Chapter 10: Dry Hands

'Another floating island?'

Indeed, I was laying down near the edge of a landmass, unlike any other. Even the most prevalent material that was present, was completely foreign to me. Its feel was close to that of cobblestone, but it was colored more like sand; a white, or maybe a light yellow.

The landscape was barren and mostly flat. The only structures that stood out were some massive pillars made of some unknown, black material, that was about as dark as the sky itself. I got up, bewildered, and began to approach the center of the island.

As I was starting to get closer, however, I was filled with a familiar sense of dread, and pairs of equally familiar purple eyes, accompanied that feeling. The eyes were not static, however. They spun and zoomed all around me, vanishing and reappearing at a moment's notice.

I broke into a mad dash for the center of the island, trying my best to silence the alien whispers and grumbles. I placed my hands firmly on my ears and gritted my teeth.

Even though I was expecting some type of sanctuary in the landmass' center, what I got instead was a bottomless abyss. Of course, I hadn't noticed it before I fell off the face of the planet, doomed to an eternal drop.

It was as if the darkness had swallowed me. It became very hard to breathe.

I was in a desperate state of thrashing about and gasping for air. Just as I was about to lose consciousness...

...

I unbound myself from the evil clutches of my bed covers and took a deep breath.

'I...nearly...died...'

Still lying down, I turned my head to look outside the window to get over my new-found sense of paralyzing fear.

...

'It's a nice day to be alive. Watching the clouds drift by, really helps in forgetting a nightmare.'

Feeling relieved, I sat up on my bed. Today was going to be a day I'd spend with Rana, since we both wanted to get to know each other better. We were the only human beings each of us had met, so it made sense. I tried to come up with activities we could do, but in the end, I figured we'd get better inspiration if we looked around the town.

'Maybe she has some idea planned? I'll go ask.'

With that thought, I walked up to the door that led to the room next to mine and gave it a couple knocks. After getting no answer, I got the impression that she'd already gone to the tavern section of the inn to get some breakfast, or something.

As I was about to leave, however, I heard some shuffling from behind the door.

"Rana, are you awake?"

"Ughh, five more minutes..." Her response was muffled from both the door and a yawn.

"Five more what?"

"Just...I'll be ready in a bit...You can wait downstairs, if you want."

"Alright."

Having finally reached the tavern and been met with its spacious, breezy atmosphere, I sat down at a table for two, and waited for her to join me. As I was waiting, though, I was approached by the innkeeper themself.

"Good morning, Steve!"

"Good morning, Catherine."

"Did you get a good night's sleep?" they asked me with a smile.

"Uh, sure..." I decided to leave out the...smaller...details.

"Great! So, I don't want to take up too much of your time, but I wanted to tell you that there's an event scheduled for tomorrow at the library!"

"What kind of event?"

"Public reading!" they answered excitedly.

"That sounds interesting. What's the occasion?"

"You see, public reading takes place every other full moon. It's like tradition, in a way. So, I was thinking that, maybe you and miss Rana would like to be there?"

"Honestly, that sounds nice. I can't really speak on Rana's behalf, but I'll probably be there."

"I'm very happy to hear that! Anyways, that's about all I wanted to tell you. I have a few errands to attend to, so, have a nice day!" they said with a grin.

"You too," I replied, and they left the building through the doorway.

'Public reading, huh? I guess that takes care of tomorrow, but I still have no idea what to do today.'

I was soon pulled out of my thoughts when my fellow adventurer arrived, humming a little tune to herself.

"Good morning!" she cheerfully exclaimed.

"Good morning."

"Did you sleep well?" she asked as she sat across from me.

"Ah, well, you know. I nearly suffocated in my own bed covers."

"Well, I... Wait, you're serious?" she asked me with an incredulous look.

"Yes..." I replied in shame.

"But how?"

"I had this strange dream. Must've turned around a few times..."

"Oh, what was the dream about?"

"It was something more like a nightmare, or at least, that's the feeling I get. I don't really remember it..."

"Aww, that's annoying. I don't like it when I forget a dream the moment I wake up. It could've been the best dream I've ever had, for all I know," she explained, annoyed.

"Yeah, I suppose so. In my case, though, it kind of worked in my favor. The dream didn't really leave me a pleasant feeling."

"Ah, that's true... Hey, have you ordered anything yet?"

"No, nothing yet. Do you have any preferences?"

"As a matter of fact, I do!" she stated in a proud, almost smug manner. "Oh, waiter~"

Soon enough, from the door of the reception, a waiter emerged and walked up to us, sidestepping the counter.

"What would be your order, great heroes?" Their voice was inviting.

"We'll take two pumpkin pies and two glasses of water, please!"

"Coming right up!" they responded and went back to the room they were previously in. Meanwhile, Rana pulled out a piece of paper and some coal.

"What are you doing?" I asked, curious.

"I'm drawing! This world doesn't have pencils, so I have to improvise with coal. It's pretty difficult, you know?" She showed me her palms, which had dark gray stains on them, and wiggled her fingers lightly.

"I see...What are you drawing, then?"

"Hehe, that's a surprise! You'll see later!" she replied with a wink.

"Okay, then."

We sat in silence for a bit, and I spaced out in the meantime. I didn't even notice that the waiter returned with our order.

"Breakfast is served! That would be two emeralds, please."

...

"Thank you kindly!" was their response, before they retreated back to the backdoor of the reception room.

"You know, you didn't have to pay it all by yourself..." she said to me with a frown. Apparently, I had paid the required amount, absent-mindedly.

"Huh? Oh. Well, it doesn't really matter. I have enough emeralds and nothing to spend them on."

"Still, I wanted to pay you back for the rescue yesterday!"

"Umm, no offense, Rana, but I don't exactly think our lives are worth just two emeralds..."

"Yeah, you're right...I guess I'll have to try again, sometime. Here, for now, we should at least split it. Here you go!" She handed me one emerald.

"There! Now, let's eat!" Her expression was one of delight.

"Thanks," is what I wanted to say, but she seemed too absorbed in eating her pie to hear me. She seemed to enjoy it, so I wasted no more time in getting to mine.

...

It tasted really nice! Maybe a little too sweet for my tastes, but even so, it wasn't a deal breaker. Not to mention, it was pretty saturating for my hunger.

We finished up with some water. Even though it didn't really do much for me, I still liked its sparkling, slightly mineral taste. Looking ahead of me, I noticed that Rana had already finished her breakfast and returned to her drawing. She seemed very focused.

"Hey, do you have anything planned for today?" I started slowly.

"Hmm, well, I am running low on fish, and there's this pond near the foot of the mountain..." Her eyes didn't stray from the paper.

"So, I was thinking that, maybe you'd want to go fishing with me?" She looked at me as she said that.

"Yeah, that sounds great!"

"Awesome!" she exclaimed.

"Shall we get going, then?"

"Hold on just a moment..."

"What is it?"

"Hold on..."

"..."

"And...there! Tada!"

I was presented with the drawing she'd been working on. It was a grayscale sketch of...some type of animal. I couldn't recognize, or even make out the creature itself, but that was probably on me, and not the sketch.

"I..."

"It's a frog! Size accurate, too. You said you didn't know what they are, so, last night, I decided to draw one to show you! It's probably not my best work, but I tried. Here, you can have it." She handed me the paper.

"Thank you. It's very thoughtful of you," I said, while a small smile was starting to tug my lips. I couldn't really tell why I liked that gesture so much.

"Could you describe it to me?" I asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, what part of it is this supposed to be?"

She walked up to me and proceeded to explain the animal's anatomy. Its eyes and legs were what had thrown me off the most. This creature looked vastly different than anything I was used to, so the explanation was appreciated.

"Hehe, you're welcome! Anyway, let's go!"

Rana took the lead. On our way, we passed through Cornelia's main streets and actually got quite a few 'hellos' from the townsfolk. It was clear that we had a good reputation among them.

Nearing the town's outskirts, we met the iron golem, who apparently had the name 'Talos'. Just like yesterday, it initiated a staring contest with each of us, until it ultimately revealed a poppy in its stone-cold hand, which it promptly gave to Rana. After giving it a small sniff, she responded with an:

"Aww, thanks!" Her expression was a mix of joy and gratitude. Naturally, the moving statue couldn't verbally respond, so it went along its way.

"What was that all about?"

"I don't know, but I find it sweet anyway. That doesn't matter, though! We're almost there!"

We got near a bunch of spruce trees, not too far from the mountain side I'd surfaced from. In the middle of the bunch, was a lake with rich, sparkling water. I couldn't even see its bottom. The opening itself had rough vegetation when compared to the plains. So, instead of flowers, it had ferns. A pair of foxes were resting, all curled up next to a distant berry bush. Rana washed her hands on the edge of the pond, before turning to address me.

"Steve, do you have a fishing rod with you?"

"No." Honestly, I hadn't even crafted one until that point.

"Well, do you have any string with you?"

"Yeah, around twelve strands, or so."

"That's more than enough. I only need three."

"Okay, then. Here you go."

After getting the required material, she placed down a crafting table, and crafted a fishing rod.

"This one's for you!" she said, as she handed the rod over to me.

"I already have mine," she continued. "I just wanted to make sure you had one of your own, so we wouldn't have one of us sit around. With that out of the way, let's begin!"

She swiftly cast her line into the lake, and the lure bobbed up and down in the water's surface. I followed suit.

"The trick is, when you see a line of bubbles reach the bobber, quickly retract your line."

"I'll keep that in mind."

We sat in silence for a while, waiting for a bite of some kind. Eventually, I saw an array of bubbles make its way towards my rod's bobber. Following Rana's advice, I retracted the line right as the bubbles reached it. Whipping the rod back, revealed...a raw cob! I even got some experience, too!

"Woah, hey! Nice work!"

"Thanks!"

"Wait 'till you see this, though," she continued, as bubbles zig-zagged their way to where she had cast the line. Reeling in her line, revealed...a raw salmon!

"Oh, salmon! Those are pretty good!"

"Nice catch."

...

We sat in silence for a while. No fish were approaching, so I decided to break the silence.

"So, do you fish often?"

"Weirdly enough, no. In fact, I fished for the first time here, in this world."

"I see. That's interesting."

"Yeah. It's amazing, you know? Being in this world has given me the chance to do so many things I couldn't do before. Building, fighting, crafting...heck, even fishing! I'm grateful for the opportunity..." she trailed off. This was as good a chance for me as any to ask her about her relationship with this world.

"You know, when I first woke up in this place, I was super confused. I was all alone, in a totally foreign world... A world similar to my old one in some aspects, but totally different in others... I guess you could say the two are worlds apart!" she remarked slyly.

"But, after wandering around a bit, I realized that I felt happy. Very happy, in fact. Probably the happiest I've ever been!"

"Really?"

"Yeah! I felt like I was in heaven! I could do whatever, wherever and whenever I wanted, without anyone to judge me! Just me and the world... That is... until the first night fell, and all the monsters started showing up."

Her giddy narration had now become a little somber.

"I ended up digging a small hole in the ground, and sealing myself inside, just to survive from them. I stayed cooped up for the whole night. And I wasn't feeling good. I felt betrayed. Like...the earlier day was just a bait only meant to trick me, and that this place was actually hell. That's what was going through my head that night..."

Poor girl... How lucky did I get? At least I was guided along by instincts and my curiosity, but Rana? She was totally care-free... I felt bad for her.

"Eventually, bit by bit; day by day, I gradually got the hang of this world. I stopped thinking of it as heaven or hell, but rather as a new life for me. After many, many failed experiments and mistakes, I grew stronger, strong enough to survive on my own, and I finally started to feel better again. I was nervous when I first set foot in Cornelia, but Johnathan was very welcoming to me," she stated with a smile.

"..."

"And yet, as I was getting used to my new life, I started feeling anxious again..."

"Why?"

"I..."

"..."

"Oh! A bite! Wow, it's a big one, as well."

Indeed, near the bait, a few bubbles could be seen. Unlike the previous times, though, there was something else, too. A strange, dark blob. Either that was the biggest fish to ever live, or...I quickly equipped my shield.

*SPLAAAASH!*

"Aaaah!"

In the blink of an eye, an undead, humanoid monstrosity jumped out of the water, shattering the tranquility with a huge splash.

"Stand back!" I yelled out, and jumped in front of it, my shield raised. The monster's bite, which was originally meant for Rana, instead met the shield's hard, wooden surface. Looking behind me, I could see that she had momentarily frozen up.

"Wh-wha?"

Deciding to give her a moment to calm down, I opted to push the drowned zombie back with a shield bash. Even though it was successful in pushing the foe back, I could tell that I had dealt negligible damage...

Suddenly, a weapon appeared in the enemy's hand; a deep-blue trident, with cyan points. The drowned threw its whole body back and launched the weapon straight at me. Even though I had my shield up, the trident's sheer force was able to instantly leave me defenseless. I felt my arm go numb from the recoil.

"Damn it..."

I looked back to where my co-adventurer had been sitting, only to find out that, to my surprise, she wasn't there anymore. However, a war cry-esque scream could be heard from ahead.

"Haaaaa!"

With an impressive jump-slash, the undead was reduced to smoke, and the violent splashing stopped. I could hear Rana panting.

"Are you okay?" she asked me.

"I think so. You?"

"I'm fine. Whew, man. That was some good teamwork, don't you think?"

Considering how we hadn't even coordinated anything, "Yeah, I believe so!"

"Yeah, I knew we'd make a good team! If we keep this up, no mob will harm us again!" She seemed happy, and a little excited.

"Steve?" she started with some nervousness.

"What is it?"

"Would you... Would you like to be my friend?" she finally asked expectantly. There was something in the way she said that that tugged at my heartstrings.

"I'd be happy to."

"Thank you. Oh, it's getting late. We should get going."

"Ah, right."

We began heading back to base, as the sun was about to set. By the time we arrived, the stars were crystal-clear. We eventually split up to go to our rooms.

"Thank you for the company today, Steve. It really means a lot."

"I didn't really do anything special, though. You were the one who added the most to the conversations."

"That doesn't matter. I still appreciated your company. So... Thanks..." She gave me a small grin.

"Uh, don't mention it. Thank you for the good time. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

I entered my room and laid down once again. This day really was a unique one. It may have seemed almost uneventful by comparison. Why would fishing come off as more notable than spelunking, or finding a new town, or infiltrating a tower? Could it be because of the person you're with?

END OF VOLUME 1