The silence that followed was heavy.

  Steve remained motionless amid broken trunks and bodies scattered across the clearing floor, watching as the survivors regrouped. The metallic smell of blood still lingered in the air, mixed with the damp scent of the forest. The enemy soldiers were all neutralized. None moved. None breathed.

  Still, Steve couldn’t relax.

  He just watched.

  The way those strangers moved… organized, experienced, almost indifferent to the massacre they had just caused. To them, it didn’t seem like a victory—it was just another task completed.

  His heart beat too fast.

  As Steve tried to process everything, the bearded man approached with calm steps, as if strolling through an ordinary market and not a battlefield. His expression was serene, almost relaxed, as if nothing unusual had happened.

  “You okay, kid?” he asked, extending his hand.

  His voice was firm but carried a strange lightness.

  Steve took a second to react. Still shaken, he looked at the outstretched hand, then at the man’s face. Finally, he accepted the grip. The man pulled him up easily, helping him stand.

  “I’m Dagon,” he said with a half-smile.

  Before Steve could respond, a voice echoed across the clearing.

  “You can come out! The field is secure!”

  It was the blond swordsman. He sheathed his sword naturally as he made the announcement. Soon after, the dense brush at the edge of the clearing began to stir.

  Three figures emerged from the forest.

  The first was a dark-haired woman wearing a simple white mask. Her posture betrayed exhaustion, and even with her face hidden, Steve could sense the weight in her eyes.

  The second was an older-looking woman, clearly over thirty. She had orange hair and wore simple clothes typical of a healer. Her gaze was alert, assessing everything around her.

  The third figure didn’t walk—he ran.

  A young brown-haired mage burst from the forest, dressed in typical conjurer robes. He ran straight toward the blond swordsman, nearly tripping over his own feet.

  “Lord Finn!” he shouted. “Are you alright?!”

  Steve just watched.

  His eyes darted from one face to another, trying to understand who these people were, where they came from, and why everything felt so… coordinated. He felt out of place, like someone who had stumbled into a scene that wasn’t his.

  Dagon noticed.

  Casually, he draped an arm over Steve’s shoulder.

  “Hey, don’t be shy, kid,” he said, in a tone almost too friendly for the situation. “Everyone here is good people.”

  This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

  Steve swallowed hard.

  “I’ll introduce you to the group,” Dagon continued, pointing to the masked woman. “That’s Jelim.”

  The woman merely tilted her head slightly.

  “This one here,” he pointed to the healer, “is Keara.”

  “Don’t introduce me like that, Dagon,” the woman replied, crossing her arms, visibly annoyed.

  Dagon laughed.

  “And this brave, handsome young man in front of you is Finn.”

  Finn, the blond swordsman, responded only with a serious nod.

  “Pleased to meet you.”

  “And the other mage is…” Dagon frowned. “I forgot.”

  “Damn old man,” the mage grumbled, leaning against a tree. “My name is Fog.”

  Steve blinked several times, trying to keep up.

  “Nice to meet you… I’m Steeeeeve,” he said, drawing out his name nervously.

  Then something shifted.

  A strange weight fell over his body. His legs grew weak. His vision began to spin, as if the world were pulling away from him in spirals.

  “H-hey…” he tried to speak, but his voice wouldn’t come.

  Before he realized it, Steve began to fall.

  In the midst of the collapse, something appeared before his eyes.

  A notification.

  ---

  Warning

  User: incompatible

  ---

  Steve’s heart raced even harder.

  The sounds of voices around him grew distant, distorted. His body wouldn’t respond. The last thing he felt was the ground rushing up too fast… and then everything went black.

  Consciousness returned slowly.

  Steve first felt the cool air touching his face, then the strange weight on his head, as if it rested on something too soft to be the ground. A faint, slightly sweet scent entered his nostrils.

  He opened his eyes.

  The blue sky appeared above him… but was soon blocked by something obscuring his view.

  Something very specific.

  Steve blinked several times until he realized where he was. His head rested on the healer’s lap, and his line of sight was completely blocked by Keara’s breasts. Blood rushed instantly to his face.

  “H-hey?!”

  In an awkward leap, Steve sat up too quickly, nearly losing his balance. His face burned with embarrassment as he avoided looking directly at her.

  “S-sorry… I… I didn’t…”

  Keara just laughed lightly.

  “Good to see you’re awake,” she said with a gentle smile. There was something in that smile that reminded Steve of his mother. A strange warmth rose in his chest, pushing back some of the panic.

  Around them, the rest of the group waited. Some leaned against trees, others sat on the ground, resting as if this were just a routine break on a journey.

  Steve looked at everyone, still trying to orient himself.

  Then Finn approached.

  “Good thing you woke up,” the blond swordsman said. “We’ve been waiting for about two hours.”

  “T-two hours…?” Steve murmured.

  He looked at his own hands, slowly opening and closing his fingers. His body felt normal now, but his mind was in chaos. The notification… those words… still echoed in his head.

  User: incompatible.

  Before he could gather his thoughts, Finn stepped forward and knelt before him.

  “Please,” he said, voice firm. “We need your help to locate the village of the Death Cult.”

  Steve frowned.

  “Death… Cult?” he repeated. “What’s that?”

  “It’s the village those corrupted soldiers we just defeated came from,” Finn explained. “They originated there.”

  Steve’s confusion only grew.

  “Then… why that name?”

  Before Finn could answer, Fog spoke up, leaning casually against a tree.

  “They earned that name because all the inhabitants of that village are descendants of Gorlith’s lineage.”

  Steve felt a chill.

  “Gorlith was a man who betrayed the kingdom and the sacred services,” the mage continued. “He allied with a demon in exchange for eternal life. When discovered, he was cursed and banished. He, his family, and his followers came to hide in this forest.”

  Fog flashed a crooked smile.

  “From what we see today, they’ve reproduced quite a bit.”

  Shock washed over Steve.

  Finn took another step forward.

  “Moreover,” he added, “they have the custom of making human offerings to an entity they worship.”

  Steve’s expression changed.

  Something inside him tightened, recent memories flooding back with force. Screams. Blood. The village. The people.

  “So, Steve,” Finn said, “we ask for your help in finding their village.”

  Heavy silence fell.

  Steve stared into nothing for a few seconds. When he finally spoke, his voice came out empty.

  “I’m sorry… I can’t help you.”

  Finn’s eyes widened.

  “What?”

  “Don’t you understand?!” Indignation exploded in his voice. “Lives are at risk! You have to help us!”

  Steve’s thoughts collapsed. Everything he had experienced since arriving in that world flashed through his mind like a whirlwind.

  “I’m sorry,” he repeated, standing. “I can’t.”

  He took a deep breath.

  “My life is the only one I have. Being alive now, far from those people… that’s already a miracle.”

  Finn clenched his teeth.

  In a swift motion, he stepped forward and punched Steve in the face. The impact sent him to the ground.

  “Coward!” he shouted. “We just want you to lead us there! Nothing more!”

  Steve rose slowly, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth. A crooked laugh appeared on his face.

  “I’m not a hero,” he said. “I don’t have powers. I’m just a seventeen-year-old kid who wants a life far from trouble.”

  He took a deep breath.

  “Yes, I’m a coward. But I’d rather be a living coward than a brave corpse.”

  Steve looked at them all.

  “Thank you for saving me. It was a pleasure meeting you… but I’ll go my own way.”

  Without waiting for a response, he turned and began walking deeper into the forest.

  Finn closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and let the anger fade.

  “Let’s go,” he said to the group. “We’ll find another way.”

  Dagon, however, watched Steve walk away with a serious expression.

  “Wait a moment.”

  He followed after Steve.

  “What do you want, old man?” Steve asked without turning.

  Dagon stopped a few steps behind him.

  “You’re a player from another world… right?”

  Steve’s world stopped.

  His heart pounded violently. His blood ran cold. His legs weakened.

  How… does he know that?

  The sounds of the forest grew distant as fear consumed everything.