Over a Thousand Years

Drip, drip, drip...

"Argh... urg... Mhm... my head. What's going on? Why does it hurt so much?"

"Why does it feel like I just walked out of a furnace? What happened to me? Where am I? What is this place?"

As the water droplets fell on his forehead, he slowly opened his eyes, trying to take in his surroundings. The place was dark, damp, and gloomy. He blinked a few times, his throbbing brain struggling to process the information his eyes were sending.

After adjusting to the dim environment, he could see well enough. He turned his head left, then right, taking in his surroundings while fighting through the pain coursing through his body. Grayish-brown rocks surrounded him. It looked like he was in a crater underground—perhaps a cave or the bottom of a dried-up underground lake. He couldn't be sure.

Looking up at the ceiling, he saw more of the same rocky soil. Did I fall? He wasn't sure what had happened to him.

After a moment of observation, he closed his eyes and took deep breaths, preparing for what he was about to do next. Fighting through the surging pain, he started to move. He wanted to get up. The pain had become somewhat bearable, though still intense. It wasn't as bad as when he had first woken up.

Finally, he pulled himself off the ground, staggering slightly. He started to walk, aiming to leave this place. There was nothing down here but rocks. He took a step and was surprised by how light his feet felt. His body had felt like a ton of bricks just moments ago. He continued moving toward the wall.

The only opening he had noticed during his observations was a few meters above the ground. Vines or roots grew on the walls, as if this place were beneath a forest. It didn't seem like a cave or pit; it looked more like an underground lake or spring that had dried up.

He took one last look around after reaching the wall and placed his right hand on a vine. An underground lake, huh? How did I get here... Ouch, ouch, ouch... my head hurts. It's hard to breathe down here. I can't even think straight. I should get out of here before I figure anything else out. He started climbing the wall using the vines as ropes. Luckily, they were sturdy enough. He reached the crack in the wall he had noticed earlier and found himself in a narrow tunnel. It wasn't large enough for him to stand or crouch, so he got on all fours and began crawling.

After a while, the tunnel began to widen, enough for him to stand. As he slowly got up and started walking, he noticed the tunnel slanted slightly upward, which he took as a good sign. The pain was subsiding, and the air was fresher. There were no odors or smells, as if his nose wasn't working. He didn't dwell on it; his only priority was getting out. He had seen other openings in the tunnel but decided to trust his sense of direction and take the path that led upward.

More than an hour had passed, and the tunnel still looked the same. He was starting to doubt his sense of direction, but something else was on his mind.

My head still hurts, but my body feels fine now. How long have I been walking? I don't feel a bit of fatigue. I must have a lot of stamina, hee hee, in more ways than one. Aha haha... sigh, I'm an idiot. I should focus. After amusing himself, he started walking faster.

Two hours later, he finally saw light. He had broken into a jog in the last hour or so. He climbed out of the tunnel; the exit was steep, but fortunately, there were more vines here. The first thing he saw was the big, bright moon. It lit up the area almost as well as the sun did during the day. Taking a moment to adjust his sight, he felt a cool breeze. It blew past him, touching his entire body—and that's when it hit him. He realized something precious was dangling in the wind. He was naked.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, he frantically looked around. Luckily, there was no one there. Phew... that would've been embarrassing. After sighing with relief, he looked around more calmly. His eyes widened as he took in his surroundings.

There were trees all around him—a forest with incredibly tall trees and strange vegetation. Even with the height of these trees, he could see a building in the distance to the east (or what he assumed was east). It looked like a castle. After organizing his thoughts, he decided to head for the castle to find some clothes.

Now that he was out of the tunnel, he could breathe much better, and his sense of smell seemed to have returned. His headache was milder, so he could think more clearly. As he walked toward the castle, he started to think about who he was and how he had ended up underground. He couldn't remember much, but he finally recalled something: his name.

Tyler Falls. But he still couldn't remember what had happened to him or how he had ended up in that dried-up spring or lake. After more than 30 minutes of walking, he saw the entrance—or exit—of the forest. Strange, large birds perched in the tall trees, watching him.

Apart from some strange insects, he hadn't seen any other living beings on his way. He finally emerged from the forest and saw the castle in the distance. It was insanely large and wide, the size of several football stadiums, though it was hard to tell from afar. Tyler noticed the outer walls were partially destroyed.

He walked toward the castle. After covering about 100 meters, he felt his body pass through something. Was that my imagination? He ignored it and kept walking. For some reason, he had felt imaginary eyes watching him since he entered the forest—ever since he realized he was naked.

After passing through one of the openings in the outer walls, he soon arrived in front of a huge double door, one of which lay on the ground, having been rammed through. He had entered through the side of the castle and had to circle to the front to find this entrance.

He noticed the front gate had also been smashed in. This place must have been invaded at some point. He entered the castle and was amazed. Although the entire place was covered in a thick layer of dust, the view was still fantastic. He was pretty sure he had never been in a castle before, or he wouldn't be this impressed with what looked like an abandoned castle.

The walls were lined with gold, and the ceiling was adorned with colorful jewels that emitted white light, illuminating the entire hall the moment he stepped inside. For a castle surrounded by a forest, the walls didn't seem old or show signs of decay. The only damage was to the outer walls.

"This place should be abandoned, right? I just hope there aren't any dangerous wild animals here. It seems well-built, almost magical, and definitely belonged to royalty. Hopefully, they left some clothes behind before they fled—or maybe they were killed off. Even if the enemy took all the valuables, there should still be some servant's clothing, right?" Without waiting for a response from no one in particular, he started walking down the hall, hoping to find some clothes to cover himself and feel more secure.

There were two staircases in front of him, both leading to different locations, and two large doors to the right and left. The ceiling of the castle was incredibly high, almost as if this place wasn't built for humans. Tyler had no idea where to go. From what he had seen outside, it could take him days just to explore the entire castle.

"Oh well, might as well start from the bottom and work my way up slowly. Hopefully, I'll find what I want down here." Making up his mind, he picked a door at random and headed in that direction. Every room he entered was lit up by jewel-like crystals in the ceiling.

In the castle's West Wing, seventh floor...

After spending what felt like hours searching for clothes in various rooms, Tyler finally found some. He had discovered old clothes earlier in the servants' quarters, but they turned to dust the moment he touched them. He didn't know how long the castle had been abandoned. At first, it didn't seem like more than a few months, but now he felt it must have been years—maybe even decades—judging by how the clothes crumbled to dust.

The castle didn't have much. It seemed he was right; this place must have been raided. Anything of value had been taken. The rooms only contained furniture that might have been too large to move, and everything was covered in a thick layer of dust. The air was stuffy. Each room he entered was illuminated by colorful crystals in luxurious chandeliers; he was surprised those hadn't been stolen. The castle seemed to be divided into four wings. He had only searched one wing so far, but luckily, this was where the chambers were located, so he had found some clothes.

He was now wearing brown linen trousers and a brown shirt he had found in one of the fancier rooms. His underwear was from one of the floors below. He looked like one of those starter characters from an old RPG game.

After settling his first priority—getting dressed—he sat on a sofa in the largest room he had found on the highest floor of this wing. There was no damage to the room; he figured it must have been reinforced.

This was obviously the king's room. As the only one in the castle right now, he figured the king's chambers would be one of the safest places. After locking the door with the surprisingly functional lock, he sat on the relatively cleaner sofa (still covered in dust) to rest. He wasn't tired but felt mentally drained. After all, he had been nursing a headache for over five hours now.

Sigh... I should try to sleep it off... Tyler thought as he rubbed his temples with his right forefinger and index finger. He leaned back and closed his eyes, trying to relax and fall asleep.

Ten minutes later, although he was relaxed and his headache was almost gone, he couldn't fall asleep. Hmm, I feel like my body is rejecting sleep, like I've been sleeping for too long already. How long was I unconscious in that place? Tyler unknowingly started massaging his temples again, not because of the headache but in an attempt to recover his memories.

As if reacting to his wish, he started to remember something. This isn't Earth. Am I in another world? Did I die? No, no... I was a war prisoner. I fell during the raid on this very castle. Damn it, what kind of messed-up situation was I in? I remember falling through a crack in my cell into that underground lake. I sank like a rock straight to the bottom because my legs were broken in the war, so I couldn't swim.

I thought I was going to drown. I already said my last prayers and hoped to lose my virginity in the afterlife—or if I somehow got reincarnated. But this is still Neron, right? And I'm still in the Demon Continent. I couldn't tell by the forest, but the castle... WAIT! This is the Demon King's Castle, and I just walked in here like an idiot. (He stood up.)

He remembered. This was another world filled with magic. He wasn't sure if this was a parallel Earth or a different planet, and he couldn't recall how he had come here. All he knew was that he had spent some time here and participated in a war that led to his current predicament.

No, wait. If the castle is abandoned, that means the Demon King is dead, right? Phew... I need to figure this out fast so I can get out of here. Even if the Demon King is dead, there must still be some powerful demons alive. It's impossible for the humans and dwarves to have completely wiped out every demon in the Demon Continent, even if they outnumbered the demons 4:1. They can't compare in strength.

That's why they used such a messed-up strategy. Damn, how long was I under? Judging by the look of this place, it must have been decades. How am I even alive? Did that lake have healing and hibernation powers? Is that why it was under the Demon King's region? Poor guy probably couldn't use it when he was about to lose. Hehe, I'm getting carried away.

Anyway, I'm not a mage or sorcerer, but I had the minimum talent in magic—though my magic was so bad I couldn't even get an E-rank adventurer's license. I had to brutally learn swordsmanship. But if it's just to tell what year it is, I should be able to do it.

After rambling in his head for a while, he got up and walked toward the balcony. It was still night, so being directly under the stars would give him a better result.

He looked up and uttered a spell: "Time Appraisal!" The date and time flooded his mind.

The year 1467.

Tyler stared at the stars from the balcony, dumbfounded. He couldn't believe what the stars were telling him.

"You're kidding, right? How? How have I been sleeping for over a thousand years?!"