I was lying on my back. I sat up and began scanning the area around me. Giant trees towered over me, and I was sitting on a soft patch of grass. It looked like I was in a forest, and I wondered if I might be just outside the city where I lived.

  I looked up at the sky again, and it appeared to be the night sky I was used to. I wasn’t an astronomer who could identify star systems, so everything seemed normal to me. Maybe this was just a dream, I thought. Perhaps the blood loss from my stab wounds had caused me to wander into the woods and pass out.

  My doubts were dismissed when I noticed two moons in the sky. One was A bright blue with dark blue craters and larger than Earth’s moon, and next to it was a smaller, red one with a red ring around it. The realization hit me then: I was on another world, and everything I had experienced was real—not just a dream. If I wasn’t already sitting down, I might have fallen in shock from the overwhelming realization.

  I sat for a while, staring at the two moons, trying to accept that this was now my reality. "Was I the same too?" I stood up and began inspecting myself. I was wearing what looked like potato sacks someone had sewn together to make a shirt and pants. I lifted the shirt to inspect my stomach. There was no blood, but there were scars all over my lower chest and abdomen. They looked fully healed but were still there—a grim reminder of how I got here. I pulled my shirt back down, not wanting to relive that day again.

  Next, I inspected my feet. I was wearing what appeared to be wooden sandals with leather straps holding them in place. This was odd. It seemed like the world I was on wasn’t as developed as Earth, if this was what clothing looked like.

  After taking in my surroundings, I noticed how eerily quiet it was. There were no sounds of insects—just complete silence. Every now and then, I spotted what looked like fireflies, but what was strange was that they illuminated in different colors. I watched as they flashed pink, purple, yellow—just like on Earth—and even black that seemed darker than dark.

  The trees were large and beautiful, as though they had been standing for hundreds of years. The grass around me was soft and inviting. I wasn’t sure where to go or what to do, so I started walking. I figured heading in the direction of the moons was as good as any. It was hard to see, but after what seemed like maybe half an hour of walking, I saw flickering lights ahead of me. At first, I thought it was the strange fireflies again, but these didn’t move. This must be some sort of civilization. I quickened my pace and made my way out of the forest.

  I stood in awe at what lay before me. The sun was rising, and ahead stood a great castle—or what I assumed was a castle. In the center was a towering stone pillar, surrounded by smaller pillars. With the sun rising behind it, everything was outlined beautifully. It looked like something straight out of a fairy tale, a fantasy land depicted in an illustration.

  Around the castle were large stone walls, they looked about three stories high from where I stood—definitely too large to climb over. Beyond that, I saw what looked like smaller buildings made of wood, perhaps homes or shops of some kind. I stood for a while, taking it all in.

  “Hey!” a voice yelled from my side. I turned and saw what I could only describe as knights riding up to me on horses. There were six of them, all wearing full metal armor, like what you’d see in a medieval painting or a history book. As they drew closer, the one in front immediately dismounted and walked over to me, while the rest stayed mounted, prepared for action at a moment’s notice.

  “H-hey,” I stammered as the armored man came up to me. He was a foot taller than me, and his suit of armor, along with a giant shield on his back and a sword hanging from his side that looked well-used, was intimidating.

  He looked me up and down for a moment before glancing at the wood line, scanning the area, then turning back to me. “You don’t look like a hunter. You don’t have a bow or even a skinning knife,” he said. His eyes shifted back to the trees before returning to me. “I don’t see a camp anywhere where I could find such items.”

  His fierce gaze pierced me, and I felt a chill. "What are you doing out here so far from the city?” He grasped the hilt of his sword as if ready to strike at a moment’s notice.

  My adrenaline spiked, and my instincts screamed at me to run, but I couldn’t think. All I could do was blurt out the truth. “I just woke up in the woods, sir,” I said. The soldier didn’t move a muscle, and it was clear he wanted more than that. I hesitated, not wanting to tell him I was from another world—that would definitely be a death sentence and I wasn’t in a hurry to get stabbed to death again.

  I couldn’t think fast enough, so I stuck with the truth, hoping for mercy. “I was attacked and left for dead.” I swallowed hard, the words coming out slowly. “All I remember is I was bleeding a lot, and I passed out. When I woke up, I was in the woods, right over there.” I pointed back in the direction I had come from.

  The guard looked at me for a moment, then scanned the woods again. I continued. “I wasn’t sure where I was, so I started walking and ended up here.” The guard’s eyes moved slowly from the top of my head down to my feet, his posture still tense, ready to react at any moment.

  “Show me your wounds,” he ordered.

  At that moment, I realized I had made a mistake. My story didn’t add up, and it was clear he would think I was lying once he didn't see fresh wounds. Reluctantly, I lifted my shirt and closed my eyes, bracing for whatever was to come. Several moments passed and I opened my eyes to see he hadn’t moved. His posture seemed to relax slightly.

  “Well, I’m surprised you survived that,” he said, and I felt the tension ease just a little. “If what you say is true, then a hunter must have found you and healed you before continuing on with his hunt. You’re lucky one of them found you.”

  I stood there, confused, but quickly let it go and responded, “Yes, sir, those were my thoughts as well.”

  He straightened his posture and turned toward his horse. Without effort, he climbed onto it, despite the heavy armor he wore. He looked down at me and motioned for me to climb on. “Climb up. I’ll take you home. It’s not safe out here without a weapon to protect yourself.”

  I immediately felt a sense of dread. I had no idea where to tell him “home” was, but I knew I couldn’t refuse. These soldiers conducted themselves as if they were the law, and disobedience wasn’t an option.

  I approached the horse, uncertain how to climb on. I glanced at the other soldiers, who watched intently, as if waiting for me to make a mistake.

  “Let’s go. I’ve got better things to do than spend all day ferrying around lesser folk,” the guard said. I knew I had to act quickly.

  I jumped onto the horse, but my stomach landed just behind the saddle. I struggled to find something to grip onto, but the horse neighed and reared back. I fell to the ground, landing flat on my back. The soldiers erupted in laughter, and the guard immediately regained control of the horse, circling it back to me.

  Clearly annoyed, he reached his hand out for me to grab. I stood up, attempted to brush myself off and took his hand, and with surprising force, he pulled me up. I spun around and landed perfectly behind him on the horse.

  He gave commands to the other soldiers. “Continue the patrol. I’ll drop this one with the others and meet you just before the eastern border. If you see any Mythandor patrols, send one man back to alert the guard. The rest of you follow, but do not engage unless necessary. Wait for backup.” The soldiers nodded and rode off.

  The guard gave his horse a swift kick, and we headed toward the city with the castle. As the horse trotted forward, I felt myself start to lose balance again, so I grabbed onto the soldier’s armor for stability.

  He turned his head and shouted, “Don’t fall off again, or I’ll leave you here and let the gods decide your fate.”

  I gripped tighter and tried to wrap my head around his use of the word “gods”—plural.

  We rode for a while, and with another kick, the horse broke into a full sprint. It took all my strength to hang on, but after a few minutes, I started to get the hang of it.

  We soon arrived at a small town on the outskirts of the city. A few wooden huts dotted the area, with people working on a nearby farm. When the guard arrived, the people stopped working and looked up at us intently. I even saw one man gripping his pitchfork with both hands, as if expecting trouble.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  The guard turned back to me. “You should be able to find your way back from here, I assume?” he asked.

  I immediately felt a sense of relief. “Yes, sir,” I replied, then clumsily fell off the side of the horse.

  I took a step back from the horse, and the guard nodded. Without another word, he steered his horse around and, as quickly as we had arrived, he was gone, disappearing into the distance.

  I turned around and looked at my surroundings, trying to figure out what my next move was. However, I was interrupted by what I could only describe as a notification popping up in the corner of my vision. It read, "Horseback riding skill increased, level 1." I was taken aback as the words stayed for a moment and then faded away. "What the fuck?" I thought, and started reflecting on the whole ordeal I had just gone through. Suddenly, I had some basic knowledge of riding. I knew the proper way to climb onto a horse, how to steer, and how to shift my weight as I rode.

  "Oi," a man said, and I turned to see one of the farmers with a pitchfork next to me. He looked older—maybe in his forties—but his physique was that of an amateur bodybuilder. He wore simple clothes, similar to mine, but more worn and patched up. He still held the pitchfork in a defensive manner and asked, "You looking for something?"

  I shook my head and said, "No, I just caught a ride in from the woods."

  He looked a bit puzzled and asked, "What were ye doing in the woods? You don't look like a hunter."

  I shrugged my shoulders and said, "It's a long story."

  He rested his pitchfork on the ground and pulled out what looked like a homemade cigarette. He put his index finger and thumb up to the end of it, then snapped his fingers. A flame arose from his thumb, and the cigarette started smoking. He shook his hand, and the flame went out.

  "That's a neat trick," I said, and he looked at me a bit puzzled.

  "Do you think I can have one of those?" I asked.

  The farmer smiled and pulled another one out of his pocket. He didn't hand it to me right away, though. He just inspected it for a moment before saying, "I'll give ye one, and I'll also give ye a place to sleep tonight. We have a spare bed, and we'll feed ye. But we could use some help on the farm, if you're interested."

  I looked over the man's shoulder and saw two younger men still working hard. They were using a horse and a plow to till the dirt. One guided the horse while the other tried keeping the plow in a straight line as the horse pulled it. They wore the same simple clothes as the farmer and myself.

  I smiled and took the cigarette from the man as an unspoken agreement that I accepted his deal. He nodded, then spoke again. "Those are me sons, Eldrick and Jorik. Eldrick's the older one in front, Jorik's the one handling the plow. He needs to learn how to do it properly and hasn't quite grasped it yet after all these seasons. Me wife and daughter are selling some of our stock in the castle square. You'll meet them later. I am Harald."

  He held out his hand to shake mine, and I quickly put the cigarette in my mouth, offering my hand in return.

  "I'm Ryker," I said as we shook hands, his grip was stronger than any handshake i'd ever had before. I quickly pulled my hand back and examined it, looking for damage.

  "I hope you're up for this," he added. "This is hard work."

  I sensed his doubt in my ability to perform.

  "I can manage, and I'm a quick learner," I said.

  He continued taking drags of his cigarette and watched me with mine in my mouth, unlit. He seemed to be waiting for me to light it.

  "Do you have a lighter?" I asked, knowing full well he probably wouldn't know what I was talking about.

  "No fire magic then." he said, then snapped his fingers again, producing a small flame. He held it up to my cigarette, and I took the first drag, which felt like the first drag of a cigarette I'd had in centuries."Magic..right."I said as I inhaled the smoke, enjoying the flavor.

  Harald motioned with his head for me to follow. I trailed behind him to the field, and as we arrived, his two sons stopped to greet us.

  "Keep those lines straight, Jorik," Harald said, pointing to the plow lines already laid down.

  Jorik stood up, catching his breath.

  "He’s never going to learn, Pa. You should just let me do it," Eldrick said, a proud smile on his face.

  "No, he’s going to learn at some point. I don’t care how many seasons it takes," Harald replied, slapping Jorik on the shoulder.

  At that point, I let out a deep exhale of smoke that was louder than I had anticipated. The farmers all looked up at me. Harald broke the silence.

  "Boys, this is Ryker. He’s going to help us with the plowing today so we can start seeding tomorrow. Teach him what you know."

  The boys nodded and shook my hand. As I stuck my hand out, one by one, I felt like they were also going to break it. I quickly pulled my hand back, and after a pause they just looked at their father.

  Harald spoke again. "Just try to teach him, and we’ll see how he does."

  The rest of the day was pure hell. I spent time guiding the horse, which was a lot harder than it looked. The plowing itself was even more difficult. The plow was heavy, and there were several spots we had to redo because I wasn’t strong enough to keep the plow in the dirt. It kept pulling out and gliding on top of the soil instead of cutting through it. After hours of this, I could sense the farmers' frustration growing.

  I ended the day by simply watching them and fetching water from a nearby stream whenever they were thirsty. As the sun was setting, Harald finally said the magic words.

  "Alright, I guess we’re done for the day. Let’s head in for supper."

  I was starving and relieved to finally have this day behind me. I started toward the small house, following the farmers, but I could barely keep pace with them since I was extremely sore. When we reached the door, they opened it up and waited for me to catch up.

  The smell of whatever his wife and daughter were cooking wafted out, and it smelled out of this world—delicious to me. In a way, I guess it technically was out of my world.

  I walked in and saw a table already set with what looked like a giant roasted chicken in the center, generously garnished with potatoes and carrots, along with a giant pitcher filled with what smelled and looked like some sort of sweet wine. My mouth immediately started watering as I gazed at the delicious spread. Harald broke my hypnotic trance at the food.

  "Ryker, this is my wife, Alyndra, and my daughter, Lirael."

  I looked up and saw two blonde-haired women staring back at me. Alyndra seemed to be about the same age as Harald, but again, she had the physique of someone half her age. Lirael looked more like the younger sister of Alyndra instead of being her daughter. Both were very beautiful and would give any model back home a run for their money.

  "Nice to meet you both," I said, smiling, and then took my place at the table.

  Once everyone sat down, Alyndra began making everyone’s plates, and Lirael passed them out. Harald was served first, his sons second, and then finally, me. Lirael handed me my plate, and Alyndra spoke up.

  "I made sure to give you some extra vegetables so you can recover from your day. I hear you had a tough time out there today."

  I looked up, and she just smiled and winked at me. I felt my face getting hot, but she was right. I made myself look like a fool out there today. I had never done any kind of physical labor like this before, and it showed.

  Once everyone had their food, we all began eating. The meat tasted like it was chicken and turkey at the same time. The vegetables were cooked perfectly and tasted like they were freshly picked that morning. The wine was the most delicious thing I had ever tasted. It was like drinking fresh, juicy grapes and maple syrup with every swig.

  I took my time eating and savored every bite until my plate was clean.

  Once everyone finished their meal, they started retiring to their rooms. Harald stood up and said, "Come with me, Ryker."

  I got up from my seat, which felt like hardest thing I had done all day. My body was already sore and stiff from the day’s work. I followed Harald outside, and he pulled out a cigarette, lit it with his finger snap, and handed it to me before lighting another one for himself. I followed him to another wooden shack with a thatch-type roof, and we stopped just in front of it.

  He turned to look at me and said, "Listen, I’m going to be honest with ye, Ryker." He took a drag of his cigarette before speaking again, and I did the same.

  "I know you’ve never farmed before in yer life, but I need help, and that’s why I asked ye." He took another drag of his cigarette before continuing."I'm gonna need more from you if you’re to stay. I need you to be better than you were today. Yer actually slowing us down, and I don’t have time to hold yer hand the whole time."

  I started to say something, but he just held up his hand to let him finish.

  "Now, you seem like a decent enough man, and I understand that this was yer first day. I’m willing to let today be just a teaching day for you." He took another drag and then looked out at his fields before continuing. "But tomorrow, I’m going to need you to show me that I didn’t make a mistake."

  He paused for a moment, looking at me, then continued, "Can ye do that?"

  I simply nodded, and Harald patted me on the shoulder before making his way back to his house.

  "I’m counting on ye," he said just before entering the door to his house.

  I stayed outside and took in my surroundings for a while longer. The sun had already set, and the different colored fireflies were flying around, flashing their lights. I watched until my cigarette was gone. I opened the door to the shack and saw a simple bed. The frame was wooden and looked homemade, while the mattress and pillow seemed to be filled with hay or dead grass. I didn’t care. I laid down and just stared at the interwoven thatch on the ceiling above my head.

  As I lay there, I thought about what Harald said. "I’m counting on ye." I wondered what he meant by that. I guess it didn't matter, I needed somewhere to stay while I figured out what to do next and this place was as good as any.

  My eyelids felt extremely heavy, and I drifted off to sleep. However, it wasn’t dreams that I had, but more notifications.

  Farming increased to Level 3.

  Strength increased to Level 3.

  Fire magic skill increased to Level 1.You are now able to create a small flame from snapping your fingers together.

  I abruptly opened my eyes and sat up straight. "What the hell is going on?" I thought, trying to wrap my head around these notification things that kept popping up. Then I remembered what the voice from the void had said to me:

  “You’ll have the ability to gain power with much less effort than it took when you were on Earth. And once you gain that power, you’ll keep it—it will never diminish.”

  I stared for a few moments, trying to understand what he meant by that. I pulled my hand up in front of my face and, very slowly and deliberately, I snapped my fingers. A flame arose from the tip of my thumb, and I just stared in awe for a few moments. It didn’t burn, and it was just like holding a lighter. I shook my hand, just as I had seen Harald do, and it went out.

  I laid back down in my bed and started trying to calm my breathing. As I began to drift off to sleep, all I could think was: This is fucking amazing.