Chapter 2 – Wandering
"Märchen! Look, look, I found an interesting bug!" Märchen turned around to face the source of the voice. It was a young man sprinting in his direction.
This tall, strapping young man is Dunkel. He has black curly hair, tan skin, and a pair of black eyes, an inheritance from the southeastern lands. He has a sharp jaw, a high nose bridge, and an amiable face, making him aesthetically pleasing.
He sported the classic modernized knight attire—a black and white checkered linen shirt under a black, sleeveless, tight-collar gambeson, paired with cotton harem pants and a pair of brown boots.
As the distance between them reduced, Märchen, who was wearing a pair of black boots and a plain linen shirt paired with the knight attire, noticed that Dunkel was holding something in his palm.
With the help of his sharp eye, he catches a glimpse of a hand-sized, flashy-colored beetle with its horn split into two, creating two horns, in Dunkel's hand, holding it firmly.
"Isn't that just a double-horn beetle?" Märchen said in a neutral tone, loud enough to let Dunkel at the distance hear it.
"Did you usually see a beetle this ginormous?" Dunkel retorted back before continuing, arriving near Märchen. "It's a rare kind of those double-horn beetles. This is a Giant Devilhorn Beetle! Look, look, its green-red-black color is pleasing to look at!"
Dunkel extends his arm with the Giant Devilhorn Beetle towards Märchen's line of sight. The beetle's shell resembles that of an angry, distorted monster, similar to that of the butterfly's wings.
Märchen sighed and pushed his hand away from his proximity. "Why the catch? Shouldn't we be looking for food here?"
"I just found it interesting, I suppose." Without waiting for his response, Dunkel continued, "I also heard that we could get a hefty price from those who want to study this collection of rare insects or from those bug enthusiasts who keep insects as part of their collections!"
Märchen scoffed and waved his hand toward Dunkel's direction, as though bidding him a farewell. "You are on your own. I will find something for us to eat while you find someone else to sell it."
Dunkel sighed before clearing his throat. "I'm not in the mood to sell it yet." As he said that, he grabbed a large jar from his bag and trapped the beetle inside.
Märchen noticed this and sighed. "Have you forgotten that insects breathe?" His tone was laced with tease and indifference.
Dunkel stared blankly at him, before scratching his head and sheepishly smiled. "My Bad, my bad." When he opened the jar, the Giant Devilhorn Beetle immediately flew out of the jar.
"Ah! The beetle!" Dunkel dropped the jar and jumped as he raised both of his hands to capture the beetle. Instinctively, the beetle flew out of his direction, letting him cup the air.
Dunkel watches the beetle soaring towards Märchen. "Märchen!" Dunkel shouted, pointing his finger toward the flying Giant Devilhorn Beetle, indicating that he needed some assistance.
Using his facial muscles, Märchen pulled his right cheek and indifferently stared at the Giant Devilhorn Beetle flying towards him, having no intention of capturing the bug.
As it flew over him, his senses suddenly ran wild and screamed for him to run, as though something terrifying was coming for him.
Immediately after that, the Giant Devilhorn Beetle had perceptually transformed into a giant gaping mouth with sharp rows of teeth dominating the oral cavity as it lacked a tongue.
"Eh?"
Bang!
Märchen fell to the ground, swallowed by the large mouth of a tall, lanky monster, producing cracking and flesh-tearing sounds whilst it chewed. Blood leaked from its mouth as Märchen's lower body jerked multiple times before it fully stopped.
For some reason, the environment, once a forest, had changed to that of an abandoned castle, where the walls, floor, and ceiling were paved with cobblestones that had been mottled and had moss growing from them.
"Hah!"
Märchen suddenly woke up as he immediately propped himself up with his hands, sitting up. His breathing was abnormal as a few cold sweats slowly ran down on his skin.
After a moment, he noticed that his hands were touching something stringy and soft, akin to that of a grass.
His eyes began to regain some clarity as he saw that his surroundings had changed significantly. Märchen realizes that he isn't in the bedroom anymore—he is on a grassy high ground filled with green hills, shrouded by the nostalgic, pale blue mist.
When did I get here? Who brought me here? Where am I? Märchen stood up from the ground and looked around, noticing that all of his equipment, excluding his sword and his sabatons, was missing.
He examines himself, digging in his pockets, checking his sword, and then checking himself, but finds nothing peculiar or strange about him.
"Okay. Okay… Right, that chandelier…."
He rubbed his chin as his eyes darted around his surroundings, seemingly in a thought. From what he knew, he slept in a shabby bedroom that had a chandelier suspiciously lit. When he woke up from the nightmare, he suddenly got teleported to an unknown location.
Using his current miscellaneous knowledge, he can guess three possibilities.
Firstly, he was transported to this unknown floor while he was sleeping. The Fourth Floor of the Exalted Imperial Dungeon was known to have interchanging structures that could occasionally travel through every floor and level of the dungeon.
Though this rumor might not be true, he can say for sure that it had some relevance to it.
Secondly, someone or something had arrived in the bedroom while he was sleeping, or they were already in the room before he came inside.
This entity must not be without any mystical properties or such. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been transported here unknowingly and he could've at least sensed his presence subtly.
Lastly, This one's a plot twist—he is still sleeping at his current location, possibly being brought into an imaginary realm involving the affairs of powerful figures.
Märchen immediately throws the former conjecture at the back of his head because it is impossible why only he was transported here without bringing a few objects like the dusty bed that he slept on and his armor.
The latter two seemed more appropriate and likely to be the cause, but, in a sense, they were made by his imagination, nonsensical, and lacking the evidence and knowledge to prove it.
Then, another idea struck him, why does he need to formulate the cause of his sudden transportation when he can just explore the area and look for answers, especially when he is in a state where he cannot think properly due to other distressing things? This is the usual way an adventure must do during their hopeless times!
After looking around and waiting for about 20 seconds, he situated his sword in the sword's scabbard connected to his belt. He lifts a leg, gently stamping it below, and does likewise for the other leg, proceeding to walk as he wanders through the mist.
Usually, Märchen wouldn't just randomly wander in potentially dangerous situations such as this, but after witnessing the total annihilation of his party members, along with no hope of escaping, he became quite impatient.
In his desperation, he is willing to take extreme measures to find a way out while maintaining his morals and sanity.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
He looks around to find something, slightly obscured by the mist. After sauntering around aimlessly, Märchen saw multiple, small fields of flowers, arranged in a circular pattern, in the distance, thriving under the dense pale mist.
Curious, he went near a field. He crouched down and stared at the short but dense flowers. They were densely packed, forming bushy appearances with different variety of cool colors, almost like they came out of a dream.
"This flowers…. They seem to be planted, I think." Märchen stared at the distance, diagonally from the flowers. "There must be someone out here. It was implausible if the flowers here thrive alone without any external help."
Märchen stood up and followed along the fields of flowers, hoping that it might lead to someone or something beneficial, especially the one who planted the rows of flowers.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Silence and suspense were the main themes of the misty area, with only his footsteps and breathing defying the set theme.
Following the trail of small circular fields, he saw something in the mist. It was unknown what it looked like, but he knew that it was ginormous and incredible, sending down feelings of awe and insignificance to his mind.
As he kept staring at the lofty figure in the distance, he felt his heartbeat slowed down, making it harder for him to breathe. His mind and instincts had become foggier and more chaotic, as though his mind had begun to rot.
Sh#t!…. I…. forgot!
Märchen slumped down on the ground with one hand propping for support and the other holding his chest, heaving almost non-existent breaths as his vision gradually became darker and darker.
After how many minutes it has been, his vision eventually returns as his heartbeat becomes faster and faster.
With his mind began to calm down, he cautiously lifted his head, slowly but surely, and took a glimpse of the giant entity before immediately pulling his gaze down.
As a result, his mind becomes foggier and chaotic, along with his heartbeat slowing, but compared to the previous effect, this was akin to comparing water to alcohol. "Sigh. Should have seen that coming… Good thing that it was obstructed by the mist. Otherwise, I would have died there."
Märchen knew that curiosity was the most dangerous thing when one decides to explore the unknown, especially the magical and occult aspects of it.
He suddenly remembers a quote coming from his party member, a genuine mage. "One cannot see what they should not be seeing and one cannot hear what they should not be hearing." This particular line sent shivers down his spine when heard this.
However, it became quite cheesy when it was getting frequently stated. He closed his eyes as he reminisced about that moment before sighing.
After the effects had faded away, Märchen stood up with the support of his hand as he closed his eyes. He turned around and lifted his eyelids, letting the faint light bounce through his pupils.
Deciding to take a few steps forward, he saw something emerging from the mist thanks to his eagle-like eyes, narrowing his eyes for a bit.
After a thorough discerning, he raised his eyebrows as he suddenly felt his head slightly disorganized with his heartbeat slowing a bit.
It was another of those lofty figures. Wait, there are more. Three of them emerged in the far distance—no, there are a total of five of them! Five of them are heading in his direction!