Jack gradually woke up to a starry night sky with a campfire lit beside him. He felt a numbing pain all over his body, especially in his left arm, where he noticed was properly bandaged.

Across from the campfire, he could see a hooded and cloaked figure sitting cross-legged on the floor. The hooded figure had their back turned towards him, so he was unable to see their face.

In his mind, Jack searched for the last thing he remembered. He had been chased by wolves and he was saved by someone. He was saved by this hooded stranger.

"You're awake," the hooded stranger said without turning to look at him. It was a female voice---a very sweet and gentle sounding one at that. "Thank the Goddess, I thought you might never wake up."

"Yes, thanks to you. You saved my ass back there. I owe you my life," Jack said. He tried to get up, but his injuries weren't completely healed yet, so even moving his body slightly was painful for him.

"Try not to move. Your injuries have not been completely healed yet. You need to rest."

"Yeah sure."

Following the stranger's advice, Jack lied back on the ground while slightly turning his head to look at the stranger. As he did so, he noticed the peculiar way of how the stranger was consistently facing away from him as she speaks, almost as if she was afraid to have her face seen.

"Boy, you sure showed that wolf who's boss, huh?" Jack said. "That wolf nearly had me for lunch, but you just shot an arrow through it and it was dead just like that. That was so freaking cool! You gotta teach me how to shoot like that!"

"I'm afraid I'm only a novice when it comes to the bow and arrow. I have no business teaching anyone."

"What? That's ridiculous! You're just being humble. You killed a wolf, for crying out loud. You're a badass!"

"A bad...ass? I believe I don't quite understand that word."

Jack scratched his head in slight embarrassment. "Oh yeah, that's right. This is a fantasy world, after all. You guys don't talk like I do. You guys are like 'thou shalt kill wolf and teabag thy corpse', that sort of thing."

"You are quite a strange man."

Jack smiled a cocky grin. "Yeah, I kinda get that a lot. It's part of what makes me so charming."

"What were you doing alone in the woods, if you don't mind me asking? You do not seem the type to be competent enough to hunt on your own. Are you perhaps in some sort of hunting group and have gotten separated from them?"

"Nope. I'm just here by myself. Dropped from the sky in the middle of nowhere and was forced to survive day-to-day in the wilderness. I haven't seen another person in probably over a week."

"That was quite sad. You must have been very lonely."

"Yeah, well, what can you do?"

"It's dangerous to wander around all by yourself like that. Not only is there the common wildlife to contend with, some locals say that there may be demons lurking around. This may not be the war-torn lands, but it can still be pretty dangerous."

"Wait, demons? Did you say demons?! Holy ship, there are demons in this world!"

The hooded stranger tilted her head a bit, as if seeming a bit perplexed. "I do not understand what you mean. Of course there are demons in this world; there have always been. There is even a major war against the Demon Army that's been going on for centuries. It should have been common knowledge. Did you not know that?"

"Well, gee, that is certainly news to me! Maybe it's because I've been dropped here by some dude with a truck for a head. Well, I guess when compared to that, the existence of demons shouldn't be that strange, all things considered."

The hooded stranger gave a speechless pause before answering. "You are quite a strange man."

"Yeah, you said that already."

The hooded stranger chuckled to herself and Jack chuckled with her. For someone who had been by himself for over a week, this friendly interaction was a welcome change for him.

"Man, you have no idea how much I needed someone to talk to," Jack said. "It felt like I've been alone for such a long time, I thought I might go crazy. It's nice to have a conversation with someone."

"It was nice talking to you as well."

"My name is Jack, by the way. Jack Slater."

"Jack...it was a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

"Same here. So, tell me, what's your name?"

The hooded stranger paused for a moment before answering. "I'm afraid I cannot tell you that. It's best that you do not know my name. In fact, it's best that you do not associate with me entirely."

Jack furrowed his brow, feeling puzzled. "What? Why would you say that? You saved my life."

"There are reasons I cannot disclose. I'm sorry." The hooded stranger then got up from the ground. "I can see your condition is stable. I shall take my leave then."

"Wait, you're leaving so soon?"

"I have some place I need to be and I prefer not to dawdle."

Jack thought it was weird for the hooded stranger to keep herself at a distance from him to such a degree. He thought she might have a good reason, but he didn't want to pry.

Even so, she was the very first person he'd ever met in this new world, so he might as well make the best out of this encounter. That meant asking for more information about this world to better assist him in some way.

"Well, in that case, I might need some more help from you then---if you don't mind, of course. You see, I'm kind of new around here. Like, really new. I'm not familiar with any of the places around here at all. Could you perhaps tell me where's the nearest settlement of people around here? Maybe a small town or city perhaps?"

The hooded stranger thought about it for a while before answering. "There is the small town of Ingenwell just north of here. It would take about three days of walking, faster if you have a horse. Once you've walked about halfway, you should come across a road that will lead you there for the rest of the journey."

A small town? As in an actual town full of people?! He was thrilled at the idea of going to a town and meeting more people from this world.

He couldn't wait to go to a tavern and eat some decent food or go to an inn and sleep in a cozy warm bed. He couldn't wait to join a guild and travel with a band of adventurers and participate in epic quests---you know, typical fantasy RPG stuff.

Finally, Jack felt as though this was where his adventure truly begins.

"Thanks a bunch. I would have been lost without you."

"It was my pleasure." The hooded stranger then placed a small leather bag beside the campfire. "In this bag, there are some items that should help you in your travels. Among them are some healing potions. In order to assist in your recovery, you should drink one potion every four hours until your injuries are completely healed."

Jack looked at the bag and then looked back at the stranger with a warm sense of gratitude.

"Wow, you've helped me out so much. Not only did you save my life, but you've also given me this. I don't know how I will ever repay you."

"There is no need. I do not require repayment for helping you. I'm just glad you are safe." She paused for a moment, almost as if feeling somewhat reluctant to part with Jack. "It was nice meeting you, Jack. I wish you luck on your travels, wherever you may go."

"Wait!...when will I be able to see you again?"

The hooded stranger turned her face just slightly towards him. For the first time, Jack could catch just a glimpse of her face.

The shadow under her hood still made it difficult for him to see the facial features, but he had noticed that the stranger's eyes were of a brilliant violet color.

Aside from that, Jack had also noticed that she was wearing a unique-looking bracelet made mostly of sea shells.

"If you're fortunate, hopefully never."

Jack was confused. "What?...what does that even mean?"

"Good bye, Jack."

Then, a sudden gust of wind blew over them. It only took a blink of an eye from Jack before the hooded stranger vanished completely out of his sight.

Jack was now all alone again. He had come so far into meeting another person and now she's gone from him. The coldness of solitude seeped into his heart once more.

There was just so much he wanted to learn from that stranger. He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but there was something special about her.

As Jack fell asleep, even in his dreams, he'd thought of that stranger---of her sweet gentle voice and her alluring violet eyes.

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

The day after, Jack had prepared all that he could for the journey northward. He gathered all the necessary resources in his inventory to make sure he had enough food and water to last the trip.

During the preparation, he checked the leather bag the hooded stranger had given him to see what other items were available to him. In it were a couple of potions, some bread and water, some bandages, and a bag of coins.

Jack had examined the coins carefully. This was the first time he'd ever seen the currency of this world. It was a relatively small bag containing mostly copper coins with a few silver ones thrown in.

On one side of each coin, it showed an imprint of some sort of flower; on the other side, there were some strange words engraved on it. Jack couldn't decipher what those words meant as they are written in a language that was completely foreign to him. He wondered how much he could buy with the coins he had in hand.

With all the preparations in place, Jack finally set off in his journey. As he traveled, he drank the potions---one every four hours---as the stranger had instructed.

The potions didn't exactly taste pleasant, but they were effective nonetheless. In fact, he was surprised at how effective they are. Within a day or so, his injuries were completely healed, which was much faster than it would typically take for a regular human to heal.

Are these potions somehow magically enhanced? Jack wondered. And if so, how common are they in this world? Also, how expensive would they be? Maybe I could stockpile a bunch of them and spam them in the middle of a battle, effectively making me invincible.

Of course, this wouldn't exactly be viable in real life as it was in most video games. These potions heal injures within hours, not seconds. He's fairly sure they wouldn't give him any kind of immediate advantage in combat. Even so, it's still a handy item to have around.

It took a day or so of walking until he came across a road, just like the stranger said. Jack followed the road further north until he arrived at his ultimate destination.

At the far distance, he could finally see it---a large town surrounded by an impressive stone wall stretching around its perimeter. He felt immense excitement as he headed to his very first town in this new world.