I had been so ready to get out of that forest, and so excited to meet the people of this world, but standing here, staring down on the village, I feel a bit of apprehension set in. I have absolutely no idea of what to expect. What if hair dye doesn’t exist here, they think I’m a witch, and burn me at the stake? What if Cece was right, and they have some kind of human breeding factory? What if everybody is 3 feet or 10 feet tall, and I have to pay triple the normal price for custom-made clothes?

  I take a long, deep breath to steady myself. Whatever it is, I’m about to find out. I would starve to death if I tried to rely on my hunting skills in the wild.

  I start making my way down, and when I get into town, I immediately realize a wrong assumption I had. The aliens back home said that there were humans already on this planet, they did not say humans were the only sapient species here. Scattered around doing whatever errands they have, I spot at least three different species: humans, what I believe are elves since they look close to human and have pointy ears, and a short bird people whose feather coloring reminds me a bit of macaws. The only reason I know the birds aren’t just birds is because I literally saw one running a market stall. I near two humans talking quietly to each other.

  “Hello,” I say with a small smile when I see they’re staring at me. Dread starts to pool in my stomach when they don’t respond and just continue watching me. I guess there’s not translators here after all. I divert my eyes and try to speed walk past the two as quick as I can without looking like I’m being chased. What am I supposed to do if I can’t talk to anybody here? I could learn the language, but that would probably take years!

  I’m spiraling a bit as I continue to walk, panicking about how I’m supposed to function here for the next however long it takes me to develop at least the most basic conversation skills. It’s while I’m spiraling that I see what appears to be two guards round the corner and quickly lock eyes on me. It’s only when they look at each other and seem to come to some agreement before heading my way, that I process I am who they want. I have no idea what they want to do with me, but I have no plans of discovering what the jail cells on this world are like.

  I don’t make a sudden run for it, but do my best to act like it didn’t mean anything for me to see them, turn away, and quickly turn left to make my way down a side road. Once I’m out of the guards’ line of sights, then I start to run.

  After a while, I’ve made it to what seems to be a town square. It’s quite crowded, so surely I’ve lost those guards for at least a little while. There are shops all around me, and as I stare at the window of one next to me, I think my emotional state has turned me dumb. There’s a display in the window with a wide variety of weapons, though I mostly just recognize the daggers and swords of various styles. A sign on the display that reads “Lvl 23 Blacksmith” and I just stare at it, and kind of through it, for a long while.

  “English! I can read that!” I scream suddenly, causing multiple people around me to turn and stare. I cringe at that and wave them off. “Sorry, I’m just so excited,” I say as I rush into the store.

  Inside, along every wall, are swords, shields, and other what’s-it’s hanging on display, and at the back is a counter display with smaller pieces and a woman standing behind it. Are they still called a woman if they’re not human? She looks kind of human, except she’s tinted green, a bit taller and broader than the average girl, and has large pointed ears. She also looks like she is probably around my age. There is a bit of a silence in the air as she looks at me looking at her.

  “Can I help you?” she asks me, looking weirdly shocked.

  “You speak English?” I respond dumbly.

  “We all speak the System’s Common Tongue. Everybody on this planet is given that ability to allow us to communicate easily. I take it you’re new here?”

  “Uh, yeah,” I say, taking a long moment to process what she’s told me. “If we all speak the same language, then why did the first people I tried talking to just stare at me in silence?”

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  “Well,” she replies, looking me up and down. “When was the last time you saw yourself?” I look down at my bloody arm thoughtfully.

  “It may have been a while.” She laughs at that, and just turns around and goes into a back room. I’m shocked at her sudden exit. I look around the store, but there’s no one else in here. “Uhh...Hello?” I call out.

  “One second!” I start scoping out the counter display, not knowing what else to do while I waited. A minute or so later, the door opens again, and the green woman is back, holding what looks like a large vanity mirror with the back facing me and blocking the view of the top half of her body.

  “What are you doing?” I ask, stifling a laugh. Then she quickly turns it around, resting it on the counter. I jump, my feet fully coming off the ground, and let out an embarrassing yelp. “God, that’s terrifying.” I knew my journey through the woods had been rough, but I’ve really been through the wringer. There’s blood and dirt everywhere, and my eyeliner is so smudged it almost blends into my dark circles that have reached a whole new level.

  “It sure is,” she agrees with a wide smile. “Do you get why they were staring now?”

  “Yeah,” I say with a sigh. “Any chance you know where I can get some new clothes without any money? And maybe a bath?”

  “Hmm. Sure, just flip that door sign to closed and come with me.”

  “Wait, really?” I ask, surprised, but also really hopeful and desperate to feel clean again.

  “Yeah, don’t worry about it. My clothes will be big for you, but I imagine it will feel better than wearing a bloody…that,” she says, gesturing at my dress. I laugh as I rush over to the door.

  “Thanks so much! By the way, my name’s Lori.”

  “Great to meet you, Lori, I’m Nara.” When I make it back to her, she leads me through that back door, and we enter what is obviously her home. It’s pretty minimalist, a kitchen and dining room combo without any decor but a nice six-seat dining table that doubles as a kitchen island. The dining table has piles of leather and what I would guess is scrap metal on it.

  “So, how did you get into blacksmithing?” I ask Nara.

  “Oh! I’m not the blacksmith,” she replies with a laugh. “That’s my mom. I help out in the shop sometimes, but I mostly stick to just using the weapons she makes.” She pats a sheathed dagger she has on her belt. I wonder if it’s just because of her family’s profession, or if weapon use is common here. Thinking of how that Saber-Rat was labeled as Level 1, I suspect the latter. I should get a sword!

  “Here we go,” she opens another door into a bathroom. Toilet, sink, bathtub…

  “You have plumbing!” I yell in joy. I didn’t even realize a lack of plumbing was a fear I’d been suppressing.

  “Yeah, of course,” Nara says. “Did you not have plumbing where you’re from?”

  “No, we did,” I say, trying out the tap on the sink.

  “Okay,” she says, looking confused by my response. “Well, there’s a towel there, I’ll come back in a few minutes with some clothes for you.”

  “Thank you so much,” I tell her. “I mean it. Who knows what I would have done if I hadn’t met you.”

  “Don’t worry about it. Now take a bath. You smell as bad as you look,” she laughs as she closes the door.

  It was simple enough to figure out how their bathtub worked, and I let out a deep sigh as I sink into the hot water. Not only is there plumbing, but there’s hot water too. The list of reservations I might have had about moving to a whole new world if I had actually taken the time to think about it shortens by two. I really hope Nara doesn’t mind if I take two baths, because the water is quickly turning light brown and pink as I soak.

  After a long while, my body and hair is scrubbed clean, and I finally emerge from the tub. Nara had brought the promised clothes earlier, and I pull them on after drying off. She was definitely right when she said her clothes would be too big. The linen pants are a light brown, and I have to roll them a few times to stop them from dragging on the floor. The tunic is also made from linen, this time a forest green color, but it’s harder to force a proper fit. Since Nara’s shoulders and chest are wider than mine, the neck tries to slip down my chest. I pull the neck back, so the tunic hangs a little too far down my back, and then tighten both tunic and pants with the woven belt Nara left. It’ll have to do for now.

  I go to exit the bathroom, but as I crack the door, I hear something that catches my attention. Instead of entering the kitchen, I press my ear to the crack in the doorway. I hear Nara talking to someone, and an older woman’s voice responds. Since the only person I’ve talked to in this world is Nara, the voice is one I don’t recognize.

  “She’s around your age, and she’s only level 1?” the stranger asks Nara in shock. Ouch, lady. “Well, she’s clearly new here. We’ll have to teach her how things work and help her get at least a little stronger, or she’ll die within a week.”