"Whoa, hmmm... It's already morning, huh?" Woon mumbled, stirring from his sleep, the first rays of dawn filtering through the inn window.
"Hey, Eric! Psst!" Woon tried to rouse his friend.
"Hmm?" Eric groaned, burying his face deeper into the pillow.
"It's already morning, dude! Time to get up!"
"Five more minutes..." Eric's voice was muffled, laced with sleep.
'Ugh, why do I have to remind this idiot every morning!' Woon thought, exasperated. "Hey, we have a job to do, remember?"
"Hmmm. Yeah..." Eric replied, already drifting back off.
'He's still completely out!'
"I'm going to flip your bed if you don't wake up right now!" Woon threatened, his patience wearing thin.
"..." No response.
'Fuck!' Woon's eyes narrowed.
"Wake up!!!" he roared, then with a grunt, he flipped the entire bed, sending Eric tumbling to the floor.
"Haaaaa! What happened?!" Eric yelped, scrambling up, disoriented.
"Hey, we have a job to do, right?! It's already 7 in the morning! Do you have any intention of moving your lazy ass?!" Woon demanded, hands on his hips.
"Oh, it's already morning? Right, job! Let's get moving. I'll change first, so wait for me!" Eric said, finally processing the time, a sudden burst of energy hitting him.
Woon sighed and left the room, heading outside the inn to wait. After a quarter of an hour, Eric finally emerged, looking refreshed, and strode casually beside Woon.
"Woon, those gauntlets and that claymore really suit you! Old Man Ron really did a good job forging them!" Eric praised, admiring Woon's new gear.
"Why do you keep calling him 'Old Man Ron'?" Woon asked, a slight twitch in his eye.
"It's simple, isn't it? All blacksmith owners are typically old men, aren't they?" Eric said with a shrug, as if it were obvious.
'That's just pure prejudice! Just because he owns a shop, it automatically makes him an old man?' Woon fumed internally, exasperated by Eric's flawed logic. "Is that so?" Woon challenged.
"So, if you see a woman or a man on the street smoking, wearing revealing clothes, waiting near the streetlights, does that automatically make them a prostitute or a stripper?" Woon pressed, trying a different angle.
"No, why would I think that?" Eric replied, genuinely confused by the comparison.
"Then why did you assume that Ron is an old man!!!!?" Woon burst out, unable to contain his frustration.
"He's a blacksmith shop owner, Woon. What else could he be?" Eric countered, still missing the point entirely.
'This prick just can't grasp what I'm trying to say!' Woon sighed, scrubbing a hand over his face. "Let's stop this useless debate and actually do our job!"
Woon and Eric then made their way to the train station located on the south side of the city. While waiting for their train to arrive, Woon found himself utterly fascinated. The city was a strange mix of advanced technology and ancient ways. He knew that technologies from different timelines on Earth somehow coexisted here, but seeing it up close still filled him with surprise.
'Hey, Eric!' Woon whispered, leaning closer.
'What?" Eric mumbled back.
'Do televisions exist here?'
'Of course they do, why would you ask something so obvious?' Eric replied, a puzzled look on his face.
'Hmm. And do anime or even movies exist?' Woon asked, his heart beating with a tiny hope.
'Anime? Movies? What are those? Televisions are only used for news, what else would they be for?' Eric looked at him as if he'd grown a second head.
'Hahhhhhh, no no no! How am I supposed to live here without anime or movies!' Woon thought to himself, a dramatic wave of despair washing over him.
"Hey, Woon, why are you crying? Did something happen?" Eric asked, noticing Woon's crestfallen expression.
"Nothing, it's just that something that should have existed here... doesn't!" Woon mumbled, wiping an imaginary tear.
"Oh, here comes the train! Let's get moving. We'll have to travel for about an hour!" Eric said, pulling Woon towards the platform.
"Okay..." Woon sighed, still glum.
Just before they boarded the train, a guard in a crisp blue uniform with a sword at his waist stepped in front of them, his presence official and stern.
"What are your names, sirs, and your IDs!" the guard demanded, his hand resting on his sword hilt.
"Here's mine. I'm Gyeom Ryu-woon from the East!" Woon replied, handing over his identification card.
"Eric Fall from the Saron Empire!" Eric stated smoothly, presenting his own ID.
"Umm, Ryu-woon from the East, born in Sichuan, and Eric Fall from the Saron Empire, born in the capital. Okay, I've inspected them. You may go in!" the guard confirmed, quickly scanning the documents before handing them back.
'Hey, Eric, what does he mean by 'I was born in Sichuan'?' Woon whispered urgently, a frown on his face.
'Don't worry about it for now!' Eric whispered back, a hint of impatience in his tone.
'Why wouldn't I worry about it?! You just gave me that card right before we rode the train!' Woon hissed, frustrated.
'Just go on! Don't worry about it, I said!' Eric insisted, a slight edge to his voice.
The guard, now observing their hushed exchange, noticed their suspicious whispering.
'Hmm,' the guard thought, a flicker of suspicion in his eyes. "Hey, stop, the two of you!"
"What is it?" Woon asked, trying to act innocent.
"Both of you step down from the train! You won't be riding it this time!" the guard declared, his voice firm.
"Whaaat!!!?? Are you kidding me?! We're in a hurry, right, Woon!" Eric protested loudly, completely forgetting to keep a low profile.
"Well, we are in a hurry. So what's wrong?" Woon asked, genuinely confused by the sudden rejection.
"You two seem suspicious!" the guard stated bluntly.
"Suspicious? Just what are you talking about?" Eric countered, his irritation rising.
"Hmm!" The guard narrowed his eyes, clearly unconvinced.
"Hey, you're making us look even more suspicious!" 'This bastard keeps shouting, it's so irritating,' Woon thought, glaring at Eric.
"I'll call for my superior, so wait here!" the guard said, reaching for a device on his belt.
Buzzzz The device crackled to life.
"Protector 3324 to command, two suspicious people trying to board the train. Need assistance!"
'Damn, they even have walkie-talkies here!' Woon thought, a mix of awe and annoyance. "That's a communication device!"
"Why do you know about that?" Eric asked, looking at Woon curiously.
"No, I'm just fascinated by it! It's so... futuristic!" Woon quickly covered, trying to sound genuinely interested.
After about 10 minutes, another person arrived. This man was clearly the guard's superior, wearing a striking red uniform adorned with elaborate golden thread designs.
"So, what seems to be the problem here, Protector 3324?" the superior asked, his voice authoritative.
"Sir, these two individuals are suspicious. They kept whispering to each other. They might be plotting something!" the guard explained, saluting.
"Okay. So, we'll take you into the interrogation room. Follow me!" the superior commanded, his gaze sharp.
'We're getting interrogated?!' Woon thought, his heart sinking. "What?!"
"Hey, stop." Eric interjected, stepping forward. "What's your position here?"
'Eric?' Woon wondered, surprised by Eric's boldness.
"I'm a guardian, so what?" the superior replied, a hint of challenge in his tone.
"Come here, let me tell you something important!" Eric beckoned him closer, lowering his voice.
"What is it?" the superior asked, leaning in, curiosity getting the better of him.
'What is he saying? I suddenly can't hear them at all!' Woon thought, straining his ears, but their voices had dropped to an inaudible whisper.
"....." Eric murmured, his expression unreadable.
"....!!" The superior's eyes widened dramatically, his jaw slacked.
"...." Eric finished, a faint smirk playing on his lips.
"..." The superior stepped back, visibly shaken, beads of sweat forming on his brow.
"Hey, Eric, what did you two talk about?" Woon asked, bursting with curiosity.
"It's nothing important. Let's just follow them. We're going to the teleportation tower. We'll get to our destination much faster that way!" Eric said dismissively, already walking.
"Sir, what's wrong?" the guard asked his superior, who was now sweating profusely.
"It's nothing! Just follow me, and let's escort them to the teleportation tower!" the superior commanded, his voice strained, avoiding eye contact with Eric.
'What? Teleportation tower? I thought only high officials had access to that!' the guard thought, astonished by the sudden change of plans.
"Hey, Eric, just what did you say to him?!" Woon demanded, pulling Eric aside.
"It's nothing, hahahaha!" Eric laughed, a wide, innocent grin on his face.
'This guy is so suspicious! He's just laughing to himself!' Woon thought, watching Eric with a mixture of suspicion and exasperation.
The guard and the protector silently escorted them inside the towering white structure where the teleportation device was located.
"Damn, this tower is tall as hell!" Woon exclaimed, craning his neck to look up.
"It is. I think I should use this often!" Eric commented, looking around with a pleased expression.
'Eric, use this often? You're broke! This shit must be expensive as hell!' Woon thought, incredulous. "What do you mean by that?"
"It's nothing!" Eric waved off the question with a dismissive hand.
"Sir, please step up here in the middle. We'll initiate the teleportation now!" a technician announced, gesturing to a glowing platform.
"Good." Eric nodded, stepping onto it.
"Sir, what is our destination?" the technician asked, preparing the controls.
"Forest of Lesser Giants!" Eric declared, a mischievous glint in his eye.
"Forest of Lesser Giants? Okay... wait, sir, what do you mean by Forest of Lesser Giants?!" the technician stammered, his face blanching with worry.
"Wha, what? Hey, Eric, he seems to be really worried about us!" Woon whispered, noticing the technician's alarmed expression.
"It's nothing! That forest is just a playground for kids!" Eric scoffed, waving a hand dismissively.
"Kids? What do you mean by that?!" Woon asked, his eyes wide with growing dread.
"It's nothing! Hahahaha!" Eric chuckled, clearly enjoying Woon's reaction.
"You son of a bit....." Woon began to curse, but before he could finish,
Suddenly, a blinding light engulfed them, disorienting Woon and sending a shockwave through his senses. The sudden flash left him reeling.
'Ahhh, freaking hell! This feels like absolute shit! My head is in a complete mess! I wanna throw up everything I ate today!'
'I'm going to fucking kill him if I see him again after this!'