The world unveiled its quiet beauty before me. Birds drifted across the endless sky, gliding effortlessly upon the gentle whispers of the wind, their distant songs blending into the tranquil rhythm of nature. Time flowed onward with silent indifference as the golden sun continued its slow descent, sinking behind the rolling hills. Its warm embrace gradually faded, painting the heavens in brilliant shades of amber, crimson, and violet before surrendering them to the approaching dusk.
Night was drawing near.
"I've got to find somewhere to stay for the night," I muttered to myself.
"Hmm... now where should I go?"
I turned and glanced back toward the vast forest stretching behind me. Towering trees stood shoulder to shoulder like ancient guardians, their countless branches weaving together into a sea of emerald that disappeared into the horizon.
"A forest..." I murmured, a faint smile forming across my face. "Maybe I'll try camping there for the night."
Without another thought, I began making my way toward it.
The moment I crossed beneath its towering canopy, everything changed.
The peaceful warmth of the outside world vanished as though I had stepped into another realm entirely. The forest welcomed me with an eerie silence, one that pressed heavily against my ears. Thick, grey-green leaves hung lifelessly from ancient branches, their dull colours robbed of vitality. Tiny droplets of water clung to every leaf and vine, slowly falling one after another with soft, hollow plinks that echoed through the stillness.
No sunlight reached the forest floor.
The dense canopy swallowed every golden ray, allowing only faint traces of dim light to seep through the countless layers of leaves above. Shadows stretched endlessly between the trees, twisting into strange shapes that stirred my imagination.
It felt...
As though the forest itself was dying.
I let out a quiet sigh.
The ground was uneven, tangled with thick roots that coiled across every path like the backs of enormous serpents. Moss-covered stones protruded from the earth while thorny shrubs crowded the narrow spaces between the trees, making every step more troublesome than the last.
"I guess camping here is going to be tougher than I expected," I muttered.
My gaze wandered deeper into the darkness ahead.
"Hmm... maybe if I go a little farther in."
I carefully continued forward, placing each foot with caution as I navigated the maze of roots and hidden obstacles. There was no point suffering a needless injury in a world where I knew almost nothing.
Just as I took another step—
"...!"
A jolt ran through my entire body.
Before I could even process the warning, instinct seized control.
In a single fluid motion, my head tilted sharply to the right.
There wasn't even a moment to question what was happening.
A deafening whistle tore through the air.
An arrow—its tip so impossibly sharp it resembled a polished needle—shot past my face with terrifying speed. The sheer force behind it churned the air into a violent gust that whipped my hair backwards.
A heartbeat later—
BOOM!
The towering tree behind me exploded.
Wood splintered in every direction as though it had been struck by a cannon. Thick bark, branches, and countless shards were reduced to dust in an instant, scattering through the forest in a storm of shattered timber.
My eyes widened.
My heart pounded violently against my chest.
"Wha...?!"
The words refused to leave my lips.
If that arrow had been even slightly more accurate...
I wouldn't have had a body left to bury.
The forest fell silent once more.
Only the gentle rustling of leaves lingered in the air.
Shrr...
My ears twitched instinctively.
Ever since arriving in this world, my senses had become far sharper than they had ever been on Earth.
At first, all I could hear was the whispering of leaves.
Then...
Footsteps.
Subtle.
Light.
Deliberately concealed.
I could hear them now.
The faint movements between the trees.
The quiet signals exchanged by unseen figures.
They were watching me.
Waiting.
"Should I... call out to them?" I muttered under my breath.
I swallowed before raising my voice.
"Hello..."
Silence.
Not even an echo answered me.
I tried again, forcing calm into my voice.
"Hello... I'm peaceful."
Slowly, I raised both hands into the air, making sure every movement was visible.
A universal gesture.
I wasn't looking for a fight.
Once again...
Silence.
A bead of sweat rolled down my temple before trailing across my cheek.
Then another.
An icy chill crept along my spine, refusing to leave.
I remained perfectly still.
Not a single muscle dared twitch.
Every breath felt unbearably loud within the suffocating quiet of the forest.
Seriously...?
How am I getting dragged into a fight on my very first day in another world?
A bitter thought surfaced before I could stop it.
...Am I going to die again?
Shrr...
The bushes rustled once more.
This time...
They stepped out.
Two figures slowly emerged from the dense undergrowth.
The two figures were enveloped by an unsettling black aura.
It drifted from their bodies like wisps of dark smoke, twisting and curling through the air with unnatural malice. Even from where I stood, it felt suffocating.
The stench was unbearable.
It reminded me of a room left untouched for weeks, packed with the rotting carcasses of dying rats. The foul odour clung to the air, making every breath feel heavier than the last.
"What... is this?" I whispered.
"..."
My eyes remained fixed on the pair.
Only then did I truly see them.
The first was a girl.
At first glance, she looked almost human...
Almost.
Nestled beneath her silky pink hair were a pair of soft feline ears, partially concealed as loose strands cascaded across the sides of her face. Her hair shimmered faintly in the dim light that filtered through the forest canopy, framing delicate features that possessed an almost ethereal beauty.
Her crimson lips bloomed like freshly opened flowers beneath the morning sun, while her scarlet eyes held a guarded sharpness that contrasted with her graceful appearance.
She looked beautiful...
Yet strangely untouchable.
Standing beside her was a young man.
He was considerably taller than the girl, carrying himself with quiet confidence despite the tattered clothes draped over his body. Long white hair flowed to his shoulders, swaying gently with the evening breeze.
His face was strikingly handsome.
The kind of face one would expect from a prince whose identity had been hidden from the world.
Yet that noble appearance clashed sharply with his condition.
Both of them wore ragged garments, torn and weathered by time. They resembled wandering beggars more than anything else—a sight I had only ever imagined while reading fantasy novels back on Earth.
The contradiction was difficult to ignore.
Beautiful.
Elegant.
And yet...
Broken.
Unsure of their intentions, I chose the safest option.
Silence.
Any careless word could become the spark that ignited a battle I had no chance of winning.
After a brief moment, I cautiously broke the silence.
"Hello..."
My voice echoed softly between the trees.
This time...
I received an answer.
"Who are you?"
The young man spoke calmly, his silver eyes never leaving mine as he began walking toward me one slow, deliberate step at a time.
Sweat trickled down my face.
For a moment, my mouth opened, yet no words came out.
The boy's eyes narrowed.
"Hey!"
His voice sliced straight through my thoughts.
"Ah—!"
I jolted back to reality.
"I-I just came here looking for somewhere to stay for the night!" I blurted out.
The words tumbled from my mouth far faster than I intended.
The boy stopped.
"..."
Silence.
Again.
That horrible silence.
He remained several steps away from me, his silver eyes studying me from head to toe. There was something unnerving about the way he stared—as though he were searching for the smallest flaw in my answer.
Then, without saying anything to me, he turned toward the girl.
"Nora."
She stepped closer.
The two whispered amongst themselves.
Their voices were far too quiet for me to understand clearly, but I didn't need to hear what they were saying to know that something was wrong.
That black aura surrounding them began to thicken.
Slowly.
Silently.
Like smoke gathering before a fire.
And with it came that horrible stench once again.
You've got to be kidding me.
My heart began pounding.
I instinctively lowered my centre of gravity, preparing myself for whatever might come next.
The boy's hand shifted slightly.
The girl's ears twitched.
Every tiny movement suddenly felt like the beginning of an attack.
"Why does my first encounter in this world have to be like this...?" I muttered.
Then—
"...Huh?"
THUD!
Before I could understand what had happened, both of them collapsed.
Their knees struck the damp earth almost simultaneously.
"What—?!"
I stumbled backwards.
The change was immediate.
Gone was the hostility.
Gone was the overwhelming pressure.
The two who had looked ready to kill me only seconds ago were now trembling before me.
Sweat poured down their faces.
Their breathing had become ragged.
Their eyes...
They were staring at me as though they had just witnessed something that should never have existed.
I froze.
What are they looking at?
I quickly glanced over my shoulder.
Nothing.
Only trees.
"...What's wrong?"
I looked back at them.
"Are you two alright?"
No answer.
The boy's fingers dug into the soil beneath him.
The girl's feline ears had flattened against her head, her entire body trembling.
Then—
"We're sorry!"
The girl's voice cracked as she shouted.
I blinked.
"...What?"
"We're sorry!"
There was no hostility in her voice anymore.
No deception.
No anger.
Only fear.
Whatever had happened, her apology sounded painfully sincere.
"Hey, hey—calm down!" I said, quickly raising my hands. "It's alright! Just calm down!"
But neither moved.
That was when realization struck me.
My eyes narrowed.
"...Ineal."
"Was this you?"
A brief pause followed.
"..."
I stared blankly at the notification.
Then at Arthur and Nora.
Then back at the notification.
"Oh..."
A tired sigh escaped me.
"So this was your doing."
The invisible pressure vanished.
Both of them immediately gasped, as though an enormous weight had finally been lifted from their shoulders.
I rubbed my forehead.
"No more activating skills without my permission, Ineal."
"Good."
I sighed again.
I turned toward the two again.
They were still on the ground, though their trembling had gradually begun to subside.
"Sorry about that."
I stepped closer.
The boy immediately stiffened.
So I stopped.
For a moment, I wondered whether approaching them at all was a good idea.
Then I simply smiled.
A small, genuine smile.
I stretched out my hand.
"I'm not going to hurt you."
They stared at it.
Neither moved at first.
The forest had fallen quiet around us again, but somehow, the silence no longer felt as threatening as before.
The boy looked into my eyes.
Then at my hand.
Slowly...
hesitantly...
he reached forward.
His fingers wrapped around mine.
I pulled him to his feet.
The girl watched us for another moment before cautiously accepting my hand as well.
As she stood, her feline ears slowly lifted again.
Their breathing steadied.
The murderous aura that had once surrounded them was gone.
For the first time since meeting them, the two seemed almost...
normal.
"I'm Luciel."
I paused.
Then, strangely, another name came naturally to me.
"Luciel Nova."
I smiled.
The boy exchanged a glance with the girl.
"We're... sorry for trying to hurt you," he said quietly.
The girl lowered her head.
I waved my hand dismissively.
"No worries."
Considering an arrow had nearly turned me into a corpse a few minutes earlier, perhaps no worries wasn't entirely accurate.
But...
I was alive.
That was enough for now.
The boy looked at me once more.
This time, there was no murderous intent behind his eyes.
"I'm Arthur."
Then the girl stepped slightly forward.
Her pink hair shifted gently across her face as one of her feline ears twitched.
A small, hesitant smile finally appeared upon her lips.
"I'm Nora."
She raised her hand and gave me a tiny wave.
"..."
I couldn't help but smile back.
Arthur.
Nora.
The first two people I had met in this strange new world.
Our meeting had begun with an arrow.
Nearly turned into a battle.
And somehow...
ended with a handshake.
What a ridiculous first day.