Jobless Transportation

by AmInaCan

After a 34-year old NEET gets hit by a truck, he wakes up wounded in a fantasy world. He is then taken in by the Greyrat family who give him his first job of watching their son Rudeus. Meanwhile, he begins to study magic and vows to do better in this world than in his last. But how can you succeed in a world you don't belong in? (AU where the MC and Rudeus are separate characters.)

4. A Bright White Light

Author's Note: turns out I actually did write the beginning.

Warning: I tried to demonstrate the language barrier by adding Japanese to the MC's dialogue, but I am in no way bilingual or fluent in that language. I tried to write enough context clues so you can get the idea of what they're saying so people don't have to look stuff up. This will be the last chapter that will be like this since I know for some people reading this English isn't their first language. It's kind of the reason why I didn't put the flashback portion in the first chapter since the first chapter as it already is, is just easier to get into.

Also, sorry there are parts of the chapter that are kind of gross, but they are there mostly for foreshadowing and plot reasons just be forewarned.

And since this one takes place over a larger place of time, I used the symbol (-) to indicate a time skip.

Several months have passed since I met Eris. Rudeus had just turned 8 years old. For the occasion, I convinced the people in the house to throw a birthday dinner for him. I know it's tradition to celebrate every five years, but I feel like we completed a lot of milestones and it's worth the recognition.

I helped the staff clean up the table after the little feast I had with the Boreas Greyrats. Turns out they do have butlers and they are very respectable people. I don't mind so much being compared to them now.

Thinking back on it, Me and Rudy's bond with the members of the household have grown a lot stronger. Talking to Phillip and Sauros now comes as naturally as it did with Paul. I sometimes forget I'm technically their employee and they are my bosses. Even Hilda Greyrat has warmed up a lot to Rudeus and has been treating him as if he was her own son.

I received a couple of new letters from Roxy in the time that I've been here. Roxy did respond to my invitation to come meet up, and she informed me I'd have to wait until she resigned from her current job. I hope that's soon. I've been aching to see her again.

As for her research, she hasn't found anything of significance yet. She keeps on asking about the status of my present predicament. Half the time I don't know what to tell her. I gave her some information about my family to see if I inherited anti-aging abilities. I told her they resemble me, but last time I checked they weren't immortal or descendants from some powerful race.

From what she knows, the only ones that got close to fitting the description of those symptoms are some ancient cursed gods. I'm sure I would know if I was a god. After all, they are omnipotent, aren't they? And who would worship a god this pathetic?

Moving onto Ghislaine. She continued to listen to my lessons from reading and writing the base human language, to economics, to the fine arts. In exchange, she showed me some beast race speech. There were fewer nyah's than I anticipated, but it's a distinguished way of speaking nonetheless.

A week later from Rudy's birthday Sauros walked up to me. I hadn't interacted with him in a while but he was uncharacteristically jovial. He patted me on the shoulder. "Dear friend. I had some doubts about you in the beginning, but I see that you have made dramatic progress with Eris."

"Yeah well, I can't take all the credit. Rudy, Ghislaine, and the rest of your staff have been lifesavers," I said scrubbing down a particular hardy stain from this morning's breakfast, "And your granddaughter Eris she's a fast learner when she wants to learn. I'm still working on getting her to study more of this world's history, but we've been getting there. She pays more attention when I try acting the battles out and when both she and Rudy are supplying special effects."

"She's practicing more of the arcane arts just like my nephew's wife and son, I see..."

"Uh-huh and she's improved so much with her magic skills that she's tried testing her power against Rudy in little duels. You can go check it out for yourself I think they're practicing right now." I pulled back the curtains on the windowsill to display two children firing bolts of color at one another.

"WAhh, My Eris!" the older man gasped before turning around and taking me by the collar. "Those things that they are shooting better not be deadly. Because if a single hair on my granddaughter's precious little head is harmed then I'll-"

"Woah, Woah. They are beginning-ranked spells. I still need some time before I can show her the advanced-rank ones. And I would never leave them alone to allow them to send giant bolts of fire or lightning to rain down on each other. Plus, Ghislaine is watching them. See, the children are perfectly out of harm's way. Although..." I peered out the window again and something unnatural floating in the air directly above the kids.

"Although what?" he asked.

"Master Sauros...what is that glowing orb in the sky? Should we be concerned about it? What exactly is that thing?"

"Hmph," he grunted. "Know one knows it's been there for short time. There was another one that showed up around 8 years ago."

"8 years ago? That's how old Rudeus is now."

"Indeed. The population surrounding the orb was relatively low the only reports I heard from were people passing by that area."

"Should we do anything about it?" I asked.

"Whatever it is. It appears to be dormant. We might recruit a couple of people to study it, but it's best not to mess with the unknown. We don't know what kind of powers it could be holding. It might activate and harm anyone that gets too close. Some were saying might be connected to some monsters that were spawned into villages all over the map shortly after its disappearance."

Out of nowhere! Why is he talking about this so casually? "You're telling the ominous red thing the sky can summon monsters. Shouldn't we do something to prevent that?" I asked again.

"It was merely a correlation, but I was thinking of hiring more men anyway for the off chance something goes awry."

Just like that, he hired a handful of guards to watch the orbs activity. The only they had to say was that it was using some sort of energy from the area however they weren't sure what it was. The crops were healthy and so were the animals and the surrounding area. After a while, we got used to it being there and everyone seemed to consider it a harmless aberration. Everyone except me...

I couldn't shake the feeling that I had seen or felt the presence of that thing before.

I went over all the archives in their house they had related to the incident. It was just as Sauros said, there were reports from local travelers and those happen to be the only documents. The only thing he didn't mention was the rumor of a large crater that formed after the other orb had disappeared with a humanoid imprint in the center and footsteps nearby. This makes no sense does it blast people or summon monsters? And why does it leave no remains?

After searching and searching for more answers. I told myself. Hey, it's meaningless to have your mind consumed by this. You have enough to worry about. It's just a little ball in the sky that hasn't done anything for years. And what's the worst that could happen? A few monsters pop put. Ghislaine's dealt with worse she can probably take on an entire army and the Boreas Greyrats can hire an entire military themselves. There's no need for me to stress about it. Maybe it'll just go away if we wait longer. Besides, I need to get back to instructing Eris. That's what they are paying me for.

If only I had not let my laziness win out.

It was an afternoon like any other afternoon. The kids were practicing outside again and I was having a meeting with Eris's family about her progress. When guards began to make a ruckus outside they began hollering for us to come look. We did. The sky surrounding the orb was sheltered with grey clouds in a deep orange and red atmosphere.

We adults dashed out the doors and yelled for the children to come inside. Eris was the first to get the message and Rudy took off shortly after. However, their small feet couldn't carry them fast enough.

Like a ticking time bomb, the ball exploded open without a moment's notice. There was a binding flashing bright light that buried the surrounding area. One by one we saw the guards get eaten alive by it.

Eris was farther up ahead and was the closest to us and her parents tripped over themselves to try and catch her. Ghislaine, who was previously with the kids, got down on her knees and like a wild leopard was pouncing on all fours trying to catch up to her. A second later she was gone. She didn't make it.

I lost what direction Rudeus was heading in. The iridescent light had now surrounded several acres accelerating to light speeds with no signs of stopping.

All I could think of was-

Rudy also didn't make it.

We...are not going to make it.

By this time the surreal event had made us accepted our fate, there was nothing we could do to outrun it. Only pray that we would survive. Sauros and I grabbed each other in hopes to shield us from the blast. Hilda and Phillip however refused to give up on their daughter they ran toward the cause of calamity only to vanish in thin air before they reached Eris. The last thing I heard was Eris desperately crying for her parents before it came to an abrupt stop.

Then everything stopped... as I too had become one with the light.

Is this the end?

It's a lot like the beginning.

This was how it all started.

I was engulfed by a ball of light.

The last thing I remembered was the headlights of the speeding truck.

(-flashback-)

After the impact, the rays then disappeared and I was left in slumbering darkness. I couldn't speak, see, or move.

There was nothing until my feeling reappeared. All I had were the elements interacting with me. Small blades of grass brushed on my fingers and feel the wind fluttering against my skin. Those were on the outside. Internally, I wanted to cry out in agony. My insides felt like they were piles of raw meat that got hit with a mallet then hit with an army of baseball bats.

Besides pain smell is the first thing I could sense with the coppery scent of the fluids rushing out of me. It could also be the smell of fresh grass and wet soil. It smelled like It rained recently. This is Way different than I expected pavement to smell. Are we by a farmer's market?...wait...Pavement?...

Oh yeah, I got hit by a truck, didn't I?

"Agghhh," I grunted as I made a futile attempt to roll off the ground. All of my bones and organs in my body felt like they had been smashed and crushed into tiny pieces. "I'm dying…" I thought. "Oh well,...it's not like my life had anywhere to go...it sucked, but at least it's over..."

The problem was I didn't die right then. That was the one possibility I wasn't prepared for. Entire religions dedicate their lives to wondering what happens to them when they die. I was now pondering what would happen to me if I survived.

People found me. I felt about eight hands taking maximal effort to haul me up from the ground. They must have needed a whole squad to carry me. Makes sense, I am a grown-a$$ man weighing over 100kg after all.

Later, I felt being then dragged by something with loud wheels going against a very bumpy floor. Did they need to put me on a special emergency stretcher? It's incredibly slow-moving.

When I had the strength to open my eyes, I found that my vision was blurry. I could still make out some things. I could not see the details of their faces, but I could tell they were pale and had a multitude of eye colors ranging from blue to green to hazel. Their hair was also lighter. The sounds and words said were unfamiliar to me. Have they transferred me to a European or American hospital somehow? Why is everyone Caucasian? Where am I?

I shifted my focus to the entire hospital. This is not a normal hospital. There's no medical equipment anywhere what do the people here expect to do with me? It looks more like a log cabin. Is this one of the holistic model therapies that were in the news. I began to plead with them for an explanation.

"Sumimasen. Nani ga okotte iru? Koko wa doko?" I barked as I tried to reach out my hand towards the many faces.

"What was that?" they said.

Another whispered into one's ear. "What odd noises he's making. Is he possessed?"

"I don't know maybe he's a new type of demon. Have you ever seen anyone with eyes that beady and what does that dark hair color mean?" they responded.

Is my voice that messed up? Most people I talked to were online so I must be out of practice using my vocal cords irl.

"Perhaps the damage to his head has ruined his speech," said another.

"I don't really know what's going on, but I have some work I have to attend to. Call me again Paul if you need to borrow my cart again," said a masculine-sounding voice as he began to leave followed by several others.

What, where are they going? I need answers. You know what, I'll try again. "Modotte kuru no matsu," I choked telling them to come back. It didn't stop the blurry figures from exiting out the door while the others continued chattering incomprehensible words to each other. Seriously, what language are they speaking? That doesn't sound like any European language I know. This is terrible. I bombed every foreign language class I had in school. I only know a few words in Chinese and English.

"Nihongo? Rìyǔ, Japanese?" I shouted in every other language I knew. They all glanced back at me funny some raised their eyebrows while some backed up away from me.

A female voice spoke up and turned to another. "He's been through a lot I was surprised he was still breathing when they found him. He looks like he was bleeding out for days."

"Did they see anyone with him?" one asked.

"No, he was alone in the field." the woman said.

"How long do you reckon he was lying there?"

"No idea, he was out of the way for the normal travel route. How did you two stumble upon him?"

"I was in a hurry to visit my uncle to gain some supplies for our new child. I went off the road and there he was, lying there," said a young man's voice.

They keep going on and on about something. "Are they…talking about me?" I thought.

"Was he attacked by one of those monsters or a Superd?' one said.

"He could have. I heard they have been popping up randomly throughout Asura kingdom."

"Ahh, that sounds scary! How many more do you think are out there? Do think there are a couple here in Rao? I really don't want to meet whatever creature did that to him?" They began to quiet down as the woman in the center spoke up once more.

"Thank you all for coming over," a female voice said. "I think we can handle it from here."

"What about your new son? Won't it take a lot of energy to take care of your child and help this man recover?"

"I'm not alone Paul and our housemaid Lilia are here too. I'm sure I'll be fine. You can go back to your harvest. Don't want to let all those crops go to waste, do you?" With that, I could only see two people left in the room.

The one with the female voice and the blue eyes rubbed my face with a warm cloth and finally put my glasses on. They had blood glazed over them. Despite that inconvenience, I could still see of them.

At last, I got a lucid image of the one taking care of me. There's a young blond girl,…no woman? She's young though, I'd say in her early twenties.

Heh, She's kind of a hottie too. This angle is doing me a lot of favors. And, if I were even lower, I could snag a panty-shot.

There's a man standing near her with auburn hair and a side ponytail who also looks about his early twenties. He has some impressive muscles. There was another voice off in the distance. Who was that is someone else staying here? And a screaming baby… Are they going to attend to that?

The woman spoke up. "Hello, sorry for taking you in on an unexpected notice. I am Zenith of the Greyrat household. Over there is Paul he's holding our new son Rudeus and Lilia is off somewhere warming up the water. Where are you from sir? Can you tell us your name please?"

"Huh?" she's talking so fast I can't tell what any of those words mean.

"I'm speaking to you. Do you not understand me?"

All I did was blink. She keeps starring at me. I don't know what she expects me to do, being all bed-ridden and such. Is she wanting me to say something back? Well, I guess it's worth a try. "Nani…ga…okotte iru? Koko...wa…doko?" I said repeating the question I gave to the visitors being extra careful to go slow this time.

She responded by shaking her head. "Sorry, I don't know what language that is."

I looked out a window in the corner of my eye. The nearest house seemed a mile away and the rest was covered with dirt roads wheat and grass fields. There's no hope of me getting a translator out here is there?

I need to communicate somehow. I can say a single word to them just so I don't come off as mute and then work my way up to get some explanations. Also, it's a waste to have this pretty girl attend to me and not say anything to her.

All I could do right now was observe while she wrapped me up with bandages and focus and what her reaction was when people repeated certain words. There was one word I kept on hearing and every time another person said she'd either turn her head or walk over to them. Saying it should get her attention.

"Zenyse?" I said out loud.

She paused what she was doing and looked back at me. "Z—zinith?" She smiled and nodded. Ahh, so that's her name. It sounds exotic. I wonder if it has any meaning to it.

"So, you can talk. That's wonderful. Maybe you can try saying my husband's name."

She directed my attention to the man I saw earlier he looks like he's wiping something. Is that a sword? Are they cosplaying for a renaissance fair or something or is he one of those chunnibuyos that likes to act out scenarios where they're a holy knight or some s%^&. He must be hardcore to get a full-on metal blade like that.

"That's Paul over there, Paauuulll" she said slowly.

I know. She said that one word several times let's see if I can pronounce it. "Paulo?"

"Not quite it's Paul. But yeah, that's my husband."

"Pol?" I said again.

"Haha," she laughed for some reason, "That's closer, and there's Lilia back there," she said point to someone at the end of the room in a maid outfit. Wait, they own a maid? "And hey, would you like to see my baby Rudeus?" she said walking over to the side of the room. "Oh, he's asleep right now. Sorry, you'll have to see Rudy some other time."

She must be referring to the baby in cradle now. What did she say his name was again? "Ru-dais? Rudis? Ludeus?" Man, that's a tough one to say. "R-rrRudi?"

"Yes, Rudy."

Ah yes, Rudi, Zinith, and Pol all compelling names I have never heard anyone else have. Their last name she told me is Greyrat like the fuzzy creature you see crawling in the sewers. I didn't realize that until later of course.

(-)

Zinith's been feeding me since I can barely down morsels of food. My body must have been partially paralyzed from the crash. I could only move a portion of one arm, breath, and move part of my face. While my legs other arm and my mid-section all felt dead. Like limp tissue attached to my body without a puppet master to control them. Now I can move my feet and swallow and move the lower portion of my arm and my neck. I can't lay awake conscious for long periods I haven't been able to catch how this therapy she's giving me works. There's no surgical equipment as far I can tell. She is not cutting me open and rewiring me. It's like she's some kind of angelic miracle worker. No wonder those groups of people brought me to her. She's saving me not only from dying but living the rest of my life as a vegetable.

I want to say thank you to her, but how? I can't get up. I'll have to do something simple.

Hearts are a pretty universal symbol maybe she'll understand this. After she wrapped up the bandage to my arm I glanced around the room to make sure the other man was gone then I moved my good arm then I slowly moved the elbow of my broken arm until they were in close vicinity. I then put my two hands together and curled my fingers to create a symbol of a heart "Arigatō, Zinith. Hehe."

She tilted her head and smiled. "Arigato," she repeated back to me.

I smiled back.

She's so pure. I read somewhere about a guy who ended up in a cabin alone injured and was attended to by an adoring fangirl. It was a horror book, but if you take out those parts, it's mainly the same story. Me and her and this cabin growing a mutual understanding of each other that could blossom into more.

All those dreams shattered when she brought the baby to me, and I remembered we weren't the only ones here.

"Paul agreed to let you see our son. This is Rudeus our family's little bundle of joy. Say, hi Rudy,' she said puppeteering the baby's hand for him.

She then brought this so-called Rudi up close to my face. He didn't look a year old yet, but he wasn't a newborn either. He had developed a neck and everything. He resembled the other man in eye and hair color and I can see the shape of his face in Zinith. This must be their child.

"Kawai," I told her while I despaired inside my brain. Welp, there goes all my hopes of Zinith being single.

So, not only are they this young and in a dedicated relationship. They presumably married, and have also started a family, paid off their own mortgage, and own a maid. What kind of timeline are we living in?

The couple kissed their baby before it escalated to them passionately making out with each other going at every part of their faces and necks. Then he went to kiss her arms while she was rubbing her head with his.

Like Jeez, Can they chill out with that stuff? I'm still here.

I furrowed my brow at them.

The mother put the baby back. "Should we go somewhere private?" she asked with a tinge of redness in her cheeks.

"Oh, ho ho. I like the way you think my love." He said sweeping her off the floor and bestowing upon her another kiss and then tumbled down over each other into the hallway.

I grumbled and shoved my blanket over my head with my stable arm and turned away from them. Sometimes, I wish normal people would blow up into a million pieces.

Five minutes passed by and the unearthly tackling noises halted. I thought they were done, but then I heard clothes unbuttoning. What-what right here? And are they...are they moaning now?

Err, I hate to admit it…Whatever they are doing…it sounds so hot. I want to join them! I burrowed my way out of my sheets, but they were gone by the time I poked my head out. There was no one there when I looked. The party stopped just as I arrived.

(-)

You know a curious thing I have realized about Zinith is the amount of energy she has seems to come and go.

Outside of her high-energy sexual drive, She would always act so peppy when introducing me to people like I was some sort of novelty. This included her maid and some guy who delivered letters once. Then there were times where she would crash. And she's always at her lowest right after she tries to rehabilitate me. I would close my eyes and then open them only to see her passed out on the chair with her baby in her lap. I never really understood it until one day-

"Ahhh, Ahhh," I yelped as she held up one of my dilapidated appendages. She was trying to massage to get out the knots, but she missed the mark.

Zinith gasped, "Oh, you poor thing your arm and shoulder joint are still so twisted." she said gently setting it back. "How did it get this way? Never mind I'll fix it." She then began to mutter words while closing her eyes and extending her hand out to me. Suddenly green fog with tiny sparks of light surrounded my arm. The pain in that area seems to dissipate automatically and the gash went away.

She didn't even touch me. She just spoke to my skin and closed up by itself. Has she been doing this the entire time? I was never able to stay conscious long enough to know.

"Do it again," I thought. I need to observe how she does that again. I can try making a scene to grab at her motherly senses. "Itai wa." and dramatically fell back onto the bed they provided me. Then again I yelled, "Wa, watashi no ude!" while grabbing my arm.

"Was that not enough? Hmm, I guess I have a few reserves left over to try again," she repeated the same process both reaching out her hand saying the same words. This time I grabbed her hand with my other hand to examine it.

"What-what are you doing?" she said and just like that the sparkly green fog shut off. I shook her hand a little and nothing came out and when I looked up close there was none of that shiny stuff to be found.

So, only saying words generates it.

There are only a few explanations I could come up with for this. This was either some kind of advanced technology or she's been using literal magic to fix me.

"Okay, let's analyze this whole situation in its entirety. Let's see, candles for light, weird language, a cabin in a rural unknown area, husband wielding a sword outside, curing people by using mystical fog." I said mentally counting things on my fingers.

Alright, I have either somehow transported into a parallel fantasy version of old Europe before they invented ways to use electricity and rode on horses instead of cars. The major difference in this universe is that the people here have magical spellcasting abilities. Or Two, I'm still actually on earth and this is some secret government operation in the middle of nowhere where everyone's behavior is the result of some simulation and they're using me to experiment on. Or Three, the impact from the truck plunged me into purgatory and I'm stuck in a permanent state of insanity. I'm banking on the former and not the latter.

And if that is true then the question becomes how was I transported here, and why? Certainly, things like this don't happen for no reason. Do I have any purpose for being here? My life was at the end of the road earlier maybe I'm being too eager to assign meaning to something I can't yet explain. I have to keep this on the back burner until I found out more.

(-)

Thanks, to Zinith's efforts I was able to sit up and move my limbs and eventually walk around the room. I never thought I would get sick of lying down in my bed all day. It feels more like torture than pleasure when you don't have the option to go anywhere.

I specifically remember the first time I went out of that room on my own. It was when Zinith kept on attempting to grab the underside of my shirt. At first, I assumed she was trying to mend my twisted small intestine or something, but then she went further to pull it up to my neck. I brushed her hand away every time. They already got my jacket and glasses from me she probably wanted the rest of my clothes. The blood had dried on them and they were stained dark brown all over.

I know she just wants to clean it for me, but I don't want them to see me naked. It's the same reason I don't go to public bathhouses anymore. "Nuh-uh," I said grasping tightly onto my shirt trying to pull myself away from her. The expression written on her face screamed sadness and disappointment.

I loosened myself up and put a hand on her shoulder. I then limped over to a specific room with her following me and put one finger up. I closed the door on her so I could then change in private.

I went into the room that appeared to be the one where they washed themselves. I took off my white shirt and sweat pants and left them outside. I didn't trust these people enough to take off my underwear. Their bathroom or washroom was nothing out of the ordinary it was just archaic. A single round wooden tub in the middle and pump for water and a separate room had a toilet which was just a hole in a plank of wood that goes down to god knows where. I already miss indoor plumbing.

And, it's been a while since I've taken a bath. I sniffed my arms and underarm. Bleh, I reek of blood, sweat, dirt, and vomit. Like Natto left on a hospital bed for three weeks. It's nasty. I pumped a few buckets of water and dumped them into the tub. I stood a moment and caught an image of my reflection on the small puddle of water.

I'm glad to see my face wasn't deformed like it could've been from the crash. I had few scratches here and there on my cheek, nothing major. Although… I leaned closer to the tub and looked side to side and turned to get a full view of myself. Y'know I thought I'd be a bit smaller considering how little I have eaten. Does the spell Zinith's been putting on me force my body to conserve energy so that it will heal faster? Man, I need to figure out how all this stuff works.

Once I filled up the bath I dipped my toes in and then I had the rest follow. Once I fully settled myself in the tub I went deep as I could go. Only my head stuck out. I don't want people coming in here and seeing the rest of me. Especially, my lower half.

I stroked my hands over myself. I can still feel the tire tracks over my skin where that vehicle swerved on me. The stains on my body melted off of me and the water became murky. I steered my face back towards the water. "I need to shave too," I thought. I'm growing that weird uneven mustache again and it's spreading to my cheeks. I'm not an expert when it comes to grooming, but I try to shave a few times a month. Although that might be difficult now without any razors. I can't afford to cut my face off with a knife or sword.

"I can't believe all this happened because someone couldn't stay awake while driving. Hope those high school students are okay," I contemplated as I stared out the window. How does one end up in this kind of situation? A second ago I was sitting all alone in my room watching adult videos then my siblings came at me with baseball bats because apparently mom and dad died. I got chased out of the house and got hit by a truck on the same day trying to save some kids. Then I wake up in a parallel universe on the verge of death and now I'm being healed by an attractive couple with magical powers who are letting a stranger take a bath in their house. Did I leave anything out?

"Agh," I said scratching my head. How would a normal person react to all this? I feel like I'm being way too accepting.

I mean there are more insane plot setups I've read in stories. But that's what they were. Just stories...

I plunged my head below the water to alleviate the nasty ache I felt inside my brain.

Bubbles rose to the top as I was silent in thought.

Am I the only one here? Will I ever see anyone I know again? Do I even want to? I don't really have any friends left over there and my family...would I miss them?

The last thing I remember is them casting me out of their lives after I missed the funeral. No one ever came into my room and told me my parents had died. How was I supposed to know what was going on?

My siblings… I feel like they did more damage to me than the truck did. The bruises are physically gone, but I can still feel their soreness. What if they discover me here and kick me out again?

Gahh, what am I saying? I'm not even in the same timeline or world as them. How could they possibly find me? Still, I don't want that to happen to me again. I have to convince these people to have a reason to defend me so that I won't end up the same way.

And how do I go about doing that? I don't even understand why these people are helping me in the first place. Why are they so nice to me? I'm a jobless 34-year old NEET. I have done nothing for them. Do they plan on using me for something? Are they going to charge me later, I'm broke I can't pay them back.

The door creaked open and interrupted my train of thoughts. I splashed myself up to the surface to check if anyone came in. There was no other person in the room only a pile of garments under the door. They were shaped and colored the same way as Zinith's husbands.

Ahh, bless her soul. She must've left those for me. I doubt I'll be able to pull those off, but I'll try them on anyway…just for her.

(-)

Days, months, or weeks passed by and I got to the point where I had mostly recovered. Which means to them I no longer had a reason to stay there. But, I myself couldn't leave.

I had no way to explain to them why I couldn't go. For one, they saw how their neighbors reacted to me. People don't want me out there with them. I have been randomly thrown into a fantasy land where everything is unfamiliar to me. I don't have a home to return to. And I am incapable of getting a job. The only thing I know in this world is this house. It's all I need. Please, just give me more time!

Zenith and Paul both arrived at the front door to say goodbye to me.

"So long friend. You're free to go back to wherever it is you came from. No need to be bothered by us anymore. Haha." Paul said pushing me out the front door. I resisted and hung onto the frame and shook my head.

"Paul, don't be so rough, here." I took my hands off the entrance frame as Zinith handed me something. It was a basket of fruit she picked fresh off of her favorite tree in the front yard. "We'll miss your company, and we hope you stay safe traveling back," she waved before they both shut the door.

I knocked on their door again. They didn't answer despite me being able to hear their muffled voices on the other side of it. If I can't stay in their house, then I'll stay in their stable it has a roof and barricades within its perimeter. That's the definition of inside. It's not an ideal living situation, but neither is a cabin out in the boonies.

Any time now they'll feel guilty for littering a homeless person out on the streets. They'll come around they have to, right?

I sat outside and made of bed from the hay. I put the heavier straw in the bottom and the fine straw as the sheets to keep warm. It was poison to my nose having to smell horse manure the entire night. To try and block it out I kept the fruit to my nose as an air freshener. I didn't fall asleep until it was almost dawn. It was afternoon by the time Paul found me sleeping there. I know because stepped on me with his boots. My body wasn't ready for that and I woke up trying to kick whatever the source was away and I almost got trampled to death when I spooked the horse and they had to wrangle it down.

Paul was the first one to speak. "Hey, you're not a horse. What are you doing in here? We told you, you don't have to stay with us anymore. Unless you want me to ride you and charge into battle on your back haha."

Once his wife saw me she then butted in. "Oh my, you were out here all night?" whatever she said she looked worried.

At least they aren't upset with me. I have to think of some way to communicate with them other than words to convince them. I took a stick and made marks on the dirt-stained stable floor. I constructed a picture of a house and crossed it out.

Paul didn't look convinced. "You didn't like our house? Well, you never have to see it again if you feel that way."

"Hush dear, he's continuing," the blond hottie said. I drew an image of the gate outside their house and drew myself and put a bunch of generic-looking monsters with scary pointy teeth and laws surrounding me.

"Were those things after you?" she said covering her mouth. I wore my most upset expression.

I put on the most pitiful face I could. And that seemed to win over the heart for the fair maiden, but the wannabe warrior still wasn't overtaken.

"But we brought you back to health more or less. We have nothing else we can do for you. Don't you have a family or people you have to return to?"

I made stick figures with features that resembled my siblings and my parents and then erased them.

"There were more people with you?" she asked. "What if they were all traveling and he's the sole survivor?"

"Dear, we didn't see any other bodies anywhere near that area."

She ignored him and bent down to put her and on my shoulder. "You are welcome to stay as long as you need," I responded by making another heart symbol with my hands.

"What? My love are we not even going to discuss this? He's healed already. What is he supposed to do?"

"You proposed to take Lilia in. Tell me, is she still injured?" she said getting up and dusting herself.

"She can't swing as well as she used to, and this is different. We've known Lilia for years."

"Paul, he can't talk properly he might not be able to receive help anywhere else. What if something is after him?"

"And you want us all to be put in danger?"

"We don't have to worry about that when we have a big strong man protecting us," she said leaning up against him creating a circle on his chest. "Trust me, Dear. We can work it out."

From then on I was rumored by the neighbors as the stranger who was attacked by the mysterious entities that disappeared overnight leaving only one survivor.

I now had a permanent ticket to this little getaway with no future plans.

I wasn't sure what to do with myself at first. I hadn't accounted for the fact I no longer was required to sleep all day. I tried lying in my bed again and I quickly grew weary of it. I followed the Greyrat residents and aimlessly wandered the nooks and crannies of the house. Fun fact: Pol won't let you touch the weapons in his room. And the laundry room is emptied on certain days so you won't be able to find any loot. I ended up sitting alone in the living room watching everyone else do their daily routines.

Zinith caught me sitting there and thought it was a great opportunity to assign me something to do. Next thing I knew I was carrying her baby in my hands.

I don't want it. Why is she giving him to me? There are two of them and they have a maid. Is this why they're keeping me around still? I have never handled children before I can't do this. I did have a little brother, but we weren't that far apart in age. These kinds of responsibilities were always left up to my older brothers and sister. That's what they were there for.

I tried to give the screaming baby back. "Uh-uh," I said shaking my head while pushing the baby towards them.

"I have to go somewhere with my husband. You'll be fine just rock Rudeus gently and he'll start falling asleep." She said folding her arms and gesturing a swinging motion. They want me to rock him? Is there a specific strategy for doing that?

Wait, she's heading out the door wait no don't leave me with him!

She shut the door without a second thought.

I sighed. Great stuck with a baby. And it's not even mine.

I tried to get Rudi in that position she wanted me to, but when I get him to lie down his neck keeps on bending at an obtuse angle. It looks like his head is going to plop off his torso.

So instead, I tried picking him up by his sides and tried to pitch my voice up saying hello to him.

"Heh-heh, Kon'nichiwaakachan." I said.

Rudi just put his fist in his mouth and slobbered all over it. He then decided to take that same wet fist and grab at me with it.

"Wah,wah, Sawaranaide!" I extended my arms to get him as far away as possible and shuffled my feet until I felt something slam behind me.

Oh no. I'm cornered, and he's still lunging at me. Forcing Rudi away in this position knocked off my sense of gravity. My back slid so I was now on the floor. Helpless, to the slobber monster crawling on top of me.

I felt little wet hands pat me all over. "Ahh, no not my face eww, not my glasses too." I thought as he hit them to the floor.

I wiped the drool off with my jacket and scrunched him with my arms to stop him from moving so damn much. He looked like his face was turning red so I eased the pressure on my arms. Then his little head started nodding off and he began crying. What can I do now? Neither of his parents is here. Although...there is someone that is. My eyes balled a maid who was busy doing the dishes.

I got up and yelled at her to try to get her attention. "Lila, Lillia Lillia-chan."

"Yes, what do you need?" she said turning to face me.

"Rudi-kun o toru," I said as I held the weeping baby up to her face. I yelled at her so that would take it."Koko ni!"

"Wahh-wahh!" Rudi wailed.

"We can't give him to his mother right now. If you want him to calm down, you need to handle him gently." I starred at her absent-mindedly. Doesn't she know I can't comprehend any of that?

"Here," she said again. "Just sit down." She took me by the arm and patted one of the chairs in the kitchen. "Sit,…Sit." she said.

"Koko ni Suwatte?" Is she saying sitting down will make him stop crying? "Suwaru?" I said pointing to the chair again.

"Sit," she said repeating the same word.

I don't know if that word is referring to the chair or sitting down on top of the chair. Clearly, she wants me to do something with that chair. "S-ssit?" I said to her. She nodded then put herself down on the chair and then raise herself back up again.

"Yes, sit," she said. So that does mean sitting down. I copied her example and laid Rudi on my knees. She then grabbed one of my knees and moved it up and down causing the knee Rudi was on to shake. He seemed to be fond of the vibrations. Can say I relate.

I yawned. "It feels like wanking only more tiring." I thought as both Rudi and drifted to sleep.

When I awoke I saw the mistress of the house was back. I gave Zinith back a sleeping Rudi and showed her what the definition of sit was. She was stunned. Lilia explained herself and whatever they said in that conversation lead to her assigning the maid me and Rudi to learn together. Lilia taught us both to some of the languages of this world. Emphasis on tried.

The baby would squirm while I would often find myself zoning out and wondering what type of bra size she was wearing and when she turned in the other direction, I would try to guess her panty size. I thought about grabbing her a$$ too while she wasn't looking, but she kept her guard up too much so I never got the chance. I say she's near Zenith's level of attractiveness although Lilia is relatively plainer compared to her. That being said, I do love her outfit so that boosted that alone has scored some points from me.

I also picked up a few words from Paul's bedtime stories he would read to Rudeus. The ones he read to him were mostly pictures with some sentences on top. I would scan the unique illustrations specific to those words on them so I would connect the dots as to what they were saying.

It was kind of a bummer not having any internet or technology. It's ironic how much easier it is to tell the time you spent on something when you don't have it anymore. That could've been my sibling's logic when they destroyed my computer.

I rustled around the house on the quest to find something to ease my boredom when I found a stack of books on some shelves located in the attic of their house. Out of curiosity, I opened them up one by one. I found the storybook stash that Paul was fond of with all the illustrations of battles. Another I explored had a map hiding inside of it. I glimpsed at it confirmed to me that I wasn't anywhere on Earth. This whole country appears to be on one giant island surrounded by an ocean from all sides. I saw no bodies of water when I looked at the window so we must be very inland. According to the map based on the geography of this place with specific mountain ranges in the distance and the flat farmlands here. I'm located somewhere in a place called Asura Kingdom. I wonder what the monarchy is like and what some of these other places over here? There's one called...Demon lands? Not sure I would ever want to visit a place like that. I don't expect they get a lot of tourists there either with that name.

I then hit the next book and I must've struck the jackpot. It was a manual detailing the entire ins and outs of the magic system and how to use individual spells. It told me about a substance called mana. It's the sparkly aura that would surround me whenever she cast the healing spell. It's an energy component required to produce spells. All humans possess some mana how much they have seems to determined by a genetic factor. And after casting spells they have to wait for it to regenerate. Just like MP.

According to this, there are ranks of sorts for spells you can cast from beginning level all the way up to god-level. It's hard to judge which one she's using. The book also contained numerous charts of magic circles meant for casting reading gave me a sense of nostalgia. There were many magic systems I read online that used them. There was even one website where users could create their own and give the own description. The description I made was about a spell that was supposed to reverse gravity I just never got around to creating the digital image of it.

It seems the main way of casting spells what I've seen do Zenith and that is to say the incantations. These are written all over this spellbook and there's a lot of words contained in each of them. I still don't know how to say or read most of these. I guess I'll have to work harder and stick to learning the new language then. But now I have the rush of the purpose and motivation to back me up this time.

It's crazy. It's like life has given me another opportunity and it's asking me to apply myself. And it's in something I'm interested in no less. Imagine, if I can get to any of those upper levels and become a pro at this stuff. I could actually move far and get somewhere in this world. And then perhaps it would make up for all the lost time I had. I mean what was I going do anyway, lock myself in my room again until the day I die?

The people here are oblivious to the life I lead before. It's almost like I was never a loser in the first place. This is the closest thing I can get to starting over from scratch in my years. And, fate sure is going out of its way to keep me alive for something. Why else would it bring me to a world where magic exists if not to use it? All I have to do is apply myself and read these instructions.

I have come to this conclusion.

I can't leave any world until I figure what's up with this one.

(-)

I was in the middle of studying a book on the history of mana when he began to yell and stood right above me.

"Hey, you. You've been cooped up in there for a long time. Don't you want a chance to stretch your limbs out? Get some fresh air."

Was he talking to me? "Watashi?" I said pointing to myself.

"Yeah you, WatAshy? You can read those later. Why don't you come along outside with me," he said flipping his hand over his shoulder suggesting for me to come.

I've seen him lightly swing a wooden sword around outside and hit it against a couple of dummies he made out of leftover straw. He must be yearning for a live target to duel with. He knows I barely recovered so I doubt he'll do anything to physically attack me. There's also a fence barricading themselves from the rest of the world and the front yard is relatively close to the house. As long as I stay within those boundaries, I should be fine.

I'll humor him and he can leave me alone.

I got up and we walked outside together.

"Here," he said handing me one of his training swords. "Take this and put this in your hand right here. Grip the holster with these fingers." He put mitts on mine and I pulled them away.

Yeah, yeah, I know how to hold a sword. I have my replica back at home and I've played plenty of RPGs. By the way, would it kill you to put a shirt on? It's not that hot. It's like he's flexing on me on purpose.

"Yeah, that's it. Oh, and you might also want to spread your legs too. You'll be able to avoid my movements better." He bent down to the ground to touch my legs.

"Yamete," Can you stop touching me, you creep. I shook my leg and kicked his hands away.

He shoved his hands to his chest. "Okay, I get it. You don't like that." He stood up and peered at me. "That should be good enough. Now, we ready to start?" he put his sword in front and directed it at me. I went ahead and replicated his stance.

Then he charged. He was doing some backhand maneuver over. I planned to sidestep them, but my body wouldn't let me. I was too slow. It was like I had to heave heaps of bricks before I could go the direction I wanted. I ended up getting knocked in the nose.

Damn, everything is so heavy. I know I had gotten heavier over the years, but I don't recall it being this bad. I may have noticed a little when I was hurling myself toward that truck, but I had like a million different things on my mind at that time.

It's a chore to move at all. It didn't feel like a burden when all I did was occasionally walk over to the bathroom or the kitchen if my parents didn't already bring food in for me. Or stroll over to the next room in the Greyrat's house. To me the extra flesh more a place to put snacks on and a cushion that was lifting me a few inches off the floor. I have a calcium deficiency on top of it too. My bones are brittle they're not developed enough to support me in this state. It's like a small portion of me is wading through a pile of bread dough.

He pinned me down three times in a row against a tree. I had to let go of my weapon and surrender to him. Each time he flipped his hair and raised his sword way up in the air while pumping his other fist while chanting something.

Is that supposed to be his victory pose?

I haven't exercised in what over 10 years? Duh, you're winning muscle brain.

Paul then twirled around and came at me again while I almost got beheaded by a fake sword. "Let us go for a few more rounds."

"Why...why won't this end?" I thought. I parried his attacks and he maneuvered himself to get in between the arms. I crouched down locked my knees only hovering the sword over my face. I used the safe word Zenith told me to say whenever she pulled my appendages too hard and they started to hurt. "S-ssstop,…stop, Yamete. Stop!"

He finally stopped himself to speak to me. "The idea of this that you got to attack back and I try to block using a signature style. I can't be all offensive and you can't be all defensive."

Yeah, I don't care what he's saying. I'm done with this s #%. I tossed my sword away on the ground and hobbled back to the house. I'm going to Zenith for this. I hope it's not too much to ask for her to carry out more of those incantations on me.

"Hey wait!" he yelled picking up the sword chasing me. "You shouldn't give up so easily. You held the sword very well."

I wasn't having any of that. Go away, I don't want anything to do with this! I was near the entrance when he placed his sword sideways and stood right in front of me as if he were guarding the door. "Hold up. You're not going anywhere!"

I tried to scoot past him, but he just kept on getting in the way. "I think I see the problem here," he said. " No worries I have a solution. I'll put you on a strict training regime until you leave. We will practice multiple times a week and or several sessions in a day. We can get you in shape in no time." he grinned as he poked my wobbly belly with his sword. I hugged that area and stepped away from him.

Is he making fun of me?

Suddenly, I'm in the mood to fling that stupida$$ sword at his stupid f#%^& face. In a fit of rage, I took the other wooden sword by the hilt and chucked it at that condescending smile. He eluded my attack by a thread. I could have knocked him out, but he only seemed amused by it. "Now that's more like it! My friend, I think you have invented a new sword style. Can you show me your throwing technique sometime?" he said raising his thumb.

This one...He's impossible...

Paul then went to grapple his arm around my shoulder and drag me to the house. "Come friend, let's go get us a drink inside. My treat."

(-)

Through practice, I gained the ability to understand some words better than I could speak them. I wanted to use it to learn what their opinions of me were. However, when I eavesdropped I couldn't understand everything they were saying so I'd mostly judged what they were saying based on their tone of voice. There was one with Lilia and Zenith that was especially juicy. They were both alone in the washroom and I hid behind the door. Zenith seemed upbeat, but the way the maid was speaking to her sounded so serious it gave me chills. I had to keep listening.

"Zenith, I wanted to speak with you in private about the man you took in earlier this year." The maid started off.

"Yes, what about him? Are is his language lessons going okay between you two."

"It isn't about that." the maid said, "I know I might be hypocritical in saying this, but I believe his absence might be best for all of us. I have evidence suggesting that he could be a negative influence on your son."

Zenith seemed to laugh it off. "That's nonsense, Lilia. Whatever gave you that impression."

"I saw them digging through our garments last night. Who knows what nefarious schemes they were planning to use them for."

"Oh that, he was probably looking for cloak I washed it again the other day."

"Mistress, please. No one knows anything about him. Who he is or where he came from. And the way he stares at me..." Lillia said stroking her fingers at the pieces of her hair.

"Have you ever considered, maybe he's doing that because he likes you?"

"What?" the maid sounded so shocked from the last sentence.

"Hehe. You doubt your own charm, Lilia," Zenith winked. "Men will do all sorts of things when you have them wrapped around your finger just look at me and my husband. Haha."

The maid didn't respond she only seemed flustered by Zenith's remarks. I thought for a second they might be flirting with each other, but the context wouldn't make sense.

"I'm only messing with you," Zenith cheered. "You should ask him to assist you in the chores around the house. He's volunteered to help me watch Rudy. I'm sure you two can find common ground somewhere." The maid then bowed back to her and they both departed.

I got a whole lot of he's in that conversation and there was no mention of Paul or Rudeus. They must be talking about me. Do they hate me?

Maybe not. Zenith's voice was fairly gleeful is that because I've been taking care of her kid? Does that mean I have to work more to win the maid's approval? Lilia's always so hard to read with that dull expression plastered on her face at all times.

I guess I could try something. I'm not in a rush to do anything at the moment.

I got some rags leftover in the wash barrel and proceeded to scrub every corner of the house. I wiped down the cabinets in the kitchen and even the bedroom floors and the walls and the ceilings well not the ceilings I can't reach that high. I did try getting on a chair and doing them and nearly knocked myself out in the process when I realized what I was standing on was still wet. I also threw in washing the dishes, because why not? When I ran out of surfaced I finally brought in Lilia and Zenith.

I called them from the living room and stood in the center of the kitchen as I waved my hands to them. "Ta-da," I said announcing all the work I've done.

Zenith looked overjoyed and clapped. "It's so clean in here. See Lilia what did I tell you?." she said as bumped the maid on the shoulder. "You told him to do this, didn't you?"

"Well, I umm…" she stood silently.

Jeez, This much appreciation for just covering this place with a damp rag. I should do chores more often. Back at my parent's house whenever I was told to clean my room, I gave up less than halfway due to the sluggish tedium and boredom of doing the same motions over and over. It made me dread the idea of getting a job at a lower skill level like a janitor. But this wasn't that bad, to be honest. Time passed by pretty quickly. And this place is a lot cleaner than it was.

"You aRrre WEL-come. Zenith Greyrat-sama." I said trying my best to keep track of every syllable.

"Ahh, you said it right!" she then put her hand under my chin and playfully pinched my cheeks. "You are getting so good at this."

"Haha," I laughed. I knew she'd be proud of my speech progression.

The maid interjected. "M'lady perhaps you are treating him too much like a child. In any other circumstance, he would be already capable of-"

I turned over to face Lillia. "You aRrre WEL-come too. Lillia-chan."

The expressionless maid then stuttered in her tracks as her sentence fell off the railroad.

Afterward, Zenith tried to pay me in their version of yen. I refused her offer. I'm already taking advantage of their kindness there's no need for me to abuse it. If They are willing to spend their resources on feeding me and keeping a roof over my head, then I'll be content and won't charge anything extra. It's sort of a personal moral code that I have. Besides, it's not like there is online shopping or a K-Book store I could blow my money off on anyway.

Since I got my appetite back they've been also setting me up to eat meals with them. It was wholesome for a family to eat at the table altogether they thanked Lilia for the food. Zenith laughed at one of Paul's jokes and Rudy was doing what kids his age do and being a picky little snob about it. As for me, I hadn't eaten solid foods in so long I don't really care how weird or bland some of them taste. I can't remember the last time I ate with my own family like this, or if we did this at all...

But this is nice.

(-)

I soon came to a point where I was able to form basic sentences to communicate my ideas. Y'know, it's hard to gauge the amount of time I've been spending here. Their calendars aren't like normal ones they use the symbol K as a unit of time. It might be or the equivalent of months. I tried counting on my hands one time out loud the number of seconds within a day. I lost track a couple of times and fell asleep by nightfall, but the daily cycles were about the same from our world. Rudeus has grown so big and he's walking now. Do the children born here age faster than ours? I don't feel like that much time has passed. For crying out loud my facial hair hasn't even grown back yet.

Since I learn to talk in their language I also gave more to practice reading on my own. I spent my fair share in their attic full of books. So much so that I moved my bedding there to make reading at night more convenient. I came to the point where I was now able to read the spellbook in its entirety and I couldn't wait to try out reciting the incantations.

I flipped through its pages. I went to the beginning-ranked spells there was a low request for mana so someone like me who has never had to use it can control my power. There were separate incantations for every spell and I was having trouble choosing which one to use. I assumed healing spells only work if there has been actual damage to the person and I ruled that one out. As for these elemental combat spells, the water one looks the least destructive so I'll do this beginning-ranked one first.

I took a deep breath, stuck my arm out like Zenith. I tried to concentrate to recreate the water in my mind.

"You can do this."

The book says using your imagination helps manipulate the mana you are controlling. Think about a time when you were really, really sweaty. Hot summer's day trying to wait for your childhood friend out on the track field. She decides that's the appropriate time to play a prank on you and you end having to chase her boiling temperatures to steal your stuff back. This causes buckets of sweat to pour out from your skin right in front of her. Now imagine all that water but it's conglomerating toward your hand to form a sphere. I then recited the words found inside the book.

There was no water.

I said it again.

No water balls in sight.

"Work, work Work! C'mon," I said incessantly shaking my arm waiting for water to spring from it.

I looked at my hand again, "Nothing is coming out." But, I followed what the book said and this is beginning ranked. It shouldn't be that hard. As you have a power source.

Do I...not have any?

My lip started to quiver, and my eyes began to well up.

I squeezed my face to stop.

"C'mon," I said, "Get over yourself maybe this water magic isn't your thing you could try a different one. There's a whole novel full of them you know." I then went on to try all the types over and over again.

Fire...no..Wind? NO...Earth?..no and No...Fire fire earth wind fire water earth earth wind...

I cut my fingers from flipping these pages so much maybe I'll do a healing spell. This has to do Something!

It didn't.

I dropped the book then collapsed to the floor myself.

It doesn't work. This bullsh$% doesn't work. What am I suppose to do, give up? I did that my entire life and it got me nowhere and here I am trying again and that doesn't work either. I can't keep doing this to myself. I can't take it anymore.

World, what do you want me to do?

TELL ME!

...I'm lost...

World, If you think I'm a piece of garbage, just tell me...I'll stay that way.

(-)

I was in no mood to try casting spells after that. I didn't even feel like coming out of the room to talk to the others. I stayed in and kept on reading those books even when it hurt my soul to do so. I read the passages about how to perform spells over and over and no new solutions came to me.

I'm from a magicless world outside of this one. These were never written for me. They are for people with real skills, not ones that pretend they have them.

At times I would fall asleep on top of the pile of books like I had with the mountain of trash in my own room. The others called me down to visit with them, but I would refuse to come to them.

The only one who willing to came to me was Rudy of all people.

He just all of a sudden opened the door and woke me up and caused the spellbook I used to block the sunlight to slide off my face. "Hah, is that you Rudy?" I sighed. "What do you need?"

"Nothing, I just wanted a book," he said swaying side to side with a finger in his mouth. "Am I bothering your reading?"

"I wasn't really reading. I was...in the middle of doing big grown-up things."

"So I bothering you." he frowned. "I sorry. I can go," he said holding his face toward the door.

I shouted out to him. "Rudy no, you're not bothering me. You can stay here." It was getting kind of lonely being up here all day. I just wanted someone's company to distract me. "Here," I said picking a random book off of me. "See this book?"

He nodded and scooted up to me. "Me and daddy read that one before. It has a lot of fighting."

"Really. I haven't seen this one yet. You want to look at it with me?" he nodded again. "Alright, Come on, hop up on my lap little buddy," I sat cross-legged on the floor while he placed himself in the center of where the gap in my legs made a triangular shape. "Have you read this one by yourself before?"

"Mmmhmm," he nodded.

"Wow, good job. You're catching up to me aren't you, Rudy? Can you read what this says?" I said putting the book in front of the toddler.

"Sword!" he said putting his index finger on an illustration of a knight riding a horse.

"Yeah, that's right. Sword."

"Daddy has a sword."

"Yes, he does. He likes to hit me with it."

"No, he says I hit things, and sword fight is fun."

"He's trying to break you into it too, isn't he? Don't fall for it, Rudy. It's a trap." I leaned down to whisper into his ear. "He says anything about swords just run."

I turned to another page. More swords and horses, and battles. I paused when I came upon a picture of people who appeared to be humans with some anatomical differences. They were taller more slender than a lot of humans that were depicted and they had long ears growing out from their hair. They were enveloped with the shining substance I see in all the spellbooks. They looked like they were encircling each other in some sort of ritual. The date number seemed way off from what the Greyrat's had on their calendars. "What sort of spell are they casting here Rudy?"

"No spell," he said shaking his head. "Daddy says they are collecting it. From trees and stuff."

"Collecting it?" What does that mean? I carefully read the chronicles above the image.

From what I can gather in this, people here are elves not humans. Their race was originally unable to use mana. They invoked some sort of nature spirits during a war. They allowed them to manipulate the elements and that's how they created some of the first spells. The picture here looks like there's some worshipping service surrounding it.

So does that mean it's not all genetic? That there is a way for the people in this land to adapt to gain more mana.

There's no mention of humans in this passage. How are they able to do it? Did they just evolve to the changing environment to pull off such a feat? But what does that mean for people who aren't born here? It doesn't say anything about outsiders either. But the people here are the same as humans in my world in every other way. We should be able to do magic too, can't we?

I can't believe I completely missed that. Why didn't I start with the history books earlier?

"Sorry for the short recess kid I have to go ask your mom something. Be back in a bit." I said tumbling down the stairs.

Zenith was sitting by herself sewing something on the chair in the living room. I spoke up to her and she got so startled that she dropped the needle and took whatever she was making and sat on it. "Woah you surprised me. I just haven't seen you for a while. What brings you down here? Did you get the food I set out in front of your door?"

"Yeah, I got the food."

"It something else then. Oh no, is it because of Rudeus. Did he disturb you? I'm so sorry. I told that young man not to go up there."

"No, Rudy's fine. Zenith-sama I just came to ask... How did you get mana?"

"How did I get my mana? That's a good question," she said thinking to herself, "I suppose I've always had it. I believe that's the same for most people. Although, My mana level isn't that high. I had to recover and rest myself after using a few spells on you."

"What if someone has an extremely low amount of mana and starts at like zero? Is there some way for it to grow?" I asked.

"No, I believe there is a set amount that you can carry. And I never heard of someone starting that low."

That's unfair, why would the world be programmed that way? You're supposed to gain more MP with levels and experience. That's how that operates. Without that, those born with none would always be at a disadvantage. There has to be some tactic to beating the system."Can you get mana from other people? Or can you pray to trees and get some?"

"Hmm, y'know I never really thought about that either. There is a spell that allows you to transfer your health onto another person. I don't know if there's one for sapping mana or not. And haha," she chuckled."Praying to trees haha, I'd be casting god-ranked spells by now if talking to my garden in the front yard was all I had to do. Why are you asking me all these questions, anyway?"

"Uh, No reason. So even Paul and Lilia have some?"

"Yep, but they aren't really fond of using it. Paul would much rather tend to his weapons than to books," she said.

Why would Paul waste his time swinging around a piece of wood when he has the power to alter reality? I would trade anything to have the power to do that.

(-)

In one week I woke up feeling sicker than I had ever experienced in my life. The pain was excruciating. It was like someone was trying to carve their way out of me with a knife. Internally, my body ached more than when my organs got run over.

"You're head is burning up," Zenith said pressing down on my forehead. "You're running a high fever. You'll need to rest up."

"My stomach hurts too. I feel like I'm dying again, " I said rolling around the bed failing to get in a comfortable position as the gurgling of my insides kept getting louder. "Can you make them both go away?"

"'I'll see what I can do." she sounded uncertain. She put a bowl next to my bed to throw up in. When I tried to upchuck no food would come out. Instead, I coughed up blood that splattered all over. It made me afraid that whatever this was opening up all the organs Zenith magically sewed up and undoing all her progress.

I essentially got to the point where I was bedridden again and it was only getting worse by the day so Zenith chose to invite someone in. It might have been a shaman or some magical medical person similar to she does. I heard the word detoxification getting thrown a lot lately when they inflicted more spells upon me. From what I remember reading, the purpose of detoxification spells is to cure people from poison or diseases. Those spells didn't seem to do anything for me. The way they were speaking made it sound like even they didn't know what I had. I think they were arguing as to whether it had any cure at all. Did I catch something back at home is that why? Their magic might only work on ailments of this world however these aren't side effects of any disease I have heard of.

They decided since detoxification spells were a bust their next plan of action was to graced me with some homemade remedies. She tried feeding me all sorts of herbs and spices. Most had little to no effect on my health. The only one that did was a special type of tea she brewed that smelled like freshly cut grass. It worked as a sort of laxative as it made me visit the toilet hole. I could feel my body being cleared of whatever was causing my ailments.

I must've contracted a really invasive virus or species of bacteria. It could have also been food poisoning.

I wanted to find the cause. Was it something I ate? I don't know what I've been ingesting half the time not all of their food has a counterpart to my world and maybe I'm having a severe allergic reaction to one. I succumbed to the temptation and peered down the forbidden hole. When I looked down I saw that my feces were not only mixed with the red liquid I've gotten all too used to seeing, but they were sparkly on top.

Those are remnants of mana...and they are in my feces? It could be that it came from my body. Does that stuff go into my skin whenever she does that spell to me?

Or was it in me all along?

Then that means...my mana level isn't zero!

It was the method of summoning spells that were the problem.

Aha, I can try again.

I need to look at that book.

All of a sudden my demeanor shifted from being six feet underground to flying sky high.

Zenith knocked on the door to the bathroom, "Are you alright in there?"

"Never better," I said as acid rose to my mouth which made me realize I was in the middle of vomiting. I hacked up some more in the primitive toilet and then went right back upstairs to study.

If I can't say magic words then I should jump straight to drawing. In the manual, it said that magic circles are an outdated form of summoning spells due to the time-consuming nature of drawing them all out compared to the simpler incantations. Well, I haven't exactly kept up with the program and I see no reason as to why they wouldn't work. I'll try out one of these circles. All you need to create them is to either use ink or engrave it somewhere. There's plenty of wood I could use the floor to carve out as many as I want in here. I'll say the incantation too for extra measure. It should absorb whatever amount of mana I have inside of me.

"Now work!" I yelled putting my hand on one I made then recited the incantation.

Hmm...It's not coming out of here either. Maybe it can't absorb it because it's really deep inside of me. I then went and laid on top of it in a prone position then the supine position. Neither made difference.

Okay, so it wants to play this game again. Whatever. I'm not giving up. I won't even leave this room until I figure one of these out. I'll go through the whole book again if I have to and sketch out everyone by hand.

And that's what I did.

In the end, I drew so many that the floor resembled the setup of a giant game of twister.

I don't understand. Mana is that sparkly junk, right? If I can defecate it then that means there is still some inside of me.

"Worrrkk. Please!" I said pounding on one. I checked the book over ten times. I wrote it down correctly. I feel like I'm so close. C'mon there has to be a way. I repeatedly slammed my hand down at the center of each of the circles. The only thing that resulted was a dozen or so splinters in my hands. I about broke down. My sweat and tears were the only source of water these goddamn circles would produce.

This was my last hope. If I can't do this, then how am I supposed to learn anything?

I'll be useless in this world too...

My sulking was then intruded by a young sir who crept upstairs and opened the door. I swear that kid has a sixth sense. He always comes up here when I'm the most emotionally vulnerable. Do I have room right over his head?

The door cracked open. "The banging is loud," a Rudy said rubbing his face. It looks like I just woke him up from a nap.

"Sorry, to disturb you,...little buddy." I sniffed quickly trying to wipe the mist out of my eyes. "I'm just running some tests and...it's not going very good so far."

"I like your drawings," he said pointing to the nearest circle.

"Thanks, now if I could only get them to do what I want."

"What does it do?" he asked.

"This one's a magic water circle. It makes water when you put your hand on it," I explained.

"Cool, can I try?"

"Sure, why not?" It not like anything will come from it. "Here Rudy, you can kneel down right here."

"Like this?" he said while he put himself in a stance looking like a frog that just came from the tadpole phase.

"Yes, you got it. Now place your hand on the circle opposite to my hands and have your focus on the wettest thing you can possibly think of."

Rudy prepared himself and closed his eyes. "Mmm warm baths."

"Now repeat these words after me. huh," He placed his hand on it next to mine all of a sudden, the circle began to illuminate. A small puddle of water began to form in its place.

"It's shining," he said pulling his hands away from it.

"There's water..."

I was paralyzed at the display. Was I dreaming?

"It-It's working?" I thought as water splashed on my face.

The circles that I drew myself all on my own, they really produced the vital liquid of life from this world's energy.

I felt the sparks on my heart squeeze so much I couldn't hold it in."I did it! HAHA!" I said kneeling down throwing my fist in the air and tossing up the water. It's been a while since I've been this satisfied about anything I've done. Even if it is not coming from me, I mastered something. And it's something no one else in my old world has ever accomplished before.

I love this feeling. I want more of it. I want to push this thing further. "Let's make a bigger one. Rudy!" I said already laying out the groundwork for an advance ranked spell. If the beginning can make puddles, this one will probably make a tub full of water. I better place one of those washing tubs and sheets around it just in case this floor gets flooded and leaks down below.

Rudy however was somewhat preoccupied and disturbed by the fountains of water rushing out of him. "I don't want to," he whined as he tried wiping it off on his clothes. "Eeck, it's getting wet everywhere. Make it stop!"

"Here," I said picking him up and walking away from the magic circle and etched it out with my foot. "And now stop focusing on your hand and think dry thoughts. Also, don't think blowy, dirty, or hot thoughts, or this could end badly." I said looking at the several rows of circles I had created. After a few seconds, his palm quit leaking.

"That's all I have to turn it off," Rudy said.

"Uh-huh," I nodded. "You ready for round two now?"

Rudy was hesitant, but he came around. We both drew the advance circle together although I had to fix some of his parts. Once we were done I told Rudeus to stand in the center of the advanced level spell to observe the results. He sat down in and meditative stance as I saw the mana being pulled from him. There was a thunderous quake at the bottom of the floor boards.

Without a moment's notice water erupted from underneath him as he rocketed towards the ceiling. He was going up with it and fast.

"Oh no," I thought. "I better do something he takes off to the moon or becomes a pancake I have to stare at every night when I sleep."

I reached my hand into the tube of water and when the geyser got tall enough it smashed the rood open leaving the debris to fall to the ground with small chunks hitting my noggin. It's taking in so much mana. H-How is this possible? His body is so small. It says right here children shouldn't have this much mana stored in him...and yet-

Even after the giant water spot disappeared the advanced ranked spell wasn't finished. Rather than water balls coming out of his hand's giant ballistic jets of water streamed out of his arms. This tore a giant hole in the wall and made raindrops hit the nearby acres of land. The kickback was so strong that I dropped him and he plunged to the floor knee first. He must have chaffed it as he began to scream loudly. "Shh, don't cry Rudy they'll hear you." By now I could already apprehend those angry rumbling footsteps of parents making their way up the stairs.

Technically, Rudy made the giant hole in the wall, but they'll kick me out long before they kick their 4-year-old son out. And I'm the one that wanted to test things out he didn't know what he was doing. I'm the one that has to bear responsibility for this.

When Paul, Zenith, and Lilia tumbled through the door all with worried faces watched onto them. I prepared myself to confess and expect the worst.

"I-'m so sorry you guys. I apologize for Rudy and all the damages. I've been secretly reciting some of these spells with your son because I didn't know if I had permission to do that. I really wanted to be like you guys and do a bunch of magic stuff since I've never done it before. I don't know all the rules yet and I'm not sure what happened. I massacred all your flooring by making a bunch of these circle thingies. A giant blast of water shot out of his hand then it made a geyser and some water jets shot out the window and the other ones might have gone off too there are some rocks in the corner burnt wood and, and I lost composure and accidentally dropped him- " I kept going until I realized no one was listening to my long ramble. They were all huddling around Rudy who quit sobbing and was completely knocked out.

"Rudeus did this?" His mother said kissing his forehead and patching up the cut he had on his leg.

"Yes,…but it's not his fault. It's the circles I drew on the ground. They absorbed his mana to make him automatically cast water elemental magic."

"He had that much magical power inside of him," she said looking to the wall and the ceiling, "We had no idea he was so gifted." Zenith then turned her head to her husband. "Paul we can't let all that potential go to waste we should get him a private tutor to harness his skills right away."

Paul began to think hard about his wife's request. "Well, I always wanted him to follow my line of work. But...I suppose if he has the talent it should be managed. I'll try to see if I can find anyone nearby. Just promise me that he'll take the time to practice with his old man too."

"It's a deal," she said bringing him to embrace both of them and then turned her eyes up to me. "And you...Thank you, for introducing our child to spellcasting."

"Thank you? But..but...I tore up your roof and walls, vandalized your flooring, and wounded your son. I ruined your livelihood. You should be mad at me!"

Zenith blinked a couple of times then shook her head. "You didn't ruin us. We can fix the attic, and Rudeus only got a scratch. What matters the most is that neither of you got seriously hurt. Although, I wouldn't advise you doing this kind of thing inside the house anymore."

"Yeah..." I agreed.

The next weeks that passed by were spent with me, Lilia, and Paul as we all fixed up the roof and wall. We also dried out some of the books luckily only the ones on the bottom shelf got wet. During the nights, I had to share a room with Rudy due to the damages. Sometimes I would talk with him about the magic system until the sun rose. We practiced privately too.

Surely enough, Rudeus was able to produce results without the magic circle and even without reciting the incantation which is a rarity in this world. The Greyrat's wanted to hire a tutor to hone his skills more. That's when they introduced Roxy into my life and the rest is history.

I still to this day, wonder why they let me live with them as long as I did. Was it just so they could have another person around the house to provide free labor?

What I was taught in my old world was that relationships with co-workers, employers, and peers you study with at school are used as a means to an end. Things to ditch as soon as you don't need them anymore. Conversations I overheard from my siblings about their education and jobs only reinforced that idea in my head.

The longer I stay here though, and the more relationships I form. The more I seem to doubt those sentiments. Even with the people, I didn't like at first.

For example, I loathed working out with Paul, but his training did boost my stamina. He didn't have to do that. And as a stranger, they decided to let me stay with them even before I provided any of my services. I don't think they were just seeking out a babysitter. For people like Zenith, even when I couldn't tell what she was saying it seemed like just seeing me alive and happy was enough for her.

I tried to think of any instances where I did that. Going out of your way to give to a stranger first without any real motive. I believe I've only experienced it a few times in my life. One was with the truck where I refused to stand by as the group of high school kids were about to be flattened on the side of the road.

The other was when I just beginning to warm up to people again and walk outside of the house. I was alone in the forest when I witnessed three rowdy boys slinging rocks and mud at a small boy with green hair pointy ears and a gray jacket huddling alone taking everything they were throwing at him. They called him a demon, but there was nothing malicious about him. Like the villagers with Roxy, I bet they were just putting the feeble kid down just to justify their behavior.

First, I threatened to alarm their parents about it. Unfortunately, they just kept going. I had to use my wide body to shield Slyphy from the blows until they grew impatient and left.

After that, I helped the elf up to get washed up and introduce him to Rudeus. I want to take him in so he'd have another boy his age to hang out with. I got into a huge argument that day with Paul which lead to a minor fallout between us. It was all worth it in the end though. And I will never forget the sweet words I shared with Slyphiette as I lead her home.

"Uhh...uh T-thanks for saving me back there," the small elf said quivering in his jacket like a leaf.

"It's no problem," I assured him. "The nerve of those kids calling you a demon. They're probably just jealous of how handsome you are."

He still looked upset and grabbed the ends of my tailored jacket. "Your cloak it's all muddy because of me…"

"Really? because I don't remember you chucking those mudballs at me. And did you forget they got your coat dirty too?" I put my thumb and a couple of my fingers around his small pale hand. "Here, let me take you my place we can get you washed up," I said holding his hand and leading him on his way.

He didn't say anything to me he just looked up. It was like he wasn't used to accepting kindness from people. Maybe he never received any. Well, I can change that.

"I also have someone back there I want you to meet. His name is Rudeus he's the Greyrat's son and he's just about your age. You'll like him he's not like those other boys he'd never throw things at you or call you names. Heh, unless he wants to answer from me." I laughed. "Wouldn't that be fun, having a new friend to play with?"

"Are you my friend?" he said with such a soft and innocent voice.

I was taken aback. No one had ever directly asked me that before. And he wanted ME to be his friend. I didn't quite know how to respond.

"Umm…if you want me to be...," I stuttered, "I would want you as a friend."

You could say there are strokes of selfishness in those examples. That I only went in front of the truck because I didn't have anything to lose. And I was only trying to find a way to glorify ending my life after leading one with such insignificance. Or I was only trying to help Slyphiette as my own form of retribution against my own bullies that I never fully dealt with in the past.

But you know, I think there's something that overrides those feelings of selfishness. And it's the need we have to want to better someone else's life. That the random man you find at the side of the road, those fussy high school students, the rowdy girl in class, the kid sitting all alone, or just people that have made mistakes in their lives. That they all deserve a future.

At least that's my takeaway from it. I blame my new restored faith in humanity for my blind optimism

It's such a shame though. Even after Rudy and I saved her we just ended up leaving Slyphiette in the dust. I should have told him to invite her over.

Like in my old world there were a lot of things I should've done. But it's too late. Once I was eaten alive by that bright light. There were no turning things back. My life would go under another reality-shattering transformation. This time when I opened my eyes me and the Boreas Greyrats woke up to a war-torn nation.

Author: Thanks for reading this far in I know it's kind of a slow burn and haveing the beginning in the middle kind of messes with the pacing, but I needed to set up some things. And, Thanks for the feedback some of you have been giving me. It helps me get the inspiration to keep going and add new things and fix some issues with my previous chapters.