i transmigrated into a fantasy world that doesnāt exist ā SESSION 1.
SYNOPSIS. You're forcibly ripped away from your corporate ladder climbing addiction by otherworldly circumstancesā literally, otherworldly. What's worse is that your new, out of this world job doesn't seem to tender any hazard pay.
PAIRINGS. tomorrow x together x reader.
TAGS. fantasy! au, isekai! au, romance, humor, angst, deeply emotional and/or emotionally constipated love interests, some political intrigue, some potential suggestive scenes but i do not make the decisions here. this is essentially a solo dungeons and dragons campaign flimsily disguised as a kpop fanfic (read for high elf paladin! soobin, wood elf fighter! yeonjun, tiefling bard! beomgyu, drow elf artificer! taehyun, and aasimar cleric! kai).
SESSION WARNINGS. mild swearing, non-consensual mind reading, soobin being a fucking weirdo, graphic descriptions of blood and violence (weāre fighting monsters yee haw), nerd shit (lots of it).
WORD COUNT. 6.7k
NOTE. this is the pinnacle of my career as a certified loser. i bought a dndbeyond subscription and iām putting it to good use (i.e. to visualize my hallucinations). you donāt need to play d&d to read or understand this (at least i hope HAHA). only soob and yeonjun are introduced so far!! stay tuned for the rest of the boys<33
YOU WAKE UP TO A WHITE CEILING. Itās dark, but you can recognize that nauseating color. This would not be odd, had it not been for the fact that you had your bedroom repainted to an earthy green an gray around two months ago. But you did, because you theorized that the constant plaguing of harrowing white interiors was a factor contributing to your insomnia. So, you blink, assuming that youāre simply still half-asleep and are witnessing a dreamlike hallucination, but the white ceiling does not go away.
In fact, it starts to look even more vivid. There appears to be intricate carvings on the faraway marbleā farther how your bedroom ceiling should beā and, after a few more seconds of regaining lucidity you realize that the white ceiling is rounded. You realize the stiff, coldness of the surface youāre laying. You realize that this is not your home.
The moment you shoot up from your state, you hear a creak and a slam.
āTheāthe Edlon! The Edlon has come!ā
Youāre unable to catch the a glimpse of the man whoād just made an expeditious retreat, but whatās more curious is the fact that the words heād just spat out in shock and alarm sounded nothing that youād recognize, and yet you understood what he had just said.
The Edlon. The outsider. A thought is starting to form in the back of your mind, and you donāt like it one bit.
Just as youāre about to investigate your surroundings, the sound of an echoing creak intercepts once more.
āSo, itās true.ā
Light leaks in through a large door, casting the shadow of a figure onto the pale flooring. You look up and see a man.
āPraise the heavens! It has been decades. Welcome, dear Edlon. We have been waiting for you.ā
The man sinks into a deep bow. You wince, trying to process the absurdity of this situation, and confirming the fact that you can indeed understand what heās saying despite it sounding foreign to your ears. That dreaded thought you had shelved slowly starts to rise to the surface as you take in this strange manās appearance. An older man. Possibly around his sixties, with long robes that match the length of his pale blonde hair, tied into various braids. Then you notice his ears. That same, stupid thought rips through the surface tension and becomes undeniably unignorable.
His ears. Theyāre pointed. Oh, boy.
See, youāre no stranger to fantastical books and media. You may be a corporate slave, but you have your hobbies. And that includes reading a bulk of the half-baked, mass-produced, B-rated isekai comics out there. But there are three things that are wrong about your situation from the get-go.
First, those stories usually start with the MC dying in some way or another in order to get transmigrated, but you definitely did not. You were not in the middle of the road and got hit by a truck. You did not get pushed off from the roof of your building. You just got out of the shower tucked yourself into bed the night prior.
Second, the MCs usually hate their existing lives. Theyāre either bullied, or down on their luck, or are generally in less favorable situations than in he fantasy haven that theyāve fallen into, allowing them to justify their not wanting to return back. But your life was good. More than good, for godās sake. Youād just been promoted to team leader. You had a six figure salary. Thereās no way in hell youād give any of that up.
āMy sincerest apologies, Edlon. You must be in great shock, but worry not. Everything will be explained.ā
You sure hope it does, because the third thing is that the MCs are almost always transported into the last story theyād been reading. You havenāt touched anything of the like for the past four months because youāve been grinding for your promotion. At the very least, this should be something youāve read or played. But almost every single fantasy schlop has some seven-hundred year old elf sage to give lore dump on you. What in the world could this be?
āExcuse me.ā You try out your voice for the first time. This otherworldly language feels foreign on your tongue, yet it seems like youāre speaking it automatically. āAre youā¦are you talking to me?ā
The old elf smiles at your first attempt at communicating. āYes.ā Youāre no stranger to choreographed pleasantries. You know a practiced smile when you see one because thatās been your default for years. āPlease follow me.ā
You nod and smile back, hoping he isnāt as perceptive as you are. But if he is, he doesnāt say a word about it as you slide off of the marble bed.
āHave you been awake for long?ā
āNot really,ā you answer honestly, looking around to see if there are any identifiable fantasy franchise motifs. Youāre disappointed when you exit the large, thick doors only to find more white structures, the most notable being ionic pillars stretching far down to the other end of the building. There are other people scattered aboutā all with the same pointed ears, all dressed in similar robes, and all pretending to be occupied with something while sneaking glances at your direction. Some are threading long strips of fabric. Some are carrying basins and ferns. āA few minutes, at most.ā
Thereās a large fountain with a statue in the center obscuring your view of whatās on the other end. The statue appears to be a man, until your eyes scan down and notice that itās been carved with the legs of a goat. Itās cradling a jug where the water seems to be pouring out of.
āThat is Fennas,ā he answers your unasked question. āAllow me to introduce myself, Edlon. I am Sun Hye, the head priest of this temple. We are in Lorien, a prosperous kingdom of elves and the feywild, and you are not of this world.ā
Well, that was straightforward.
āYou donāt look too surprised.ā
āI figured as much when an elf started talking to me,ā you say dryly, continuing to look around. āThere arenāt any in my world, as far as I know.ā
He takes your joke lightly and responds with a laugh. āMost Edlon arenāt usually this calm. They find it hard to believe and spend days, even weeks, in distress.ā
āMost?ā you clarify, turning towards him.
āIndeed,ā he confirms. āYou see, despite our kingdom being in relative peace and stability, there are forces beyond our control that try to ruin that. Beyond our walls, there are monstrosities and evils that are constantly waging war. Underneath the soil we come from, there are fiends who thrive on nothing more than chaos and ruin. We pray to Fennas for aid and intervention in order to keep our kingdom safe. And eight centuries ago, he sent the first Edlon to help in bringing salvation to our world.ā
That wasā¦a lot of information. You werenāt wrong about the info-dumping part. āHow many have there been?ā
āYou seem to be digesting this quite easily,ā he hums.
āIāve ben told that Iām quite adaptable to stressful situations,ā you say in return. āYour Holiness mentioned earlier that youād been waiting for decades. How often does something like this happen?ā
āFennas grants when there is a need,ā he says, as-a-matter-of-factly. āLately, the peace of our kingdom is being threatened on different fronts. We are elves and we all have our innate magic, but things have gotten more precarious since the orcs have decided to move again, and there have been traces of fiendish energy in our forests, andāā
Sun Hye cuts himself off. He looks genuinely embarrassed catching himself about to fall in a ramble.
āMy apologies,ā he clears his throat. āI would tell you not to worry yourself about all this, Edlon, but Iām afraid your existence beckons otherwise.ā
You fail to suppress an eyebrow twitch at that sentiment. You mask it with a quick, āI see. And, how exactly doesā¦an Edlon do that?ā
Youāre not sure if Sun Hye has noticed, but you have no intention of following this batshit script. Youāll go along with it for now until you find a way to get back, and itās probably not as simple as a half-goat half-man god answering some prayers, but you figure that questioning a religious fanaticās beliefs wonāt give you an answer. At the very least, he seems to be leased by your receptiveness.
āYou many not feel it right now, but the moment you crossed the gate to our world, you were graced by Fennasā power. The fact that you can communicate with us is one of those blessings.ā
You hate to admit it, but in a fantasy world, that kind of logic makes sense.
āItās different for every one, but you will be able to manifest Fennasā power is some way or another,ā he continues. āIt will come to you as the situation requires. Would you like too give it a try?ā
Well. Give it a try, huh? This is, quite frankly, an outright absurd situation, and all you want to do right now is gain enough information to get yourself out of it.
Information. A string of words come to you. Itās esoteric. Itās incomprehensible, almost alien. Yet you manage to utter it all the same.
Within that instant, youāre suddenly able to tell that there are seven creatures around you that are thinking.
You whip your head, noticing a boy in priestly garbs at the bottom of the staircase that leads down to the fountain pool. You catch him looking up to you, then immediately look away in either shame or sheepishness the moment your attention falls on him, and you continue hearing the muffle of sounds and thoughts emanating from him, and six other beings. One of which is the high priest standing before you.
He looks curious. Observant. You get a feeling that if you focus on him a little further, you can read more than just this garbled mush.
Sheās picking up on it already.
Deeper.
Impressive. Thereās so much more we can do now.
More.
I can tell youāre probing into my mind, Edlon.
āAh.ā
Your ears become clear again. You can no longer hear what heās thinking.
āSorry,ā you say. āThat was overwhelming. I didnāt even realize what I was doing.ā
Overwhelming is an understatement. This is insane. If only you had this skill in the real world, youād be raking in clients and soaring up the corporate ladder like a breeze. What a shame.
"I know that there are many things youāre curious about, Edlon. Iām here to answer all the questions that you have, and make sure you adjust well in Lorien. We have all night. Thereās no need to rush.ā He smiles. āIf you need a moment to process things in private, or if youād like a warm bath and a filling dinner, we can prepare your accommodations within a momentāsāā
āH-hight priest!ā
A voice interrupts. You recognize it as the first voice youād heard earlier.
āWhat is it?ā Sun Hye asks, concerned at the sudden urgency. āIs something the matter?ā
The elvish boy appears out of breath. He must have ran all the way here.
āThe Crown Prince is here. Theyāre waiting outside the temple.ā
Crown Prince. Oh, god. Thatās a main character for sure. You notice a slight shift in the head priestās expression at the utterance of that title, but you canāt quite catch the meaning. You donāt think you can pull the same trick as earlier again without being caught.
āI spoke too soon,ā he says with a lace of disappointment. āNews travels too quickly. Iām afraid Iād have to entertain your queries some other time, Edlon.ā
āI understand.ā You do want information. You want to know what the hell was that trick you pulled earlier. You want to know about the other people that got pulled into this before you and if thereās any way you can connect with them. But youāre also a little curious about the sudden entrance of this fantasy bigshot. You donāt know what kind of genre youāre in yet. For all you know, you could be in some sort of political, action-driven meat grinder of a story, but your role seems to be important regardless of the premise. And so is the Crown Prince of any nation. Maybe heād be easier to prod than this suspicious, old elf.
Your curiosities are answered within just a few moments. The boy returns as an escort to two larger figures. Your attention falls first onto the one donning a golden circlet, as the other one falls back and remains by the foot of the stairs.
The moment he steps within ten feet of you, youāre suddenly washed by an aura of radiance.
āYour Royal Highness.ā
Sun Hye sinks into a deep bow. You shuffle further behind him, compelled to do the same, but a bit more conservatively as you sneak a peek at his appearance.
The first thing you notice is his stature. He is tall. Taller than the high priest and his companion, made only more evident as he walks up the marble steps, and itās almost imposing. Intricate pattens are embroidered on the bodice of his regalia, and a long dark cloak trails behind him. As your gaze traces up, you notice that there are, quite literally, sparkles floating around him. Your jaw nearly falls open the moment you reach his face.
āYour Holiness,ā he speaks in a deep, rich voice. āI apologize for the intrusion this late at night.ā
Needless to say, youāre probably never going to find any man attractive again when you return back home.
Heās handsome. Thereās a distinct masculine charm that hardens his otherwise soft features. Thereās not a single blemish sullying his pale skin, further brightened by his light hair and contrasting dark irises. Of course, you canāt miss the pointed elf ears.
āWe are honored to have your presence in the temple, Your Highness.ā
The prince turns to you.
āEdlon.ā
He bows, catching you off guard.
āThe Kingdom of Lorien is at your service.ā
But no man this aesthetically gifted does not know of his own leverage. When he rises back up and offers a polite smile, you return with an equal amount of propriety, and you donāt miss the way heās looking at youā rather, the way he isnāt. Itās more than just practiced pleasantry. Itās almost mechanical. Every nod and tilt is calculated. Each uttered gratification has an expectation. What he wants from you, youāre not quite certain yet. At the very least, you know that it has something to do with the tension spurred by his uninvited arrival, and the evident overcompensation from the high priest.
If you play your cards right, he could be your way out. Or he could be the noose that ties you down to this place forever.
āIāve never met a prince before,ā you start. āIām not really sure how to respond to one bowing before me.ā
Thereās a flicker in his expression. Like youād just shot a bare sliver into his practiced countenance, but he covers it up quickly with a charming laugh. āPlease do not worry yourself about such trivialities, Edlon. Compared to your existence, a prince is nothing more than an ant.ā
Man, heās good. Heād do a wonderful job in sales.
āYour Highness,ā Sun Hye interrupts. āForgive my insolence, however, it has not been an hour since the seventh Edlonās arrival. I believe it would be best for her to remain at the temple for the night. At the very least until sheās had everything explained to her, and has had enough time to process and understand everything.ā
āPlease donāt worry yourself, Your Holiness. Iām sure the temple is busy preparing for the midsummer feast as is. Allow us to take the burden off of your hands.ā
This quite the interesting dynamic indeed.
You catch the apprehension on the head priestās face, but he makes no objection. He sends you off with his best wishes and that the Temple of Fennas is always open for āour kingdomās salvation.ā You have no intention of fulfilling that role, and you sure hope that none of these elves end up noticing.
The prince offers an arm to assist you down the stairs. You realize just how stupid this picture looks at the same moment that you realize youād been transmigrated while you were still in your pajamas. Neither he nor the head priest mentioned the impropriety of the frog patterns on your sleeves, though. The only problem is the fact that youāre barefoot.
āHow may I address you?ā he asks, escorting you down the steps.
āI thought you all called people like me Edlon,ā you respond, wincing at the cold touch of the marble against your naked soles.
āThatās just a title,ā he says. āSurely, you have a name that you call your own.ā
Upon reaching the bottom of the flight, you take notice the second man that was ushered here. You meet his gaze. He greets you with an easy grin before falling back to walk a step behind the royal, allowing you to make an assumption on his social standing. Heās dressed a lot simplerā armored, with what appears to be a rapier on his hip. Thereās less weight to the way he carries himself, especially when compared to his escort. More notably, heās also pretty, almost fox-like with his delicate yet sharp features. Youāve definitely come across somewhere that elves are, by nature, charming and beguiling. It seems like that stereotype has carried over to this franchise as well.
You do end up giving your name. He nods. And then you reach the outside of the temple.
āChoi Soobin,ā he informs. āYou may call me Soobin.ā
You blink at him, raising a brow. āIs it alright for me to call you by your first name? What if I end up on the gallows?ā
āThat would be blasphemous.ā He seems to take your joke more seriously than you thought. āLike I said, my existence is nothing compared to yours, Edlon. I meanāā
He tries out your name, yet even that somehow feels like a surface-level attempt at displaying sincerity, at stringing together a connection. You say nothing at the moment, but kep it filed at the back of your head. The cold nightās breeze continues to assail you. Choi Soobin holds up a hand to his lips and initiates a whistle.
āTori.ā
It takes you a moment to realize what heās doing. Itās only when a cloud of glowing mist and the distant sounds of clopping funneling through the night sky that youāre hit with the understanding that heās summoning a steed out of thin air.
āThe palace is quite far,ā he says, brushing the mane of a beautiful white horse that had not been here just a second ago. Itās almost as dazzling as him, fine dusts of ephemeral glitter orbiting around them like a planetās rings. He laughs a little when it neighs and nuzzles into him. āTori will help us move swiftly through the night.ā
Itās at this very moment that you can no longer deny the fact that youāre no longer in your own world. That itās been far too long for this to be a fever dream. That the chill seeping in from the bottom of your feet is too vivid to brush off.
āAh. One moment.ā
Almost as if Tori could understand her master without speaking, she buckles down and lowers her height.
āWhat about your friend?ā
Youāre just about to throw a leg over the magic horse when you remember that the other elf is still hanging back there. You turn back meeting is gaze as he stops in the middle of a cross-body stretch. Unlike the prince whoās fully covered up with a cape on to of it all, his arms are bare, and the leather of his studded armor rides up ever so slightly when he rolls back his shoulders to stretch his arms overhead.
He flashes teeth. He winks. Choi Soobin clears his throat to reclaim your attention.
āDonāt worry about him. He can take care of himself,ā he says. āWould you like me to assist you?ā
You stare at the man, a subtle tug on your lips. āIād appreciate it. Thank you.ā
The soft breeze brushes against your skin. With every bounce and every gallop of the steed, you can feel yourself bumping against the Soobinās chest as youāre cages between the reins. This feels like it should be straight out of a fairytale shojo manga, but you donāt hear your Prince Charmingās heart attempting to make a break for it, and neither is yours. Thereās something so, so tense about his mannerā his politeness, his accommodation as he helps you down the horse with a tender touch, surrounded by a handful of knights and attendants all bending the knee to pay their respects upon their liegeās arrival.
āYour Highness.ā One attended rises yet maintains her head down, turning to you. āE-edlon. Itās an honor to be graced by your presence.ā
Whoa. You peer up to prince, fishing for a hint on how exactly you should respond to this. Instead, he takes it upon himself to answer for you. āPlease escort the Edlon to her chambers.ā The girl sputters an eager affirmation. Soobin smiles and turns to you. āWorry not. The palaceās scholars and myself are just as qualified as the high priest to answer all your concerns and curiosities. However, there things that I must attend to coinciding your arrival, so I must entreat you to retire for now.ā
He poached you from the temple on the excuse that theyād be too busy to accommodate you. Yet upon closer inspection, the princeās eyes are riddled with heavy bags, and even maintaining a smile seems to tax him.
āItās alright, Your Highness. Thank you for the hospitality.ā
āI will see you in the morning, Edlon. Good night.ā
Well. There are a lot of curious things going on at once in this place called Lorien. But you donāt intend on staying long enough to find it all out.
*
You wake up to an unfamiliar ceiling yet again. Itās getting more ornate that the last.
āDid you rest comfortably last night?ā
It seems like the prince is back to calling you by name again now that heās dismissed all the servants and attendants. You watch him from across the lengthy dining table as he sips on a teacup, as composed and put together as you remembered him last night. Heās shrugged off the dark cloak today, instead donning a flowy, chiffon shirt with a keyhole under the collar. You have to admit: itās such a shame that youād eventually have to say goodbye to this view.
āYes, thanks to you,ā you answer, helping yourself to the hearty soup served before you. All the food seem to look familiar, but for all you know, you could be eating lizard meat, or something. You push back that thought and prepare yourself for business. That is, finding out more about the previous people in your current position, and where they are now. āThere are a few thinngs hat Iām curious about, Your Highness.ā
āIām sure there are more than a few things,ā he laughs. āI arranged this meal to answer them to the best of my abilities. If thereās anything I otherwise canāt, we can make a visit to the Mage Tower later in the day, or consult the Temple if need be.ā
Mage Tower. Temple. Ugh. Heās just injecting more questions into your already overwhelmed brain. You inhale and maintain your demeanor, smiling a pleasant smile as retrace your actions that lead to you reading the High Priestās mind last night.
A discreet whisper of foreign yet familiar tongues. The flick of your hand underneath the tablecloth. There are only two of you within in this room, but you sense the vague thoughts of exactly five other people beyond the thick doors.
You focus on the prince. You donāt miss the way his shoulders flinch the moment you do.
āWhat would you like to ask first?ā he says out loud.
Divination. Damn it. You hear the same voice echo inside your head.
Huh.
You try to dig deeper, timing it the moment you ask your questionā
āSun Hye called me the seventh Edlon last night. What happened to the other six?ā
ābut youāre immediately snapped out of Choi Soobinās mind, a flicker of panic on his face, but youāe unable to read anything further.
āAh,ā he starts, immediately regaining composure. āIt has been twenty seven years since the sixth Edlon had passed. Unfortunately, I had not lived long enough to have met those who have come before her, but records say that they have all returned to dust, as all creatures of nature inveitably do.ā
You canāt verify anything that heās saying after getting kicked out from his brain. This isnāt going as you planned, and youāre not sure if you cna trust this flowery explanation after his prior weird reaction.
āI apologize for the insuffienct answer,ā Soobin laments. āI have indeed worked with the late Edlon a few times in the past, but the Royal Family normally doesnāt work closely with them. Itās either the Tower, or the Temple, depending on the Edlonās relationships entirely.ā
You feel like if you attempt to pck his brain again, youāll completely depleted of your energy. Tsk. So much for power. You have to make do with just your own gut feelings and your instincts for now.
āIf thatās the case, then why did you poach me from the High Priest last night, Your Highness?ā
But that doesnāt seem to be enough. If only your detect thought was still running, youād be able to surmise exactly what that vague smile means.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
āYour Highness.ā
An interruption.
āWe received a message from the Eastern Wall.ā
How conveniently placed.
āCome in.ā
A familiar face enters, now dressed in more knightly garb. He cuts through the tension like a breeze, carrying the scent of the forest with him as he enters. He saves you a glance, a curt smile, and nod before reporting to the prince. āA band of ogres are attempting to raid one of the outer villages,ā he starts. āThe knights stationed there have managed to subdue their initial forces, but there seems to be an incoming second wave of attacks. Theyāre requesting reinforcements.ā
Thereās something weirdly practiced about his delivery.
āYou can manage it quickly, hyung. Please take care of it.ā
When Soobin turns to you after that response, you donāt need to read his mind to know what heās thinking.
āEdlon,ā he adresses. āThis could be a good opportunity for you to try out your skills.ā
It seems like youāve hedged your bets on the wrong horse. You should have aligned yourself with the Temple instead of this suspicious bastard. Calling you in to entertain your questions, only to kick you out after barely answering one. You donāt want to drop the easygoing, go with the flow angle just yet. But you also donāt want to get tossed into what was just described as a literal battlefield.
āDonāt worry,ā the one who introduced himself as Yeonjun assured with an easy grin. āIāll make sure you wonāt need to lift a finger, Edlon.ā
Just like that, youāre ushered out of the private dining hall through the opposite wing of the palace, and you find yourself in a room with what appears to be four magic circles with unique sigils drawn in white chaalk on the dark ground. There are other elves in the chamber, three in total, and they all bend themselves over into a deep bow while stuttering out greetings and formalities. Unlike Yeonjun, whoās fully armored in studded leather, they all seem to be wearing long robes, stereotypical of how youād imagine a wizard. You just smile uncomfortably, because that useless prince has yet to even brief you on how you should act.
āThese circles are connected to all four sides of Lorienās walls,ā Yeonjun explains as he leads you further in. āWeāre going to the Eastern Wall. Itās gonna take less than a second with these thingies.ā
Thingies. At least this guy seems to be less uptight.
āAre you nervous?ā he asks, looking over his shoulder.
āShould I be?ā you breathe out. āNobody has been telling me anything, so Iād appreciate a warning if this pentagram has a five per cent chance of evaporating me.ā
You hear a faint gasp from someone nearby when you called the circle a pentagram. Whoops. Yeonjun just laughs, stepping into the circle on the right, and the patterned lines slowly start to luminisce in a din glow. āI can promise that nothing like that is gonna happen.ā He reaches out a hand for you to take, inviting you in. You eye it hesitantly. āIf you barf, I promise I wonāt look.ā
āThatās assuring.ā You bite the bullet and take his hand. One of the elves mutter something under their breath the moment you do, and the dim stuttering light suddenly flashes brighter, consuming your entire vision.
You see nothing but white once more, but this time, youāre able to blnk it away.
āWhoa.ā
A breeze carries your hair through the wind. You suddenly find yourself looking over a lush horizon of trees, several feet above the ground.
āConvenient, eh?ā You hear Yeonjun from right beside you. āThose wizads can do stuff like this whenever they want. Makes me kinda jealous,ā he says. āIām sure youād be able to do something like this too, once you get used to it. Chosen by Fennas, and all.ā
You turn to him. āNot all of you are, like, magical?ā
He laughs, leaning over the ledge of the stone wall. āWell, all elves can do like a little bit. Like this.ā With the flick, a golden orb materializes in between where his two fingers met, and dissipates with a quick wave. āSeems like itās gonna be sunny ātil the morrow. Itād be a waste to spend it fighting all day.ā Itās like heās treating it as nothing more than a simple chore. Yeonjun stretches out his back with a yawn, peering over the ledge with his gaze fixed somewhere on the horizon. āNow, where are those guys?ā
On cue, another pointy eared soldier jogs up from one end of the wall. āSir! Weāve evacuated all the villagers and took care of the initial attackers, but another band of orcs and worgs are starting to close in.ā Unlike those wizards from earlier, this one doesnāt greet you with the same amount of uncomfortable reverence, nor does he seem to recognize who you are, and what your deal is. He just regards you for less than a second, then turns to Yeonjun, who seems to be his superior.
āHow many?ā he asks.
āAround a dozen, sir.ā
A freaking dozen? You walk closer to the edge and nearly stumble back at the sight. What once was a surreal, lush scene of nature and greenery is now replaced by what you can only describe as something straight out of a nightmare as you draw your gaze closer to the wallās base.
There appears to be a village, somewhat ransacked, and becoming more and more dilapidated further down the edge. Beyond that you can see movementā two human-like figures, and three large dogs. The problem being, the humans donāt look like humans at all. Even from afar, they look ginormous. Their skin is greenish, with tusks sprouting out from their sneers. Theyāre both armed with heavy maces. They look like they can snap you in half. The ādogsā also donāt look like dogs. They tower over the two large humanoids. Their silver fur look like barbed wire, but they donāt cover the face and limbs, which are otherwise decorated with snarling teeth and sharp claws. Your heart races, eyes snapping to Yeonjun. āThere is no way.ā
All he does is flash a playful look at you. āCan you jump?ā
āWhat?ā
āIāll take that as a no.ā
Suddenly, he scoops you off the ground. You let out a yelp, clawing into the rough skin of his armor. āWeāll take care of the ones ahead,ā he instructs the subordinate. āFlank the rest from behind. Letās get this done quickly.ā
āUnderstood.ā
āWhat the hell do you think youāre doing?!ā you yell. āAre you trying to kill us both?!ā
āRelax,ā he says, propping a foot up the ledge and eyeing the bottom what appears to be thirty foot drop. Holy shit. Heās fucking insane. āYouāre the most precious thing in the kingdom. Theyād all let the walls crumble before letting you die.ā
āI donāt feel very precious right now.ā He fully takes a step up. You squeak, clutching him harder. āYouāre not seriously jumping, are you?ā
āHold tight.ā
The rush of wind shuts you up before you could let out a cry for your own demise. You squeeze your eyes shut, fearing that you wonāt be able to open them again, but in line with a soft thud, the wind stops scraping against your skin.
āTold ya.ā
Much to your surprise, you can still, in fact, open your eyes. And what greets you is the freckled face of the fox-eyed elf, grinning down at you.
āI promise I wonāt let you die.ā
The flicker of trust that starts to bloom immediately gets extinguished by the approaching thumps and tremors on the ground. Yeonjun carefully sets you down and hands you a dagger that he swiped from his belt. āYou probably wonāt have to use this, but just in case,ā he says. āI know Soobin sent you here to tap into your powers from Fennas, or something, but you donāt have to do anything if itās too much. Just stay back, and leave it to me.ā
He smiles at you before turning his back. He starts walking ahead. When the two orcs come into view, you feel the air change.
The dagger sits heavy between your palms. Yeonjun breaks into a sprint as he charges at the one in front. With a lash of light, a rapier materializes in one of hands, the hilt stretching and wrapping like roots down his wrist. He lunges forward, thrusting the blade through the orcās leather-like skin.
It pierces through. The orc rumbles out a roar of pain and as it does, Yeonjun pulls back and makes a second attack, slashing through the its shoulder chest as he uses the momentum to disarm it. He succeeds. The hulking thingās mace drops onto the now blood splattered ground.
He looks over his shoulder to meet your eyes. He grins.
Youāre not sure how to feel, especially when the orc he just nearly decimated attempts to grapple him while distracted, and the second orc comes barrelling into the fray.
āItās not dead yet, idiot! Look out!ā
You warn him just in time for him to dodge the still armed orcās attempt bludgeon him with the spiked ball straight down. He nimbly slips past the grapple attempt of the other. You feel like youāre about to get a heart attack watching this scene.
Unfortunately, neither you nor him can get to rest yet. The worgs start to catch up. Two charge at Yeonjun. They manage to bite and nick at arms as he tries to block them. Your breath hitches in your throat at the sight, then you remember there are supposed to be three.
Three. Two are trying to rip Yeonjun apart. You snap your head to the side. One is running straight at you.
āEdlon!ā
You let out a gasp. A searing white pain overtakes you. Eyes wide, you look down to see your torso slashed with red, the same color glinting the tips of the creatures claws. You feel lightheaded. You feel dizzy. Youāre going to fucking die.
Suddenly, a crackle of lightning flashes through the gashes of your wounds.
An arc of light bursts out, and your vision is blinded by white. You hear the whimper of a dog. The buzz of electricity. And a thud on the ground.
When you regain your sight, you no longer see the slobbering maw of a beast attempting to devour you. Instead, what lays before your feet is now a burnt mound of fur, twitching on its side.
āHoly crap.ā
Your eyes snap up, frantically looking for Yeonjun. When you see him, heās still in the middle of trying to fend for himself, but his gaze is completely fixed on you in awe. āDidā¦did I do thatā¦?ā
āThat was crazy,ā he says, almost forgetting that he currently has four foes on his back. āIt seems like you can take care of yourself after all, Edlon.ā
You canāt get hit again. This hurt like a bitch, you think, and the crackle of lighting still buzzing from your fingertips slowly gets overtaken by a protective cold as you wince and feel your own sticky blood on your hands, almost as if some otherworldly power is responding to your instincts. Is this what they meant by Fennasā blessing? Is that what youāre wielding right now? You donāt fully understand it yet, but thereās one thing that you know for sure.
You cannot die here. You absolutely cannot.
A sudden chill overtakes you. Your own skin feels cold to the touch. Rather than threatening, it instead feels protective.
āDonāt push yourself too hard!ā You hear him yell from thirty feet away before turning back, releasing a grunt as he makes a counterattack against the two orcs in one swing.
Two slashes. The first orc wails and falls to the ground. The second raises its bloodied arm and tries to smash down Yeonjunās face with its mace. He manages to swerve past the attack with only a minor graze to the shoulder, racing fifteen feet further away, in an attempt to lure the remaining three away from you.
His tactic seems to work. One of the worgs lets out a howl, and they all chase after him. You bite your lip. Thereās got to be something you could do. Something. The two mutts growl and try to pounce him with bared teeth, covering your view. But you hear the sound of a pained garble amidst the snarls of the large beasts.
āYeonjun!ā
The same crackle of energy surges from the ground the moment you take a step closer. You hear a whimper and a thud, burning another worg to an crisp. Yeonjun takes your aid as as an opening to stab the rapier into the orcās stomach. It lets out a a roar in squelching pain. Yeonjun draws it back to make another strike. And another. The orc falls. The remaining worg attempts to throttle him to the ground, jaws wide open. He manages to leap back before the creature can lunge at him, thrusting his sabre into the beastās mouth, and it makes a painful choking noise as it stiffens, buckling into a pool of its own blood.
You hear a series of thumps in rapid succession quickly approach. Itās only when you feel Yeonjun swoop in to catch you like a net that you notice the fact that all your energy has been sucked dry, and you barely have the strength to remain standing.
āWhew. That was a close one.ā
You look up, eyes barely focused, and if you hadnāt just witnessed what happened prior, youād almost believe that this guy was left unscathed.
āYou good?ā he asks, fixing you upright. āDonāt worry. The wizards back at the palace have all sorts of healing magic. Theyāll fix you up in no time.ā
You wince, noticing the blood all over your borrowed, now tattered and bloodied, garbs once again. You were made for a desk job. Not whatever this is. And with a mildly annoyed grunt, you say, āCanāt you do it yourself?ā
Youāre too caught up in your own misfortune to clock his expression when he replies with a soft chuckle, āSorry to disappoint.ā
POST SESSION NOTES. whewww this took me far longer than i expected HAHA this is not actually written in one session because i underestimated how long it would actually take to interpret my rolls and barf them out into semi-literate narration.
BUT this was definitely wayyy more fun than i expected. if you arenāt a ttrpg loser like me, this would be harder to appreciate and enjoy, but iām having fun so who cares HAHHAHAHAHAHA. soob failed so many perception and insight checks i was so disappointed in him šššlike iām trying to give you romance openings here sirā¦.LOOK this way OPEN your damn EYES.
alasā¦.he stays in character BWAHAHA. running combat as also pretty damn stressful, but also the most fun, so iām probably gonna insert that as much as i can even if it kills me and/or the boys. i donāt calls the shots here. the dice do. if any of you guys are curious as to how some decisions were made or as to how my rolls influenced the scenes, feel free to ask mwehe.
iād also love to share their character sheets or stats!! they are definitely not optimized at all and they will most likely change as they level up HAHA but some you might find it inch resting hehehe.
off to roll some more dice and make bad choices. lmk if you wanna be tagged, and tysm for reading! <3
i transmigrated into a fantasy world that doesnāt exist. Ā© hannie-dul-set, 2026.





