When opening my eyes after waking up, I could only see darkness.
I could still feel my headache, and I was lying on what seems like cold, uneven stone. In the distance, I could hear the regular splashing of droplets on stone. Was I in some kind of cave? I wish I could see something...
As I slowly got on my feet, I felt a wave of dizziness washing over me. I touched everything around me, trying to get a sense of my surroundings. The walls were rough and jagged, and the floor was slippery with moisture. I could hear the sound of water dripping from the ceiling; the air being damp and musty.
Just when I started getting nervous about how I should escape this cave, I noticed a little bit of light shining through a small crack in the wall in the distance. If I could get there, I could escape!
I began carefully and slowly to make my way towards the light source. How did I get here anyway? And where was this place? The last thing I could remember was the incredible pain of the medicine, which the woman had injected me with. I was sure I died, so how could I still be alive?
Maybe I'd actually died and was now in one of those Isekai stories, where the main character gets transported to a fantasy world. With this ludicrous thought being stuck in my head, I ironically said "Open status", not expecting anything to happen.
However, to my surprise, a holographic display appeared right in front of me.
"Name: Arthur Young
Title: None
Strength: 11
Magic: 3
Agility: 14"
The heck was this? Was this actually happening, or was I hallucinating? Well, it didn't really matter for now, since the holographic display actually lit up the cave a bit. Using this to my advantage, I could now walk way faster in the direction, where I'd originally seen the light. But I couldn't help but think about what kind of world this might be. Since the status menu mentions magic, I was sure this was a fantasy world, but even with the display still floating in front of me, I still couldn't believe it. I wondered if this world also had dragons and other fantasy creatures – at this point, I really wouldn't be surprised about that anymore.
I almost finished climbing to where I first saw the light, and could now clearly see a crack in the wall and behind it I could make out a light blue sky. Nearing the crack, I could also see, that it was located at a plateau above a dense looking forest.
While I was squeezing myself through the opening in the wall, I tried to make myself a better picture of my surroundings. Since I was located on a plateau, I could see some mountains in the distance, but other than that just the huge forest was visible, which stretched out in every direction as far as my eyes could see.
Finally stepping out of the cave, I could breathe some fresh air, at last! I still had no idea, where I was or what this world is, but staring into the distance I was still in awe at this sight. In the distance, I even saw a huge looking bird – no wait, it looked like a dragon! It was really far away, but if he got closer I might have a huge problem!
Not wanting to take any risks, I quickly started descending from the plateau into the forest. No matter how stupid it might be, I was now absolutely certain this was a fantasy world...
Concerning my stats; they seemed to be a bit low, but I had no reference what might be considered normal here. But don't people who get summoned in Isekai usually get some cheat abilities? Maybe I'll randomly find some super strong sword with immense stats here in the forest.
Heh, enough daydreaming. For now, I'd have to find a safe place for the night. I was sure there were a lot of bad monsters, like goblins, around here. If I found a river, I might be able to find a village, if I followed it downstream.
As the sun already started setting, I entered the forest; always going downhill in hopes of finding a river. The trees were dense, and the underbrush was thick, making it difficult to navigate. I constantly needed to push branches and leaves out of my way as I made my way through the dense foliage. Since I also needed to be wary of any monsters, which might attack me, I had to move even slower.
While the last light rays were still visible, a clearing became visible in front of me. A few single light rays shined through the trees and enlighted a small patch of grass in the center of the clearing. Stuck there was a sword, which seemed to glow in the golden light of the sun.
Coming closer, I could see the incredibly delicate design of the hilt and the blade. It looked so beautiful that it looked more like a decorative sword, than a real one, but knowing I'm in a fantasy world, this might actually be a really strong sword... Will I be able to appraise it? Drawing the sword out of the ground, I tried it.
"Appraisal" – Another small holographic display poped up in front of me.
"Name: Super Strong Sword
Physical Strength: 1000"
What the hell was this?! It actually was the overpowered sword I was wishing for? And what's wrong with this name?
While still being fascinated by the sword, I heard an unexpected scream for help from someone! The scream seemed to come from relatively close nearby. Since I now had a powerful weapon, I'm sure I could help whoever cried for help.
This situation somehow seemed familiar...
Rushing over to where I'd heard the scream, I could make out a girl ducking on the ground while covering her head with her hands. Surrounding her are what seemed like to be goblins. So those really existed here, too!
While I had no idea how to use a sword, I was sure the Super Strong Sword will be enough to slay these goblins. Blindly, I dashed into the crowd of enemies, holding the sword like a baseball bat, not sure of how I was supposed to take them down. However, when I graced the first goblin with the blade of my sword, it instantly died.
I didn't even really hit it, but the wound from the blade seemed to have exploded with blood as soon as it grazed the goblin... The name of the sword sure didn't lie!
After realizing how big my advantage really was, I dashed towards the rest of the goblins. But the goblins also seemed to realize the situation. They instantly started fleeing into the forest, which was pitch black by now. And while they seemed to navigate the undergrowth easily, I had no chance to keep up with them.
So, instead of running after the goblins, I turned towards the girl, whose face was dimly lit by the moonlight.
"Thanks for saving me."
"No proble...", wait. This voice sounded familiar.
"Are you Kaitlyn?"