After walking, for multiple hours, in the direction in which the bandits fled, Sharlan saw what looked like a human settlement. He was beginning to worry that he wouldn’t see civilization again after not being able to retrace his steps and head towards the prison-like facility that he first noticed. Well, I’m saved, he thought.
As he entered the village, he noticed the lack of a compass constructed stone partition designed to reinforce the notion of an advent to a divergent existence. In other words, no circle wall around the isekai city. This could only mean three things. The first is the idea that he was not actually isekaied, but rather transported. This could be ruled out as he had already seen his special powers at work. The second is the idea that this could be an actually unique world with mechanics that differ greatly from the countless of isekai stories that his selective encephalon held on to firmly. Although this option should not be excluded, Sharlan settled on the third option which seemed the most likely. This was not the capital, but rather some small village in the outskirts of this new fantastical world.
As he walked into the village he was stopped by guards who asked for his identification as they hadn’t seen him before. Sharlan probed the insides of his pockets for anything that might resemble his wallet. The only thing that he could find was the card that he just got back. Wait, what was that? He recalled getting the card back from someone; however, the memory was so blurry that it only included the exact unicode configuration for the image data of the texture as well as the normal and topographic map data for perfect three dimensional mental reconstruction of the shoe lockers. Any further than that he could not recall.
Another strange thing he noticed was that he was able to understand the language that the guards spoke naturally. He made the assumption that he had acquired a language learning skill through his reinstantiation in Fairyland, which is what he decided to dub this world, since this is a fairy tale world. Now, back to the situation at hand, or rather the card at hand. It contained practically unreadable text due to the lack of hand eye coordination of the writer. The letters were enormous and resembled the letters Sharlan was familiar with. However, they lacked alignment and stability. It was almost like the writer had no reference for the letters, but was instead instructed on the direction of the brushstrokes. He could barely decipher it, but since this and his clothes seemed to be his only worldly assets at the moment, he assumed that it had good reason to be in his possession. I’ll look into it later, thought Sharlan while putting the card back into his pocket. He then looked at the guards and started explaining his situation.
“It seems that I am not in possession of the desired identification that you seek. However, I do believe my entry into this city is justified in that I have no other residence currently.”
“Okay then, we’ll have you accompany us to the Bureau of Superior Discourse”
“Bureau of Superior Discourse? That’s a strange name.”
“It’s one of Theta’s federal administrations that was made to keep track of immigrants and new citizens. What city are you originally from?”
“I don’t know, I lost my memories and woke up in the forest.” said Sharlan trying not to reveal that he’s not from this country which he now knew was called Theta.
“Hey, he might be a spy, let’s just take him in and arrest him.”
The guards grabbed Sharlan by the arms and started dragging him away to the Station. Sharlan did not resist because he didn’t want to ruin his relations with the authorities so early on. They entered the building and went through a corridor. At the end of the corridor was a large room where a man was sitting in a kneeling position. They all took this same position facing him. The man spoke.
“Where do you venture from?”
“I don’t remember. I lost my memories and woke up in the middle of a forest. I then walked in one direction until I made it to this village.”
“SUS! Guards! He’s definitely a spy! Just look at his clothes! He’s definitely from the Empire! Take him to the capital for interrogation and public execution on the basis of espionage!”
“Wait! NO! Like I said, I don’t remember anything!”
“Why don’t we just interrogate and execute him here?” asked one of the guards with bloodlust flowing from his eyes.
“That is pretty stupid. The population of this village is only like 80 people. First of all, it wouldn’t make for a good show. Second, we have to enforce patriotism and loyalty across the masses. An execution in front of so few spectators wouldn’t really let the message spread. And third of all, we would still need someone to go to the capital and convey any and all info we get out of him. It is just simpler to do it all in one step. So, rejoice … what did you say your name was again? Sherlock?”
“It’s Sharlan and I’m telling you I’m not a spy!”
“Either way, yay, you get to live for another two days while I have the three of you deliver him to the capital.” said the chief looking at the guards in the room.
“Wait, please. Listen to me first before making any incorrect presumptions. I was not involved in any form of espionage!”
The guards and the chief did not listen to what Sharlan was saying. They placed bindings on his arms and tied a heavy chain around his neck. Sharlan noticed that the chain was extraordinarily heavy. So heavy that he could barely keep on his feet. Why? I thought that I had super strength? Why is this chain so heavy? Was it made of a special metal? If it’s so heavy for me, then what about normal people?
“Wait, please don’t take me. I’m not a spy!”
A couple of hours had passed. They were riding horseback towards the capital. Suddenly, an uncivilized intimidating vocal reverberation resonated through the atmosphere and entered into the auditory canal of all the travelers. The source of the roar soon manifested itself as a giant troll that jumped out of the forest from one side of the path. The guards all took up their positions to fight and Sharlan decided that this was his chance to escape. He jumped down from the horse, trying to land on his feet, but instead landed on his side and rolled. After a couple of meters, he made it into the bushes and then got up. He started running through the forest. Suddenly walls appeared on his sides and his face collided with the ground. He got up again and realized that he had collapsed with the ground below him into a cave. He heard shouts above him and he knew that he needed to get out soon before the troll was defeated and the guards found him. Around him were crystal-like walls with many crystals growing out in every direction. He tried hitting his cuffs against crystals on the walls, but this did not work. He started looking around helplessly. Soon, he saw a slime moving around deeper in the cave. Oh! I hope this is a generic ecchi isekai slime that dissolves armor and metals! Please be! Thinking these things he ran up to the slime and placed his cuffs inside of its slippery interior. To his delight, this was in fact a classic ecchi slime and soon the metal cuffs around his hands dissolved and his hands were free. However, the slime increased dramatically in size. Oh, I guess I should destroy its core? Sharlan found a rock and smashed it through the semipermeable membrane and into the little crystal located on the inside. The crystal broke immediately and the slime melted onto the ground as plain liquid. Sharlan looked at the destroyed core laying on the ground. I wonder if that can be used for anything? It doesn’t seem to be disappearing like they usually do in anime. Oh, well. My first priority should be getting out of this cave.
Suddenly, Sharlan heard a thud and a crack. He turned around to find one of the guards laying down with his arms broken and a leg missing on the ground where he had first fallen. The guard immediately noticed Sharlen and started yelling to his comrades that the “spy” was here.
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
If I don’t do something about this, they’ll know where I am. Why is this guy so focused on hunting me down anyways? His leg is literally gone. Is he really so patriotic?
Nonetheless, the guard continued to yell out. Before this situation could further escalate, Saitou tried to reason with him.
“Yo chillax, bro! You don’t have to do this. I’m completely innocent.”
“That’s exactly what a spy would say!”
“So would anyone else in my position! Like I said, I lost my memories!”
“Doesn’t matter. I won’t let any filthy Empire spies into my homeland. The moment our country made contact with the Empire, our lives have been nothing but a living hell. I don’t even care if you're innocent! If there’s even a chance, I will make sure you die!” Sharlen quickly realized that it wouldn’t be very easy to convince him to quiet down. It should have already been obvious from the fact the guy was willing to prioritize Sharlen over his own wellbeing, if it meant he could help contribute to Sharlen’s death.
What do I do? I don’t know anything about this “Empire”, but from just listening to him, I could definitely feel the raw emotion behind his words. There’s no convincing him by talking it out. But if I don’t do something right away, they might find me.
Sharlen glanced at the rock in his right hand, all the while clenching his left hand in a firm grip. He had to show resolve. If he didn’t make a decision now, he may never make one again.
As Sharlen was making up his mind, the guard, after catching his breath, did not hesitate to start screaming again.
The guard’s yell was silenced as Sharlan used the flat part of the rock to attempt to knock the guard out by smashing it on his head. I hope that he’ll be okay since I hit him quite hard, he thought, resolving himself and justifying the actions that he just took. He checked the pulse and was relieved that the guard was still breathing. Sharlan placed the rock down beside the guard and started looking for a way out of the cave. Walking up to a wall and placing the rock on the ground, he started feeling the grooves in the wall. The wall was too smooth to climb so he started walking to the other side of the cave in search of a more scalable wall. He placed the rock down and tried to get a good hold in the crevi—wait. I thought that I left the rock by the guard. Why was I still holding it? He turned around to find the guard getting up with his missing leg returned and his arms healed. What? Is this guy superhuman? What do I do? I gotta get out quick! These thoughts were interrupted by the guard speaking.
“What did you just do? How did you heal me?”
What? I thought that that was the guard’s doing. I guess that stone must’ve been what caused this. Stay calm, gotta act cool and claim that I did it. Then gotta pick up the stone and hide it saying that I can assist them if they promise me that I won’t get imprisoned or sentenced to death. Ok, great plan. Now, I just gotta execute it.
“Yes, your corporeal reconstruction is due to my gracious generosity. I took pity on a being of your standing and thus you are renewed. I certainly yearn that exerting my powers for your benefit will not prove to be unavailing.”
“T-thank you? I’m not sure how you did that but I still won’t let a spy get away!”
“Hey, listen up. I just cured you. Show a little gratitude!”
“Ok, fine, I’ll take this situation into account when talking to the generals about your origins and motives. But right now, we must deal with the trolls that have attacked. Could I ask for your assistance?”
“Oh, certainly. For I am a being of notable strength and valor.” Said Sharlan, not realizing that he probably made his situation worse. Darn. Should’ve downplayed myself a bit and claimed to just be a healer. Now I have to deal with taking down the now not unaccompanied assailing troll. Oh well. I guess I better figure out exactly why the chains were heavy while the rock was raised easily. Let’s see, is there anything else I could test my special power on?
At that moment, a troll landed inside the cave with the guard and Sharlan. The guard swung his sword but it was knocked out of his hands by the retaliating troll. The guard shouted for Sharlan’s help as he got knocked into the wall by the huge arm of the troll. Sharlan was terrified. Please Cheat Skill! Please activate! He ran at the troll with a war cry and as soon as he was about to punch it, he hesitated and curled up into a ball, facing away, right next to the troll who took the opportunity to strike Sharlan. As soon as the fist landed on the Sharlan's body, the troll pivoted into the ground with incredible speed. The point partially circumscribed by the boundaries of the heel could be looked at as the location of the axis of rotation which remained ever tangent to the sediment directly beneath. Sharlan peeked backwards while covering his face with his hands and noticed that the foot of the troll never left the ground while it rotated downwards into the rock foundation of the cave. Even after achieving this successful result, he did not lack the perception necessary to grasp this minute intimation of his Cheat Ability. Ah, so rotation is what it is! Thinking this, he quickly got up again and acted like everything was according to plan. He grabbed the sword that the guard dropped and swiftly stabbed it into the face of the troll trying to get up after the sudden attack. The blade pierced the eye and caused the troll to emit a terrible sound. Sharlan recalled that this troll had allies and thus quickly thrust the blade deep into the mouth, which severed the vocal cords and subdued the hideous echo that almost made their location clear to the opposition. The guard ran over to Sharlan, and pulled another blade from his sheath, apparently the sword that Sharlan had was not this guard’s—That, or he had another— and together they slew the creature.
They crawled out of the cave and looking around, saw the remains of the other troll. However, the other two guards were nowhere in sight. They started to look around for a while until they spotted the other two treating their wounds. When the guards saw Sharlan, they knocked him down and started cursing at him and kicking him as he lay on the ground guarding himself.
“Do you know how much trouble you caused?! Because of you, we got totally distracted and the trolls almost killed us.”
The guard that Sharlan saved stepped up for him saying that his life was saved thanks to Sharlan.
“Listen guys, I know we got separated trying to track him down while simultaneously fighting off the trolls, but he healed my leg and saved me from the other troll. Clearly he doesn’t intend to harm the people of Theta.”
“J-Jake? Are you serious? Healing Magic?” The other guards looked at him with dumbfounded expressions.
“Well, if Jake says so,”
“Ok, then, We’re sorry that things turned out like this, but let’s just settle down here for the night.”
The group started collecting wood for a fire and setting up little tents for the night. For some reason, Sharlan kept on scratching his back. Ugh! Why is my back so itchy? Sharlan walked back to the fire and took off his shirt. Suddenly, a little humanoid creature fell down onto the ground near Sharlan and started running away.
“Hey! Wait! What are you!?”
At this the creature hesitated, and stopped in its movement. It turned back and stole a glance at Sharlen. Apparently not seeing any immediate danger, it dared to speak.
“I…I’m a.a.aaa f-ffa-fairy!” squeaked the little creature while clenching her fists.
“A fairy?” said Sharlan, barely containing his excitement at the idea that this will probably end up being his cliche supernatural isekai companion.
“Yes. I’m a fairy. I-I’m…I’m just really small ok! Do you have a problem with that!?” the little fairy yelled while clearly displeased at her almost non macroscopic stature.
“No, that’s fine. I don’t discriminate against anyone based on appearances. I prefer to abide by my meritocratic head canon.”
“So, you don’t care if I’m super small but rather how useful I am? Thanks, that’s a big step up from my parents.” said the fairy sarcastically.
“Well, at your size, I think any step will be a big step.” said Sharlan with Sigma male music playing in his head.
“Excuse me! What was that?”
“Nandemonai!”
“What? What does that mean?”
“Oh, it’s the language from my home countr…aoh..I mean…” said Sharlan while trying to cover his mouth with his hands.
“Oh, is that how it is?” a sly smirk appeared on the face of the fairy.
“Wait, I think you have the wrong idea here! I meant it was a dialect of Thessian!”
“How about we make a deal? I don’t reveal that you are not from this country to the guards or anyone else, and you supply me with food, shelter, and payment, in, let’s see…, oh yeah, lead. Yeah, if you can do that I will also testify for your innocence. In fact, I will even claim that I’ve been your friend from before you lost your memories and forge a story as to how that happened.”
“Wait, based on what you’re saying, how do you know all that? How long were you tailing me?”
“Since you fell into the cave. Why? Is the deal not good for you? I’ll have you know that fairies are treated as wise spirits of the forests and a lot of the time, their testimonies are worth more than any other witnesses.” said the fairy while thinking that this is a good plan to scam a “tourist” into providing for her.
“And why should I trust you? I don’t even know your name. Forget that! I don’t even know if I’ll be alive by sundown tomorrow!” Sharlan looked at the fairy and after thinking it over “Fine, I accept. It’s not like I have many other options. I will be able to provide for you once I join the guild and go on quests though.”
“Also, my name is Quinci Sors” said the fairy while questioning how this “criminal” knew of the guild if he was not from the country.
“Oh, yeah, I guess I should also formally introduce myself. The appellative that was assigned to me during nativity is as greatness itself. My name possesses the attributes of true nobility and grace entangled in the fine reverberations of the human tongue. Alas, my semi-eidetic recollection has pretermitted my surname. Therefore, no further information can be conveyed at the moment.”
“Pff. What the heck? Who speaks like that!” said Quinci while laughing at Sharlan’s very serious introduction. She didn’t even understand a single word of what he said. Optic examination of his uniform provided her with the information that he was so valiantly attempting to convey.
“I suggest you not disparage my eloquence.”
“Fine, fine, whatever. Here’s the deal. Tomorrow, when they take you in for questioning, I fly into the city and start calling for you and validating the lie that you have been living in this country. When the guards see me calling your name and begging to have you returned, they will undoubtedly drop the charges and let you go. Oh I better hide, here they come.”
With this exchange, the group of guards returned and everyone went to sleep. Sharlan kept thinking. I haven’t even lived in this magical world for even a day, but so much stuff has already happened. Well, now that I have an idea of how my abilities work, this strange magic stone, and Quinci and Jake on my side, I don’t feel completely powerless anymore.