"Karl... after everything today... I feel strangely safe around you," Lily said, "it's weird, right? We just met... and almost died twice."
Oh, please, don't start. After my life in my past world, I can feel chills hearing this.
He remained with his back turned so she wouldn't feel embarrassed... she moved away a bit, warmer than before, now with the additional cloth of his shirt.
She touched her lips unconsciously, remembering the desperate CPR... her first, in a way.
Her cheek turned pink as she realized how much her wet and torn white vestments had revealed, something a Saint sworn to purity should never show before marriage. But hey, if it weren't for the lake, she'd be dead anyway. Priorities, right?
Karl, this woman magnet… almost killed a lot because of yanderes. He just can't stand it anymore.
She looked at him trying to maintain a straight face. And noticed something.
"Karl… are you okay? You have a fish on your leg"
"I am, but the fish that bit me isn't." After he removed the piranha from his calf and threw it onto the dry ground, he said, "By the way, didn't you teleport to the temple?"
She looked at him. "No, the item broke… That red light cancelled the effect… I was too wounded to survive the teleportation anyway."
Bad luck or good luck? I don't know anymore.
He looked at the chest in the middle of the garden again while approaching it.
"Finally, the reward, please, be something good, be something good… be something useful. The big guy will come down here soon. No doubt about it."
Without a doubt it's rare loot, it has to be.
Opening the chest, he found a ring with a strange aura. He couldn't understand what it was. Some kind of energy hovered around the ring.
Well, let's see what this does first, because it can't get worse than it already is, so please make me strong.
He immediately put the ring on his left index finger.
Ring of Wisdom
+7 INT
+11 WIS
22% Magic Resistance
+3% Magic Regen
Passive: Knowledge emanates to the bearer
Description: Knowledge about nearly all things resides and emanates from the ring, the former bearer wanted to know everything about the world, and on his journey died without success, his soul resides in the ring, seeking to satisfy his desire.
"Perfect... Now I'm done for... My only option is to run now, fighting melee with a mage ring is certain death."
"Wait... how can I see these things? Is this the ring's effect?"
He turned and looked at his reflection in the lake and...
[Status]
Name: Karl
Level 1
Condition: Confused, sleepy and low blood
STR 11
DEX 11
CON 15
INT 18
WIS 22
Learned Skills:
Hand to Hand Combat level 3
Swordsmanship level 1
Persuasion level 1
Passive Skills:
Quick Reflex
Enduring Soul
Questionable Charm
ERROR THE USER IS NOT A BEING OF THIS WORLD *** CAN'T USE ALL CAPABILITIES.
***
"How strange," he murmured to himself.
"Karl, I sense... the magical power... of my group..."
Finally, what these guys were doing all this time.
"Right, Lily as soon as you're better, we'll get out of here... And meet up with them, before the big guy comes."
Karl said this while looking at her and automatically saw her status bar.
[Status]
Lily **** Error
Level 11
Condition: Shy, ERROR, Elevated Heart Rate.
***
"What" muttered to himself.
***
STR ***
DEX 14
CON 16
INT ***
WIS 2*
FAITH 33
Error
Learned Skills ***
level N/A Error
[Passive skills: Error can't access this, the user is not a being of this world, the soul of the sage doesn't want to help you.]
***
"I'm going to... I'm going to... huh?—"
Clang!
He collapsed on the ground and his vision started turning dark.
"Right... for a moment I forgot that I... was all torn up, lost too much blood..."
Looks like my… adrenaline ran out.
"Karl!... Ka... arl..."
***
A few hours later, Karl woke in a strange place.
It seemed like an underground section, built in the same style as the dungeon from before. At least, that was what he believed; there was no wind, and the air felt like that of a room that had kept its windows closed for years. So, without a doubt, he was underground.
He looked at the place, everything inverted, and then muttered, "…Okay. Breathe. Not the first time I've woken up in a strange place like this. But usually… I'm not upside down."
This is that wooden cabin I saw at the beginning, or at least, that's what it seemed at first glance when looking at the gap in the wooden wall.
Has to be, from the space between the wood, it's that swamp I was in before.
The small wooden cabin. Dark. The ceiling hung low, made of rotting wood. The floor creaked under any movement from the few rats that scurried past. And the only source of light entered through a crooked gap in the wall that showed a small piece of the swamp.
I can't believe… kidnapped again, Lily where are you... you are alive? This is bad.
"What a stench of rot..."
Something died there weeks ago and continued decomposing, flies swarming around it, and then, he saw.
A body, or at least what remained of one, with severed limbs and exposed viscera, as if someone had meticulously chopped it up, certainly the work of the hooded figure.
Karl's eyes widened. He tried to break free, but felt the pull of the chains attached to his wrists, driven into the ceiling.
Then, he heard.
"Hhhhhh… HA… Ha… ha… ha… ha…"
The laughter, that laughter that seemed to come from the environment itself, lacked direction and just existed there, bizarre.
In the corner of the cabin, a shadow moved, the hooded figure that had been lurking there all along, crouched and watching like a vulture.
Gimme a break.
The psycho said nothing, just laughed.
"HA… ha… ha… ha… ha..."
What do I do now? Think, Karl, think.
Plink…
"H-hey! Yo, big guy! I don't know what you want, but—"
Plink…
A droplet of water fell from the ceiling onto his forehead again.
"...but I can guarantee that psychological torture by dripping isn't the best start to a friendship."
Seems like I'm not here to die… maybe I just need to endure, exist to be his amusement, this psycho.
Some time later.
This is… driving me crazy.
The pain vanished, only the cold remained. It was a wet cold because of the droplets of water falling on him little by little, feeling as if Karl floated submerged in something. The cabin's light flickered, but he could no longer follow. His blurred eyes caught only shapes. The sound of breathing came muffled. Everything felt distant.
Okay, Karl... think. You already escaped worse things... right, the real truth... no. But thinking that way helps, and one thing is certain... I'll kill this guy if I survive this.
But then… footsteps.
Different from the hooded figure's, not dragged and not bestial, the steps were firm and rhythmic, coming from formal shoes of polished leather. He could see them, only the shoes, as they stopped a few meters from his face, almost touching the blood spreading across the floor.
The atmosphere changed, the air seeming to press down as if the cabin itself bowed in silence.
And then, a voice.
Cold, precise, and laden with authority, it carried a calm that chilled more than any scream.
"Is this the last survivor?"
The hooded figure began laughing lower in response, or at least it seemed like a response.
"He, he, ah, he, he…"
Silence.
Then, a rough sound. As if the hooded figure released a muffled laugh, or breathed too heavily. The voice returned, cutting:
"Good that you remembered to leave at least one mercenary for interrogation, we need no more."
"Otherwise... go clean up the mess, I lack time to waste on you."
Silence again, with no response and no visible reaction, but Karl felt the environment change, knowing the hooded figure had vanished without him knowing how.
The shoes approached, a presence bending down, and then everything darkened completely.
When Karl felt something again, someone was already carrying him away from the cabin, away from the darkness of that place, and toward something.
Without a doubt something worse awaits, after all, not a single moment of peace until now, I sense this… They didn't kill me… so they need something for sure…
Karl blacked out again from the lack of blood in his system, and how he remained alive, well, must be the balance of the bad luck he experienced previously.
Karl woke with the taste of blood in his mouth, pain in his face, pain in his chest, pain everywhere.
He looked around and realized someone had placed him in some kind of carriage, and looking back, he noticed far in the distance a shadowy forest looming, the very place he had left.
Someone used healing on me for sure, leaving some pain, but, yeah...
Karl took a better look at where he was.
Where am I going? A medieval carriage. This feels like it's from some aristocrat... This is bad.
He tried to leave, but the windows wouldn't budge
A few hours later, he spotted in the distance a medieval kingdom, somber, with pointed towers. High walls, of dark stone.
A city with quite a sinister atmosphere, Karl looked at it and just laughed, like someone who had surrendered to insanity, placing his hand on his face and laughing and laughing, but making no sound, since he remained all torn up and slightly cracked in the head.
He expected nothing anymore, one situation worse than the other, without stopping...
Looks like I got kidnapped... again... I'm starting to miss my past life...
Karl thought, laughing soundlessly for a few more seconds.
After analyzing my situation since arriving in this world, the environment felt too familiar, making it, without a doubt, an isekai into a game. At the beginning, I had doubts, since the initial setting could belong to a horror movie too, and after all the time I spent playing and watching that type of thing in the past, I could feel the similarities, but after analyzing this kingdom, my doubts diminished.
Yeah, that cleric named Lily... I don't want to believe it, but it looks like there's no denying...
Crow put both hands on his head, elbows on his knees, deep in thought while sitting in the carriage.
She belonged to the hero's group, without doubt, she almost died with me, and yeah, in the game she always was the first, trying to save everyone and dying like a Saint.
I need to organize my thoughts, while I can.
This is the Last Days of Men, so death… very common to happen, the hero's party, only the leader can survive easily till the middle, and that sneaky rat, the good news, I found the Saint, and maybe I can… no, I am captive of someone big here…
What can a normal human do in this world, if only I knew everything, no, I know the hidden pieces, I just need to find a way out.
He played halfway through, so he lacked sufficient information to bypass everything, only his skills in Souls-like games, but... the problem? this wasn't a game anymore.
He kept straining his mind to think of what to do, but he was powerless.
The carriage advanced in silence, pulled by black horses that didn't neigh, didn't breathe heavily, didn't falter. The sound of wheels over the stone ground came muffled, as if the ground itself feared drawing attention.
Wait… maybe this can be a good thing, if this really is the place I think it is, I can pick some mid-level items here, that can make me a little stronger.
Karl watched through the small side opening, still weak, his body too heavy, his thoughts scrambled. But his eyes, even wounded, nevertheless, he watched the path.
The first thing he saw was a garden, but there was nothing alive there. The trees stood petrified, literally. Trunks sculpted as if frozen in time, or a medusa gazed upon the place itself, and a dark lake reflected the cloudy sky with perfection, like a mirror abandoned on the ground amid fog.
This place is too cold.
Further ahead, they crossed a market.
No voices. No shouts of offers. Only aligned stalls, impeccable, with magical artifacts locked in thick glass boxes, and strange fruits, some that floated, others that pulsed lightly, as if breathing. The few merchants wore faces covered by thin veils, and arms too long to belong to humans. Most of them stood at least six feet three.
The wealth showed clearly but drew no attention, not as ostentation, but the type of silent, cold wealth that seemed like an ancient kingdom where things needed no display, or simply money held less value there.
Guards patrolled the streets.
Tall. Wearing full suits of dark metal armor, without crests, without names. Their capes hung long, and their eyes, even beneath the helms, glowed in deep red, like contained embers. From time to time, others appeared, different: one wore a smooth mask, without eyes, carrying a staff instead of a sword; and another, covered by cloaks, had chains dangling over his shoulders that never touched the ground.
That guy with a staff… he is a mage for sure. How do I escape this? Maybe I'll just follow the flow for now.
He watched the figures moving by. No, they watched Karl pass in the carriage.
But nobody interfered; they moved out of the way with their carriages and carts, yet nobody spoke. They just moved, as if he rode in the carriage of a medieval noble.
Judging by the sound… there are at least 2 carriages. The 1st one is the one I'm in, the other is ahead, maybe with that guy from before.
The carriage moved a little further down the wide streets, flanked by multi-story Gothic buildings with dark stained glass that was impossible to see through. Stone bridges connected towers and suspended walkways stretched over rooftops, like a vertical urban labyrinth.
The sky was just like it had been in that forest, unchanged until now, grey everywhere.
The carriage started to slow down.
And then, rounding a corner, Karl spotted a larger structure in the distance, in the city center. It was elevated on wide steps, with a gate of black iron guarded by colossal statues with spears pointed downward.
Some voices from the first carriage, and then the gate opened, they went through.
This palace is familiar.
The carriage slowed down a little more; it seemed like the end of the line.
Then, it stopped completely.
Karl felt his body lurch forward with the sharp brake, the door clicking open with a metallic crack, but nobody appeared to give orders, leaving only the same suffocating silence from before.
After being pulled out of the carriage by some type of minion, he stopped before a majestic medieval mansion, too grand to belong to anyone but royalty.
Glares followed him from every side, armored figures watching his every step.
His stomach sank.
He knew this place. Of course he did.
I'll never forget this place.
The mansion of one of the game's most brutal bosses. I remember this entrance… I repeated this part a lot when it was just a game.
Nice. Now I'm standing right at her doorstep, and I'm not the Hero with his party.
Haha… yeah. I'm dead meat. If I don't deliver the absolute speech of my life right now… I'm dead for sure.