One morning, I received a package without an address or name. Mir and I exchanged glances when I placed it on the tea table in the living room. 'What's that, Master?' the dragon asked curiously as it went closer to the package. It sniffed at the unknown item, then it looked at me again. 'From whom?'

I shrugged. 'Someone must've just popped it in the letterbox.'

'Let's open it, Master!' Mir's eyes were filled in excitement. I smiled, nodding at it as I sat on the chair across it. Carefully tearing the package, I found a box filled with Styrofoam chunks. Mir looked slightly disappointed. I started digging the contents of the box, and found a thin, black rectangular object. I placed it on the table.

Mir started sniffing on it. 'It has a weird scent,' it replied. 'Like metal.'

I frowned at the object. 'Some sort of prank, perhaps?'

It started vibrating. Both Mir and I flinched at the sound it made on the table. 'M-master, it's moving!' Mir cried in fear. 'Do something!'

'We don't even know if it's some sort of dangerous device from the Black Wings,' I replied, acting composed. 'It ought to stop soon.'

It did. I let out a sigh of relief way too early, for the object started vibrating again. Mir was fidgeting and kept on sending me glances to do something about it. Cautiously I looked at the item. There was a photo of an unknown man in odd clothing, the name written below it was "Prefect". Above the picture was written "On the phone". Is this object called a "phone"? It sure looked slender and smaller than those I've usually seen. A green and red button was above a house-like symbol on the item.

I assumed that the green button was to receive as the red one had an "X" symbol on it. Cautiously I poked on it, then put the slim object to my ear, acting it as a phone. Mir panicked when I lifted the object up and got into guard mode.

'H-hello?' I spoke to the object.

'Hello? Can you hear me?' the caller spoke.

'Yeah. What's going on? What's this thing?'

'What you're holding is called a smartphone. It doesn't exist in this world, but it's common from where I came from,' the person replied. I raised an eyebrow. If this so-called smartphone doesn't exist in Maple World, how did it ended up in my letterbox in a package?

'Alright,' I slurred, frowning to the item. I had a bad feeling about all this.

'Do you see my clothes, from the picture?' he asked again.

'Yeah.'

'They're called pieces of a school uniform. Students in my world wear uniform to their school.' I have heard of uniforms, but this is the first time I've heard students that had to wear the same pieces of clothing to school. How are they supposed to do combat in those? They looked easily torn, providing no armor to any monsters. Wouldn't that world be screwed? How did this guy managed to stay alive?

'Okay… your point being?' I went straight to the question.

He chuckled. 'Say, are you interested in exploring a new world?'

A new world? Heck yes! I glanced at Mir. It seemed calmer now, and frowning at my excitement of exploring. I remembered what seemed a long time ago that Mir asked me to go for an adventure. I'm sure both of us would be having fun.

'Of course!'

'Great! There's a scroll inside the box, take it and you'll be taken here. Please remember to bring the smartphone along, okay?' Prefect seemed like in a good mood. He then hung up on me. I placed the phone down on the tea table as Mir looked at me, waiting for answers.

'Mir, are you ready for an adventure?' I asked, unable to contain my excitement. It had been so long since I went to one. Mir brightened up and nodded. Then it started flying around the house in joy. Mir had forgotten how big it was and crashed into one of the ceiling lamps. 'Mir!' I yelled.

'Eek! I'm sorry!' Mir yelped, then flew into the kitchen in fear that I would come after it with my staff. I've decided to let this matter slide as an adventure is waiting. Sighing, I took the broom placed at the corner of the living room and swept the broken pieces of the shards. Then, I went to my wardrobe and changed into my battle suit. I wonder what sort of monsters would be in that new world. I hoped they are strong enough to my liking. I placed the phone into my endless depth bag, then dug into the box and found the mentioned scroll. I looked at Mir. It was grinning ear to ear like a fool. I was probably the same. I used the scroll in excitement as it warped me to the destination.

To find disappointment. I sighed when I reached a house in Henesys. A hole on the ceiling was fixed sloppily by nailing a few wooden board on it. The person in the picture, Prefect, looked at Mir in awe. He attempted to touch Mir's head, in which it responded with a snarl, then attempted to hide behind me. An oddly placed wardrobe was directly in front of the entrance, a portal opened inside it to an unknown area, probably the new "world". A blonde man about the same age as Prefect was there too, wearing a green coat with an old blue and yellow scarf around his neck.

'Great, you're here,' he said. 'My name is Elwin. Nice to meet you, DragonGod.' He then snickered at my name. I sighed. Many did the same.

'If it's hard to speak, go with Evan instead.' I glared at him. He immediately shut up.

Elwin then turned to Prefect. 'You should leave now. Don't wear out your welcome.'

Prefect seemed resistant. 'Gasp! You are the one that summoned me! You can't make me leave,' he scowled. He sounded stupid when he said "Gasp" at the beginning of the sentence. I frowned.

'How many times do I have to tell you that I don't intend this? And stop saying stupid things like "Gasp"!' Elwin snapped at him. I was glad that I wasn't the only one who was thinking the same thing.

'Everyone says that from where I came from,' Prefect replied, pouting.

'Oh God, why did this happen to me?' Elwin moaned. 'I swear I'll never use summoning magic again!' So he was the one that created the portal to the other world. I glanced at the wardrobe which was directly below the badly sealed roof. It probably fell down from the sky… what am I saying?

Mir poked my back with its head. 'I thought we're going for an adventure, Master,' it whispered. 'What's going on?'

I shook my head. I better find out what's happening. Elwin looked away from Prefect, crossing his arms while scowling. I had a sneaking suspicion that Elwin is a magician under Grendel the Really Old's teaching. If the words go out about this, he's probably done for. I headed towards Prefect who ran up the stairs. He was scowling at me at first, then it changed to surprise.

'Oh, you're the one that answered my call!' he smiled. 'Nice to meet you!'

'Nice to meet you too. Who are you?'

'Huh, me? I'm just an ordinary student from another world.'

'That doesn't sound ordinary at all…' I narrowed my eyes at him.

Elwin spoke from behind. 'That's not ordinary – you're from another world!' The three of us looked at him in surprise as he squeezed past Mir and I to enter the room where Prefect was. Prefect casted his eyes down to the floor for a moment, then looked at me.

'As you can see, my summoner is not happy with me. Do you want to know how I flew into this world?' I nodded at him. Elwin scowled at me. 'You can ask my summoner about it. He's the grumpy mage over there.' That was a waste of my time. I turned towards Elwin, hoping he would give me the answers to the various theories I made about this.

Elwin scratched the back of his head. 'Right. I haven't properly introduced myself. I'm magician Elwin. If you're a denizen of Maple World, then you should've heard my name at least once.'

I haven't really went out for a while since there weren't many who asked me out to hunt the seemingly endless copies of world bosses recently. 'Nope, never heard of you,' I replied. He seemed to be a little egoistic for someone who's unknown till now.

'What? You haven't heard of my name before? That's outrageous!' he scowled. I think the one who's outrageous is none other than the mage who thinks he's famous when he isn't. 'I'm next to none when it comes to barrier and teleportation magic. I'm also the best pupil of the great magician Grendel.' Well, I was right about him being under Grendel. After all, Grendel the Really Old is the best magician in Maple World. All magicians except the Cygnus Knights and that Japanese lady I met a while back (and claimed that she was from another era) that doesn't learn directly under him.

Then he looked away, acting melodramatic as he appeared to look somewhere further than the wall he was staring. 'Even monkeys fall from trees. A few days ago, I've made the biggest mistake of my life: I happened to tear a hole in between dimensions while practicing magic. As a result… Crash!' the sound effect he made had led to Mir being restless. Mir had sensitive ears, and his sudden shouting made it uneasy. I petted it in an attempt to calm it down. 'A gigantic wardrobe fell from the sky.' He pointed downstairs. So it really did fell down from the sky. I looked at the badly covered up roof again. What an odd incident. Falling wardrobes. I should be careful when I walked outside again.

'If Master Grendel finds out…' he shivered. He will be done for. 'I don't even want to think about it.' I think he should, because the word is bound to leave the area. 'He's not happy with me as it is because a few experiments that went wrong. I really need to cover this up like it never happened before.' Elwin then shifted to me, giving me the puppy eyes. I sighed. I knew that I need to pick up the mess he left behind… I doubted that he is able to cover this. He didn't even cover the roof properly, how is he going to cover that portal? By closing the doors?

'I don't care what it takes as long as he wouldn't find out!' he probably saw me giving him some judging and quickly uttered. 'The biggest problem is that guy, who came out from the wardrobe, is refusing to go back home! He says that he likes fantasy worlds like this. What fantasy worlds? I don't understand a word he's saying! Please, I beg you,' Elwin intensified his puppy looks. I flinched. 'Persuade him to go back where he belongs, please!'

I looked at Mir. This really isn't our mess to deal with.

But Master, we should help him! After all, we are supposed to help people in need, right? Mir replied me through telepathy. I guess Mir was right. I forced a nod at him. He brightened up a little.

'Please persuade the otherworldly student to return, DragonGod,' he muttered, then left the room. When he walked down the stairs, I heard him laughing. That asshole…

Prefect noticed me staying. 'Are you going to persuade me to go back? Nope, I like this place.' I bit my lower lip, thinking of the possible questions that might made him leave. How about his parents?

'Your parents must be worried about you,' I said to him. 'You should return before they start searching for you.'

'My parents don't care about me,' Prefect looked at the mirror sadly. 'They left me alone and took my younger brother to another country for his education. I told them many times that I couldn't get used to school, and they moved me to another school every time. Last night I was hiding inside the wardrobe, crying because I don't want to go to my new school today.'

I tried to keep a straight face. Why does this sound like some crappy story off a novel? Regardless I kept quiet as I have no idea about his backstory. Perhaps the world he was in was completely different from this world, thus he liked it very much.

'But you'll be forever a stranger in this world. Don't you have friends over there?' I asked again.

'I've changed school at least ten times because I couldn't get along with the kids. I'm used to being a stranger.' This guy has a very sad-like story.

'Well… how about the food here? You won't like it. Isn't it different from your world?' That was my last bet. I had a feeling that he would come out another answer that wouldn't make him leave. I don't have another question to make sure he would return to his original place. After all, he seemed like he would like to avoid everything in his world for now.

'I've tried it already,' Prefect looked at me with a weak smile. I think he was covering up his laugh at my poor attempt to shoo him away. 'Even the orange mushroom soup and the evil eye stew aren't so bad.'

Looks like there's nothing I could try to persuade him to leave. Dangerous monsters don't come to Victoria Island for no reason, so…

'I was told there are dragons and magic exist in this world,' his eyes sparkled as he looked at Mir. Mir hid its head behind me, using it to poke me, telling me to do something about him. Mir didn't like strangers no matter how many times it had met them. 'I've always wanted to live in a fantasy world like this. At least I want to look around before I leave.'

Before I could open my mouth to speak that the Maple World isn't as good as it seemed to him, Elwin spoke from behind again. 'At least your world is safe from the evil energy Black Mage spreads. To me your world looks more peaceful and entertaining.'

'Elwin, you should just stay here next time,' I sighed at him. Mir was uneasy about him popping in and out of the conversation.

'You're just saying that because you haven't lived there,' Prefect pouted at him.

Elwin sighed. 'Let's say your parents don't care about you. They will still be notified if you skipped school, right?'

Prefect sulked. He paused for a moment before replying, 'I want to stay here, at least for a while,' he gave me the puppy eyes. Why am I subjected to this torment?! 'I don't care if it's a few days. Is there any way you can make that happen, please?' He stared at me. I don't like where this is going, but at the same time I was curious. There weren't any monsters there though.

Elwin groaned. 'What have I gotten myself into? Then again I summoned you into this world…' he muttered to himself. A while later, a smile returned to his face. 'Wait, I've got an idea. Have you guys read the storybook, the Prince and the Pauper?' He looked cheerfully at the three of us.

Master, what's that storybook? Mir asked me through telepathy.

I think it was about two person with identical looks living each other's lives. Mir looked at me in awe.

Wow, you know about it?

I've read about it before somewhere, a long time ago.

Prefect didn't seem to know about it. Elwin smiled at him. 'It's simple. You two can live each other's lives temporarily. Doesn't that sound interesting? This experience will benefit the both of you. I mean, when can you ever get to experience a life in another world?' Elwin gave us the hopeful look. As a person who went into the past while living as three different people, went to Pantheon and the Fox Point Village for research purposes, I have done that. Then again, my curiosity about the other world they mention had peaked, so I guess it wouldn't hurt to give it a try.

'Well, I don't mind. I don't think anyone would be visiting me any time soon,' I told Elwin. He cheered at my answer.

'Great! Then, DragonGod, you'll wear a uniform and go to his school in his stead!'

'DragonGod?' Prefect frowned at me.

'Just call me Evan, alright?' he don't know much of Maple World, so the name might sparked out as odd. 'So I'll be the otherworldly student, then?'

Elwin pulled me to a corner and started whispering to me. 'Look, I know we've just met, and we barely know each other, but I need your help to keep this under control. Just keep people in the other world distracted for a while, and I'll do the rest.'

'I have a feeling I can't trust you,' I whispered back. I don't know how bad he had screwed up if Grendel the Really Old isn't pleased with his mistakes. What if I got stuck in that world while I'm in there? Wouldn't I be screwed by then? It would be a bore if there weren't anything that I like to do over there.

Prefect seemed to have heard our conversation. 'Can you do that?' he pleaded. 'If you'll let me stay for a while, then I'll promise to go back. Thank you, DragonGod!'

Elwin was grinning. 'Well, you've heard him, DragonGod. What do you say?'

Master, let's go! Mir sounded excited.

'I don't mind.'

'All right! I like your attitude, DragonGod!' Elwin beamed, then pulled me down the stairs. Mir followed behind as it didn't want to stay near Prefect too long. He brought me to the front of a screen. 'Here, watch this for a while. It might let you know a little more about the other world.'

'How do you –' I wanted to ask, but he shushed me and played a video on the screen. It was hand drawn and well made, with many characters I know inside the video. The Cygnus Chief Knights, their strategist and Ereve's Empress, as well as the Black Mage's leaders and subordinates were there. What is going on? When the video ended, I turned at Elwin. 'Why are they there?!' I asked. Wouldn't it be dangerous if the Black Mage's members are over there? Why weren't the Cygnus Chief Knights and members doing anything about it?

'Our world is different than theirs, so it should be nothing,' Elwin looked away from my gaze. He sounded doubtful. I continued staring at him. He couldn't stand the gaze any longer, so he returned it and replied, 'Look, that's why I requested you to go! It couldn't be anyone else, okay? You're quite high levelled and skilled, so…'

I see how this is going. I sighed, and nodded at the situation.