Ezreal stared at the heavy bag left on his lap, left by the stunning woman he had just met. It was clear she was royalty in every sense of the word – tall, pale, with a body that indicated she had never worked a hard day in her life. But why did she visit someone like him? The only difference between him and the others was the fact that he was naked.
Not to mention the fact that he had completely forgotten to ask what her name was.
Leaning back into his bed while groaning, Ezreal tried to recall the dream he had before while he was in his stupor. As much as he tried to, the visions were continually slipping further and further away from the rest of him. While the visions were almost gone, the sensations were still there.
The inability to breath. The suffocating fog and darkness all around him.
Shaking off that uneasy feeling, Ezreal stood up, taking a look at his situation and surroundings once more. It was clear the noblewoman – whoever she was – had helped him out immensly. Not only with the healing, but the silk clothing and a leather belt that was oddly similar to the ones his grandfather had left for him in his passing. It felt wonderful pressed against his skin, although he was completely unsure of how he was going to clean it in the future.
After checking the bag – which had a good handful and mix of golden, silver, and bronze coins in there – and attaching it to his belt, Ezreal stepped outside of the tent into the fresh sunlit outdoors.
Ah… the fresh air really does feel nice.
Covering his eyes to avoid the glare from the sun, Ezreal took a look at his surroundings. Before him stood a small village next to an ocean, stretching as far as the eyes could see, placed directly in between two mountain ranges to the village’s front and left outskirts. It was a beautiful sight to see from his vantage point, at an army encampment right on the outskirts of the town.
The sun was slowly starting to set behind the mountains, casting a brilliant glow of pink in the sky. The sky clashed with the blue of the sky and the white of the clouds, but it was a perfect chaotic mess of colors. With the sounds of cheering and laughter somewhere in the background, Ezreal felt strangely at peace for the first time since his childhood.
It’s beautiful…
“You there! You’re finally awake!” A hearty voice cried out behind him.
Turning around, Ezreal came face-to-face with a tall, potbelly mustached man, sporting the same chainmail armor with a blue and black outfit he had seen earlier during the battle.
“I had to see our savior for myself! The very one who reinforced our right flank!” He said, a large friendly smile sprouting behind his mustache.
“I didn’t really do anything, honestly…”
“Nonsense! Without you, our lines would have collapsed. We owe you a great deal!” He laughed, placing a large meaty hand on Ezreal’s shoulder. “You must join us tonight for the feast!”
Ezreal took a second to think about the offer – on one hand, he would be a complete stranger to the feast. It was imminently clear he would stick out like a sore thumb in the crowd, attracting unwanted attention from the other soldiers and civilians there. That could lead to a long list of ugly questioning that he wouldn’t be able to answer.
But on the other hand, he had no idea what to do from here on out. Where was he supposed to go? What was he supposed to eat? Going to the party could be useful in getting some more information about the world he was in as well.
Love what you're reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.
“Alright, I’ll come along.” Said Ezreal, after a brief moment of reflecting on the pros and cons. Gaining information was better than wandering aimlessly.
“Excellent!” said the big man clasped his hands together in glee. “Come with me – we’ve got a fire and some food cooking! We haven’t got any of the better liquor yet, but I hope you’re fine with the drinks we have on hand. It’s been quite difficult getting supplies lately, as I’m sure you’ve heard! Anyways, you must tell me about…”
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ezreal watched the people mingle from his spot in the corner, relatively spaced out from the rest of the crowd. It was amusing to see just how blisteringly drunk the soldiers were becoming - as they clearly were trying to outpace each other, eerily similar to how the other workers acted in his world. That is, of course, only when they were out of sightline of the countless number of cameras.
He sighed, leaning forward onto the picnic table. For the past 3 hours, he had religiously scoured over every single detail he could extract from each soldier without looking too suspicious. He lived in a province called Rohongi in the kingdom of Tel Advivo, which was headed by the main governor Lucius Aprentos – a man by which all accounts was completely feared amongst all the soldiers. Even in their drunken stupor, they sobered up at the slightest mention of his name, refusing to speak about him further. The only thing they would talk about was his two daughters, of which one had gone missing quite some time ago.
But none of the information that he had gained told him anything further than the most basic of information that he could’ve gained from a single merchant, or even a priest in these lands. Frustration began clouding over Ezreal’s mind at the fact that while he had a better grasp of where he really was, he didn’t learn anything more about the actual situation he had been put in. It was clear to him that this was far more than just a simple video game – perhaps a startling realistic simulation built to perfection, but Ezreal had no way to actually leave the world he had been left in. The common phrases such as “menu”, “exit”, or “escape” had all refused to do anything.
In short, Ezreal was completely stuck. Stuck with no way to get back home, or any usable information to even try.
“Fuuuuuuuck. What the hell am I supposed to do now?” he said, burying his face into his hands.
“What everybody does? You should go back home.” A voice chimed in behind him, oddly familiar to his ears. Ezreal quickly turned around, where he saw a short tanned woman with the hazel brown eyes, highlighted by her blonde hair. Attached to her belt was a sword as long as her torso that clanked against her armor every single time she took a step, comically large against her short stature.
It was his hero.
“…You!” Ezreal said, taking a moment to put two and two together.
“Yep, it’s me. I’m glad to see you’re not dead.”
“I… listen, I want to thank you for saving my life. I would’ve been a goner if it weren’t for you – I wish I was half the swordsman as you!”
She shuffled her feet while rubbing her arms, looking visibly uncomfortable at his praise.
“Well, I only survived because you distracted them long enough. I should be thanking you.”
“I didn’t do much at all besides dodge whatever they threw at me. If you think about it, I was pretty useless.”
“You definitely weren’t. How did you learn to dodge in that fashion? There’s only one other man I’ve ever seen who knows how to move like that…” she looked at him with a familiar look in her eyes. “Anyways, why are you still here? You’re not drinking like the others and the crowds mostly cleared out. You should’ve been gone by now.”
“Yeah, I’ll be going in just a bit. I’m just enjoying the scenery and the mood for now, so I’ll –“
“That doesn’t make much sense. You’re watching a bunch of drunk guys going at it, and there's hardly any scenery to enjoy here.” She said, crossing her arms in suspicion.
“What, is there some sort of law saying that I can’t stick around for a while longer?” snapped Ezreal, his frustration suddenly bursting out towards her. Her eyes opened wide in response, putting her hand on her blade as he abruptly stood up.
He sighed, realizing what he had just done. To the person who saved him, no less.
“… Look, I’m sorry. I honestly don’t know what to do anymore – I’m stuck out here, and it’s just…” He sat back down, rubbing his eyes as they suddenly started to burn. He balled his fists tightly, digging his nails into his palms until the pain kicked in.
“… It’s just a lot. I’m not sure where to go from here.” He whispered.
She lowered her hand, staring at him from a moment longer.
“For starters, the sun’s already beginning set. Do you at least have a place to sleep?”
Ezreal pitifully shook his head.
“There’s an inn close to here that I’ve been staying at with some space left, I think. Follow me.” She said, motioning for him to follow her.
After hesitating a bit, Ezreal trailed behind her down the road, the sun setting behind their backs.