The crowded morning train. Satou Kenji gripped the hanging strap with his eyes closed. Every day was like this. Wake at seven. Shower. Put on the same suit. Head to the station. Board the train. Go to work. Repeat. Forty-four years old, never married. No children. No particular hobbies. Average salary. No promotions. A completely ordinary salaryman with nothing special about him. The city flowed past the window. A familiar landscape. An unchanging landscape. (Sixteen more years until retirement.) That's what he was thinking when it happened. His body felt light. No, not light. Something enveloped him. A dazzling light. Not heat, but something else. Not the train's sway, but a different kind of movement. He tried to open his eyes, but the light was too intense. A ringing in his ears. A voice? No, that wasn't it. Something that wasn't words passed through him. His consciousness faded. And then— "Thud." An impact ran across his entire back. Kenji opened his eyes. His vision was blurry. Something was falling on him. Dirt? No, dead leaves. He looked around. Tall trees. Green. Dim despite the daytime. Bird calls he'd never heard before. The wind smelled clean. Not Tokyo air. (???) Kenji scrambled to his feet. His back was wet. His navy suit was stained with dirt. "Ah..." He stared blankly at his clothes. Then looked around. "Where is this...?" A forest. Tall conifers mixed with reddish-brown deciduous trees in a vast woodland. Unfamiliar bird calls. Faint animal sounds. The air was different. The smell was different. The way the light entered was different. Where was this? Where was the station? He was late for work. What would he tell his boss? Kenji methodically began brushing the dust from his suit. Knocked the dirt from his back. Patted his sleeves. Checked his glasses. Checked his pockets. His business card holder was there. His smartphone... no signal. The screen wasn't cracked. Lucky. "Anyway... I need to find people." Muttering, Kenji stood up. His shoes were dirty too. His socks were wet. He felt sick. But he had to stay calm. He recalled the "what to do when panicking" from his company's crisis management training. Deep breathing. Assess the situation. Next steps. (Stay calm. This must be some mountain villa area or something. There should be civilization nearby.) Kenji decided to think that way. He prioritized rational explanations over accepting reality. This might be a hallucination from hitting his head. So he needed to move. "First, I'll head north. If I go north..." Speaking to himself, Kenji began marking the tree trunks. He picked up a small stone from his pants pocket and scratched the bark. Like a scout, he left faint traces. He'd learned this method from adventure novels he'd read as a child. When lost in a forest, you mark your path. Otherwise, you just go in circles. He walked for a while. Evening was approaching. The sky was getting darker. He must have walked quite far, but the forest scenery didn't change. Tall trees. Dim forest floor. Occasionally branches hit his face. He nearly tripped on protruding roots. "Ah... careful." Stumbling, Kenji steadied himself. He couldn't afford to injure himself. He needed to get to work. That was the worst case scenario. Then— "Grrrrr..." A low growl came from somewhere. Kenji's body went rigid. The growl came again. This time louder. And the bushes rustled. He could see a beast's silhouette. Four legs. Large. Something glinted on its forehead. Horns? (A dog...? No, a wolf...?) Images of wolves he'd occasionally seen in enclosures near the zoo flashed through his mind. But this was much larger. And this wasn't a zoo. This beast had no metal fence. In that instant, the beast moved. Fast. Incredibly fast. It lunged— —but in Kenji's mind, an image flashed for just a moment. The future 0.5 seconds ahead. The beast flying through the air. The space where Kenji had been standing now empty. Kenji instinctively crouched low. The beast passed over his head. It landed on the ground and growled. Looking for Kenji. But Kenji was crouching now. Hidden in the bushes. Out of sight. The beast ran off in another direction. Its footsteps faded. Kenji remained still for several seconds. His heart was pounding. His breathing was ragged. But his mind was calmly processing the situation. (What was that...?) Why had he crouched? He didn't know himself. There was some sense of danger. Animal instinct perhaps. Anyway, the beast was gone. He was safe now. (I just had a bad feeling... that's all.) Kenji stood up. His legs were shaking. Stay calm. Deep breathing. This wasn't a nightmare. It happened. So he had to escape. To where people were. To safety. He started walking. Not running. Running meant falling. Falling meant injury. Injury meant immobility. So he walked calmly but quickly. After a while, he saw a small stream. The sound of water. Clear flowing water. Kenji crouched and drank. It was cold. Natural tasting. Delicious. His thirst was quenched. His face reflected in the water. Grayish-brown hair. Hair thinning slightly. Black-framed glasses. Tanned skin. Tired eyes. The unremarkable face of a man in his forties. "I haven't shaved either... my boss will be angry..." Muttering, Kenji washed his face with water. That's when it happened. Light appeared from a break in the forest. Dim light. Fire? A flashlight? No, he couldn't tell clearly. But there was definitely some kind of light. The light of a place where people were. Kenji's expression brightened just slightly. "Found it..." Muttering, he hurried forward. The forest thinned. The spacing between trees widened. And then— He saw buildings. But— (???) When he saw the buildings, a sense of "wrongness" struck Kenji's mind. Beyond the tall trees, buildings clustered together. Wooden buildings. Stone walls. That medieval European architectural style he'd only ever seen in pictures. And surrounding the town was a high wooden palisade. (What is this...?) Kenji stopped. His gaze slowly traced the landscape. Was this really here? Was this reality? Not a hallucination? At the town's entrance stood a massive wooden gate. A man with a spear stood there. A soldier? A guard? Wearing ancient-style armor. Gleaming silver. "This is... not Tokyo." Finally, those words left his mouth. Kenji slowly began walking toward the gate. His steps weren't entirely steady. But he had to move forward. He had to gather information. He had to talk to people. He approached the gate. The guard noticed him. Saw the navy suit. Furrowed his brow. A suspicious expression. "Who are you?" The guard raised his spear. But Kenji remained calm. Rather, he was regaining his composure. This situation was incomprehensible. But that guard was human. Communication was possible. Kenji bowed respectfully to the guard. "Excuse me. I seem to have gotten lost." Slow, polite speech. His company sales pitch. That "voice" meant to calm the other person. "Could you tell me where the nearest police station is?" The guard furrowed his brow. "Police station? What's that?" With that answer, Kenji finally understood. This wasn't Japan. Not the world he knew. A different world. Different language. Different common sense. The guard examined Kenji's clothing carefully. Navy suit. White dress shirt. Black leather shoes. Nothing like this in the town. "Strange clothes. Are you a traveling merchant?" "No." Kenji answered honestly. "I'm a company employee." At that answer, the guard tilted his head. A company employee? What's that? Kenji took out his business card holder from his pants pocket. With his usual practiced motion, to maintain appearances. He tried to hand a card to the guard. "Satou Kenji. From Satou Corporation—" The guard raised his hand. "Don't understand. Anyway, this is a town. Walking around in those clothes, people will look at you strangely." The guard thought for a moment. "Right then. Try the Guild—well, what we call a 'Guild' here is where adventurers gather to receive job requests. You might find something out there. Silvaarc—that is, the name of the big Guild here. There's a stone building in the center of town—" "A Guild, I see. Understood." Kenji immediately showed understanding. His sales experience was useful. Accept the other person's explanation and immediately take action. That was important. "Thank you very much. I'll head there right away." The guard seemed somewhat taken aback but moved his spear aside. "Right then. Go straight through town and you'll see it naturally." Kenji bowed respectfully once more. "Thank you very much." And he passed through the gate. Into the town. Wooden and stone buildings mixed together, standing in narrow alleys. Lamps were lit. The light was probably candles or something. Not electricity. The air carried the scent of another world. New. Old. Unknown. And there were people. Women in linen clothes. Men in leather armor. Merchants carrying tools. All of them stared at Kenji. That navy suit. Black-framed glasses. An unremarkable man in his forties. "What's with those clothes?" Someone muttered. Kenji realized he stood out completely in this world. But he had to move forward. He had to find the Guild called Silvaarc. He walked slowly through the town. And eventually— A relatively large stone building came into view. A sign with some kind of writing on it. Old characters. Unreadable. But the building's atmosphere seemed like the kind of place that would be called a "Guild." A mix of tavern and reception area. Many people coming and going. He stood in front of the building. He slowly pushed the door open. Inside, adventurers drank and discussed requests. Through the noise, Kenji walked toward the reception desk. And there, Kenji's new world finally began.