One person approached them and asked them, noticing from their clothing that they were not from this world.
"You all don't seem to be from this world; it's clear from your clothes," said someone from this world.
The four of them were surprised. Even though this was a different world from theirs, they could clearly understand what the person from this world was saying to them.
One of them replied, "We are indeed not from this world. We also don't know why we are here."
A young man from this world suddenly thought of something. *What if I ask them to come with me?*
"Would you all like to come with me? I think I can find out why you ended up in this place."
The four of them, lost and confused in this foreign world, could only surrender to the situation and started following the young man.
The five of them began walking toward a certain place. A small village came into view as they continued walking until they reached a house. They stood outside, and the young man began to knock on the door.
"Professor, are you inside? It's me, Daren," asked the young man. From inside, a voice responded, "Yes, I'm here. Come in."
Daren and the four kids entered the house of the person Daren had mentioned, who was indeed a professor.
"Professor, I'm back," Daren said to the professor. A woman appeared from inside the house—the professor that Daren had mentioned. "Professor, I found these four near here, and since they're not from this world, I brought them here."
The professor began questioning them. "You four must have fallen into this world through a strange hole, right?"
One of the four answered, "How did you know?"
"I'm not actually from this world either; I came here from another world," the professor said, realizing that they were in the same situation as her—trapped and forced to live in this town, leaving behind the life in the world where they belonged.
The four of them gasped in unison at the professor's statement. "What! You're not from this world either?"
"Yes, like I said, I'm not from this world. I fell into this world through the same strange hole you mentioned."
"You four can stay here and help with some tasks. I'd like to continue working on a few things inside. Daren, please take care of them," the professor said.
"Yes, Professor," replied Daren.
The professor began researching something inside her house, while Daren had to take the children to work and prepare a place for them to stay.
"It's best if we get to know each other first. My name is Daren. I live around here, thanks to the professor. She saved me from the injuries I got during a battle," said Daren.
One of the four spoke up, "Then the professor must be a very kind person."
"She's not just kind; she saved my life," Daren replied, praising the professor in front of them.
The four of them took turns introducing themselves to Daren.
"My name is Liu," said one.
"I'm Ark."
"My name is Vi."
"And I'm Leon."
After the brief introductions, Daren started explaining this world to them slowly. "In this world, there are various types of monsters, each with different levels. The higher their level, the harder they are to defeat. So, you'll need to start training to survive monster attacks. You can also earn money by hunting monsters or gathering certain materials," Daren said firmly, as he was a strict and skilled adventurer.
Daren began to observe the four of them closely. Suddenly, he called each one of them forward.
"Leon, come here." Daren handed Leon a shield.
"Liu, come here." Daren gave Liu a bow and some arrows.
"Ark, come here." Daren handed Ark a pair of training swords.
"Vi, come here." Daren gave Vi a spear.
"You can practice with the weapons I've given you," Daren said firmly, ready to train them all.
Vi asked, "Why did you give me a spear?"
"This is the only weapon I have. You can use it for now. Once you've earned some money, you can buy better equipment in the town," Daren replied, answering Vi's question.
The four of them began training with the weapons Daren had given them, under his watchful supervision.
The professor came out of the house. "Daren... it seems we don't have enough food in the kitchen for six people. You should go hunt some animals, catch some fish, and gather a few plants."
"Alright, Professor. Come on, you four, let's go find some food before dinner," Daren said.
The five of them then headed into the forest to hunt wild animals, catch fish, and gather plants.
They spotted a wild boar. Daren instructed them to hide behind a tree while they discussed how to bring it down. Liu shot an arrow from a distance, hitting the boar. The boar, noticing the attack, charged toward Liu. Leon quickly came out and blocked the charge with his shield. Ark emerged from hiding and struck the boar with his twin swords, injuring it further. Liu then ran forward and stabbed the boar, finishing it off. Their teamwork had successfully brought down the wild boar.
Suddenly, a system notification appeared in front of them.
System: "Congratulations, you've leveled up."
The four were confused and started asking Daren, "Daren, why did something appear after we defeated the wild boar?"
"That's a system," Daren explained. "The system notifies you when you level up, shows your status, your weapon stats, and much more."
"You can view your status. You just need to press this," Daren said, and after pressing, their status screens appeared.
[Status]
Name: Leon
Class: Shield-wielding Tank
Level: 2
Gold: 0
[Attributes]
Physical Endurance: 5
Magic Resistance: 5
Physical Strength: 2
Magic Power: 0
Agility: 1
Intelligence: 0
==
[Status]
Name: Liu
Class: Archer
Level: 2
Gold: 0
[Attributes]
Physical Endurance: 2
Magic Resistance: 1
Physical Strength: 5
Magic Power: 0
Agility: 3
Intelligence: 0
==
[Status]
Name: Ark
Class: Twin Dagger Assassin
Level: 2
Gold: 0
[Attributes]
Physical Endurance: 1
Magic Resistance: 0
Physical Strength: 4
Magic Power: 0
Agility: 5
Intelligence: 0
==
[Status]
Name: Vi
Class: Spear-wielder
Level: 2
Gold: 0
[Attributes]
Physical Endurance: 3
Magic Resistance: 2
Physical Strength: 4
Magic Power: 0
Agility: 2
Intelligence: 0
==
"Wow! This feels like a game world," exclaimed Vi, shouting in surprise. The others agreed with her, sharing the same sentiment about this new world feeling like a game. "What is a game world?" asked Daren, confused by their comments.
"Oh, it's nothing—just a term we like to use for a world like this," Vi replied.
Daren walked over to a wild boar, lifted it, and continued on to the river to catch some fish. After gathering enough, he said, "This should be enough," noticing it was already evening. They hurried back to cook dinner.
Daren assigned tasks: "Vi, Ark, please clean the fish. Liu, cut some vegetables for cooking. Leon, help me clean this wild boar."
They all began their work in preparation for dinner. Vi and Ark washed the fish thoroughly, Liu chopped vegetables, dividing some for the soup, and Leon and Daren worked on cleaning and cutting the boar meat for cooking. Everyone worked hard until it was finally time for dinner.
With all the ingredients ready, they ate together. After the meal, they cleared and cleaned up, then headed up to the rooftop to gaze at the stars.
"Hey Leon, do you think we can go back to our original world?" Vi asked, missing her home.
"I don't know, Vi. We can only hope we'll find a way back," Leon replied with confidence in his voice, which comforted Vi a bit. "I hope everything you say is true, Leon," she responded, trusting his words. "Leon, do you think Ark and Liu will be able to accept that we're in a foreign world?" she asked.
"I hope they can come to terms with the reality we're facing," Leon said, half-believing the words himself.
Not long after, Daren found them on the roof. "You two, it's getting late. Come down and get some sleep," he said.
They both listened, climbed down, and went inside to sleep.
The next morning, as they woke up, Daren greeted them. "Go wash up, and then come back here for breakfast," he said to the four who were just getting out of bed.
The four of them headed to the bathroom and cleaned themselves up. Once they were done, they returned and ate together at the spot.
"After this, the four of you will come with me to the city. We'll buy some clothes for you to wear here," Daren said. Hearing this, they were excited to finally be able to change into new clothes.
After finishing their meal, they cleaned up and prepared to go to the city with Daren.
The big city was located 10 km down the road from the village where Daren stayed. Along the journey, they took a safe path without going through the forest. Suddenly, a scream sounded from up the road. They hurried to see what was happening and saw a horse-drawn carriage surrounded by many bandits. The four young men were ready to help, and Daren also had to join the fight. Remembering Daren's training, they used strategies he had taught them to fight off the bandits.
They quickly took positions according to their individual skills. Liu drew his bow and aimed an arrow at the bandit on top of the carriage, targeting the one who looked like the leader. With precision, Liu's arrow flew, surprising the bandit leader and almost knocking him off balance.
At the same time, Ark darted in from the other side, sneaking between the trees and launching a swift attack with his twin daggers, injuring several bandits who hadn't noticed him. Leon moved forward with his shield, acting as the first line of defense to protect the carriage from direct attacks. He bravely held off strike after strike from the bandits trying to approach.
Meanwhile, Vi, wielding a spear, attacked from mid-range. She pierced through the bandits' defenses, swinging her spear skillfully and injuring any enemy that got too close. Daren gave precise directions, providing instructions and occasionally joining the fight to push the bandits back.
The battle was intense, but their teamwork overwhelmed the bandits. One by one, the bandits began to flee, realizing they were outmatched. The wounded bandit leader eventually decided to retreat along with his men.
After the bandits left, the carriage owner, a wealthy merchant who happened to be passing through, expressed his gratitude for their help. "You have saved my life and my belongings. I don't know how to repay you," said the wealthy merchant, his voice filled with gratitude.
Daren responded humbly, "It is our duty to protect those in need." Nevertheless, the merchant insisted on rewarding them, offering them several gold coins as a token of his thanks.