“Cyrus! What’s taking you so long? Hurry up and get in the water!” Trinity shouted, urging him along by grabbing his arm.

“Slow down! The ocean isn’t going anywhere and a few more minutes won’t kill you. I can’t believe I even let you drag me out here in the first place.” Cyrus grumbles. Despite the attitude his face is red as the girl pulls him eagerly towards the water. Hitting the sea together with splashes of water and a cold front impacting both their legs. The smell of fresh saltwater filling their senses. Even with the crashing of the waves, no water could truly drown the sound of the pair laughing.

“Quit your complaining we deserve this! We worked so hard to get into that college and you promised me that we would go out and have some fun.” Trinity pleads with him, her gaze turning sharp.

“Fine your right! I just didn’t think it had to be a beach of all public places. You know how I feel about going out in crowds” Cyrus replies vehemently.

“Awe poor you, here I thought you were finally starting to toughen up after hanging around me. I guess I was wrong, or maybe it’s just that you’re too embarrassed to be seen hanging out with a girl in public.” Trinity teased with a grin.

“Keep talking shit I see how it is. Just remember later on that you asked for this!” Cyrus expresses before leaning down and splashing the cold salt water at Trinity, quickly inciting a splash battle between the two of them. The smile on his face proof of his forgotten anger earlier.

That’s when Cyrus heard it again, it was her laugh. The melody tuned just for him. A symphony heard by so few in the world, so few that he hoped that no one else would hear it except for him. There were people all across the beach that day, but they never noticed. Nothing could get between them.

Cyrus awoke from his slumber with a start. Even though the dream was a fond memory, it was just another reminder that the world he left behind was truly gone. Something he wouldn’t be able to attain ever again, a chance he would never be able to have. It was a silly memory, one of the first times he really let himself loose like that. There was no one else who would be able to do that, an everlasting frown on his face despite his reminiscing.

Swinging off his hammock, Cyrus realized there was little reason to delay is journey. Strangely enough, there had been a hammock and a small bag lying around as if someone had been here before but he chose not to dwell on it too much. The journey outside had been weighing on his mind most of the night anyways, wondering if this was just a futile attempt where he would meet his swift demise. Strangely enough, he wasn’t all that deterred by the idea of death. He believed it probably had something to do with getting to see his family again if he did die. Getting to see Trinity again.

Cyrus had thankfully been able to solve his shirt problem yesterday before he had gone to sleep for the night. He tied together several torn pieces of fabric from the blankets he used at night. This at least gave him the basic coverage he needed to not feel exposed. It would do for now, but he knew he could do better at some point. Lucky for him, at least his sweatpants had endured meeting with Entity and the worshippers, so there was no need to find protection for his lower half.

The pack was over his shoulders as he made his way out the glass door for the second time since his arrival. Cyrus was greeted by a hot breeze and a large open sky, devoid of clouds. The sight was welcome and worth taking a picture of, if only he had his phone. Something he now wished that he had carried with him in his pack the day he fell through the void. Then again, his pack was somewhere in the wild now as the odds were.

The first few steps into the forest were nerve racking but he soon found himself standing with confidence. Well, as much confidence you could find yourself having in the middle of nowhere. A 360 degree turn gave him the view he had been expecting. Trees, bushes, some brush and maybe a squirrel running around.

Taking a moment, Cyrus picked a large branch off the ground and pressed the tip of it into the earth. Normally this would take some effort, but with his newfound strength the task was far easier than anticipated. While walking down the slope Cyrus dragged the stick into the ground with him, effectively making a lined trail path for him to follow. This was only a short-term solution however, as any rain would surely wash away his path.

Cyrus’s peaceful journey was short-lived much to his dismay as a growling sound made itself known. Turning to his left was a large boar, red eyes tinting with energy behind them and clearly readying itself for a fight. As much as Cyrus didn’t want a fight, he knew that he had little choice given the situation. Sooner or later he would need to make his way out into the world.

As if preparing him for the fight, the System made itself known by coming alive on its own. A status appeared next to the boar, a red name as if proving its violent ambitions.

*Boar – Level 8*

Cyrus couldn’t help but wonder if the System was also capable of scanning other things based on intent or purpose. Much to his dismay, the system scanned the first thing that came to mind.

*Weapon – Stick: A weapon for the weak. No effects, will likely break on impact*

That… was exactly as Cyrus pretty much expected. It almost felt as if the System was mocking him for using a stick as a weapon, but the choices were pretty limited. The stick was more of a liability then useful in this instance it seemed, so Cyrus discarded it to the side. He needed to trust his instincts, so he balled up his fists and looked at the boar like he would a human opponent.

Taking the initiative, the boar charged at him with surprising speed. Faster than any boar on earth would have been able to move at least. Cyrus was not the same as the human he was on earth though, he shuffled to the side of the charge to dodge the attack. Clearly, he was not nearly as practiced as he should be though, even with improved reactions Cyrus winced as he felt his pant leg rip and a small cut of blood leaking down his leg. Nothing detrimental, as a band aid would have been able to fix it, still disappointing.

Turning to face his enemy again, his mind raced for a solution. The boar was restricted to charging at him with its tusks and attempting to impale him with the edges. Cyrus was not much better off, restricted to punching the boar’s tougher hide with his fists. As sad as it was, the playing field was more level than he wanted to admit. The boar scuffed the ground while staring him down before charging again at full speed.

This time Cyrus was ready for the charge, side stepping and doing a spin in order to build up momentum, he punched the boar as hard as he could in the main body. The boar let out a cry of pain and was sent tumbling several feet in the direction it was hit. While the punch was solid and hurt its intended target, any damage done was not visible and appeared to have made the boar angrier in turn.

“Damn, I really need a weapon or something.” Cyrus grumbled to himself, unhappy with the results. He knew that a new strategy would be needed if he was going to kill the beast. Staring down his target, the answer became more obvious when he realized how much stronger he was then the boar in terms of pure strength. Cyrus widened his stance, getting low to the ground the same way a wrestler would meet their opponent. His gaze sharp and focused on the intended target in front of him.

For the third time, the boar charged at him. What changed this time around, was that Cyrus did not dodge. Instead he took the attack head on, grabbing the tusks with his bare hands and pulling the charge to a halt. Staring the boar directly in the eyes from just inches away gave him a whole new perspective. He was stronger than this beast. It felt good.

Releasing one of his hands from the tusk, Cyrus balled up another fist and punched the boar into the ground as hard as he could. His fist sank into the fleshy snout where no hide was to protect from such attacks. The attack was followed by a sickening crunch as the skull was crushed beneath his fist. The boar roaring with fury and pain that lasted just a moment as a second punch ended its life. Blood soaked his fist from his first kill.

The rush of blood and adrenaline began to wear off from the fight. Cyrus looked down at the boar, for a moment the horror of having killed something with his hands taking root in his soul. This lasted only moments fortunately, as if the logical side of him from his Intelligence stat was telling and reasoning with himself that this was a kill or be killed experience. The truth is, he was no longer on earth and likely never would be again. Whatever planet he now resided on was dangerous if this was anything to go by.

Cyrus felt a nudge feeling from the System, as if willing him to open the menu and was met with a pleasant surprise.

*Boar – Level 8 Killed. Experience awarded*

*Title: First kill – Take a life for the first time. The road to strength is often littered with blood. Strength +2*

Now Cyrus knew he was right, the title practically told him that killing was going to become a regular thing. As long as it was beasts or monsters, he doubted it would have much effect on his psyche. Humans on the other hand, were another matter altogether. He wasn’t sure if he had the willpower to just kill a human and it wasn’t something he really wanted to dwell on at the moment anyways.

This fight was eye opening, not just because of the small gains he got from it, but because he was weak. A boar cut him with the first attack even though he had been expecting the charge. Cyrus had never been in any real fights and rarely watched anything like MMA back home so this was new ground for him. Learning to be a combatant was essential. Dwelling with these rampant thoughts, it wasn’t long until he was broken out of his stupor by a voice.

“Hey stranger! Enjoying a walk in the Warring Woods?” A feminine voice called out behind him. Snapping himself alert as she approached him where he stood over the dead boar. Dressed in leather armor and chain mail faintly glittering beneath her gear. Silver hair draped down her back, yet unable to hide her noticeable pointy ears. A wooden bow was held in her hand with an empty quiver at her side. She was very pretty by human standards, but that point would be the least of his concerns at the moment.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

His last encounter with a pointy eared someone was less than desirable. This one however, was female so it was not the same pointy eared person. While that brought some solace to him, it didn’t do much to assuage his fears that she wouldn’t do the same thing to him once she got the chance. However, if he treated everyone like a criminal than he would likely never get anywhere on this forsaken planet. That didn’t mean he couldn’t be suspicious though.

“Hello to you too, I didn’t really expect to meet anyone else out here.” Cyrus replied, he was on guard and didn’t quite know what to expect. Meeting someone in the woods back on earth was usually not a good sign depending on the area and this seemed like the perfect place for a murder. Perhaps he was just being overly cautious, but he also didn’t want to be dead.

“Maybe not this far off the pathways, what brings you out this way stranger?” The elf asks him curiously.

“Just exploring, I’m a bit lost though and was hoping you could point me in the rough direction of civilization?” Cyrus returns, opting to omit the full truth while not lying to her either. He knew better then to trust a complete stranger but lying was not a good way to make friends either.

The elf laughs a bit at the response and shakes her head. “Well you have to be pretty new to the area then, the forest is fairly straightforward so long as you don’t wander off path like you did. Why don’t I guide you back to town?”

“New to the area would be accurate. As much as I’d like that you’re clearly out here for a reason and I don’t want to owe you anything.”

“Fair enough, I was kind of hoping you’d say that. Your kill on that boar is very clean, you must have good strength to have killed in with your fists. How about giving me that boar hide in return?”

“I could do with that, are you going to carry it? Cause I sure won’t.” Cyrus remarks, looking at the heavy lump of meat on the ground.

The elf rolls her eyes as if he had said something stupid and she kneels next to the boar and traces a path from her fingers to the bag on her side. A prompt appears in front of Cyrus after she did so, surprising him and causing his eyebrows to raise in shock. This action does not go unnoticed by the elf, but she remains silent.

*Allow Farah to take – Boar Level 8? (Y/N) *

Cyrus wills himself to select “Yes” and just like the magic that it is the prompt disappears along with the boar. The beast fades into a sparkling mist and travels into the bag on who he now knows as Farah the elf. Clearly there was far more for him to explore in this world then he thought. This opened up more possibilities to magic and opportunities that the world might give him.

“That’s a pretty handy bag, any chance I could get myself one of those?” Cyrus asks, hopeful that he could get one for his own purposes.

“Most travelers or adventurers carry a cosmic space with them. I’m more shocked that you don’t have one. Where did you say you came from again stranger?” Farah returns, clearly fishing for information.

“I didn’t. For the record my name is Cyrus, not stranger. I’d rather you call me that instead. Any chance we could get going to this nearby town?” Cyrus responds with clear motive that he would not expand.

“Wow, cold, aren’t you? A deal is a deal though, so I’ll take you back and give you a quick rundown since you seem so lost in more than just the forest. We’ll be heading to the town of Twilight. It’s built upon the ancient underground dungeons running through the surrounding mountains.” Farah informs him.

“What’s the purpose of the underground dungeons? I imagine the town wasn’t built over these ruins for no reason.” Cyrus inquires.

“Of course not, the ruins run for miles underground and are brimming with monsters. It’s a great place to work on your leveling, but it’s also a great place to get yourself killed if you’re not prepared. Then again, even if you are prepared you might die anyways.” Farah answers.

“That’s not very comforting. How high level are the monsters that reside inside? It must be pretty high.” Cyrus asks as they walk, having reached the bottom of the slope and made it to a flat level. The forest starting to clear as the pair progresses.

“It works the same as any dungeon does, lower-level monsters usually up to level 14 are near the top. There never really a problem unless a nest form and then you’ll have a swarm of enemies to deal with. Once you go further you can expect up to around level 30 and so on. I haven’t been to the deeps of any dungeon before, but I’ve heard from other adventurers that monsters average over level 150.” Farah shudders at the thought of those powerful beasts.

“Makes me wonder what else you would find down there. Is there any worth to exploring the dungeon besides gaining levels?” Cyrus pushes on the topic, finding the dungeons to be a good chance.

“Obviously, you can loot most dead creatures with your cosmic space and bring the goods to the surface. When I looted the boar, just the hide went into my bag, and I can sell it for coin or make use of it myself. The same concept goes for other creatures you kill. Since the System dictates what can be looted by the cosmic space, it’s done for you.” Farah responds.

“Sounds pretty handy, where can I get myself a cosmic space?” Cyrus asks, knowing that this is going to be a necessity.

“Just register yourself as an adventurer like I did, they give you a basic cosmic pouch so that you’ll be able to bring loot back to the towns. Loot means commerce for any town, so they always make their money back.” Farah replies.

This line of questioning continues as Farah and Cyrus walk through the forest. The planet of Rezure as they so called it which roughly translated to “The World” was anything but peaceful. The country they’re in is under the rule of King Kyro. A master swordsman surpassing level 400 took control of the territory known as the Free Empire. It’s a respected country by its people due to it allowing nearly all species to co-exist inside it and provide equality to the ones that reside in it. This is also helped by the fact that the ruler, Kyro is able to enforce his ideals with his power. Very few would want to face such a high leveled individual without a team of equally strong beings. While he was not likely to be the strongest person in the world, people over level 300 were considered masters of their class on their own. They were powerhouses in all but name.

This sentiment of equality is not shared by the neighboring countries unfortunately. To the west lie the Geneva Kingdom, otherwise known as the country of demons, believes in race supremacy. All other species are below them and are subject to slavery and execution at the whim of any demon. While other species can travel there, it would have to be at your own risk. Their leader is not widely known, but it is rumored that he is an exceptionally powerful magic caster with incredible abilities. Many have vied to learn from the mysterious leader, but none are known to have succeeded.

The Kingdom of Patriots ruled by a high council of humans and elves to the east is more of a mix. While other species are allowed to enter, slavery is legal and beast people are especially discriminated against. The ruling humans and elves see beast type people as abominations of their kinds. They are welcome freely in the country, but this still makes it dangerous for them.

Between these kingdoms there are many forests that are considered neutral ground for whoever decides to live there. Many elven clans can be found in these forests, as their people are known to actively live among nature and can be stronger because of it. The exact locations of the elven clans can’t be found on maps as they’re hidden fairly well, but if you know the right people, they can guide you. At least that’s what people say.

In the end, while many things change just as many stay the same. Prejudice is just as common on this planet as it is on basically any planet it seems. Cyrus decides to keep quiet about his “Outsider” race, unsure of how it would play into his new life here. Information was often the greatest weapon, so he wanted to keep those cards closer to his chest.

Each town in the kingdom also had a local Adventurers Guild, allowing likeminded individuals to easily find each other. This also served as a local fighting force, in the case of invasions it wasn’t uncommon for adventures to be asked to fight. For a reward of course.

While this wasn’t true for all towns and cities, many of them had a local leader or Lord. A status provided to someone who had either great merit to their name or power. Many Lords had high levels that granted them such a status or accomplished something for the kingdom that gave them the title.

The Lord of Twilight herself was a high elf who was rumored to be a master archer. Her arrows said to never miss their target, if you couldn’t block it, you were dead. Just hearing that kind of description caused Cyrus to shudder. People with such incredible skills had to have practiced for a long time. He couldn’t help but envy that power.

The topic that Cyrus felt had been most important revolved around the dungeons. The monsters that filled them were seemingly endless. In his head Cyrus would merely refer to it as a respawn, but the denizens of this world called it the Balance.

At the bottom of the dungeon there was said to be a core that maintained the monsters that lie inside. The core had limitless energy and pumped the dungeon to its maximum capacity. Whenever a monster was slain, the core would supply the energy it needed in order to birth a new monster that filled the space it lost. This information was not considered confirmed, but speculation from high-ranking adventurers believed this to be true.

Cyrus couldn’t help but feel that this was an exciting opportunity, a goal he might be able to work towards. The world revolved around those at the top and each of these figures were clearly strong. If he wanted to be able to get any sort of revenge, then he also needed to be strong.

Farah had been more then helpful to him, answering questions and providing so much information freely. While Cyrus wouldn’t say that he went as far as to trust her, he certainly didn’t dislike her either. She was very forward and eager to answer his questions and didn’t push the topics he chose not to broach.

Cyrus couldn’t help but feel slightly indebted towards Farah, she never really had to share any of this with him and she answered all his questions anyways.

“Looks like it’s your lucky day, welcome to Twilight Cyrus!” Farah exclaimed, gesturing widely with her hands as they walked out of the clearing to view the two.

It far surpassed his expectations. Cyrus wasn’t sure what he had been expecting but the town as massive. Stretching across thousands of wood and stone buildings, the entire town surround by thirty-foot stone walls and watchtowers every couple hundred feet. The population here was anything but small, considering this was only a town.

If a town had several hundred thousand residents, Cyrus could only imagine the true size of the cities and capitals in the world. The streets were bustling with activity, people of all kinds of races rushing to get to where they were going. He saw short dwarves with massive beards reaching down to their larger guts.

Horned figures that he could only assume were demons traveled down the streets, a myriad of colors across the spectrum showing that no one demon was truly the same. Many of the human looking creatures sported tails and fur across their bodies, truly showing the variety amongst the species.

Naturally, his male mind couldn’t help but travel places one could only identify as a thrill. This was practically a fantasy on earth that Cyrus was sure some people would pay a lot to visit. There was no time for that line of thinking unfortunately, as he broke out of his stupor.

“Somehow, judging by your expression I get the feeling that you’ve never see all these species before. You must have been pretty secluded if that’s the case.” Farah remarks, looking at Cyrus curiously as if he were an alien. If only she knew.

“Well, you’re right about that. I guess you could say I’ve lived in the woods my whole life being here. This experience feels kind of surreal to me right now.” Cyrus says with a hint of awe in his voice. Making him out to be some kind of hermit in the woods seemed like a good enough excuse for his lack of knowledge. Telling others that he was from another world might have unforeseen consequences that he wasn’t strong enough for yet.

“Let’s just go with that for now. I’ll take you to the Adventurers Guild, from there you’ll be on your own.” Farah says pointedly.

“That’s fine, you’ve done more than enough for me already. I’d loath to ask you for anything more. Thanks for being my walking encyclopedia for the trip.” Cyrus says appreciatively, a small smile gracing his face for the first time since arriving on this world.

“At least you know when to be thankful!” Farah laughs with clear glee at the praise and then she pauses.

“But uh, what’s an encyclopedia?” Farah asks.

Cyrus face palms, a new problem faced him. He was bound to say things no one would understand.