The uneven ground was stiff and dry. Tall grass swayed from the gentle breeze that carried the musky earth scent directly towards a young man stirring to consciousness on the ground. The young man pressed himself up against the ground and blinked against the sunshine caught in the golden specks of his bright brown eyes. Loose black curls of hair fell into his face as he rubbed his face, the warm brown of his skin gleamed in the light. His unease betrayed only by his thick, raised eyebrows.
He pushed himself upright, steadily arising with a quiet grace. His gaze swept the surroundings with careful curiosity, attentive of the unfamiliar environment.
At that moment, something transparent flickered at the corner of his vision. Spectral blue squares materialized in front of his view, and words printed themselves across the holographic screens.
[Transmigration complete. 14 nearby participants detected.]
The young man's brows furrowed. He blinked. The words remained, as ghastly and present as before.
A tree branch cracked in the distance, drawing the man's attention elsewhere. Through the patchy sunlight piercing the canopy, a few figures became visible. One stumbled over a root, scrambling to regain balance. Another held a plant in his hand, observing it with cautious care. The group was clearly approaching him.
The man thought carefully, 'Do I flee? Who are these people... no, where am I?' His slender body expressive of his agility rather than particular strength. He stretched a little bit, brushing earth from his skin. His senses brimmed with anticipation and tension, even the breeze felt charged, almost dangerous.
He finished his stretches, ensuring he would be prepared for the worst. His gaze flickered between the trees, the system, and the figures. The blue screen still hovered before his eyes, but as he thought of it as obstructive, it vanished. Onlyto be replaced by another.
[Quest: Survive]
[Objective: Remain alive for 24 hours.]
[Reward: Situation dependent.]
Worry tugged at his chest as the strangers grew closer. His eyes twitched as he no longer looked at the trees but only at the figures. Absorbing their posture and demeanors, a silent calculation to avoid any mistakes. His fist closed with enough tightness to keep him aware but not enough to hurt. An additional system notification slowly faded into being alongside the text of the quest, but his eyes did not register it.
His attention was fully fixed on the figures ahead, now emerging from the trees. It was six others, spaced apart unevenly and without a shred of confidence. Only pulled forward by circumstance rather than intent. One of them had tripped on a root again, stumbling, before recovering instantaneously. As if he reacted perfectly without panic. The youth who had nearly fallen froze as he stood upright and looked at his own two feet in confusion before continuing.
At this point, they were all in a small clearing, fifteen meter clearing. An older lady, perhaps in her forties, began to wave to the young man. She smiled, a colorful flower in one hand. Her gaze lingered on the flower longer than it should have.
The breeze shifted.
The grass's gentle sway became violent, hitting against the ankles of the young man's exposed ankles. 'What a terrible day to wear shorts to sleep, the wind is so heavy... good thing is a dream.' A slight smile appeared as he thought. After all, transmigration didn't exist, and if it did, why would he be chosen?
Every dream, however, only worked when the dreamer believed in it.
Tension had finally built up enough where the lack of aggression could be seen, one younger girl even nervously laughed as she rubbed her arms. Cool air washing over them. As the group met eyes with the young man, they stopped approaching. The younger girl took one step too far and hurried to correct it.
The young man's gaze flickered to the trees, searching for escape routes and potential cover. Then back to the group, where was their line of sight. None of them were looking towards his escape routes, just him. The young man's fist finally unfurled.
The silence was broken by the whirling wind, rippling clothes, and whispering to the grass, making it sound like overlaid voices. Then one of the figures, perhaps in his teens with redhair, finally spoke, "Yo..." It was a weird combination of sounds, like a language neither of them learned. "Are you seeing this too?"
The red-headed teen gestured vaguely to the air in front of him.
Silence ensued for a few seconds as the young man's eyebrows furrowed before he nodded and spoke, "Yes." He glanced at the screen again and noticed there was new text under the reward, but he lacked the chance to check it. "The nearby 'participants.'" He spoke with a slight emphasis on the last word. Even then, the words felt unfamiliar, it was different from the English and Spanish he normally spoke.
Sweat pooled in the red-headed teen's hands, "And..?" His meaning was obvious.
The young man let out a small laugh, "Okay, so you guys can see the quest too. It's not just me!"
The tension dropped drastically, like a knot being cut open.
Whispers from the wind grew louder as the breeze picked up, before coming to a standstill. "Did all of you arrive together? Or did you just like eachother after meeting?" The young man questioned them with an innocent tone.
They looked around at each other, then at a guy in an all-black hoodie and sweatpants combo. A sigh replaced his blank expression as he began an explanation, "I have some sorta... sense, I guess? Makes it kinda easy to find others." He spoke with hesitation in each word.
The older lady then spoke with a smile on her face, one that made the red-headed teen's eyes widen with embarrassment, "And then we learned we can't hurt each other, cause some brat tried to beat Michael with a rock." Of course, everyone's eyes moved to the teen, maybe just to tease him, maybe out of concern.
The teen's face turned a flushed red, brighter than his hair. "I didn't try... I mean, I didn't mean to, if, if this was real then..." He cut himself off in realization they were teasing, "Nevermind..."
No one had pressed him further about this. That alone was enough to let the young man know panic had already gone through the group enough. His gaze studied the man in black, Michael, whose body type was shrouded in mystery by the oversized hoodie. His stance was stable, not confident, but grounded.
"Did it hurt?" The young man asked and gestured to his head.
Michael shook his head calmly, "No, it didn't really feel like anything. The rock kinda just stopped." He frowned, "The rock didn't even make a sound as it collided with my head."
Those words sent a chill through the clearing for those who weren't yet in the group when the event happened. The wind added a deeper chill as it rose from the forest behind the young man. The wind bellowed from the forest behind the young man, nearly pushing him forward. He slowly turned around and met the wind, the wind washing over him. The grass deeper into the forest was nearly horizontal from the wind. It felt like the world itself warned him not to step forward.
"Maybe, we're meant to work together and not fight each other." The older lady suggested. Hands outstretched and the flower released, being launched away into the wind. The petals on the flower were wilted. "You can call me Marie."
The young man kept his eyes on the wind, then let his attention drift back to the system notification he had ignored earlier. Speaking only after a couple of seconds, "I agree, I don't think it's possible to survive out here alone... at least not yet." An invisible edge highlighted the last of his words. After a few more moments of hesitation, he spoke again. "I am Tobi... and preferably we should get away from this wind. It feels dangerous," he turned back to the group.
The wind did not relent regardless of his words.
It rolled past them again in uneven waves, tugging at fabric and grass alike, easing only within the shallow basin of the clearing. As if it couldn't. Tobi stood still, breathing slowly and controlled, feeling the pressure and where it stopped.
This place wasn't trying to kill them. Not yet, but it made sure to whisper to them that they did not belong.
Tobi unclenched his hand again, unaware of when he had clenched it. Michael looked over away from the source of the wind and gestured for everyone to follow, "I feel another person, it's actually two of them. They feel similar?" He began walking at a casual pace, allowing everyone to follow. Tobi joined the group.
The nearby wind, as if saddened by the group walking away, died out. Tobi kept note of it as he read the additional system notification again while they walked.
[Transparent Quest]
[Observation:
- Survival probability increased while within the current zone.
- Departing the zone carries an elevated risk.
- Interpersonal conflict restricted early phase, duration unknown.]
[Objective:
- Remain alive for 24 hours.]
[Reward:
- Dependent on decisions, environmental response, and continued survival.
- Outcome is most beneficial to the transmigrator.]