Chapter 3

As I drifted in and out of consciousness, I heard a voice calling out to me. "Hey!!!! Are you okay?" it yelled, jolting me awake.

I groaned inwardly, wondering why whoever it was had to be so freaking loud. Then, suddenly, I felt a splash of cold water on my face, snapping me out of my unconscious state.

Coughing and sputtering for air, I blinked my eyes open to find myself staring up at a handsome young man. He was leaning over me, concern etched on his face as he gazed down at me.

I realized I was resting on his thighs, which were surprisingly soft. I couldn't help but internally fawn over this guy—seriously, where did he come from, and why was he so good-looking?

"You're awake," the man said, his voice gentle as he reached out to me. "Are you okay?"

I shook my head, trying to clear the fog from my mind. Where the heck was I, and how did I end up here? My heart raced as I struggled to piece together what had happened.

The man must have noticed my confusion because he tried to calm me down, his soothing words washing over me like a warm blanket. But even as he spoke, my mind continued to race, desperate for answers.

As the memories started pouring back, I remembered... the whole reincarnation thing. Yeah, it started to make sense to me. My consciousness took a while to settle in before I started to calm down.

"Whoa," I muttered to myself, my mind spinning with the realization of what had happened. "So, I'm really in another world now, huh?"

I glanced around, taking in my surroundings. It looked like some sort of garden, with lush greenery and colorful flowers blooming all around. But something felt off—like I didn't quite belong here.

The man who had been tending to me earlier approached cautiously, concern etched on his handsome face. "Are you alright?" he asked softly, his voice tinged with worry.

I spotted a mirror hanging on the wall behind him and pushed him aside, desperate to see my own reflection. As I gazed at my face in the mirror, a smirk spread across my lips.

"Damn," I thought to myself, admiring my reflection. "I'm hot too, if I do say so myself."

I heard a groan behind me and realized it was the handsome dude I'd just pushed over. Oh man, I must have looked like a crazy person right now. I mean, I basically fawned over this guy, lost my mind for a minute, and then pushed him over. Smooth move, Mark.

As I turned back to see him, I couldn't help but notice how he was standing up from the floor, all tall and imposing. And let me tell you, he was even more of a smoke show up close.

The dude was towering over me, like, seriously, he looked like a 6'4 giant. And his outfit? It was like a mix between a goth rogue and an assassin. He was wearing this black leather and silk tunic that looked like a low-rise shirt, exposing his toned abs. And his chest? Huge. But his waistline was surprisingly slim, and his thighs? Perfectly proportioned.

I couldn't help but admire the guy's physique. I mean, he was built like the perfect bara character from one of those manga I used to read. But then, I noticed something strange—But wait…..are those ears on his head? and... is that a tail?

"Uhm, do I have something on my face or... do I look that bad?" the guy said, interrupting my thoughts.

I blinked, realizing that I must look like a complete lunatic right now. I stammered, trying to find the right words, but all I could manage was a profuse apology, bowing my head up and down like a crazy person.

"I-I'm so sorry," I mumbled, feeling utterly embarrassed. "I didn't mean to push you like that. I don't know what came over me."

The guy waved off my apology with a chuckle. "No worries, dude. I'm more worried about you, to be honest. You came crashing down out of nowhere like a comet, and you were unconscious when I came to see what was going on."

I couldn't help but laugh nervously at his words. "Yeah, I guess I did, huh?" I muttered, feeling like a complete idiot. "Sorry about that again. I swear I'm not usually this clumsy."

The guy grinned, his eyes sparkling with amusement. "No harm done. Just glad you're okay," he said, offering me a hand up. "I'm Kai, by the way. Nice to meet you."

I hesitated for a moment before accepting his hand, returning the handshake with a sheepish smile. "I'm Mark," I replied, feeling a strange sense of warmth spreading through me at his friendly gesture. "Thanks for helping me out, Kai."

"Now... it's my turn to ask a question," Kai said, his chill demeanor suddenly replaced by confusion and bafflement. "How the hell did you emit such powerful magical energy, crash down, survive, leaving this giant hole in my garden? Like, what are you?"

I felt a bead of sweat form on my forehead as Kai's eyes bore into me, his expression like that of a confused dog who had no idea what was going on. "Oh, I'm just a human from another world that got hit by a skateboard, died, and boom, here I am," I thought to myself sarcastically. Yeah, that's definitely what a crazy person would say right now.

"What am I supposed to tell him now?" I panicked internally, my mind racing a mile a minute.

"Uhmm... I don't know..." I muttered, feeling completely out of my depth.

Kai raised an eyebrow, clearly not satisfied with my answer. "You don't know?" he repeated incredulously. "Well, you gotta give me something here. I mean, you can't just crash down from the sky and not have an explanation."

I scratched the back of my head nervously, racking my brain for a plausible explanation. "Well, you see, it's uh... complicated," I began, trailing off uncertainly.

Kai let out an exasperated sigh, running a hand through his hair. "Great," he muttered under his breath. "I save a guy, and he turns out to be a total nut job." 

"The audacity of this Guy!!!" I fumed inwardly as Kai called me crazy. Me? Mark? If it was someone I knew, I might've let it slide, but this dude really crossed a line. I mean, I died in the most unorthodox way possible, was made fun of by a god, had my soul scattered and put back together, and now this dude has the balls to call me a nut case? "This handsome dude," I thought to myself, clenching my fists in frustration. Of course, I said all this in my mind. I put on a grin to cover up my thoughts and muttered, "Nut case... me."

But suddenly, I felt this burst of energy well up inside me, flowing around my body. Kai, looking back at me from his comment, seemed both scared and stunned. His thoughts raced, and I could almost hear them. "He's giving off a lot of magic power... I can even see it!! Oh shit, he looks mad!! What did I say? Oh shit, I called him a nutcase... Ohhhh nooooo... Think, think. If I don't calm him down, I'm so dead!!!! Think, Kai, think. What can I do to calm him down? Oh!!"

Suddenly, Kai jumped at me, looking like he wanted to attack me. But I wasn't gonna let some hottie take me down. Before I knew it, though, he embraced me in a hug, and damn, I had to admit, he was soft as hell.

"Whoa, what's with the bear hug, dude?" I exclaimed, caught off guard by the sudden embrace.

Kai pulled back, his face flushed with embarrassment. "S-Sorry," he stammered, looking sheepish. "I-I just thought, uh, maybe a hug would, you know, calm you down."

I couldn't help but be taken aback at his awkwardness, feeling some of the tension drain away. But seriously, what was this guy doing? Jumping at me like he was about to attack, then suddenly pulling me into a hug? It was definitely a weird move, but hey, getting touched by a hot guy is nothing to complain about.

As Kai was still embracing me, I pondered whether I swung "that way". I mean, I knew I liked girls in my previous life, but that didn't stop me from experimenting a couple of times. "Hmmm, what if I try grabbing his...?"

Before I could finish my thought, I decided to go for it and grabbed Kai's left butt cheek. Now, before you say anything, no, I'm not a pervert. I was just curious, okay? But, wow, this dude was really built to perfection. His butt was soft like a pillow and quite plump.

But suddenly, I was interrupted in my thoughts by Kai's voice. "Could you get your hands off my butt?" he said, sounding both amused and slightly annoyed. Oops. Time to dial back the curiosity a bit.

Yeah, I quickly released my hold on Kai and awkwardly laughed, trying to dial down the situation. "Uh, I was just really scared, you know? Yeah, sorry about that," I mumbled, hoping to shift Kai's focus away from the awkwardness of the moment.

Kai sighed, seeming to accept my apology. "It's fine, whatever," he muttered, his tone still tinged with confusion. But then he quickly shifted gears, getting back to the matter at hand.

"Now, back to my question," he continued, his tone more serious now. "Who really are you? What are you? I've never seen anyone emit that much magic power in decades, especially not when they get angry. And, uh, sorry for calling you a nutcase earlier. Your power level is on par... no, possibly greater than that of Chimeric PenDragon! Are you even human?"

Kai was throwing questions at me faster than I could think. And telling him the truth was definitely out of the question. I needed to come up with something, and fast.

I scratched the back of my head nervously, trying to come up with a convincing lie. "Uh, yeah, I'm human," I blurted out, hoping he wouldn't see through my shaky facade. "Just... a really special one, I guess."

Kai narrowed his eyes, clearly not buying it. "A really special human, huh?" he repeated skeptically. "Well, I've heard of rare cases of humans with extraordinary abilities, but nothing like what I just witnessed from you."

I gulped, feeling the pressure mounting. Think, Mark, think. What could I say to convince him? And then it hit me.

"Maybe I'm just a late bloomer," I said with a nervous laugh, hoping to lighten the mood. "You know, like those characters in those anime shows who suddenly discover they have hidden powers or something."

"An...i me? What's that?" Kai asked, his brows furrowing in confusion at my mention of anime.

I blinked, realizing that I had just assumed he knew what anime was. "Oh, uh, it's, um... like, animated TV shows from my world," I explained awkwardly, struggling to find the right words to describe it. "They're, uh, kind of like... stories told through drawings, I guess?"

Kai's expression remained blank, clearly still not getting it. "Stories told through drawings?" he repeated, sounding even more puzzled now.

"Yeah, you know, like... adventures, romance, battles, that kind of stuff," I continued, gesturing vaguely with my hands. "It's really popular where I come from."

Kai nodded slowly, though he still looked thoroughly confused. "I see..." he muttered, though it was clear he didn't really see at all.

I inwardly cursed myself for mentioning something so out of context. But hey, at least I tried to explain it. Maybe I could show him sometime if the opportunity arose. But for now, I had more pressing matters to attend to. Like convincing Kai that I was just a regular, albeit slightly extraordinary, human being.

Suddenly, a loud growl echoed through the air, and yeah, it was my stomach. "Oh... Are you hungry?" Kai asked, his voice tinged with amusement.

I couldn't help but blush in embarrassment. "Y-Yeah," I admitted sheepishly, realizing just how hungry I actually was.

Before I knew it, Kai had prepared a bowl of warm pork stew, a specialty of his. I eagerly dug in, enjoying the comforting warmth spreading through my body with each spoonful. "Ahhhh... Oh yeah, that hit the spot," I mumbled between mouthfuls, savoring the delicious meal.

"So... you really have no memory of anything before you came crashing down?" Kai asked, breaking the silence as we ate.

I nodded, swallowing a mouthful of stew before replying. "Yeah, it's all a blank"

"And you don't know how to use magic or any abilities?" Kai continued, his brow furrowing in confusion.

I hesitated for a moment, debating how much to reveal. Eventually, I decided to tell him a half-truth. "Well, I'm not exactly sure," I admitted, hoping it was vague enough to satisfy his curiosity.

To my surprise, Kai's eyes widened in surprise. "You don't know how to use magic?" he exclaimed, sounding genuinely shocked.

I shrugged, feeling a bit defensive. "Hey, I never said I was an expert," I replied defensively. "I mean, I literally just woke up in this world, remember?"

Kai seemed to back off at my tone, realizing he had pushed a bit too hard. "Do you know what class you are or anything like that?" he asked, his tone softer now.

"Kai, I don't know anything at all!" I exclaimed, feeling a bit exasperated. Seriously, I had already stated that fact multiple times, and yet here I was, being interrogated like some sort of criminal. Jeez

Kai apologized for pushing too hard, his voice carrying a hint of regret as he stood up. "Sorry for pushing," he began, his tone somber. "But, Mark, in all seriousness, you need to understand that not knowing how to survive in this world could spell trouble for you... or anyone who can't defend themselves."

Whoa, there was a lot of hurt and sorrow behind Kai's words. Maybe something happened to him, but for now, I decided not to pry. Instead, I nodded solemnly. "Alright, then teach me," I said, determined to learn whatever I could to survive in this unfamiliar world.

But Kai's seriousness suddenly faded, replaced by nervousness. It was kinda funny to see the shift in his demeanor. "Teach? Uh, I mean... I don't think I'd make a good teacher, and there's so much to le—" he stammered, but I cut him off before he could finish.

"Kai, there's no other person that can help me," I interrupted firmly, meeting his gaze with determination. "Literally, I don't know anyone else. Can you at least try?"

Kai looked taken aback by my insistence, but after a moment, he nodded slowly. "Okay, I'll try," he conceded, his voice filled with uncertainty. "But don't expect miracles, alright?"I chuckled. "Right!" I suddenly felt a bit tired and wanted to rest my head for a few minutes. "But can we do it later? I'm kinda sleepy," I mumbled before drifting off into slumber.

Kai chuckled softly, watching me with a fond expression. He ran a hand through his hair, a small smile playing on his lips. "Well, this is gonna be fun," he muttered to himself, shaking his head in amusement.

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