"Where am I? What is this place?"
Seth still hadn't recovered from the shock, but his nerves were starting to calm down.
"The air…."
The freshness and strange feeling in the air make him finally calm down.
'The Breeze from the wind and the warm sunlight is lovely here.'
Never before in his life had he ever felt this good before.
'Is this heaven? Not the floating cloud but a forest? That's unexpected.'
Seth looks around, more confused after he calms down from the pain.
"WHAT? What happened to my arm?!"
He noticed something different.
His arm got smaller!
'Noooooo!!!!!'
The arm he has worked for years! It's all gone!
"This is HELL! MUST BE A HELL!!!"
Seth screamed out.
There is no way heaven would punish him for helping children and de-age him like this!
He remembers this arm; it looked exactly like when he started working out.
'What about my face?!'
Seth touched his face, and it was still clean and smooth, still good.
"Pew…"
Seth left out a big sigh. Clearing his face from pimples was the most costly task he did.
Seth checked his body a little more and found something bizarre.
His arm was de-age to when he started working out, but his other muscles aren't; their shape and size are better structured like someone took away the muscle mass he built and traded it with a better foundation.
"Fine, whatever this place is, I just have to start to work out again."
After finally adjusting to the situation, a calm expression returned to his face.
Seth starts wandering out of his starting position.
He feels afraid, but there is something he feels more.
Excitement!
"Is this it? Is this the thing?!"
There are 3 ways ordinary people think they go after they die, heaven, hell, and nothingness.
But Anime enjoyer has 4, another world!
"A road!"
After walking for some time, Seth reached the edge of the forest and found a dirt road that could be seen in some rural areas.
'Or is it the 5th option, random point in time?'
He also didn't throw down the possibility of getting dropped in the middle of the forest after someone healed him. Maybe this also can explain his new body.
"FUCK! Why does it have to break now all of a sudden!"
Seth heard a voice coming from not far away.
There is a mature lady and her cart, looking furious after finding out one of the wheels has broken.
This lady is very buff for her age, he looks like an ancient warrior from movies, and the cart has one brown horse pulling it.
She is very tall, almost as tall as Seth, with grey-white hair, a muscular but curvy body, and a long spear on her back.
Her face is also gorgeous for someone her age, it has a passage of time, but the beauty of a confident woman still shines through.
'So, this is either 4th or 5th, but I think she needed help.'
Seth put down all thoughts before reaching the mature lady with good intentions.
"Do you need help?"
He spoke nicely.
"Don't come near me, you bandit!!"
The mature lady jumps away from Seth and draws out her spear with killing intent.
"Wh--"
"SHUT UP!! This is your doing, isn't it?! DIE!!!"
The mature lady didn't let Seth speak another word. She charged at him with the spear glowing bright red.
"WAIT!!!"
Seth instinctively closes his eyes while putting his hand outward.
"….!"
A shocked expression appears on her face. She stops her spear very close to Seth's arm.
"Who are you? State your intention!"
The mature lady shouted, no bandit can be this pathetic!
"I just want to help!"
Seth screamed. What is wrong with this mature lady!
"Wimp like you can't be a bandit, or you're the worst bandit in history."
The mature lady put back her spear and spoke with contempt.
"Hey! That's a bit rude. I just wanted to help, and you call me a wimp?"
Seth stands his ground. You can't just insult him and get away with it.
"Maybe, but how do you plan to help me, mister worst bandit?"
"I'm not a bandit either!"
Seth sighed and followed the mature lady to her cart.
'Wow, it looks like something belongs in the museum.'
The wheels are made out of wood, like those carts from middle age shown in the museum.
But it is highly polished and looks better sturdy than those in the museum.
He wonders how long it takes to break in half like it currently is.
"So, how do you intend to help me with this? Are you supposed to have an additional wheel to sell with the extra fee?"
While speaking, the mature lady never let her hand from the handle of her spear, ready to unsheathe it at every moment.
"No, I didn't even know how I got here, must less so have a wheel for sale."
Seth spoke terrifyingly. How paranoid is this lady!
"We can try replacing one wheel from the front to this, then use some weight counterbalance, so its center of gravity is at the back; this way, the cart can still move but needs the horse to pull a lot more weight."
The wheel broke the right-back wheel, so when the cart moves, it will constantly shift to the right.
You can only use the front wheels, but the cart will likely break after scraping the road for a long distance.
Using Seth's method only costs more stamina from the horse, but the mature lady can still keep the cart.
"Counterbalance? Center of gravity? Are you a wizard?"
The mature lady didn't understand half the words Seth was using.
"No?"
Seth is a virgin 30 years old, so maybe he qualifies as one?
He answered back while trying to hold his excitement.
'WOW! There is a WIZARD. This must be option 4th. I'm isekai!'
"Fine, I get the idea. Worth a try."
Even if she doesn't completely understand, after trying to imagine, she starts to get the image Seth is trying to explain.
"If you are not a wimp, hold the cart while I change the wheel."
The mature lady issued a command and stopped holding her spear handle.
"Ok."
Seth got flashbacks when he was holding his father's flashlight while fixing his car.
He accepts the mature lady's task and starts trying to lift the cart.
'Shit! This thing sure is heavy!'
The moment he lifted it off the ground, its sheer weight made him almost drop it but compared to the burning pillar, this is nothing!
His leg may shake like branches against the storm, but it still stands.
He held it for around 5 minutes before the mature lady finished changing the wheels.
"I withdraw my word. You aren't a wimp at all!"The mature lady came to him and slapped him on the back.
"Ha."
Seth faintly laughed, his arm shaking like a noodle from all the soreness.
"I remember you said you don't remember how you got here. Are you the abducted people that escaped from bandit camp?"
"Yes."
"I can see you are lying, but I will let it slide."
The mature lady can sense untruthfulness from Seth's answer, but because she also sees Seth's intention to help is real, he will not question it further.
"If you don't have a place to go, come with me. Tomorrow I will ask a friend in a village to send you to a nearby outpost so you can find some help."
The mature lady offered help in return for Seth's favor.
"Thank you."
Seth jumped on the back of the cart and became a weight alongside the two wheels.
"Jean, it will hurt a bit, but I know you can do it."
The mature lady whispered to his horse before tightening the leash to make the cart go forward.
While on their way, the mature lady questions Seth a lot.
"You look quite clean and well fed. Are you a noble?"
The mature lady notices Seth's shirt is very different from theirs, even though it is a regular white shirt for him.
"No, I'm a normal citizen."
Seth tries to be truthful as much as possible, at least now, telling him he didn't come from this world.
This mature lady is trustworthy enough for him to at least not tell the reason but deny the false. After hearing about the bandit, sticking with this mature lady is a far better situation he can get into.
"Oh, you town folk! Come quite a long way, aren't you? The nearest town is a mountain away. But whatever the reason, It's dangerous out here. You may be physically strong but still afraid to face a spear. Even the weakest beast or bandit can easily kill or abduct you."
The mature lady warned him that this was not a place someone so naïve and weak as Seth could survive.
"I know…"
Seth knows he is unprepared for everything in this world, but what can he do?
He recently got burned alive and transported to the middle of a forest.
What can he possibly do in this situation?
'Wait, there is ONE!'
After careful consideration of his options, Seth came up with one.
"Hey, miss. Can I ask you a favor before you send me away tomorrow?"
"Uh? I guess I could. I still have to repay you for my rudeness earlier, aren't I?"
The mature lady still felt guilty about what she had said earlier.
If it weren't for Seth, she would have to abandon his cart, so she wants to repay for the rudeness.
Seth smiled widely after he heard the answer.
"Then, can you teach me how to do that glowing spear thing?"