As my consciousness began to awaken, the world around me transformed with each resounding thud that shattered the silence of time. Without warning, I found myself ensnared in different scenes, each unfolding alongside the echoing thuds.
The first thud. I was greeted by the cheerful cheers of friends during break time, their voices blending into a pleasant melody in my ears.
Then, a glimmer of light dazzled my eyes, second thud came, transporting me to a vast meadow surrounded by the serene tranquility of nature and the refreshing scent of grass.
As the third thud reverberated, I found myself thrust into a daunting battlefield, where the thunderous clash of swords and the cheers of spectators filled the air with a blend of excitement and fear.
Yet, as the final thud faded away, my consciousness slowly permeated my body, and I found myself vaguely hearing someone's faint voice.
"Hey, hello... are you alright?"
Sensations began to stir within me. However, my consciousness was still not fully restored.
"Hello..." a girl's voice echoed in my ears once more.
With all my strength, I endeavored to gather every shard of my consciousness scattered in the depths of my mind, some trapped at the ocean's trench, and others drifting among the endless stars.
"Ah, just a little more..." my consciousness whispered to my mind.
"Come on, let me open my eyes."
Suddenly, my body was engulfed in excruciating pain, as if tiny ants were crawling through every vein, yet slowly my consciousness began to return.
Gradually, I opened my eyes, and before me stood a young girl in peculiar attire, adorned with finger guards, arm guards, a bow, arrows, and other gear, while her radiant eyes gazed at me.
"Oh, you're awake... thank goodness," the girl said.
Startled by her appearance, my energy surged back, and I quickly leaped backward in fear, urging her to stay away.
"Don't come near me, stay away," I shouted with all my might.
The girl laughed, then quipped, "Come on, I guess you're still not fully awake...."
Attempting to grasp her words, I slowly began to feel a difference in my body. My steps now felt heavy.
Slowly, I started to observe the lower part of my body, clad in armor, complete with a shield on my back and a sword neatly tucked into my left hip belt.
Still baffled by what was happening, I realized the girl was now right in front of me. "This is your helmet. I took it off earlier so you could breathe better."
"Thank you," the words slipped from my lips unexpectedly.
"May I ask, where are we? I hardly remember what happened before this," I inquired.
That girl replied, "I don't know... perhaps one day we'll find out. Come on, let's not linger here, the sky is growing dark. I'll show you the best bar around here."
I nodded and followed her.
"Oh, by the way, what's your name?" she suddenly asked.
"Dr...," I paused.
Not because I didn't want to tell her, but suddenly my memory of my name was erased from my mind.
Suddenly, all my strength dissipated, and I felt so exhausted, collapsing to the ground.
"What's really happening," I murmured, "first, I don't know where this is, then I don't know my name, and now I can't even control my balance and my legs."
The girl immediately squatted down, then looked at me and took my hand.
"Let it go, don't dwell on it too much, you've already spent too much energy just thinking about that. Yes, maybe this happened to me before, and well, you'll start adapting to it. Nice to meet you, my name is Valkyrie."
"Valkyrie? A name I've never heard before, this is strange... or am I the strange one?" I kept muttering, further draining my body.
The girl suddenly pulled my right hand, then instructed me, "Let bygones be bygones, you now live in this virtual world carrying a new name and role. Rotate this gear with your right hand. 45 degrees counterclockwise, and 90 degrees clockwise, quickly."
"What? What's the use?" I asked.
"Oh, forget it, I hate answering trivial questions, just do it, you'll find out later," she said somewhat annoyed.
"Alright, 45 degrees counterclockwise, and 90 degrees clockwise. Ugh... why can't I turn it?"
I tried again, and failed.
The girl then yelled at me, "You're too slow. Ugh, why are you so slow in understanding what I'm saying. You don't need to hesitate, because the gear knows perfectly well when to stop. All you need to do is rotate it quickly once counterclockwise, and twice clockwise..."
"Alright, alright, let me try again, can you be gentler with me?" I replied.
Ah, it worked! Suddenly, a small glowing ball embedded in the core of the gear jumped out, and a projection of my character's data appeared. The girl read it, then exclaimed joyfully, "Ah, Hector! That's your name from now on. Nice to meet you."
"Ah, yes, nice to meet you too, uh... what was your name again?" The girl quickly responded, "Valkyrie. Just call me Val. It's more practical." Then she got up and started walking away, leaving me behind.
"Hey, wait for me," I called out. "No, I won't, look, it's getting darker. Don't act like a pampered officer, you weak guy," she snapped. "Alright, at least let me follow you slowly," I replied, slowly getting up from my position.
We walked along the forest path, amidst the darkening twilight, immersing ourselves in the crowd of mysterious and uncertain trees. We kept walking, and walking, I felt increasingly tired, not even strong enough to stand upright like before, until I felt like giving up.
"Are we still far away? We've crossed four intersections, and each intersection is about 5 km apart. We've walked more than 18 km, I think..." I said. She suddenly stopped, then unlocked her gear and, with a surprised look, turned back to me, "How come? Tell me."
I was surprised too, and asked back, "How come what? What do you mean?" "18 km. You're spot on, I meant just 0.2 km difference from the actual distance. I couldn't even know the distance I've traveled. You surely don't know how to operate that gear, but you can estimate the distance well. That must be because of your natural ability," she quickly said, full of excitement and curiosity.
"I... I don't know... I'm just used to counting my steps. And I know well, my stride length is 75 cm, and today my steps are shorter, about 60 cm, and I've walked..." I replied but suddenly got interrupted by her.
"Okay, okay, impressive enough. Thank you, I know enough. Yes, everyone here is chosen, surely that's one of your abilities," she replied this time with a nonchalant face, then continued, "let's keep going, hmm... maybe 300 more steps?"
"300 more steps?" I snorted. "Hey, listen, training here is tougher than just walking 18 km, you know? If you're not even strong enough to walk this far, you won't be able to complete all these games and get out safely. Stop acting weak and be tougher as a man," she spoke without stopping her steps.
Suddenly, her gear lit up.
"Ah, what notification is this?" she stopped for a moment to check the notification after unlocking her gear. "Oh my, why do I always deal with troublesome people?" she said shortly, then continued, "Are you coming?"
Still puzzled by her movements, I replied, "Coming where, who was that earlier?" "Ah, forget it, are you coming or not? If you don't want to, it's okay, I'm used to being alone. You're not following this path, then later you'll go up to the top of the hill and find the men's barracks, on the left," she said impatiently.
I had no choice, besides not gathering my courage yet, so I said, "Okay, I'll come." She smiled, then said, "This way," turning around and taking a small path on the right.
In the growing darkness of twilight, fear crept into every inch of the road, surrounded by dancing shadows among the walls of old trees. The howling of wolves echoed in the distance, stirring up the tension twisting in the chest, while the gusts of wind shrouded the restless steps.
However, ahead of me, there was a glowing light, radiating courage through the threatening darkness. She walked with certainty, exploring the wilderness under the melancholic evening sky with a trembling calmness. There was no other choice but to follow her footsteps, trying to match her toughness in the traffic of pounding darkness.
And we arrived at the end of that frightening path, which turned out to be an escarpment. From our position to the bottom, I estimated about 15 meters high.
"Hey, you losers, let go of my friend... or you'll face the consequences." she shouted, echoing throughout the forest.
"Shut up, you female archer, we're not dealing with you right now. Heh... are you bringing another weak guy with you? Aren't you tired of taking care of them?" one of them replied loudly.
"It's none of your business, all I want is for you to release my friend, and get out of my way," her voice thundered again.
"What if we don't want to?" challenged one of the group.
"Well, it's up to you, I can shoot you all with one arrow, I've shot dozens of birds flying in groups in the sky, and skewered 20 birds in one shot," she quickly took an arrow and skillfully checked her bow and bowstring, adjusting her posture and aiming the bow at one of them.
"Hahaha, you won't shoot, female, that's just a bluff...," one of them said.
"I'll definitely do it if...," she said but suddenly I interrupted, "32 degrees downward to the horizon, and 9 degrees to the left, pull back 55 cm, initial speed 72 meters/second."
She was so surprised and unintentionally released the arrow from her bow, which started flying and hit one of the group.
"You impudent female archer, are you looking for trouble with us?" they threw away our captured friend, then immediately pressed on their friend's wound to prevent excessive bleeding.
Quickly, she ran to the nearest sturdy tree branch, jumped onto it, and swung with momentum, then jumped down to support our friend who was still too weak and scared. Then, swiftly, she ran again to find the nearest tree, climbed it, found the strongest branch, and after taking momentum, ran fast and jumped with all her might to reach the tree branch near me.
She was so fast, and I couldn't believe what I just saw. She then jumped in front of me, surprising me. Then she said, "Let's go," then she shouted, "See you, losers." Her voice echoed loudly.
"What about them?" I asked, a little worried, while running after her. "Just leave them, they need to experience it once in a while," she replied with a little lisp without turning her body to me. I felt so guilty, because I had disturbed her concentration, and made a mistake in aiming. That thought haunted me continuously.
"Forget it," she suddenly said as if reading my mind, "you're not at fault in any way, in fact, you're amazing."
Val comforted me, although I could feel that her voice was heavy, and she knew the consequences of her actions earlier.
The three of us continued to walk through the forest path amidst the increasingly tense evening atmosphere.
Disclaimer:The following work is purely fictional, even though it may involve scientific applications. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. The storyline, names of individuals, places, and timing are purely coincidental.Furthermore, any actions depicted in this narrative should not be replicated in real life as they may pose a risk to others. For teenagers, parental guidance is advised while engaging with this story. Thanks.