It took all but three seconds for Artyom to properly wake up with his heart pounding out of his chest.

“Gus,” he said. His voice filled with frantic dread. “Our Earther is real and he’s in danger.”

Gus didn’t say anything at first, but the sound of him leaning forward in his chair could be heard through the phone. “Explain.”

“There’s a ‘Dark Lord’ and his army attacked the village I was in-”

“Are you safe?” Gus interrupted.

“Yeah, I was able to track them down and kill them all. They’re not an active threat to me or our Earther anymore.”

“That’s a relief you’re fine, but Artyom… did I hear that right? You said you killed them, people of a Fairytale world.”

The voice from the other end suddenly grew cold and somber.

“You’d better have a damn good reason why you jumped to such an extreme.”

“Because this isn’t a Fairytale world, Gus!” Artyom said, his voice in a raging frenzy. “That army didn’t just attack, they slaughtered everyone they could find! They tried to rape someone. This is a Gilded world, and I need backup to extract the hero.”

“…”

“Gus?”

“I knew something was fishy about that place, I believe you.”

Artyom slowly closed his wide open mouth before letting it curl into a smile. “I’m glad I haven’t completely lost your faith. So when can I expect backup-”

“But I’ll need a report first to verify the situation. Can you write one up and send it to me, along with pictures of the damage?”

“I spoke too soon. Dammit Gus, what the hell are you talking about?”

“The report, Artyom. I don’t know how bad it really is there. I need intel to determine how many forces to send.”

“That’s not the point! The people here are as innocent as Fairytale worlders, but they can be as awful as Gilded worlders. That means our Earther is going to be way out of his league with whatever training he’s gotten and is going to get slaughtered! Just send me someone to help secure them and get out of here, anyone even half competent!”

“I can’t. Everyone qualified is currently deployed on another mission.”

“Come on, there has to be someone-”

Gus let out a sigh. “I mean everyone, all on the same mission. Even the likes of Squad Romeo.”

“Them?” Artyom let out a scoff. “They’re just as likely to kill the Earther as they are the actual problem, so if you let them off their leash, then it must be bad.”

“It is. This ‘Cult of Alivaine’ we encountered has been pushing back at our efforts to secure some Earthers, and things are precarious enough that every squad is needed in place to keep them in check.”

“And our spies and lone operatives?”

“All too deep in the field to extract without ruining the operation.”

“Dammit,” said Artyom in a hoarse sigh. “I bet you really wish you had me ready to help out there.”

The line went silent for a second before Gus responded, “If I did, then you wouldn’t be able to do anything about your Earther.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“…Touché. So I guess I’m on my own, then?”

“Unless you can get me a report so I can make a proper call on what can be spared.”

“It’ll take me several days to go back and take pictures, then to type something up on my phone and send everything back. Days I don’t have when there could be trouble headed straight for the Earther. Besides, I don’t want to interrupt that other mission and risk getting other Earthers killed. I’ll do this solo.”

“I can at least send you some equipment. The closest drop-off points are where we first sent you into that world, and North of your current position.”

“I’m headed North right now towards the Earther’s last known position, so I can stop by the latter drop-off. Can you get me my standard gear, along with some stronger gear to supplement my magic?”

“Of course, but why the emphasis on magical equipment?”

“Level ups seem to happen when you sleep in this world, but even after completely exhausting my magic and just waking up, I still haven’t leveled up once.”

“That is… concerning. I know the complexity and cost of your spells, have you not even gained a level in something tangentially related to magic?”

“Nope, nothing at all, I’m a blank slate to this world’s System. Nothing like this has ever happened before.”

“…Artyom,” said Gus in a low whisper.

“Huh, what is it?”

“I can cancel this whole vacation, bring you back to base and give you more backup once resources have freed up.”

“Where the hell is this coming from?”

“I have a bad feeling about the world you’re in. I don’t have all the info, and what I started out with is completely false. That place needs to be properly scouted out before I feel confident enough setting up an operation.”

“It’s too late for that, Gus. The captain of the warband I fought already knew where the Earther was, and was told to stay away from him. If he knew, the Dark Lord definitely does, and might have other active plans in store for the Earther. There might not be enough time to plan our next moves, I have to get in there and make sure the kid is safe.”

Gus let out a sigh. “Very well, do what you have to. I’ll send the coordinates of the drop-off to your phone.”

“Thanks.”

There were no more words to share, and the two hung up.

----------------------------------------

The ensuing run North was more of a weak jog interrupted with occasional breaks.

After exhausting all his magic the previous night, Artyom was tapped in more ways than one. While he had to focus even harder to cast a spell, and at a much higher cost than before, his muscles also groaned and complained every step he took forward. Overwhelming pangs in his stomach had the man from Earth clearing out an entire day’s worth of rations in a single morning, and even then he still felt hungry.

All this, combined with only half a night’s rest on a dirt road, and Artyom was running on fumes.

Still, he kept running. He couldn’t stop.

After about two hours on the road, he felt his phone vibrate. Artyom opened it and saw that the drop-off point was close by, and after spending about ten minutes wandering through the surrounding grassy hills, he found it.

Nestled in the valley between two particularly tall mounds was a burlap bag. It was entirely nondescript except for the four letters stitched onto its front: T.O.A.L.

Artyom walked over to the sack with his second smile of the day and opened it up. Inside was a set of normal looking clothes, a gray sweatshirt and sweatpants, along with a pair of bracers and a ring. The clothing was loose and stretchy, but not baggy at all, and seemed to harden when handled forcefully.

As Artyom changed into it from his simple linens, he felt it contour to his body almost perfectly yet look like he was wearing a tracksuit rather than a curve-defining morph suit. The latter would have made it impossible to travel through civilization without being called out for public indecency. But just in case, he still wore the linens on top of them so as to not stand out too much due to the alien fashion.

Next up, he equipped the bracers around his wrists and slid the ring onto his left ring finger. The magical energy stored within the bracers immediately flooded into him, and Artyom felt the charge revitalize him.

They were magical batteries that would allow him to cast even more spells in a battle while recharging on ambient magic rather than from his own stores.

The ring however was enchanted with Invisibility. It wasn’t a spell he could easily cast without lots of preparation and resources, especially in the heat of battle, so having something that could cast it for him once or twice a day would be incredibly helpful.

“Hold on, there’s one more thing in here.”

Reaching inside, Artyom’s eyebrows shot up for a moment as he took in his final piece of equipment: a gun.

Not the techno-magical gauss rifles given to TOAL’s troops, but a proper modern Earth-style pistol. There wasn’t a lick of magic on it.

“With how conspicuous these extra-potent bracers and invisibility ring will be to anyone magically inclined, they won’t think twice about something as mundane as a bullet to the face.”

Artyom chuckled to himself before growing quiet.

“I hope I won’t have to use any of this.”

The man from Earth quickly returned to the road, and with newfound vigor, continued North. He might have hoped for the best, but years of experience told him every single piece of equipment would soon count.

And as the silhouette of the nearby town came into view, Artyom knew he’d find out soon enough.