Artyom felt a wave of energy wash over him as he walked up to the legendary chosen hero. His quest, a week in the making, was finally reaching its conclusion. However, the spring in his step began to waver as doubt entered his mind.


    “Would my so-called vacation actually end once I get him home, or will Gus send me to an actual Fairytale world where I won’t be of any use? He’s in a tight spot right now, so he might send me back on the front lines.”


    “Oh man, there are a lot of good foods I remember eating back home!” said the hero to the gathered crowd.


    Artyom stopped for a moment and thought. “What’s up with that accent of his? It definitely isn’t a Californian one, it’s closer to something from this world. I should make sure this isn’t just some weird coincidence.”


    While the conversation seemed to die down due to the nobles seemingly too overwhelmed in the hero’s presence to participate, the man from Earth walked up and inserted himself into it.


    “So what would you say is your favorite food?” asked Artyom with a friendly smile.


    “Oh, definitely pizza!” exclaimed the hero. “With olives and anchovies, those are my favorite toppings.”


    “Wait, for real? I mean, where did you usually get it from?”


    “There was this one place that had an arcade as well! There were all these games you could play with tokens, and you’d win tickets you could exchange for prizes. Oh, and there was this animatronic band that I saw perform for my birthday party! It was awesome.”


    The other nobles politely nodded, and Artyom realized why they actually hadn’t been contributing to the conversation. And that wasn’t to mention that while this hero looked like he was about twenty years old, he talked more like a little kid.


    But there were more than enough details to just be a coincidence; he was definitely from Earth.


    Artyom smiled and opened his mouth to speak again, but before a single word could come out, his voice froze.


    The hero brushed at his smooth black hair that went halfway to his shoulders, and revealed an ear hiding behind it. A particularly pointy ear; an exact match for the people of this world.


    “Huh? Were you going to say something?” asked the hero.


    Artyom realized that his mouth was still open, and opted to say the first thing that came to his mind. “Um, what’s your name, kid?”


    “It’s Tommy, and I’m not a kid! How about yours?”


    “Sorry, I’m Artyom.”


    “That’s a funny name, nothing like the people from here!”


    “I could say the same thing,” the man from Earth thought. It was the first of many such thoughts going through his mind.


    “What’s going on?! Is he from Earth or is he not? What do I do now, should I call in headquarters and get the techies to run more scans? Do I quiz him some more? That won’t undo anything about how he looks. But that could just be caused by the environment…”


    “You went quiet again, is everything alright?” asked Tommy.


    “Uh, yeah it’s… no. No it isn’t.”


    “How come?”


    “This place is dangerous,” Artyom began.


    “Excuse me, but Count Cabbafor’s manor, not to mention the city as a whole, is quite safe!” said one of the nobles with a look of offense.


    “Not that, I mean this world!” exclaimed Artyom, cutting the noble off before turning back to Tommy. “An army came through Freeacres and slaughtered half the people there! They committed war crimes, and they were happy about it too.”This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    “Do you mean the Dark Lord’s army?” asked the hero.


    “Yeah. They were ready to circle back and kill the fleeing survivors too before I stopped them.”


    “Really?!”


    “It was bloody. The sheer amount of death the villagers and I saw that day, they weren’t ready for it. You’re not ready for it.”


    “What do you mean? I’m the hero, it’s my destiny to stop them!”


    “This isn’t a game anymore. I don’t know what kind of fairytale world ideals the people who trained you put in your head, but this Dark Lord is not operating by those same rules. He will kill you, like he has so many others, and he will go to the most vile and brutal lengths to do it.”


    “B-but then, what am I supposed to do?”


    “You can…” Artyom froze again. Did he take this kid with him back to TOAL? But what if he really wasn’t from Earth, would it be safe to introduce someone from another world there? What if they got inspiration from their technology or portal system, and eventually armed themselves and made a portal back? The chances of that happening, even if he wasn’t from Earth, were slim to none. But the paranoid thought still crossed Artyom’s mind and made him hesitate.


    “Tommy, is this guy bothering you?” came a feminine from the room’s entrance.


    Artyom turned around to find four women walking in. The rest of the room turned to them with rapt attention, likely from the fact they looked like supermodels in their figures and complexions.


    While the one at the front was looking at the hero, the other three were glaring at him with angry disapproval. Each member of the quartet looked completely distinct, each with a different hair color picked randomly from the FD&C rainbow, physical build, body language and demeanor, and dress.


    The one at the front who’d addressed Tommy had bright red 40 hair as long and flowing as her dress that shifted between oranges and yellow hues like a dancing flame. She was the tallest of the group by almost half a foot and stood over everyone in the room with an imperial air that to Artyom’s shame, made the words “Ara Ara” spring to his mind.


    “He sounds like he’s giving you trouble,” said the same woman as she regarded the hero with a concerned yet introspective look.


    “Hey Xerica!” exclaimed Tommy. “Don’t worry, this guy’s giving me an actual conversation, it’s been great!”


    “Are you sure?” asked another of the women who stepped up without breaking eye contact with Artyom. Her blonde hair was closer to yellow 5 than any natural shade and her dress, unlike the others’, had a strong tomboyish chic. It featured a white dress shirt with brown-colored poufs at the shoulders and cuffs, as well as a sand-colored pleated skirt that cut off only half a foot from where it started. Instead, she wore a pair of shorts that continued just past her knees. On her back were a pair of sheathed swords tied in place with a decorative bow-like knot.


    She continued to size Artyom up with an annoyed glare, but found her attempt at intimidation lacking as they were about the same height. “We can kick his butt if you want, just tell us how big you want his black eye to be.”


    Artyom immediately tensed at the blatant threat and cast Tungsten Body on himself. “Fucking try me.”


    The blonde haired woman immediately caught the shift in the atmosphere and pulled out the pair of swords strapped to her back. The action was incredibly fluid, not wasting a single movement.


    “Hey Daisy. If you’re going to fight him, make it quick so I can get back to the party,” said the third member of the group in a dull tone. This one’s hair was a shade of green 3 somewhere between pistachio and forest, and her dress was as bland as her manner of speech. She wore a pale green gown with nothing particularly eye-catching about it. It was definitely fancy enough for the party, but… Artyom just couldn’t point to any one aspect of it to appreciate. It was a dress. Just like how she was a woman, and part of this group.


    “You don’t have to wait for me, Ecole,” replied Daisy, the blonde. “I’m ready to have plenty of fun all by myself.”


    The fourth member of the group, a shorter and more slender woman with blue 1 hair, walked up behind Daisy and laid a hand on her shoulder. “There’s no need for violence here,” she said. “He isn’t threatening our Tommy, and look at his clothes.”


    Artyom’s eyes darted to the blue-haired fourth member for a split second and saw that she was wearing a familiar set of robes. They reminded him of Skeya’s outfit, but the colors on this one were more vivid and featured what was likely actual gold thread worked into the fabric.


    “That’s right, I’m wearing church formalwear, she probably thinks I’m a devotee of her goddess,” thought Artyom to himself.


    “Aww come on, Lensa,” whined Daisy. “It’s sooo boring here, let me have a fight!”


    “Daisy…” said Xerica the redhead, as she glared at her companion.


    The blonde let out an exaggerated sigh before sheathing her swords and looking back at Artyom with a pout.


    “So that begs the question,” said Xerica as she looked at Artyom. “Who are you and what are you doing with our Tommy?”


    Artyom didn’t dismiss Tungsten Body and looked between the four of them.


    “No answer? Did you really come here to make Daisy’s night? We can gladly oblige,” she said, bringing up a small, white-hot flame in her hand.