I’ve been playing a game as of late.
Actually, three whole years have passed since I started playing an MMO called Golden Dawn.
Recently, I’d set my home point to the edgelands and was focusing on playing out there, but today, I was hit with nostalgia for the Central Nations. As I walked past the stately buildings, I had the impression that it wouldn’t hurt to come back and visit once in a while.
I must’ve picked an empty server, though, or maybe I was just playing during off-hours. As I made my way through the winding upper floors of Tachyrinn Station, I didn’t see a single other player in the vicinity.
Actually, there weren’t any NPCs here either.
I stopped and crossed my arms in consternation. Aside from me, the corridor was completely deserted.
“Did I lose my way?” I muttered to myself.
I couldn’t believe that I wasn’t even sure where I was.
Well, I guess it wasn’t really a surprise. The only places in Tachyrinn Station that were supposed to be accessible were the first-floor hall and the underground station. I’d never seen any walkthrough websites mention anything about the upper floors of the citadel. This was probably my fault for wandering around when I didn’t have the map open.
As I mentally chided myself for being so careless, I raised my left hand to shoulder height. Nothing happened. I was trying to open a system window, but the panel that I expected to pop open in midair never appeared.
“Huh? What the...” I shook my hand in the air, but still there was neither sight nor sound of the semitransparent panel I was trying to open.
“What are you doing, Kariya?” inquired a familiar voice.
I turned around. “Nadar!”
There, in the previously empty hallway, stood an older man with a scruffy five o’clock shadow. He was dressed in a casually unbuttoned military uniform.
His heavy-lidded purple eyes, which gave the impression that he was half-asleep, narrowed in exaggerated exasperation.
“Come on now, you’re obviously lost,” he said. “I came to fetch you.”
“Sorry for the trouble...” I hung my head.
“Well, all these hallways look identical, so I don’t blame you. Follow me.”
As I trailed behind him, I couldn’t help but smile to myself.
Nadar came looking for me. Oh man, I’m so happy.
I wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but I might’ve been feeling a little anxious since there wasn’t anyone around. But even though Nadar must’ve had his hands full, he had gone out of his way to find me.
I hadn’t noticed it earlier, but my character’s complexion had changed without my noticing. My skin tone had gone from a fair porcelain to a rich olive. I could tell that the white ribbon he’d given me to keep my dark hair bound was swaying in time with my light, bounding steps.
The hallway seemed to stretch on forever, but my anxiety had been dispelled. I mean, Nadar had come for me. He was sure to lead me to the exit.
“Hey, Kariya, listen...” Now walking alongside me, the older man smiled softly. “I’ve walked my path in life guided by my master-at-arms and other people who came before me. And just like they did for me, I’m showing you the way now.” He paused in reflection and then shook his head. “No, I don’t think I’m leading you—it feels more like we walked our road together. You’ve done so much for me, after all, and I never paid you back...”
Oh, no, not at all! I’m pretty sure you’re the one who’s done so much for me! I’m just an ordinary commoner who happened to become an officer!
But for some reason, I couldn’t get the words out. Clenching my fists inside myself, I shouted as loudly as I could—in my heart.
Nadar laughed as if he’d heard me anyway—he looked tickled pink.
“Thanks,” he said, smiling. “Anyway, now it’s your turn to give a hand to those who follow you. Show them the way. That’s what keeps the world going.”
The endless hallway was gone.
We were now in a world of white. The only thing here was a single door that stood before us.
Still smiling at me, Nadar slowly opened the door. A bright light with shimmering motes of gold and white streamed through the crack in the doorway. The middle-aged man with his unkempt scruff looked at me warmly as he was enveloped by that radiant light.
“See ya around, Kariya.”
I nodded at his words of farewell.
Yeah. See you later, Nadar.
Someday, once I’ve fulfilled all my duties, let’s see each other again. I’ll bring my smile, and you bring yours.
Then, I slowly opened my eyes.
I was lying in an unfamiliar hut.
The time was probably a little past noon. Sunlight streamed into the room between the slats of the wooden walls. Motes of dust danced in the air, sparkling in the light.
The gaps between the planks of wood making up the wall were noticeably large. The windows were closed, but the inside of the hut was pretty bright regardless.
Was this a storage shed? Or maybe it was somewhere that was only used during the summer? There was no sign that this place saw any regular use.
Tears trickled down from the corners of my eyes. When I noticed them, I softly smiled.
I’d dreamed about Nadar.
He’d been smiling. I felt giddy seeing him like that.
I was sure that it had just been a dream. But still, I was overjoyed that he had smiled at me. I hadn’t thought I’d ever see him again, but I had. And that made me happier than anything.
Maybe that’d been what people called a near-death experience. And the reason that thought popped into my head was because right now, my mouth was filled with the awful taste of blood.
I slowly sat up. My body didn’t hurt at all, and I was able to move just fine too.
Someone must’ve laid me on the wooden floor of this hut. I recognized the fabric that had been placed over me as a makeshift blanket. It was the cape Prince Wald had been wearing, and it looked absolutely terrible now. Originally a deep green, it was now dirty and caked with blood—probably mine. The dark red splotches had blackened it.
My clothes were also in a downright awful state. There were two holes in the front of my top—one at my left chest and one near my gut. I’m pretty sure the back had been slashed in a way that left it barely hanging from my shoulders. All of the fabric was basically a reddish-brown now.
According to the item descriptions in Golden Dawn, Revive Bracelets worked by essentially reversing time to return the body to its previous state. So, even if someone’s leg were cut off, they would come back to life with their leg reattached, just as they’d been before they’d sustained that injury.
But that was just how it worked in the game. I bet that in this world, coming back to life with a severed leg would be a traumatizing, horrific experience. A severed head probably wouldn’t fare much better either.
That was just my hunch, but the only proof I needed to figure out that much was all around me. It was impressive that I wasn’t anemic despite losing a crazy amount of blood, but I was still in the middle of a pool of all the blood I had lost. It stained the floor.
Kariya of Gaelius had experienced death by hemorrhage. Three times, actually.
“Huh?”
Wait, three times? But my Revive Bracelet should’ve only been able to activate twice...
Well, never mind that.
Right now, I had more important things to worry about. I stood up, leaving the cape on the floor.
For starters, I needed to rinse out my mouth. I also needed to wipe down my body, wash my hair, and get a change of clothes.
Hold on, where’s the prince?! If his cape’s here, he should be somewhere nearby, right?!
I dashed out of the hut and found myself surrounded by complete stillness.
Outside of the building was a grove of trees bearing some sort of citrus fruit. Several withered fruit resembling oranges hung from the highest branches of the trees.
Looking around, I noticed what looked to be some shabby foundations for something strewn on the ground here and there. Given their size, I realized this place must be a fruit grove used by beekeepers to make honey.
We were still in the midst of winter right now. In the spring, once the orange trees began to blossom, the beekeepers would return to manage beehives on the foundations. That would explain why this hut didn’t seem to have seen any use in a while—its owners must have only come around during the seasons bees were active.
Now that I was outdoors, I cupped my hands together and magically conjured some water. After pouring the water into my mouth to rinse it out, I spat the dirty water on the ground. I did this several more times.
I think I’ll wash my face too, while I’m at it. My beard’s grown out again as well. Judging by the length, I must’ve been sleeping for at least five days.
The ribbon that had been keeping my hair tied was gone. I had probably lost it when I’d gotten slashed across the back.
My unbound hair was absolutely disgusting—it was stuck together in places with hardened blood. After I’d joined the war effort, I had figured that I would have become a little sharper and more put together, but I had the feeling I’d managed to get back to being a barbarian.
All right, face washed. Time for a bath.
Wait, wait. I should look for Prince Wald first. I was certain he’d teleported through the portal with me...
“Kariya?”
Hearing my name called, I turned to the source of the voice.
There, standing with several wrinkled oranges gathered in his arms, was a teen. His blond hair glittered in the sunlight.
I had the sensation that I hadn’t seen the prince in a long time, but despite his ragged appearance, he was still the same beautiful young man I remembered. Well, it didn’t help that his clothes were horribly soiled too. His once-regal dark-green attire had been mottled brown by someone’s blood.
All of the oranges he’d been carrying fell to the ground and rolled away.
“Kariya!”
Wald leaped into my arms. Catching him, I held him close in a tight embrace.