Kai sat at the edge of his stall, clutching his meager pouch of coins. His day at the market in Greenhill—the neighboring village—had been full of small victories and plenty of defeats. He'd managed to make a few trades, earning enough to buy himself a decent meal, though he could already tell that if his trading skills didn't improve, he'd be out of luck fast.
As he mulled over his fledgling merchant experience, a commotion caught his attention near the village entrance. Villagers craned their necks, murmuring as a tall, striking figure emerged from the crowd. She was clad in fitted leather armor, a sword strapped to her back, and her movements exuded a confidence that made everyone give her a wide berth. Kai found himself unconsciously leaning forward, trying to get a better look.
The woman's hair was dark and her eyes sharp, assessing everything around her as if she were cataloging threats. Her gaze landed on Kai's humble stall, and a smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. She walked toward him, her boots echoing on the cobblestones, and paused right in front of his makeshift display. He could feel the intense weight of her stare and realized he hadn't even introduced himself or said anything remotely merchant-like.
"Is this all you have?" she asked, her voice laced with an almost amused curiosity as she surveyed his wares—a few herbs, a couple of powders, and one solitary trinket he hadn't managed to pawn off yet.
Kai swallowed, trying to muster any semblance of professionalism. "Uh, yes, I mean… yes, this is my selection," he stammered, feeling the heat rise to his face. "It's… fresh?"
The woman raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "Fresh, huh?" She picked up one of the herbs, twirling it between her fingers. Her eyes met his, and for a moment, Kai felt like a deer caught in a hunter's sights.
"I'm Elara," she said, as if her name alone carried weight. "A warrior from Stormrest." She paused, watching his reaction. "It's not far from here, on the other side of the forest. I'm here on a mission. Need some supplies for the trip."
Kai could barely respond before she continued, "You're new around here, aren't you? From the village over?" She gestured vaguely in the direction of his home village, Briarstead.
"Y-yeah," he stammered, trying to regain control of his voice. "Briarstead. Just a simple village, nothing fancy."
"Clearly," she replied with a grin that was both charming and cutting. "Not exactly the warrior type, are you?"
Kai straightened his posture, bristling a little at the casual jab. "I can hold my own," he said defensively, though he immediately regretted it. Elara's eyes gleamed with sudden interest.
"Oh really?" she said, a hint of challenge in her voice. "How about a test, then?"
Kai's eyes widened. "A test? Right here?"
Elara nodded, pulling a small dagger from her belt. She spun it skillfully in her hand, the blade catching the light as she twirled it. "Think fast," she said, tossing the dagger toward him. Kai fumbled, catching it clumsily, his fingers slipping on the cold metal. The villagers around them began to watch, some with curiosity, others with barely-hidden amusement.
"Show me what you've got," she said, taking a casual step back, hands on her hips as she waited.
Heart pounding, Kai took a shaky stance, gripping the dagger as if it might slip through his fingers any second. He tried to remember anything he'd seen in his favorite anime, any move or stance that might help him. But as Elara's posture remained calm and composed, he realized he looked ridiculous. He lunged forward, or tried to, though it ended up being more of an awkward shuffle.
Elara didn't move, her smirk only deepening. When he stumbled a bit, her hand shot forward, gripping his wrist with a strength that caught him off guard. She didn't hurt him, but she twisted his arm just enough to force him to drop the dagger.
"Let's try again," she said, her voice firm but not unkind. "Think about your stance. If you're going to defend yourself, you need to look like you know what you're doing."
Kai's face burned, both from embarrassment and from the realization that she was right. He was wildly out of his depth, and it showed. Gritting his teeth, he adjusted his feet, trying to mimic the stances he'd seen on TV. But his arms felt stiff, his grip on the dagger unnatural. Elara released his wrist, crossing her arms as she assessed him again.
"Better," she said, though he could tell she was humoring him. "Now, come at me again."
This time, he managed a slightly steadier lunge, and as he aimed, Elara side-stepped gracefully, her movements almost a dance. Before he knew it, she'd sidled up to his side and gently tapped his back with the hilt of her own dagger.
"Dead," she said with a wink, stepping back.
Kai blew out a frustrated breath. Despite the comical nature of his failures, a growing sense of determination flared up inside him. He was tired of feeling like an outsider, someone constantly outmatched by everyone he met. He wanted to prove her wrong, to prove he could belong here, even if it meant stumbling his way through.
As he glanced at her, Elara's smile softened. She reached out, patting his shoulder in a way that was almost reassuring. "Look, Kai, I know I came on a bit strong, but if you want to survive, you need to take things seriously." Her gaze shifted to the forest edge, as if something lurked there, waiting for anyone weak enough to wander in unprepared. "This world doesn't forgive weakness. Not here, not anywhere."
Kai nodded, taking in her words. He'd spent so long in his head, clinging to his past life's comforts and conveniences, that he hadn't faced the reality of where he was now. This wasn't some fantasy game where mistakes could be fixed with a reset button. He would need to adapt if he wanted to last.
Elara gave him a final nod, as if acknowledging some quiet resolve she saw forming in him. "Good luck, merchant," she said with a teasing glint in her eye, tossing him his dagger back. "Next time I'm here, maybe you'll have learned a thing or two."
With that, she disappeared back into the crowd, leaving Kai standing there with a strange mixture of shame and motivation simmering inside him. He clenched the dagger tightly, silently vowing to make good on her words. He'd take things seriously, if only to prove he wasn't as incompetent as everyone seemed to think.
Kai stood in the middle of the bustling market square, still feeling the weight of Elara's words pressing down on him. She had cut through his lazy exterior with frightening ease, leaving him exposed and embarrassed. He hated to admit it, but she was right—he wasn't taking this seriously. Not really. Even now, he was clinging to the comfortable idea that he could stumble through this bizarre world on luck and half-hearted efforts, just like a side character coasting through someone else's story.
The sounds of the market buzzed around him, villagers haggling and shouting, laughing and bartering, all of them too busy to notice the solitary young man standing in a daze. But inside, his thoughts were anything but calm. A part of him wanted to throw down the dagger and storm back to Briarstead, back to the quiet, uneventful life he'd managed to piece together in this strange world. But he couldn't shake the image of Elara's confident smirk and her words: "If you want to survive, you need to take things seriously."
Survival. It was such a basic word, but now it held weight for him. This wasn't a game where his choices could be shrugged off or fixed later. The stinging realization that he'd been treating it like one hit him harder than he expected. He'd spent years escaping into fantasy worlds, and now, facing a world that mirrored those fantasies, he realized he wasn't the hero he'd always envisioned himself as. He was… unprepared.
Kai glanced down at the dagger in his hand, feeling its weight. It was real. Solid, cold steel, not a cheap plastic replica from one of his anime conventions. He grimaced, recalling the clumsy way he'd tried to use it just minutes before. His stance had been wrong, his movements awkward. Elara's words echoed in his mind, but it wasn't just her taunt that drove a needle of frustration through him. It was the uncomfortable truth that he didn't even know how to improve, because he'd never tried.
As he stared into the blade, Kai could almost hear his old self whispering in the back of his mind, urging him to brush it off, to find some excuse, any excuse, to ignore the challenge in front of him. "You're not a fighter," he muttered to himself, a weak attempt to console his bruised ego. "You're just a lazy otaku who never needed to learn any of this."
Yet, the more he thought about it, the more he felt a strange determination stirring. A flicker of something he'd felt countless times watching his favorite characters. That thrill when they transformed from underdogs into something greater. When they overcame their weaknesses, faced their fears, and grew into heroes.
But Kai wasn't ready to admit any of this out loud. He wasn't even sure he was ready to commit to the idea in his own mind. All he knew was that Elara had seen something in him, even if it was just a flash of potential. And he didn't want her—or himself—to believe he was as helpless as he felt.
"I'll prove you wrong," he muttered under his breath, a quiet vow that surprised even him.