"Holy Black Sun!"
Stepping out of the hospital room, Arlo stood rigid where he was as he took in the breathtaking sight spread out before him.
Gigantic structures towered more than a hundred meters into the sky, stretching as far as the eye could see.
What was even more mind-numbing were the countless roads suspended high in the air without anything supporting them.
Racing across those floating highways were innumerable metallic vehicles traveling at astonishing speeds.
"What... what is this?" Arlo muttered under his breath as he gripped the balcony railing.
Only then did he realize why he could see so much of the city.
He was incredibly high up, nearly seventy floors above the ground.
Looking down from such a terrifying height almost made his heart leap out of his chest.
"Get ready..."
An excited voice suddenly whispered beside his ear.
Arlo’s expression changed instantly as he felt someone grab his right arm.
Before he could even react...
"Jump!"
Horror filled Arlo’s eyes.
The very next instant, both of them were hurtling through the air, his hair standing on end like the quills of a frightened porcupine.
"WHAT THE HELL!?"
Arlo screamed, desperately reaching for anything he could grab.
There was nothing!
The ground rushed toward them at a terrifying speed, and reflexively, his hands reached for his chest tapping on it, hoping the metallic shoes would let out those flames and slow him down, like what happened the last time, but that didn’t happen as he wasn’t in the armor.
With no other choice, he wrapped both arms around the only thing within reach.
Feeling herself suddenly squeezed like a vine, Captain Ennessa frowned.
"Hey! What the hell are you doing?"
"WE’RE GOING TO DIE! WE’RE GOING TO DIE!!"
Arlo screamed like a madman as he stared at the metallic ground racing toward them.
He might know nothing about this world’s technology, but he knew enough to realize that crashing into solid metal from this height would reduce him to nothing more than a bloody stain.
"Calm down, kiddo," Ennessa said with an amused smirk. "A First Core Awakener wouldn’t die from a fall of a hundred and fifty meters."
"I haven’t awakened any Core! I’m still an ordinary mortal! I’ll become a pancake!"
Ennessa’s eyebrows furrowed.
"Well... I don’t believe you."
A wicked grin slowly spread across her face.
"How about we test that theory?"
Arlo’s spine turned ice-cold.
The ground was already less than 40 meters away, leaving him no time left to think his way out.
Closing his eyes, he accepted his fate, whispering.
"I...I just wish I was never talented."
His voice came out almost peacefully.
Ennessa watched in surprise as the young man who had been screaming moments ago suddenly calmed down.
But all of sudden, he flung open his eyes, turning to her with realization.
"No, that’s the wrong wish. The right wish is that I never saved you back in that cave!"
The ground rushed ever closer, the roaring wind whipping violently around him.
Finally, he closed his eyes, his shirt fluttering widely when all of sudden, everything stopped.
The howling wind, the terrifying descent, and even the frantic fluttering of his clothes.
It was as though time itself had frozen, and slowly opening his eyes, Arlo found himself suspended in midair.
Captain Ennessa was holding him up effortlessly by one arm.
Looking into his bewildered crimson eyes speckled with black, she smiled with equal parts amusement and mischief before raising her left hand and locking her index and middle fingers together.
"You saved my life back in that cave," she said.
"And I just saved yours, so, we’re even now... aren’t we?"
With that, she casually dropped him onto the ground before stepping out of the enormous crater she had created upon landing.
Arlo stared blankly at the massive crater before shifting his gaze back to Captain Ennessa, who continued walking away as though nothing extraordinary had happened.
’So it’s true humans really have fused with technology. Those legs of hers definitely aren’t made of ordinary bones...
"Walk faster," Ennessa called without looking back. "You have a lot of questions to answer."
Arlo immediately broke into a run after her, and hearing his hurried footsteps, Ennessa smirked inwardly.
’He obeyed quicker this time. Looks like I finally scared some respect into him.’
The smile had barely fully formed when she realized something was wrong.
The footsteps weren’t getting closer, but getting farther away instead.
Her eyebrows twitched, and swiftly turning around, she caught sight of Arlo sprinting away at full speed.
Within seconds, he disappeared between the towering skyscrapers.
Ennessa simply stood there, blinking in confusion.
"...He ran?"
_________
"Faster... Faster..."
Arlo snapped at himself as the wind rushed past his ears.
He didn’t even dare look back, as at this point, he had already reached one absolute conclusion:
Staying anywhere near Captain Ennessa would eventually get him killed.
He had nearly died twice already because of that woman.
He didn’t know how much Lady Luck favored him, but he certainly wasn’t willing to test it a third time.
"Military life is far too dangerous. Maybe I’ll become a uh...a uh... a salesman! Mom always said I had a sweet tongue."
"Yes. That’s exactly what I need, a peaceful job as I slowly settle down in this world, steadily grow stronger, and eventually find a way back home."
Having outlined the entirety of his life in this world in a moment, Arlo continued running even more reassured.
Only after nearly ten minutes did he finally slow to a stop, finding himself beside a broad roadway where countless metallic vehicles sped past, just like the ones he had seen traveling through the sky.
"I need to get as far away as possible from that monster..."
Standing by the roadside, Arlo carefully observed how other people stopped the passing vehicles.
One person simply waved three times, a vehicle pulled over, and the passenger climbed inside.
Then it drove away.
’That’s simple enough.’
Moments later, another vehicle approached from a distance, and Arlo enthusiastically waved both arms.
To his surprise...The vehicle actually slowed to a stop on his very first attempt.
’I got it right on my first try...that’s unusual. Seems like Lady Luck is really in love with me afterall.’
The door slid open, and without hesitation, he jumped inside and slammed it shut.
"Drive away from here, as fast as possible."
Arlo ordered, keeping his eyes on the window as he searched for any sign of her."
"Are you being chased by a monster, Sir?"
A concerned voice immediately came from the driver’s seat.
"Oh, no, no, no."
Arlo shook his head.
"It’s even worse than that."
"Are you sure about that, Sir Arlo?"
Arlo nodded automatically.
"I can feel it in my soul. Now drive away alre..."
He didn’t finish the words, when the realization hit him.
’Wait...How does the driver know my name?’
A chill ran down his spine, and slowly, very slowly, he turned towards the driver’s seat.
The moment he saw who was sitting behind the wheel, his entire body went numb.
"Oh no..."