I somehow got myself isekai'd.
That was what I had to come to grips with when I woke up in a medical tent stuffed with injured people. To really sell it, there were several doctors rushing around, healing patients by magically fusing bones together and sealing open wounds. Yeah, it's pretty obvious this place isn't my world.
I also know I didn't go to bed last night missing the lower half of one of my legs. However, that now happens to be my situation and it hurts like hell. I gritted my teeth and tried not to scream from the pain, it was already noisy enough without me adding to it.
It's a damn hard task, though. Adrenaline numbness is nowhere to be found and every time someone walks by my dirty cot, the resulting air movement just aggravates my leg more.
It took forever before a doctor got to me. It probably wasn't as long as it felt, but it was more than enough time to prove I was not as silent as I thought. Yeah… the whimpering I was hearing was coming from me and I definitely tasted my own salty tears.
An exhausted looking doctor made his way over, two equally tired nurses right behind him. Without a word, the nurses took to both sides of me, pulling out fabric ties. Before I could even ask what they were doing, my arms were restrained, tied down to two pegs I hadn't noticed before.
"Hey! What are- ugh!" My good leg was tied down as well and the jostling sent a bolt of pain through my other.
The doctor pulled on a pair of gloves and held up… a foot? "Remember to gag him. We don't want him to accidentally bite his tongue off and make more work for us," he said.
Another fabric tie was then shoved into my mouth and knotted around the back of my head. My eyes widened as I saw the doctor reaching for my stump.
No anesthesia or even a numbing shot? I mean, I guessed this world was fairly behind with medical advancements, just based on the amount of health code violations I had witnessed, but I didn't think it was this bad!
"Jenna, Aaron, I need your support. This will be a tough one." The doctor called for both nurses and aligned the cheaply made prosthetic with my stump, shoving it into place.
I hissed in pain, but was silenced completely when they started attaching my new leg. Oh god. There was not a single moment of my life, in either world, that could compare to what I was feeling right now.
Burning, stabbing, stretching, all of the above? My vision went white, all nerves lit up by the magic spilling from the doctor's hands. I thought torture was working a thankless corporate job with overtime and few days off. Clearly I wasn't thinking big enough, because this is true torture.
The doctor was fast, I'll give him that much credit. He attached the new foot in less than a minute and then took off with his assistants, leaving me still tied up to the bed.
Not that I really cared. The agony that the doctor's magic had induced had stopped, but the shock of it all still kept me distracted.
My brain felt like sludge, trying to process things, but not doing a good job of it. Why was this happening to me?
I could understand the basic concept, having read a lot of books throughout my life. A normal man gets transmigrated to a fantasy world and is told that only he can save the world. To aid in his quest, overpowered skills and a helpful system to guide him in an unfamiliar world.
Except, nothing. I had nothing. No skills, no system, nada. It could be that I needed to meet specific conditions to activate the system, but first I would have to get out of this place.
Luckily, I didn't have to wait long. A young lady arrived, introducing herself as Maggie. I could tell right away that she was not the friendly type. She was giving too much stink eye.
She ungagged me, but left the ties holding my limbs alone. Instead, she pulled out her phone. I considered asking to borrow it, but I doubt she'd let me.
"Can I get your name and guild?"
Uh oh.
How was I supposed to answer when I didn't even know myself? And guild? That spelled bad news. It means that this world likely had monster problems. Though, I should have been able to guess considering I only have three quarters of my legs.
Maggie waited and I just blinked at her. Her frown deepened (which I didn't think was possible) as we continued the stalemate.
"You need to give me your name and guild so we can collect payment for your treatment. You're not an unaffiliated hunter, are you?" she asked, suspiciously.
A hunter. That was good information to know.
Maggie started tapping her fingers on her phone impatiently. I shifted a little, uncomfortably, and was reminded that I'm still tied spread eagle to the cot. This complicates things.
Purging any idea of making a run for it, I went over my options, not that I really had any. Why couldn't I have had the cliché moment of waking up in a strange bedroom and realizing I'm the rich and handsome villain from some book that I read? I could really use some money right about now.
I haven't even seen my own reflection yet! Not that it would help me with figuring out my new identity. When you read as many books as I do, they all start to blur together.
Maggie must have had enough of me lamenting my fate, as she said, "Fine, keep your silence. Just show me your status window."
And how do I do that? Maybe it will work if I say it out loud. Worth a shot, anyways.
"Status window," I tried, voice breaking in the middle.
I cringed hearing it. So embarrassing.
Maggie eyed me with disdain. "I don't know what happened to you out in the field, if you hit your head or something, but surely you haven't forgotten how to do such a basic function."
I flushed a little at her words. Cut me some slack here! I've never done this before.
She sighed, dragging a hand through her hair in exasperation. "In your head, give the command, 'open status window,' and visualize pushing it out of your head and into the real world."
So I did, and it worked! A blue rectangle with my information appeared, just like in a video game. I felt a bit giddy seeing it.
I scanned the information. Turns out my new name is Greyson Mathias. I'm twenty-three years old and a C rank hunter. Nothing that rang a bell. Though, I was excited to see what skills I had. At least, until I actually saw them.
There's only two: Basic Swordsmanship [D] and Vacuum Sealing [C]. Seriously? Just how bad is my luck? And Vacuuming Sealing? What does that even do?
On top of that, both of the skills were low rank. No wonder my body's predecessor got maimed. The odds were stacked against him from the start.
Maggie seemed to think so as well. I swear I saw a flash of pity across her face before she reverted back to debt collector Maggie.
"Your status window is showing you aren't in a guild, so payment for your treatment will instead fall on you. Also, since your original leg was unable to be recovered, you'll have to pay for the prosthetic as well.
"We accept debit or credit and offer several payment plans if you are unable to pay the amount in full right now."
I could feel my hands getting clammy. I had no idea what kind of assets I had to my name, if any. Going into debt within hours of coming to a new world is totally unfair.
And then, I felt it. Or, more like heard it. The sweet, sweet sound of plot armor coming to save my butt.
"Excuse me, sorry to interrupt, but can I make an offer?"