An Unfamiliar World (1)
The forest was unnaturally quiet. Only the soft rustle of wind slipping between leaves and the distant cries of nameless beasts reached my ears. Nothing else. I stood there for a long moment, staring at the lake that cradled the moonlight. Crimson eyes stared back at me from the still water. No matter how long I looked, I couldn't get used to them.
Is this... really happening?
I cautiously touched my face. The texture of skin beneath my fingertips felt real. The rise and fall of my lungs with every breath, the solid ground pressing up through my feet—everything was real. Too vivid to be a dream. I let out a small sigh and scanned my surroundings. Endless trees stretched in every direction. There was no trace of the city I knew. No power lines, no asphalt, no distant hum of traffic. The acrid bite of exhaust had vanished, replaced by the clean scent of rain-soaked earth and the faint perfume of unknown flowers.
So I really died.
The last thing I remembered was late-night streets. Crossing the crosswalk. Blinding headlights. Then—nothing. I tilted my head toward the sky. An unfamiliar bird with strange wings cut across the blue expanse.
It took time to accept the truth.
Guess I should find people first.
No bag. No phone. My pockets were empty. I had nothing but the clothes on my back. Without any sense of direction, I began walking through the forest.
I don't know how long I walked before I spotted faint smoke threading between the trees.
Smoke?
I stopped. Squinting, I confirmed it—wisps rising steadily upward. A sign of life. I quickened my pace. The forest gradually thinned until a small village emerged beyond the trees.
Houses of stone and timber. Smoke curling from every chimney. A wooden fence encircled the settlement. The moment I saw the woman standing at the entrance with a bucket in her hands, I muttered without thinking.
“...She has ears.”
Real animal ears sat atop her head, twitching naturally. Not a costume. She glanced at me briefly, then returned to her work as if a stranger appearing from the woods was nothing remarkable.
Beastkin.
A race I'd only encountered in the pages of fantasy novels. Yet here she was, as real as the ground beneath me.
This is actually another world.
“You there.”
The sudden voice from behind made me spin around. A middle-aged man with a thick beard stood watching me. A long sword hung at his waist. He looked every bit the village guard. His eyes traveled up and down my frame before he spoke.
“What are you doing out here?”
I thought for a second, then answered honestly.
“I got lost.”
He narrowed his eyes. “In these woods?”
“Yes.”
He studied me a moment longer, then gave a slow nod.
“...You're lucky.”
“Lucky?”
“Monsters roam the forest around here.”
Monsters. The word echoed in my mind. Of course they do.
The man sighed and jerked his chin toward the village.
“Come inside.”
“Thank you.”
I nodded and followed. That was when it happened. The air trembled strangely—just for an instant, but unmistakable. It felt as though the atmosphere around me had drawn inward and then compressed.
What was that?
The guard showed no reaction. He clearly hadn't felt a thing. Without thinking, I raised my hand.
A small stone nearby lifted silently into the air.
“...Huh?”
It hovered for a heartbeat before dropping with a dull thud. The guard's eyes widened.
“...A mage?”
I stayed silent. Truth was, I'd never seen it before either.
“...I suppose so.”
I offered an awkward smile, but my heart was racing. That sensation hadn't been coincidence. I looked at my hand again. A slight twitch of my fingers made the sand at my feet quiver.
It's real.
Something inside me had awakened. It felt ancient, as though it had always been there, simply waiting. The memory of those crimson eyes reflected in the lake surfaced again. For some reason, certainty flooded through me.
This wasn't ordinary magic. Some inexplicable power lived within me. I didn't yet know what it was, or why I'd been given it. But one truth was undeniable.
I could never return to the world I once knew.
I followed the guard into the village. It was far more peaceful than I'd expected. Children raced across the dirt, laughing. A few residents drew water from the well. Some looked fully human, but many bore the ears of beastkin—wolf ears on one, cat ears on another. The sight should have shocked me, yet I found myself adjusting with surprising ease.
“This is the place.”
The guard stopped before a modest wooden house, neat and well-kept. He opened the door and stepped inside.
“Come in.”
I hesitated only a moment before following and dropping heavily into a chair. The warm aroma of food filled the room. I took a slow breath, letting my racing thoughts settle.
“Dear, we have a guest,” the guard called.
A woman emerged from the kitchen, eyes widening slightly when she saw me.
“Oh my.”
“Found him wandering the forest,” the guard explained briefly.
She studied me for a moment, then smiled warmly.
“Then we must start with a meal.”
I blinked, flustered. “It's really alright—”
“Nonsense,” she said with a laugh. “People who get lost in these woods often wander for days without finding a single village.”
“Still—”
“Sit.”
Her tone left no room for argument. I took my place at the table. Soon, warm soup and fresh bread appeared before me. I took a cautious sip.
“...It's delicious.”
It was far better than I'd anticipated. The guard chuckled.
“Looks like you were starving.”
“...A little.”
In truth, I was ravenous. I ate in silence for a while until a question rose in my mind.
“What's the name of this village?”
“Greenbell Village,” the guard answered.
I nodded, then asked carefully, “And... what country is this?”
He gave me an odd look. “You don't know?”
“My memory's a bit hazy.”
After a short silence, he replied, “This is the Astrea Empire.”
My spoon froze mid-air.
“...What did you say?”
“The Astrea Empire,” he repeated. “The largest human nation on the continent.”
My heart began to hammer. Astrea Empire. I knew that name. It belonged to the novel I'd read. No way...
I asked cautiously, “Then... does Arcadia Academy exist here as well?”
“Of course,” he said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
I couldn't speak. My mind spun. Astrea Empire. Arcadia Academy. Humans, elves, beastkin, demons. Every detail matched the setting of the fantasy novel I'd devoured in high school—The Hero and the 72 Demons.
I exhaled slowly.
It's real.
If my suspicions were correct, I'd been dropped into the very world of that story. I lifted my head.
“When does the academy open for admission?”
“Two months from now.”
A quiet smile touched my lips. Two months. More than enough time to prepare.
At that moment, a strange sensation stirred deep in my chest—like something slowly waking up. I glanced at the spoon on the table. Without any conscious effort, it trembled faintly. When I moved my hand slightly, it rose into the air.
Just as I thought.
This power wasn't mere magic. What slept inside me was something else entirely. I lowered my hand, and the spoon clattered back onto the table.
If this was the world from the novel, then I already knew what events lay ahead. And at the center of every major story stood one place: the continent's greatest educational institution, Arcadia Academy.
I whispered to myself, “I need to enroll.”
Not as an ordinary student, but as someone who knew every secret this world held—and who would change its tragic fate.
After the meal, the guard led me to a bedroom door.
“My son's room. He's away in the city, so use it freely.”
“Thank you.”
He smiled warmly and headed back down the stairs.
I opened the door, stepped inside, and collapsed onto the bed. Then, slowly, I began to recall it all—the novel I had read, and the story of this world I had now become part of.