บท 1: Fogged Up (1)
Jeff Norman stared out of his window. It's a world of fog out there.
He could barely see the trees across the street. Anything beyond that was not visible.
It's been like this for 11 days now.
'And the end is no where in sight...' Jeff sighed.
There's an eerie silence outside. A few days ago, there were still gunshots and angry shouts out there. But now... nothing.
Electricity had been out for a week now. The same for phone signals.
The only good news: this was mid-July. It's still warm during the night.
"Well Lord Rammus, if the fog doesn't go away in a week, we'll just have to take a chance. And venture into the unknown." Jeff continued to stare out of his window.
Jeff's pet turtle raised its head and took a look at Jeff. Then it went back to napping.
"Let's just hope that this ends soon... And our lives can return to normal."
"Dry instant noodles and cold canned food ain't the best. But it'll have to do..." Jeff bitterly chuckled. "It'll have to do... Yeah..."
The room was overtaken by silence again.
*Rumble* *Rumble*
A bunch of people had entered the apartment hallway outside.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Violent pounding on the doors broke the silence.
Jeff Norman froze up a little. He suddenly had a bad feeling about this one. Passing by his kitchen, Jeff grabbed a kitchen knife. Not the best weapon for self-defense, but there weren't many options here.
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Someone was knocking on Jeff's door now.
"FBI! Open up!"
BAM! BAM! BAM!
Jeff softly walked up to his door. Taking a look through the peephole...
It was a group of big dudes out there, either half-naked or wearing a tank-top. All of them had a black-droplet tattoo on their foreheads.
Nope. Didn't look like the FBI to Jeff. Not at all.
PAM!
A dude rammed into the door.
The door quickly became larger in Jeff's sight. By reflex, Jeff flinched.
Feeling a dull pain on his face, hearing a sharp ringing noise, the shaking world quickly dimmed, until it was totally black.
Feeling a falling sensation, the sharp ringing noise distanced away...
...
...
*Plop* (Water Droplet Sound)
Jeff's fingers wiggled. Scratching the ground a little... Felt like his fingers were brushing against cool summer grass.
Feeling that his senses had returned a little, Jeff opened his eyes. Looking up, he could see light filtering through the crown of a tree.
Surprisingly, Jeff felt no pain or discomfort on his head. Sitting up, Jeff looked around.
No idea where the light was coming from. But it's still bright as day here.
*Plop*
A droplet of dew fell off of a tree branch, diving into a small pond nearby.
A metallic-looking tree with silver leaves and bronze branches. A grass field about the size of a basketball field. A small pond. And a set of stone table and chairs.
Looking away, there's the endless void out there.
Apparently, this was an island floating in the void?
'Is this afterlife?' Jeff gulped.
'No...'
'No. This can't be...'
'You have to be joking right?'
'No.'
'I died by 'a-door-to-the-face'? No. What a joke. Haha. Very funny.'
'I have to be dreaming...' Jeff chuckled and stood up.
'Alright. How do I get out of here.' Jeff walked up to the edge of this island. Looking down, it's a black void down there as well. An endless emptiness...
Jeff had no idea how long he stared at the void, or how long he'd mindlessly walked around.
Taking a seat on a stone chair, Jeff stared forward with blank eyes.
'So... I might have just died...'
This was a tough pill to swallow.
'What a joke...'
'My entire life was a joke... not even a funny one...' Jeff slumped.
'...'
'So... What happens now? Am I stuck here for eternity now?'
Jeff had no idea how long he'd sit there.
Time just slipped by...
Nothing seemed to matter anymore...
Out of nowhere, a dude in a mage's robe popped into existence.
That mage had his back turned against Jeff. By the looks of it, that mage didn't realize Jeff's presence.
Humming a familiar tune, that guy started stretching with a staff in his hand.
"Hey. Uh." Jeff stood up.
That mage flinched and froze up, as if Jeff had jump-scared him.
"Uh... Hello there." Jeff continued.
That mage turned around. Seeing Jeff's face, the mage widened his eyes.
Seeing the mage's face, Jeff widened his eyes as well. "Uh... Huh..."
"Hey..." Jeff pointed at the mage and then back at himself.
"Yes..." The mage slowly nodded.
Apparently, that dude looked like Jeff's twin.
Except Jeff didn't have a twin brother...
"Uh huh..." Jeff slowly nodded as well.
Before the two knew it, their nods were in sync.
Memories suddenly flashed by in Jeff's mind. Viewing these memories in first-person perspective, it's as if he'd experienced these times himself.
The first twenty years were identical to Jeff's own experience.
Born in a middle class family. Living an average life...
Heading towards Berrystone city for college...
Becoming a senior year student in general science...
Being clueless of what to do after graduation...
Heading into a supermarket... Noticing an ice cream sale...
1 dollar for 5 boxes!
Though, looking at the packaging, their target customers were little girls...
As a poor college student, without second thoughts, Jeff decided to sacrifice his personal ego for a filled stomach.
Getting a raised brow from the cashier lady...
"It's for my little sister..."
"Uemm-Hmmm. Suurrreee..."
Going back home with a bad taste in his mouth...
Having a bite at the strawberry-flavored pink ice cream...
Getting a brain freeze...
From this point onwards, the memories started to be different.
Mage Jeff suddenly found himself standing on a bustling street.
Beast Folks. Humans. Elves. Dwarves. Halflings. Fairies...
Wearing armors, cloaks, robes, medieval tunics, and flower petals...
Yep. This was a fantasy world.
In the beginning, Mage Jeff thought he'd won the jackpot!
Transmigration from planet Earth!
By the looks of it, he was going to become a protagonist with OverPowered powers!
And so, the mage Jeff naively thought.
It didn't take long for reality to settle in. He was just a penniless weak human, with no overpowered aid...
For three whole years, Mage Jeff worked day jobs and saved money, hoping to become strong enough to become an adventurer.
Now, with his savings, Mage Jeff bought two basic skill books and a mage's outfit, looking forward to start his adventures soon.
Taking some time to digest this information, Jeff slowly nodded.
Thinking back, that strawberry ice cream was a little suspicious after all. Shortly after getting a brain freeze, the fog appeared...
Mage Jeff facepalmed. "So you are me... And I am you... In different worlds..."
"Yes..." Jeff squinted and nodded. "By the looks of it, yes..."
A pause of silence.
"Eating that ice cream was a bad idea..." Mage Jeff sighed.
"I agree..."
Suddenly, a blue translucent screen popped up in Jeff's sight.
[ Existing character detected... ]
[ Error! Unable to detect character information... ]
[ Re-digitalizing character... ]
[ Updating character information... ]
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