I can't see anything.
Everything is dark.
And that smell. . .
My God, it stinks of wet moss and disgrace.
After that idiot god revived me in a woman's body, the first thing he did was dump me in a forest in the middle of the night.
No clothes, no money.
No explanation of how this world works.
Congratulations, Altus.
In the other world, I was a recluse and humiliated but this here managed to be worse.
"Aaaaaah. . . anger. I just wanted to read my forbidden magazines and play in peace…"
A crack.
Branches breaking.
Shit.
Did they hear me screaming?
"Who's there?"
My voice came out thinner than I expected.
"Show yourself! Whoever has the guts to mess with a defenseless girl, come on!"
Silence.
My heart was pounding in my throat.
I had no weapons, equipment, nothing.
Why the hell did I provoke?
Suddenly.
Toc.
Something hit my head.
The pain rose hot and, before I could curse, I heard a deep voice behind me,
"Hi, little girl are you lost?"
I froze.
And I did what any sensible person would do.
I ran like a condemned person.
"HELP!"
I yelled, tripping over roots.
"SOMEONE HELP ME!"
Running was useless.
I slammed into something muscular.
"I thought, since there's nowhere to run, what I have left is to surrender to fate."
I started touching the body to see what it was.
Big and strong arms.
A martial arts fighter?
No.
The breathing sounded like a lion, heavy and oppressive.
It gave me chills.
Wide chest, full of hair.
"Uh, what a hot body, oops, wait"
I moved aside a little.
But when I touched his hand, I felt something sharp cut my finger.
"Easy there this is."
Torches lit up, but I took a while to understand what was happening.
The light dazzled my vision.
I blinked a few times.
I rubbed my face.
When I opened my eyes. . .
I looked from feet to head at what was standing in front of me and saw every second of my life pass.
I started trembling like a green stick and murmured quietly,
"What time does the train come?"
The creature tilted its head.
And only then the light revealed everything.
A huge face, square jaw, crooked tusks coming out of its mouth, yellow eyes glowing in the dark.
And a stench that would make even Altus's horse pass out.
An ogre.
A huge, muscular ogre and wearing a pink flowery apron that said,
LOVE CHEF
I froze.
The ogre froze too.
The two of us stared at each other, in deadly silence, for about five seconds that felt like forty years.
Then he sniffed, smelling the air.
"Hmmm. . . smell of newly arrived human."
I swallowed hard.
"Smell? Me? No. . . must be someone else, I just ran past here. . . by mistake…"
He took a step.
The ground sank.
Lost. Small. Weak. Alone.
He brought his face close until I felt his hot, murderous breath.
"Perfect to become. . . INGREDIENT."
My brain exploded.
"INGREDIENT OF WHAT, DAMN IT!"
The ogre lifted an ENORMOUS cauldron I hadn't even seen.
"Newbie girl stew. Traditional recipe."
I screamed.
Loud.
Very loud.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! SOMEONE GET ME OUT OF HERE!"
I ran.
I ran like my life depended on it.
Because it did.
The ogre came after me.
Every step of his felt like an earthquake.
Branches hit my face, leaves tore my skin, and all I could think was,
"Altus, you SON OF A. . . if I survive, I'll kill you."
The ogre roared behind me,
"COME BACK HERE, INGREDIENT! I HAVEN'T EVEN SEASONED YOU YET!"
"GO SEASON YOUR MOTHER!"
I replied automatically.
But then I realized that provoking an ogre wasn't my best idea.
He sped up.
I tripped over a fallen log and rolled downhill, screaming like a pig being kidnapped.
PÁF.
I faceplanted into the ground.
And before I could get up, I heard light footsteps and a super calm voice, cold, almost emotionless,
"Hm. A demon behind you."
I raised my face.
A girl was holding a bow.
Serious look.
Zero expression.
Her arrow was pointed. . .
at my heart.
"WAIT! I'M NOT THE DEMON!"
She tilted her head, thoughtful.
"Ah, true. You're just useless."
And she fired.
The arrow went past me, cut a strand of my hair and. . .
PLOFT.
It hit the ogre between the eyes.
The monster dropped dead on the ground like a sack of potatoes.
She put away the bow, still with the same dead face.
"I was aiming for the neck."
I breathed deeply, trembling.
"Thank you. . . anyway."
She brought her face close to mine, serious.
"Did you attract him? You smell like trouble."
I sighed.
"Girl. . . if I tell you how my day started you'll cry."
The girl shrugged.
"I understand. Come. You look too weak to survive five more minutes."
And she turned her back, walking through the forest.
I stayed there, absorbing everything.
"Aaaaah. . . I just wanted my old life."
And then I realized.
If this was just the beginning.