With a gentle breeze, the subtle sensation of rocking, and rays of the blaring sun shining down on his eyes, Rey began to stir awake. His eye lids felt like they weighed a ton. Still, with great effort, he was finally able to open his eyes to see that he was on what looked to be the back of some cart, moving along a bumpy path as the trees along the side slowly went by.
As he blinked away the last dregs of sleepiness, he noticed his head was laying on something unbelievably soft. With more effort, he managed to look up and see one of the most beautiful girls he's ever seen leaning over him asleep. She was a human with long, dirty blonde hair, fair skin, a cute button nose, and soft pouty lips that any man would love to kiss. In short, even with only seeing her face and a small part of her torso, Rey could tell she was a beauty that definitely had many men fawning over her.
Feeling a stirring in her lap, the girl woke up, giving Rey a chance to admire her pretty sapphire blue eyes that shines like the most precious gems, even in the shadow of her hair. Seeing Rey staring back at her, the girl smiled at him that made Rey feel as though his heart was doing cartwheels. Now, Rey was no lonely virgin like most of the heroes in most of the stories he's read. He remembered he was considered to be quite charismatic before he came to this world, and that alone helped him land many girls back on earth. Still, this girl was something special.
"You're awake! Grandpa, he's awake!" the girl cheerily said looking towards the front of the cart, presumably talking to whoever was driving it.
"Really? Well make sure he doesn't move around too much. It looked like he got hurt pretty bad. He may even have a few broken ribs." Said a gruff male voice from the front of the cart.
And like the man was a veteran doctor, the second Rey tried to sit up, his entire chest felt like it was being stabbed by a million tiny blades, making him groan in pain.
"Oh no! Please stay still! We have a Healer in our village and I'm sure she has a healing potion that'll help you feel better. I'm not too interesting, but maybe we can talk to distract you until we get there. My name is Rorylan, but my friends call me Rory. And the one driving us is my grandpa, Harris. What's your name?" the girl, Rory, asked with a dazzling smile.
"Ahh, so the angel is named Rory. Well Lady Rory, my name is Reymond Reed. It is an honor to meet a lady as fair and kind as you." Rey said, giving her his best smile, though he didn't know how effective it'd be with his new lion face. But, judging from the heavy blush that appeared on Rory's face, he must be considered somewhat attractive in this form.
"Humph, another brat trying to flirt with my granddaughter. At least this one doesn't sound like some brute just trying to bed her." The old man, Harris grumbled from the front.
"Don't mind him. I'm afraid he's been getting hassled a lot lately from suitors now that I've come of age. Still, I'm no lady, Lord Reymond. I'm just a simple village girl living on the farm with her grandpa." Rory said in a melodic voice as she smiled sweetly.
"Ah, so you're a diamond hidden on a farm. If it takes nearly dying in a war to have found such a treasure, it was definitely worth it." Rey said, causing Rory's whole face to turn red and her heart to beat faster in her chest.
Rory was just a simple village girl. And though she has always gotten a lot of attention thanks to her beauty, this was this first time a man has flattered her so much without making her feel disgusting. Not to mention that he was incredibly handsome and well built. When her and her grandpa stumbled upon him in the woods as they were foraging, they had to take his armor off to try and inspect the wound and relieve some pressure from the wound as well. Thanks to Rey only wearing a grey robe and thin grey shorts to cover his modesty, she glimpsed at parts of him that would make most women faint.
"Haha stop trying to flatter me with your honeyed words, Lord Reymond. A simple farm girl could never be chosen by a lord such as yourself. By the way, where are you from? Judging by how well you talk and your fancy armor, you must be from one of the big cities, or even the capital itself?" Rory asked, interested in getting to know more about this flirtatious young Beastian in her lap.
For the first time since they started talking, the young Beastian was quiet and his charming smile disappeared, which worried Rory. Rey figured this question was going to come eventually, so he was prepared to spin a believable lie as his backstory, but when he tried to think back to before he woke up in that forest, his mind came up blank. Not only that, but his brain would throb in excruciating pain, making his face slightly scrunch up.
Seeing that Rey was uncomfortable, Rory worried that she may have upset him by asking too many questions. But, right when she was about to apologize and say he didn't have to tell her, Rey spoke first.
"I-I don't remember anything... The only thing I can remember is that my name is Reymond Reed..." Rey said, in disbelief that he actually couldn't remember a thing about his past life. A flashback of Karrick viciously beating him in the head played back as fear and anger gripped Rey's heart.
'That, green-skinned bastard! Did he seriously give me fucking brain damage?! That's beyond fucked up!' Rey thought to himself as he was worrying even more about his new future. The more he tried to remember, the worse his headache got.
"Mmm, Amnesia. Nasty business that is. Your memories could come back in days, months, maybe even years. But, there are times when they don't ever come back at all. Don't worry lad, you seem like a good kid and my granddaughter clearly likes you. As long as you don't cause any trouble and help out around the farm, you can stay with us." Harris said, surprising both Rey and Rory with his kindness.
Though she was blushing and embarrassed her grandpa told Rey that she liked him, she was happy that she was going to be able to spend more time with him. The boys in her village were annoying and couldn't compare to Rey's charm.
Though the thought of sweating on a farm didn't sound too appealing, Rey knew more than anyone that he had nothing in this world, not even his memories. So, being given a chance to get a roof over his head and some food in his belly, Rey was extremely thankful.
"Thank you, Lord Harris. I can't move much now, but I am extremely thankful and I promise to repay your kindness." Rey said genuinely. If it wasn't for Harris, not only would he have no where to stay, he'd probably still be unconscious where Karrick left him. The thought of Karrick coming back and trying to assault him while he was unconscious gave Rey a sick, weak feeling.
'Karrick didn't look like the type to give up on what he wants. I need to get stronger as fast as possible or I might be having trouble sitting down in the future.' Rey thought to himself.
"Bah, just call me Harris or Old Man like everyone else does. I don't like all of that 'Lord' business." Harris said in his usual grumpy tone. Rey was getting the feeling that even though he sounded grumpy, Harris was actually a really good guy.
They talked and got to know each other as they drove, Rory being kind enough to give Rey information about the world, hoping to jog his memories. Apparently they world he was in was called, Terria. Terria was a world of sword and magic, which made Rey excited at the thought of possibly using magic like he dreamed of. As he already got a glimpse of, there were many races in this world, along with tons of animals and scary beasts, like dragons.
The world was large and many continents, but he was currently in the Pruvia Kingdom, which borders the south east of the Essex continent. Pruvia, Rey found out through the conversation, was apparently the soldiers wearing white and grey that he saw fighting the soldiers in red and gold, the Domiko Empire which Karrick was apart of. Pruvia was full of varied landscapes like mountains full of gems and minerals, dense forests used for hunting, wide grasslands for farming, and since it is a coastal nation, they thrive in fishing and trade, but have yet to build a Navy strangely.
The information about where he was transported to was indeed much appreciated to Rey, but more than anything the mention of magic interested him greatly. Sensing Rey's excitement about magic, Rory went on to tell him all she knew about magic, which for a simple farm girl, wasn't much. Rory knew of 3 ways to use magic, with an incantation, runes, or with a wand. She said there different academies for teaching young witches and wizards, but as far as she knew, they would contact him if they wish to have him go there.
As she was talking, Rey noticed an uncomfortable look on Harris's face as Rory talked so animatedly about magic, but just chalked it up to him not liking the arcane. Hearing that there was an academy for teaching witches and wizards, Rey got excited as it reminded him of something he loved from earth. But, when he tried to remember it, all that came to mind was a pair of round glasses, a lightning bolt scar, and a white owl.
"Lad, you seem so interested in all of this magic business, but I see you carry a staff. On top of that, you don't look like no mage that I've ever seen. Are you not a warrior?" Harris asked, the distaste he has for magic as clear as day.
"Well, about that. Though I do remember I was trained in my family martial arts when I was younger, I'm afraid none of this armor is mine." Rey admitted as he scratched the back of his head bashfully. He then told them everything from the moment he woke up in the forest to the moment he lost consciousness. Though some MCs (Main Characters) in the stories he read were cold and heartless, not getting close to anyone, Rey didn't want to live a cold lonely life like that, so he chose to be truthful.
When Harris and Rory heard that he was nearly raped by an Orc soldier, they each had horrified faces, Rory bursting out in tears as she hugged Rey tightly, swearing to protect him from the scary Orc. Though he knew that a simple village girl could do nothing against a powerful warrior like Karrick, Rey was still very touched. He was glad that he met such kind people like Harris and Rory.
"Still, to be left near a war naked with no memories... It's one hell of a way to wake up. But, at least we have some definitive information about you now." Harris said as he pulled the cart onto a wider, smoother road. There were now more people traveling and less trees surrounding them.
"What do you mean?" Rey asked, confused. Though he doesn't know how he got there, but one thing he knew, he definitely wasn't from this world.
"You're well built and look as though you were fed well, you speak well and have the natural charisma to rival a prince, and lastly, even with amnesia you remember your family's martial art that was no doubt drilled into you. Without a doubt in my mind, you are definitely a noble, lad. Only nobles or military families have familial martial arts that they pass through the generations." Harris said, stunning both Rey and Rory.
Rey wanted to deny it, but what could he say? There was no way he could just say he came from a different world. Plus, there was something off about Harris that Rey just couldn't figure out. Harris didn't talk too much in all of the hours that he drove the cart, but when he did, it seemed to Rey that he was trying to force the narrative that he was just some simple, grumpy old farmer, but Rey wasn't completely buying that.
They'd been mentioning how well he talked this whole time, yet to Rey, they spoke either just as well, or even better than him since they know the local dialect and terminology. Also, though it's not too noticable laying down in the back of the cart and Harris riding in the coachman's seat, but when Harris would occasionally stretch back or move in a way that allowed him to barely enter Rey's vision, Harris looked far more fit and toned than some simple old farmer should. Though it was clear to Rey that Harris was hiding something, his gut told him it wasn't malicious, so he didn't worry about it too much.
"We're here." Harris announced in a gruff tone.
They had been riding in the back of that wooden cart for hours, and it was now close to nightfall. Laying on his back, Rey looked up in the sky to see millions of stars, all different colors, blanketing the sky in a beautiful display, only to be outdone by the gorgeous, massive, white moon that had a tinge light pink to it's hue, giving it a brilliant radiance. Rey was completely awestruck by the nights sky, and felt wholely at piece for the first time since he came to this world, glancing up at the moon.
This was his world now, and he swore to himself right then that no matter where life may lead him, he would enjoy this new magical world to the fullest.