When I regained my consciousness, I found myself in forest. I didn't know to which world I was sent to, so I was wary of my surroundings.
For all I know, there could be a monster lurking around, waiting for the opportunity to catch me. With that in mind I chose a direction and started walking forward.
I was wearing what looked like a kimono, with a white shirt underneath. The pants matched the black color of the kimono. I walked on sandals with white socks.
'Could I be in Japan or something?' That would explain the attire I spawned with.
My body felt completely different than the one I had before. Not only was I taller, but I could feel the peak human state the Essence said I would have. With that in mind, I upped my pace to a power walk, taking advantage of this body.
I had to be observant of my surroundings, as I didn't want to trip or have any accident. That wasn't hard, but it demanded that I was concentrated on where I was going, so that I couldn't wander too much on my thoughts.
This walk continued for an hour till I managed to get out of the forest. Nothing happened in that hour, except for the rare animal sighting. Nothing that could be dangerous though.
The moment I exited the forest I was met with a road. I didn't know where it lead, but a road had to go somewhere.
I looked up, realizing that the sun was close to setting, or so I thought.
My journey continued with me following the path. The first thing that I wanted to do was find some civilization, for I didn't trust that I could survive outside on my own for too long, and on top that I'm not sure if outside here is safe.
Despite having walked so much, I was still in pretty good condition, and haven't had hunger so far.
Sunset came just as I've managed to find civilization. There was what looked like a village or something, with buildings that, once again, reminded me of Japan.
'I'm placing my bet that this has to be Japan.'
I couldn't see nobody outside at the moment, so I had to knock in some house. I waited after knocking twice, hoping that someone would be able to help me.
To my fortune, someone did. It was a middle-aged man, who was wearing an attire similar to mine.
When I looked into his eyes, I could see a glimpse of annoyance on them. We looked at each other for a moment, and he spoke first.
"Who are you?" the tone of his voice showed his confusion. I didn't know how I looked, but I could bet that people around here know each other well enough, so he recognized me as an outsider.
I was also able to confirm my guess. The man was speaking japanese, which I could understand perfectly.
"Hi, my name's..." I trailed off for a bit, something inside of me swirling. "...Lucius."
I didn't know japanese, but here I was perfectly capable of talking and understanding it. The orb entity must've done something.
"Where do you come from? You're not from here." now his expression showed the suspicions he had about me. I don't know exactly what was going on in his mind, but if I knew anything about japanese people is that they didn't use to be fans of foreigners.
At this moment I realized that I had made a big mistake; I didn't have a story to lie with. How could I convince this japanese man that I, a strange outsider who knocked on his house at night, to let me in?
The answer was obvious: Bullshiting. I had to improvise something on the spot that was good enough to convince him. And that I did.
"I'm a merchant. I was traveling with my supplies to sell, when I was assaulted by some bandits. I didn't trust that they wouldn't do anything to me, so I ran as soon as I realized what was happening. They chased me down, but I'm quite fit, so I was able to lose them. Unfortunately, I ran off in a random direction, so I had no clue where I was. I walked till I found a road, so I followed it here. Now, I don't have a place to stay for the night, so I was hoping to find some temporary shelter."
I did as best I could, now I had to see if he would buy my bullshit. I remembered that the essence gave me a boost in getting what I wanted, so I was betting on that.
The man scrutinized me once more. I wasn't sure whether he completely believed my story, but he allowed me in.
"Okay, you can come inside. We have enough space for one more person." I saw his face become slightly droopy after that comment, but it faded away the next moment.
"Pardon my intrusion." I tried to mimick the japanese manners that I could remember. Acting as polite as possible would be helpful for me.
The inside of the house was just as I expected it to be. It was the typical old japanese house, with sliding doors and those white walls with a wooden frame.
"Would you like something to eat?" the man asked me, turning his head to me.
"If it's not too much trouble."
"It's okay, we got some leftovers which we would've had to throw anyway. You can have them." the man led me to a room that I figured was the dinning room.
There was a small table in the middle, with mats to sit on while eating.
"Make yourself comfortable, I'll bring the food." he said.
I smiled and nodded, then took a sit. I imitated the sitting on my legs posture, figuring this was the normal way here.
Now was the time to think a little bit more about my situation.
I still don't know which world I was sent to, but I knew it was in Japan. The fact that they used light bulbs meant that it should be after the late 19th century, or so I remember.
That still didn't tell me where I was, but it was something to keep in mind. Though, maybe Japan wasn't the main scenario of this world, but instead was sent here in preparation. Who knows.
"Here it is." the man came back, with a pot on his hands, but this time there was someone else with him.
It was a young girl, with black hair and eyes, like the man. She was holding a bowl and some chopsticks.
'Must be his daughter.'
The girl put the chopsticks before me, and held the plate besides the man.
"This is my daughter, Rika. And I forgot to introduce myself. My name's Koji Matsumoto."
Both of them did a bow, which I reciprocated.
"It's nice to meet you, Matsumoto-san, and Rika-san."
Koji nodded. He opened the pot, and served the food on the bowl. Then, Rika gave it to me.
"Here you go." she said.
"Thank you very much." I put it down.
I remembered to thank for the food, and to clap my hands together, not wanting to be seen as rude.
The food was some porridge, which I could recognize thanks to the period of my life where I was obsessed with japanese culture.
"I'll excuse myself, Otou-san." Rika said to her father with a bow.
He nodded. "All right. I'll stay here and talk with our guest."
Rika made a bow to me, which I acknowledged with a nod, then went out of the room. Koji took a seat in front of me, while I ate the porridge.
"I hope the food is to your liking." Koji said.
"It sure is, Matsumoto-san. Don't understimate the appetite of a hungry man."
He laughed it off. "I suppose you are right."
We stayed silent for a moment, while I was finishing my food. It was true that I was hungry, thought I only noticed this once I sat down to eat.
'Or has my appetite actually gotten bigger?' I would have to find out later.
I finished my plate, yet I wasn't satisfied yet.
I took the pot and served myself another portion.
"Say, Matsumoto-san, what do you do for a living?" I wanted to make a little bit of small chat, as he did let me in his house.
"Well, I'm a-"
Before Koji could finish his sentence, a scream interrupted him. It sounded like a girl's voice, and came from inside the house.
Both of us stood up instantly, and I could see Koji's face become rigid.
"It's Kana!" he said, before running of towards where Kana was.
I wasn't sure what was going on, but I decided to follow him. Who knows what happened to Kana.
It didn't take us long to reach the room where Kana was, but what we saw there shocked us.