I was huffing and sweating by the time I made it down the hill. Being bogged down by my stupid armor was not helping either. The weight was the last thing on my mind when I equipped this as a player sitting in comfort in front of my desktop, a long, long time ago. Back then, the thought of me being stuck inside this godforsaken game was a thing belonging in the books, the animes, and the movies.

Guess who's having the last laugh. No one.

If there was one saving grace in my excursion, it was the map at the corner of my vision, showing me my location through a blinking red dot. After a couple of minutes of trial and error, I managed to learn the way I swish my hand over my face determined what kind of menu would pop up in my vision. A small wave from my forehead to my nose reduced the menu into a small square map at the edge of my vision, tucking everything else in some virtual space in my brain.

As much as I wanted things to make sense, it's high time I accepted they wouldn't ever. Not while I was inside this crap show.

I never stopped moving since I woke up on that hill. According to the letters popping up in the map, I was in Suprana, the Citadel of Light. If my knowledge of the game holds up, this citadel belonged in the Eastern Tower, where the Crown was in control. I have no idea if it's a neutral territory or part of the Central Alliance, just that the Sword of the Lightersun could be found here during those rare holiday events. Should I try looking for it?

Soon, after much labor and sweating, I reached the bottom of the hill. Back when this was a desktop game, the locations were glossed over by the existence of teleportation spells and quest summons. When it moved to console builds, the game boasted a more open-world interface.

So now, I had to slog through an endless expanse of forests and towns. How fun.

Which reminded me—could I do magic in this place? If so, how? Do I just say the words like they do in movies? I held my hand in front of my face. Which way do I wave if I want to access my skills menu? Why didn't this version of the game come with a manual? I would've devoured it, unlike all those times I glossed over things not involving monster bashing and leveling up.

My eyebrows arched up. Oh, yeah. What level was I? Did I retain my maxed out stats from before I got bored of my current account? I waved my hand from my chin to my forehead, like what I did the first time I triggered the menu by accident.

As expected, a whole bombardment erupted in my vision. I winced, but didn't stop walking. Figured I could get somewhere and learn about what mess I ended up in at the same time. Beyond the menu's translucent background, the usual forest sights greeted me. Trees. Sky. Rocks. Grass. Blah, blah, blah. Next sight, please.

A discordant tune rumbled deep in my throat as I perused the menu. Level. Level. Come on, where was it?

Before I could pinpoint the exact stat from the list of them on the upper left of the menu, something rustled behind me. I shut the menu out, flattening myself against the nearest trunk. My hands reached for the hilt of the sword hanging by my waist. How do I even use it? I should have taken my cousin's offer when he asked me to join him in his hobby of taking up self-defense classes.

My eyes darted through the undergrowth, past the curtain of bright yellow leaves and twisty, dark brown vines hanging down stooping branches. There was no one from all directions. I strained my ears, only to recall one random detail about my character in this game. My mind flashed towards the silver hair and the carved, purple metal armor. If memory serves, whatever magical race this character was, they have superior hearing.

I felt the sides of my head. My fingers brushed the helix. Instead of the rounded shape I expected, it seemed to extend higher and higher before tapering into a sharp point. Yup. Pointy ears. Should I even bother being shocked?

How much more cuckoo would this day get?

I blew a breath and closed my eyes, straining my ears once more. There. Somewhere north. The sound of large footsteps trampling over unfortunate grass blades. What was that about? I wasn't about to find out, though. Just from the way the grass crinkled, those creatures couldn't be of the same constitution as me. Anything bigger and heavier than me was in a category called "nope". It didn't sound like it's alone either. More like...tens? Hundreds?

So, I brought up the map at the edge of my vision once again. The noise came from my immediate north. If I do a little detour, then I'd be avoiding them. Barely. Also, looking at the hazy blobs of green and beige, it seemed I'd be reaching the settlement I saw atop the hill earlier. Just how long have I been walking around in this silly get-up?

I needed to find a change of clothes and fast. That, or I needed to figure out how to return my armor back into the inventory. Where did the items there go anyway? How would I be able to access them again in an eventuality I couldn't wave my hand in front of my face?

Questions like these hurt my head so much that it made it easier to kind of just roll with stuff. Didn't mean I wasn't going to complain with what I've been dealt with so far.

The light from the sun didn't change from when I climbed down the hill and now that the blinking red dot in the map was heading closer to the beige blob of civilization. Well, it made sense since this was the Citadel of Light. It'd be ironic if night fell over it everyday.

I'd need to be proven wrong, though. It's the only way to retain my sanity trying to understand the things I wouldn't otherwise give second thoughts about if this was simply a web-based or console game.

When the soles of my boots slapped the rim of the town, the first thing my senses gathered was the smell of bread wafting from the distance. As far as I was concerned, only hearing was enhanced in my character's body. Why was I suddenly able to find a bakery?

The question was answered by a loud growl from my gut. Oh. Right. Another proof this wasn't a dream, seeing as I could feel hunger now. And thirst, too. My throat was scratched dry.

I let my gaze wander, taking in every detail I needed to protect myself in this new and strange world. It was like freshman year all over again, if I wasn't going to be technical about it. I crossed my arms over my breastplate and forged ahead, right into the mass of people milling in and out of the town's nonexistent gates.

The deeper I made it into the street, past the towering two-story houses and shops boasting an architecture I didn't see anywhere in my world, the farther the realization that I was alone in this wild excursion burrowed into my gut. Everywhere I turned my attention to, bodies resembling humans fluttered to and fro, donning robes and armor straight out of a Tolkien movie adaptation. I spotted errant animal heads and glowing, slitted eyes punching through pockets of space between the bustling crowd more than thrice.

Now that I recalled it, there were no humans in Solarlume. How many races did it have again? And which one was I?

My stomach churned again, reminding me of my most immediate concern—food. I waved my hand over my face to summon the big menu. Squinting, I focused on the inventory part. I imagined clicking the field like I would if this was still a game. To my surprise, the menu zoomed in and displayed nothing but the contents of my inventory.

So...to survive inside this world, I needed to treat it like a game still? Got it.

My feet brought me to an open establishment made of wooden planks and a tattered awning. Perhaps it was the smell of the broth wafting in the air that brought me here. That or the underlying acrid smell of alcohol. Damn, I could use a drink.

Before Rin's mocking retort about me not being able to hold my liquor played on my head, I stomped towards a stool and snagged it. With my character's height—a huge improvement from my stature in the real world—I was able to siddle easily and prop my elbows on the counter. The splinters dug against my skin—another proof that this really wasn't a dream.

"What does a lady have to do to get a meal around here?" I asked, my own voice sounding foreign but, at the same time, familiar in my ears. It wasn't my voice, but it's one I heard so much during my younger years. The inventory menu still blinked in my vision as I watched a dude with a lion head turn towards me, a clay cup in his hands.

"You speak in a strange way, young spiria," the lion head said, its lower lip barely moving to indicate it was the one who spoke. Spiria? Was that what this character was? Sure. Let's roll with that. "Fare you well from your travels?"

I blinked. When did the game's NPCs speak like this? Had I simply ignored it when I was playing? A huge probability. Rin had noted I had the patience of a child and would always skip the talky bits. Bummer.

"Y-yeah, I fared well in my um...travels," I coughed out. "How much is a meal? I would like one serving."

"Look at this spiria barging into our turf like she owns it," a boisterous voice speared through my conversation with the lion-head man-dude. I turned to find someone who was crossed with a dragon and an elf striding towards me.

A clawed hand slammed against the counter, the sound making me flinch. Was this guy the king or something? Did Suprana even have one? My eyes, instead, focused on the rock hard scales gleaming from the man's knuckles, climbing all the way to his shoulder. Whoa. Remind me to never bump into this guy literally.

"You need to offer a tribute if you're not from here," the dragon guy said. His sharp fangs clinked against each other in annoying tinkling sounds like someone chewing with their mouth open. "Pay up."

I raised an eyebrow. "To you?" I jerked my chin towards the lion dude calmly wiping the disturbed splinters off the counter like this was a normal occurrence. "Last I checked, he's the one preparing the food. Unless you're the waiter or the cook, why should I give you anything?"

Perhaps I shouldn't have gotten cocky. The next thing I know, a force slammed into my gut, plucking me off my stool and sending me flying towards one of the building's pillars. My back slammed against the wood, shooting a new ounce of pain down my spine. What the—

A whizz of red rushed towards my face. I tucked my head under my arms and rolled out of the way. A scaled knuckle crunched against the spot in the pillar where my head had once been. I scrambled to the side as another red burst of energy rushed towards me. Chest heaving, I snatched the nearest object I could grasp and swung.

Wood shattered against the dragon dude's arm scales, the remnants of the stool clattering to the ground. Damn it. A built-in armor? Come on! The dragon dude must have registered the shock in my face as something he should be proud of because he smirked. His snout—if I could even begin to call the set of lips extending from his face that—parted in what could only be described as a smirk.

"Not so tough now, are you?" he stalked towards me while I was still on my haunches, crawling backward using my wrists. Seeing the fate of the stool's fate at the dragon dude's feet, my sword wouldn't be any better. This wasn't in the game. Aggressive NPCs asserting dominance didn't exist, much less dragon dudes who could very well snap my neck in half should he will it.

What would happen to me if I died here? For once, that's a question I wouldn't want to know the answer to.

Dragon Dude charged. I shot to my feet and did the smartest thing—I turned and ran. A scream ripped out of my throat as I ducked under a blast of red energy aimed for my head. Thank heavens for the enhanced hearing. At least I didn't have to look back to gauge how close he was.

The crowd scattered as soon as they caught sight of me and Dragon Dude surging towards them. I swiped my hand over my face, zeroing in on the spells list. Come on. Something useful. Something to blast this crazy dude off his feet. Get him to stop bothering me.

I sidestepped another streak of red. Instead of whittling to nothing, this one thunked against the street's cobblestones. A red light blinked like how my location did on the map in my vision. Oh. A bomb.

My arms crossed over my face just as red shards and rocky debris exploded in a cloud of crimson smoke. The force shooting off the bomb drove me a few steps forward. Then, from the haze, a shadow zoomed towards me.

"Oh, fu—"

The curse was cut short from my throat as a gigantic lump of muscle and scales slammed against me. My back slapped against cold stone. He pinned me to a...wall? With his face inches from me, I could see the brittle cracks in the skin surrounding his eyes as well as the murderous glint in his slitted yellow eyes. A red barbed tail swished from behind him, as if eager to skewer her to oblivion.

"You've got some nerve coming here, spiria," he growled. "Your kind is not welcome here especially if you're an adventurer. You people always hold yourselves superior while leaving the rest of us rotting on the bottom."

Well, with a less flowery disposition like he had, maybe it was for the better. "I'm just looking for food," I said. "I don't have a lot, but I'd pay your tribute or whatever. How much was it?"

Dragon Dude laughed. Just an open guffaw. "We're way past tributes, young lady," he said. "You pissed me off. Now, you're going to pay with your life."

Great. I wasn't looking forward to that.

He drew an arm back, gaining the momentum to ram my face deeper into the wall. That's when I spotted the first spell sitting atop the list in my skill set. "Shockwave!" I yelled. A wrenching pain exploded in my limbs, forcing me to my knees. Dragon Dude's fist never came.

For some strange reason, clouds of dust and debris floated in the streets. Some sort of hushed silence fell into the crowd. I knitted my eyebrows, cradling my side as I staggered upright. Where's the dragon dude?

A faint groan caught my ears. I turned east to find a familiar red blob of scales resting against a building leagues further down the alley. Cracks spread from his point of impact. He wasn't moving. What...did I just do?

A text field caught my attention, blinking from the base of my vision. It read: Shockwave. A spell specific to the intermediate Spiria of all types. While capable of generating a huge wave of magical energy meant to drive the enemy back, it uses a considerable amount of MP. Spell cooldown in 10s. 9s. 8s...

Like a game, I told you.

I blew a breath and glanced at the establishment again. It wasn't a restaurant. The closest word I could think of was tavern. I stepped forward and immediately regretted it when an unprecedented headache ripped from the base of my brain and covered my entire head. My hand shot out to brace the wall, steadying myself. Alright. That spell info wasn't kidding. A quick wave to my face and a quick glance at the menu told me the dangerously-low red bar could only be my MP stat.

God, I was pummeled. And pummeled good.

If there was Dragon Dude got right in all his misguided monologue, it was that adventurers and anyone connected to guilds enjoy rights such as protection and, of course, money. I needed both of that in this world if I was supposed to survive on my own. To avoid further instances such as this from happening, I needed to affiliate with a guild. And fast.

A deeper and longer complaint issued from my stomach, snapping me back once more. Fine. That's tomorrow's job. Today, food. And probably somewhere to spend the night, because damn, I was tired.

All in a day's work, right?

I staggered back to the establishment, snatched the glass of liquor from Lion-Head's hands, and downed the whole thing in one gulp. I slammed the cup against the counter, giving the poor man a manic grin.

"Another," I said.