Before being “mysteriously transported” to this unfamiliar world, I had been dressed in a plain white hoodie and black cargo pants—hardly the pinnacle of fashion. My other possessions included a pack of gum I’d picked up on my walk, my trusty wired earphones, and my smartphone, which, thankfully, still had about 60% battery life. Of course, there was no signal—go figure—but I did have one advantage: I had downloaded nearly three-quarters of Wikipedia onto my phone beforehand. Plenty of knowledge at my fingertips, even if I had no bars.
“Alright, starting gear--checked” I said to myself. “Now for the fun part—checking out my superpower! There’s no way I got transported here without some kind of special ability, right?” My excitement was skyrocketing.
But that excitement faded as quickly as it came.
“Wait… how do I even figure that out? Maybe I should experiment?”
Spotting a nearby tree, I decided to test the most obvious option first: super strength. The tree looked like a cherry blossom, but its leaves had an otherworldly gradient of pearlescent blue fading into green.
“Alright, here goes nothing!” I wound up my right fist and punched the tree with all my might.
CRACK!
“I—I think I broke it… My hand, that is! Aghhh! It hurts so much!”
Clutching my knuckles with my left hand, I groaned in agony. So much for super strength.
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“Okay, maybe it’s something else—super speed? Flight? Telekinesis?” I tried everything I could think of, flailing and running around like a lunatic. But after an exhausting series of failed attempts, it became clear: if I had a superpower, it wasn’t anything obvious.
Defeated and worn out, I slumped under the shade of a tree, gazing up at the sky. “Huh… the sky looks almost exactly like it did back on Earth, though it’s clearer here. Weird.”
As my mind drifted, my stomach growled loudly. “Ugh, I guess I should head to that city I saw earlier and see if I can find some food. From what I noticed, the architecture looks medieval—maybe the people here are similar to humans. Let’s just hope I don’t stand out.”
I made my way down the cliff, taking in my surroundings. Three things caught my attention:
1. The flora resembled Earth’s vegetation, albeit in completely different colors.
2. The fauna, however, was unlike anything I’d ever seen. One creature dangling from a tree looked like a bizarre cross between a bee and a weasel. In the distance, I spotted a massive, shimmering blue wasp.
3. The closer I got to the base of the cliff, the fewer creatures I encountered.
Reaching the bottom, I found a dirt path winding through the plains toward the city. Following it, I arrived at the city gates—a massive, fortified entrance guarded by armored soldiers. A line of people stretched ahead of me, each waiting to be questioned and inspected before entering.
The people’s clothing resembled what you’d expect from medieval nobility or messengers—tunics, cloaks, and the like. As I waited, I eavesdropped on their conversations. They mostly spoke what sounded like English, though occasional words like Liath and Renxall stood out as unfamiliar proper nouns.
After some time, it was my turn.
“Next!”
“Huh? Me?”
“Yeah, you! Who else?”
I awkwardly stepped forward. The guard inspecting me was clad in slightly worn but polished armor, the kind that suggested years of daily use rather than battle scars.
“State your name, city of citizenship, profession, and reason for visiting Renxall,” he demanded.
So this city was called Renxall. Fittingly fantasy-esque, I thought.
“I’m Rei,” I stammered. “I come from a distant country to the east. I’m a traveler looking to stay here for a while.”
It wasn’t entirely a lie—I was from the east, having lived in India, though my Japanese ethnicity made it easier to sell.
The guard frowned. “East? There’s no country east of Drachontrux. Where’s your proof of identity? Do you have a letter of introduction? You need one to enter Renxall. Now get lost—I don’t get paid enough for this nonsense!”
“B-But…”
“No buts! Move along!”
Rejected and embarrassed, I trudged back toward the cliffs.
“Great. Now what? I can’t even get into the city. Well at least I learned a few things: Renxall is the city’s name, and Drachontrux must be the name of the country Renxall's in. Still, that doesn’t solve my biggest problem…”
My stomach growled again. Desperate, I scanned the area for something edible.
“If only there was some kind of ‘system’ in this world—like a menu or interface that’d magically appear if I said, ‘Open System!’”
I muttered sarcastically.
“Huh?”