, my first name is Shinsei or you can call me just Shin Sir."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Shin."

* * * * *

Shortly after he had finished the tea, Wilfried once again left the room along with the cup. Shin felt better after drinking the sweet tea, although he wished that he could possibly have more. Wilfried appears to be a genuine man, and Shin finds him likeable, even if one of the reasons is because he reminds him of his grandfather.

Shin let out a deep sigh as he pushed himself out of bed. He took another look around the room and noticed something on top of the desk. It was really just a book of some sort, possibly a diary. He wanted to look it over, but he felt it would be impolite to pry into other people's possessions. His curiosity begged to differ, and in the end, he decided to take a quick peek at the book.

The content of the book turns out to be research and information on different plants and their uses in this new world. Then it hit him, the scriptures and characters of the book were not kanji, but the alphabet of the new world. He wondered how he could suddenly understand the language, but he didn't let it bother him; he simply found the new ability convenient.

His attention was drawn to one of the pages as he flipped through them one by one. "The Potion Of Life." He read the potion's contents, which rendered him speechless. In summary, it appears that the potion of life is a type of healing potion that can heal one's injured body and mental state. He found it fascinating that such a potion existed, but it wouldn't surprise him if it did, given that anything is possible in a fantasy world.

"Ah, it appears that you saw the contents of my research book, Shin."

Curiosity got the best of him, and he tried to apologize, but when he turned his back to face Wilfried, he saw him holding what looks to be his uniform. He looked at himself, embarrassed not knowing that he was wearing his underwear and shirt.

Before he could ask Wilfried a question about the potion, he was given the answer not long after. According to Wilfried, the reason why he is eager to learn and invent the legendary potion was because of his significant other's dying wish. He felt bad afterwards for asking but it did not seem like it bothered Wilfried at all, and by the looks of it Wilfried was somehow pleased to tell the story.

"Allow me to ask you a question, Shin... What happened to you when you were in the woods? You were on the verge of death when I came across you."

Oh thank the lords, he doesn't seem to be mad at me, and it's probably best to avoid telling him that I'm from another world Shin thought to himself.

"Well, I might be a little hazy on the details, but long story short, there was a big annoying flying freak that had some sort of power that made it throw lightning bolts at me."

"I was lucky to even make it out alive, and encountering you is even luckier."

Wilfried appears to be both stunned and astonished when he heard his story.

"Did the flying creature have feathers coloured orange and yellow?"

"Well, I think so from what I can remember."

"It looks like fate was at your side during that encounter."

"As you can see, that flying creature is a phoenix, Icarus is the name of that creature and in fact, it is one of its last kind."

Shin was given his clothes while Wilfried on the other hand opened the drawer and grabbed another book.

"I've done a little bit of research about the creature and from what I wrote, Icarus has the power to summon lightning as well as fire."

"It uses lightning on creatures that can't fight back while it uses fire on creatures that can. . . If it were to attack you using fire, I'm sure you would be-."

"Toast."

Shin breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that he had not died, though one thing remained unclear to him: what this world to which he had been summoned was. He asked Wilfried where he was and what world he was in, but he was troubled by his question.

He realized he had made a mistake by seeking information about the world he was in. Although he trusts Wilfried, he does not want him to know he is from another world. Shin had his reasons for not telling him, one of which was that it would be a time-consuming process to explain everything to him. Rather than telling Wilfried the truth, he chose to use his three days of slumber as an excuse for having forgotten some of his memories.

Wilfried understood him and began explaining minor details about the new world he has entered. According to Wilfried, he is in Esferia, a remote kingdom that began to crumble after the great war about a hundred years ago. Aside from that, Wilfried explained the kingdom's situation, claiming that the kingdom had found a new heir to the throne, but he was unsure who it was.

The most intriguing aspect of the story, however, was the fact that magic is possible in this world. Even though it is possible, casting and using magic on the other hand is nearly impossible for humans, and it is only used by other races such as elves and witches. However, due to the Great War, nearly all races other than humans were essentially wiped out, rendering magic essentially non-existent.

Despite the fact that the final detail dashed Shin's hopes, he was still pleased with the explanation. Although not being able to use magic was disappointing, the new world he had been summoned was still the ideal setting for a grand adventure that had finally come true.