Lucius shouldered his backpack and walked into the forest. In his pack, he carried a small shovel and some crystals he found the other day. He brought his knife-- he never left the safety of his home without it.

He went into the forest to find seeds and new materials, but he also wanted to learn about this world.

According to Luna, this world was called Zenos. Ever since Lucius came to this world, he basically had no knowledge of it. He acquired some from Luna but it was still meager compared to what he wanted to know.

Lucius trudged through the forest and looked at the plants that were growing. Occasionally, he would use his shovel and dig the plant out of the ground, but since he didn't have a good way to bring them back with him, he only dug a few up.

The whole time, he was cautious at everything. Even if it was a small bird or insect, Lucius would be wary of them. For the time being, his mindset was everything could kill you if you aren't careful.

Eventually, he began to relax and enjoy himself, but it was too early to do that.

Lucius heard a roar in the distance. He flinched a little bit but didn't get too worried about it. It sounded like it was a long way off. He continued to look at the wildlife.

After walking for a few more minutes, the sound of grass and bushes rustling was clearly heard behind him.

His neck tingled as he slowly turned around. There was a beast the size of a leopard facing him. It had fangs the size of a tube of toothpaste, had horns like a buffalo and had claws that gleamed with sharpness. Its fur was red and it glared at Lucius with hostility.

Whoa, whats up with you? Lucius thought and slowly started to back away. He put his hand on the handle of his knife and continued his snail-paced decent. Still, he was sure he was in trouble.

If it decided to attack, Lucius had a knife. But he had no combat experience. He's never got in a fight at school and lead a pretty peaceful life. Even if he managed to get the chance to kill it, he wasn't sure he could land the finishing blow. If he ran, it was sure to catch up.

So Lucius continued to inch backward and continue the standoff.  He didn't want to make a sudden move to trigger an attack. There was not much he could do, and he hated it.

Lucius soon bumped into a surface behind him. It was a large boulder and would take a while to get around at the pace the Lucius was going. He broke out in cold sweat as panic overtook him.

What do I do what do I do what do I do...? Lucius desperately tried to think of a way to get out of the situation. He considered making a break for it since he was a decent distance from the beast. It hasn't moved an inch since it came through the bushes; it was just observing Lucius like he was a science project.

Lucius waited. He could feel his heart pound uncontrollably with a ba-dum, ba-dum that seemed to be getting faster and faster.

For a moment, nothing moved. Lucius stayed as still as the rock behind him and hoped the beast would eventually lose interest in him. Instead, it did the complete opposite.

With a savage roar, it lunged at Lucius with blinding speed. Lucius was barely able to react, but he managed to yank his knife out of the sheath and roll out of the way. When he looked at the rock he was standing at, it was cracked where the beast put his massive paw.

What happens if I die here? Do I do in the real world to...? No, I don't want to find out, Lucius thought and sprinted to the side, into the area where the beast entered from.

The beast roared and gave chased, rapidly closing the distance between them. Lucius quickly thought of a plan.

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He ran to a tree that had a thick trunk and hid behind it. The sound of the beast was close, and the instant Lucius saw a millimeter of fur, he raised his knife and brought it down.

It cut through the hide easily, but the beast was by no means done. It bellowed in anger and with a single swipe of his claw, it blew Lucius away. The knife was still clutched in his hand.

Lucius in both worlds gasped in pain. His shirt was ripped open in three different spots that ran from his shoulder to the bottom corner of his shirt. Under each rip was a bloody mark that didn't seem deep, but it hurt like crazy. Adrenaline rushed through Lucius and numbed the pain, and Lucius was able to get to his feet and run away once again.

He needed a better plan if he either wanted to kill the beast or escape. He couldn't win from just sheer strength, so he had to relied on something else: his brain.

Lucius scooped up a rock in his frenzied retreat and swiveled his body. He hurled the rock and the sound of the beast roaring was heard. He did that repeatedly until it seemed the beast was going slower than normal.

Perfect, Lucius thought and skidded around, feet sliding on the ground until he faced the beast. Then he did the unexpected. He lunged at the beast head on.

The beast leapt toward him also, but the instant before they collided, Lucius dropped to a slide. He slid on the ground with his knife outstretched. He rammed the knife into the bottom of the beast and cut the length of the beast's stomach. Blood spurted everywhere, instantly triggering Lucius's gag reflex. He struggled to suppress it but eventually was able to.

He looked back at the beast. It lay on the ground unmoving with blood seeping out of his stomach. Lucius ran to a bush and vomited.

It was the first time Lucius ever killed a live animal, and he wasn't proud of it. After wiping the vomit off his mouth, he walked back to the animal.

It would be a waste to leave the animal here, so after Lucius gathered himself, he grunted and (to his surprise) lifted the carcass over his shoulder. It felt like his shoulder was going to break, but he held himself and shuffled back to his home.

It was a long walk-- almost and hour, so Lucius had to continuously alternate shoulders, sometimes just dragging the carcass on the ground.

When he arrived at his destination, he dropped the beast to the ground like a hot cake and instantly felt relief in his body. His arms felt like they weighed a feather, but his legs still felt like hot lead. The adrenaline wore off, sending pain through his body. Still, he was exhausted, so he sat on a chair he set outside and leaned back, soaking in the air. He closed his eyes and didn't plan it, but he napped.

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His focus came back to the real world. While he was in the other world, he was able to steer his body to his class and brainlessly complete the classwork, but he didn't focus or try too hard on it.

However, Lucius didn't really care too much. This world seemed a little boring compared to Zenos. It just seemed, basic.

If only other people could see this, Lucius thought. He walked to the school cafeteria and sat down, not bothering to get his lunch.

He touched the area where he was scratched by the beast. There was no pain, but it was still there. It was like a phantom pain, to have pain for an injury that didn't really exist. It did hurt, but not as much as the initial pain and since his injured body was asleep, which seemed to dull the pain.

Lucius was lost in thought when he heard a scream, a yell, and a loud crashing sound that was audible throughout the entire cafeteria. Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at the commotion.

A fight was about to break out between a burly senior and what seemed to be his girlfriend, or at the moment, his ex.

(AN: If you don't know what an ex, or ex-girlfriend, is, it is this. When you break up with someone, they become your ex.)

"Why are you breaking up with me?!" the senior yelled and raised a fist.

That's pretty obvious, Lucius thought.

The girl flinched but didn't move away. "It's because I didn't want to be with you in the first place!" She yelled, which seemed to be the wrong thing to say. The guy seemed to get more and more mad.

Lucius sighed. This is going to end in a bad way, Lucius predicted. He continued to watch the fight happen.

And suddenly, there was a clear sound of a smack. Lucius's eyes widened as the girl fell to the floor, hand clutching the side of her face. The guy had his hand still outstretched, glaring at the girl. He then proceeded to walk over in a slow, cocky stride.

Why is no one helping her? It's clear that she's getting abused to some extent, yet no one is making a move, Lucius thought, surprised.

The guy raised his hand again.

"You never should've left me," he said in a deadly whisper. The girl braced herself or the hit.

It never came.

Instead, there was a crash as someone tripped the guy. He fell to the ground and looked at the attacker.

It was Lucius.