Lost and Unlucky

When Zero woke and went about his daily routine, wandering the lands without any direction in sight. Flowing with the unending breeze as his only friend guided him from one interesting sight to the next, he figured it would be another day. Another simple, sleepy day where he traveled a little more.

When the wind whispered about a funny smelling human and sweet smelling candy, he began to think his day wouldn't be as boring as the previous.

He was right. Instead of another day letting his cloud carry him through giant trees, he saw a funny sight. A human with tan skin, unkempt short black hair, and nice blue eyes. He was wearing blue pants and a white shirt, now wearing the cheap brown jacket Zero had mistaken for trash earlier.

He was on the thinner side, making Zero wonder how he survived so long out here. Zero had seen the skinny jackrabbits of this forest get devoured in moments. The fact that a skinny human survived was entertaining. Especially since it didn't seem like he had any magic to help him out.

"Hey wind, I think we broke him." Zero whispered as his cloud fell behind the new person, watching him wander aimlessly. Muttering things to himself like 'impossible' and 'I'm screwed.' All with the most stressed out look on his face. It was funny.

He also said a bunch of funny words, Zero would have to remember them for later.

"How do we fix him?" Zero asked, smiling slightly as the wind carried his answer, as it always did.

'I don't think we can. I believe this is what you humans call a, nervous breakdown. Best to let it pass.'

"But that's no fun."

'Fun my foot, you can't be messing with this guy while he's like this. He could be your first friend!'

"You're my first friend wind."

'Then he can be your second! Now don't mess it up or I'm gonna strangle you!' The wind blew harshly, and Zero chuckled. Tilting his head as the boy, Mako Grier, turned back with a depressed sigh and asked, "Did the wind say where we're going?"

Zero smiled mischievously, and leaned into his cloud. The wind was right, he didn't have friends, but he supposed this one could work. Mako could be a friend. He made funny faces when he was angry, and it was really easy to tease him.

"She said we're following you."

He was also the first person to believe that he heard the wind's voice, so that counted for something.

.....

Mako couldn't hear the wind's voice, but if he could, he would tell it to stop laughing. He just knew it had to be laughing. The jerk.

Damn wind... wouldn't be laughing if it knew how boned I am here... stuck in a video game.

If Mako wasn't being trailed by a sleepy kid that could easily send him to the atmosphere, he'd have a few course words for the wind.

But he was, and said kid was chatting away. Conversing with a partner no one could see. Wondering if they 'broke' Mako or not.

Answer: Maybe. Mako was still deciding.

On one hand he felt crazy walking through giant trees, in a fictitious land. Littered with strange creatures, a few common ones as well, and a playful conversation where one side was the wind and the other was a child prodigy, no, the child prodigy.

At least until Angelica was born however many years from now, and Neo but he wasn't really a prodigy. Hard worker and talented sure, his magic was the only of its kind, but that was a conversation for another time. Like 30 years from now at least.

Point is: If Mako was with any of his other friends, they'd probably think he was crazy for believing a child's best friend was a breeze.

And any other time they'd be right.

But not this time, because Mako was travelling with Zero from the game.

And Zero could actually talk to the wind.

It was Zero's ability, one of the few secrets he told the player about in the game. The Wind's Blessing, the ability to hear the wind's voice and everything it's connected to. Not combat oriented in theory, but when Zero awakened it, he was able to turn it into something unstoppable. A force of nature.

Which was now being wielded by a child.

What luck.

I didn't know Zero awakened his ability before the war. Mako glanced at Zero's cloud (a product of his wind magic, maybe?) and frowned. So many things were different than he originally believed them to be. Zero didn't have a cloud in the game, so he either lost it or didn't see the need to use it anymore.

He also already had his ability, something Mako, and many others believed he first awakened in the war. From the snippets of dialogue, it was a time when most people were believed to awaken theirs. Almost all of the teachers in Blight Academy mentioned that they awakened theirs during the war.

Everyone that played the game assumed the headmaster was the same way.

Apparently not.

Zero was only 12, Mako asked and confirmed it. Twelve years old. So 30 years before the game starts, around 10 years before second invasion starts, a short but devastating war that would last a year thanks to the efforts of many individuals (Zero).

And 11+ years away from the first character from the hero party being born.

All cans of worms he did not have time to unpack now, lacing him to ponder how the fuck he got here and why the fuck Zero was so different.

Why did he have a cloud? Why didn't he have one in game?

Why did he awaken his ability already? How did he awaken it? Was he born with it? Abilities were said to only awaken in those that have faced extreme conditions, tied the line between life and death.

Neo awakened his by fighting off wild bear from his home town, where so much blood had flowed that he thought the world was dyed red.

Had Zero already gone through something similar?

Is that why he already lost his arm? Instead of in the war like everyone assumed he did.

Mako's head was filled with these thoughts, knowing he couldn't exactly ask a kid he just met, technically at least, why they didn't have an arm...

Not without coming off as... well insensitive felt like the word but dead meat seemed more fitting.

I'm never waking him up from a nap. Mako shivered, sidestepping a few leaves as he walked through the giant forest and began thinking back. Trying to take inventory of everything that happened and everything that he knew about this place.

Why was he here?

How did he get here?

Why did he get sent to a location he didn't know about. Even with all his info from the game lore.

And why did that message flash in front of his face, and what did it mean?

Third wonder?

Mako had never even heard of the Third Wonder before, and he played the game all the way through. Multiple times. It wasn't an item or he would've heard of it before. None of it made any sense.

What was it? Did I miss it? Are there more than three? Does it come up after the secret ending?

Mako thought of every possible option, and scowled as he got to the most probable one.

Fuck. Was it in one of the light novels?

Cuz if so, fuck those light novels. He'd tried reading them before and they were so bad.

Every single scenario he read played out like: Neo sees girl getting bullied, stands up to bullies, girl sees him stand up to bullies, girl asks why, Neo is too good hearted and sentimental to say anything.

Oh yeah, then final step.

Girl falls madly in love with him for being a brave, mysterious commoner in an elite academy. Even though he's at best: shy; and at worst: dumb as a rock. It was torture on actual parchment.

Mako got to chapter three and it happened three times. He would rather have died than try to slog through that mess. There was nothing on God's green earth that could've made him read another page. The game was so much better.

You know, minus having to read a bunch of shit for Zero's goddamn quizzes that didn't even mean shit, because they didn't span thirty fucking years.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Zero asked, tilting his head slightly as Mako clicked his tongue.

"You're the worst."

"What did I even do!?"

"Everything." Mako grumbled, kicking a rock as he tried to ignore the dull pain in his calf. You know it sucked, how he wasn't even put in like a game character's body or anything.

What kind of game doesn't even let you choose your character?

"Bullshit." Mako murmured, ignoring the funny look Zero gave him as he stepped over a pebble the size of his shoe. The giant forest was starting to annoy him. Funny, since it had once terrified him, like an hour ago. But he guessed having the world's strongest kid as a bodyguard mitigated any fear he had.

Even if the trees themselves attacked, nothing was going to get past Zero. So as long as Mako stuck by the kid he was safe.

"You curse a lot,'you know." Zero said, making Mako miss a step in surprise and a little fear as the breeze got a little chilly. The silent warning coming across loud and clear as Mako gulped, "Yeah, my bad."

"I don't really care."

"I think the wind is of a different mindset." Mako said, momentarily wondering if the wind was the only thing that had a voice of its own. Could he talk to water? Or the ground? Abilities were a weird thing like that, they could be basic like buffs in a certain stat or nonsensical. It all just depends.

And going off the slight breeze ticking the back of his neck, right now Zero's was depending on him not to teach the kid bad words, so better to listen to it.

"Regardless," Mako said before Zero could turn his attention to the wind, "Anything you two could tell me about where we are? I'd like to get to civilization and wandering through these woods till I get there isn't on my bucket list."

"Sorry, I got no clue." Zero shrugged, "I haven't left the forest since I got here." Zero tilted his head, "And the wind says it isn't a compass."

"I'm not asking it to be a compass. I'm asking it not to let me get us all lost." Make grumbled, ignoring the laughing gale as he slowly trudged on, "And what do you mean you haven't left since you got here? How long ago was that?"

Zero wasn't wearing terribly dirty clothes. His black jacket was still dry and his pants had the occasional dirt stain but nothing debilitating.

Apparently Zero just never had a reason to get dirty, since his answer made Mako trip over a big pebble.

"I don't know, I wasn't keeping track." Zero shrugged, "But the wind says it's been a couple years I think?"

"A couple years?" Mako said, stunned. Turning around to ask, "You've been here for years? Why? Couldn't you just leave when you-"

"I liked the scenery." Zero shrugged, ignoring Mako's question as he held out a hand. Mako's eyes widened and his heart leaped on his chest. The sound of wind whipping past his cheek as something splattered behind him. Dousing his back in liquids.

Mako glanced back, gulping as he eyed the headless corpse of a large multicolored serpent. It's body stretching well past any snake he'd seen in his old world, and it's spiny flesh more reminiscent of daggers than scales, it looked like a nightmare.

Or it had looked like a nightmare, before Zero killed it.

That was enough of a reminder for Mako to drop his curiosity like an anchor and walk around the corpse. Ignoring the blood that now stained his back.

"Thanks, Zero."

"Don't mention it." Zero said offhandedly, following along as his cloud hovered over the dead snake and followed behind Mako. The two traveling a few more miles, till the sun was starting to set, before Zero asked, "Where are you trying to go, Mako? Does it have food? Like good food?"

"Hopefully," Mako said, checking his phone batteries to see if it was worth listening to a few more songs.

"Do you think it has any more chocolate?"

64%. Fair game.

"Hopefully," Mako sighed as he plugged in his earbuds. Ignoring the pout Zero shot his way as he turned cranked the volume up. He didn't want to ignore the kid, but he needed to think a little bit. Collect himself and think about where he might be and where he could go. Zero didn't know, neither did the wind, and asking 'what continent am I on?' wouldn't be painting himself in a good light.

Where am I? Igea? Valerie? Am I close to civilization or far? Damn this sucks.

Mako still wasn't 100% certain if he was in the game or the light novel, but either was shitty.

Still, if there was anything Mako was grateful for in this clusterfuck of a situation, besides not dying, it was that he wasn't entirely helpless. Zero's tests covered a lot of things, like history, geography, and culture. He couldn't use all of it unfortunately.

Culture was deadweight, the political and social climates of nations 30 years in the future didn't mean shit at the moment. History was super fucking useful but not right now. He didn't know details, just big events and dates, half of which had already passed, so unless he wanted to wait around in these woods till the second invasion started in a decade or Wisteria's sixth king died in half that time, it wasn't his priority. Later, but not now.

Compared to all that, Geography was a goldmine. He'd memorized maps, albeit maps of the world 30 years from now, but he memorized maps. And unlike history and culture, landscapes didn't change that quickly, so they should still apply.

He might not know exactly which forest he was in, and there were a lot of forests in the world of Elaria, but he had a rough idea of where he was.

Out of the four continents of Elaria: Igea, Valerie, Jaya, and Molgard, he knew he wasn't in Jaya or Molgard. Jaya and Molgard were island continents and had didn't have forests, so they were out. Jaya was also home to the demon king and Molgard to the dwarves so he didn't expect to see either.

That only left Igea or Valerie.

He could be in Igea, the western continent, and home to various topographies. From lush like the forest he was in now or the central plains where European styled kingdoms were rooted. It also had icy tundras to the far north that lay unexplored and the beach cities and islands to the southeast that were home to pirates, bandits, and rogues.

Or he could be on Valerie, the Eastern Continent. Home to abundant and deep tropical forests in its North that lay crawling with monsters, grand asiatic empires in its central regions that were held in the same breath as Igea's western style kingdoms, and large regions of deserted wastelands to the south. Deserts of sand and dust as far as the eye could see, where nothing lived and everything went to die.

It was said that's where the Orcs had once lived before they were killed off by the demon king's army, leaving behind ash and dust.

In the end, Mako decided he was in Igea. Southwest Igea, because that area was where the elves rumored to have gone into hiding. And knowing their various references as heavily magical beings connected to nature, it would make sense for them to have lived in such a giant forest. Amongst trees that were larger than life and rooted in the world of fiction.

That and the game mainly took place on Igea, where Blight Academy was located, so it just made sense for Zero to be here. Even if it was 30 years early.

Mako figured they were somewhere on the edge of the Elves' rumored forest, near a few cities that he might even recognize since the game takes you through this part of Igea quite often. As Neo you traveled through a lot of places in Igea, and even a few in Valerie. If Mako could just find a settlement recognized the rest would be easy.

He'd make his way to central Igea, hopefully to better kingdoms like Wisteria where Neo lived and where Blight Academy was, and he would...

He'd...

Fuck what would he do?

What am I supposed to do for thirty years? Mako wondered, and found he couldn't really think of an answer. Truly, he had no idea. This wasn't just a he got sent back a little early so he could make things a little better. Maybe get Neo scouted a little earlier, buff his stats at his village instead of him hunting things for his youth. Or try and help the sins from turning into the devils they eventually become.

No, he was 30 years from the main story starting. Neo wasn't even a conception, and a few of the sins weren't even born yet. And even if he wanted to help them, do a little good from the sidelines, they don't get recruited by the demon king until after his failed second invasion. The one in ten goddamn years.

What the fuck was he supposed to do for ten-plus years?

No, screw that actually. What the fuck was he supposed to do in ten years? When the demon king attacked, what would he do then? Warn someone? Who? Who'd believe him when he said the demon king was going to attack in a decade? Who'd be able to do anything about it, anyways? The king? He'd get executed for spouting insanity to his highness.

And even if he did warn someone, someone important, got them to believe his words even without any proof, and got away with it...

The fuck was it going to change?

Humanity was already very aware of the threat demons were. It's why Blight Academy existed, to produce heroes capable of defending the world from the demons should they try to attack again. Humans of this era already know the demon king will try to attack again, or at least suspect it, they just don't know when. It could be five years or 100.

Mako knew, it was in ten, but without proof he couldn't really change much, and when it happened, he wasn't even sure what he'd try to change.

What would I do? If I ended up involved in the war. Would they try to use me to win battles? Those might not even play out the same way if it's the novel. And shit, what am I gonna do if they make me a soldier. Die? Die painfully?

Mako didn't want to die. He wasn't even sure if he died back in his old world. Getting involved in a war he had no place in felt like a bad idea.

I guess... if it comes down to it... I could just hide?

Crazy. Absolutely blasphemy. Hiding from a war was something lunatics and cowards wished they could do. It was fool's errand. With no hope of success.

But fuck, Mako could totally do it. And he'd be successful too. He knew which nations were hit the hardest by the war, and which were left unscathed. If he went to Drachma, the icy nation in the north of Igea, he wouldn't see any fighting at all. He could be a merchant or something and live peacefully.

In the meantime, the short and devastating war. The invasion that only lasted a year thanks to efforts of humanity's greatest heroes (Zero), would fly by. Then he'd only have to worry about the story and the seven sins. 

In another 20 years.

Where he could, once again, just cherry-pick a nation that didn't get obliterated and wait for Neo and his gang to solve everything. Or Zero if Neo was feeling extra studious. Either way, the demon king would be dead, and Mako wouldn't die, and that's it.

Game over. He ends the run with mediocre stats, a few funny stories, hopefully a wife and kids, and a long happy life in this strange ass world.

Or he could try and find a way back to his own.

Assuming he wasn't dead in that one.

That weird manual did say I was alive, Mako recalled as he came upon a clearing he thought they could use for a campsite. Unplugging his earbuds as he turned off his phone and turning to Zero, already napping on his cloud, before shaking his head.

Guess it doesn't matter. Mako clicked his tongue bitterly, starting to make a campfire as the wind kept him company. The snores of humanity's strongest child echoing through the quickly darkening forest as Mako tried, and he meant tried, to remember how one made a proper fire. He was certain he'd looked up a video on YouTube at some point.

What did I need? Straw? No, bark. And I... I need to spin a stick really fast?

Mako scratched his head, glancing back to see how zero was handling the cold, before the wind howled in his ears and something snapped out of the sky. Mako's eyes widening as he glanced back and saw the shards of an arrow fall atop his shitty campfire.

What-

"Don't move!" Someone yelled, prompting Mako to drop his stick and hold his hands up immediately. His eyes wide as another arrow aimed for his nose and the wind cut through it. Snapping it in half like it was swatting a fly. The entire thing was startling.

And it was probably really confusing for the person trying to shoot him.

"How are you using wind magic, human?" Mako heard a growl from the shadows of the trees. His eyes wide as he gulped and considered shouting something along the lines of 'It's not my magic, I swear. It's the kid's.' Before the girl's, it sounded like a girl, words processed.

"What do you mean, human?"

Mako looked into the shadows of the forest, covered under the cloak of dusk, and saw a figure fall gracefully from the tree tops. Her movements practiced and footsteps silenced as she walked out with a bow in hand. Arrow cocked.

Her garb was reminiscent of a Hunter's but with a bit of a longer fabric towards over her pant legs. Easy to move in but not revealing in any way. She had yellow eyes, chocolate skin, and tied up brown hair. She looked about his age, and she didn't look happy.

"Don't test my patience, you're not even supposed to be here. So answer me." She growled, and he noticed the pointed ears as she leveled her bow his way.

"How can you use magic without your mana core active."

Mako really had the shittiest luck.