"You're not using the sword's full capacity," Mirani said as she stood in front of me with her arms like blades before her. Her eyes had never strayed from me since we began sparring. "You need to be one with your weapon or you'd never get anywhere."
I sighed and drove the hair off my face. Even in this world, it still proved to be a hassle. I lowered myself to a stance, the Butterfly Blade poised forward. Both my hands held the hilt. How did it come to this? Let me go back to a few hours ago.
After I won the match with Cavya, the leader had me go through the process of enlisting. It involved a ton of paperwork, with most of them requiring my thumbmark. The ink? Blood. My blood. By the time the receptionist in the enlistment booths filed my data as under the Dragnasand Knights, my thumb pulsed with pinpricks of varying depth. Cavya had to cast a quick healing spell to "prevent it from bruising" the next day.
When I asked if there was something happening by then, Cavya didn't feel inclined to give me an answer. "You should see soon," he said, striding in front of me towards the inner workings of the guild's building. The image of the guild's facade flashed back to my memory. I first craned my neck when they brought me to enlist right after the match. The multicolored scales nailed upon the huge, flat wall pocked with painted glass windows told me these people weren't fooling around.
"Don't worry about the scales," Mirani had explained when I asked where they got it and that many. "The Guardian Dragons shed twice a year. They're kind enough to give some to the old guild masters and to the Central Empire."
I remembered shielding my eyes against the glare of the afternoon sun. The spires resembled the spikes that would have decorated a dragon's hide. In fact, the whole building was modeled after a sleeping dragon, from the curved roofs to the dragon-head-shaped shed from the building's east side. So...Guardian Dragons existed in this place? Cool.
Then, after enlisting, I was passed to Nazran and Yaora. The former didn't let me know what he felt about the whole thing of me joining. His face was always kept neutral, throwing me an occasional smile whenever I became too amazed at Dragnasand's facilities. Because, seriously, who wouldn't gawk at the presence of a huge greenhouse filled with various flora and fauna I never even thought existed in the game?
Even back home, it was my duty to fill up the family vase. Due to its origin and its importance to the house we used to live in, I took it upon myself to make sure it's used and used well. Besides, I've always been attached to flowers since I was a child. My mother, back when she was still present, worked in a flower shop and would often teach me how to take care of them. I guess I was never really able to let go of that hobby, bringing it with me through high school, university, and eventually, inside the marriage. Hye-jin never complained about the flowers and the pots of small ornamental plants lining the sun window of our house.
At some point, I grew too familiar with all of the flowers back home that seeing new kinds told me life wasn't so bland after all. There were a multitude to discover, a sea of the unknown. Seeing those flowers made me feel like it's worth it to start living again.
When I was shown my room, my eyes almost popped out of my head. It was easily as large as the house I shared with three other people, complete with everything I would ever need. It's...amazing. It was the right decision to aim for Dragnasand, after all.
"Get some rest," Nazran said. "You can have your dinner sent up. Just use the holler."
Yaora waved a clawed hand in the air. "He knows what he's doing. Don't treat him like a kindling," he tapped the back of his hand against Nazran's chest. Unlike the other guy, Yaora didn't look thrilled to have me onboard anywhere near him and he didn't bother masking that. For that, I respected him. "Come on. Cav still has to brief us regarding that mission from the East."
"Wouldn't that have to include me?" I asked. I was part of the party, after all.
As an answer, Yaora rolled his eyes and started walking away. "If you want to show up, feel free."
Then, I was left on my own. That night, after I figured out how to use a holler (it was just a rotary dial phone stuck to a wall) and got myself one of the most filling dinners in a while that wasn't chicken or beef, I collapsed onto my bed and had to run everything through my head once more.
My name was Nagara Rin. I was stuck in a rendition of a video game I once played throughout my childhood and even a fraction of adult years. This game felt real. Looked real. I was able to feel things, taste things, and interact with things. I get hungry and thirsty, feel the need to relieve myself, and become exhausted. In short, beyond the pixelated and coded world of Legends of Solarlume, there was a whole new world waiting to be experienced. Here, I wasn't known by my name. I was Kora Chrysvern. I was a different man.
It was bonkers from the start, but having lived through everything I did, it's impossible to not accept it. The same was true the moment I opened my eyes after being roused naturally from my sleep. I was able to sleep, to even have a dream, even though nonsense it was. If this wasn't real, I didn't know what was.
When I got out of my room to do some exploring of my own—perhaps to find my first clue on how to escape this dream-slash-parallel world—Mirani found me and dragged me off into a sparring session. "It's mandatory for everyone to train every morning before the day starts," the woman said, her grip on my arm never wavering even as I squirmed and clawed at it. "Unless you want to have Cavya as a training partner, I suggest you go with me."
She's right. I've had enough of Cavya and his scary aura.
We reached some sort of indoor gym inside the guild. The walls were wooden, as opposed to the thick stone ones lining the corridors and facades beyond. All kinds of weapons and faceless dummies hewn out of tree trunks littered the space. Some dummies were engaged in battle with other adventurers not part of the Dragnasand Knights, others standing around without aim. Hearty thwacks and determined grunts and cries filled the space. We passed a shirtless guy hammering away at the wooden dummy with a pair of nunchucks. One bicep was probably as wide as a head, the muscles rippling whenever he swung his weapons.
Was I...was I supposed to be like that?
None of the Dragnasand Knights had bodies like that, though. The burliest I could consider was Valren, and that's only because he was a dragonkin and had been an adventurer for more than a decade. By any guild standards, that made the man a veteran and a living legend.
"Bring out the sword," Mirani said, positioning herself a few steps away from me. "And not that pathetic one you originally had."
Oh, she was talking about the Butterfly Blade. I held my hand out and called for the blade from my inventory. It answered immediately. I was getting the hang of this magic stuff. Cool. "Okay, now what?" I asked.
Mirani's face was suddenly inches away from mine, her fist drawn back and coming forward. I ducked, pushing backwards to give us some distance. A streak of blue appeared in my periphery. No way. She got behind me?
I swung. Blindly. My wrist flared in pain as something struck it. The sword clattered to the ground with a deep thrum. None of the adventurers who were already there turned to look at us. Must be because they're so used to seeing newbies like me get hammered on their first day.
Mirani straightened, massaging her wrists wrapped with bandages. Now that I was looking, those traveled up her arms, coming only to stop when it met her short sleeves. Without her armor, she looked just about any number of women I've come across in my life. She lowered herself into a stance once more. The fire dancing in her light blue eyes somehow made it hard to look away.
"Again," she breathed.
This time, I ducked low and snatched the hilt of my sword from the ground. Mirani's knee, thankfully void of guards, whizzed towards my cheek. I retracted my sword, blocked her incoming blow, and knocked my fist against her ankle. She crashed to the ground, but not without taking a swing at me with her hand. I managed to block it, but she finished me off with a kick to the back of the head. Where had that come from?
I stumbled off her and she staggered up. "Do you know what your mistake in that set is?" she dusted her training clothes which still consisted of a blue sleeveless vest and lesser volumes of frilled skirts. This time, she wore tight trousers which I could only describe as leggings. She was barefoot, with bandages wrapping around the balls of her feet before traveling up to her shins and calves. Was that her look?
"What?" I prodded, brushing my hair off my forehead. I leaned back against the wall, feeling the wallpaper crinkle against my weight.
"You didn't assess my skills before rushing to deal with me," Mirani answered, grunting as she ran through the stretching routine. So that was just warm up? Great. "I'm a martial spiria, which means my special skill lies in my combat and tactical abilities."
That's...something I've heard of but never really internalized. "And were you using magic just now?" I said.
Mirani rolled her shoulders and winced when they gave a distinct crack. "No," she said. "Just that I've been training and fighting for all my life until the basic movements became intrinsic to me."
She finished her stretching and lunged towards me once more. This time, I didn't summon my sword and just let my instinct deflect and attack her. "But I'm here to talk about you, Kora," she said, blocking one of my punches aimed at her stomach. "You said something about visiting the Central Empire when you were chased down by the Hunting Raids. Is this true?"
I dodged and slapped her wrist to derail an oncoming attack. "Yes," I answered just as she spun and raised her leg from the ground. She's going to roundhouse me. Not good. "Do you think I'm lying?"
Mirani caught another one of my attacks before grabbing my arm and hoisting me forward. Her other hand drew back for another punch. "No. If you're visiting, that means you're from another city," she grunted when I twisted my arm out of her grasp and managed to catch her arm with one of my wild swings. She stumbled a few steps back. "Or from another territory entirely."
"Depends on the definition of another city or territory," I said, not really wanting to delve into my history this early in the morning. "How about you?"
"I'm from the Western Tower," Mirani said, moving to tackle me once more. Our deadly dance of weaponless punches and kicks resumed. "Was a poor sprick when Cavya found me. He raised me in the guild since then."
"So you're an adventurer longer than Valren," I noted. Her eyes hardened and the punch I let slam into my shoulder was stronger than normal.
She scoffed. "I joined Dragnasand when I was fifteen," she said. "I'm only twenty-three now. Valren's got me beat."
I sidestepped one of her swings and her fist slammed soundly against the wall. Who even thought we'd reach the other corner of the room. "That's still impressive," I said. "How are you able to survive this long? I might start taking notes."
At that, Mirani shrugged. "If something's impossible today, don't give up. There's always a way," she answered. "Like I always say—if you're hard up for something, it'll open up."
Those words made my limbs freeze. "What?"
A fist slammed into my stomach, sending me tumbling to the ground with a roll. Pain danced in my gut, almost making me throw up. But the punch wasn't the cause. It was something else entirely.
It shouldn't be possible, should it? There's only one person who used to say that to me, someone who had nothing to do with Mirani or anyone from this world. Someone who I was sure I was ready to forget the moment I decided to move on with my life.
So why...
Why were these traces of her still lingering in places where I'd be sure to see them?
"Are you alright? You spaced out there," a hand edged into my periphery, lifting me out from whatever shaken haze overtook my senses.
Instead of taking it, I brushed it off, along with its owner. "I'm fine," I said, staggering to my feet and moving towards the exit. My instincts told me to face Mirani again, apologize, or whatever. Just don't run away again.
I reached the training grounds' doors and, within seconds, the past was out of sight.
But not really out of mind.