Zofia opened her eyes and looked around at a completely unfamiliar scene. Her head throbbed as if it were being split open; the only thing she could remember was that she had been fighting with someone.
She stood up and surveyed her surroundings. It seemed she had been teleported to a different location. It was no longer the vacant lot; this place was made entirely of stone, from the walls to the ceiling and the floor.
"Martha?" Zofia exclaimed when she saw a girl lying in the corner of the room.
Upon seeing Martha, memories began flooding back into Zofia's mind.
She vaguely remembered that before being transported here, the two of them had argued about something and a conflict had broken out in the vacant lot behind the school. While she was trying to recall the details, Martha suddenly sat up.
"You bitch! Where the hell am I?"
Without another word, Martha lunged at Zofia, attacking her by surprise. Her hands tightened around Zofia's neck. It was then that Zofia remembered exactly why they had been fighting in the vacant lot.
"How should I know!" Zofia drove her knee hard into Martha's groin, forcing her to back off.
It was the time of year when high school seniors were taking their university entrance exams. Zofia, passionate about painting, had submitted her transcript to apply for a scholarship to the prestigious Paramount Arts University. She had worked incredibly hard to ensure her grades were nearly perfect, making the chance of failing to get the scholarship extremely low.
However, fate had other plans. Martha, the best friend Zofia had hung out with for so long, had dealt her a painful blow. She used her family's influence to have someone swap their transcripts before they reached the university.
Because of this, Zofia failed to get the scholarship. Refusing to believe it, she went to retrieve her transcript, only to discover that it contained Martha's grades, not her own.
"I guess we might have been teleported to another place, or worse, another world..." Zofia analyzed.
"Did you read too many cheap dime novels and start hallucinating? This is all your plot, isn't it?"
Martha lunged again, raising her fist to strike, but Zofia saw it coming. She dodged and retaliated with a similar punch to Martha's face.
Zofia now remembered everything clearly, including how Martha had insulted her.
"You're just a girl from a filthy poor family. You have no money, yet you dream of getting a scholarship to a prestigious school? Cheap trash like you should just survive day by day and get married to increase the population of this country."
"Look at yourself. Unsupported by your family, no friends. If it weren't for my kindness in protecting you, people would beat you up daily. Taking that scholarship is just a small fee for me keeping them away from you all these years."
Zofia bit her lower lip until it bled. Every word felt like a knife cutting into her heart. The person she thought was her best friend had been a deceitful, hypocritical snake all along.
"You wretch!"
She became increasingly convinced that they had been transported to another world. The air was significantly fresher, free from the smell of smoke and dust. Because of this, Zofia felt she no longer needed to hold back.
She rushed in, throwing punch after punch. But contrary to how it was back on Earth, Martha dodged everything. She even countered with a kick straight to Zofia's stomach, sending her rolling across the floor.
"Did you forget who I am? I'm the school's 'Big Sister'. I didn't get that title by just talking!"
Zofia remembered. It was because of that reputation that during her time with Martha, no one dared to touch her; at most, they only teased her with the nickname "The Man-Woman." Not to mention, Martha was the child of a powerful family and a major shareholder of the school, so teachers rarely punished her.
"Damn it! I don't care what you are! You've already taken the most important thing from me. I have nothing left to lose!"
Zofia continued to charge, punching and kicking continuously, but not a single blow landed. Martha also noticed that since everything was engulfed in that blinding white light, she had become noticeably stronger.
"Die!" Zofia managed to grab a vase containing liquid from a nearby shelf.
Based on the predominantly stone architecture of the room, Zofia surmised they had been summoned to another dimension where technology was not yet developed; otherwise, the walls wouldn't be lined with candles to light the room.
Zofia intended to splash the liquid into Martha's face, but she dodged and kicked over a lampstand, causing hot candle wax to splatter into Zofia's eyes. Zofia's vision instantly went dark. Fortunately, the wax had cooled somewhat, so it was just the body's conditioned reflex to close her eyes.
"Welcome, Hero summoned to the world of Eruth, the land of magic and... wait... why are there two of you?"
The door opened, and a man entered wearing a tunic and wide trousers, typical of ancient nobility back on Earth.
Both of them stopped fighting. Zofia immediately knew her deduction was correct. Martha, however, was still surprised; she hadn't truly accepted this reality yet.
Zofia's vision began to return blurrily, but she didn't give up on her intent to kill Martha. They weren't in the old world anymore; survival in this new world wasn't guaranteed, but this grudge had to be settled.
She had no purpose left to live for. Her family was sexist and never supported her in anything. She was tall and muscular, looking somewhat like a man, so no one paid her any attention. Her only best friend turned out to be a liar all along.
"Even if I die today, I'm taking you with me!"
Relying on her blurry vision, Zofia charged at Martha. Even though she couldn't hit her when she could see clearly, she was desperate. Ignoring the pain, she bit down hard on Martha's arm.