My NaNoWriMo Draft: Isekai Edition

I Saw a Video About Isekai Anime and Decided to Write One Too

[If I had to give this a light novel title I think I’d go with something like “I Challenged Death for my Soul and Now I Must Become an Adventurer” or something of that nature.]

Chapter One

Sakurako Moriyama turned the page right as her alarm went off. She sighed to herself, as she had perhaps two more pages until the end of the chapter, but it was time for her to get ready for school. More specifically, get Kosuke Okumura ready for school. As was usual, she was already ready, she just had to get her de-facto brother out of his room. He had most likely woken early to play Star Commander 2 with his friends again. She went up the stairs and knocked on his door.

“Ay, sleepyhead! You better get up or you’ll be late for school!”

“I’m already up!”

“Come out to eat then!”

“Just give me a minute!”

Kosuke might not be her actual brother, but by now, he may as well have been. They had known each other since they were small children and were rarely apart, especially since he had been living in the Moriyama household since his parents had died two years ago. She returned to the kitchen, set up some toast, and sat down at the table. Her perfectly regimented morning was what enabled her to squeeze in a chapter in the book she was reading. This week was the latest volume of Single Shard, and she might be able to finish those pages before she had to leave. [Or some other popular manga or legally distinct version thereof].

She read until she heard a series of loud crashes from the hallway as Kosuke sprinted through the house. At least he was on time.

He dashed into the kitchen, two schoolbags in hand. He was average height, with messy black hair, barely dressed in the school uniform. Sakurako held out the cold toast and as the man ran past, he grabbed the toast and tossed her bag into her other hand. Putting her book into the bag, she followed him out of the house.

She waved in the general direction of her parents as she cleared the steps, and she and Kosuke set off for another day at KoKo High School. It was a thirty-minute walk, but they always had to make it in twenty-five. At least it looked to be a pleasant [Spring?] day. The two students were old enough to drive, Sakurako had her license but no car; Kosuke had neither – his parents had been killed in a car crash and he was still uncomfortable around them. So, they still walked to school.

“How many more days now, Kosuke? 50?” [Why did I decide to set this in Japan when I clearly have no Idea how anything works there.]

“Fifty-three.” he said, between bites of the toast, “But who is counting?”

“You, apparently.”

They walked in silence for a few blocks, passing through busy neighborhoods and onto a commercial street.

“Fifty-three more days and I’m free. No more people telling me what to do.”

“Are you sure? If you go to university, you’ll have to listen to your professors, and if you get a job, you’ll have to listen to your boss.”

She glared at him, “Well maybe I’ll start my own company.”

“Ah yes, because customers are known for letting companies do whatever they want.”

They both laughed.

“You working today?” she asked. Kosuke had taken a job at a coffee shop, in part because he insisted on paying rent and in part to afford microtransactions in his games.

“Nah, I’ve got the day off. Guess I’ll hop in with the football club today.”

“Oh, so I’ll see you after school then?”

[Ugh, I fundamentally do not understand how the Japanese school system works and I should just skip through it, but we need to introduce the characters so…]

The walk was uneventful, the sidewalks becoming busier as the two moved towards the school. The city had constructed many schools on one street, so there were students of all grades around, usually bunched up in groups of their classmates.

–

Kosuke entered through the gates of the high school, Sakurako beside him. Today, she had pulled her black hair into twin ponytails, she was slightly taller than her female classmates and wore her backpack like a messenger bag instead of on her back. [what even is natural description] They were immediately met by Yatzee, their tall and game-loving friend.
“Hey! Moriyama-suffix! Okumura-suffix! Great match this morning, huh?”

“Yeah! If we keep that up, well hit the next rank in no time.”

“Maybe you would do better if you got enough sleep.” Said Sakurako. She always gave them flak for playing in the mornings, though he suspected it was because she wished she could spend hours reading before school.

They entered the school building and stopped by their lockers. [Do they even have those?] While Kosuke organized his schoolwork, Sakurako paced behind him. [I want it to feel like it’s season 3 of some high school slice of life show.]

“Okay, it’s been almost two weeks since Sagamoto-suffix gave us a test. He always does two a month, so it’s got to be today or tomorrow.”

“Yeah, unless he’s doing something like last February.” Said Yatzee.

Kosuke slapped his locker shut. “Ready to find out?”

The three entered their classroom and took their seats. The morning classes went by slowly as Kosuke tried to pay attention. He was only an average student and found it harder to put in effort as graduation day approached.

[I want to have them play some sort of team sport or something so we can see how well Kosuke and Sakurako work together, but I don’t think the pacing can support it. The key is that the two really care for each other. That’s actually super important and the entire beginning should be rewritten :(]

At lunch, he claimed a table and was joined by Sakurako, Yatzee, and a few of their friends from other classes. They were talking about games and books when [Something Something], a girl from his class nervously approached the table, hugging a textbook. She was quite shy and rarely said anything to anyone, but ever since he had been paired with her for a project, she had been asking him for help with homework.

“Um…O-Okumura-suffix…” she was flustered as she glanced at everyone at the table except him, “I-I was wondering if y-you had the, uh, physics worksheet done already.”

Kosuke smiled at her, “Yeah, I finished some of it last night.”

“Oh, well, I was w-wondering what you did for question tw-three.”

“Uh, sure. Yeah, I think I did that one right. If you want, we could go over it?”

“Y-yes, please!”

She stood there, awkwardly, as he got his homework out. Sakurako coughed and [Something] shied away, but the cough was directed at Kosuke. He saw her nod her head towards the cafeteria door and wink. He turned back to [Something].

“How about going to the library? Where it’s quieter?”

“Uh, o-okay.”

[Something] nearly ran out of the room as Kosuke stood up. Sakurako and Yatzee were trying not to laugh at him.

He spent the rest of the lunch break in the library, working on the physics worksheet with [Something]. The rest of the school day was just as tedious as the morning, but he was excited to be able to join the football club after class. It had been a month since the last time he was able to play with them, and he was curious how [Guy] would react to him. [Two pages before the story starts is enough I think.]

–

Sakurako met up with Kosuke after the Manga club activities were over. He looked tired, but not angry.

“[Guy] wasn’t messing with you today?” she asked.

“He didn’t say a word to me.”

“You showed him, I guess.”

The road back to the house was full of students on their way home, walking past the fenced houses that lined the street. They were passed by some small students who were passing a baseball between themselves.

The two of them walked in silence, he was still pretty tired from the match and she had gotten a text from [Someone Notmentionedyet]. She looked up from her phone just in time so see the young students half a block in front of them.

The tall one, Hinata, threw the baseball high and perhaps too far to the right. Riku jumped, reaching for it, but the ball bounced off the tip of her glove and into the road. The girl chased it into the street. From her right, Sakurako heard Kosuke yell,

“Hey, watch out!”

There was a truck coming, and it didn’t look like it was stopping. [You knew it was coming.]

“Riku!” She dashed out, the girl had just picked up the baseball and was in the middle of the lane.

“Stop! Hey!” Kosuke was still yelling.

The truck’s wheels squealed, leaving trails of smoke as its rear wheel ABS failed. [The ABS shouldn’t fail, hand wave it as the truck was unloaded and also brakes too late.]

Sakurako caught up to Riku and let momentum carry her and the girl towards the other side of the road, where the closest sidewalk was. But she glanced at the truck; it was close and it did not look like it would stop in time.

She threw Riku forward and the truck was upon her.

–

Kosuke ran out into the street, waving his arms and yelling, but the driver didn’t apply the brakes in time. Maybe he was distracted. The front wheels locked [or didn’t], but the truck must have been fully loaded, he could tell it wouldn’t stop in time.

The truck swerved away but with the front wheel locked, the truck couldn’t turn. Over the screech of the tires and his own yells, there was a thump, then another as the truck visibly lurched, one set of wheels lifting as it went over something. [:( uhhhhhh Yeah I guess if I have a story where a character dies I have to kill the character. I hope this is realistic enough, I don’t exactly want to do more research about how people die.]

Sakurako. She was lying on her back, one of her legs at an odd angle. He scrambled over to her and heard a massive crash as the truck spun and overturned and slid through a fence. Serves it right, Kosuke thought.

He looked down, clutching her hand to his chest. His phone was out, he didn’t remember calling emergency services, but he had. He barely heard the operator’s greeting.

“My friend has been run over by a truck!”

The operator had said something, but he had stopped listening. He was trying to process what he was seeing. [It makes sense he’d do this but pacing]

He didn’t know what a person should have looked like after being run over; while the wheels left marks on her clothes, there weren’t large cuts and she wasn’t outwardly bleeding too much. What was wrong was inside. She was choking, staring wide eyed at him.

“Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.” He said, desperately, as if saying it could make it true. He didn’t know what else to say. Blood was dripping from her mouth as she coughed.

It wasn’t like the movies. There was no dramatic gasp or hand falling limp, she didn’t even close her eyes. One moment, she was there, trying to will her blood and bone filled lungs to draw breath; the next, she was gone, the choking stopped, her chest fell still.

Kosuke stared, he couldn’t move.

Slowly, the rest of the world came back into existence. He became aware of the girl, Riku, taking a few steps closer before collapsing into shock and tears. She looked unhurt, at least.

“You did it, Sakurako.” He said, his own tears starting to fall, “You saved her.”

The ambulance arrived shortly after, the EMTs quickly put her on a stretcher and into the vehicle. There was perhaps time to get her to the hospital, resuscitate her, but they didn’t look confident. Another ambulance took the truck’s driver and a few officials [not sure on protocol here] stayed behind until the parents of the children could arrive.

Kosuke sat on the sidewalk, still in shock, having already been visited by an official, until Yatzee pulled up in his Toyota,

“I heard. You need a ride to the hospital? Or your home-” he hadn’t stopped himself in time, he knew Kosuke lived with Sakurako,

“Sorry, I didn’t mean-”

Kosuke couldn’t speak. He glared at the car and felt nothing but burning stabs of anger. He shook his head and stomped off, down the road.

–

Sakurako opened her eyes and took a deep, long breath. It was dark and she was laying on a hard stone slab. She sat up and noticed that her uniform was in pristine condition. What had happened? She remembered Riku, a truck, and…

This wasn’t a hospital. She didn’t seem to be in any kind of room, there was a floor of dusty tile seemed to go on forever, disappearing into fog. There was light, but it appeared to come from nowhere, and all around were doors and portals and windows of all shapes and sizes. Some glowed, some were decorated, others were not.

And in the center was a being. It had an aura around it, making the area around it darker, and was vaguely humanoid, cloaked in a black cloth.

“Welcome” it said, from everywhere and nowhere at once.

“What- Where am I?”

“You are dead. This is my realm. A halfway point, if you will.”

“I-I’m… dead?” She didn’t feel dead, but the last thing she clearly remembered was Kosuke above her, and she knew.

The being floated closer.

“Who are you?” she asked, scrambling off the slab.

“I am known by many different names, but what I am is the same. I take the soul from the body to where it belongs.” [Zero knowledge about Japan mythology again :|]

She had put the slab between herself and the being, but as it floated closer, she realized that she felt no fear or dread. She knew that a creature like that should terrify her and that running away was what she should be doing, but she supposed that if she was already dead, she couldn’t fear for her life. Nothing about this situation made her scared, just confused.

“So, where are you going to take me?”

“Ah, now that is the question. Are you someone who would want to be a ghost? Or perhaps you deserve another chance at corporeal life and should be reincarnated. Or perhaps you should go to, how does your planet say it, heaven, I believe?” [Jokes don’t fit the mood here but I want to make a ‘banished to the shadow realm’ joke :|]

The thought of something else deciding her fate for her made her angry, more so than being dead. If she was dead, she was dead, but perhaps there was something she could do about what happened after.

“Don’t I get a say it this?” she asked.

The being didn’t seem offended, “No, it is my decision.”

Sakurako huffed and turned away, looking at the various portals and doors around them. One, which seemed to be made of bones and was dripping blood did not look particularly appealing. Neither did one made of shining metal and inlaid with eerily decorated jewels. She wondered what could be beyond them.

“If there’s nothing I can do, then why am I here?”

“I make the decision, but I also enjoy listening to the people. You are from Earth, yes?

Sakurako was taken aback.

“You like list- Earth? What do you mean, am I from Earth?”

The being had produced papers, a stack of stapled copy paper, from somewhere, and appeared to be reading through them.

“Are there other places other than Earth?” she asked.

“Of course. I serve all of existence. Now, Earth. Not quite made it into space, have you?”

She shook her head. “Hey, hold on here. You expect us to just chat about earth while you decide what happens to my- my soul?”

“I take your life into account; thus, I find that it is good to review the reasoning with you.” The being was still patient, as if what Sakurako was saying was not surprising, “I could take you there now, but I prefer to go over a person’s life, to celebrate the path they took on their journey to me.”

“Celebrate my life? What have I done? There’s so much I didn’t do!”

At this, there was some sadness from the being. [Should I just call it death at this point?] The stack of papers did not seem very large at all.

“All the more reason to cherish what was. It is always a tragedy when a life ends early.”

Sakurako had no response, and the being returned to his reading. She paced around the slab, trying to find a way to do something. Constantly, the being would ask questions or draw attention to things she had done in her life. She would answer, then ask questions of her own, but no matter what she tried, she could not change its mind.

She didn’t know how long she had spent here, in the nothing place surrounded by a forest of doors, and she had gotten no indication of where she would be sent or what would happen to her. She was beginning to question why she cared what would happen to her, she certainly hadn’t given it any thought in life. At this, she gasped; she was already considering her life as separate from what was happening now. What was happening to her? [Trying not to get too whimsical or whatever]

Then the being asked her about taking in Kosuke. That was two years ago, two years until the being was finished with her life. She had to think of something.

She continued pacing, giving non-committal answers to the being. Then she thought of something that just might work. Once, she had read online about challenging death to a game for one’s soul.

“Excuse me.” She said, getting the beings attention, “If you won’t let me help you determine the future of my soul, then- then I challenge you for my- the right to make the decision myself!”

This got the being’s attention. It let go of the stack of papers and hovered closer to her.

“I do very much like to interact with the people I meet, and I love a challenge. What do you have in mind?”

Sakurako did not think the being would have gone for it.

“Uh…” she stammered, what would a death being be bad at that she herself was also good at? “Star Commander 2?”

The being stared at her with its deep red eyes.

“No.”

“No? What? Why?”

“I much prefer Star Commander: Swarm Conflict. [:)]”

Sakurako had never played the original Star Commander, she was suddenly even more nervous than before.

“Besides,” it continued, “I am not interested in playing a game right now, and I do not believe you should spend what precious time you have before moving on with such a short game.”

“What do you mean?” The being had rejected her challenge, but the way it said it made it seem like there was more, or at least not completely out of the question.

“People from Earth often challenge me to a game. It doesn’t have to be a game; I love challenges of all types. I wonder if there is a myth about me.”

She stared at him.

“Nevertheless, I have rejected your challenge, so instead, I have a challenge for you.” The being said, “I have already completed it, but should you do better than I, I will allow you to choose your own fate.”

“You won’t let me have any input about what happens to me if it is your decision but you’re willing to hand the entire thing off to me?”

“In my experience, people get… angry when they are sent somewhere they don’t want to go.”

She could believe that.

“I find it best not to have it open to discussion.”

“But you’ll let me choose for myself if I win?”

“Of course.”

She paced and thought.

“What happens if I lose?”
“Nothing.” The answer was quick, did the being do this often? Its demeanor didn’t make it apparent that she was doing anything out of the ordinary. She figured many people would want to choose their own fate, so perhaps the being was challenged on a regular basis.

“Would you tell me where these doorways and portals lead?”

This was also not a surprise to the being.

“It would be remiss to assume you knew what was behind each one. Of course I will.”

She paced some more. What did she have to lose?

“Fine. What is your challenge.”

A video of a tall, stone tower rising above a forest shimmered into view next to the being. It motioned to it.

“The Tower of Danger [Cooler name here], on the planet of Tortoala [Names]. Ten levels of increasing difficulty such that only eight people have cleared it, including myself. During one of my vacations, I decided to make an attempt upon it, but I was turned back halfway through. This was interesting to me, and I gathered a group to complete it.”

There was some sadness in its voice, “I was the only one to survive to the end.”

Sakurako stood, shocked. The being was asking her to do something it could barely accomplish itself?

“My challenge is thus:” It said, before she could speak, “Clear the Tower of Danger and stand upon the top with at least one of your companions still living. Then I will allow you to choose your own fate.”

“H-how am I supposed to do something that you could barely do yourself? I bet you have magic powers and-and can you even die?” she was incredulous, how was this a fair challenge?

The being was calm, “There is no time limit, nor will I impose a limit on the number of failed attempts. You may live on the planet until you succeed, tie, or retire the challenge.” [Tons of loopholes in this, but hopefully not the correct ones]

“Live?” she was confused, “You would let me live? You can do that? Is that one of the options?”

“I myself cannot truly return you to life, but the absence of death can be manipulated, with great effort, to closely resemble life.”

“What does that mean?”

“You, effectively, will be alive. This is not something I do lightly, nor easily, and it is due to the circumstances of your death that I would consider this.” [I don’t want to make it seem like dying young is cool though]

She paced. The task seemed impossible, yet she couldn’t think of any other options.

“Okay. I’ll do it.”

“The challenge is accepted. I wish you good luck and have fun.” [same]

She reversed direction and rounded the slab once more, mind racing to try to figure out how she was going to go about doing this challenge. The being seemed to think for a moment, before speaking again.

“With your death, you saved the life of another. I will permit you to request one person to assist you on your journey. They must agree to help you, and they will count as one companion should they survive. I will transport them to the world alongside you. However, they will share your fate, should you fail.”

She stopped. She didn’t want to go to this new world and fight all on her own. But this would be dangerous, the tower had apparently killed the members of the being’s team. Could she be justified in asking someone to risk their life just to ease her soul. And if she failed, whatever happened to her would happen to them too. Who would agree to that?

Around the slab again. Kosuke would agree to help, without hesitation, but he had gone through so much already. It would be too forward of her to ask for something so big knowing he would do it. She would do the same if the roles were reversed. Yet, while her other friends in school might volunteer, they had their lives ahead of them. Who else was there? Her parents? She could only take one, and if things went wrong… [Hm. Kinda falling over herself here.]

There was only one choice. Once she thought about it, it was hard to imagine going to a whole new world without him. Even if it put his life in danger.

She stopped before the being. “I will ask Kosuke Okumura to accompany me.”

The being nodded and waved one of its arms. A portal spun into existence, showing a familiar room full of clutter, a computer, sports gear, books, and a small but proud collection of unpainted mecha.

–

Kosuke was hiding under his covers. He didn’t want Sakurako’s parents to see how devastated he was. They had their own sorrows, and it wouldn’t be right for them to be around someone as cursed as he. There were minutes when he considered running away, to leave them alone, but he had nowhere to go, and in any case, he couldn’t leave until the funeral. So, he hid away, avoiding everyone and everything, in the place he considered home.

Then there was a low, sharp crackling noise that seemed to come from the middle of his room. Everything seemed to become still, his entire body was telling him that something was wrong. [If the being does this to people, how did he get a team? Can he turn if off?] There was somebody out there and it didn’t feel right.

He tensed, threw the blanket off, sitting up to see who it was; and stopped cold as it was a thing that was not a human. It was trying to appear human, but it only had the shape of one. It was cloaked, and he could not see its eyes. [Only the dead can see its eyes?]

He tried to scream, scrambling back against the wall, but he couldn’t make a sound. The thing, however, merely floated there, and he heard a deep voice that sounded like it came from every point in the room.

“A spirit requests an audience with you.” [Spirit? Soul? Someone from the beyond?] and it moved aside, revealing a circular portal that led into a dark area. There, in the center of the area, looking back at him, was a familiar figure: Sakurako.

He momentarily forgot about the creepy thing in his room, standing up off his bed to get closer to the portal. He was stunned, and again couldn’t make a sound. She gave a small wave and a guilty smile, like she wanted to ask him for something and she wasn’t sure if she should.

His mouth started working again, and he called out to her, “Sakurako? How?”

“Kosuke! I-“She came closer to the portal, “I, uh…”

He was standing before his end of the portal and he remembered the thing that was now right next to him, staring. This close, he could see the almost uncanny resemblance to a person, but it was all wrong somehow, like a 3D model that wasn’t quite right. From the thing and the portal was a cold feeling, not in the sense of temperature, but that there was no life there. He shivered and looked back at Sakurako, she didn’t seem to be worried about the thing, so he had to focus not to run.

“You may step through the portal.” Said the thing, from anywhere except where the thing was floating, “I promise you are in no danger. It is not our time to meet.”

He did, tepidly putting a foot through, then a leg, and then the rest of him. He took a moment to make sure he was okay, then locked eyes with Sakurako.

“Kosuke!” she rushed up to meet him and stepped into a desperate embrace. He just held her, feeling her arms around her. He had questions. How was this happening? Why was this happening? But for now, he was happy to see her again.

“Sakurako.” He said, trying to keep his voice steady, “I never thought I would see you again.”

“Me neither. I-“ she faltered, “I- I’m sorry. I was being dumb. I should have pushed her earlier or- or I don’t know, something else.”

“No, you-“ he wanted to say that it was okay, that she had saved the kid and everything was fine but that was false. He just wanted her alive. His next words turned into a sob, and he just stood there in her arms until he regained his composure.

Slowly, however, he noticed everything else. There was no warmth from her body, no movement from her breathing, no subtle beat of a heart. Just like the air around him, there was no life in her. He let go and stepped back to actually look at her.

“You look…” she appeared uninjured, as she was the morning before, “…good.”

“Well, I didn’t get a good look at myself when… it happened. I’m sure it wasn’t pretty.” She tried to make a joke, flashing him a smile he knew was forced. He shook his head and looked anywhere but at her. It was a reminder of what she had looked like.

His gaze revealed that the area was dark and shrouded in a somewhat opaque fog that seemed to go on forever, with doors and portals of all shapes and sizes scattered haphazardly about. [Should he see things differently?] He had the distinct feeling that one could get lost in that fog and wander the forest of doors forever.

“Is everything… alright here?” he asked, quietly.

“Yeah, I think so.” If there was trouble, she wasn’t hiding it, so he relaxed somewhat.

“What is this place?” he asked.

“Some sort of in-between place. Death-san [Can you do this in a very sarcastic way? Like a really passive aggressive mister Bob? Apparently yes, but not like this?] here is supposed to take my soul to where it belongs.” She indicated the being, who was hovering near the portal, attentively watching the two of them. He shivered at the sight of it, it felt as if it was wrong somehow, his instincts wanted him to run far away from that thing. Yet, Sakurako had no outward problems with it.

The death thing hovered closer, and Kosuke found that he had involuntarily moved behind Sakurako. He did not want to be near that thing.

“Yes.” Said the thing, “I take the soul from the body to the place where it belongs.”

“It chooses where I should go. So, I challenged it to a game, so that I could decide myself.” Sakurako seemed to try to interrupt, but the thing just calmly and patiently waited.

“That’s why you’re here.” She said.

“Yes. As a part of the challenge, Sakurako is allowed one companion. She asked for you.”

He knew what he was going to say, but he wasn’t quite sure he understood what was happening.

“Of course I will help. Anything for her.” He said, before the thing could say more. It stopped and hovered until he was done.

“You must hear the challenge before you make a decision.”

A tower shimmered into view next to the thing. Behind the tower was a grassy field and a forest, all full of life.

“This is the Tower of Kreshnlins [Still need cool name]. It is ten levels of increasing difficulty such that only eight people have cleared it, including myself. I issued the following challenge to your friend, Sakurako: She must clear this tower with at least one companion still living. She has accepted, and is able to make attempts upon the tower until she ties with my result or retires the challenge. [This is the second time we hear this]

“She is allowed to ask for one companion from her life to accompany her on this challenge. She asked for you. This means the following: I will transport you to the world where the Tower of Place is found along with Sakurako. You may do what you wish while there. Should you wish to quit the challenge, I will return you to your home world. Should misfortune befall you, it will affect you should you return. Should Sakurako fail the challenge, you will share her fate.”

Kosuke had to keep his mouth shut. This was way more than he had expected. To clear a dungeon like some video game but for real? The two of them had taken at most a day of anything that could be remotely similar to “combat training”. [Okay, so technically there’s no indication that there are actually any enemies to fight in this dungeon. It’s (correctly) assumed by both] His worry, however, was what the thing said about things happening to him carrying over to the real world.

“What happens if I’m hurt, or die during this challenge?”

“You will be physically moved to the world of [place]. What befalls you in that world is what happens to you, because that is where you are.”

So it was exactly like real life. He was scared, and he thought, for a moment, of not doing it. Yet the thought of Sakurako facing it alone was even worse. Thinking of her, what would happen to her if she was already dead? What did he have to lose? What part of his life hadn’t already been taken from him?

“And Sakurako?” his voice wavered as he realized that he had considered her dead like that was normal.

“She is already dead. Thus, her body will be a close imitation of life. She will not be changed by what happens during the challenge.” [Maybe? Still not 100% on side effects of being dead]

“So,” the thing continued, “Do you agree to assist her on her challenge?”

He swallowed and tried to hold the thing’s eyes.

“I meant what I said. I will help.”

“So be it. Follow me.”

The thing hovered past them, causing Kosuke to shiver, and moved out into the forest of doors. Sakurako followed first, with a glance and a smile at him. He hesitated, then ran to catch up, away from the portal that led to his bedroom.

He didn’t know how long they were following the thing, there were no sounds or changes to the light, but it was enough distance to make his legs tired. Sakurako didn’t seem to notice and had even had a pleasant conversation with the thing about Star Commander, of all things. She had tried to include him, but it felt wrong to be having a conversation with the hovering thing. [Am I putting too much on this?] Until the thing finally stopped in front of a door, made of metal inlaid with intricate designs and wrapped in a flowering vine. [Why can he just make a portal to Kosuke’s room but has to walk here?]

“This will allow you to enter the world of [place].”

It waved an arm, and the door opened to reveal a whirling vortex of silver blue starry particles.

“Hey, where are you going to leave us?” Sakurako asked, “I would prefer somewhere that would allow us to get a good start, not necessarily right in front of the tower.”

She was right, they definitely couldn’t try the tower immediately, especially if that thing had trouble itself. Something akin to a low-level area. [I do and don’t want to reference games and stuff, this isn’t a litrpg but also these people totally play them]

“That is acceptable. Please, enter.”

Kosuke and Sakurako looked at each other, then stepped through the door together.

– Chapter Two –

The portal swirled in Sakurako’s eyes, and she felt a shock coursing through her entire being, like she had been hit by lightning, and then the swirls were gone and she collapsed, gasping, onto the hard dirt ground of a forest. [Like she’s been hit by a magic defibrillator or something vvd]

“Sakurako!” Kosuke was beside her, helping her up, “are you okay?”

She still felt multiple jolts all over her body, but she stood anyway, leaning on her friend.

“Ugh, I didn’t think that going through the portal would hurt so much.”

“What? It didn’t hurt me at all!”

He didn’t appear to be in the same pain that she was in, he was always bad at hiding when he was hurt. If the portal hadn’t hurt him, then there was only one explanation.

“The being said it would make me closely resemble life. That must have been the cause of this.” She grimaced as another wave of aftershocks snapped all over her.

Kosuke pressed two fingers to her wrist. “There’s no… pulse, and you’re still cold.”

“What?” she felt her face and arms, but it didn’t strike her as being unnatural.

He looked guilty, “I don’t know, you’re still cold, like- like not alive cold. Just like you were in that place.”

“Huh. Except for the shocks from the portal, I don’t feel any different.” The portal shocks were getting less intense and further apart. She still had her hand around her other wrist, absent mindedly feeling for her own pulse.

There wasn’t one. She tried her neck and felt nothing there either. [No pulse but later she bleeds?]

“Huh, I guess I don’t have a pulse.” It wasn’t alarming at all. “Should I be worried about that?”

Kosuke looked confused. “I don’t know, I think it should, but maybe because you’re… you know…” he looked like he didn’t want to say it, he settled with “not living.”

“Not having a pulse would be normal if I was dead just like having a pulse is normal if I were alive!” she felt proud for figuring that out so fast. “I wonder how all this works, if I’m supposed to look alive while I’m actually dead.”

“Sakurako.” He looked hurt, pain in his eyes and face, “Please don’t say that.” [Why is he sad here and not before?]

She let her smile drop. Why didn’t she feel bad about it? Was it because of magic that she had no problems with any of this?

“Sorry.” It was a wonder that Kosuke was taking it so well.

“So,” he said, “Where are we?”

They were in a forest, with great evergreen trees growing all over the nearby hillside. The uneven ground was covered in various detritus and sticks, with the occasional fern or bush. Through the branches and needles, the sky seemed blue and full of puffy white clouds.

“Some kind of forest? You’d think the plants would be different here.” She said.

“Maybe that thing sent us someplace familiar.”

“It did seem to be conscientious like that.”

Kosuke looked at her, “What do you mean? That thing scared me half to death!”

“Really? You scaredy-cat, it’s just a guy in a cloak.”

“It’s unnatural! I couldn’t look at the thing without wanting to run away.”

Sakurako laughed, “There was nothing to be scared of. All things considered, I thought it was actually kinda nice.”

“Well, maybe it was magic.” He mumbled, then pointedly looked around. “Which way do you think we should go?”

The hillside they were on was steep, but the peak of the hill was perhaps only a hundred meters away. There were hills all around, and mountains beyond in the direction of the sun.

“Up?” she said, “We could see what’s around us at the top.”

“Sounds good, although I think the hill over th-“ he abruptly stopped and stared into the trees. “I thought I saw something move.”

Before Sakurako could say anything, she heard a low growling from behind them. She whirled around and saw a wolf, teeth bared and hackles up. There was a deep, angry bark to the side, and another, all from different angles.

“I thought that thing said it would put us someplace easy!” said Kosuke. He sounded scared.

“Doesn’t matter. Grab a branch!” Anything would be better than fighting wolves with their fists. Kosuke jumped up to a nearby tree branch big enough to be held in a hand and used his weight to try and snap it off.

The wolves rushed forward, closing the distance faster than she thought. One, snarling, leapt up at her. She scarcely had her hands up before it knocked her over, trying to get its teeth into her throat but she managed to get her arms in its way. Then there was a crack and the wolf staggered off her, almost bringing her arm with it. Kosuke had gotten the branch off the tree and now was swinging it at two more wolves. [I knew wolves were powerful, but then I looked it up and WOW it is a good thing this isn’t a motivated attack.]

More were attacking from the other direction, their barking and growls echoing off the hills. She scrambled to her feet, hands scrabbling in the dirt for a rock but she didn’t find one. Another wolf was bearing down on Kosuke and she desperately threw whatever was in her hands at its face. That one shied away but then another bit her in the thigh and she hit the ground hard.

Yet another wolf was bearing down on her, obviously aiming for her throat, but it suddenly pulled away. She thought she heard someone who wasn’t Kosuke shout as the crushing teeth in her leg let up and she found her feet again. The wolves were streaming past, running down into the valley. She tried to spin around, but her leg collapsed and had to catch herself on the tree. There were two new people here, one in heavy cloth armor, emblazoned with a spiky symbol, and [Brigandine over gambeson and mail for traveling] wielding a bloody longsword, and the other was in lighter cloth armor [Gambeson over mail] with a spear. Kosuke was staring at them, unsure if they were friendly, and had a ugly gash on his arm.

“Oh Shards! [Need a cool not-swear]” the one with the spear had looked over to her and had gasped with concern, “I’ve never seen someone- How are you feeling?”

Sakurako looked down at herself and was surprised to see that she was nearly covered in her own blood, her upper thigh was mangled and her right arm was nearly torn in two. Suddenly, she became aware of the pain; it hurt, a lot, but it didn’t have the urgency that she would have expected. She flashed a smile, [What kind of tone am I going for here?]

“I’ve had worse.”

The person dropped the spear, she was a plain, middle-aged woman who wouldn’t look out of place in a country farmhouse and had a motherly voice to match, quickly stepped up to Sakurako, concern on her face.

“Sit down, I know a little healing magic.”

The Spearlady helped Sakurako down to sit against the tree as Kosuke hovered worriedly behind her. The Swordsman had put away his sword while staring at her, thinking, but had evidently come to a conclusion.

“You, stay put.” He used a very commanding tone, “I’m going to retrieve my potion of healing.” [Or your regional equivalent.]

He sprinted off, in the opposite direction of the wolves.

The Spearlady had scrunched her face up in concentration and was holding her hands over Sakurako’s thigh.

“I don’t know if I have enough magic. I’ll do my best, but I need you to stay calm, okay?”

Her hands started to glow, a bright green energy mist that swirled around her hands like steam. With a flick of a wrist, tendrils of energy floated down into Sakurako’s leg. It immediately lessened the stinging sensation from the area but didn’t appear to fix the muscle or skin.

“Uh, thank you.” She said, confused more by the feeling of magic than her own injuries, “but if you don’t have enough magic, help Kosuke first.”

Kosuke spluttered some kind of disagreement, but the way he was holding his arm showed her that he was in a lot of pain.

“That’s the blood loss talking.” Said the magic Spearlady. “Just sit still and stay calm. Deep breaths. Like that.”

Sakurako sat there, taking deep breaths. Her arms and leg hurt, even with the magic lessening the intensity, and she guessed that her ‘technically alive’ status didn’t change how things felt. It was her reaction to it that was different – she felt no need to scream or writhe or curse. [Without self-preservation, there’s no urge to lessen the pain or fix it.]

The swordsman returned, skidding to a stop next to her. He had a small satchel from which he procured a thin vial of red liquid.

“Good, you’re still alive.” He said, and removed the cork stopper.

“No.” said the spearlady, “I don’t know how she is still conscious; I’m barely holding her together as she is. Her injuries are too great for a healing potion.”

He stuck the stopper back on the potion. “That’s what I thought, but I had hoped the wound looked worse than it was.”

“See? Help Kosuke, I’ll be fine.” Sakurako tried to push the Spearlady’s hands away, but her arms were weak and she could barely lift them.

“Do not give up on yourself so easily. You still hold life, and I promise I will do everything in my power to preserve it.”

“I’m already d-“
“That is not proper conduct.” The Swordsman said over her, “Do not say what is not true.”

Sakurako started to speak, but he put up a hand and his demeanor gave her pause. To the Spearlady, he said, “Could you stop the bleeding if I cut the limb?” [Is this too harsh for him?]

“No, and I think she has lost too much blood anyway.”

“Then there is only one thing we can do.” He reached into the satchel and retrieved a hinged wooden box. He snapped open the top and revealed an intricately gilded vial full of an emerald liquid that glittered in the light.

“This is a minor restoration potion. It will restore you as you were five minutes ago.” He flipped open the lid. [How long has it been?]

“I’m not sure if that’s going to work.” Said Sakurako.

“Do not worry.” And he tipped the vial into her mouth.

It tasted minty. [Or something that has no association to green to show we’re not in Kansas?] She swallowed it and immediately felt a cold chill throughout her body that slowly grew until she felt like ice. She scrunched her eyes shut as she was enveloped in a sparkly emerald glow and suddenly she felt fine.

The pain was gone, so she opened her eyes. Her clothes and skin were still bloody, but her arm was intact and so was her leg.

“Feeling better?” said the magic Spearlady, smiling.

“Yeah. I didn’t thi-“ she grunted as a wave of electric shocks coursed through her body.

“What? What’s wrong?” the two fighters were surprised and concerned.

“Nothing, I think.” Sakurako shook her head and sat up, “If that restoration thing put me back five minutes, I’d have to deal with this all over again. I’ll be fine, just look after Kosuke.”

The Spearlady moved to Kosuke, who was still standing in awe despite his injury.

“That sounds like a magical effect.” Said the Swordsman, “What caused it?”

“Uh…” Sakurako didn’t know how much she should tell these people, “We were teleported.”

Kosuke was holding out his arm as the Spearlady used her green magic on it, but he regarded it with suspicion.

“That explains much.” Said the Swordsman, “For example, how you came to be here, in the Hatlatio Mountains, without equipment or weapons. This pass has a reputation of being quite dangerous.”

“Yeah, I didn’t think we’d be teleported out to the middle of nowhere.”

The Swordsman stroked his chin, deep in thought. Then he stood up straight.

“I am Sir Iredale Wilthas of Spirehome, Knight Errant. I must request an explanation for your presence here.”

Another series of shocks caused Sakurako to squeeze her eyes shut. Just like before, they were less and less powerful as time went on, but they were still disrupting her thinking. It was probably best to keep quiet about her life status, he didn’t like it when she had tried to say it before.

“Nice to meet you, Sir Iredale.” She got to her feet to give him a bow, “I am Sakurako Moriyama. With me is Kosuke Okumura.” [Are there technical terms for this? Probably.]

Kosuke was still holding his arm out to the Spearlady and only gave the slightest bow to the swordsman before glaring at Sakurako, warning her to be careful.

“It’s a long story, but uh, basically, I was offered a challenge for the control of…” she had to consider what to call it, “my future, I suppose. The challenge was to clear the Tower of Dungeon, but since I wasn’t particularly ready to just do it, I was allowed to have Okumura help. We were supposed to be teleported to someplace that would be a better start.

“But, uh, we were sent here without anything useful, so… Thank you very much for saving us.”

“The Dungeon of Tower.”

“Yeah, but I thought it was better than the alternative.”

He raised a skeptical eyebrow, “Anyone powerful enough to take on even the first level of the Tower should be capable of defeating a pack of wolves without their equipment.”

“Oh, we’re not that powerful yet. We’ve got a lot of leveling up to do, but we aren’t on a time limit, so it shouldn’t be a problem.”

“Even someone such as myself would find that task difficult, if not insurmountable.”

“I knew it was going to be hard, but again. Better than the alternative.”

The Spearlady was done with Kosuke, the last green tendrils fading away. Sir Wilthas merely nodded at Sakurako, then strode to his own companion.

“This is my squire, Dicellas Nachia nal’ee.”

Dicellas nodded, smiling, “Hello.”

The man drew himself up, and added a touch of gravitas to his voice. “We are on a journey to Spirehome. If you will accept it, we will temporarily bind ourselves to your quest until we reach Viperstadt.”

Sakurako didn’t think there was any duplicity in the man’s words, and it was quite obvious she needed all the help she could get. She looked at Kosuke and gave him a nod. He nodded back.

“Well, Sir Iredale, we accept your offer.”

“Thank you.” Iredale and Dicellas both made an interesting bow, with their hand in front of their face and the index finger pointing to their left.

Straightening, Iredale said, “I don’t expect you to forthcoming, but I do hope that at some point you will tell me why you’ve been tasked with… this task. I am curious.”

Sakurako smiled, “Maybe later.”

“Of course. Come, the road is not far.”

He let them down the slope, which increased in steepness, neatly hiding the packed dirt road from the top of the hill. While it was made of dirt, the winding road was smooth, clear of plants, and cut slightly into the mountain.

Standing patiently on the road were five horses – two large chargers, one grey and one brown, both bridled but not saddled; two saddled horses, ready to ride and loaded with saddlebags; and one pack horse and its baggage. [Logistics. Y or n?]

“Horses!” said Sakurako. She went to the pack horse and rubbed it’s nose, “You’re not going to run me over, are you?”

The horse whickered at her and shook its head.

Kosuke joined her by the horse. “I guess that… guy didn’t give us any special powers.” He said.

“I don’t know, have you tried to do any magic?”

“Not intentionally. What do you think I have to do?” he waved his hands around like he was a video game character casting a fireball. Nothing happened.

Sakurako laughed, “Not that. Try thinking really hard.”

He glared at her, an exaggerated expression that made her laugh again; even the horse tossed its head with amusement.

“Do you feel anything?” he said, “I’m imagining that you’re on fire.”

“Nope! Maybe you need to yell the name of the spell really loud?”

“Yeah? I didn’t hear Dicellas saying anything. Actually, I don’t think she-“

“Are you two ready to go?” Iredale had finished digging in his saddlebags and was looking at them expectantly.

She looked at Kosuke, then at the knight. “We’re ready!”

Iredale and Dicellas took the reins of their riding horses, evidently the road was too steep for riding, and started down the road. Sakurako and Kosuke let them move a short distance before following. They needed to talk privately.

“How’s your arm?” She asked.

Kosuke rubbed where he had been bit. His shirt was still torn and stained dark red, but the skin was smooth, like nothing had happened at all.

“Feels fine.” He said, “She said she didn’t have a lot of magic, so I guess healing something like this is pretty easy. But uh… How are you?”

“Also fine.” It was the truth, she wasn’t in pain; even the portal aftershocks had faded to nothing. “Although…”

She didn’t have the words to describe what had happened to her. How long had it been since her death? Kosuke looked the same, but maybe the being could open portals into specific time periods as well as places. Clearly, Death had said she wouldn’t be truly alive, but perhaps she hadn’t realized what that meant.

“I don’t… I think I’m different now.”

He just looked at her, eyebrow slightly raised.

“Yeah?”

“I don’t know what’s changed physically, but when I was bit by those wolves, I don’t think that’s how I would have reacted if I was- back home. It could have been a paper cut for all I cared.“

“It didn’t hurt?”

“It hurt. Heh- it hurt a lot. But it wasn’t…” she had to think. “It wasn’t scary. Someone else would have had their arm torn in half and unless they were some master samurai or something, I think they’d be at least a little concerned.”

“Not you, though.”

“No. I think I don’t worry about pain or death because-“

“What do you think would have happened if Iredale and Dicellas didn’t rescue us in time?”
“I’d probably get sent back to that being. I only lose if I quit.”

“Yeah? What about me?”

She stopped and frowned, “It said you’re really here. Ugh, I don’t want to think about that.”

“Wait.” He said, “ You said it earlier, but ’Back home’ is a good way to reference your predicament.”

The pack horse was eyeing them suspiciously.

“I guess it is.”

[They travel through the mountains. Iredale teaches them to use spears and swords kinda.]

She could hear Iredale’s horse before he rounded the corner. His face was unusually serious and he didn’t wait for the horse to completely stop before dismounting.

“Di! Armor, quickly! Orcs are attacking the village. It’s only a matter of time until they are overrun.”

Dicellas had the armor already out of the bags and Iredale was getting his brigandine off. The two quickly set to equipping the Knight with polished plate armor. Not a complete harness, but a sturdy breastplate and segmented [More fantasy than something that someone actually used] things.

Sakurako found the spare gambesons in the pack horse’s bags and ran them to Kosuke, the two of them struggling into the ill-fitting cloth. It was heavy, and the many layers were quickly keeping the cool mountain air away.

By the time they were done, Iredale and Dicellas were mounted, both in their metal armor and looking very much like the knights in the storybooks. Dicellas was less armored than Iredale, especially on her arms, but they both had the breastplates, leg armor, and a peculiar helmet.

“Remember, your armor will protect you from cuts but is defeated by thrusts. Stay together and protect each other.” Said the Knight, “We’ll try to split the Orcs up and destroy them one by one. You two need to get to the villagers and keep them from running off.”

Sakurako saw Kosuke glance at her.

“Don’t worry,” said Dicellas, “You’ll get through this all right.”

“Yeah!” said Sakurako.

The two spurred their chargers away, spears pointed to the sky.

“Are you ready?” asked Kosuke.

She smiled at him. “Of course! What’s the worst that can happen?”

“I can imagine.”

“As long as we fight together, there’s nothing to worry about. You just keep yourself safe.”

“Oh, that’s easy.”

He was being sarcastic, but Sakurako did think she was being too optimistic. In the books she read, the character’s first fights usually went well, but this was not a story.

“Come on. Just don’t get stabbed.”

The two of them set off, spears ready. They quickly rounded the bend, where the battle was not quite raging.

The village was barely ten buildings, mostly short and wooden, on both sides of the road. The villagers were grouped tightly together in the middle, brandishing farm tools at a much smaller group of Orcs nearby.

The Orcs were all slightly taller than a Human, but broader and had thick limbs, and seemed to have skin of every color – green, blue, red, one had a dark purple tone. They had a kind of metal armor, not plate like the knights, held in a harness of leather, and were armed with a variety of spears and shields. They were roaring and bashing their weapons against their shields, but there was no fighting.

As Sakurako and Kosuke advanced down the road, the reason seemed clear. An Orc was obviously a superior fighter to one of the villagers, but the villagers were clustered together. By her count, it was ten against more than thirty. Were the villagers trained soldiers, they would have attacked already and been done with it.

Two more Orcs ran out of the forest, joining with the group in the street.

“If more of the Orcs show up, I think they’d beat the villagers.” Said Kosuke.

“There can’t be that many more?”

They continued forward, spears ready.

“There!” Sakurako spotted an Orc exiting the forest nearby, who had to have heard her. He let out a roar and charged at them, closing the distance much quicker than she expected.

“Ready?” she didn’t look at Kosuke. They moved into the formation they had been taught. An arms length away, spears forward.

Kosuke was quiet, but she caught him murmuring, “Ready.”

Despite running at full speed and brandishing his sword, the Orc slowed to a cautious advance. Sakurako thought he had assumed they would run (he did seem much faster than anyone she knew), when they didn’t, it meant they had discipline.

They stood there, ready. The Orc didn’t have to attack immediately, he could just wait for more of his friends. She risked a look around, Iredale always said to stay alert, and it paid off here. Another Orc was running to back up the one already facing them. She had to attack now.

Sakurako dipped her spear and Kosuke lunged forward, swinging for the Orc’s shoulder. His spear was pushed away by the Orc’s shield, but she was already stabbing her own spear at the exposed side. The Orc parried and stepped forward, forcing the two to give ground or have the Orc too close for spears, then swung, a mighty overhand swing, for Sakurako. She got her spear up just in time, the crack of the impact above her face driving home the fact that there was a sword trying to cut her head open. It was the proximity that was worrying, not the lethal fight.