Chapter 2

New Place, Old Faces

Erin could do nothing but stare with wide eyes at what she was seeing. A place from a video game that she had played had just become reality all around her, including its inhabitants. Such a thing should have been impossible, only happening in those Japanese comics that Devin and his friends liked and had introduced to her. There should have been no possible way for any of this to real.

However, no matter how much she tried to deny it, the truth was that what she was seeing was real. There wasn’t going to be any sort of waking up to find yourself in your own bed, with everything having been just a weird dream.

The brunette knew that she needed to do something, but she had no idea what she could do. The only things she had with her were the clothes she was wearing and the photograph in her pocket. She wasn’t exactly equipped for an adventure through a fantasy game world.

Looking around herself at the people surrounding her, Erin noticed that almost everyone was carrying a weapon of some kind with them. It didn’t take more to realize that this place was dangerous and that she was most likely going to need something to defend herself. Unfortunately, she had no idea how to do that at all.

Erin thought back on when she had been playing Five Realms and tried to think of some way for her to survive. In the game, you were allowed to choose some type of starting equipment, which included weapons and armor. However, reality wasn’t so kind as to hand her things for free. Not only that, but the characters in a game worked by going through specific actions they had been programmed to do. Now there was no telling what could happen, as the people around her were actual living beings. The brunette could get attacked by anyone without any warning.

According to the game, Rockmoore Town was a poor mining town with violent gangs trying to fight over its resources. These types of places were common in the Western Continent, as it had been designed to be a sort of a “Wild West” in a way, with inspiration having been taken from Mad Max and other such sources. The whole western area of the game didn’t have much in the form of lush forests or anything like that, as it was mostly barren wastelands. There was a place that was thriving rather well, but that was a city located in the mountains in the upper part of the continent, far away from where Erin was currently located in. If she had to realistically survive in this kind of environment, it would be extremely difficult in many ways.

Digging through her memories of playing Five Realms, Erin remembered that Rockmoore Town had a central plaza in the middle of it. The place had a large statue dedicated to the person that had founded the town originally, according to the game’s lore. The plaza was also surrounded by all sorts of businesses, like stores, restaurants and bars. It was basically the central hub of the whole town. Perhaps it had some clue as to what was going on or at least it could provide an idea as to what to do.

It took her some time to navigate through the streets, but Erin eventually managed to get to the central plaza. However, she was in for the biggest shock of her entire life and she had just been transported to another world less than an hour ago.

The statue at the central plaza was supposed to be that of a human male wearing a rather expensive-looking suit. Instead, that statue had apparently been removed and had been replaced with a total of five statues. The people these monuments were picturing looked very imposing, almost like they were gods looking down on people beneath them. The figures were clad in armor and were carrying weapons, showing anyone that saw them that they were no simple politicians or anything like that, but fierce warriors ready for battle.

At first, Erin didn’t too much of it and was only slightly surprised by the change. But once she took a closer look at one of the faces of the statues, she realized something that shocked her to the core.

One of the statues looked just like Devin.

Upon examining the other statues closer, Erin realized that Devin wasn’t the only one that was being depicted in the monument, but the other four were his friends that she herself had known back in the day. The brunette pulled out the photo from her pocket and kept comparing the faces on it to the faces of the statues. There was no denying that they were the same people. Devin, Gabe, Jonathan, Kent and Rose were all there.

Erin looked down at the base of the statue and saw a metal plate there. It had text that read, “Dedicated to the wise and powerful rulers of our world. May their reign continue for eternity.” After the text, there was a list of five names, most likely belonging to Devin’s group.

Devinolux the Supreme

Golorath the Powerful

Jondole the Brave

Keneroth the Just

Roslynn the Kind

It was obvious to the brunette who these names belonged to. Devin and his group had taken up new identities upon coming to this world. She didn’t know why they would have done something like that, but it didn’t matter at the moment. All that mattered was that there seemed to be some hope in this desperate situation. If she could get into contact with at least one of them, Erin was sure she could get help. While she knew that she had hurt these people a long time ago, she doubted that they would refuse to assist her. After all, they were the nicest people she had ever known. As long as the brunette apologized and explained herself, she was sure they could get past their old grievances.

Whatever the case, Erin realized that she finally had the chance to make things right with her old friends. Something that she should have done a long time ago.

However, almost as soon as she started to get really excited, she realized something. Devin and his friends didn’t seem to be your average people. If the statues were any indication, they were now the most important people in the whole world right now. How was she going to get into contact with them? She doubted people would just believe her, if she were to tell them that she used to be a friend of Devin’s group. Not to mention, she had no idea where any of them even were.

Realizing that she was still in a very difficult predicament, Erin walked up to a nearby building and simply sat on the ground, leaning her back against the wall. She needed to do some serious thinking, if she wanted to get anywhere in this world.

The brunette would need to somehow locate either Devin or one of his friends and get to them. While she didn’t doubt that she could find the location for at least one of them, actually getting there would be the real challenge. For that she would require money, quite a lot of it most likely. Now the question was just how to do that.

“Are you alright, dear?” a kind and elderly voice suddenly asked.

Erin looked up and saw an old woman looking down at her with a kind smile on her face. The old lady was a human and also quite short. The only reason the brunette had to look up at her was because she was sitting on the ground.

“Is something the matter?” the old lady asked, now with a bit more concern in her voice, as Erin hadn’t answered her first question. “Do you perhaps need some help?”

“Oh! It’s okay, I’m completely fine!” Erin quickly said with an embarrassed blush on her face as she got up. “I was just so caught up in my own thoughts that I didn’t expect anyone to actually speak to me. Sorry about that.”

“It’s alright, dear. That happens to all of us,” the old lady said gently. The worry and concern that had been in her voice had now left, upon getting the brown-haired young woman to talk. “In fact, my husband did the same thing often. I swear that he could be so lost in thought that even our restaurant could burn down to the ground and he wouldn’t even notice.”

Erin let out a small giggle at the story. It felt good to have a friendly interaction after everything she had been through.

“Is this perhaps your restaurant?” the brunette asked and glanced at the building she had been leaning against, earning a nod from the granny. “Am I bothering your business by sitting here? If that’s the case, I’m truly sorry and I will take my leave.”

“Not at all, dearie. You can sit here as much as you like, but I’m sure you would feel better sitting inside,” the old lady said. “Why don’t you come inside and let me fix you something nice to warm you up? It’s getting cold out here.”

The idea of a warm meal honestly sounded great to Erin and it was getting pretty cold. However, there was one issue with her going to a restaurant.

“Thank you for your offer, but I’m afraid I’m going to have to decline,” the brown-haired woman said with a sad smile on her face. “While I could use a meal, I don’t have anything to pay for it.”

“Dear, I might be old, but I can still see perfectly fine. I can tell with just a glance that you’re not exactly wealthy,” the granny said with a bit of a smirk. “However, I have always believed that you should always help those in need. That’s why I’m offering to help you.”

With no better options in front of her, Erin decided to take the kind offer. Besides, she couldn’t bring herself to say no to such a sweet lady.

As soon as she stepped inside, the brown-haired woman felt the warmth of the restaurant wash over her. The place didn’t look like it was the fanciest place around, but it looked nice enough to give it a welcoming presence. There was also a delicious smell of food in the air, most likely coming from the kitchen, which would make just about anyone hungry. Erin herself was reminded of her own grandparents, who often made her pancakes upon visiting them.

“Please take a seat, dear,” the kind lady said as she walked to the kitchen. “I’ll be back in just a moment.”

Taking up the offer, Erin sat at one of the empty tables and looked around. Much to her surprise, she was currently the only customer. This surprised her, as the place did seem really good, so she had expected there to be at least a few customers around.

As she pondered this, the brown-haired woman realized that there wasn’t any staff around either. While she didn’t have any actual experience, she did know that one couldn’t run a whole restaurant on their own. Didn’t the old lady have children or grandchildren to help her out?

“Sorry for the wait!” the granny suddenly called out cheerfully, as she walked out of the kitchen while carrying a large bowl of warm soup with her. “Now, this is my very own special recipe, so it should warm you up just nicely!”

Erin thanked the lady for the meal and dug in. Just as the granny had said, the soup did manage to warm her up. It was a thick and rich soup with a bit of spices added to it, but only just enough to give it more taste. In all honesty, the brown-haired woman couldn’t remember the last time she had food this good.

“This is delicious, ma’am!” Erin said in appreciation of the meal. “Thank you so much for making this for me!”

“Oh, it wasn’t a big deal at all!” the old lady said happily. “I had a good amount of soup left from when I prepared it for today. Had you not been here to eat it, it would have just gone to waste.”

“Hard to believe that something this good would be left over,” the brunette said. “By the way, I’ve been wondering about something. Why aren’t there any others here? While I can understand a restaurant not having customers every now and then, shouldn’t there at least be some staff here? Don’t you have family or other relatives that could help you out here?”

“I used to have help, but I’m afraid that’s not the case anymore,” the granny answered with a sad look on her face. “You see, my husband hasn’t been doing all that well lately and has been stuck in the hospital for the last couple of years. I’m still somehow able to pay the medical bills with the money I earn through our business.”

“I’m… sorry to hear that,” Erin apologized. “Aren’t there anyone else here to assist you? Any other relatives that could help?”

“We used to have a son, but he’s no longer alive,” the old lady explained. “He was executed along with his family about four years ago.”

The brown-haired woman almost choked on her spoonful of soup. While she had been half expecting there to either not being any other relatives or that some sort of tragedy had happened, execution wasn’t something she would have ever even thought of. Not to mention, the old woman said that her son’s family had also been executed. This most likely meant he had children, who also lost their lives. What sort of a crime could he have committed that just his life hadn’t been enough, but also his children were required? Or better yet, what sort of world could ever justify such a punishment on children?

“B-But that’s insane!” Erin said in shock with her face pale. “What could your son have possibly done to deserve that!?”

“Judging by your reaction and question, you’re not from around here, are you?” the granny asked. “The thing is that our town has been under the control of Gibbot for the past few years now. As soon as he took over, he raised our taxes and put strict laws on us. My son was one of the few people who tried to oppose him, but he and everyone else that did so were caught and executed, along with their families.”

“How could something like this happen!?” the brunette asked. “I understand that he might hold power over this town, but surely there are people above him as well! Didn’t any of them ever try to put an end to the things he’s doing!?”

“That’s not how things work, I’m afraid. I don’t know if it’s different in other places, but that’s how it is here,” the granny explained sadly. “Back in the day, Gibbot was nothing more than a poor miner, much like most of this town’s occupants. However, one day he managed to find gold and started using it to bribe high-ranking officials. This allowed him to rise up to the position he’s in. Anyone that’s higher than him is satisfied as long as he provides them with money, while we, the people underneath him, have to suck it up.”

“THAT CAN’T BE RIGHT!” Erin yelled as she suddenly stood up, surprising the old lady. The brown-haired woman had been overtaken by emotion, as she was unwilling to believe that a world that was controlled by Devin and his friends would allow cruelty like this to go on. “I just know that there has to be some people! At least one person that wouldn’t allow this to happen! There just has to be…”

“I would like to believe that as well, dear, but I’m afraid that isn’t the case,” the granny said. “Also, you should be careful about saying such things. With the taxation as high as it is, most people are unable to survive through honest means. A lot of people have taken up a profession of snitching on people that have anti-authority sentiments. If the wrong person were to hear you say the things you just said, you could end up arrested or worse.”

Erin sat back down and held her head in desperation. This was all just so wrong. If Devin’s group were the ones ruling this world, then how could they allow something like this to go on? It just didn’t make sense to her. Something must have gone wrong.

At the thought of her old friends, the brunette suddenly realized what could be done. While those serving Devin and the others might have been corrupt criminals, surely they were still the same kind people she used to know. As long as she managed to somehow let them know about this, they would surely help.

Erin felt her body fill up with determination, as she decided on what she would do.

“No. This isn’t right. Something has to be done,” the brown-haired woman said with a strong look in her eyes that hadn’t been there for years. “Or better yet, SOMEONE has to do something about this. This kind of tyranny just can’t be left alone like this.”

“That’s a very nice thought, but I doubt that anyone will help,” the elderly woman said. “There isn’t anyone who is either brave enough to stand up to Gibbot, let alone powerful enough to be able to actually do something.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, granny!” Erin exclaimed happily with a big grin on her face. “In fact, I don’t know just one person, but several people that are not only willing, but also have the power to help out this town! As soon as I get in touch with even one of them, I’m certain this town will be saved!”

The old woman had a look of pure surprise on her face, as she couldn’t help but stare at the young lady in front of her. It had been quite a lot of time since she last heard anyone make such bold claims. The last person to do so being her own son. Once he had died, no one else dared oppose Gibbot.

“That… sounds reassuring,” the granny said with hesitation, unable to believe that a person like that existed. “Mind telling me just who these people are? I would certainly like to know more about them.”

“Umm… I hate to say this, but I’m not sure if I should tell you,” Erin said with an embarrassed blush on her face. She just realized that the people she was talking about were pretty much the rulers of this world. Most people would think she was crazy, if she were to claim that she knew any of them. “I doubt you would even believe me, if I told you.”

“That’s alright, dear. No need to feel obligated to tell me,” the old lady said with a small smile. “However, I do hope that you will come to trust me enough to tell me more about these people. I promise I won’t laugh or do anything else that would be mean.”

“Thanks. Maybe I will later,” the brunette said with a smile.

“By the way, do you have a place to stay the night?” the granny asked. “Forgive me for saying this, but you don’t look like you have a home.”

Erin was about to deny the kind offer, as she didn’t want to be a bother to the person who had helped her. However, she quickly realized that she didn’t really have any better options. The brown-haired woman had been dragged out of her home in the middle of the night without any warning, meaning she only had the clothes she had been wearing at the time along with the photograph of her and Devin’s group. Even if she had been given time to prepare, her situation would have been only a bit better, as she lacked the money this world used.

“I take it by your silence that you don’t really have a place to go, correct?” the old woman asked, although she already knew the answer. “Don’t worry too much. I have a spare bedroom or guests, so you can use it as much as you want. I’ll even give you a job at my restaurant to help you get back on your feet.”

“Thank you… I… I have no idea how I could ever repay you,” Erin said in a low tone.

“You can worry about that later, dear. Now, you should simply worry about finishing your meal and getting some rest. Tomorrow will be a new day for customers and you will need to be ready,” the granny said as she began to walk back to her kitchen to clean up for the night. Just before she entered the kitchen, she stopped and looked back at her guest. “Although, if you really feel like repaying me, a good start would be for you to tell me more about these friends of yours that are going to help us. I am quite curious about them.”

“Maybe later, okay?” the brunette replied with a small smile. “I’m still not too sure whether even I can believe it myself.”

With that, the old lady entered her kitchen and started cleaning up, while Erin went back to enjoying her soup. As she was eating, a rare and genuine smile made its way to her face, one that had not been there for many years. Despite her rather strange and possibly dangerous situation, the brown-haired woman couldn’t help but feel hopeful about herself. Even with everything that had happened, she was off to a good start thanks to the help of a kind stranger and she already knew how she could repay the kindness shown to her.

However, the most important thing was that Erin would finally have a chance to meet Devin and the others again and hopefully make up for what she had done. Perhaps her getting transported into this world had been a blessing in disguise, as it would allow her to finally free herself from the guilt she had been carrying all this time.