Jin was unable to move. He felt regret. Was it really the end of his journey? Not only did he get scammed by a goddess, he is now going to die because of some wild animal. It’s almost there. Large leaves are moving more and more, and… it was a child. That kid must be from the city. He looked around, not even noticing Jin at first. He then looked him in the eyes and asked.

– Have you seen my ball? I kicked it too hard and it went into the forest…

Jin, still frozen, looked at the kid back. He scolded himself for his behaviour. If Jin wants to survive he needs to focus and man up. After a few awkward moments of silence Jin finally understood the boy was waiting for him to answer.

– Ah… No, I just saw… plants and trees. Um… boy, if you can be so kind, can you tell me where the next city or village is?

Now the kid looked a bit confused. He wanted that adult to help him and yet he needs to be the one helping? That’s not fair… Oh well, since that guy looks like he is about to cry, maybe it’s better to help him.

– There’s a farming village that way! But it’s a long walk! Why do you wanna leave anyway? This place is good. We have fruits and games. And poetry and art. You adults are into those things for some reason…

Jin listened to that boy, but the directions were not clear at all. Does he even know how directions work? Where is the north? And how long is a long walk exactly? A few days of walking, or just a few hours? Also, going to a village next to the city almost guarantees meeting one of Jin's classmates. He needs to travel as far as possible. “But then what?” he thought. That’s right. Even if his journey is successful, he still has no way of actually earning money, buying a house and such. He is an outsider. And from another world at that. Another world, huh? One that discovered steam, electricity and more. This world is still far behind, but what if… What if Jin showed them how to invent those things? He knew lots of things, not only from his classes, but also from his hobbies. Jin smiled. For the first time he had a positive thought. He can just sell his knowledge and inventions. But one problem still remains. He still has no idea where other cities are.

– Um… boy, are there maps in the city I can buy?

– Map? What's that? – he replied, curious in case it is a new toy that could replace his lost ball

– It is a piece of paper with symbols and drawings that tell you where mountains, rivers and cities are. Great for travelling.

– Eh? That sounds boring. Wanna talk to my dad? He is an artist, maybe he knows more about maps

– Uh… That means we would need to go back to the city… eh, sure. Okay. I guess it’s better than whatever I was just doing. But let’s stay off the main road… I am weathering… exotic clothes and people look at me weird, okay?

Jin and the kid went back to the city, talking about random things. Jin discovered that the Kid is named Zeus, a powerful name, but in this other world it meant very little. Jin also saw his two friends wearing fancy robes with gold and silver jewellery, one of them had a spear, other was wielding a massive shield. Both of these weapons were very beautiful, full of glowing gems and jewels. Must have been another gift from oh so kind goddess… She couldn’t even give Jin a dagger or a simple knife.

– You walk funny – said Zeus – why are you looking all around? Scared someone is gonna play a prank on you?

– Haha… kind of. I know a lot of people but we are not exactly on friendly terms. And a few… other things happened and here we are. Is your house nearby?

– Yup! Here we are! Dad, I’m back! – Boy went inside a one room house where his dad was sleeping on a hay bed. Jin wasn’t expecting much, but this house is even more basic than he expected. A few pots and baskets filled with fruits, sticks and other basic things. There were also lots of smaller ceramic jars full of different coloured paints. So Zeus' father really is an artist. Maybe he can make Jin a map.

– Dad! Wake up! I found this person, his name is Jin and he knows exotic art!

– Exotic art? Sounds wonderful! – The sleeping man instantly stood up, as if he was awake this whole time. He was a tall man, he had to bend to not hit the ceiling. He was quite muscular, just like his son had black hair and green friendly eyes – Oh, this fella does look exotic! – He looked at Jin with great interest – So tell me, what kind of art do you know?

– Well. I was talking to your son about maps. It’s like a drawing that shows the land. So travellers have an easier time navigating. They come in all sizes. Can be a picture of an entire continent or just the city. Quite useful things they are.

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– Maps… interesting. Hmm. Yes, I don’t think there are any here. But fear not my exotic friend. I shall paint you one! – he enthusiastically said and grabbed his brush and paints and a wooden plank, painting furiously. After a few moments a beautiful painting of lands appeared on the wooden surface.

– Um, sir. It is very pretty but it is not a map. How can I tell where I am going by looking at this. I am not familiar with any of those buildings.

– Oh, then show my exotic boy what maps should look like. Here, grab a brush! – Zeus' dad sounded a bit disappointed that he didn’t nail the whole idea in his first try.

Jin took the brush and painted a very basic map with hills and rivers.

– This is a map. Everything is symbolic and not very detailed. But clear enough that travellers can tell which way and which path leads them to the right places.

– Ah, usability combined with art. Very interesting, very! And what is this circle with arrows in the corner?

– Oh, it's a wind rose compass. That way I know how to hold the map, and which way is left and right. This is west and this is east. – Zeus' dad wanted to know more about this interesting invention. He was quite impressed by the idea of universal directions that everyone can follow. He then made a very detailed map with all the villages, cities and kingdoms he knew. Also he told Jin that the nearest village is about four hours walk from here. After a long conversation about other forms of art from Jin’s original world he invited the boy to stay for the night. He couldn’t believe that abstract art exists or that people make machines and constructs that can produce art by themselves. Eventually exhausted talking they both fell asleep.

In the morning Jin received a few fruits from Zeus' dad. Jin with his new map managed to get to the village in a bit less than four hours. That place looked very basic. Tiny houses and lots of farmlands. The vegetables and grains that were growing there looked tiny. Too tiny. But then Jin understood that the ones he is familiar with were designed to be bigger and more plentiful. His original world ancestors were probably growing similar crops. He was about to say hello to the villagers but stopped. The villagers that noticed him look at him with anger and disgust. Why? And also why was he so confident now? It’s not like his social anxiety was fixed because he spent one night talking to a good person. But then again, why can't he give it a try? He wanted to wave hello again but he heard a loud familiar voice

– OH GREAT PEOPLE OF DESSIM. GATHER AROUND ME, I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE CAPITAL – it was a voice of one of his classmates. A girl that he once asked for a pencil.

Jin hid himself behind a thick tree and listened to a girl in golden robes.

– I was sent here with others to protect you people. I will own those grounds, making sure everything is in order. Of course I am not expecting you to work for free. You will be under my protection. If you have trouble with anything or anyone, let me know. I will take care of that immediately. As for our first objective, I will need a place to live…

Jin kept getting further and further away, disappearing between houses. Looks like everyone is gonna get some land to protect… is this world really that dangerous? How many of us were sent here… About twenty? His map has at least thirty locations. To not get recognized he would have to go to the furthest city. A very long journey.

– Well, since everyone is listening to her, I guess I can go to people's houses and help myself a little. – Jin wasn't planning on stealing anything valuable. Maybe a robe here, an apple there. Just very little so that the villagers wouldn’t notice. As he was going from house to house he was carefully listening to the speech the girl was giving. She was talking about her house mostly. That she wants it to be filled with fancy and expensive things, and how villagers need to work twice as hard to earn a lot of money and improve the living conditions of everyone.

– Well, that’s about all I can carry! - said Jin, now wearing a grey robe and a basket on his back. Now he looked more like a local. As he was leaving the village, he noticed another person also leaving one of the houses with a similar robe and basket. It was a girl, a bit shorter than him, with long brown hair and… wolf ears. It’s another world so things like that are possible, Jin thought. He also wondered if she had a tail as well.

“Looks like she also grabbed some things from those people… I wonder if they notice… even if we should be pretty far from here. Well, good luck lady! From one thief to another!” thought Jin and went in the direction of the forest… and so did the wolf girl. They looked at each other confused, unsure what to do now.

– Heh, stealing from poor villagers. How horrible of you! – finally said wolf girl as they crossed the forest border

– And you are the one to talk! – Jin replied with the same humorous tone – I’m Jin by the way!

– Mi. Pleasure to meet you. Are you also going to Enhui?

– Probably… but my ultimate goal is Beelu.

– Eh? But that’s so far! Are you also running from someone?

– No. But you've seen that girl with a fancy sword? So there are like twenty of those warriors from the capital and they each will be grabbing their own village or city. That’s why I am going to Beelu. It’s too far to claim

– More of those people? How do you know? Are you from the capital? Also why running from them? Are they bad news?

Mi raised a good point. Why was Jin so against his friends? It’s not like they were bad people in his world. But that girl was so calm and collected during lectures. And just now she sounded so greedy. It’s probably gonna be the case for a lot of them. Missing the convenient stuff from their old world, they may do something drastic. And not to mention they were given powers of gods. That may push them to do some horrible things. Jin thought a little about his “nothing” gift. Maybe it wasn't so bad after all. He can’t get corrupted with power if he was given no power at all in the first place!

– I have a feeling they are bad news. That’s enough for me. Wanna travel with me? At least for a little bit?