Chapter 1: Don't Play with Your Phone While Walking

His head felt dizzy, his arms and thighs ached a bit, as if he'd been hit by a dump truck.

He remembered being attacked by a wild beast, but it seemed he hadn't been eaten yet?

Rhodes opened his eyes and didn't see an unfamiliar ceiling.

The sunlight was a bit dazzling, causing his eyes to involuntarily squint into slits. Instinctively, he tried to raise his hand to block the light.

Swish... Someone considerately drew the curtains, making his eyes feel a bit better.

"Considering the time, he should be waking up around now."

Rhodes heard someone speaking; it was a somewhat elderly female voice.

But he couldn't understand what was being said at all; it wasn't the Chinese he was familiar with, at least not Mandarin.

Nor did it sound like English or any other language he knew.

Rhodes gently tilted his head and saw an old lady with pink hair standing by the window, draped in a peculiar red cloak.

She was probably the one who had just spoken.

"How are you feeling?" A kindly male voice came from the other side. Rhodes saw an old man wearing a jester hat sitting cross-legged on a chair by the bed.

Of course, Rhodes didn't understand this sentence either.

His throat was a bit dry; he struggled to ask, "Where is this place?"

The two elderly people on either side of the bed exchanged glances, showing confusion; they didn't understand what Rhodes was saying.

Thinking for a moment, Rhodes tentatively said, "Where is this? Who are you? Hmm...?"

Seeing the increasingly puzzled expressions of the two elders, Rhodes felt something was wrong.

Mandarin didn't work, English didn't work, even his broken Cantonese didn't work—what should he do?

The old man with the jester hat lightly jumped off the chair; Rhodes noticed that he wasn't any taller standing than when sitting.

Thinking like that was impolite; Rhodes chastised himself, then noticed that the old man moved with agility that didn't match his age at all—he didn't seem like an elderly person at all.

"Looks like there's a language barrier? What a headache," the old man said with some distress.

"A language we've never heard before," the pink-haired lady asked, "Where on earth did you pick up this child?"

"Just in the forest; I told you before."

At this moment, the wooden door was knocked, and a girl of about seventeen or eighteen walked in:

"Master, it's about time; if we don't set off now, we'll miss the regular meeting."

"Ah, I almost forgot. Porlyusica, can I leave this child in your care?" the old man asked the pink-haired lady.

"I refuse. I hate humans, Makarov, and it's noisy here."

While saying she hated humans, the pink-haired old lady helped Rhodes sit up and poured him a glass of water.

"Thank you," Rhodes instinctively expressed his gratitude.

Porlyusica didn't understand, but she could probably guess what Rhodes meant.

But she didn't respond, just turned and left: "His injuries are no longer serious; I'm going back."

"Ah, thanks." Makarov understood his old friend's personality and knew it was useless to persuade her.

Rhodes drank some water to moisten his dry throat, puzzled as he watched the pink-haired lady leave.

The short old man was talking to the girl who had just come in.

They were speaking in a language Rhodes couldn't understand. Judging from their occasional glances at him, he guessed they were talking about him.

At this moment, a slight pain in his left leg made Rhodes frown. He noticed that his left arm and waist were wrapped in bandages. He raised his hand to touch his head; his forehead was also well bandaged.

The wounds all over his body made him recall being attacked.

It was rather strange.

Rhodes remembered that he had stayed up late playing games with his roommates, and after waking up in the morning, he didn't want to move.

The two roommates who went to buy food went missing one after another and didn't return.

Rhodes, starving, had no choice but to go out with the remaining roommate to look for them.

The two split up, one going to the new cafeteria, the other to the old cafeteria.

As a result, Rhodes, who was playing with his phone while climbing the stairs, accidentally tripped and fell hard to the ground.

When he got up, he found himself in a big forest.

What to do when you suddenly find yourself in a strange place while walking?

Don't panic; first, open your phone to check your location. If necessary, you can make an emergency call...

But he couldn't find his phone.

When he tripped just now, his phone seemed to have flown out.

Rhodes realized something was wrong; he might have encountered a phenomenon that couldn't be explained scientifically.

CCTV once had a program called "Approaching Science," which told stories like someone sleeping at home and waking up in a city thousands of miles away.

Rhodes suspected that such a thing had happened to him; of course, there were worse possibilities—not that he had arrived in another city, but in another world.

Thinking carefully, did his two roommates encounter the same thing, which is why they hadn't returned?

In any case, he needed to find someone to ask.

Rhodes tried to discern directions, hesitated for a while, then decided to head west—the weeds over there seemed to have been trampled.

But after a few minutes, he regretted it, because he startled a beast the size of an elephant.

He had never seen such a giant beast—a bear with spots all over, a pig's head, and pig's hooves.

The branch Rhodes had broken off for self-defense had no deterrent effect in front of it.

The moment the giant beast pounced, the branch broke, and Rhodes was knocked flying, his eyes going dark.

Before passing out, he heard bird calls, wolf howls, frog croaks, and unknown beast roars.

This was definitely not a normal world.

But at that time, Rhodes could no longer think about these things.

He just felt that death seemed too sudden; there were still many things he hadn't had time to do.

If there were a next life, he would definitely not play with his phone while walking, especially when climbing stairs.

But now it seems he hadn't died; was he saved by the people here?

"Hi, hello!"

Rhodes's thoughts were interrupted by a gentle voice—it was the girl who had just entered.

The girl wore a dark red dress, had long white hair down to her waist, her bangs tied into a bundle atop her head, delicate features, and a gentle smile.

She was a girl whose appearance and temperament would attract attention wherever she went.

Rhodes couldn't understand what she was saying, but judging from her wave, she was probably greeting him?

"Hello," Rhodes said, and her bright smile slightly dispelled his unease.

"Just as the Master said," the girl showed an "I thought so" expression:

"Unfortunately, I can't understand what you're saying either. I suppose you're also troubled and uneasy."

"Ah, you can't understand this... Anyway, the Master has something to attend to and asked me to take care of you for now."

The girl tried hard to communicate with gestures, but to little effect.

"Right! I haven't introduced myself yet; my name is Mirajane."

She pointed to herself, slowly saying word by word: "I, Mirajane."

"Mi...ra...jane?" Rhodes hesitantly repeated the unfamiliar syllables.

Mirajane's face once again showed a bright smile: "That's right, Mi-ra-jane."

Rhodes was infected by her smile, and followed her, repeating it twice, his pronunciation gradually becoming accurate.

"Mirajane." He had learned his first word in this world.

"Then, you?" Mirajane pointed to herself, "I, Mirajane."

Then pointed to Rhodes, "You?"

Rhodes understood her meaning, pointed to himself: "Rhodes."

"Ro...des?" Mirajane repeated.

"Rhodes." Rhodes corrected the pronunciation slightly, just as she had done.

The first step in communication, though a bit awkward, had begun.

"Please take care of me, Rhodes." The girl said this, extending her right hand to Rhodes.

Rhodes gently held her fingertips: "Please... please..., Mirajane."

He hadn't learned the phrase that might mean "Nice to meet you."

Gurgle... Rhodes's stomach made an untimely sound.

He covered his stomach, opening his mouth but not knowing what to say.

Mirajane smiled knowingly: "Ah, this I can understand; please wait a moment."

She made a gesture of pressing both hands downward, then turned and left the room.

Rhodes watched her leave the infirmary, picked up the cup, sipped water, and began to sort out his limited memories since he had tripped.

First, there was the sudden appearance of the forest, the strange-looking beast, then the few people he met upon waking, and the unique language they used.

This was definitely not the world he was familiar with, nor was it an ordinary world.

Rhodes wanted to know how long he had been unconscious, what had happened during that time, where he was, how to get back, and many other things...

But even basic communication was problematic; there was no one to ask these questions. It was quite troublesome.

He lifted the quilt; his leg still hurt a bit, but he could move—it shouldn't be a serious injury.

"Better not move around..." Mirajane entered, carrying a tray, placed it on the bedside table, and made a gesture of invitation, indicating for Rhodes to eat first.

On the tray was a glass of milk and two delicate-looking sandwiches.

The triangular bread slices were cut neatly; lettuce, tomato slices, and ham were sandwiched in between—the bright colors looked very appetizing.

Rhodes picked one up, giving her a questioning look.

With her nod and his stomach's urging, Rhodes bit off one of the "acute angles" of the "isosceles triangle."

The first taste was the soft and sweet flavor of the bread, followed by the smooth and fresh taste of the ham.

Then the slightly sour and juicy tomatoes, paired with an overly sweet sauce that Rhodes wasn't quite used to.

But the fresh fragrance and crispness of the lettuce balanced it well.

After swallowing this mouthful, Rhodes felt truly alive again.

But after that, he no longer cared about savoring the flavors, devouring the food quickly.

After finishing one sandwich, Rhodes's hunger was greatly alleviated. He picked up the glass of milk and felt the warmth on the cup—it had obviously been specially heated.

She must be a gentle girl who knows how to take care of people.

Rhodes gave her a grateful look.

Mirajane smiled, quietly watching him eat and drink.