Kiyomi's eyes snapped open, her lungs begging for air. She lurched forward, her body wracked with violent coughs as water spewed from her lungs.
As the coughing subsided, she found herself on her hands and knees, gasping. The taste of salt lingered in her mouth. But instead of the roar of water from the tsunami that she expected, she heard... croaking?
As her vision cleared, Kiyomi raised her head, taking in her surroundings. Gone was the flooded city of Ishinomaki. Instead, she found herself kneeling at the edge of a pond, its surface dotted with lily pads with frogs lazily sitting upon them.
Dense forest surrounded the pond, sunlight filtering through the foliage to cast light on the water's surface.
"Wh-where?" The unfamiliar voice that escaped her lips startled her. Her mind reeled, struggling to reconcile her last memories of drowning with this peaceful setting.
A headache started to form, pounding at the back of her mind. She crawled over to the pond on her hands and knees, looking deep into the water's surface. What she saw... was it truly her reflection?
"N-no, this cannot be me," she blurted out, staring at the image before her. Lush green hair framed a face with sparkling emerald eyes and... pointy ears? "Am I- an elf?
She knew exactly what she was looking at. After all, she wasn't new to fantasy, having read countless novels, manga, and anime with elves as a prominent race. But what boggled her mind now was how she had become one. At first, she thought all this could be a dream. After all, there was a high chance she could be asleep or, even worse, in a coma. She had been constantly bashed against buildings during the tsunami, and all sorts of damage could have occurred to her head.
"This can't be happening," she murmured, touching her face, her ears. Everything felt solid, real.
She tried to piece together the fragments of her memory. The beach, the earthquake, the tsunami... and then that strange voice. What had it said? Something about a system and... Aiona? Was that where she was now?
Kiyomi looked around the forest, so at odds with her last memories of rushing water, and debris. "If this is a dream," she said to herself, her new voice still strange to her ears, "it's the most vivid one I've ever heard of. And why an elf, of all things? Not that I'm complaining too much."
She shook her head, trying to clear the fog from her mind. Whatever this was - dream, illusion, or something else entirely - she needed to figure it out. And fast.
First, she tried a few tests to see if it was merely a dream, trying to wake herself up. Pinching herself, she let out a yelp, "Ow ow ow! Okay, that wasn't smart." Next, she splashed her face with water from the pond. It was cold, but had no effect on waking her up.
As the reality of her situation sank in, Kiyomi felt a wave of conflicting emotions. Grief for her family, fear of this strange new world, and a surreal sense of disconnection washed over her. She took a deep, shaky breath, trying to steady herself.
"Okay, Kiyomi," she whispered, her voice quavering. "You can freak out later. Right now, you need to figure out where you are and how to survive."
Kiyomi took another deep breath, trying to calm her racing thoughts. She needed to approach this logically, like she would a difficult math problem. First step: gather more information about her surroundings. With that in mind, she slowly rose to her feet, still a bit unsteady in this new body.
"Alright," she said to herself, her voice gaining a bit more confidence. "Let's figure out where I am."
As she stood, Kiyomi noticed she was wearing the same clothes she had on at the beach: a light blue sundress with a floral pattern, now completely soaked and clinging uncomfortably to her skin.
The fabric was torn in several places, likely from the debris during the tsunami. Some rips left parts of her skin exposed. Knowing she'd get embarrassed if someone saw her like this, she made a mental note to change as quickly as possible when she could.
Kiyomi began to glance around, noticing she was high up on a plateau overlooking a valley. What she saw was both breathtakingly beautiful and slightly terrifying. A river snaked through the valley, flanked on both sides by lush forests. But it was the four distinct settlements that really caught her attention.
Two were small villages surrounded by massive fields of crops. On a hillside stood a fortress, its castle walls gleaming in the sunlight. Lastly, a huge city sprawled next to a lake fed by the river, boats floating in the lake disembarked from its harbor.
But the settlements weren't the only things that caught her eye. Wild animals roamed freely across the landscape, and in the sky... were those flying lizards?
"Wait a sec, those are wyverns!" Kiyomi gasped, recognizing the creatures from all the novels she'd read. There were only a few soaring through the sky, but seeing them in real life was mind-blowing to her even if it was a completely different world.
Flocks of more ordinary birds flew through the crystal blue sky, partial clouds drifting overhead. On the roads cutting through the landscape, she could make out tiny dots - people traveling between the settlements.
Then, as the reality of her situation truly sank in, her inner otaku couldn't be contained any longer. "Holy crap, I'm actually in a fantasy world!" she exclaimed, her voice a mix of disbelief and excitement. "This is insane! It's like every light novel come to life!"
She bounced on her toes, unable to contain her energy. "Okay, okay, calm down Kiyomi," she told herself, taking deep breaths. "But seriously, wyverns? A castle? So cool! Now how about magic!?"
As her initial excitement began to subside, however, new questions arose. How did this world work? What kind of magic existed here? And most importantly, what was her place in all of this?
With a determined nod, Kiyomi steeled herself. 'Right, time to channel my inner isekai protagonist. First stop: figure out where the hell I am and how not to die in this beautiful death trap of a world.'
She scanned the valley below, weighing her options. The nearest village seemed like the most logical choice - less intimidating than the fortress and more likely to offer help to a confused stranger.
"Great, village it is," she decided. "Now, how to get down there?"
Kiyomi spotted a narrow path winding down the plateau's side. It looked steep and potentially treacherous, but it was her best bet for reaching the valley floor.
"Great, my first quest: don't fall to my death. This is off to a fantastic start," she muttered sarcastically.
Taking a deep breath, she began her descent. The path was indeed as treacherous as it looked, with loose rocks and steep drops. But to her surprise, her new body seemed more agile than her old one.
As she made her way down, the valley came into clearer focus. She could now make out individual buildings in the village, people moving about, and the gentle sway of crops in the fields.
"Okay, Kiyomi," she pep-talked herself. "Remember your isekai basics. Be polite, don't reveal you're from another world unless absolutely necessary, and for the love of all that is holy, don't accidentally insult any gods or powerful beings."
'First objective: reach the village. Second: find food and information. Third: try not to die. Sounds like a plan!' She thought.
After making her way down the plateau, Kiyomi found herself on more level ground. The village was still a fair distance away, but at least now she could see it clearly.
"Well, at least the walk should be easier from here," she muttered, setting off towards the village. The sun was warm on her skin, and despite her situation, she found herself enjoying the peaceful scenery.
However, after about twenty minutes of walking, a rustling sound from a nearby bundle of bushes caught her attention. Kiyomi froze, her heart suddenly racing.
"Please be a cute, harmless animal. Please be a cute, harmless animal," she whispered, slowly turning towards the sound.
What emerged was definitely not a cute or harmless animal. A creature about the size of a large dog rushed out of the bushes, its body covered in coarse, mottled fur. Its face was vaguely feline, but with too many eyes - six in total, glowing an eerie yellow. A long, scorpion-like tail arched over its back, ending in a stinger.
"Oh, come on!" Kiyomi exclaimed, taking a step back. "What kind of messed up cat-scorpion monster is that?"
The creature let out a low growl, all six eyes fixed on Kiyomi. It crouched low, muscles tensing as if preparing to pounce.
"Okay, okay, think," Kiyomi said to herself, frantically looking around for anything she could use as a weapon or shield. "What would the protagonist in 'I Got Reincarnated as an Elf and Now I Have to Fight Weird Monsters' do?"
The monster took a step forward, and Kiyomi realized she was out of time. She had to make a decision, fast.
As the creature advanced, Kiyomi's panic reached its peak. In desperation, she started blurting out words, hoping to trigger something, anything that might help.
"Menu! Options! Help!" Nothing happened. The monster crouched lower, ready to pounce.
"Status! Inventory! Skills!" Still nothing. The creature's muscles tensed.
Just as the monster leapt towards her, Kiyomi screamed, "SYSTEM!"
Suddenly, a translucent blue screen materialized in front of her. At the same moment, an invisible barrier sprung up between her and the monster, causing it to bounce off harmlessly.
"Oh thank god," Kiyomi breathed, her heart racing. She focused on the screen before her, trying to make sense of the information while keeping an eye on the confused and angry cat-scorpion circling the barrier.
As the translucent blue screen materialized, Kiyomi recalled the strange voice she'd heard before losing consciousness. It had mentioned something about a 'system' and 'Aiona'. Was this what it meant?
"Level 1,500? World Master? And those numbers... are those really my HP and MP?" Kiyomi muttered, her eyes wide. She glanced at the monster, still prowling around the barrier. "Okay, figure out the crazy stats later. Right now, how do I get rid of fluffy over there?"
She frantically began tapping at the screen, looking for anything that might help her in combat. The monster, meanwhile, had started clawing at the barrier, each strike sending ripples across its surface.
"Come on, come on," Kiyomi urged, "there's got to be a 'Begone, Monster' button somewhere on this thing! Or maybe some kind of spell? Anything!"
Her fingers flew across the UI, desperately searching for a solution as the monster's attacks on the barrier grew more intense, although it didn't really do anything to it.
As Kiyomi frantically searched through the UI, her eyes landed on a tab labeled "Spells." Without thinking, she tapped it, revealing a long list of magical abilities.
"Something to scare it off... maybe fire?" she muttered, scrolling rapidly. Her eyes lit up as she spotted a spell called "Phoenix Spark."
"That sounds pretty harmless, right? Like a little fiery bird or something," she reasoned, tapping the spell without reading the description.
What happened next caught her completely off guard. A brilliant, orange-gold fireball, about the size of a small car, erupted from her outstretched hand. It streaked towards the monster with surprising speed, exploding on impact with a boom.
The creature was thrown back several meters, yowling in pain and fear. Where it had stood was now a smoldering crater about three meters wide. Nearby bushes and grass had caught fire, spreading quickly in a widening circle.
Kiyomi stood there, mouth agape, staring at the destruction she'd unwittingly caused. "Holy crap!" she exclaimed, eyes wide with shock. "That was... that was not a little spark!"
As the reality of her power began to sink in, Kiyomi felt a mix of awe and alarm. "Okay, note to self: definitely read spell descriptions before casting. And maybe don't use combat spells until I figure out how to control this amount of power."
She looked towards the village in the distance, hoping the residents hadn't noticed the explosion and the rising smoke. "Great first impression, Kiyomi," she muttered sarcastically. "Nothing says 'friendly newcomer' like setting the countryside on fire."
Realizing she needed to act fast to prevent the fire from spreading further, Kiyomi frantically began looking through her spell list again, this time for something water-related to douse the flames.
Frantically scrolling through her spell list, Kiyomi's eyes landed on a spell called "Aqua Surge." Without hesitation, she cast it, hoping it would be less destructive than her fire spell.
"Aqua Surge!" she called out, aiming at the spreading flames.
A powerful jet of water burst from her hands, dousing the fires and saturating the surrounding area. To her relief, the spell was effective but not overwhelmingly powerful, extinguishing the flames without causing further damage.
"Phew," Kiyomi sighed, wiping sweat from her brow. "At least that one worked as expected."
As the steam cleared, she cautiously approached the area where the monster had been. All that remained was a pile of ashes and a scorched patch of earth. The creature had been completely incinerated by her spell.
"Oh god," she muttered, feeling a mix of guilt and amazement at her own power. "I really need to be more careful with these spells. That could've been so much worse."
Taking a deep breath to steady herself, Kiyomi looked back towards the village. It still seemed peaceful in the distance, apparently unaware of the magical firepower that had just been shot off.
"Okay, Kiyomi, let's move on," she said to herself, straightening her still-damp clothes.
With a final glance at the scene of destruction behind her, Kiyomi set off towards the village once more.