Backpacking. A strange concept for a poor office worker who never gets to take vacation time. However, this office worker Vendel Wane was going to take vacation time and give it a try. Vendel was in his mid thirties and was... extremely ordinary. He was as tall the next guy and had brown hair and hazel eyes. He had recieved permission from his boss to take the days off and had bought a book titled Beginner's Guide to Backpacking. The book had two lists for supplies, the first being for those who could splurge on expensive equipment, and the second being for the skinflints or poor. Vendel had bought the supplies listed on the second list and had an acquaintance drive him to a big national park then Vendel set off into the woods for a late morning walk.

"Ahh, its nice to finally be out of the office and enjoy some time off."

Due to spending most of his time alone, Vendel had gotten into the habit of talking to himself. He proceeded on deeper into the forest all the while observing how there were so many different types of wildlife.

"Nature sure is amazing! If only I could do this more often, then I would WOAH!"

Wendel stopped talking as a brilliant flash of light blinded him and he tripped over his own feet. When he stood up and looked around for the source of the light he saw nothing out of the ordinary, so he shrugged it off as an unusual happenstance and continued to walk down the now overgrown trail. He stopped. The trail had been clear before, and it had also been beaten down by the feet of many who came to the park, but the trail now appeared as if is had been used infrequently. He turned around and looked back the way he came, and saw that the trail he had already traversed was in the same condition.

"Huh, that is extremely odd, the trail is all messed up. And it got way hotter too. It feels like I'm standing in the tropics."

The heat had indeed gone up, and he was starting to get sweaty just standing there. He looked up trying to see where the sun was through the tops of the trees. 

"Why does it seem as if the sun is in the middle of the sky? It was morning when I set out on the trail, what is going on?"

Vendel paused as he remembered the sudden flash. Had that done something to him? He pondered for a minute then shrugged, muttered something along the lines of 'whatever' and moved on. He stumbled his way along the cluttered path and came to a point where it started to go downhill. This also gave him pause, for he had not gone up a hill at any point, and didn't recall reading that this park trail went over any hills. Once again he ignored the oddity and continued on. As he became more accustomed to the difficult terrain, he was again able to turn his attention to the animals and birds as he walked. There were many interesting birds flying overhead and perching in trees, the majority of the birds that he was observing were a brilliant orange and they all seemed to be the same type as each other. These odd birds had a brilliant plumage, and their distinct cries sounded completely foreign to Vendel. Nowhere in the guide of the state park was there mention of these birds, nor was there any indication that any of the trees in the park grew fruits. Vendel now noticed that the trees that had once seemed normal actually had fruit and that the fruit was unlikely to be any that he had tried. They were almost rectangular, besides being a vivid purple.'

"What the heck are these things? They're shaped like a box! That shouldn't even be possible, should it? Maybe I should pick one, I could then to bring it to someone who can tell me what it is." 

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

So saying, he shimmied a little way up the fruit tree and picked the fruit. At the instant he picked it, all of the orange birds started shrieking like the world was ending and flew away. Vendel dropped out of the tree and watched the birds fly away in confusion.

"Wonder what ruffled their feathers."

He continued down the path, noticing that the forest was very quiet. There was absolutely no noise that he could tell, so he stopped to listen. He listened for a while and, disconcerted by the lack of sound, he hurried down the path again at a slightly faster speed. The hill came to an end and he was again walking on level ground. He looked around as he moved forward but froze when he heard a low rumble. It sounded like the thumping of heavy feet coming at a slightly elevated pace towards him. He turned towards the sound and slowly backed away from it. Soon he could see trees swaying as something big made its way towards him.

"What the heck is going on? Should I run?"

Vendel whispered, he looked at the fruit he was carrying and thought about how the birds had fled when he picked it. He looked back up and slowly set the fruit on the ground. Then he turned and ran down the trail away from what was surely a horrifying beast. The instant he started running a loud roar blasted forth from behind the trees, and they were thrust aside as a bear like beast of large proportions burst forth. Vendel stared and was shocked as he suddenly heard a voice in his head announce the beast.

Level 38 Monster: The Guardian of the Forest of Dreams

Vendel didn't stick around to find out what the heck was going on, and ran like he had never run before. Behind him the Guardian beast stomped to the fruit, picked it up in its maw, and followed a rapidly disappearing screaming Vendel with its eyes. It then turned around and walked back into the trees.

When Vendel recovered the presence of mind to realize that he was not being followed, he stopped and tried desperately to catch his breath. He looked up to see that he was no longer in the forest and that in the distance, clearly visible, was the ocean. His gaze followed the coastline until it came to rest upon a town by the ocean.

"What is going on? Why am I by the ocean? WHY did I HEAR A VOICE telling me what that THING was? WHY WAS THERE A BLOODTHIRSTY BEAST OUT TO KILL ME ON A STATE PARK TRAIL IN THE FIRST PLACE?"

Vendel slowly lost his composure and his voice rose as he questioned everything that was happening to him. He started hyperventilating and sat down, trying to calm himself. After several minutes of breathing he was mostly calm and able to reason a bit.

"That voice said it was a.. what, level thirty something monster? What does that mean? Does that mean that.. I have a level? What constitutes a level? Sheer killing power? Wait. These levels are a videogame thing, is someone pulling a prank on me?"

Vendel stopped to think on this, and came to the conclusion that, no, it was not a prank. This conclusion came from a few different facts. The first was the flash of light, and the instant change in the path. The second was that the birds were too real, and were completely unlike anything he had seen before. The third was the beast that had definitely been real, of that he had no doubt. And the last was the unmistakable sight of the ocean.

"So this is real... what am I going to do? Go back down the path and hope I can get home?"

He considered the facts, and came to a conclusion and a decision.

"All of the facts point to this being a different world, and if this is so, it follows that rather than return to a boring old office job, I could go exploring and make a living while enjoying myself. From this point on, I Vendel Wane declare this world to be my new home!"

Acknowledged

For accepting Your new place in life you have recieved one special perk that will be unlocked upon reaching a suitable level. Good luck and try not to die Otherworlder Vendel Wane.

"What?"