Chapter Text
PAIN. PAIN. PAIN.
Eyes blurred, head throbbing. I could barely focus on anything besides the sheer amount of pain my head was in, and the worst part was that I don't even know why this is happening to me. One minute I was living my rather boring life, scrolling through my computer hoping to find something that would catch my attention and distract me for the next hour or so, when with no warning my vision blanked out, and that was when the excruciating agony came in. My eyes clamped shut and my hands instinctively went to my head as if the act of holding my head would somehow lessen the strain being put on my brain. Every atom in my body felt like it was being painfully pulled apart and rearranged before I found myself feeling whole once more as the sheer pain I had felt just moments earlier ceased as if it was never there in the first place.
"Jesus fuck man. Did I just get a seizure?" I thought rather distressed.
Taking a shuddering breath to calm myself, I decided the first thing I would do was open my eyes before going to the bathroom to get some Tylenol, but that went out the window the moment I took in my new surroundings. Isles of books and seemingly old-fashioned furniture that stretched on besides concrete walls.
“Why am I in a library?” Was the immediate first thought on my mind. The second thought was panic at my displacement in such an unfamiliar location. I couldn’t help but think that perhaps I might have had a coma or something and for some reason I was… placed in a library… The more I thought, the less sense it all made.
"Hello." A feminine voice spoke up, causing me to jump out of my skin.
"Shiiiit!" Utterly shook up, I got a look at a rather pretty blonde-haired girl with sapphire eyes who suddenly appeared in the table at front of me(or was she always there watching me make a fool of myself?). Actually pretty, was really underselling her. The girl was beyond gorgeous to an almost unnatural degree. The closest comparison I could make is that she looked like if someone managed to perfectly meld an anime-esque art style into the third dimension without it giving off any kind of uncanny valley signal into my brain. She was also strangely enough wearing a rather old fashioned apron gown that looked like it would have been worn by women a hundred or so years ago.
"It does look cute on her." My mind helpfully supplied likely in an attempt to distract me from the fact that I should scared at the idea that I might have just been kidnapped alongside some random girl.
The girl blushed at my reaction as if embarrassed.
"My apologies for startling you. I can't imagine how shocked I would be if I were your position."
I subtly looked around hoping to see if there was a nearby exit as I spoke.
"So, uhh, care to explain what's going on?" The girl gave me a cheerful smile.
"I suppose I should start with this. Congratulations. You were chosen to be the protagonist of this story."
HUH?! My mind was reeling from the girl's words, but strangely enough I actually started to relax as I came to a realization of what this all was.
"An isekai dream." This one felt more realistic than all the other ones I would have, but dreams like this were hardly new to me. The girl who would introduce me to the setting would change every so often; sometimes she would look like characters from other anime I watched or games I played. This one was rather humble looking by comparison, but no less attractive than the others I dreamt about.
"I see." Was all I could think of as a response off the top of my head. My mind was still processing everything, so I didn't really think to ask much about the situation, but given that this was isekai, I would imagine it's the standard save the world from the Demon King trope. More pressure than I would normally like being put on me, but the idea of being a hero always did have some appeal to me…
"My name is Alice. Would you mind telling me your name, please?" The girl spoke up.
"Uhh, my name is Carlos Morales. It's good to meet you, Alice." I tried to keep a solid poker face so as not appear too out of my element.
"Carlos… Morales…" Alice sounded my name out, which sent a bit of a chill up my spine. I've never seen a girl do that before, and it was strangely kind of hot. Doubly so when the girl doing it was as cute as she was.
"A fine name. Exotic too. Yes, I think it's quite lovely." Alice complimented my name, causing my face to warm up.
"Heh, thank you for the compliment." I shifted somewhat uncomfortably. It's weird, like I know this is a dream. It feels too much like one to be real, but like in the real world, I'm getting this ultra awareness of my actions, which is something I don't normally get in dreams. Normally, I'm the gigachad protagonist who is the ideal representation of myself. Confident, powerful, and brave enough that social interactions like this aren't normally so…. stilted, at least on my end. Alice somehow looked happy to have this conversation for some reason.
"Carlos, now I need you to choose a background. Knight, Thief, and Sorcerer."
I quirked a brow at this.
"Can you elaborate more on these choices? Like, what exactly am I choosing here in regards to the backgrounds?"
Alice maintained her cheery smile as she nodded.
"Of course! The backgrounds will determine what kind of of gear you will start out with as well as your physical and magical augmentations. To name an example, the knight background will augment your strength and defense as well as giving a set of gear suitable for such a background."
Ahhh, okay I think I understand.
"Okay, if I went with knight, I'd likely end up with some decent armor and a sword. Thief, if I had to guess is fast, but vulnerable to damage, and sorcerer is just the magic class. " I hummed in understanding.
"Yup, pretty much. You're pretty quick on the uptake Carlos." Alice smiled.
"It's pretty simple RPG archetypes, so nothing that is difficult to understand. Knowing all this, I'm going with knight." Some people might deride that choice. Why would I not go for magic after all? It's fucking magic! While that may be true, and I will admit I was kind of curious about how my dreams this time would interpret magic, I almost always tend to roll as a physical warrior in my RPGs and isekai dreams tend to follow that trend. In Skyrim, I always was the type to play a sword and board or two handed Nord for example. Just something satisfying about beating the crap out of my enemies with a giant axe or war hammer.
As my choice locked in, I was startled as a sparkle of lights suddenly appeared and surrounded my person. Not knowing what to do about the situation, I just remained seated when my clothing shifted and then changed, much to my shock. What was once casual housewear shifted into something more… ancient. My vision darkened, and I immediately noticed that I was only able to see out of two slits where my eyes would be at in the helmet.
"Shit, I can't see from this thing." I mumbled as I tried to gather my bearings and adjust my vision. Though after a bit of fiddling around with what I believe is some kind of medieval knight helmet, I was able to get myself to the point where I could actually sort of see Alice. That wasn't even the most sudden change, though. Just the one that got my attention the most, but I undeniably felt more than I did before. Looking at my arms covered as they were under my new gear, they looked thicker and larger than they were before. I was always a pretty skinny guy, so change in physique felt strange, but it was most certainly not unwelcome.
"Are you satisfied with this background?" Alice asked.
"Yeah, I guess. I think I'll be able to manage." I say, looking down at myself as I see my body being encased in a plate mail like shell. One might think metal armor would be kind of uncomfortable to wear, but strangely, it's actually quite a snug fit. The gambeson being worn underneath provided my body a nice bit of cushion. Makes sense when you think about it. Armies back in the day had to march and fight like this so best to try and make the armor of the day comfortable to lessen strain on the body.
Alice hummed in understanding.
"Glad to hear that. Now allow me to give you a choice of gifts on this occasion."
Four different items manifested on the table from a glowing light. An old-looking bronze key, a green sphere that looked like a gumdrop, an ornate looking ring with a ruby like gem affixed to it, and lastly a fancy-looking cask with… frankly, I don't even know what to describe what the white, slurry-like liquid that is inside it would even be.
"The Master Key can open any locked door, even those that have been magically sealed, so long as it has a keyhole. The ring is known as the Ring of Life, a magical trinket that can augment your health, the cask is a blessing of the divines that can be used to heal yourself completely including ailments."
I pointed at the green sphere.
"What about that thing?"
"Oh, that's just candy. It's really tasty." Alice pointed out before blushing rather cutely as I gave her a look.
"That it? It doesn't do anything special?" I asked skeptically, causing Alice to pout childishly.
"Hey! You never know how useful giving candy to the right people could be!"
That made me let out a huff of amusement at her reaction. Taking a look at the items arranged, these are clearly meant to be the cheat items that some isekai goddesses tend to grant the main character, and while the master key seems like the clear winner in sheer utility…. Kazuma had the right idea at least with choosing Aqua.
"Say… The items are cool and all, but are they really the only things I can choose?" Alice looked confused.
"What do you mean?"
I gave a smug grin at the beautiful dream girl.
"What if I wanted you instead as my cheat option? Is that a choice I can make?"
At that, Alice began to cough, her cheeks heating up in a fierce blush that overtook her, and strangely enough, her hair and eyes changed ever so slightly. Hair turning in a pinkish hue, and her pupils shifting to an exotic star shape that was really doing things to me. What I didn't understand though, was why she was starting to cry…
"Are you beginning to remem-" Alice stopped herself quickly, trying to wipe her tears away as I just looked concerned and confused.
"Did I say something wrong?" Alice rapidly shook her head.
"N-No! No, you didn't! I-I just wasn't expecting that. Actually now that I think about it, you're a lot different from what I remembered. She must have done something different this time, but your frame's composition is way more stable than it was before."
I was being left with more questions than answers, and it was beginning to unnerve me.
"Can you tell me what exactly is going on? What do you mean that my frame is stable, and why are you acting like we've met before?"
She looked positively grief-stricken and I couldn't understand why.
"I'm so sorry… There is so much I want to say, but if I did, it would put us both at risk. As for your gift choice, I would love nothing more than to be by you again, but I-I just can't…. You have to choose another gift, I'm afraid.." Alice looked absolutely despondent as she spoke, and it was making me feel like a knife was being stabbed into my heart. I don't know this girl, but the sheer emotion she spoke to me in was made me want to do something to make her feel better.
Taking a calming breath, I grasped her hand and clasped it causing Alice's eyes to widen.
"I don't know what's going on. Frankly, I still think this is some bizarrely realistic lucid dream, but it pains me to see someone so beautiful in such pain. If you can't come with me then I'll find a way to rescue you. No Demon King is going to stop me, and once I run him through, I'll find you again, Alice." Something in me stirred as I said the name, almost a niggling of familiarity that I couldn't quite place as I stared upon the girl who was gaping at me in shock as tears ran down her eyes again, but this time there almost seemed to be a measure of hope.
"Maybe...Maybe you don't remember, but that your love for me is still as strong as ever.. it makes me so happy. It makes everything I'm doing now. The risk I'm taking in speaking to you now so, so absolutely worth it *." Alice gave a genuine smile that sent my feelings into a tailspin as I might have to reckon with the fact that I think I just fell in love with this girl. A feeling inside me, perhaps an instinct or gut feeling, seemed to agree and compelled me to go further, but I shut it aside. Tempting as it was, there was still the matter of the gifts as I sighed and picked up the key, causing Alice to blink.
"The gifts.." I reminded her. "I choose the master key."
Alice covered her face in embarrassment.
"I'm so sorry. I nearly forgot about all of this." Her brief smile turned back into a depressed frown as she grabbed my arm and brought me close to her face.
"With this choice, I'm afraid our meeting is over. I-I just feel the need to warn you… This isn't a dream. This is all real, and you will realize that soon enough. The hardships you will go through, I wish so desperately that you didn't have to be subjected to this, but somehow I feel like the change in you that I sensed. That might just make the difference in the end. Please don't lose yourself, stay strong, and know that I will always love you." With that declaration, Alice pecked me on the lips with a chaste kiss that sent a feeling of warmness all throughout my body. Spurred on by this, I was going to take her into my arms and keep the kiss going, but before I could do that, Alice exploded….
It sounded cartoonish to say, but the end result had me utterly shook… One moment she was there, the next a puddle of blood and viscera that splattered all across the room almost as if she popped like some kind of balloon. I just froze, not knowing what had even just happened, before looking at my shaking arms. Blood coated the plate mail, and I suddenly heard a screaming, realizing it was my own voice as I kept gazing on the bloody pool of what once Alice. Eventually though something happened; a sharp pain reared its ugly head again in my brain, and before I knew it, I was out cold again.