Ren woke to the smell of dust and the warmth of the afternoon sun on his face. He lay on a dirt road, staring up at the clear sky, until something in his vision caught his attention.
A green bar floated at the corner of his sight. Numbers glowed beside it:
HP: 100/100 || Gold: 10 || Level: 1
Below it, a small spinning map showed a blinking arrow pointing toward a nearby town.
Ren sat up, brushing dirt off his shirt. The road stretched ahead, leading to rooftops in the distance. He smiled.
"Loria."
He knew this place. Every stone and tree matched the starting area from the game he had spent hundreds of hours playing. The milestone by the road, the weathered sign pointing to town, even the bird calls sounded exactly the same.
Ren looked at his hands. They were lean and calloused, not the pale, soft ones he had in his previous life. The weight of the coin pouch at his waist was strangely comforting.
He wasn't confused. He had dreamed about this often enough to accept it instantly. Last night he had fallen asleep at his desk with "Adventures of Fantasia" still running.
Now he was inside it.
In the game, the fastest way to get strong was clear. First, go to Loria. Second, spend the starter gold wisely. Third… he smirked to himself.
The walk to the gate took only minutes. Two armored guards stood there, but their eyes slid past him and they stepped aside without a word. Scripted NPCs, exactly like the game.
Inside, Loria was bustling. Merchants shouted at stalls full of bread and fruit, a blacksmith hammered at a sword, and the Adventurer's Guild was busy with people taking quests. Across the square, laughter and the smell of ale spilled from the tavern.
Ren didn't linger. He had ten gold to spend and knew exactly where to go.
He slipped into a side street, then another, leaving the crowd behind. The air grew damp and smelled faintly of mold. This was where most players got lost, but he knew his way.
A plain wooden door sat in a wall of cracked plaster. A dark lantern hung above it.
Ren took a steadying breath, excitement and nerves twisting in his stomach.
Then knocked twice.
The door opened to reveal a thin man with slicked-back hair and sharp eyes. "A fresh face. Here to browse my merchandise?"
Ren stepped inside without replying. The short hallway led to a dim room lined with iron cages.
In the first was a silver-haired elf with proud golden eyes. Her price tag read two hundred gold. He walked past.
The second was a blonde human beauty with a defiant glare. One hundred fifty gold. Still too much.
In the third cage, a girl sat curled in the corner. Her dirt-streaked dark skin caught the sunlight, and though she looked half-starved, she had a tall, long-limbed frame. Black-furred ears lay flat on her head, and a matching tail wrapped tightly around her thigh.
She glanced up at him, red eyes wary.
The dealer smirked. "Dark beast girl. Untrained, eats too much. Not worth your trouble."
Ren ignored him. He remembered her from the game. Most players overlooked her, but in his route she was perfect.
"I'll take her."
The man raised a brow. "For ten gold, I could maybe—"
"Five gold." Ren cut in. "She's thirty years old, and malnourished. No one else will pay more."
The man stared at him for a moment, then sighed. "Fine. Five gold. No refunds."
Ren handed over the coins. The dealer unlocked the cage and removed the ankle chain.
She stood slowly, still tense.
"What's your name?" Ren asked.
The dealer shrugged. "She doesn't have one."
Ren smiled faintly. "Then you're Rika."
The girl hesitated, then whispered, "…Rika." Something in her eyes softened for just a moment.
Outside, the streets were quiet, lit by the warm colors of the fading sun. She followed him silently, her tail swaying.
The inn he picked was small and cheap. He paid for a single room and two dinners.
Dinner was plain stew and bread, yet Rika devoured it as if she hadn't eaten in days. Ren watched, content.
Afterward, they went upstairs to their room.
The room was small but clean, with a single bed pushed against the wall and a narrow desk beneath the window.
A knock came at the door, and the innkeeper's boy brought in a bucket of steaming water and a folded cloth. "For washing," he said, before leaving again.
Ren glanced at Rika. "You should freshen up. You'll feel better."
Her ears lowered. "…I don't know how to…"
Ren smiled. "Then I'll help."
He dipped the cloth into the hot water, wrung it out, and stepped closer. Rika stood stiffly, eyes averted, as he began to wipe the dirt from her arms.
The water darkened with grime, but underneath, her skin was warm.
She shivered slightly when he moved to her ear, his fingers brushing against the fine hairs there. "Ticklish?" he murmured.
"…No," she whispered, though her tail twitched.
Ren worked slowly, moving to her shoulders, then down her back. When he knelt to clean her legs, she wavered, biting her lip as if unused to being touched without roughness.
When he stood again, they were close enough that he could see the faint rise and fall of her chest, the way her breath caught.
He cupped her cheek gently. "Rika…"
Her eyes lifted to his. A heartbeat passed. Then he leaned in, slowly, and their lips met.
The kiss was soft at first, then deepened as her hands clutched lightly at his shirt.
Ren's hand slid down, resting on her breast through the thin fabric. She gasped against his mouth, but didn't pull away.
When their lips parted, her face was flushed, ears high and trembling. "…Master…" she breathed, barely audible.
His hand stayed on her breast, squeezing lightly.
Ren's own cheeks were warm, his breathing uneven. He smiled faintly. "Should we go to the bed?"