I had been an ordinary man from Earth who had a job, a family, and a dream of one day becoming the strongest man alive.
But reality hit hard as I remained weak, incapable of punching a mountain to pieces, so I had given up on that dream.
One day, while I was reading my favorite novel, a bright light appeared and blinded my vision.
When I opened my eyes, I found myself in front of a tavern.
I was surprised, as this was the first time such a thing had happened to me. Wasn't I in my room reading novels?
Though confused, I decided to head inside the tavern for now.
Upon entering, I saw people drinking just like in a normal tavern.
I approached the bartender, a man with white hair wearing a black and white tuxedo, and he noticed me coming.
He smiled and asked, "New here?"
I smiled back politely and replied, "Yeah, can you tell me where I am?"
The man appeared surprised as he introduced himself, "I'm James, the owner of this tavern. You are in Boba Town. How come you don't know?"
I scratched my head, unsure of how to respond.
"I got lost."
James smiled but decided not to pry further. "Would you like a drink?"
I sat in an empty seat and asked, "Do you have guava juice?"
James chuckled at my request. "Sure, wait a minute."
After exactly one minute, a pink juice appeared in front of me in a clear glass.
I swirled it and drank slowly. The taste was sweet with a slight sourness, pleasant to my tongue.
While I drank alone, I heard some of the customers gossiping.
The news was new and foreign to me, but I paid it no mind.
More importantly, how had I gotten here?
I tried to reach for my phone in my pocket but found it was gone.
I didn't panic; I simply continued to enjoy my drink.
If it had gotten lost somehow, then that was that—nothing to be done about it.
Then the drink was finished, and I called for the busy bartender, "Mr. James, could I have a refill?" I smiled at the old man.
"Sure," James replied calmly as he poured more guava juice into my glass.
"Thanks!" I smiled brightly.
James shook his head. "No problem."
Then he returned to his work, attending to other customers as I was left alone again.
I decided to continue drinking in peace, but then a shout echoed loudly from outside the tavern.
"Bandits! They are attacking!"
I was surprised—was this place really plagued by bandits?
The customers all panicked as they scrambled away from the tavern.
"What! Bandits? I have to run!"
"No! I don't want to die yet; I'm still single!"
Chaos ensued as I watched, not knowing what to do. Should I run too?
As I hesitated, I saw from the corner of my eye that James, the bartender, had grabbed an iron sword from under the counter.
He noticed me and, with a grim face, said, "Customer, you should stay here for now."
"It's safer with me," he continued, now standing in front of me.
I was hesitant but decided to trust the old man.
Soon, bandits really appeared, with rough appearances, holding swords, spears, axes—all kinds of weapons.
Now escape was no longer an option as I grabbed a broken chair leg that a customer broke during the escape.
James, in front of me, simply uttered coldly to the bandits, "Leave, or I won't show mercy!"
The bandits looked at the old man and sneered.
"Just you? An old man?!" The leading bandit licked the dagger in his hand.
I frowned as I readied myself for a tough battle.
The bandit holding the dagger charged at James, but his attack was parried.
That surprised both me and the bandits.
"So you have some skill?" the bandit sneered. "But it won't be enough!"
He swung his dagger again at James, who dodged.
"Since you won't leave this place, don't blame me!" James's eyes turned cold as he stabbed quickly at the leading bandit.
The attack was swift and pierced the bandit's heart, killing him in one blow.
The bandit comrade's eyes went wide in disbelief.
"What! John was taken out in one hit?"
"This is not an ordinary old man!"
The bandits panicked as I felt joy at the turn of events.
James was certainly extraordinary.
As if to prove it, the bartender lunged at the remaining bandit, launching a flurry of stabs and swings.
The bandit's head flew off, and others fell to the ground lifeless.
When everything cleared, only the corpses of the bandits remained in the tavern.
James flicked his iron sword to remove the blood.
I approached James with apprehension. "Now what do we do, Mr. James?"
Bandits still roamed outside the town, looting and killing wantonly; even then, I could hear screams of people dying.
"Let's just wait here. Soon the bandits will leave, and the official army will come."
"Okay," I replied, feeling reassured with James beside me.
We waited in the tavern. Each time a bandit entered, they would depart from this world swiftly.
The noise got quieter as I waited in apprehension. Then a bandit from outside shouted, "Retreat! The official army is here!"
I saw from the window of the tavern as bandits started to run together and were chased by soldiers in armor wielding swords and shields.
They had brutal efficiency as they dispatched bandits one after another.
But some bandits managed to escape as the battle in this town reached an end.
I approached James, "Thanks, Mr. James. Without you, I would have died!"
James returned to his counter and stashed his sword below it again as he smiled at me, "It was nothing, no need to thank me."
I was lucky, but I didn't know when I would get lucky again.
I approached a chair near the counter among the messy tavern and asked, "Can you tell me more about this place?"
James pondered and started telling me about the region.
"We are in Boba Town, one of the villages in the Regio Kingdom. It is surrounded by a forest where bandits roam."
"It is dangerous, but the official army stationed here occasionally clears the bandits."
"Besides the bandits, one should also be careful of monsters."
"Monsters?" I asked, puzzled.
James eyed me, "Yes, monsters, born from mana that has been polluted. They are aggressive creatures worse than bandits."
I was surprised—are there also monsters in this place? Just where had I gotten myself into? Is this still Japan?
"Goblins, Slimes, etc. Though dangerous, monsters drop mana stones which are highly sought after by magicians, blacksmiths, and alchemists alike."
"Some even make a profession by hunting these monsters, which effectively reduces the threat of them." James smiled as he cleaned a glass cup.
I see... Alchemists, Magicians... I sighed as I was sure I was not in my old world anymore. That bright light before arriving here must have been the cause.
I smiled at James, "Thank you, Mr. James. It was very helpful."
"Can I order more guava juice?" I handed him my glass, which wasn't affected by the previous chaos at all.
"Sure." He smiled as he poured guava juice.
And I was lost in thought amidst the littered bandit corpses.