3 -----
The sky was freezing.
Not the poetic kind of cold you read about in novels.
No.
This was the kind that made your bones feel like they were being filed down one layer at a time while the air tried to peel your eyelids open just for fun.
"OKAY HONEDGE— STILL WITH ME?!"
"SCREEE!" (｡•̀ᴗ-)✧
Honedge just spun once in midair like this was some kind of sightseeing tour.
— PING —
Out of nowhere, a sharp sound cut through the air — and the world around me simply stopped.
The colors around me shifted. Royal blue bled into absolute black.
Honedge and I hung suspended exactly where we'd been mid-fall.
Then, directly in front of me, a glowing blue panel materialized.
I stared at it.
"…What the hell—"
-----
{ SYSTEM INITIALIZATION }
[ WORLD : SLIGHTLY ALTERED DANMACHI ]
[ SUBJECT : NOAH ALEXANDRIE ]
⸻
"…Oh."
I blinked.
"So I do get a system. Nice. That's actually pretty standard—"
The panel didn't care about my commentary.
⸻
[ SOUL ANALYSIS COMPLETE ]
[ BODY STATUS: TRANSMIGRATED HUMAN → MODIFIED ENTITY ]
[ RACE ADJUSTMENT IN PROGRESS ]
→ Dark Elf Integration Confirmed
A sharp pain hit instantly.
"—GHK—!!"
My ears burned.
Literally stretched.
My vision flickered—then sharpened so violently it felt like the world had suddenly gained extra resolution.
Then the voice rang out.
{ Confirmation complete, successfully integrated Dark Elf Race!"}
The pain lessened slightly and became a form of incredible discomfort.
Another notification followed immediately.
{ Confirmation complete, successfully acquired extra skill Enhanced Agility!}
My body felt much more lighter suddenly.
{ Confirmation complete, successfully acquired extra skill Night Vision!}
The frozen world around me became crystal clear.
"{Confirmation complete, successfully acquired extra skill Mana Sensitivity!"}
Suddenly, countless streams of energy appeared throughout the air.
Then—
"Acquisition Dark Magic Affinity."
"{Confirmation complete, successfully acquired Ghost Affinity!"}
"—Error occurred."
"—Stimulus extern detected—"
"Acquisition Ghost Magic Affinity."
"{Confirmation complete, successfully acquired Ghost Affinity!"}
"…Ghost affinity?"
My whole body jerked. Muscles contracted on pure instinct, like they were bracing for an impact that had already happened. For a moment I couldn't even process what was going on — I just reacted, some deep biological alarm firing before my brain had caught up.
Then I felt my ears.
A twitch first. Then a slow, deliberate stretch — like something being gently pulled into a new shape from the inside out.
The pressure built gradually. Not quite pain, but deeply, fundamentally wrong. The kind of sensation that makes your stomach drop not because it hurts but because it absolutely should not be happening.
My hands were shaking when I reached up.
They were changing.
The cartilage shifting. The shape elongating. Real and undeniable beneath my fingertips.
"What the — WHAT THE HELL?!"
My vision blurred — then snapped back sharper than it had ever been.
"OKAY — WHY CAN I SEE SO WELL — ?!"
My eyes burned for exactly one second.
Then cooled.
Something was different. I could *feel* it — not just see it. Like a new frequency had been added to the signal, one that had always been missing without me knowing.
The pain dissolved. The disorientation cleared. The new sharpness in my vision settled into something that felt, strangely, natural.
"…Oh."
I exhaled slowly.
"…Okay. Okay. I'm… alive."
A pause.
I looked down.
My brain finally caught up with the situation.
The ground was right there.
"…Oh."
*(Think Noah, think.)*
My eyes swept the landscape below in desperate, rapid passes — scanning for anything that wasn't solid rock or hard earth.
A forest at the horizon. Too far.
A mountain range. Absolutely not.
Hills. Rocks. Hard surfaces in every direction—
Then — a flash.
Light reflecting off something.
Water. A small lake, sitting almost directly below our current trajectory.
I was fairly certain this wasn't Minecraft — but I was equally certain that water was a significantly better landing option than the alternative.
*That's the target.*
I grabbed Honedge mid-air.
"Alright, partner — I need you to help me with something right now, so don't take this the wrong way—"
The plan was simple : use Honedge thanks to his innate flying abilities, as a makeshift glider, bleed off enough speed to maximise the chances of surviving the impact.
The lake wasn't that far, so we had maybe one and a half minutes before we hit the surface.
The water rushed up to meet us faster than I would have liked.
—SPLASH—
The lake exploded upward like it had been personally offended.
Cold hit me harder than the fall.
Everything went white for a second.
Then—
Silence.
⸻
I surfaced gasping.
"—HAH—I'm alive."
I floated there for a second, just breathing.
"…I'M ALIVE — !!"
Beside me, something rose from the water.
Honedge. Still floating. Perfectly composed. Not a single thing wrong with it.
"SCREE~!" ✨
I looked at it for a long moment.
And then, I began to swim.
Water slid past my skin in long, controlled lines. My strokes smoothed out quickly, and my muscle memory taking over.
"Okay… I think I just need to keep moving for now…"
I glanced around.
"…But in what direction?"
After a moment of careful thought, I decided to just swim straight in front of me.
Fortunately, I could already make out a shoreline in the distance.
And after a while—
"—FINALLY !!!"
I grabbed hold, digging in hard, dragging my body forward as the water resisted, pulling at my legs like it didn't want to let go.
I collapsed onto the shore, chest heaving, lungs burning like I'd swallowed fire.
"…Hah… hah…"
No sound.... except one.
—SCREE—
"…Honedge?"
My voice came out rough, I pushed myself up slightly, turning toward the sound.
"…Hey…"
"Scree~." ✨
I stared at him, completely unharmed.
Then let out a shaky laugh.
"… thanks god you're fine."
Honedge drifted closer, hovering at shoulder height. Its ribbon brushed lightly against my arm.
I exhaled slowly.
"…You saved my life back there man."
I looked back at the lake.
The surface had already gone still again.
Like nothing had happened.
"…Yeah, I really got lucky."
A small grin crept onto my face despite everything.
"…We're better run away from this area, right now."
Honedge tilted slightly.
"Scree."
"Good. Glad we agree."
I pushed myself up, still breathing hardly, i glanced at the forest.
I lay back on the ground.
Stared at the sky.
"Okay…"
"…So I'm in another world."
Pause.
" and now as well a Dark Elf I think?."
Another pause.
"…I have a floating sword."
Honedge spun once.
"SCREE."
"…Yeah, you're staying."
A small laugh escaped me.
"…This is going to be a long life."
I pushed himself up slowly, and sat up fully now, resting my arms on his knees.
For a moment, we just looked at each other.
"…So. Let's confirm something."
Honedge slowly drifted closer to me, then his ribbon firmly attached around my hips.
As if he acted like a belts, then begin to stay still.
(—???)
I blinked, at the sudden action.
"…Okay."
A small smile formed on his face.
I looked at him in the eyes and a thought came in my mind.
"—If we gonna be parter i have to give you a good name."
He looked at me curiously.
"— Yes, a good name."
---To Be Continued---
Well it a new chapter and the true begin of our trap adventure. Also the chapter is not complete to my liking, but i think it already pretty good.