2 An unexpected situation

I woke up with my body aching in all sorts of places, which was weird considering that I didn't do any sort of extenuating physical activity the previous day.

Letting out a yawn, I slowly opened my eyes, expecting to get a look at the familiar ceiling of my bedroom, but the sight that welcomed me was that of an endless canopy of trees.

"Well, this is unexpected…" I said with a tone of disbelief.

Wind caressed my face as I stared with my mouth agape at the exotic greenery. Trees taller than anything I ever seen stood proudly with their leaves moving around in an almost hypnotic rhythm. The shadows casted by the dancing branches of the trees gave the forest an eerie atmosphere, only accentuated by the sounds of unknown animals in the distance.

In short, this place was creepy as fuck.

My heart missed a beat every time a shadow moved too close to my body. A beastly roar in the distance made shivers go down my spine, and I couldn't help but imagine what would happen if I encountered the animal responsible for making such a sound.

Nope, fuck this. Gotta get the hell out of here.

The faster, the better.

Although my mind was filled with such 'cowardly' thoughts, on the outside, I maintained a calm expression. The increasing feeling of panic was muted by my confusion at the strange situation I found myself in. How the hell did I end up in a forest?

Looking at my surroundings, I noticed there was nothing but vegetation in every direction as far as the eye could see. Not that I could see that far anyway. What with all the really big trees blocking my vision.

Did I already made mention of the size of those things? They are gigantic.

—Roaaaaarrr.

"Eeep!" I made a somewhat unmanly noise. Fortunately, there was no one around to witness my flustered appearance.

Those roars were definitely getting closer.

Later in the future, the fact that I got so frightened by a demonic beast in the Mortal Realm became a constant source of teasing, much to my chagrin.

But right now, I could only run away from the definitely not so friendly 'wild animal'.

Without looking back, I tried to dash towards the opposite direction of the sound. Emphasis in 'tried', because with all the bushes and twining roots covering the muddy soil, it was incredibly difficult to traverse the forest's terrain.

It should be noted that I am not a physically weak person by all means. Even if I didn't go out that much, I made sure to exercise frequently. So, although I'm not an Olympic athlete, running a few miles through the forest shouldn't be a problem.

All this foliage in my way is the problem!

"Haa… this day is gonna suck."

**

After running a few miles, I finally stopped to catch my breath behind a large tree. It's been a while already since I last heard the roaring of the beast, but still kept running just to make sure that I wouldn't stumble upon it again.

Supporting my back on the tree, I lifted my face to observe the scenery in front of me. I noticed a while ago that the trees were becoming scarcer the more I ran, concluding that I was running in the right direction to leave the forest.

The sight unfolding in front of me confirmed my guess as correct. A big river separated the dark forest I came out of from a vast expanse of grassland. I can even distinguish the vague shape of a town in the far distance.

Relief flooded my entire body. The apprehension accumulated throughout my run through the forest flew away in the form of a deep sigh.

Calmly walking towards the riverside, I finally have time to check out my current appearance. For unknown reasons, I'm wearing some kind of medieval style of clothing.

Covering my upper body was a white buttoned shirt trimmed with golden thread at the cuffs and yoke. My lower body was covered by black linen pants, and my feet sported a pair of black leather shoes.

The outfit was elegant yet comfortable. Perfect to take a little stroll outside whilst maintaining an air of nobility. A pity that it was ruined as a result of my little marathon across the forest.

All in all, my body felt in top condition. However, I couldn't get rid of the impression that something was wrong with it.

I knelt at the riverbank and proceeded to submerge my head inside of its crystalline water.

After drinking a few big mouthfuls of water, I took out my head from inside the river and looked at my reflection on the surface of the slow moving waters.

"Eh?"

My brain stopped working for a moment, and then went into overdrive. The sensation of wrongness I felt before suddenly made sense, because the body reflected on the water's surface was not my own.

Instead of the familiar black eyes, the eyes that looked back at me were amber in color. My hair, although maintaining the same black hue, presented an uncharacteristic curlyness, completely different from my full straight hair.

But the most shocking feature was how young was the fellow reflected on the water.

My head felt faint. This couldn't be happening. Nope, this was definitely impossible.

"…Why?"

I muttered in utter shock at the fact that I was now inhabiting someone else's body.

My head ached, and I was assaulted by an overwhelming feeling of exhaustion. My body collapsed at the riverbank.

My head felt like it was being constantly hit by a hammer, and unable to withstand the severe pain, my senses began to slip away.

"…Does this mean that I don't have to submit my manuscript?"

My mind felt gibberish, and the last thing I saw before losing my consciousness was the slow flowing of water in the river.