The one

She ran as fast as her legs could carry her, for as long as possible. She didn't even realize when she had left the woods until she tripped over a stone and face-planted seconds before the beacon of light.

She tried to quickly prop herself back up only to wince, she had skinned her knee and a bit of her thigh on the concrete, she blinked at the odd colored concrete before lifting her head.

"Am I back home?!" She whipped her head up only to see a fancy-looking street light powered by what looked like a glowing crystal.

Her smile vanished as she squinted at the lamp. She hobbled towards the lamp and touched the pole. It was green and smooth to touch, ornate carvings etched inside the strange metal.

"What... is this?"

She had never seen a crystal-powered lamp before. Confused and lost she took in the rows of street lights that bathed the road in faint blue.

She hobbled down the road with a vacant gaze. Was she still in Japan or not? She slowed down and squinted upon spotting the gates, towering behind it she could make out unfamiliar structures that reminded her of some fantasy medieval setting.

She slowly hobbled.

As she did, a faint sound came from behind her, it became louder and louder. Her face scrunched up. Footsteps, no hooves?! She turned to see the clopping of tall horses that sped down the path. She noticed them a bit too late as she hobbled out of the middle of the road and tripped, stumbling back onto her injured knee.

"..." She sat there in a daze, watching men in armor speeding past on the horses.

Was she dreaming? Was this all just one long nightmare? Even though back in that forest she died so many times… why hadn't she woken up? What the heck was happening?

The girl began to cry.

One of the soldiers in the rear had spotted when she fell and at first, he dismounted his horse and drew his sword just as the girl lowered her head to weep.

"Show yourself beast, what are you?"

"?" The girl looked up to see one of the knights pointing his sword at her. Her mind went blank as her eyes widened.

"W-w-wha…." She stammered to speak.

Since she could say nothing intelligible the other party had decided.

"Please!" She blurted it just as his sword nicked her neck.

Blood pooled from there, and as she checked a hand for her own blood her body began to tremble. Was she going to die again? Didn't the thing say, that if someone managed to escape the forest the tutorial would end? In that case, then she was really going to die this time!

A dozen of thoughts overloaded into her mind, she thought of her Mom, her older brother, her school friends, and their parakeet. It all faded into black as her eyes rolled up in the back of her head and she fainted.

The Knight had realized a bit late that she was a human being. He knelt to catch her as she had keeled over, he applied pressure to her neck and called out for assistance in foreign tongue.