Ahhhhh!!!
A terrified scream echoed in the hospital room, catching him off guard.
"What was that?"
He quickly tossed on his hospital gown, hurrying to the room to check what the commotion was about.
"What's wrong?!" he inquired, looking around for what had caused the terrified screech.
"Master… Richard…"
The one responsible for the scream called out, her voice shaky, her crimson eyes watery. "You are up." She walked closer, hesitating to touch Richard.
The woman had a beautiful square face, encrowned with wavy rosy red hair falling to her shoulders, harmoniously complementing the wine tactical executive suit she wore.
Richard, unaware of who she was, unconsciously stepped back.
As he met her crimson gaze, he felt an unknown pressure descend on him—subtle yet powerful.
Pushing down the air in his lungs, his vision blurred, feeling lightheaded just standing in her presence.
His natural instincts screamed at him, his muscles tense, goosebumps rising all over his body.
"Who?!"
He could only think. Though innately terrified, he couldn't take his eyes off her, drawn in by the same force that threatened to crush him.
"What's wrong…?" The woman noticed Richard's discomfort and stepped back as well, her brows furrowed in worry.
"Sorry," she seemed to recognize the reason. "My mana is spilling out," she said to herself, steadying her breath.
The pressure Richard felt completely disappeared as if it had never been present.
"Sorry, Master Richard. I was agitated and couldn't control my mana," she explained, leaving Richard perplexed, the term mana completely foreign to him.
"Mana?! What is she talking about…?"
He wanted to inquire but paused—he had a more pressing matter he needed to figure out.
"What was that sensation just now?" He mused about the strange, suffocating feeling he felt moments ago.
"Is that the aftereffect of the genie's magic?"
He could only infer, as that was the most plausible explanation in his current situation.
"Miss Dzo…" The doctor stepped in, interrupting Richard's train of thought.
"I have brought the healer…" he added, gesturing for someone to enter the room.
"Did cosplay exist back then?"
Richard commented, surprised by the newcomer's attire.
The newcomer was a female adorned in fantasy-like nun robes, her hair as green as a fresh leaf. In her right hand was a staff, clearly made of wood, with a green gem embedded in its crown.
"Wow, she really outdid herself," Richard unconsciously praised the newcomer, as she radiated purity and holiness.
For some reason, he felt at ease just standing in her presence.
"All you could find was a C-rank mage?!"
Kaida Dzo, as the doctor had referred to her, snapped, clearly dissatisfied with the presence of the supposed healer.
"Mos…t—most of the higher ranks are on raids..." The doctor lost his professional demeanor as he stammered, trying to explain himself.
"Well, she is no longer needed; Master woke up…" She cut him off, pointing to Richard, who looked at them, his face betraying the interest he felt in their conversation.
He had a pretty good memory and was browsing through it, trying to find when this happened or, better yet, if he knew any of these people.
"He is alive?!…" The mage unconsciously muttered, her pupils dilating in shock—an action that didn't go unnoticed by Kaida.
"Hey, Madam Healer… What's your name?"
Kaida inquired, curious, her brows furrowed in a frown.
"It doesn't matter; my services aren't even required." She hurriedly stepped out, cold sweat beading on her brow.
Kaida narrowed her eyes, suspicion creeping into her heart.
"Give me all you can find on the healer you brought," she turned to the doctor.
The doctor nodded, agreeing to do so after checking Richard's condition.
…
"His vitals are good; there is no sign of the mana poisoning in his system," the doctor reported.
"Mana poisoning? Is that some sort of disease?" Richard unconsciously blurted, finally voicing his confusion about the jargon they had been spouting.
"Huh?!" The doctor seemed taken aback. "You don't know what that is?" he inquired, suspecting the unexpected miracle might have caused side effects.
"No!!" Richard replied, expecting them to explain it to him, yet the doctor continued to ask questions.
" Do you know your name "
" Richard Auric "
"Do you know about the dimensional gates?"
"No."
"Do you know about awakeners?"
"No."
"What about the greatest Raider?"
"Lara Croft, I guess."
"Huh? Who?... Then do you know who she is?" The doctor pointed to Kaida.
Richard shook his head.
"Okay, sit tight. A nurse will bring you a change of clothes." The doctor smiled warmly at him as he rose from his seat, gesturing for Kaida to follow.
"What just happened?" Richard thought to himself, the strange conversation with the doctor bothering him.
His pupils dilated as a thought crossed his mind.
"Did he trick me?"
He rushed to the window, veiled by large, pristine white curtains.
He opened it, the scorching afternoon sun hitting his eyes.
Squinting he scanned the world below—skyscrapers, luxurious-looking buildings, cars and humans going about, and a human riding an eagle.
"Huh, a human riding an eagle?"
He looked closer, and true to his eyes, there was a human riding what appeared to be an eagle—a creature he quickly recognized as a griffin.
Alarmed, he swiftly closed the curtains.
"Did he trick me…"
Like a child, he peeked through the curtains once again.
Now that he looked closer, he noticed most of the humans were strangely dressed, most wearing medieval and somewhat fantasy-like attire, some even having strange creatures perched atop their shoulders.
The huge billboards advertised strange items, like in-game artifacts to be sold.
"What is going on…"
He closed the curtains, sitting back down on the hospital bed, running his hands across his thighs.
"Wait, now that I think about it, this place is too modern to be 1997." He checked the calendar on the wall, and sure enough, it read May 7th, 1997, yet the environment he saw was far too advanced.
He didn't want to believe it, but everything pointed to the fact that this was not his world.
"Maybe this is a dream."
He pinched himself, the pain a testament to the realness of the situation.
"Hahahahaha…" He laughed nervously. "So this is real." He fell on his back, landing safely on the bed.
"What type of place is this? One of those game-like worlds?"
He thought, his mind calming—a defense mechanism he had honed.
'When in deep sh*t, relax. Don't splatter around or you will fall in deeper.'
A phrase he always recited to himself.
The genie had brought him to a new world—something he quickly understood, as this was similar to the many tropes the younger folks had been talking about.
He had once engaged himself in what he called "Japanese cartoons," finding the concept of reincarnation and transmigration ridiculous. Yet here he was, a living testament to a fantasy trope.
"Hahahahahaha!" He held his stomach, laughing at the absurdity of it all, his laughter booming in the soundproof room.
The nurse who was to bring the change of clothes stepped in without knocking, witnessing the bizarre scene: a grown man laughing hysterically as tears streamed down his face.
"So this is it… I should have figured I could never outwit a genie… I should have forgotten about my revenge and just wished for riches and youth."
Unaware of the nurses present he thought, his laughter subsiding.
Even if it had taken ten years, he would have surely risen.
But now, in a foreign land he knew nothing of—not even sure if he had gained the riches as well—he couldn't help but shed tears.
Tears of frustration and rage.
His laughter completely died down as he sat up, his expression slowly morphing into one of rage, his eyes reddened from both tears and anger.
With a clenched fist, he struck the heart monitor.
"F*ck…"