Immortal Paladin

[POV: Da Wei]

I woke up staring at the stars.

My head throbbed as I tried to remember what had happened. The last thing I could recall was sitting before my computer, playing Lost Legends Online with my Paladin, when my PC suddenly exploded.

After that, nothing.

I slowly looked around and realized I was sitting inside a small boat hovering in the emptiness of space. Across from me sat a man with dark hair and a crimson scarf. He looked entirely too calm for someone casually sailing through the void.

“You woke up earlier than I estimated,” he remarked.

“Who are you?” I asked, still trying to make sense of my surroundings. “Are you the Grim Reaper?”

My gaze drifted toward the world beneath us. Something about it felt strangely familiar. I had lived there once. I knew that much. Yet when I tried to remember anything beyond that vague impression, my thoughts slipped away.

It felt like pieces of my memory were missing, pieces I should have been able to recall.

I frowned before asking the only question that came to mind. “Did I do good?”

“Yeah.” His answer was surprisingly casual.

I stared at him. “What’s next for me? Heaven or hell?”

The man looked at me with an expression of increasing confusion. “It’s the False Earth,” he said. “But you don’t really remember anything, huh?”

“What do you mean?”

He sighed. “They say it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission, so forgive me.”

I barely had time to process his words before I stood up and looked down at myself. I was wearing strange robes I had never seen before. They looked like something out of a cosplay event or a period drama, completely unlike anything I would normally wear.

“I don’t know about forgiveness,” I said, “but shouldn’t you try asking for permission first? That sounds like the right thing to do.”

The man nodded, standing up. “Sure. Go take a vacation, then.”

“Huh?”

I blinked.

“Eh?”

The next moment, his foot slammed into my chest.

“AAAAAAAH!”

I was kicked straight out of the boat. I plummeted through the sky, my arms flailing as gravity seized control of my body. Shit! I thought I was on my way to the afterlife or something! Maybe this was a dream. That had to be it. Except I could feel the wind violently striking my cheeks.

When friction set me on fire, I realized how screwed I was.

“SHIT!”

My entire body ignited as I continued falling, the robes I had been wearing rapidly burning away until they were reduced to scraps.

“SHIT! SHIT! WHAT THE FUCK?!”

My descent continued. And continued. And continued. Until I finally slammed into a mountain.

BOOOOOOM!

The impact carved a massive trench through the mountainside. I bounced off the ground, flew through the forest, and crashed into the earth again and again, leaving behind a series of craters before finally coming to a stop.

For several seconds, I lay there without moving.

When I slowly pushed myself upright, I realized was completely naked. I stared blankly into the distance. My head spun. Maybe this really was a dream after all. Except I didn’t remember dreams being this painful.

I steadied myself and looked around. The aftermath of my descent had left an absurd trail of destruction across the mountain and forest.

Suddenly, I heard something.

Chug-chug-chug-chug...

I froze. It was the unmistakable sound of a steam engine. I looked down. I was standing on railroad tracks. I turned around, exasperated. A train was coming directly at me.

“Oh.”

The train hit me.

BOOOOOOM!

My body was dragged beneath the massive machine as metal wheels thundered over me. Every impact sent a sharp sting through my body, my bones rattling violently as the train finally began to derail.

I stared blankly at the sky.

Considering how vivid everything felt, maybe this wasn’t a dream after all. The train was sliding toward the edge of the mountain slope. If it went over, everyone inside would be in serious danger. I moved before I could even think about it.

Instinct overtook reason.

“Zealot’s Stride.”

Power suddenly erupted from my legs. The world blurred. In the next instant, I reappeared on the opposite side of the train. My hands caught the side of the massive engine.

With barely any effort, I pushed. The train lurched back onto the tracks. Its wheels screeched against the rails before it stabilized and continued onward. For a moment, everything was silent. Then the passengers began screaming.

“WHAT WAS THAT?!”

“HE STOPPED THE TRAIN!”

The author’s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“WHO IS THAT?!”

“IS HE A MONSTER?!”

“HE’S NAKED!”

“AH!”

“DON’T LOOK!”

A few of the women turned bright red, hurriedly covering their faces while sneaking embarrassed glances in my direction.

I immediately covered myself with both hands.

“...”

I stood there in absolute humiliation. The train continued moving away, its passengers still staring through the windows as it disappeared into the distance. I waited until it was completely out of sight.

Shortly, I sighed in relief.

Why didn’t I jump after the train?

That probably would have been the logical thing to do if I wanted to tap into civilization as soon as possible. Instead, I had apparently decided to stand there naked while an entire train full of strangers stared at me.

More importantly, how the hell had I done that?

Zealot’s Stride. I knew that skill. It was a Paladin-exclusive movement skill in Lost Legends Online. When I had spoken its name, I had suddenly felt power surge through my legs. My body had moved at a speed that should have been impossible. And that wasn’t even the strangest part.

I had fallen from the sky, crashed into a mountain, and bounced through the ground hard enough to leave craters. Then a train had run me over. Yet somehow, I was still alive. I wasn’t even seriously injured.

I stared at my hands, at the railroad tracks, and then toward the direction the train had disappeared. A terrifying realization slowly settled over me.

“What did I just get myself into?”

Okay. Okay. Calm down, me.

This was definitely neither hell nor heaven. I was still doubtful whether any of this was even real, or if I was trapped inside some incredibly vivid dream. If I went by the usual isekai tropes, the dark-haired man in the boat was probably some kind of god, and he had just dropped me into another world.

Hm.

Relying on tropes to determine my current situation sounded foolish, but it wasn’t like I had many other options.

Most anime and light novels depicted isekai protagonists meeting a godlike figure, receiving some ridiculous cheat ability, and getting at least a basic explanation of the world before being sent on their merry way.

That wasn’t the case for me.

I had been kicked out of a boat in the middle of space.

That was the extent of my tutorial.

Still, if I really had obtained the powers of my game character in Lost Legends Online, things could have been much worse.

At least I wasn’t completely helpless.

I followed the railroad tracks, jogging at a comfortable pace. It didn’t take long before I reached civilization. Judging by the timing, I had probably arrived shortly after the train I had accidentally saved.

I couldn’t exactly walk into town naked, so I snuck aboard the train and was fortunate enough to find the luggage car toward the rear.

I looked through the luggage, searching for anything that might fit me.

Judging by the clothes and general aesthetic of the passengers, this place felt vaguely Victorian. I wasn’t exactly well-versed in the period, but I knew enough to recognize the general style: formal coats, waistcoats, dresses, hats, leather shoes, and plenty of other clothing that looked like it belonged in a historical drama.

Eventually, I found something suitable.

I wasn’t proud of stealing someone’s clothes, but I figured whoever owned them was probably wealthy enough to survive the loss.

I dressed myself in a simple, peasant-like outfit consisting of a loose, faded shirt, rough trousers, and worn boots. It wasn’t exactly fashionable, but at least I no longer looked like a naked lunatic who had fallen out of the sky.

As I finished adjusting the clothes, I spotted a mirror. I froze. A handsome young man stared back at me from the reflection. That face... I knew it. It was the face of my game character, David_69.

I touched my cheek and the reflection did the same.

“...Seriously?”

I couldn’t help feeling embarrassed.

I had designed David_69 to look cool, but apparently, my younger self had possessed absolutely no sense of restraint. His features were practically exaggerated to the point of absurdity. Sharp jawline, handsome face, immaculate hair, and the kind of appearance that screamed, main character syndrome.

I looked away from the mirror.

“Why did I make him this handsome?”

Before I could dwell on it any longer, a loud voice echoed through the train.

“Attention, passengers! We will be setting out shortly! Those of you disembarking here at Meregreen, please prepare to leave the train! Especially those of you sleeping in your seats!”

There was a commotion somewhere outside the luggage car.

“You there! Wake up!”

“Huh? What?”

“You have a ticket for Meregreen, don’t you? Then get off the train! We’re departing!”

“But I just fell asleep!”

“You can sleep somewhere else!”

I peeked through the doorway and watched several sleepy passengers hurriedly gather their belongings. Meregreen. So that was where I was. I decided to follow them. I slipped out of the train and mixed myself into the crowd of departing passengers. Thankfully, I could understand their language perfectly.

My Linguist Subclass was apparently working.

That was another thing I had never expected to become grateful for. As I walked through Meregreen, I quietly observed everything around me, trying to build a picture of this strange world.

The architecture, the clothes, the technology, the train...? It all felt familiar enough to resemble something from Earth’s history, yet different enough that I knew I wasn’t home.

I wondered what had happened to me.

Was there some grand purpose behind this? Had that mysterious man sent me here for a reason? Was I supposed to save the world? Defeat some demon king? Become a legendary hero? Or had he really just kicked me out of his boat because he felt like it?

I was still trying to figure that out when I made a serious mistake. I let myself get distracted. Two men suddenly stepped behind me, blocking my exit. Three more appeared in front.

One of them pulled out a knife.

“Well, well, well.”

The tallest of them grinned.

“Hand over your money.”

Another thug laughed.

“Everything you’ve got. Wallet, valuables, anything worth selling.”

“Don’t make this difficult,” a third added, flicking his knife toward me.

I looked at the five men surrounding me and then I looked at the knife. “Guys, I don’t think this is a good idea.”

The thug in front frowned. “Are you threatening us?”

“No. I’m warning you,” I said firmly.

They laughed. That was unfortunate.

I sighed.

“Fine.”

I took a step forward.

“Zealot’s Stride.”

The world vanished. I reappeared beside the first thug.

BAM!

My fist slammed into his stomach, sending him flying.

“What the—?!”

I disappeared again.

BAM!

Another thug was launched into a wall.

“GET HIM!”

“WHERE DID HE GO?!”

I moved again.

BAM!

“AAAGH!”

“HE’S TOO FAST!”

“STOP MOVING AROUND!”

I didn’t stop. Every activation sent me surging from one position to another, my body moving faster than my eyes could properly follow. One thug swung his knife, but his blade cut nothing but air as I vanished. I appeared behind him and kicked him in the back.

“OW!”

He crashed face-first into the dirt.

The last thug stared at his companions scattered across the street. Then he looked at me. His face went pale. “Monster...”

“I told you this was a bad idea.”

A moment later, he joined the others. I stood over the heap of groaning thugs, breathing heavily.

“Huff... huff...”

I blinked. That was strange. I wasn’t particularly injured, but I was exhausted. I looked down at my legs. I opened and closed my hands. Then I rubbed my thighs, trying to ease the strange fatigue that had settled into them.

Zealot’s Stride had worked, but not nearly as effortlessly as it had when I saved the train. Maybe I hadn’t been using it properly. Or perhaps my game abilities weren’t being reproduced perfectly in this world.

That seemed more likely.

I was still inexperienced with whatever body I had now. Maybe the power was there, but my body hadn’t adapted to using it. Then again... There was something else. The air felt strange, heavy, and suffocating.

I couldn’t explain it, but the longer I stood there, the more uncomfortable I became.

I glanced down at the defeated thugs.

“Listen.”

They groaned.

“If you want to live long enough to get beaten up by someone else, I’d suggest finding an honest profession.”

One of them whimpered.

“Y-yes...”

“Robbing people is a terrible career choice.”

Another nodded frantically.

“Yes!”

“Get some proper work. Earn your money honestly. You’ll sleep better at night.”

The thugs nodded repeatedly.

I sighed.

“Good.”

I walked away, leaving the five men piled together in the street. I had no idea where I was going. I didn’t know what had happened to me. I didn’t know why I had been sent here. I didn’t even know whether that strange man had truly been a god. But as I continued through Meregreen, one thought refused to leave my mind.

Something was wrong.

I couldn’t explain it.

I simply knew it.

Something about this world felt wrong.

And somehow, I had a feeling that whatever was waiting for me at the end of this road was going to be far more complicated than a simple vacation.