Raka slowly opened his eyes, his vision still blurry. He felt a cool breeze brushing his face, and the scent of wildflowers filled the air. "Where am I?" he muttered, trying to get up from his lying position.
However, what he saw around him made his heart stop for a moment. A vast forest with giant trees that he had never seen before stretched out before him. It was no ordinary forest—the trunks were dark purple, the leaves bright green with golden tips. He felt strange and... confused.
Raka rubbed his face and looked at his clothes. Black armor with a layer of leather that looked so realistic stuck to his body. "This... this is the armor of a game character!" he muttered, almost in disbelief.
He tried to remember how he got here. The last time he remembered, he was just playing on his computer, completing the last quest in the game "Eternia's Realm"—a fantasy RPG game that always made him lose track of time. But why was he here now?
As he pondered his strange situation, he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. Raka was immediately alert, grabbing the sword hanging on his back. Although it felt strange to hold a real sword, his body moved automatically, just like in a game.
From behind the trees, a girl with long silver hair and a red robe appeared. Her sapphire eyes stared at him in surprise.
"Who are you…?" the girl asked. Her voice was soft but full of caution.
Raka took a breath, realizing that he needed to explain himself. "I… don't know how to explain it, but I'm not from this world. I just… woke up here suddenly."
The girl furrowed her brows, unsure of Raka's answer. "Are you from an enemy clan? This is the territory of the Ayurea kingdom, and I am Ayra, the princess of this kingdom," she said in a firm tone.
Raka flinched. The name "Ayra" was not unfamiliar to him; Ayra was one of the NPCs in the game "Eternia's Realm," a princess known to be cold and unapproachable. But now, she was standing in front of him.
"I'm Raka," he answered, nodding his head a little awkwardly. "I also… don't know how I got here. But I am not your enemy."
Ayra stared at him intently, as if trying to gauge his honesty. After a while, she finally said, "If you are not an enemy, prove it by helping this kingdom."
"How can I help?" Raka asked, confused but also a little interested. In the game, Ayra always had hidden quests, and this seemed to be one of them—only this time, he was experiencing it firsthand.
"We are facing a threat from the dark clan. If you want to prove yourself as an ally, you must help us stop them," Ayra replied, raising her chin in a confident manner.
Without hesitation, Raka nodded his head. Although he still had no idea how or why he was here, one thing was for sure—the adventure he had only dreamed of was now right before his eyes.