"Hey, you! Stop right there!"
Alaza's voice boomed through the trees like a pissed-off hornet with lungs.
Kudaze didn't bother looking back. His legs moved on their own, dodging roots, ducking under branches, and praying he wouldn't trip on his own homemade jungle skirt.
'Crap! Am I gonna die again? I just got here!'
"Why is that guy naked?" another voice echoed behind him.
"Shut up, Dred! We have to catch that guy!"
Kudaze zigzagged between trees, trying to lose them. His only hope was the river ahead.
'If I can just make it to the river again, maybe I can swim my way out like last time!'
But before he could make his grand escape, a boot came flying out of nowhere.
"Got you, sucker!" Alaza grinned as his foot collided with Kudaze's face.
THWACK!
Kudaze went airborne and slammed into a tree with the grace of a dying chicken.
"Whoa, Alaza," Dred said, walking over. "Bit much, don't you think?"
"Hmph. Still breathing though," Alaza muttered, poking Kudaze with the tip of his boot.
Kudaze couldn't move. He barely had one HP left. Every breath felt like it cost him five years of his life.
'ONE HP. I HAVE ONE FRICKIN' HP! Is this game on Ironman difficulty or what?!'
"Is he a barbarian?" Dred asked.
"Barbarian? From where? The nearest horde's three mountains away. No way he made it here alone and… naked," Alaza muttered.
"Guess he's just unlucky then," Dred said, shrugging as he grabbed Kudaze by the arms and dragged him like a sack of potatoes.
"Leave the skirt on at least," Dred added. "No one wants to see that."
'I want to die,' Kudaze thought.
They threw him into the back of the carriage like discarded luggage.
"Captain," Alaza called. "Got him. Dragged him outta the trees."
Kudaze opened one swollen eye to see the man from earlier, the one with the [Hardened Leather Armor Set] and the Stallion insignia on his chest, climbing onto the carriage.
The Captain sat in front of Kudaze, his gaze sharp, his expression unreadable.
"Name. Age. Affiliation. Purpose."
No sugarcoating. No room for lies. Just raw interrogation.
'If I answer wrong, I'm toast.'
"Kudaze... Vilvet..." he mumbled.
Then a wave of panic hit him.
'Wait—what's my age?! Crap, crap, I didn't check!'
"...Nineteen years old," he said, gambling hard.
"Affiliation?"
"I'm not affiliated to anyo—"
Suddenly, the Captain's eyes flared red like a demon's.
'HUH?! I'M TELLING THE TRUTH, DAMN IT!'
"I'm not affiliated to anyone! I swear! I came here looking for help!" Kudaze sputtered, half-crying, half-lying.
The Captain just stared. For a long, uncomfortable moment.
Then—
"Alaza! Get this man a spare set of clothes."
Kudaze blinked. 'Wait… it worked?!'
"Here, Captain! My spare leathers!" Alaza tossed a bundle of clothes into the carriage.
"You're not giving him my set, right?" he added quickly.
Dred yanked him back. "Shut it. Captain's done."
The Captain turned back to Kudaze, his expression softer now. "You're not lying. People who live in forests forget their own age all the time."
'Wait wait wait—he believes that?! Oh my god, I'm alive! I'M ALIVE, BABY!'
Kudaze screamed internally and collapsed backward, drenched in cold sweat and sheer relief.
Inventory Updated!
[Jungle Skirt] - Equipped. I shield you from ebarassment. That's all.
[Spare Leather Armor Set] - Given by Alaza.
[Pouch of Water] - A Pouch of Water period.
[Willow Wand] - Starting item for Mages.
[Mage Armor] - Starting Skill (Active). Status: Learned.
HP: 1/33
Mana: 19/32
Level: 1 (EXP: 0/300)
They rode in silence for a while, Kudaze quietly sipping from his [Pouch of Water] like it was holy nectar. It was the only thing keeping him from dying from dehydration. Literally.
'Okay... Okay, I can survive this. Step one, don't die. Step two, figure out how to level up. Step three… profit?'
He peeked outside the carriage.
The world was bigger than he remembered. In the game, the forests were a couple of screens wide. In here, it felt like they went on forever.
But worst of all? No save points. No load button. No UI prompts for health regen.
And worst of the worst?
He was Level 1 with [Mage Armor] as his only skill… a defense-type.
'I got isekai'd into the worst class. And I didn't even get to pick my loadout...'
The Captain's voice broke his thoughts.
"You said your name is Kudaze Vilvet?"
Kudaze nodded cautiously.
"You've got bad timing, Vilvet. Monsters are moving. Dire Wolves where they don't belong. Summoner activity too. Something's stirring."
He looked at Kudaze, eyes narrowed.
"You didn't bring this trouble with you, did you?"
"N-No?"
"Hm."
That "hm" was the scariest thing Kudaze had heard all day. It was the kind of "hm" that meant 'If I find out you're lying, I'll throw you off this cart faster than a goblin gets looted.'
The Captain looked away again.
The trees thinned out up ahead.
The road to civilization was just beyond the bend.
Kudaze gulped.
'Okay... If I survive this day, I'm joining a guild. Warrior, Mage, Thief, I don't care. I need backup. Maybe even... The Three?'
And for a brief second, he imagined himself in shining armor, blessed by the gods, riding a golden horse into battle.
Then he looked down at his dirt-stained feet and remembered he was wearing someone else's hand-me-downs and had one HP left.
'Yeah... one step at a time.'