I'm bombing this test so hard... What am I doing?
"So if work is equal to distance x force, and the dolphin travels 300 meters with a force of-."
Everything went cold, it all went dark. A hushed silence descended onto him.
He blinked twice. The murmurs of students dissolved into silence. He was no longer in physics class. He was in a pitch black space and he felt like his head was spinning. His mind had been broken, his thoughts cast out like shattered glass.
"Eh?"
A maiden with raven-blue hair, covered in cuts from head to toe and wearing a tattered black robe had her head tilted in intrigue. On her face-.
Julius' breath hitched.
On her face instead of eyes she had carved out holes, and instead of teeth she had numb spots in her gum. She seemed like a broken doll, when she spoke the noise came out completely out of sync with the movement of her bloody lips.
She must be in pain...
"What's your name?" Her voice was innocent and sweet like a daisy dangling in sunlight.
"Julius." The words came out full of angst, he felt scared, everything had gone black and now he was face to face with a strange lady.
"My name is... Julius?" Something felt off when he said his name, the back of his mind was screaming in agony, as if nails were being stuck into his spine. Yet he felt no physical pain, only a strange urge to accept his new reality.
"Yes, that is your name. It is forever yours, because you are forever-." She began coughing out piles of blood, it's texture was smooth like melted chocolate, the blood itself had a pleasing aroma, the kind that made his stomach twist but his heart clench.
How am I even getting turned on by blood-.
"Ah. I'm bleeding-. For you." She said the words with such emotion that Julius almost blushed, before coming to his senses and realizing he should probably help her.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
"Don't put this on me." Julius said sternly before look around tirelessly. "Oh- Crap. I don't have any bandages-."
She groaned, an annoyed groan like a teenager's acknowledgement of 13 missing assignments.
"It's all because of those disgusting false Gods. Azonold, Teeyo, Crow! If you see any of them, make sure you kill them on the spot for me. Okay? There are powers far above the Gods... Powers to maintain the-." She stopped and the bleeding exponentially increased. It was a gruesome sight that made Julius' heart clench.
"You're still bleeding!" Julius felt his mouth drop in awe. The blood would just not stop spurting out from her skin, her black robes had been tainted crimson red, the cloth had gone moist and now the entire room carried the smell of death, he felt sickly and his face went pale.
"I can't stay with you for long because of the rules... I need you to survive for me... If you do, you'll recieve the greatest gift of all..."
She looked up, her lip quivering, her face melted into a sad frown. She placed one of her blood-soaked hands on his face, he felt the red ichor trickle down his skin. He felt the cold from her bony hands steal his warmth away, he felt her breath tickling his clothes.
Julius simply stared down in confusion.
"Wait. This isn't a dream?"
And with that the realm collapsed, he felt his head slam into the floor below and every thought in his mind ended up flying through the ceiling.
"You are going to forget everything... But at least try to remember me darling..."
What he awoke to was less so a dream, more so a nightmare.
"HAH?"
He looked up, the sky was lifelessly grey and devoid of clouds, the air was cold and the scent of ashes was everywhere.
"This has to be one of the bad spawnpoints." He looked around tiredly. "If I was going to get Isekai'ed they could've at least handed me something to work with.
Julius felt moisture on his face, he raised his hand and realized part of his skin was coated in blood.
"Argh-. But I'm not hurting anywhere? So why is there blood on my face?" And where even am I?
Julius blinked, his head throbbing. Tall structures cast shadows of darkness that clung to him like a shroud, broken only by the faintest sliver of light filtering from…somewhere. He pushed himself up, his limbs heavy and unfamiliar. The ground beneath him was cold and uneven, and a musty, almost metallic, scent filled the air. Where was he?
The last thing he remembered was…school. Physics class, to be precise. Now, he was here. Wherever here was.
A rustling sound cut through the silence. He wasn't alone.
Julius froze.
Something was moving, and the sounds were getting louder, a crescendo of imminent doom.
Low, chittering clicks filled the air. A small, twisted creature scuttled into view. It was the size of a dog, its skin stretched tight over an emaciated frame. Its eyes—hollow pits of writhing darkness—fixed on him. Its mouth split open, revealing rows of needle-like teeth, dripping with black saliva.
It shot towards him like a blur.
Panic shot through Julius's veins. His body refused to move. Shit—!
A flash of light. The sound of steel cutting through wind.
SHLINK.
A glowing blade sliced clean through the creature's torso. A single, precise strike. The beast crumpled to the ground, convulsed, then fell still.
Julius's breath came in ragged gasps. His heart thundered.
Standing before him was a young man.
Overgrown golden hair. Piercing, lion-like red eyes. Wearing a thin layer of adventuring garments. A shining sword still slick with dark blood.
He looks like a cosplayer-. Wait, I'm not on Earth anymore.
The light from his sword was then cast unto Julius who he inspected warily.
His eyes narrowed. "Are you an apostle?" The words were said with pure malice.
"Definately not, I'm just an innocent human." Julius announced proudly.
"That's what an-."
"Just look at me." Julius interrupted him, not willing to let him even bother with that line of thought. "I just failed a physics test, I don't think any God wants me in their army. And that tiny thing almost just killed me."
The blonde-haired man glared at him. "The way you handle yourself... Only humans can have so much attitude."
"Oh" Julius went red. My head is so messed up... This guy could just kill me on a whim!
."Thank you for saving me..." Julius coughed, trying to act casual. "That was a close one."
"Appraisal." Kaelan put his hand out and a blue light washed over Julius,
"Oh, you really are a human. A weak one at that-." His tone softened swiftly.
"Thanks?"
"You alright there, kid?" The man's voice was smooth, unnervingly casual. "You took quite a tumble. How old are you even?"
Wait-. This has to be considered patronisation.
"I'm…I'm fine, and I'm 15." Julius stammered, his voice raspy. "Where am I?"
The man's brow furrowed slightly. "You don't know? I guess you're just another blindfolded lamb in the slaughter house... Sometimes people like you do end up here, somehow..."
He tousled his golden hair before adding. "You're on the Other Side, kid. The corrupted lands. And you're lucky I found you. Not many survive long around here." He extended a hand. "Name's Kaelan. I'm a Hero, tasked with cleansing this place. And you, well, you look like you're in desperate need of an escort."
Julius took his hand, the warmth of Alaric's grip strangely comforting in this desolate place. "I'm Julius. From…Earth, I think."
Kaelan helped him to his feet. "Earth? Never heard of it. Regardless, I'll get you to the border. It's not safe for you here. Once we cross the other side, we'll be in Thesia. I'll show you around, then you can hopefully get off your feet."
"That's very kind of you, why are you willing to do so much for me?" Julius queried.
"I'm a hero, it's part of the job." Kaelan chuckled and Julius nodded, his suspicions of Kaelen still there but continuously shrinking moment by moment.
And with that, they started to walk.
In a small pond Julius saw his reflection...
Everything felt better when he realized he was the same as he had been the day before.
Dissheveled black hair, student uniform, a worried look on his face. Why was he worried? Because of this other world?
My-...
His hands trembled, his feet stuck themselves into the ground. He felt like kneeling and begging for forgiveness.
My search history? Did I take it with me? Where's my phone-.
He felt his pockets, they were entirely empty.
"Goddamnit... All my games- all the progress-. Lost. No more scrolling either..."
But worst of all... My search history.
"I left it on Earth... There's no way that is my legacy." He slowly wept into his hands, realizing he had wasted his life studying just to end up in another world, the only fragments of him left on Earth were some dubious search terms...
"Are you okay?" Kaelan stood by him, nervously.
"No. My legacy is dead." Julius groaned, his expression locked into that of a mourner.
"Well, let's get out of here unless you also want to end up dead."
The Corrupted Lands were a grotesque masterpiece of decay. Twisted, skeletal trees clawed at the sky, their branches bare and gnarled. The ground was a tapestry of ash and withered vegetation, punctuated by the remains of creatures too far gone to even be identified. A palpable sense of despair hung heavy in the air, a suffocating blanket on Julius's mind.
Despite the horror, a strange fascination bloomed within him. He found himself drawn to the intricate patterns of decay, the haunting beauty of the lifeless landscapes. It was a morbid curiosity, perhaps, but he couldn't help but admire the sheer scale of the desolation.
These sights... It's like a complete contrast to my neighbourhood in London.
London... My computer... Mom, Dad, please don't check it.
He shook his head bravely.
What are they gonna do? Come to this world and find me?
But as they walked, the oppressive atmosphere began to take its toll. Julius felt his thoughts becoming muddied, his memories blurred. The edges of reality seemed to fray, and he struggled to hold onto himself. The Corrupted Lands were not just withering the land; they were withering his mind.
Kaelan, ever vigilant, seemed unaffected. Occasionally, he would dispatch a grotesque creature with a swift stroke of his blade, a silent display of power that made Julius question the extents of his strength.
Finally, after hours of silent and fast-paced travel, Kaelen broke the silence. "Tell me, Julius," he said, his voice echoing strangely in the desolate landscape. "How did you come to be here? And why are you wearing…what is that, a school uniform?"
Julius looked down at the familiar, yet now somehow alien, clothes he was wearing. "I…I don't know," he confessed, his voice barely a whisper. "One minute I was in physics class, the next I woke up to that strange lady and now I'm here. I don't understand any of this."
He paused, a flicker of hope igniting within him. "I just…I just want to find a way back. Away from this place, back to my life. Do you think that's possible?"
Kaelan stopped walking, his golden gaze fixed on Julius. The answer he gave hung heavy in the air, lost amidst the whispering winds of the Corrupted Lands.
"Anything is possible, Julius. But wherever you're from, you should know this world is hanging by only a few thin threads."
"Like my grades?" Julius moaned, realizing his incompetence in not only strength but perhaps also intellectuality.
The hero only smiled.
Julius adjusted his tie.
He'd been ripped from his humdrum life and dropped into this bizarre reality, still sporting his uncomfortable school uniform, no less. And now, he was standing awkwardly in a grassy field in a land where the sky was permanently grey.
He looked at the hero once more. He was tall, undeniably handsome, and possessed an aura of quiet strength that made Julius want to simultaneously cower and admire him. The hero, oblivious to Julius's internal turmoil, continued his explanation, his voice smooth and patient.
"It's all about levels, Julius. Everything has one. You, me, that dead creature over there... everything. We can use 'Appraisal' to find out someone's level."
We? Wait- Wait-. Now would be the perfect time to see my cheats-.
The hero held out his hand, a faint, blue glow emanating from his palm. "Appraisal." He announced softly. His eyes flickered over Julius, and then a flicker of surprise crossed his face. "You're... level one."
Julius felt a blush creep up his neck. "Level one? Is that bad?" What am I even saying? Of course it's bad! I'm the lowest of the low. It's fine. Stay calm. Surely I'll be able to reach his heights on day.
The hero's expression softened. "Everyone starts somewhere. I'm currently at level 239. It takes time and effort to increase."
He then launched into a detailed explanation of the mechanics of this new world. To level up, you had to gain experience, and that meant killing creatures, battling other people, or, incredibly, making significant changes to the world. It sounded utterly insane.
"So, I have to... kill things to get stronger?" Julius asked, his voice laced with disbelief. The idea of taking a life, even a creature's, was horrifying. It was all fun and games on a laptop screen, having to kill creatures with his own hands for meager amounts of EXP sounded terrible.
Kaelan nodded, his gaze hardening. "Unfortunately, yes. That's how it works here. And right now, we have a serious problem. The monsters... Especially those from the other side..." he paused, clenching his fist, "...they've been killing humans on an unprecedented scale. It's resulted in them overleveling drastically."
He explained that the constant bloodshed and the sheer number of lives lost had fueled the monstrous growth, allowing them to push back the boundaries of humanity. They had conquered almost half the world, a desolate wasteland known as the "Other Side."
The "Other Side" was a terrifying concept, a land ruled by creatures of nightmare which had grown stronger thanks to their feasting.. Julius felt a cold dread creep into his heart. He was just a regular guy, suddenly thrust into a world teetering on the brink of collapse. He was level one. What could he possibly do?
Maybe just wait for some cheats to arrive..?
The weight of reality crashed down on him. This wasn't some video game world, this was a dying world in which it's fantasy elements were crashing down on it.
"What... what can I do?" Julius asked, the words barely a whisper. He was scared, utterly and completely terrified.
Kaelan looked at him, his eyes filled with a strange mixture of determination and weariness. "You have the power to do something, Julius. When I return you to the human side, just try to help this world survive."
Julius took a deep breath, the scent of disinfectant and something vaguely metallic filling his nostrils.
He clutched the straps of his school bag, a relic of a life that now felt like a distant dream. He was level one, unarmed, and terrified. But he was also alive. And in this new world, that was a victory in itself. He straightened his tie, took a step forward, and followed the Hero into the unknown. His school uniform suddenly felt a lot more cozy.
The reality of this new world had begun to set in. He was no longer just Julius, the student. He was Julius, the transmigrator, a potential lifeline... assuming he could survive long enough to level up.
Oh Lord, please send me some cheats!