I don't know how long I've been here, but this place isn't anything like I thought it would be. Primitive technology. Nature everywhere. And a fucking headache that won't go away.
I wish I could properly describe how inconvenient this entire thing is. One second you're walking home after a late night of working on code, and the next you hear chanting and—woosh—you're in another world without modern amenities.
I let out a sigh as I looked at myself in the mirror. Charcoal-blue hair. Silver eyes.
Apparently, side effects of the "hero summoning circle." It altered my appearance just enough to be noticeable. I really wished it had kept everything the same and just dumped whatever benefits it gave me somewhere… lower.
I wore an outfit provided by the palace so I could "blend in." Apparently, that meant clothes that made me look like a minor noble and colors no one else seemed to have. So much for blending.
The King had been too polite when I declined his invitation to become a hero and "save the world."
Yeah. Screw that.
He still provided me with temporary lodging, fresh clothes, and a pouch filled with enough money to live comfortably for years. The generosity felt wrong. Like I was being paid to disappear.
"What will you do if you won't help us?" The King had asked.
I shrugged. "Maybe I'll travel your world. See what it has to offer. If I'm convinced enough to help, I'll do it my way."
"You can't just—" Izekial, the King's right-hand man, began, only to fall silent when the King raised a hand.
"Our summoning spell missed the mark," the King said calmly. "We did not summon a hero of virtue. But shunning him would be foolish. Send him on his way—with enough to live well."
Izekial had scowled. "We should use those resources to summon another hero. If this one failed, the next surely won't."
I sighed at the memory. The King's kindness still unsettled me. Things didn't play out the way they were supposed to.
Now free of the palace, I stepped out of the tavern and into the city streets. The crowd buzzed with life. Food scents tangled in the air between tightly packed buildings.
If I didn't have a plan, then I'd take things slow. Figure it out as I went.
The summoning ritual had given me something besides altered hair and eye color.
A Trait.
Rewrite
The slate used to record my information hadn't been able to define it. The priests called it "unprecedented." The King called it reason enough to dismiss me with what amounted to a fortune.
"If I'm going to survive here," I muttered, "I should figure out what this thing does."
That was when I noticed the alley.
Nothing special about it—yet something in the back of my mind told me to stop. My feet carried me forward before I could argue.
At the end stood a door with a half-broken wooden sign: Tyresa's Things.
An old knickknack shop?
The door groaned as I entered, dust swirling in the dim light. Chimes rattled overhead.
"Welcome in," an old woman said. "Let me know if you need help finding anything."
I nodded absently and wandered the cluttered shelves. Trinkets. Amulets. Gear in various states of decay. A glowing purple crystal caught my eye—but the price made me recoil.
344 gold.
An oddly specific number. Also, literally everything I owned.
I moved toward the back, where weapons lay piled together—rusted swords, warped bows, broken staves. I was just about to leave when something made me stop.
A metallic staff.
Wires ran along its length, and the top held a hollow socket—like it was meant to house a crystal.
The moment I touched it, purple light flickered. Somewhere behind me, the crystal dimmed—then flared back to life.
"Ah," the woman said, suddenly right behind me. "You chose that one."
I turned, forcing myself not to jump.
"I found it in ancient ruins," she continued. "No one's ever understood its purpose. It pairs with the crystal, you know."
"I don't think that's something I should mess with," I said carefully.
She chuckled. "Probably not."
Then she smiled. "How about this? One hundred gold for both—and you do me a favor."
"Seventy," I said instantly.
"Ninety-nine."
"Seventy-five."
"Ninety."
"Eighty."
"Eighty and a favor," she said, sticking out her hand.
I shook it.
And immediately regretted it.
Her grip tightened, impossibly strong. Purple light flooded her eyes as glowing lines traced across her skin.
"Elias Voyer," she said. "Summoned Hero. One from another world."
The shop warped. Her body shifted—taller, younger, sharper. Ash-white and black hair spilled down her back. Magenta eyes burned with amusement.
"You have agreed to a contract," she said softly. "Be bestowed the Staff of Runtime and the Crystal of Glyphs. In return—your service, for as long as I desire."
The world spun. I collapsed as reality rearranged itself.
When it settled, sunlight poured through clean windows. The staff and crystal hovered at her side as she stretched like someone freed from a long prison.
What… did I just do? Did I seriously just make a deal with a demon?
"My name?" The young woman titled her head as she sipped tea. We sat parallel to each other as the staff and crystal sat on the table. The tea in front of me steamed like my regret. "I'm Tyresa. Didn't you read the sign?"
"The half-broken sign?" I scoffed, leaning back in my chair.
"Yes, that." She chuckled, setting her tea down. "Look, I mean no harm. I simply needed someone to help me regain my power through a pact and, well, we made a pact."
"You're not some kind of demon who's going to ask for my soul later, hm?" I leaned forward with narrow eyes.
Tyresa laughed at that. She leaned her head backwards and let out a full belly laugh before containing herself.
"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." She waved her hand, wiping a tear with the other. "You must've really read a lot of fiction from where you're from if you say that."
"How do you know about that?" I asked.
"What? Fiction?" Tyresa raised an eyebrow. "Of course I know about your world! What kind of goddess would I be if I didn't know my first follower's background information?" She leaned forward, resting her head on her joined hands and smiled. "Elias Voyer. Twenty-eight. Single. Never had a relationship. Lives on a planet called Earth in a place called Illinois and you're still a virgin."
"H-hey!" I slammed my hands on the table, fully red. "Y-you don't need to say that last part." I slowly sat down, taking my tea and downing it.
Tyresa chuckled in amusement before resting her back on the chair and taking another sip of her tea.
"What do I need to do for you? Do I just do your bidding and then you'll let me go?" I changed topics.
"Mmm, something like that." Tyresa nodded. "Y'know how I said I collect things? Well, you'll go collect things for me and bring them to my shop so I can sell them."
"What kind of god are you?" I raised an eyebrow.
Tyresa's eyes dimmed for a moment beore going back to their usual glow.
"Goddess of Adventure, Magic and Greed." She smiled widely at the greed part.
Great, I got in with a crazy one. I sighed.
"Greed?" I asked out of curiousity.
"Mmhm," she nodded. "Look at all these things. They're all things I want. They're all things I keep but… for the right price, I'll sell it. And you… actually took two of them."
"Well, I don't know how much help I'll be. I'm not really the virtuous type. Plus, I don't know what my Trait does and I don't know jack shit about fighting or casting magic."
"That I can help with."
Tyresa held her hand out and looked to me.
"May I?" She asked.
I hesitated but gave her my hand. She brushed the top with her left hand. A strange whit and black glyph appeared on my hand. Magical glyphs began to glimmer into existence around Tyresa's hand as she whispered. Her eyes glowed white before coming back to their natural color of magenta. She released my hand and stared at me for quite some time before snapping out of it.
"Oh." She whispered to herself. "That is interesting."
"What?" I replied.
"Your trait, Rewrite, could alter magic as we know it." A sinister smile crept on her face. "You know what that means~ I'm definitely keeping you forever!"