'This can't be happening!!'
Dima squirmed about in his restraints, face flushed. He was breathing heavily as he tried to break free...
One moment he was walking home from work, the next he was sucked into a tiny hole that appeared out of nowhere and crash landed in a dark forest.
In confusion and panic, Dima wandered around aimlessly until he heard voices in the distance.
He rushed towards it but stopped by the bushes as his eyes focused on the long line of wooden wagons pulled by horses travelling on the dirt path.
The wagons descended down the mountain slowly. Some men walked in front, a few others were scattered behind. They held onto lanterns to light up the way.
As Dima stared at them in curiosity, he noticed shiny objects at their sides.
'…someone please tell me that's not a sword.'
After rubbing his eyelids and blinking rapidly, the scene didn't change. Dima's eyes weren't deceiving him, and they actually carried swords!
"What in the world-?"
On further inspection, he realised that all these men were extremely suspicious!
Some were covered in large scars. They were armed with many kinds of weapons, from machetes and swords to spiked iron clubs, and they had ropes and bloody whips attached to their belts.
Dima had a bad feeling. He crouched down so that his body was fully hidden behind the dense shrubs.
To think that he was so close to jumping in front of them to ask for help…
F*ck, was he an idiot?
After walking through the steep mountainous terrain, Dima was cold, thirsty, and completely defenceless. He stood no chance against them if they got into an altercation.
'No matter how you look at it, they don't seem like the friendly type. I need to get away quickly- ah?!'
Suddenly, someone grabbed the back of his collar and lifted him up off the ground. Dima hadn't noticed that person's presence at all!
"Boss, there's a lost piggie here!" a giant muscular man yelled as Dima dangled from his grasp like a kitten.
"Well, what are you doing then? Tie him up and throw him in with the others!"
"Wait! Wait wait no, please-!"
Ignoring Dima's pleas, the bald man tied up his hands and feet with ropes, tossing him in the back of the wagon like he was a sack of potatoes.
"Remember, if any of you make a fuss, our two star mage will turn you into barbecue meat!" he glared at the people in the cramped space.
"Tch, as if. You'll never see our people cry or beg for mercy to the likes of you…" someone mumbled to themselves.
The men leading the wagon behind saw what happened and grinned evilly.
"Ahaha, he practically delivered himself to us! He looks like a noble, so he'll likely fetch us a high price. Has the full moon increased our luck tonight? Ahaha!!"
Raucous laughter resounded through the dark surroundings.
Dima had no idea what to think. Was any of this real to begin with? Did he pass out at work somehow and start dreaming?
In his predicament, he was unaware of all the eyes focused on him as he flailed around helplessly.
"There's no point in struggling, idiot. Just accept your fate."
Dima flinched at the voice and glanced up.
In front of him was a little girl. She had short and scruffy black hair, ruby eyes and a grimace on her dirty face as she gazed at him without a shred of sympathy.
"Khah'li, don't be rude to strangers..." her mother chastised quietly.
"What? I'm only telling the truth. We couldn't escape because our Village Chief sold us, but this dumba*s just walked right into them!"
"Don't mention the Village Chief. If I ever see that fat b*stard again, I'm grabbing him by the last three strands of hair on his head, dragging him to Death Lake and feeding him to the Giant Water Serpents." Khah'li's father spat viciously.
Murmurs of agreement wash over the wagon.
"You shouldn't be travelling through these mountains at this time of night, young man. Now you're in the same boat as us." the elderly man next to Dima lamented and shook his head.
'What… what language are they speaking? I've never heard it before…'
Dima frowned, showing visible confusion to everyone's words.
"Father, it doesn't look like he understands us. Could he be a foreigner?" Khah'li's mother, Kham'da questioned.
"Well… that's possible. From his attire, he seems like a noble, too. Although I wonder what a noble is doing in the Temalin Mountain Region all alone? Where are his guards and servants?"
In this world, Dima's clothing could be considered upper-class fashion.
Last year, he graduated high school with average grades and didn't have any ambitions for his future.
So while his friends went to college, Dima managed to secure a job working as a waiter at a restaurant in a five star hotel.
His mum passed away when he was in the middle of exams, leaving him to inherit the house they lived in.
Since he had no relatives other than an estranged father he doesn't even know the face of, Dima was living alone and paying his own bills.
Working at the luxury restaurant, Dima's uniform consisted of black dress pants, shiny Oxford shoes and a smart grey button up with a black waistcoat.
Dima eyed his wagon companions cautiously.
All of them were tied up just like he was, and they were talking amongst themselves quietly. Compared to him, they seemed more calm and collected.
Dima was slightly embarrassed, knowing that they had watched him panic. He shuffled his body upright so he was leaning against the wall of the wagon.
'The language and clothing, the medieval wooden wagons, and the menacing men carrying weapons and lanterns… I feel like I'm on set in a historical drama.'