"Ninety-six. Ninety-seven. Ninety-eight… come on!"
Drip. Drip.
"Chris! Only two more, you lazy puff!"
Jeez, Vly, calm down, will you?
Ninety-nine… come on, body, don't give up now.
One Hundred!
Finally, one hundred push-ups done.
"Mealtime!" Vly shouted at me as she turned and headed toward the cabin.
At last. Food. It's only been two weeks since I got here, and every single day has been nothing but harsh training. She even pulled me out of my wheelchair just a day after I arrived.
Still… this place is something else. Towering birch trees, thick bushes, soft light-green grass, and the constant chorus of birds in the morning. It all makes this place feel alive. Even though we're in the middle of nowhere, with me still clueless about where here actually is, I can't help but enjoy it. Every day, I'm getting stronger.
"Yo, Chris!" Vly yelled. I gave her a quick nod.
"Food will be ready inside soon! let me know when your fatass decides to eat."
Nothing new, the same old Vly Vanessa, I smirked.
"Emilia's cooking today!" She called out before slipping into the cabin without another word.
Emilia, huh? Honestly, I've never tried her cooking. Vly's cooking is top tier, no question… but Emilia? Guess I'll find out.
I stretched my arms wide, letting the cool breeze run through my blonde hair. It felt good, especially now that I wasn't stuck in my stiff old policeman's outfit. A plain black tank top and sweatpants… nothing special, but comfortable enough.
Vly tucked my uniform away somewhere, in some secret pocket of hers. She said she'd only give it back when I was "ready to take hold of it." Whatever that means.
Brrrr!
"Ahaha!" I laughed, catching the heavy smell of smoke coming from the cabin. I stood on the open stretch of green grass, with the forest at my back, and the whole scene was almost too perfect.
"Emilia!" I heard Vly's screams from the cabin.
"Yeah, she's already messing up," I whispered to myself, dropping onto the soft grass on purpose. My arms spread wide as I stared at the sunset, the sky was like a painting… gold and orange.
I raised one hand toward the sky, trying to catch the evening breeze.
"Chrip, Chrip!" Yep, that was a bird. So this world does have birds.
Anyway, ever since coming to Vly's cabin, I've learned so much about this world. Turns out it's split into only two massive continents… about the size of Earth, if Vly's right. And get this, here, I'm apparently considered average on looks. After chatting with Emilia a bit, I also found out I'm twenty years old. Not too bad, huh? In my old world, I was…
Twenty-eight. I guess you wouldn't really call that old either.
Emilia's seventeen. If I relate how many days have gone by from my old world to this one, My birthday would be soon, in a month or so; her birthday's just a couple of months after mine. Vly Vanessca, on the other hand, is… Two hundred years old. Yeah, you heard that right. I guess that's normal for elves, from what I've read.
I've started calling Vly Mema, really leaning into the old lady thing. She gets pissed every single time, which makes it worth it tenfold.
"Emilia! You're supposed to put the salt in first!"
Well, that's them screaming inside the cabin, probably ruining dinner. Glad I'm not part of it.
Anyway, back to the important stuff. Aeranthia, that's the continent I'm on. The other one's called Sethopia. Both are about the same size, and from what I've learned, they've clashed in plenty of wars. The last one was about ten years ago, but since then, a treaty's kept the peace between them.
So yeah, for now, things are stable.
Oh, and the world itself? Guess what it's called? Htrae. Literally just Earth spelled backwards.
You know how every fantasy world has its own version of power? Yeah… this one's weird though. Everything grows from an energy source called Amora. It's the essence that fuels all life on Htrae. But here's the twist… Amora itself isn't the power. It's just the source.
In this world, there are many races.
Orcas, Gators, Dwarves, Elves like Vanessa, Dryads, Lizardfolk, Dragonoids, Minotaurs, Cyclopes, Orcs, Trolls, Giants… and countless other creatures that dwell in the forests, too many to name. And of course, me. Humans.
Apparently, there are even more races that exist that have yet to be uncovered.
Here, power isn't split fairly. Only non-humans can naturally obtain elemental abilities, while humans have to undergo trials to unlock different types of strengths.
It's called… Law. Vly didn't go too deep into detail on it, since you can only unlock it at the age of sixteen. Anything before or past that age will bring about major consequences.
If you pass the trial, you access whatever power your Law represents. Essentially, the way you perceive the world within your own personal environment up to the age of sixteen. But, If your Law grants too much power for the human body to handle… it will deteriorate. That's why taking the test is optional.
Scary… huh?
Oh, and don't worry, since I'm past sixteen, I can't take it either way. If you take it before that age, your body won't be able to handle the Amora energy flowing and will rot. If you take it after that age, you'll receive backlashes of constant trauma for the rest of your life.
I'm pretty lucky, don't you think?
Oh, and the odds? About twenty to eighty. Twenty percent pass… and, uh, the other eighty? Yeah… we won't go there.
Well, that's about as much as I've learned about this world so far. But, already, I love it. Everything about it. I just can't take my eyes off of anything around me for even a second.
"Emilia! You're heating it up like it's snowing outside!"
Vly's loud voice just never fails to surprise me. Eh, maybe I've gotten used to it.
To cook, they use something similar to a pan with Vly's fire elemental affinity. She doesn't tell me much about her power... but I know she's strong. Super strong.
Oh, and how could I forget? There are only two seasons. Winter and Summer, snow and heat.
Each takes up exactly half the year. Summer runs from the start of the year until the halfway point, and winter takes the rest. A full year is 563 days, not too long, I guess. Oh, and months? Yeah… they use the same process we use back on earth. From January until December.
I took a deep breath, glared at what was now a moon, fully covering the sun, while stars gleamed in every direction.
Shksh!
One of the bushes behind me shook, I pushed myself up, turning towards the bushes, while Emilia and Vly stayed inside.
Shkksh!
I turned left, right, and center… but still couldn't sense where that noise was coming from. Every bush was covered in green leaves. How am I supposed to know?
"Show yourself!" I yelled as Vly and Emilia continued cooking obnoxiously in the cabin.
There was no one around to hear me. I was on my own.
I dropped into an unorthodox stance, learning to shift between both fighting styles I'd been practicing. Crouching slightly, I planted my feet on the grass firmly for balance.
I don't know what's coming, but I could sense it, a fight.
Shkrkh!
The bushes kept trembling, making noise, so I couldn't tell exactly where it was. They were all about five meters away… waiting for whatever it was to jump.
Bam!
No way… Vly talked about how these creatures roam the forest, but I hadn't believed it until now. Hadn't seen one since I arrived here.
"Hey! Emilia! Turn the heater off now!" Vly's loud voice kept coming, while I face off against this… they were still messing around inside.
A Lantern Moth.
I grinned. My past two weeks of training has not been for nothing. It was time. Time for me to show the strength I'd gained.
The Lantern Moth was built much like the ones back on Earth. But with a few differences. For one, it was tiny, about two feet tall from head to toe, its body jet black. Its wings stretched four feet across, transparent like cracked glass, glowing from within, giving it an eerie, otherworldly glow.
Now, here comes the biggest twist. It had a real lantern on its stomach, glowing like a beacon. It sat there, still and radiant, casting a warm yellow light.
"Brrsss."
So that's the sound they make… alright. Let's go.