What's the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word 'confusion'?

There never is a concrete answer to such questions, for confusion comes in many forms, varying from person to person. For some, it may be a test they didn't study for, or a particularly difficult puzzle, like a sudoku. For some, it's a dreaded, sudden confrontation or situation they don't know how - or are improperly-equipped - to handle. For some, it may even be something deeper, like the meaning of life, and why we are put on this planet when our inevitable fate is to return to dust.

But how many people can look at this word, this concept of 'confusion', and the first thing that comes to mind will be themselves? Trapped in an ocean of their own doubts, wandering and wondering just who they are, who they were, and who they will become. Not for any emotions conflicting with knowledge, but because they lack any knowledge to emote to.

This man, eternally submerged in the dark, dubious waters of doubt, with mere flashes of land as his compass as he barely navigates this world he has awoken in. Confusion is a prison for him, but one day, he will truly know freedom.

Trudging along an earthen path with small, round pebbles embedded in it, within a lush green field, he examined his surroundings to find it was more or less completely barren save for him. Which made sense. The clouds above him were darkening, blotting out the sun and the blue sky. It was clearly soon to rain at best, so not many people were going to want to walk this long, tedious path.

Fine by him. It was more peaceful like this, and he liked being left to himself. It allowed him to reflect on himself, the body that this plunged mind had been left to decipher. His pale skin. His dark blue eyes seemingly devoid of life. His curly white hair, fluffy and long enough to reach the middle of his neck and blow in the gentle breeze. Clothed in a hooded violet jacket, with a black sweater, gloves, trousers and shoes underneath - all baggy, to conceal a mostly scrawny figure - and topped off with a purple scarf around his neck that he couldn't help feeling attached to. Even if it was rather chilly, he was dressed warmly, fit for the approaching autumnal season.

He closed his eyes, entering a state of deep thought, visualising a deep seafloor in his mind, which helped him focus. Now in a state of zen, he recounted the few memories that had returned to him in the months that he had been in this state for. Vague as it was, all he remembered was a dark room, with a man talking at him, only recognisable by the sudden glint in his spectacles.

"The world we inhabit is rather intriguing, no?"

It was. The world, named Laeterra, where technology and magic coexisted in harmony. Listening to the perky yet dignified received pronunciation of this man's words, he made sure not to forget what he was certain were basic facts about the world.

"In this world, there exists a force called 'Natura', and that's because it's practically a part of nature. It's just about as natural as the air we breathe."

He had received these flashes of information every now and then, and he'd always made sure to memorise them just to make sure he wasn't missing out on vital knowledge. None of these told him anything about his past life, unfortunately, but it was still useful. He could only assume that this man was some kind of teacher or mentor to him.

"But did you know there's Natura within our bodies, too? Within our very souls, surrounding our bodies, empowering us, enabling us to harness the elements, create weapons, and perform all manner of acts of derring-do!"

That tidbit went without saying. Having spent a long time unconscious and waking up in a hospital bed, he'd spent a while physically recovering to the point of being able to move freely, and that meant relearning how to fight and cast spells, something he'd been training in even after his discharge. With the goblins and slimes that roamed around this place, it was practically a prerequisite skill for a wanderer like him. And to say nothing of the street fights. Or the bandits - now, those guys were annoying.

"Natura truly is a part of all of our lives. It powers everything, from an appliance, to the human mind! And that-"

From then on was simple static, so he opened his eyes with a deep sigh and looked ahead, seeing a town slowly come into the distance. It wasn't one he was particularly familiar with, but he figured he might as well check it out. So he continued along the dirt path, allowing himself to get lost in his thoughts, and the memories he had been able to make after he woke up on that day.

He could remember the day he first walked out, embracing his new freedom. He liked being able to walk. He revelled in having full autonomy over his body. He remembered the smile that spread out on his face when he looked forward to his new, free life, not restrained by any physical weaknesses.

And he remembered how quickly that smile left his face when he looked back on the sheer radio silence that made up his memories before then. Then and there, he asked himself, "What comes next?" and simply couldn't answer. With no past, he didn't know where to start. Everyone left footprints behind wherever they went, but his had been washed away by the tide, and even he could find no trace.

So he began wandering - much like he was doing today. Wandering, looking for clues about his identity and past, but not a trace to be found. He would go around, attempting to make enough money to survive for the days and nights to come, and in the meantime try and find someone who recognised him - with no success. Every day, the question haunted him, and drove him to keep moving forward.

The question of; "Who am I? Who is 'Inigo'?"

And with this question in his mind, Inigo continued walking, hands in his pockets as he paid attention to the road that laid ahead.

.........

He wasn't able to remain at peace for long, unfortunately, even as the rain began to fall and he threw his hood up. He wanted to continue walking as if nothing was about to go on, but he couldn't ignore it any longer. Someone was behind him, watching him. And judging by their movements, they seemed to be trying - keyword, trying - to be sneaky about it. He didn't bother sparing them a glance at first, but when he heard the rather loud sounds of crackling lightning evidently not from the sky, he narrowed his eyes and caved in, looking back to see his wannabe assailant.

A familiar-looking man - yes, he believed he'd seen him just the other day at the inn he'd stayed at. His hair was green - only possibly naturally so - and very spiky, giving him a punkish look. Dressed in a black business suit and matching shades, his stance was impatient and his expression furious, as he held his hand out and fired a lance of green electricity at Inigo, who quickly swerved to dodge it before looking at him, unamused.

"What do you want?" he asked, taking his hands out of his pockets and putting one on his hip, tapping his foot on the ground. "You a bandit?"

"I think you know what I want." the man replied, his teeth clenched. "One thousand varia."

As Inigo raised an eyebrow, the man shook his fist at him. "That's how much you took from me the other day!" he exclaimed. "And I want it back!"

Sighing, the white-haired man shook his head. "Let it go, will you? I won fair and square."

"You wish! I know you cheated!" the angry green man protested. Inigo tilted his head in confusion.

"How do you cheat...at a sanctioned chess match?"

"You tell me! You must know the ref or something!" he insisted. "How else would I lose to a kid like you?"

Inigo chose not to respond to that 'kid' remark. He didn't know his exact age, but he could tell he was fairly young - probably not much older than twenty. So compared to this man, who seemed to be pushing thirty at best, 'kid' may or may not have actually applied. Still, he wasn't acting the part very well, so Inigo simply had to be the bigger man. "I'm leaving."

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A simple response. He knew he hadn't cheated. But he knew he didn't have anything to prove to this asshole, either. Maintaining his stoic face, he was about to turn around when he noticed his simple remark had infuriated the man even more.

"Oh, no you're not! You stay right here!" he snarled, cracking his knuckles with a small yet audible electrical crackle. "I'm gonna bust you up, you little bastard, and then I'm gonna claim what I'm owed!"

"Oh, really?" Inigo raised an eyebrow, his tone mildly amused as he scanned the man closely. "And what do I get if I win?"

"Oh, you fucking won't!" the man grinned almost arrogantly, and at once he charged towards Inigo, his limbs coated in lightning. Inigo prepared himself to fight, knowing that simply running would be unacceptable.

The moment the man reached him, he clasped his electrified hands together above his head. Seeing he was going in for a hammer blow, Inigo narrowly dodged backwards.

The man's movements were slow, but Inigo could tell his attacks would be strong if he let them connect. Knowing not to underestimate his enemy, he watched as he launched an electrified drop-kick at him. Quickly, he cartwheeled out of the way, landing on his feet to find him up and running again. The man reached out to grab him, but with a sudden jerk to the side, Inigo harmlessly dodged, watching closely.

The two faced one another, Inigo stepping back slightly before seemingly preparing to go on the offensive. He began moving, using a wide, dancelike triangular movement as he rocked back and forth. The man watched him for a few seconds, waiting for him to make his move before impatiently lunging forth. He tried to swing at him, but Inigo stepped in front of him, spinning around and hooking his face with a swift reverse-roundhouse kick.

The man was struck cleanly, and was disoriented for a second or two, allowing Inigo to follow up. And follow up he did. First, he got onto his hands and struck him again with a scorpion kick, and then he rose to his feet. Holding his hand out, he called his weapon to it, and it appeared in a flash of violet magic. At once, he was holding a cane, primarily purple with black feather patterns printed on it, and its ring-shaped guard allowed him to hold it in reverse grip - like a wooden sword.

This was the stance it was summoned in, but he twirled it around to hold it in a regular grip before quickly jabbing at the man's body. He didn't let up, either, striking his jaw, chest and stomach multiple times each. Though he did not seem visibly injured, the punk was still audibly hurt by the attacks. Eventually, Inigo put the cane away just as quickly as he had summoned it and stepped back while he was still reeling. He went down low and performed a sweeping kick at the air in front of him, and from his leg, Inigo unleashed a strong wave of water, rushing towards the man and knocking him over.

Now that he was on the ground, Inigo stood up and approached him, stepping on his stomach a few times before crouching down to inspect him. He was still conscious, breathing and seething in rage. But he wasn't in any position to continue resisting right now. Grinding his foot on him for good measure, he looked him in the eyes - which were now a visible green colour since his shades had been knocked off in the onslaught.

"Now, about those victory terms..."

The man growled at him, trying to reach out to grab him only to be stopped by Inigo grinding his foot even harder, shaking his head as he looked around, seeing the shades on the ground nearby. Raising an eyebrow, he snapped his fingers, and as the sunglasses were bathed in a pale purple glow, they began to float up towards Inigo's hand. The man tried to grab them, but they swerved out of the way until Inigo took a hold of them, holding them above his head and out of reach. As he did, he began to examine them, making sure they weren't too damaged. "These are a designer brand, right?"

The man glared at him as he realised what Inigo was getting at, and quickly grabbed his leg with an iron grip. "You take any more of my shit, and I swear I'll fucking kill you!"

Inigo rolled his eyes, figuring he didn't have much room to actually complain. Still, he didn't want to risk getting knocked out, lest this man try and take any of his belongings - like he said, he'd earned that money fair and square. Or, worse, just leave him lying there, easy pickings for any bandits. Feeling electricity surge painfully through his body, he gritted his teeth as he kicked his way free and prepared himself for combat, knowing this man wouldn't give up easily.

.........

After a reasonably lengthy battle against an overly-tenacious man, Inigo had come out victorious, humming as he continued along the path and entered the town. The rain still poured, but he wasn't too bothered because his hood was up. In his pockets, in addition to his own card, he had the shades from earlier, and had even taken the liberty of snatching his assailant's watch, too. He didn't take anything essential, like his phone or actual money, though. This would be enough, he figured.

The path had led rather handily to a fairly small town, houses and all sorts of buildings clearly visible from the entrance where the dirt path ended and roads and pavements began. And the sign at the front, which was made of a brown wood and read in big bold, rainbow-coloured letters, "Welcome to Arc Town". Fitting, he thought, but it still looked rather incredulous. And if you asked him, they could've done with a tagline of sorts. Still, it was their choice, not his.

As he walked through the streets, it became apparent that the town's name of "Arc" was more ironic than anything, for the main colour he could make out here was grey. Arc was quite a shabby town, with grey, somewhat dirty pavements complementing the ash-coloured, considerably cleaner roads, along with colourful graffiti on the walls, and the houses looked rather small and comfortable, ignoring all the vandalism. They certainly looked like they'd be fun to parkour over, he thought.

There was a small variety of stone buildings, each one providing a different service. In addition to the houses, there were a few department stores and grocery stores, a restaurant or two - though the one that caught his eye most was a cosy-looking coffee shop called "The Java Hole", which didn't seem quite as pretentious - or large - as any of its would-be competitors.

But he was looking for something specific - a pawn shop. He still had some loot pilfered from the last bandit who attacked him, and combined with the shades and watch from earlier, he could sell things off. The last town he'd visited didn't have one, though, which was why he was still holding onto things.

Eventually, he saw a building that seemed like it met his criteria. A building that caught the eye with its bright red banner and blocky white text that read "ARC TOWN PAWNBROKERS". Beneath it was an image of a rotund, bald and grinning man with coins for eyes, and a speech bubble reading, "You bring the thing, and say 'cha-ching'!"

Choosing not to pay that any more attention, he looked in through the glass window to find a man behind a counter. A tall, fat and bald man with a noticeable squint to his eyes and browning teeth. He was sharply dressed, though, really rocking a waistcoat and dress shirt. So, Inigo walked in, looking inside to find a neatly organised shop. There were a few chairs in the corner, and a large potted plant, and outside there were some nice-looking watches on display. But they didn't matter to him.

Making a beeline for the counter, he saw the man stand up straight, looking down at him with that jovial grin. "Welcome!" he exclaimed. "I haven't seen your face around!"

"That'd be because I'm new to this town." Inigo replied calmly, reaching into his pockets.

"Ah, that checks!" the man chuckled quietly. "So, what can I fix for you today? Looking to buy, pawn or sell?"

"Sell." Inigo said simply, pulling out the sunglasses and watch, alongside a few more bits and bobs, among them a few necklaces, a pocket mirror and a set of handcuffs. The pawnbroker raised an eyebrow at all the assorted items, clearing his throat as Inigo stared up at him blankly.

"Where did you...find all this?"

"Bandits." Inigo replied calmly, and it was mostly true. "How much can I get for them?"

"Well, to be frank, a lot of this is...junk." the man admitted, chuckling a little as he gazed at the handcuffs, hoping dearly that the bandit he'd nicked those off was planning to use them for their intended purpose. "But there's a lot of treasure among this lot, too! We've got a lot of watches, but more can't hurt, and this one looks pretty beautiful!"

"Mhm..."

"All in all, I'd say you got a pretty good deal off these. Let me calculate the exact prices..."

Inigo waited, watching as the man got out a sheet of paper attached to a clipboard from a drawer and looked at each individual item, doing some appraisals in his head as he calculated the total amount of money each item would be worth. Inigo could assume there were plenty of variables involved, so he allowed the man to take his time.

After a few minutes had passed, the man perked up, looking at him with a cheerful smile. "Alright, I'd say your total is-"

Inigo's eyebrow shot up immediately, and he didn't hear the total over the sudden symphony of civilians screaming. Turning around, he looked out of the windows, finding a horde of civilians running, their movements panicked and shaky, though some of them were tepidly flinging magical projectiles at an unseen target.

Now he was curious - and a little concerned for the town's populace. Had there been a monster attack? If there was, he simply didn't feel good about sitting idly by and lining his pockets. Glancing back at the man behind the counter, he shook his head quickly, and without a word, he tore off, out of the building and into the streets.

And what he saw was a creature most curious - a gelatinous blue hemisphere, as tall as a building, slithering across the ground and drawing nearer to the people. A slime, he thought, but it was much, much larger than most slimes. This was what was known as a King Slime, and its blue colour suggested a water element - maybe it had been called on by the rain. He hadn't taken one on before, but there was always time.

Its body was transparent enough that he could see people within its mass, and it was firing slimy blue spheres at the people and surroundings. They made a hissing noise as they landed on any inorganic material, but as one of them hit the leg of a fleeing civilian, he found himself stuck to the ground.

"I just got here, and there's already a monster attack? This is low even for you, destiny." he mentally mused, summoning his cane to his hand and sizing up his opponent, before rolling his neck, entering a combat stance.

"Alright. Game on."

And at that, he joined the battle, spells prepped and ready to save this town he'd never seen before.