“Hey, kid.”
No response.
“I said, HEY KID!”
An annoyed burly man’s rugged face scrunched into a wrinkled ball. He glared dangerously at the young man with chestnut-colored hair, sleeping comfortably a few steps from him. Deep lines formed on his forehead. He walked over and kicked the knocked-out guy on the wood floorboards.
Gil‘s eyes jerked open. He twitched, squinting through one eye, grunting from the sudden pain throbbing from the side of his abdomen. Out of instinct, he used one hand to cover his injury while groggily getting up.
“Finally. Damn kid, the guild's counter is closed. Either get a room or get out.”
Gil looked around, half awake and not knowing who the ‘kid’ the man referred to was. He didn’t believe the angry man was addressing him, seeing how he was an adult in his twenties.
“What? Can’t you understand what I’m saying? Don’t play dumb, kid! Damn, otherworlders. I know all you leeches are granted a skill to understand our language!”
Gil now grasped that he was the ‘kid’ the angry man referred to.
“What happened? Where did everyone go?” Gil asked.
“Sneaky bunch, playing dumb.” The man did not bother answering his question.
Gil did not understand the man’s disdain for him or his deep dislike of the so-called ‘otherworlders.’ He was certain he never met the guy in his life. After all, he just recently came to this world.
“I wonder what happened for this beefy guy to hate me and the otherworlders so much?” Gil pondered to himself.
“Now, get a room or get out!” The burly man demanded, spewing out saliva.
Gil saw the deep breaths coming in and out of the angered man, pushing back and forth the thick curly dark brown beard that took up a third of his face.
Gil was left in a predicament. He thought quickly, not wanting to trigger the man any further. Yet, he needed help, and the man before him could be of aid.
“Good sir, you are right. I’m sorry for holding you up so late into the night. I will do as you say and leave. But I do not know what’s happened to me. Could you please spare me a moment and help answer a few of my questions?”
The burly man’s glaring eyes narrowed further into a squint. His already massive frame, wrapped in thick leather armor, widened, becoming bulkier as his piercing eyes looked down at Gil. Gil gulped, wondering if he should have just left and found someone else.
“Haaaaa,” the man breathed out a hot breath of stress and deflated like a balloon. “I still don’t like any of you otherworlders. Many of you are not worthy of even being called trash, but I suppose you’re a decent kid.”
Gil’s polite manners proved helpful. The large man disliked many things, but he especially loathed arrogant and rude individuals. However, it could not compare to the hate he held for the otherworlders. Gil’s courteous approach calmed the angry man. Albeit, it only eased the disdain a tiny bit.
“Sir, um, I mean this to be no offense. Just to let you know, I’m 23.”
The burly man scowled at Gil, and he froze on the spot. Gil nearly doubted if he forgot to tell the man he held no negative intentions by his comment. But he was certain he told the man he merely was letting him know of the fact. Yet now, he somewhat regretted saying anything at all, but he felt the man should be aware that he wasn’t a child.
“Damn cheeky brat! No matter how old you are, in front of me and the others here, you will always be a kid! You know nothing of the ways of our world! As such, you are still a kid!”
The man grumbled, speaking his annoyance with Gil with heavy shouting. Gil flinched, lowering his head. The man sighed again, feeling somewhat reluctant and slightly sympathetic towards the respectful young man before him.
He continued, returning to his disgruntled normal voice. “This is why I did not want to work the counters. Unpaid overtime. Brat, I will only answer two questions. Make them count.”
Life came back to Gil’s eyes. He contemplated what to ask.
“Come on! I don’t have all night! My woman is waiting for me!”
Gil quickly nodded his head. “No wonder, lucky,” he thought to himself.
He refocused on his two chances to ask the man a question. His first priority was to survive, but that was not his ultimate goal.
“I want to go back home. How can I do that?”
The man’s eyes stretched wide, taken aback. The desire to return was unheard of. Otherworlders wanted to leave their world, not to go back. And here, in this world, they became drunk on their newfound power.
The man scoffed, “Damn. Had me fooled. And here I thought you were different. You’re just like the rest! Leeches, every single one of you. Jokes on me. Out of my way! I’m leaving!”
The man brushed past Gil, stomping his way toward the exit. Gil was shocked and confused by the abrupt change in the man. He quickly followed after him. He tried to pull him back with one hand, but couldn’t even reach around half of the man’s massive arm. And so, he used both hands to barely grab around the man’s thick arm and pulled him to stop.
“Wait! If I said something wrong, I apologize!”
“If you don’t want to die, unhand me right now, kid.” The man demanded, his voice, cold and an octave lower. He narrowed his eyes, gleaming sharply at the pair of hands around his arm that he was about ready to cut off.
This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.
“You said you’d grant me two questions!” Gil retorted, not letting go and not backing down.
Deep wrinkles formed on the man’s forehead as he scrunched his face from fury. He lifted his free arm and clenched his massive fist, almost half the size of Gil’s head.
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you, kid.”
Gil flinched, closing his eyes tightly, but he still did not let go. He braced his body for impact, slightly curling into himself. He waited, but the punch never came. Slightly opening his eyes, he peeked at the man.
A deep bellow blasted into Gil’s ear at point blank.
“DAMNNN KIDDDD!”
The man grunted as he complained, “Stop acting like a kitten! You’re lucky I don’t punch kittens!”
“Kittens?” Gil almost went deaf, but he courageously questioned the odd remark. He was now even more confused.
“Whatever! You dared lie to me! Return home? Don’t you already know how!? It’s part of your contract!”
Gil looked at the man dumbfounded. He kept spiraling down the rabbit hole of confusion. He tilted his head back and forth, looking up at the high ceilings, trying to recall anything about a contract. But he was certain he never entered or signed one.
“Don’t act like you don’t know! All you slippery otherworlders are always like this!”
“I swear I don’t know anything about a contract! Why would I use one of my two questions to ask you about returning home if I already knew how!?”
The man paused. He lifted the arm Gil held on to and rubbed his beard, causing Gil to lift up before he dropped flat onto the floorboards.
“I suppose that makes sense. But at the same time, how does that even make sense?! All otherworlders sign a contract with a god or some higher being to exploit this world! That’s how you damn otherworlders were even able to come here in the first place! Which church or ruin did you come from?!”
Flabbergasted by all the information, Gil could barely process the man’s question, let alone respond.
“I SAID, where the hell did you pop out from?!” The angry bellow made Gil jump up into standing.
He quickly replied, “The forest! I came from the forest!”
“The forest? That’s not possible. Was it a ruin, tower, or dungeon in a forest? Where? Which one?”
“I don’t know. It wasn't any of those. There were no buildings. It was an open forest.”
“What the hell? Ugh, fine. Let’s just say you did. Kid, we’re surrounded by many forests. Wait, better question. Which way did you enter into town?”
“I don’t know where it is, but the gates were heavily guarded before entering and after too.”
The man went silent. He looked at Gil like he was some weird never before seen animal. The fortress city had a few entrances, all of them guarded. But there was only one that was heavily guarded on both sides of the gate.
The man thought Gil was lying. But the pouting angry face the young man sported implied he was telling the truth. However, the man could not believe it. No ruins, churches, or buildings existed in the Endless Forest. Not even a dungeon or a tower. At least, none that anyone knew of.
“So you’re telling me you don’t have a contract, and you did not come out of your patron’s church, dungeon, tower, or ruin? Don’t lie to me, kid.”
“I’m not lying! I came from the forest!”
“As in the forest? The Endless Forest!? So are you a native? No... No one would live there and still be alive. Besides, you said you wanted to return to your world. But this doesn’t make sense at all. How did you enter our world without the help of a higher being? And from the Endless Forest of all places? Only monsters live there.”
“Bro. I don’t know. I don’t even know if this is some crazy dream.”
“Bro? As in brother? Let me make this clear. Never call us natives your ‘bro.’ Even your fellow otherworlders, who by the way, are not all from your world. Don’t mistake us or them for family. The otherworlders, especially. They will sell you as a slave if they can.”
Gil shuddered from a sudden chill down his spine.
“It’s just a manner of speech,” Gil told the man.
“It’s too odd. Don’t use it here. We will misunderstand and be offended. True brothers and sisters are important. Relations can either save you in a pinch or drown you in misery.”
Gil nodded, taking the man’s advice seriously.
The burly man cracked a small smile. But suddenly, he frowned as he caught himself growing fond of an otherworlder.
“Damn kid, if you don’t have a contract then I don’t know how to get you home. Your sponsor was supposed to fulfill your wish and take you back after completing their request. There are no other known methods of returning.”
“Can I make a contract here and now?” Gil asked expectantly.
“Is that your final question, kid?” The man crossed his arms, giving Gil a serious look.
Gil was about to open his mouth to respond with a ‘yes,’ but he stopped. He thought about doing so, but he wanted to know something else much more.
“No,” Gil said, shaking his head.
The man kept looking at Gil and waited, a little curious about what could be more important than his goal of returning home.
“Could I know your name, sir?”
The man’s eyes stretched wide, shocked yet again. He grew curious about the peculiar otherworlder before him. The young man was definitely unlike the others he’s dealt with before.
“And why would you want to know my name? It has no power or authority. You will get nothing from learning it. This could be your last chance to learn how to get home.”
The man’s last sentence caused Gil’s heart to waiver,
but he buckled down and shook his head.
“Not true. I am very grateful for our conversation. I’ve learned much from our talk already. I want to thank you for your time and your knowledge.”
“I will ask you again. Are you sure you want to use your last question for something like my name? You will never return home if you don’t ask now.”
Determination filled Gil’s eyes, and he confidently responded.
“I will find a way. Even if I must search the ends of this world to do so. But at his moment, gratitude is more important. I can always try searching for a way home again tomorrow, but I don’t know if our paths will cross again. I don’t have anything to give you except my words as thanks to show my appreciation. Will you please tell me your name so I can thank you properly?”
The man could not help but show a toothy grin as he burst into a belly laugh. He rubbed his stout nose, feeling a bit abashed.
“Alright, fine. The name’s Angus. You can call me Ang, kid. No need for thanks. Talking to a weird freak was enough thanks already. Here freaky kid, take these.”
Angus tapped the plain silver ring on his finger. Suddenly, a crack appeared mid-air. Angus shoved his thick arm into the fracture of space, scavenging for something inside. He yanked his hand out, pulling with it two items. He tossed over a key and a circular wooden token. Gil caught the items, almost fumbling them out of his hands. He looked back at the giant man, not knowing whether to be grateful or offended.
“Your two questions are over. But since you’re a good kid, I’ll do you a couple of favors. And don’t tell anyone I did this. Or else I really will punch the shit out of you. Got it?”
Angus clenched his fist and cracked his knuckles. The loud crunching sound echoed in the largely empty and dimly lit room of the guild. Gil bobbed his head fervently, not wanting to find out if Angus literally meant what he threatened.
“First, I’ll save you the harsh experience of living on the streets. But only for one week. You would be an easy target for god knows what evil intentions are out there. Learn to toughen up quickly. For now, at least your body will be safe from beatings and your chastity intact.”
Gil shivered at the last words. Angus laughed at the skinny trembling young man and couldn’t help but see a scared kitten shaking in fear.
Gil was a curious oddity. Angus took a closer look at him. The young man stood two heads shorter than himself and was much thinner compared to his muscular hulking body. Angus did not know what kind of shirt, pants, and shoes Gil wore, but he saw the soft and smooth fabric, dyed with various vibrant colors.
He noticed Gil’s hands were soft with no calluses, and his skin was smooth with no scars.
In the man’s eyes, Gil was a lazy pretty boy like that of a noble’s son, but a useless son who wasted his life with extravagances and knew not of hard work.
Gil’s physique spoke volumes to Angus. He thought Gil to be like the famous wastes, hiding away from the dangers of the world behind their powerful families, who were meant to protect the regular people.
However, their interaction proved Gil to be otherwise. The young man was not arrogant or overly proud. Nor was he like the typical otherworlder. He held a simple wish to return home, which Angus respected and wanted as well.
“Damn, this is keeping up Heli and our fun time. What the hell has gotten over me?” Angus complained under his breath, but he finished explaining his favors to Gil.
“What’s your name, kid?”
“Huh? Oh, I’m Gil.”
“Alright, kid Gil. I don’t have any more time to waste with you. I need to return as well. It’s unfortunate for you, but the items I gave you will help you out for now. Find the number on that key. And don’t you dare lose it! It’ll open the door of the same number. That will be your temporary room, located on the lower floors of the guild. Tomorrow, take that token and bring it to a receptionist here. Find three skills, preferably those to help you survive. Oh. Last piece of advice, if you want to live long, don’t bother others. Later.”
With his abrupt goodbye, like a raging storm, Angus grumbled, complaining as he stomped and swept through the guild, out the door, and into the darkness of night.
Gil stood motionlessly, momentarily frazzled by the old-fashioned key in one hand and the wooden token in the other. Everything happened so fast that Gil was left overwhelmed about what to do.
Suddenly, all the exhausting events since his transmigration hit his body. He yawned, tired of all that happened, especially by Angus and his strong personality.
“Shall I go to sleep for now?”