Three hours had passed since Arata arrived in this world.One hour to make sure it wasn't a dream, and two more to come to terms with the situation. Normally, in the stories he had read, it was common to be summoned to a palace or a city. However, there wasn't a soul within a kilometer radius, leaving him to contemplate the wilderness. The idea that God had finally decided to punish him and leave him stranded in a world where seemingly no one existed terrified him.As he thought about this, he noticed the sun was beginning to set. At least, the sun worked as usual. He couldn't afford to waste any more time; he had to do something to move the situation forward. He realized there were several objects scattered around the ground. At first glance, he couldn't recognize them, but thanks to his memory, he recalled seeing them somewhere before. They were items from Runes and Worlds, which made him infer that he had been summoned into that game.Arata: "But in which version?"He vaguely remembered that Runes and Worlds completely changed its map and storyline every year. That was the reason he had stopped playing. If he was in the first or second version, he might get lucky, as he still remembered some things from those years.In the game, there were no options for backpacks or spatial inventory. He only had a limited inventory with restricted slots and weight capacity, meaning he could carry a limited number of items with him. The rest had to be stored in a chest. He had always thought this was quite realistic in the game, but he never imagined that if he were summoned, he'd have to carry everything in his own hands.Arata: "At least they could have given me a backpack instead of tossing everything around... stupid game!"He muttered, noticing his voice sounded strange. He decided to brush off the thought quickly.Without wasting more time, he began walking downhill, searching for a town or village where someone could explain what was happening to him. He couldn't risk spending the night in the dark. He left the scattered items behind, confident that no one would appear out of nowhere in the middle of nowhere to take them. After walking a bit further down the hill, he finally caught sight of some sort of path. He still couldn't see if it led to a city, but at least it was a sign that someone else was in this world, which gave him a momentary sense of relief.Just behind him, he started to hear sounds, and in the distance, he saw the figure of a carriage pulled by a large, furry bull-like creature.It was slowly approaching Arata's position. He quickly started thinking about what to say to the people in the carriage. What should he ask them first? Could he even speak the same language? What if they were hostile? As he pondered these things, the carriage was already close enough for them to see and hear him.Arata: "Stop!"Once again, he heard that strange tone in his voice. Looking past the two men driving the carriage, he saw a cage with several women inside. Perhaps one of them had spoken.Unknown Man 1: "What do you want? Get lost."Upon closer inspection of the women, he noticed they had pointed ears and a miserable expression. He quickly understood what was happening: these girls were elves, and they were being sold as slaves. A common occurrence in this kind of parallel world story. However, Arata had never understood why elves were always bullied by humans. Logically, if they lived longer, they would accumulate more knowledge, and thus their civilization should be more advanced than that of humans.One of the elves looked at Arata, and when she saw him, a light of hope returned to her eyes, encouraging her to speak.Unknown Elf: "Please, help us."Thanks to that girl, Arata realized that the strange voice he had heard earlier had come from her, which eased one of his greatest fears. Moreover, he had confirmed that he understood the language of this world. But, as much as he appreciated that, he had no intention of helping her. He wasn't about to risk his life for a stranger. He wasn't the type to help others, let alone play the hero. Or perhaps he simply didn't want to get involved in trouble right after arriving in this world.Arata: "Listen. Right now, I'm lost and looking for the nearest city. Could you let me go with you? Of course, it won't be for free. I've got some things that might be worth something, if you wait for me to grab them from the top of the hill..."Arata had to cut his speech short. And it was because the elf in the cage was mimicking everything he said. Arata hated disrespectful people more than anything, so he had to stop himself and shot a fierce, hateful glare at the elf, which made her shrink back in fear.Seeing the interaction between Arata and the elf, the two men got down from the carriage.Unknown Man 1: "That's enough!"Arata: "Six foot three... six foot six or maybe more..." Arata muttered as he watched the two men descend from the carriage. Although he himself was quite tall for a Japanese, standing at 5'11", he had to tilt his head slightly to meet the men's gaze. Their faces were scarred, and their rugged appearance suggested they likely knew how to fight. He realized he wouldn't win a fight if he angered them, so he opted to let them pass and leave before the situation worsened.He decided not to provoke a confrontation. The situation could easily escalate.Arata: "Alright, if you don't want to help me, I'll leave."Unknown Man 2: "Leave? It's not often that merchandise comes begging for us to sell it. We're not letting you go anywhere."Arata: "Merchandise...?"Arata was a master of battles of wit and decision-making, but his mind unconsciously refused to process the current information, avoiding the worst possible scenario.Unknown Man 1: "The clothes she's wearing look expensive. And she's got an attractive face; she's probably one of those high-quality ones from the south."Unknown Man 2: "From the south? That could get us into trouble; it'd be better to ignore her."Unknown Man 1: "If she really is from the south, and with how she looks, she might be royalty. If we sell her to the nobles of this country, who've been in conflict with the elf nation for years, we might never have to work again for the rest of our lives."Unknown Man 2: "But if it gets out that we were the ones who kidnapped her, those elves wouldn't just hunt us down for the rest of our lives, but for all our future generations. She mentioned she had some items earlier. We should just take everything she has in exchange for her life and let her go."Arata didn't know who these men were talking about, but he definitely understood that last part—they were the kind of people who'd seize any opportunity to get rich overnight. He had already made his first mistake by revealing the location of where he'd left his things. He might have been able to deceive them if he hadn't mentioned that.Unknown Man 1: "Don't be stupid. How many times in your life do you think an opportunity like this will come along? We'll take both, and by the end of your days, you'll thank me for it."Unknown Man 2: "Fine, fine, just do it. But be careful not to damage the merchandise too much."One of the men lunged at Arata and grabbed him.Quickly, Arata tried to break free. He knew that fighting two people in a real battle was extremely difficult and he had never wanted to end up in such a situation. However, he had practiced judo and trained regularly at his warehouse. Even though he didn't think he was stronger than his opponents, he knew he had to give it his all to escape. Using a judo technique on the arm that was holding him, he felt a snap, like breaking a small twig.Unknown Man 2: "W-What...?"The other man cried out in pain and bent over. Arata followed up with a kick to his head, causing it to twist at a strange angle.Unknown Man 2: "Damn it!"He saw the other man fumbling around in the carriage, likely searching for a weapon, but he was struggling to find anything.In this situation, Arata couldn't afford to lose the advantage; he had to take him down before he could draw a weapon. He remembered that before descending the hill, he had taken a knife with him—part of the items from the game, just in case. He didn't consider himself an expert with a knife, and it wasn't even one of his main weapons in the game. However, he had tested its sharpness before coming down, and it could cut through anything with ease. Arata lunged at the other man with all his strength, and in that moment, a crimson blur flew at an almost imperceptible speed, striking the man. Arata had driven the knife into the man's head with a thrust, pulling it out with the momentum. Even if he had decapitated him, the scene would have seemed less brutal.Arata: "What the hell...?"Unknown Elf: "Amazing!"The elves stared at Arata in astonishment, and he was just as shocked.He trained regularly, but this strength defied all logic. He shouldn't have it—unless...It didn't matter. He decided once again to ignore the issue and focus on his current situation. He had killed the two men, so they wouldn't be of any help anymore. Now, he could take advantage of the fact that he had saved the elves and try to earn their favor.Unknown Elf: "Thank you so much for saving us, sister."Arata: "W-What...?"Unknown Elf: "These men took advantage of the fact that our village had recently moved. They attacked when there were only a few people left at the camp. They captured us and were planning to sell us as slaves in the human city. But luckily, you arrived just in time to save us."Unknown Elf: "You look confused; you're really not from around here, are you?"Arata moved closer to speak with the elf. When he did, another smaller elf in the same cage spoke to him.Small Elf: "You're incredibly beautiful, sister. You look like a princess."Arata: "Who are you calling a princess, you little brat?"Arata heard that tone of voice again, but this time, unmistakably, he knew those words had been formed by his own brain. They were pushed and energized by the air in his lungs, manipulated and shaped by his vocal cords, and finally conjured and released by his own mouth. In other words, it was his own voice.Arata had already realized the truth he had been trying to ignore. As he approached the bars, he broke them with ease, thanks to his newfound strength. Now, he fully understood what was happening.Unknown Elf: "Thank you so much. If you follow this path, you'll come across the human town. They harbor nothing but hostility toward elves, so you shouldn't get too close. If you'd like, you can come to our village in the Lughwood Forest; I'm sure they'll welcome a sister from the south with open arms."At that moment, Arata knew he hadn't been transported to this world as "Arata"; he could no longer ignore the undeniable truth. He had been transported here as his in-game character, Runa.Unknown Elf: "My name is Lynell. Could you tell me yours?"At this point, giving his Japanese name wouldn't make sense, so he decided to introduce himself with his in-game character's name.Runa: "My name is Runa, just Runa."Lynell: "Runa... that's a pretty common name. At least two people in our village have that name. I thought people from the south had more extravagant names."Runa: "What? Really?"Runa had no way of knowing that his game character's name would be a common one among elves, so he had made a good decision introducing himself that way.Lynell: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you, Runa-sama."Runa: "Sama...?"Runa: "Never mind. In that case, take me to your village. But before that, there are a few things I'd like your help with. I'll be counting on you, Lynell."And so, after five hours of being summoned to this new world, Runa had already killed two people and was now on his way to an elven village in the Lughwood Forest.End of Part 1