A couple days passed and I learned very little of the language. Gol'amer, thankfully, introduced me to the woman who was indeed his wife, and the little girl who they had adopted due to the bandits. The wife was named Rama Tane'er, and the girl Murn-Dei. I wasn't sure of the whole naming convention thing, but I guess it was just me. Maybe others from Earth understood but, me? No. I wish I could understand everything, like the first three to access the system.

If only I was a little faster I thought. I knew it wasn't my fault, and I had no way of knowing, but I still criticized myself for it, even if for the fact it just irked me. Maybe it was competitive spirit. Or perhaps it was me being petty -- I didn't know -- I didn't care. Well, I did, but not a lot.

it was on the fifth morning after I arrived when something of actual interest happened; besides the bandits that is. A small convoy of what seemed to be knights, albeit a small detachment, rode on what looked like horses through the small town, which was now reduced to little more than a collection of houses and fewer people.

There were once, maybe, around 25 people in the village originally, but now there were hardly more than 15. I assumed they would get on fine, though, even if I were to leave. It seemed like a relatively new settlement, away from the cities and the possibility of wars. At least thats what I assume. World and European history, all that jargon, really gave me some passive knowledge that I never thought I would need or want.

Stay in school kids.

Back to the knights! I looked through the square hole in the wall, big enough to fit my face, and watched the people ride through. A couple of the townspeople looked angry, while others looked indifferent to their arrival. I assume because they arrived late, or are the kind of people how abuse their power. Knights typically controlled their own land, if only a small portion of their lords but... this wasn't Earth. It might not even be a similar sort of fiefdom.

But the thing is, they stood in the centre of the village, looking around, possibly for someone, before one of the knights' eyes settled upon a house opposite me. I clenched my eyelids shut at the sudden colour surrounding the building, but, haha! I fiddled with the settings on my Guardian Eyes skill, and it hurt less now.

And because of this, I bolted up out of the room, almost stumbling before I caught my bearings. I didn't know what they wanted, but I knew it wasn't good. The door to Gol'amer's house opened, revealing me in all my dishevelled glory!

I never wore much make up, so that didn't change, but my short hair, brown by nature and absolutely soft, was a little ragged and made it look like what makeup I did have was running down my face. My body was covered in what I could only believe was leather and a rough cloth on the inside. Tough, to be sure, but not quite flexible or comfy I also tore the sleeves pushing my shirt through... I'd apologize about that later when I could. Nonetheless, it was brown and black, with a blue inlay design on the bottom up to below my totally, absolutely, definitely-not-small big right breast. Don't question it! Other than that it was simple leather trousers and my boots from before. I still had plenty of stuff in my bag inside, thankfully none of it damaged, food, water, some canned fruits God I love you Owen, but otherwise the necessities.

As I ran to the door, I heard Gor'amer behind me yell something, but I didn't understand nor care. I skidded to a halt in front of the door, staring at the several knights - I counted five - and how two dismounted near the back and tried to talk to Gor'amer. Looking at the supposed leader, I couldn't see his face, nor much of him, really. His armor was a cool mixture between blue and purple, giving it a magic-y feel to it, and the sword at his hip wasn't too different. Although except blue and purple, it was a bluish-red mix. Then I looked to his eyes. His eyes were cold; terribly cold. I felt a shudder run down my spine and this... man. This thing in front of me simply radiated an energy which I couldn't place. I don't know if he was a higher level and that was what it was, still unsure if I could even tell those things, but there was something o-

Lifting my shields up above my head as fast as I could, I was brought to my knees while gritting my teeth. My knee and feet dug into the dirt below, and the pressure above me simply came down harder. I am a wall. I am a wall. I will not... be trampled. I preached to myself silently as I tried to rise to my feet.

Although difficult, I did manage to. After that I took a step towards the knight and his horse... that was no horse, I realized. It had a similar torso, but looking at it now, I realized its face was thicker. it's mouth was shorter, but the hair covering it did nothing to hide the fact that it had teeth sharper than anything I'd ever seen. And it was looking at me. Daring me to attack it or its rider. A shiver ran through my head at the thought of what it would do before I had less time than I thought to move anywhere else.

A weight receeded from my shoulders and my hands flung into the air, before the sight that awaited me was the knight looking down. Not at me, but at me. Whatever he saw there ripped a jitter through my being, and my face paled. Is this death? No, I felt worse when I was stabbed...

It ended an eternity later. I was left gasping, taking a step back, but still standing before the knight dismounted his ride. And although I was sure he'd struck my shields with his sword, he had not, apparently, done that. As I looked at him, I saw him unsheathe his blade. He had brought down such pressure without even hitting me. Or maybe he did and it was with his body, but I don't think that was the case.

With a slight movement of his blade he, almost imperceptibly, flicked his wrist gently and I suddenly felt intense, boiling agony.

WH— I couldn't even finish the thought, as the feeling of all the bones in the right half of my body breaking and being rebuilt over and over again clouded my mind. Everything flashed red for all but a moment before it all became a numbing sensation in the back of my mind. I was... conscious... I think. I took a deep breath, as if choreographed to each little muscle gone taut. Every intake of breath was as if I'd been doing it for months the same way to mitigate the pain as best I could. I knew what it was.

No... please stop. Just move away! What the fuck are you doing me?! But my body didn't listen to my pleas to stop and I felt the bile build up in my throat. I forced it back down, but that was the limit of my control. The arm which I now realize — I think — was not actually broken, swung forth and was aimed at the knights hand. My body didn't even reach him before the same agonizing pain followed another flick of his wrist, to the other side this time, and I fell to the floor. Knights cringed and I could just barely make-out Gor'amer looking pained, but not worried. But that might have been my pain-addled mind talking.

My body reacted to it all by pushing up, digging both spikes into the ground before it went into a handstand. Even I thought it was stupid but, unbeknownst to me, my body began to twirl. My hands lifted and sunk the spikes back into the ground in a pattern with a speed I didn't think they could, given gravity and my less-than-average strength.

Several faces began in confusion, before a knight's face lit up in what I assumed to be realization.

"Imteoia-- fow khalfua lohrä!" A few moments later and there is a raucous laughter among the knights, how few there are, before my body seemed to take it as a hint. With its own finery it twirled on one arm before launching a dropkick at the supposed leader!

Although something flashed in the mans eyes, it lead to naught but me lying on the floor and... green. Without even a half-a-moment to think, pain wracked my mind. Few words could describe the sheer torment my body felt in the next several minutes. Left writhing in misery on the floor, I felt all the eyes on me. Gor'amer wasn't going to help me, Murn-Dei was crying as Tane'er held her back, until, finally...

The disgusting, vile, all-encompassing black. it was held for only a moment, though, as I was suddenly doused in cold water, pain gone and the weighty sensation of... something on my chest. DID I GET KI-

Staring down in panic, it was quickly shrivelled up like paper, tossed away like paper, and then lit on fire like paper. It was a bunch of metal and leathers. And from the weight and shape and the distinct lack of a bag, I presumed it wasn't a bunch of coins, but armor and clothing.

Coming to my senses I tilt my head to me left. Nope. Then to the right. Oh he-HEYYYY sexy... I was left mentally reeling when my eyes settled on a man, most definitely a man. His body had a gentle tan, revealing his originally white skin in lines which I presumed to be from pieces between armor. And because his arms were bare, I could see every little muscle on his well-defined but not impossibly huge muscles. Whatever he has been taking, or doing, I respect it. He wasn't perfectly sculpted, but by god if he wasn't almost there.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Those pretty brown strands of hair draped around his ears before they swung back behind them in some sort of attempt at hiding what I could only imagine were some of the sexiest ears I'd ever see. Brown seemed to be a very common hair colour, then. His oh-so-gorgeous green-blue eyes as well, were visible. I mean that literally by the way. Half of either pupil was green, and the other was blue!

His shirt didn't cling to his body, but it wasn't completely loose either. The shirt, or tunic, whichever, was also wet around his neck. Sweat, I think. But he didn't give me much time to gather myself as he spoke.

"Iaoaä, bhama."

But I liked looking at you... I found myself removing the metal from on top of me, placing it to my side the shields still on my arms had me wondering... how am I going to put these clothes on? Without much of any sort of warning, however, Murn-Dei ran into the room, which was thankfully Gor'amer's place, and jumped onto the bed and then against me.

She didn't collide with any great thud or aplomb, but rather a tiny, gentle collapse. In several ways, it was adorable, in the last one, it was painful. She had headbutt right in the middle of my chest after all. Without much to do, the knight, I think he was one of the knights, left the room.

There goes the eye-candy. I thought to no one in particular. Also, who the hell said that a wall can't be trampled? I was ground into dust! And, for some reason, despite knowing that I really had no chance in hell of winning, it still stung. Deeper than I would have thought it should have, all things considered.

Sighing into Murn-Del's hair, I gently pat her locks, using my nails to gently rub her scalp. "I wish I had a sister like you..." I told her, not that she understood me; but she did hug me tighter. "I don't know what's going on, where I am, or where the other people I came with are, but I would like to, one day, be able to talk with you properly." With another few breaths, Murn-Del remained in my grasp, before I gently tugged her off.

Nodding my head to the door the previous man left through, I rubbed her head before shooing her out with a smile. I wanted to think... and change.

On the topic of change — clothes! How was I supposed to get rid of my shields? Thankfully, there was someone who could cast minute amounts of magic, which allowed me to stay clean without removing my clothes, but these shields were going to be a problem otherwise.

I thought to myself while I pulled the side of one of them, attempting to remove it. No dice. I tried pushing from below. Nothing there either. Breathing a deep sigh, I rest my arms on my thighs, trying to imagine what I would look like without the shields now. It was... strange. I'd never gotten rid of these since I first got them, which was roughly... I want to say around a week now: six days if I was counting right. My head tapped against the wall and I rubbed my face. Opening my eyes, I looked bewildered at what I beheld. My hands were free of the shields, and they remained on my lap.

"Uhh..." If all I needed to do was think about myself without them on, could I do other things with these with just my thought? Maybe when I wasn't alone without people to help me or at least until I could find people who spoke English. God what I would do to talk to someone about literally anything. We could talk about alcohol for all I care, or nature, nature was nice.

I slapped my cheeks with either hand. No, back on track. I should change... I think.

So I did. Most of it was loose-fitting but not too bad. The leather tunic had a slight slit in the shape of a rhombus, with strings overlapping much of it, giving it a distinctly "armor-y" look. Not that it would pose much of a problem. At least, for me, it was the several seemingly pointless straps that were covering the majority of the top, which some I couldn't reach easily, so I was left to struggle in silence. When it was completely on me and I managed to finagle the remaining straps into place, I noticed that there was a bundle on the inside near the hem, and a string.

Hmmm... My curiosity instantly got the better of me and I pulled it and, to my surprise, a thick leather fauld that went down to the middle of my thighs all around. Well that was pretty! I gave myself a little twirl, almost completely forgetting that I was naked from my waist-down.

I moved onto the trousers which were, thankfully, basically normal pants. They didn't have buttons nor zippers, though, and was just more crisscrossing string that kept it up. They were a bit oversized, but the strings got me covered there. Just gotta be more careful around people then, huh? They also matched my hair colour! A simple hazel brown.

And, of course, the boots were the final part of the outfit. I didn't think I would need them, as Owen packed me some boots quickly while listening to the list of summoned people, but I wore them anyway. The longer my personal boots lasted, the better. Stiff leather that stretched up to just below the knee, likely not meant for my size exactly, but whatever.

I put them on and, as was usual for the fashion it seemed, there were no belts or clasps, but rather there were strings -- laces. Dozens of holes on either end of the boot, most of them thankfully already done, were where I had to cross the string through them over and over again, just like normal boots and shoes. With that out of the way, I looked at them on myself and felt kind of good about them. They were surprisingly comfy, they seemed water-resistant, were tough and hopefully would protect my feet in the event they needed to be.

With a few hops in place, I looked over myself. There was no mirror, no glass to look at, and there was nothing reflective in here except the water in the bucket which I assumed was for cleaning. I liked to think I looked nice. My face, I've been told, is "pleasant" at worst and "quite pretty" at best. I never really paid attention, though. Who needs peer confirmation over how they look? Haha! Hah...

I miss my friends.

Though, if I understood things right, F.S. said that there would be another fifty people arriving next month. Maybe I would see people I could talk to.

All-in-all, I looked... decent. That's what I would rate it. I would get a 10/10 in any renaissance fair, though, no chance for the competition. The leather was a cool brown, dyed black I could see, with a scarlet inlay in the shape of... I don't know what it is. It looked like a cow, but much angrier, and much less like a cow. I had no idea how to describe it. It was far too alien for me to even give it a name.

I assumed it was the insignia of the knights that passed through, but who knows, maybe it was a prank? I looked at my shields and thought about them flying back onto my arms. With a slight vibration to them that I could barely see, they jumped a bit at me but otherwise clattered to the floor. I grimaced. That felt wrong. But there was progress.

If the only way I could get skills was by making them, then I needed to make as many as I could, and practice what I had.

Shield Bash and Shield Strike would undoubtedly be the easiest to work on, with Shield Dance coming after those. Guardian Eyes still hurt when it was used, but I was pretty sure that would increase naturally. Other than that, the others I had no idea. Fight Defensively would be nice to level up, sure, and I think I would use it a lot when I had the chance, but for now, it was on the back burner.

As I was contemplating the possible need to level skills I had, Mern-Del peeked in the room and gasped as she saw me, scampering over to me. I turned to look at her and lifted her into the air.

"Wheee! Wooooow!" I lifted her high up and then held her close to the floor a few times. "Look at you! You're flying!" I told her, and without really understanding me, she got the gist and beamed down at me. Another few moments later and Gol'amer entered the room, smiled, and pointed to the door.

"Ymudete yzayimäde," His smile dropped slightly.

I understood him despite the language barrier. The knights were waiting. I hadn't been in this village for long, and I still didn't understand that last word in the name of it, but these people were like family already.

I never knew my mom, dad raised me on my own for the first fifteen years of my life. But after that, we hardly spoke. When we did, we were always happy, but life has a way of getting between you and family. But, now that I was here, Gol'amer, Tane'er and Murn-Del seemed like an adoptive family to me. A father, mother, and a younger sister. I withheld the tears I felt forming, biting my quivering lip as I gently set down Murn-Del.

I felt my heart ache. Her face showed she was trying not to cry too. She was holding on for so long, but it seems when they saw my face, her mask started to crack. I realized that, despite everything, I would die for this little girl. I almost did. My mind wandered for a moment

Hopefully, Gol'amer told them that I didn't understand the language. I gestured to him by pointing to my lips, then to the door, then made an x with my arms, head tilted.

He nodded, a corner of his lip rising while his mouth moved to the side. I nodded back. I felt Murn-Del clutch onto my waist tightly.

To be honest, I didn't understand what was going on, but I had a feeling that I would find others from Earth, at least. That and this seemed like a common enough occurence for the people. And that was my best chance to learn from someone who could help me directly translate from English to whatever language this was.

Gritting my teeth, I picked Murn-Del up and hugged her one final time; at least for now until I came back. Leaving the building, on my way I hugged Gol'amer and Tane'er gently as well. They did so much for me, and I couldn't be any more thankful. Grabbing my pack from beside the door, I clipped the straps over my shoulders and locked them in place.

"Dyoäyiji aiewaa." They all told me. I could hear the familiarity in their words. The send-off was so wholesome I almost stayed. But I needed to see other people from Earth. At least, that was my goal for now. Keep your eyes on the prize.

Opening the door, I saw four knights, all on horses, except for an empty saddle on a stallion near the back. They... didn't expect me to ride a horse, did they?

Thankfully, there was one more knight who walked away from talking to someone. Family? He walked next to the horse. Turning to me, gesturing to the saddle with his head. I saw he was the man who gave me the armour, and who I assume splashed water on me -- which I didn't understand by the way, the bucket was full when I looked in it! Questions for when I learned the language, then. Anxiously, I stepped up to the horse, to the confused face of literally every knight present. I could feel the question "Why's she acting like this now?" I didn't fight him willingly, okay?! That wasn't me...

With a groan, the man beside the horse originally, who I decided to call Bob, picked me -- no -- grabbed was more apt, grabbed me by the waist and tossed me on top of the horse, much to my surprise before he mounted up as well. The man in the front, who I "fought" raised his right hand into the air. "Ymudete --". He dropped his hand.

"dapö vapalupa!"

We suddenly began moving and I had to try and hold my balance.