Surrounded by a world completely different from the one he had once known, Fuyuki Kuniri stood in a strange and unfamiliar place. Blocks of ice covered the field, and water lay still on the surface. His eyes widened as he slowly looked around. Behind him, towering mountains, coated in snow, loomed in the distance. Atop one of the peaks sat a majestic castle, painted in shades of blue and gold.
Fuyuki's face twisted in confusion as he tried to remember how he had arrived here. Just moments ago, he had been sitting at his desk, trying to finish some late-night homework. So how had he ended up in such an uncomfortable and foreign place?
He scanned his surroundings once more, his gaze eventually resting on a setting sun—different from any sun he had ever seen. It was a blue sun, glowing eerily in the sky. His thoughts flickered back to what had happened before this strange journey. He had been staying up late to catch the new adaptation of a manga he liked. The name eluded him for a moment, and Fuyuki furrowed his brow in concentration, placing a finger on his forehead. Then, as if a switch had been flipped, the name popped into his head.
"The Order of the Valley," he muttered quietly.
It had been a typical manga—one of those with the familiar trope of summoning a hero to defeat an approaching evil. Fuyuki paused, staring at the unfamiliar surroundings around him. If this was what he thought it was, then he had to investigate further.
He slowly approached a nearby puddle of water and knelt down. His reflection stared back at him—a young man with long hair neatly tied, a light complexion, and jet-black eyes. He sighed with relief. "I'm still me," he muttered to himself, a small comfort in the midst of confusion.
But then, doubt crept in. "I wonder if this is all just a dream…"
Fuyuki stood up, determined to figure out what was happening. "System?" he called out, waiting for any kind of notification or prompt. Nothing.
"Maybe magic?" he tried again, raising his hands and forming an index-finger sign as if to cast a spell. "Fireball!" he shouted.
Nothing happened. He attempted again with "Lightning," but still nothing. His face flushed with frustration. Even though no one was watching, he felt embarrassed, like a fool. He crossed his arms and looked up at the distant castle. That was probably the only place that could give him answers.
But as he looked at the mountain range leading up to it, Fuyuki realized the daunting reality—there was no visible path leading to the castle, and the mountains were so high that even if there were a way up, he, a mere high schooler, would never make it to the top. The climb would be dangerous, and even deadly.
Fuyuki knew next to nothing about survival skills. He had been a shut-in NEET most of his life, and the thought of traversing this frozen landscape made him uneasy. The cold was biting, and he had no idea what kind of dangers lurked within the ice. He knew that even a single punch could shatter his arm if he struck one of the ice blocks, and the thought of being reckless with his surroundings seemed foolish.
He didn't want to grab random things without knowing whether they would be harmful or helpful.
What he was sure of, however, was that his stomach was growling. He hadn't eaten anything since he woke up in this strange world, and the emptiness inside him was beginning to feel more pressing than anything else.
With a sigh, Fuyuki sat down on the icy ground, gazing up at the clouds as they drifted by. For the first time, he truly felt lost. What was he supposed to do now?