'What do you think was the most catastrophic thing you've ever heard of?'
"I'd say the Black Wave." A skinny farmer sighed as he leaned against the barn wall.
"Black Wave, perhaps. They say that those mist can eat you alive from inside out." A middle-aged woman continued to tend her herd.
"Black Wave."
"Those darn mists that gobbled people up!"
"The dark mist. I can't believe such disaster existed in our land in the first place…"
…
"H-huh…? Where am I??" The rough stone surface on and from all directions seemed to encapsulate a person who just woke up from his deep sleep. With no spaces to move even a single limb, accompanied by darkness and a single crack of light shining from above that blinded his left eye, it was the worst place for a claustrophobic person to be in.
Otto Ereloius looked around in confusion. Solid rough walls can be felt from all sides. With his last strand of hope, he pushed against the ceiling with all of his might. And fortunately, the ceiling moved. With the sound of a loud thud, Otto immediately sat up and looked around.
Just, where am I? Otto rose to his feet and scanned the area—vines draped over the old masonry like a tapestry, and rows of stone sarcophagi were arranged perfectly, including the one he was in.
Birds chirped a sweet melody in the air, alongside the rustling of leaves in a breeze. With all the walls completely collapsed, Otto immediately figured out where he was—an abandoned ruin that has been taken over by nature.
He jumped out of the stone coffin, only to realise that he was completely butt-naked. He strode his way to the nearest bush and scavenged some materials to compensate for his lack of protection. Tree barks. Long grass. Well, it's a good thing I watched all those survival videos back then. Otto smiled inwardly. He then crafted those materials into sandals and a skirt for temporary clothing.
He looked up to find the sun hanging high in the sky with clouds hovering in the air—it was the best weather for summer vacation. But he had no time for such leisure. Where exactly am I? I was just about to get up for work—only to find myself in this place. Don't tell me I'm one of those isekai victims… I really need to go back home. Otto lightly slapped both of his cheeks. It was time to find water—because his mouth was drying up.
…
"Puahh… thank goodness there's a river nearby." He gulped a large amount of water as if he hadn't drunk in 40 days, even though a human can only live 3 days without water. As he was done quenching his thirst, he looked to the right where the river flowed. At that moment, his expression brightens up.
A parked caravan. That can only mean one thing for him—someone in that caravan can definitely help him. With no time to spare, he rushed towards the caravan and arrived at the right side of the white horse. A figure looked to his side and paused for a moment. "Um… can I help you?" He seemed to be holding a waterskin.
Otto nodded his head vigorously. "Yes, can you give me a ride to the nearest town?" After he finished, Otto couldn't help but scrutinise the man—he was a man in his 20's who wore a white tunic shirt, a black vest, black linen pants, and draped it all with a brown wool cloak.
The man rubbed his chin with his left index finger and thumb. "I see… then get on; there's a nearby town that I'm about to head to anyway." He pointed his chin at the back of the waggon. "Right, there are also spare clothes at the back. You don't want locals to see you like that, do you?"
Otto glanced at his own body—other than a grass skirt and a tree bark sandal, he was half-naked the whole time. A breeze came in, and his whole body shivered.
…
Otto stared at his reflection in a full-length mirror inside the waggon—white tunic shirt, brown linen pants, and a pair of leather shoes that fit his size perfectly. He noticed that some of his appearances also changed when he transmigrated into this world—brown hair, hazel eyes and average facial features. It was not that long since he woke up in that body, and he already missed his original self.
"The name's Ryatt Wilson. What's yours?" He stroked his caramel-coloured hair immediately. Otto moved his gaze towards the caravan driver. "Otto…Otto Erelouis." He hesitated for a while.
"Otto… hmm, nope, never heard of you. Are you a local here? Or did you get kidnapped and barely escape from the bandits?" Ryatt tilted his head to the right. "It's complicated, but let's just say that I have no idea whatsoever about where we are currently." Otto sighed.
"That's a shame. Because what we're about to encounter after passing this bridge will be a big trouble for us merchants." Merchants? Otto grew suspicious of the man in front of him. He scanned the interior of the waggon.
Boxes. Clothes. Trinkets. Otto sighed in relief—then his heart lurched. It was because this caravan will be a buffet for said 'trouble'. And on the outside, Otto can also perceive that this caravan was on a wooden bridge. Just as he was about to ask if they have a defensive measure…
"Halt! You're not allowed to pass here!" A bulky man who stood in their way shouted back at the carriage. Ryatt pulled the leash, and the caravan came to a halt. Ryatt retorted back while glaring at the man. "Why not? Is this not a public road?"
"Not anymore. Recently, the king has ordered us to collect tolls for every traveller that passes by the main road, and this place is one of the newly established stations, you see." The man calmly explained. "Alright, how much is the toll?" Ryatt pulled out his coin pouch.
The man smirked. "About 300 silver coins. If you don't have that much money, his majesty also allowed you to only give half of your possession as a replacement. Sounds easy for a foreign merchant like you, right?"
Dozens of armed men began showing up and surrounded the caravan with all but the same malicious expression. Carrying swords, daggers and bows, they can run down this waggon at any point in time. One of them even licked his dagger so as to intimidate them. Otto also knew this archetype very well because he saw it many times in anime, the bandits.
"I see…" Ryatt smiled back at the man. "If so, then that also applies to you all as well, no? After all, no citizen of Iderila addresses their king as 'his majesty'. Because he prefers all of his subjects to address him as 'Sir', you see?"
Sir? What kind of royalties address themselves by 'Sir' or 'Madam'? You might as well call him 'Boss' at that point… Otto lampooned inwardly.
Ryatt looked back at his waggon and then at Otto. "Hold tight. And don't release until I say so..." The man's brow quivered. "Hey, what are you…!"
"Eila!"
"Neigh!!!"
The horse dashed towards the man and pulled the caravan out of the blockade. Then, the man got up to his feet and yelled out. "Get them! Do not let that treasure escape!" More bandits revealed themselves in the distance to obstruct their way. And at the back of the caravan…
Suut! Suut!
Arrows pierced the ground, with some of them even tearing the roof of the waggon. Ryatt calls out to Otto. "Here, take care of Eila! I'll handle the back!"
"I don't even know how to ride a horse!" Otto became anxious.
"Eila is a good girl. She just needs someone to accompany her. So, I'm counting on you, alright?!" Ryatt patted Otto's back as he crouched down in front of a box to pull out a bow and arrow.
Otto gritted his teeth but grabbed the lead rope anyway and saw that countless bandits pulled out their weapons, ready to strike. He then took a deep breath and focused his eyes. Left and right, he seemed to be searching for something. If his intuition was correct, then…
An opening! He pulled the lead rope to the right to break through that small gap. As he was hoping that pulling the rope would change the horse's direction, fortunately enough, it did. And to his surprise, the horse was increasing her speed to charge at them.
Pu-waah!
"Aaarrgh! My arm!" A bandit had his own arm broken by the sheer force of the zealous horse.
"After them, d*mnit!" The bulky man earlier now resembled some kind of leader with his sabre and shouted back at them. "Just what have you all been doing…!"
Suut! Suut! Suut!
"Arggh! Captain!" Bandits were shot down, with some of them even getting killed by getting shot in the head. Arrows rained down on all of them, and blood trickled down from the holes the arrows had created.
Some groaned from the excruciating pain, and one was dragging his feet towards the dense forest. One of them was calling out to their captain and pointed his finger towards the back of the caravan.
The captain followed that direction, only to find a figure standing with a bow in his hand; his brown cloak signified him as a hunter. The captain gritted his teeth and ordered all of his men to retreat. "Fall back! There's nothing valuable on that merchant anyway!"
…
"Sigh… do you even know how much I pay for all the arrows I've used? To be used for shooting down bandits…" Ryatt grumbled after leaning against the waggon wall. Otto raised his right eyebrow. "What's more dangerous than bandits? A demon?"
Both of them got up at the same time and exchanged places. Ryatt took out a waterskin with his right hand while holding the leash with his left hand. "Those arrows were supposed to be used for hunting, you know, for skinning animal hide and all of that stuff. Besides, what's a demon? Is that an animal or something?"
This world doesn't even know what a demon is? What a strange world I've isekaid into. First, it was a king who doesn't like to be called king. For now, I need to find out what world this is and why I transmigrated in the first place. Otto pondered for a while before making up his mind. "Never mind what I just said. By the way, where are we going exactly?"
Ryatt pointed forward with his hand still holding the waterskin. "Venim—the home of carpenters. Over there, many people visit that town to buy high-quality hand-crafted woodwork. Since that'll be the nearest town, I've decided to drop us there."
Otto looked ahead to find a windmill and a cluster of buildings in the distance. Ryatt then put the waterskin down. "And also, you just did me a favour back there. As for the reward, hmm, I'll let you keep those clothes."
Since all he did during that time was hold the rope lead during the whole bandit chase, Otto seemed to agree and nodded his head. "Alright."
As soon as he said that, the caravan seemed to have slowed down. Worried that another bandit wave was coming, Otto rushed to the front of the waggon, only to be met with a drawbridge that leads to the entrance of a town. There's no doubt about it. And it can only mean one thing. Ryatt then formed a grin and spoke in a showman's manner. "Welcome to the home of carpenters—Venim."
They have arrived at their destination. Meaning—he has a lot of work to do in order to gain information about this world and its exit. "Ah, right. Please hide yourself in that big cloth over there." Ryatt pointed towards a big cloth beside the boxes and trinkets. "Why?" Otto grew tense.
"Because the entrance has a security gate. You're a bumpkin who doesn't have an identity document in possession. No papers? Instantly be labelled as a spy and be tortured to death. No trials either." Ryatt elaborated while keeping his eyes towards the gate.
Otto's heart sank down. If he doesn't act now, then forget about even trying to find out how to return back home—he will die in this world forever!