'Standing before the empty medical store, I realized you are just like me… waiting for the patient who would never come…'
Yeah, that was cringy. I know. But it was the harsh truth.
I mean, after the magic or mana came to earth, people became immune to most diseases, even cancer and AIDS disappeared.
Most medicine businesses went bankrupt and the only few left changed their products entirely to suit the new market which… I was about to see with my own eyes.
I am the goddamn creator of all this scenario, but still there was always a difference in imagining and seeing the products.
So, right now, I was in the outskirts of Orsier city standing before a small medical store. It was hot and no matter how I tried to wipe the sweat covering my forehead just won't go.
I did not expect the weather to be like this. It was kind of cool in the academy which was just two hours away from here. And I guess that's because the academy was near the sea.
Anyway, to save myself from sunstroke I rushed inside the store. The motion sensor activated, the door opened automatically and the cold air from the air conditioner greeted me.
'Nice. Just what I needed.'
With a happy look in my eyes, I made my way to the counter and the man looked at me sliding his mobile back into his pocket.
"How can I help?" He asked in a professional tone, a kind smile on his face.
"Three low grade mana potions, two injector and some medium analgesic." I replied looking all around the small room where many strange things like vials containing multi-colored liquids or weird tablets were present on the shelves protected by a layer of thick glass.
"Ok! Wait a min.!"
The man picked everything quickly and packed all items into a black polyethene and placed them on the table. Next, he handed me the bill which was $85.
I frowned a little as my gaze flicked between the slip and the bag on the table. "85… is not that a little too much?"
"Well… potions are 25 each, injector is 5 and the tabs are 5 which totals to 85 and I already gave you a discount of 5. So…" The salesperson smiled, adding his point.
"I understand." I nodded, pulling out my wallet and handing out the cash. "How is your business doing by the way?"
"Not that great." He let out a sad chuckle, taking the money from me and throwing it into the drawer. "Hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth products are in stock and we are selling nothing. You are literally my third customer."
I stayed silent. Wanted to say something but had no words.
This world was more realistic than I could ever dream of. Everything was real, including the pain and suffering. I had put attention to every tiny detail and the result was everything fell into its place once I copied the real world here.
Like I said, there was a difference in reading and seeing the sad expression on the man's face.
But I could do nothing. They were created for this.
"I wish you best of luck Sir. I know you will get through this." I said with a simple smile.
The retailer appeared surprised seeing my remarks but soon adjusted his demeanor.
"Thanks man! Hope I will see you again."
"You will."
Leaving the medicine store, I went towards another shop, in search of something I needed. I was now deep inside the city named Orsier which seemed nothing special. I wrote all this anyway.
There were tall buildings everywhere and in between stood massive monstrosity of glass called skyscrapers. I swear I had seen dozens by now.
Traffic was just like any other real-life city. Everyone was minding their own business moving along the sidewalks. Cars, trucks were going in their directions. Occasionally some news or passenger helicopters would fly by followed by planes in the sky.
The weather was kind of warm around here, completely different from the academy which was a two-hour bus ride away from here.
I crossed some intersections, bought an ice-cream from a convenient store, and finally reached the store I was searching for.
It was named Loid Craftsman and was near an alleyway. From outside it looked like a hundred-year-old store and there was not much difference inside. Torn down counters, broken shelves, dirty floor, and many more unpleasant things.
'It's too realistic… I mean just look at the floor man.' I murmured inwardly nearing the counter.
Finding no one at the counter, I rang the small bell on the desk. Still, no results. I rang the bell two or three times and lastly an elderly female probably in her eighties came from the room attached to the counter.
"You need something boy." She asked, putting on her too old spectacles and taking a clear look at me.
"Yes!" I said, plastering a cheerful smile. "I need three basic scrolls."
"Three huh…" She looked at me curiously. "How about you take five. I will give you one for free."
"Sure." It was not a bad deal to begin with as it was dirt cheap anyway.
Her face lit up a little as she opened the drawers and picked six matured papers. Wrapped them in a small see-through bag and handed it to me along with the price tag given to me verbally.
"15 dollars." She said adjusting her goggles with trembling hands.
"Here." I handed her the money and accepted the packet. "Thanks mam!"
I began to leave but she called from behind. "Come again young man, I have everything here."
"Sure. I will come back."
Exiting the shop, I went to the convenience store again. Bought a cheap black cap, a cheap jacket of the same color and a matching sun glass which cost me just around 30 dollars except some chocolates I took for snacks.
Looking like some economy hero from the good old terminator movie, I got out.
I strode along the street for a few minutes to reach the bus stop. The watch on my left hand read 5:12.
'Still more than an hour left for the next ride.'
Standing with hands in my pockets, I glanced around the surroundings.
No one was there anywhere, not even a bird.
A breeze brushed past me, a rather warm wind, not comfortable at all. An empty can of Coke rolled over near my feet. I watched as the can slowly rolled away, passing me, further along the sidewalk.
I let out a small sigh. 'Now, what should I do...?'
I bought everything I needed for now, food was to be taken from the cafeteria and had no friends to hang out with. Thus, I decided to stroll around the city minding my own business.
What's the rush anyway?
Trust me I never hated my life back on earth. It was good. I had everything I needed but always felt like something was missing.
I was doing the same thing every day, every night with no change. I was burned out but still wrote to satisfy my readers. They were happy and in return I was supposed to be happy, but… I was never happy.
Everything felt like a burden to me.
Tried many things like taking a day break or going somewhere nice for a few hours but it was never enough. I even tried taking longer breaks but the reader base did not accept. And in fear of losing them I stopped taking breaks all together.
And the result was me losing motivation to look at my screen or even turning on the PC, let alone touching the keyboard. I desperately wanted some change and I guess someone up there heard it.
Now I was here to live my life the way I wanted. I would never waste it for anyone else.
Anyway, now I was hungry from all the walking and to my shining luck, I found a café having donuts on display.
'Donuts, humanity's greatest creation, sweet ball of happiness.'
So, giving no second thoughts, I rushed into the shop as the sweet aroma of brewing coffee blasted through my nostrils.
I ordered two donuts and an iced coffee, before sitting down on a table, beside the long glass window gazing at the beautiful scenery outside.
The café was filled with many young couples who were helping each other eat and as a forty-year-old virgin who was now a twenty-one-year-old not so handsome guy, I felt a little jealous.
Sweet breeze of spring blew toward them, filled with love and warmth and here I was sitting alone in the cold waiting for my already cold coffee.
"It is the same everywhere." I mumbled.
"What's the same?"
"Huh…" With a confused look plastered on my face I tilted my head to the side. I never expected any replies but here I got one but from whom? Who was listening to me this closely?
'What? She...What is she doing here?'
I blinked twice, even rubbed my eyes.
Watching me the girl chuckled, as she took a seat in front of me. "What are you doing?"
'She really is here! But...'
The girl sitting at my front, staring at me was Anniliese Flamecrest, the female lead I created in my novel. She was supposed to be with the male lead right now, doing some couple shit or whatnot. But here she was tilting her head, gazing at my eyes intently.
"Why aren't you saying anything?"
"Are you real?" I asked, double checking.
'Who knows, maybe it's some new magic, created unbeknownst to me somehow. Anything can happen in this vast world.'
"You and your weird question..." She sighed, swaying her hair to the side, and extending her hand towards me. "Here, see it for yourself."
"What?"
"I said, touch me and see it for yourself." She smiled gently, resting her cheek in her hand as her alluring gaze seemed to suck my soul into her abyss-like ocean blue eyes.
Her glossy cheek, rosy lips, and dainty nose gave her the charm any man could not protest. And to add into that already perfect art there was her long auburn hair shining like flame beneath the setting sunlight.
She wore an ashy jacket atop her black t-shirt. Even though the getup was pretty simple, she could still put any other models to shame.
I seriously was momentarily dazed by her beauty as I unconsciously took her hand. And in that exact moment, for the first time in my life, I felt something different. My chest tightened, breathing got quicker as I slowly caressed her soft hand.
It was a whole new feeling for me. But it was not bad.
Seeing her reddened cheeks and embarrassed expression I let go of her hand and leaned on my chair. "You are real Anniliese. You were always real."
"Told you…" She retracted her hands, fixing her looks. She then carefully swayed one strand of her hair near her left eye to the side of her ear. "So, what are you doing here? I have never seen you outside the campus."
"Well… Just thought of a random stroll and here I am." I was planning to play along until I figured out what was wrong with the plot. Things were just not going how I wrote. "By the way, what are you doing here? Rich people like you do not come to these cheap cafés."
I have made her family rich, like too much rich. Her father was one of the first successful lances this world had conceived. A hero who now owned one of the biggest adventurers' guilds called Nefion. He was also offered a permanent seat in the UN security council which he happily accepted.
In short, he and his family were more than superstars in this world with unimaginable wealth and unfathomable power. Thus, Anniliese carried a significant reputation and her beauty was unmatched anyway.
"Taunt all you want, but I too am a human who likes normal stuff." She leaned back on her chair, stretching her hands as her dominant feminine features came to a clear view, attracting gazes of every man present in the room including me.
She looked exactly like I imagined her to be. Perfect smile, perfect curves, perfect face. She was perfectly suited for the role of female lead and now I was proud of that.
I grinned inwardly, but didn't let it appear on my composed face or it would look totally creepy.
"Where is your donut?" Anniliese asked innocently, tilting her head to the side. "Or you already finished."
"No. I ordered and…" I turned my head towards the counter and soon a waitress appeared carrying my order which I had completely forgotten.
"Here are your donuts and iced coffee Sir." She placed the plate and glass on the table and looked at the girl in front of me for her order.
"Just a straw." Anniliese said, in her usual charismatic tone.
"Straw?"
"Yes! We already have donuts and coffee, right?" She said casually as if it was the most obvious answer and the waitress repeatedly looked at me and Anniliese for a couple of times with a perplexed expression on her face.
I clearly knew what was going on through her head. Seeing an ethereal beauty with an average guy was practically impossible but was happening here.
I opened my mouth to clear her wild imagination but Anniliese started speaking again, beating me to a punch, as she picked a donut from my plate.
"Will you hurry?" She said biting a small chunk.
"Yes, mam."
The waitress left and came back within seconds. Quicker than I expected. She handed the straw to Annie as she poked it in the coffee before taking a sip.
"It's good." She said, turning the straw and pushing the glass towards me. "Try it."
'Just what the hell is she doing?' If I remembered correctly all these little things should happen with the MC, not nobody like me.
I must assert that I was not a complete nobody. I was the father of this entire universe but kind of a nobody for her who did not really know me, but why was she acting so friendly? Won't this change the entire plot if the FMC changes randomly? And where the hell was this protagonist?