“…Michael?” I said, the name coming out before I could stop it.

  Michael was standing a few steps ahead of me, completely still.

  For a moment I thought I was still dreaming. After everything that had happened, that honestly wouldn't surprise me.

  My breathing was uneven. My clothes were covered in mud and my arms stung from the scratches I didn’t remember getting.

  But that didn’t matter, he was there, untouched.

  His eyes moved slowly over me, looking at the dirt, my shaking hands, and the way I looked.

  I could tell he had questions, possibly a lot of them, but thankfully, he chose silence.

  I swallowed, my throat dry. “Is that really you, Michael?” I asked. “Or is this some kind of trick?”

  I held my breath until he spoke.

  “Yes.”

  His voice was calm as he continued.

  “It is I.”

  A few simple words, but that was all it took.

  Every bit of composure I had been holding together had collapsed.

  I ran forward and threw my arms around him. “MICHAEL!” I shouted.

  It didn’t take long before I broke.

  And it wasn’t that cool, heroic breakdown I always imagined.

  No…It was the one full of ugly crying.

  The kind with shaking shoulders and a bunch of rambling.

  Michael immediately stiffened, like someone who had just been handed a crying baby with no instructions on what to do.

  For a few seconds he simply stood there, completely still, while I clung to him with everything.

  Very slowly, he raised one hand.

  It stayed in the air for a moment before finally, he placed it on my back.

  “There,” he said, with one pat.

  A small pause.

  “There,” he said again.

  But somehow that made me cry harder.

  “You don’t understand,” I blurted between breaths. “I almost got eaten by this four-eyed hideous creature! Its body towered over me!”

  Michael remained silent, of which I mistakenly took as a sign.

  “And its face!” I continued. “I swear I was more terrified of its face than dying!”

  “And his kid—“

  “Elias,” Michael interrupted.

  I sniffed. “Y-yes?”

  “You may release me now.”

  “…Oh.”

  I stepped back immediately, wiping my face with my sleeves like the outburst had definitely not just happened.

  “My bad,” I muttered, chuckling awkwardly.

  Now that I wasn’t clinging to him like a baby, I actually looked at him.

  The folded wings, the shiny armor, and especially the aura around him. It felt like staring directly into the sun itself.

  Stolen story; please report.

  And just like that… the emotional moment ended, replaced by a lightbulb in my head.

  I straightened up before grinning slowly. Greedily.

  Michael tilted his head. “What?”

  We stared at each other.

  …

  …

  I raised both hands and made a gimme motion.

  Michael blinked. “What?” He asked again.

  I groaned, “what do you mean what?” I said. “Isn’t this the part where you hand me my cool protagonist gear?”

  Michael frowned slightly. “…No.”

  My smile twitched.

  Phase 1 ending.

  Michael watched me for a moment after my smile twitched. “…No,” he repeated calmly.

  I stared at him before bursting into a short, confident laugh.

  “Ahhh,” I said, pointing at him. “Good one. Very funny.”

  Michael blinked.

  “You almost had me there.”

  But he didn’t respond, which to me, meant he was clearly committing to the bit.

  I nodded slowly. “Right, right,. I see what you’re doing.”

  I held out both hands again, “okay seriously though, where’s the gear?”

  Michael had remained silent.

  I began counting on my fingers.

  “Legendary sword.”

  Nothing.

  “Ancient bloodline awakening."

  Nothing.

  “Secret overpowered class.”

  Nothing.

  “System window?”

  Michael stared directly at me.

  “…System?” I said, my smile slowly starting to weaken.

  “Yeah,” I said carefully. “You know… the thing that pops up?”

  I pointed into the air.

  “Status window. Levels. Skills. Quest notifications. That kind of stuff.”

  Michael watched my hand hover in empty air.

  Then he simply said, “no.”

  The word hit me harder than I expected.

  “…No?”

  “No.”

  I waited, as this must’ve been a bluff.

  But nothing happened.

  Just wind moving through the trees.

  A few awkward seconds passed and I began rubbing my chin.

  “Alright, new question.”

  I leaned forward slightly.

  “Do I at least get some kind of bloodline ability?”

  Michael shook his head.

  “No.”

  “…Magic?”

  “No.”

  “…Awakening?”

  “No.”

  Each question I asked was shut down by Michael instantly.

  I stared at him.

  Then at the sky.

  Then back at him.

  “…Michael.”

  “Yes.”

  “Be honest with me.”

  “I always am.”

  “Am I… just a guy?”

  Michael thought about it for exactly one second.

  “No.”

  “Oh… that’s rough—“

  I froze up, as I processed what Michael said.

  “…I’m not?”

  “No.”

  Michael reached behind him, and for a moment, hope returned to my heart.

  Finally, The legendary item reveal.

  My eyes glowed up as he pulled something from behind his back before handing it to me.

  A… hammer.

  My eyes narrowed as I blinked multiple times, each blink confirming it wasn’t my imagination.

  Before I could process that, he handed me something else.

  A book.

  I looked down at the items before back at him.

  “…Michael.”

  “Yes.”

  “…This is a hammer.”

  “Yes.”

  I lifted the other object.

  “And this is a book.”

  “Yes.”

  I opened the book.

  And inside, every page was blank.

  Slowly… very slowly… I looked back up at him.

  Phase 2 ending.

  For a moment neither of us spoke. The wind moved quietly through the trees around us.

  Then Michael spoke again.

  “You expected something else.”

  From his tone, it wasn’t a question.

  “… Yeah,” I admitted.

  I gestured vaguely into the air again.

  “You know… the usual stuff.”

  Michael waited.

  “Legendary weapon,” I continued. “Overpowered ability. Maybe a cool glowing aura. Something that makes people go, oh wow he’s the chosen one.”

  Michael listened to the entire thing without reacting.

  Then he simply said, “that would be unwise.”

  I blinked. “…Unwise?”

  “Yes,”

  I crossed my arms.

  “How exactly is giving me cool powers unwise?”

  Michael looked at the hammer in my hand.

  Then at me.

  “If you received everything now,” he said calmly, “you would rely on it.”

  I looked at him blankly. “… Yeah,” I said slowly. “That’s kinda the point.”

  He shook his head.

  “No.”

  That no was quiet, but firm.

  “This world is not kind to those who rely on gifts they did not earn.”

  For some odd reason… that got my attention.

  I looked down at the hammer again.

  Then the book.

  “So… these are what? My abilities?”

  “In a sense.”

  I turned the hammer in my hand. It wasn’t glowing or looked like something that had power.

  For what it was worth, it was just… a hammer.

  “And the book?” I asked.

  “It will be useful.”

  I flipped it open again.

  “Right now it’s about as useful as a brick.”

  Michael didn’t respond to that.

  Instead he looked at me in that same calm way he always did.

  “You will struggle here, Elias.”

  I lifted my gaze from the items and looked at him.

  “You will make mistakes,” he continued.

  “You will fail.”

  I opened my mouth to argue… but stopped when I remembered the four-eyed monster from earlier.

  Michael continued.

  “But you will also grow.”

  I kept looking at him.

  “You are not powerless.”

  He gestured toward the hammer in my hand.

  “You simply must begin… like everyone else.”

  I stared at the hammer.

  Then the book.

  I couldn't help but wonder…

  Why?

  Taking a deep breath, I asked. “…So just to confirm, I’m not some guy?”

  “Yes.” He said, instantly.

  I nodded slowly. “…Cool.

  A few seconds passed before I pointed at the book again.

  “So when does the cool stuff start appearing in here?”

  Michael paused. “…Eventually.”

  Phase 3 ending

  “There is a cave,” Michael said, pointing. “Your first ‘quest’ is there.”

  I followed his finger.

  The cave was…small. Ordinary.

  And disappointing.

  “Why?” I asked

  “Your first companion is inside.”

  Something stirred in my chest.

  “…Oh?”

  I perked up.

  “Do tell.”

  “No.”

  “You’re no fun.”

  “Fun isn’t within my duties.”

  Michael turned away, his wings shifting as he simply began walking.

  For a moment I just stood there, watching him go.

  Then something very important hit me.

  “Take care, Elias—“

  “Wait!”

  I grabbed his hand.

  Michael stopped.

  Slowly, he looked back at me.

  “…Yes?”

  I hesitated.

  All the big questions were still there.

  The hammer.

  The book.

  The whole being dropped into another world situation.

  But one problem stood above the rest.

  If I didn’t say it now, I never would again.

  I swallowed.

  “…Do you have food?”

  Michael blinked.

  For the first time since I’d met him, he looked mildly confused.

  “…Food?”

  “Yeah,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “You know. Survival. Eating. Not starving to death?”

  In a blink of an eye, my hands suddenly felt empty.

  Michael was just… gone.

  I sighed. “Well… it was worth a—“

  Thunk.

  Something hit my head and bounced to the ground.

  I looked down.

  A small bundle wrapped in cloth.

  When I opened it, I found a sandwich…

  And a neatly folded set of clothes underneath it.

  Simple boots.

  A dark tunic.

  Sturdy pants.

  The sandwich alone almost brought tears to my eyes.

  But the clothes?

  That nearly finished the job.

  “I LOVE YOU MICHAEL.”

  I devoured the sandwich like my life depended on it.

  “Ahh… that hit the spot.”

  A few minutes later, now changed into new clothes. I felt a little more alive again.

  I picked up the two items he left for me.

  Book in my left hand.

  Hammer in my right.

  With no other choice…

  I started walking toward the cave.