Nile opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was the white disc of the full moon.
The moon bathed him in her silver light.
'What just happened?' Nile remembers him being in a space and being drawn into a silhouette, and being absorbed.
'How did all this happen? I was just playing a game. Did I get isekai?. I never expected myself to be isekai one day like in those manga.'
Nile snapped back to reality by the cold breeze. Feeling cold, Nile folded his arms tightly.
'Ahhhh... So cold. Why am I feeling cold?'
Nile looked at his body; he was not wearing any clothes.
'Why am I naked?'
So many whys, but Nile got no answer.
'First, I need to know where I am.'
'Second, secure a source to warm my body, or I might not survive the night.'
'Third, secure food.'
Nile took a deep breath and looked around. He saw the ruins, the clear sky.
'I don't see any familiar constellation. Judging from this, this is not Earth. I'm in another world. Looks like I'm millions of miles away from Earth. I might even be extragalactic.'
Nile heard some sound coming towards the ruin. The sounds were human chatting sounds.
'Could it be some travellers? I could get help from them.'
Nile went out to see. Nile saw 4-armed men and one normal guy who looked like a wealthy merchant. Nile went towards them. As he approached them, he could see them clearly now. The normal guy was tied up with ropes. The 4 armed men were all sitting near a bonfire.
They did not look like a typical traveller group. They looked like bandits.
They were chatting and laughing with one another.
"Boss, if we get the money, we will be rich. I can't wait to spend my money on those girls". One of the bandits said while licking his mouth.
"Boss, please don't forget my share also." Another one said while laughing.
'I must leave before they sense my presence.'
Nile took a step back slowly to retreat, but his leg snapped a dry twig and exposed his position.
One of the bandits raised his bow and aimed it in the direction of the person.
"Show yourself before I shoot." The bandit shouted.
'Shit!' Now Nile has no way to retreat if he tries to run away, he believes he would be outrun by the bandit and be shot in his back.
Nile raised his arm and came out, exposing his entire skin to the bandits.
The silver moonlight falls on Nile's body. It was as if the silver moonlight were a veil that Nile was wearing. It was like Nile was wearing clothes made up of transparent silver moonlight. Nile's figure looks like a deity for a moment.
The bandit blinked his eyes.
'Did I just see something. No, I must be imagining.'
The bandit with the bow sneered and addressed his bandit boss.
"Boss, it turns out to be a naked pig who was making the nose."
The bandit boss replied laughingly.
"It's not an ordinary pig; it's a dumb pig. Boys, we are getting rich. Looks like heaven has blessed us."
The bandit boss points his finger at Nile.
"Hey, you pig, where did you come from? Why are you naked?"
Nile was shocked. It was not because of the bandit's question. It was because he couldn't understand what they were saying. He probably guessed they were making fun of him.
A normal person can know if someone is making fun of them in another language. It's because of the intent hidden behind the words that the person is able to understand or hint that they were speaking.
Nile doesn't know the local language. So he chose to remain silent.
The bandit boss looks irritated.
"Can't speak? Are you fucking mute?"
The bandit boss curses at Nile. Nile showed no expression. The bandit boss was annoyed. He stood up and walked towards Nile.
He stood in front of Nile. He punched Nile hard on his stomach.
"Can't you hear my voice? Are you fucking mute? If you don't reply with a single word, I am gonna chop off your hands."
The bandit boss intimidates Nile to check if Nile was truly mute.
'Is he mute and deaf?'
Any normal person would be grunting. He would be on his knees, begging and crying to spare his life.
It would be false to say Nile was not scared. He was terrified- he was teleported into another world with nothing to help him, not even clothes. The first time he saw a glimmer of hope turned out to be a trap that could cost him his life, or even worse than death. But Nile showed no fear because he knew if he saw a glimmer of fear to the world, that would be his last moment.
Nile showed no expression and stared at the bandit boss's eyes.
One of the bandits questions the bandit boss.
"Boss, what should he do with him?"
"After we get the ransom money from the Golden Merchant, then we will sell this pig to a slave trader. Tch.."
The bandit boss clicked his tongue.
"He is skinny- hum.. not suitable for farming. Might fetch a price in a brothel. For now, give him some clothes and food. I don't want him dying before we can sell him."
"Ok, boss."
"Boss, is he also deaf?"
"I don't think he is deaf, but I also think he might be deaf. But we don't care if he is mute or deaf. We just need to sell him and get money."
One of the bandits threw a ragged and dirty cloth at Nile. He points his finger at a bowl of food and then points at his own mouth, instructing Nile to eat.
Nile wore the ragged and dirty cloth. He sat near the bonfire with a bowl of food. The young man came up to him and sat near him.
The young man tries to initiate a conversation with Nile. The young master thinks that both Nile and he are sheep who got played by the strings of fate. So he felt a fellow kinship and a bond between them.
Nile's cold attitude didn't affect him. The young man cries and grieves, complaining of the grievances he suffered at the bandit's hand.
One of the bandits watched the scene and called out to the young master.
"Leave it, young master. That person is mute and deaf. He can't hear anything you are saying. If you want someone to listen to your complaint, you can try me."
The young man quickly shakes his head
"N-No.. No need."
Then one of the other bandits looks at the young man and points his blade at him.
"Oi fatty, if you try running again, just see. I will chop off your legs so that you don't ever run again in your life."
"N-No.. I wouldn't."
The young man was easily intimidated by the bandits.
The young master looked at Nile and saw him staring blankly into the firelight. The young master felt pity for him.
'Poor guy, he is mute and deaf on top of that, he is starting to lose his mind.'
Nile kept staring at the empty space in front of the bonfire. To others, they only saw empty space. But to Nile, he saw something appearing.
Something appeared in ethereal light that looked like symbols and letters. The light shimmered around and formed Ruin words. Nile has never seen this type of world, but he instinctively could read and understand the words. It was like a baby could instinctively breathe after being born.
The runes read,
[System initializing]
[0%...]
'Have I gone mad?? Am I seeing correctly?'
'Is this the type of system the protagonists receive after transmigrating into another world?'
A quiet, inward smile tugged at his lips. If this was real— then he finally had a way out of this nightmare. A chance to rise, to survive, maybe even more.
***********
The sun rises from the horizon, illuminating the world with its radiant light. Chasing away the darkness. Birds came out of their nest to hunt for food.
Nile woke up early, and the first thing he did was summon his ruins. It turns out summoning the ruins was easier than he thought. He just needed to concentrate and call out the ruins in his mind.
The runes read,
[System initializing]
[....20%....]
'Shit, this is going to take forever.'