I seem to have overlooked it before, but it seems there is indeed a larger road of sorts leading to and from this little village. It connects to the sundial, which is in the centre, surrounded by the wizard's tall house and the big house.

At this very moment, a man stood upon the road, a single sword raised high into the air. Maybe he'd been a bit more awe-inspiring if he didn't look so, well... His armour, if it could be called that, was pretty much just leather, places as if it was made of iron instead. His sword was of a tottery and cheap air, hardly anything a true knight in shining armour would willingly carry.

And yet, this man, this odd person, carried it with pride, raising it to the heavens with a confident smile. His har was a chestnut brown and, overall, his actual face and all seemed... young. Not quite an adult, but not a child either. One of those teenagers. Ew, icky.

This was the man that presented himself to the slightly panicked villagers and me. As he stood there, letting the two dozen or so humans (and one monster) drink in his visage, a few more people showed up, about five of them, all and all. They seemed just as well-equipped, if not more than the hunters had been, but what they had in armour, they did not have in vigour. Each and every one of them looked just on the brink of passing out, some huffing and puffing and others simply walking up like a dead-man-walking.

Once they caught up to Mr Heroic, they stopped for a second, probably not because they had arrived, but only because he had stopped.

"L-,, look, Tobiath, we've been running all night, can't we just-,,"

"Hush, Archer Edouard, the populace needs our help! See, there they stand, trembling in fear!" the man, Tobiath, as he seems to be called, said, pointing one big finger at the lot of us. When comparing him to his companions, he certainly... Well, he was acting like their leader, but armour-wise, he was far below them. It was an odd sight.

The archer of the hero's gang glanced over the lot of us before turning back to him, straightening his back as he gained some energy from standing around.

"-Yeah? So? I don't see any monster or nothing, so if we just take a few hours to rest up-,"

"Can't you tell?" the hero asked, glancing between me and something invisible that seemed to be just in front of him. "See, the system-, oh, uh, sorry I'm a bit new, err, can't you tell, dear companion?? Going by the way everyone is standing, it is clear that the wizard is no wizard, but indeed a monster in disguise!"

That was... pretty suspect?... Did I hear wrong or did he mention the system?

Hrr, I haven't really thought about it, but other people can probably also see their status and thing. Probably.

As I was lost in thought regarding this new person, the warrior (the one from the hunter's group, not some random one from the hero's one) stepped up, momentarily taking his eyes off of me to talk to the hero.

"Dear adventurers! We are indeed in need of assistance, however, the situation is not quite so simple. This creature, this monster,"

"My name is Johnny," I interrupted, just to get that cleared up. I may not know the names of, well, anybody at all, but they better know mine!

"-Yes, sorry, Johnny here... He took over the mind and body of our local wizard. If you can avoid it, we hope that you can solve this without violence, since we value our wizard quite highly. Johnny himself doesn't want to fight, so-"

"He doesn't want to fight? Like, why not?" the hero said. It seems he has something of a penchant for interrupting people. But, in this brief silence, I might just get a word in!

"Yes, I have no desire to fight anybody. If you force me to, I will. But my goal is not destruction, but a reunion between myself and human society."

"-You're a good talker for an insect," the hero says, leaning his head to the side. "-It didn't say anything about this in the, uh, I'm my knowledge. Inside my head. This is, kind of strange, uh... hold on."

Saying so, the hero pretty much jogged up to us (once he had resheathed his sword, that is), eventually standing surprisingly close to me. At this distance, I could once more see just how young he was. His hair may be a deep, reddish-brown, but his eyes were blue. An odd combination, but that isn't what actually stood out. No, on his left cheek, there was a small, coloured mark. It looked like a lop-sided black rectangle.

Skill (System Recon Interference) has been used Tobiath You are unable to view any further information

....Oooookay... That's really weird...

I glance between the little blue box and the hero himself.

"...What are you?..." I mutter, mostly to myself.

"I'm a human, buddy. But, uh, what're you looking at, there? If it is anything evil, I shall promptly smite thee!"

I glance back up at him, our eyes meeting for a moment. Well, if everybody can view these system messages, then...

"-I can't view your status. It only tells me your name, not your species, not your level, not even any information about you. Exactly what-, no, who are you?" I ask, watching as his face grew paler than before and his body stiffens. As it turns out, he does actually have some freckles, although they are quite invisible when compared to that void-like rectangle.

Before I have any time to react, he grabs my arm and pulls me aside.

"Hahaha don't mind us guys we'll be right back ahhahah- dude, how the fuck did you become an insect?? You a hacker or something? Dude, can you turn me into a dragon?!?" he asks, his hero-persona melting away the second we get behind a house.

"I-, I'm not sure I follow, hero. I am not a hacker, I was a farmer, and as for how I became an insect, I... I don't know either."

"Bro, so it's like, a glitch? That's still really cool. But, seriously that's a pretty boring username. Johnny Fowl? Isn't a fowl, like, a bird?"

I furrow my brows and push him off me, taking some distance. This needs some clearing-up.

"-My name is Johnny Fowl, I used to be a human, but somehow, I became a small larva inside this-, this fantasy world. I have almost died... too many times. Now, explain to me, who are you?"

"Oh, are we like, roleplaying?" the man wipes beneath his nose, grinning slyly in preparation of what he's about to say. "Very well! My name is Tobiath! Tobiath Nevermore, future hero and white knight at your service! After years of poverty, getting through life with only a positive attitude and a will to do good, I have finally become an adventurer, and with some luck, I might just slay a dragon and save the girl! But my irl name is Todd, so just call me that, yeah?"

"..." I couldn't believe what I was hearing, I really couldn't. "-Explain this from the very beginning. This world."

"Huh? Oh, okay, uhh, well, this is the world of Le Monde, or LeMon for short. Here, you can play as an adventurer, seeking gold and treasure, all the while defeating monsters and beasts! Or, or, you can become a king! Provided you organize a revolution and all that. Nobody's done that yet. Or, well, like only one guy has done it, but he was a fucking madman, heh. You want more lore, or-?"

"...Wait. Wait, hold on, hold up, hold the phone-,,, you aren't,, you aren't saying what I believe you're saying, are you?..."

"-Saying what, dude?"

"...Is this all a video game?..."