I lean against the walls. A migraine washed over me as I winced in pain. Looking about me, there was another high wall in front of me, a narrow valley with one side blocked by a low wall and the other… The sound of strange things was coming.
My vision was blurry; only when the pain abated did I look near my leg. A small gunny pouch lay there, small enough to hold several gold coins. My sword lay on my left side.
My memory clicked. "Master… that fool, what type of illusion has he thrown me into this time?" I remembered. The black knight and the dead dragon heads, and the back of my master, but what had he said before I fainted?
"Dammit. How do I get rid of it?"
There was no way out; only he could deactivate it, this illusion.
I gritted my teeth; anger erupted, but there was no use.
"He might be dead anyway. That fool never listened to me." I said, picking up the pouch and opening it.
Just as I expected, there were several gold coins, but the embellished pattern was queer. A shape of a crescent moon on one side and a tower with four stars on the other side.
What caught my attention were the two tiny red and blue balls. It startled me. "Didn't he eat them?"
The red ball, if eaten, breaks the language barrier. It's a much more complex function, but in simple words, it's like the world itself translates every language for you.
The blue ball—it's only for information gain. These are among the rarest items, and they only work with a few suitable individuals. Hopefully, I might be among them.
I gulped both and staggered to where light and where sound were coming from. The effects will induce a trigger in my brain, and soon… a headache struck my brain. I rubbed my temples with my thumb and index finger, only for it to be aggravated.
A flood of information entered my mind, breaking a limit that once restricted me from learning about the world and its boundaries. I felt like barfing, and when I did, it was blood.
I halted and let the blood come out willingly. My chest tightened, and my mouth tasted sour; the blood that came out was almost black. With the back of my hand, I cleaned my lips.
Ignoring the pain, I clung to the hilt in my fingers and readied myself to face the other side.
"This is…" My eyes widened, and a gap formed between my lips, bewildered and surprised.
What was this place? A world brimmed with various blazing colors, and people strolled, clad in attires that seemed to be of this world. Some sat in the machines that were moving away; my mind ached.
"So that's a car." As the information settled in, I looked at the kid watching these so-called cars in amazement.
It was working; my mind was creating space enough for information to dwell in. Those waves that were coming out of these humans' mouths were reaching me and intermingling with the world's own information, and that entered my mind.
I guess my master's explanation did help me. I thought he told me all of this for no reason. Perhaps he knew from the start.
I began doubting this world to be an illusion.
But what purpose do I have without him?
I only lived because I found a goal with my master… I began pondering, what was that goal? Perhaps world destruction? No too shabby, perchance… I didn't know, nor did I try to remember it. A substantial amount of information was surging in, and adding more burden would be irksome for my brain.
Eyes of strangers took a glimpse of my spaced-out face and looked at my sword and raiment. When I came back to my senses, I noticed those glances.
"Are you a sentry?" A child poked my leg with his stubby finger.
My crimson eyes glared down at him. I stayed silent, only observing his round face.
"Can you save my mother?" He asked, looking so dead from inside. I could tell and feel his emotion as if it were mine.
Just then her mother arrived. Lifted the boy in her arms and left without saying a word, but her words rang in my ears as the loudest bell as she told her child.
"Not all Sentries are heroes, and don't talk to the strange either."
It got me curious: what is Sentry? Heroes—I guess they are some sort of heroes, but it got me questioning. I didn't get any sort of information regarding them.
I strolled opposite to where the mother and the child went. I can't just rely on the pills. I need proper information.
A man of over five feet two inches collided with me; he hurriedly tried to move, but I seized him by the wrist.
"Let go of me." He tried to wrench himself free, but even my weakest hold on him was proven stronger. I sensed his emotion, wariness, desire to run away, and sadness.
Two seconds hadn't passed when a man in a blue uniform arrived with a woman. The officer, that's what the woman called him, took the golden earring from the man, and when he tried to take the man away, I stopped him.
I should play this Sentry, and let's see what big deal it can be, since even the officer started calling me Sentry.
"I will take him with me." I said solemnly, pulling him closer.
Instead of arguing, the officer stepped away; his expression was pale as if I would stab him to death. Even the rubber seemed to be scared of me at this point.
"I didn't do anything wrong here; let go of me!"
I said, "Everyone says the same until truth comes out of their mouth." I began dragging him; people saw me but ignored me. Something was off about it.
I took him back inside the same valley I came out from and slammed him to the ground. He winced, and his back slid down as he sprawled on the ground.
"I wouldn't hurt you," I said, "but in return you have to tell me whatever I ask you."
The man nodded, and the questions began.