"Thank you! Come again!" The employee said as I grabbed my bags off the counter.
I grabbed my bags then left the store. I walked back to my car and rubbed my eyes. I yawned and got in my car then started it. My phone began ringing and I took my phone out of my pocket and answered it. I put it on the stand.
"Hello..?" I answered and yawned.
"Leo! I need...your help over here!" My sister said as she made obvious sounds of struggle.
"What's going on?" I asked and drove away from the gas station, going over to my sister's house.
"Just trying to put some lights on the house that's...all!" My sister said and grunted then sighed heavily. "I'm just gonna wait for you to get here."
"Yeah yeah, I'll be over in a moment." I said.
"Thank you!" My sister giggled then hung up.
As I drove, I noticed my vision becoming blurry. I yawned and wiped my face then closed my eyes for a second.
"Just for a second..." I said and rested my eyes for a second.
I opened my eyes a bit once again and noticed it was day time, but my surroundings was completely different. I quickly opened my eyes and looked around. I stood up quickly and looked around.
"What the hell?!" I yelled and looked surprised. I looked around my body and noticed cuts on my arms and legs then felt a piece of glass stuck in my leg.
I died in a car crash and I had no idea since I don't remember it happening, but it did happen as I had the proof on my body. I panicked and looked around once more.
"Where the hell am I? Why am I here? Is this some parallel world, some kind of punishment for sleeping behind the wheel..?" I asked myself and noticed some people looking at me.
I quickly walked off and went to a secluded area to get the glass out of my leg. I found some old cloth and wrapped it around my leg to stop the bleeding. I sighed and stood up then made my way into the public area. I walked down the sidewalk and watched all the quadrupedal animals being used as transportation either having the person ride on their back or they are towing a carrier.
"Was I sent back like 500 years or...is this like a true medieval universe I'm in now? What the heck is all of this?" I asked myself and looked around. I decided to walk around to get some answers. I walked into one place that looked like a tavern.
The bartender looked at me. "Soo'vach, L'ventre Orcas on'lei."
I looked at the sign he pointed to. "L'vaaa...entre Oooor...cas..?"
"Saa, L'ventre Orcas. On'lei Orcas heiras." The bartender said.
I nodded and didn't understand he said. I just backed out of the tavern then continued down the street. I entered the marketplace that had more humans around so I could ask around to see where exactly I was located. I walked into one shop and a woman looked at me.
"Welc- Uuhhh sorry we don't serve the homeless.." The woman said.
I had a shimmer of hope in my eyes. "You speak English?!"
"English? What's that? We speak Elkean here." The woman said. "Are you lost?"
"No- Well yes, I need to know exactly where I am. I have no idea where I am at the moment." I started. "I was hoping you could provide me with some answers?"
The woman looked at me and studied my appearance. She cleared her throat. "Your clothing is very strange. You don't seem to be a local here."
"Yes yes, I'm sure that much is clear." I said.
"Hm...anyway you are in Exalis Regalia. The world's largest and most diverse Kingdom, home of the legendary hero named Regil who wielded the blade named the Exalis. This Kingdom was named after him after saving this sacred land." The woman said.
I looked at the woman and got into my thinking pose. I still had no idea on why I am here instead of underground. I shook my head and sighed. "Oh yeah, I would like to buy...uhm..."
The woman looked at me and watched as I walked around the store. She tapped her finger on the counter and waited.
"Appla..?" I asked.
"Apple." She said.
"How is this spelled APPLE? Your E looks like an A." I said.
"Are you going to buy something or stand there and mock my handwriting, dunderhead?" The woman asked.
"Dunderhead..? Who still says that..? Anyway, how much does this cost?" I asked.
"One Copper Credit." The woman said.
"Like a Penny?" I asked.
"Penny..?" She asked.
I dug into my wallet and pulled out a Penny then walked to the counter and showed her the penny. "This."
The woman squinted as she looked at the penny. She looked back up at me and laughed, slamming her hand on the counter. "What the fuck is that?! That type of currency is not acceptable here!"
"Then what is a credit?" I asked, not understanding anything.
The woman pulled out six different coins. She pointed at the Copper Credit which was a circular coin with the head of the coin being some form of magic symbol. "This is a Copper Credit. Next is the Bronze Credit then it's the Black Credit, and the Silver Credit, next the Gold Credit, and the most expensive currency Platinum Credits."
The Bronze Credit was slightly bigger than the Copper, the Black Credit was an ornate black square coin, the Silver Credit was an ornate silver pentagonal shaped coin, the Gold Credit was an ornate golden hexagonal coin, and the Platinum Credit was a large ornate platinum circular coin that sparkled when in the right lighting.
"Well if that's the currency you use then I guess I'm flat out broke." I sighed.
"Well if that's the case then I would like to kindly ask you to leave the store. You're holding up my business!" The woman said and pointed at the door.
"I was just leaving, geez. Calm your tits lady." I sighed and walked out of the store.
Not only was I unfamiliar with my surroundings but I was also flat out broke. I decided to find a place to hide out until I could figure out my next moves.
As I walked down the street, I noticed red butterflies fluttering past me and a woman with pitched black hair walking by. She glanced at me quickly and I glanced at her as well. We made eye contact and it felt like time slowed down. Once she disappeared from my field of vision, I stopped walking and looked back to see if I could get another look at her, but she was already gone.
"Who was that..?" I asked myself then rubbed my eyes then shrugged it off and kept walking ahead.
"Hey get back here!" A man yelled. "Someone stop her!"
A woman laughed as she ran down the street. "Oh yeah baby! I scored hella big this time!"
I looked back, noticing her zip past her.
"Stop her! She stole a precious artifact!" The man yelled.
I looked at the girl and decided to chase her. I had no idea why I decided to chase her when I'm probably the least qualified to do so. The woman looked back and noticed me chasing her. She smirked and threw down a smoke bomb then I stopped and watched the smoke cloud clear. The woman was gone and I looked surprised.
"A ninja.." I said.
"No, she's no ninja. She's very fast yes, but she's a bandit. A worthless Slum Girl." The man said as he caught up. "Dammit. I'm not gonna be able to find her as I have a shop to run. Here take this, you'll need it."
He handed me his katana.
I took it and looked at the man. "I've never used a katana before."
"It's fine, just swing the bitch around and pray you hit your target. Now go find her and get my item back!" The man said then ran back to his store.
I gulped then ran off to try and find the woman with zero leads. I barely even got a good look at her to know what she looked like. I ran around aimlessly hoping that I could find her around every corner I checked.
It was already night time and I was growing tired. The next stop I found myself in the slums area. I walked down the street and looked around. Everything looked so gloomy and the air was chilly like my body was basically warning me to turn back. I held onto the katana even tighter and kept pushing forward. I noticed some of the residents looking out their windows at me and some were outside staring me down.
"You should've stayed in the main city." A voice said behind me.
I looked behind me and grunted as I was stabbed in the back. The woman covered my mouth and I pushed me down then left me on the ground to bleed out. I grunted and coughed as I struggled to cling onto life. I moved my eyes and notice the woman who stabbed me look down at me with an evil smirk on her face.
'Am I really going to die here..?' I thought to myself and looked at the ground. 'I've only been in this world for a few hours and I'm already here in my final moments..'
Everything turned black and white and time slowed down then came to a complete stop. I noticed the same red butterflies fluttering around me. I moved my eyes back up and saw the same woman with black hair and golden eyes. She wore a black white and red dress, and wore a black fur scarf around her shoulders. Red spider lilies began to blood around me and sparkle.
"You don't have to lie down there and die. You can save yourself by saying this one simple word..."
"Re...set...?" I mumbled then everything went black.
I opened my eyes a bit once again and noticed the store clerk woman holding up a Copper Credit up at me.
"Hey are you paying attention, outsider? I'm trying to teach you about our currency and here you are spacing out!" The woman said.
I looked at the woman and had a blank expression on my face. I died...and now I am back here a few hours before everything transpired. I looked at the woman and she slightly flinched back by my expression.
"It's real...This...isn't a dream..." I mumbled.
I noticed red butterflies fluttering inside the building and looked back, noticing the same black haired woman walking in the store. She looked at me and rose an eyebrow.
"Can you move aside sir? You're holding up my sales!" The woman said.
I just stared at the woman. No one but me remembered what happened. The black haired woman doesn't even remember seeing my face. I just stepped aside and rushed out of the store, trying to figure out what was going on.