A Person with Morals gets Transported to Another World [LitRPG] [Satire]

We left the secret area to explore more of the unexplored sections of the dungeon. Our main enemies were still skeletons, but every now and then, I felt a presence lurking in each dark shadow. It was probably nothing to worry about.

“Penrin, Newmill, do you two believe in ghosts?” I asked. In my past life, I considered all supernatural events to have a logical explanation. Even now, I thought that what happened in the tunnel might have just been my mind playing tricks on me. I shook out such foolishness from my head. It was obviously an entity of some sort. I just didn’t want to believe it.

Penrin resolutely said, “No. I don’t.”

Newmill was a little more fickle in his answer but ultimately agreed that apparitions did not exist.

“How can you not believe in ghosts when crazy things like animated skeletons and man-eating chests exist in this world?” I asked. It was far more logical for me to be a disbeliever.

While exploring a room for loot, Penrin asked, “Do you believe in unicorns?”

“No.”

Penrin retorted, “How can you not believe in unicorns when horses exist?”

Newmill laughed at Penrin’s clever quip. It was at my expense, but I enjoyed it too. “Good point,” I said. It gave me pause for thought, though. It seemed that this world had many creatures that did not exist on Earth, but were there any Earth creatures that didn’t exist in this world? “Do you guys have narwhals here?”

“What’s that?” asked Penrin.

“A whale with a spiral horn. It’s kind of like the unicorn of the sea. It’s a real creature where I’m from.” I tried to think of the most exotic creature I could to test my hypothesis.

“Of course a fantastical creature like that doesn’t exist here.” Penrin flipped her hair back as she knelt to rummage through some debris for loot.

“Well…” Newmill started. “Actually, they do exist. They’re very rare creatures but I’ve read about them in textbooks.”

Penrin went silent. She kept searching through the area she had already cleared. I suspected that if I saw her face it would be red. I didn’t want to dwell on her embarrassment, so I asked, “Do penguins exist? What about dolphins? Elephants? Blobfish? Pugs?”

I questioned them on every creature I could think of. Then I moved onto foods, and then landscapes. It turned out, everything on Earth also existed in this world too. The only thing missing from this world was electricity and technology, but it was made up for with runes and magic.

The three of us defeated more skeletons and collected more loot. I had made 500 GP thanks to my companions. It was quite the sum considering all I did was just stand around.

Penrin said, “Looks like we’re getting tired. Let’s call it a day and head back to the city.”

“Tired?” I said. “I’m not tired at all. I could keep going for hours.”

Newmill and Penrin both glared at me. It was an improper thing for me to say when not contributing, but I couldn’t resist. “You know, I forgot you were still here," said Penrin.

“Ouch.” I feigned a motion of being shot through the heart by an arrow. I could tell that Penrin was being considerate because she wasn’t tired at all. It was Newmill who was struggling. He had plenty of mana to spare, but his physical condition was worsening. All this exercise with battle and travel had him knackered. He didn’t have the stamina to keep it up for much longer.

“Sorry,” said Newmill. “I should have conserved my energy better.” He was trying to hide how his breathing was much heavier than his resting rate.

Newmill did have a lot of wasted movement when in combat, but I decided to save the lesson on that for later. If I told him now, it would sound like an affront rather than constructive.  I patted him on the back. “You did fantastic. Both of you did.”

The three of us made for the exit with 500 GP and a bunch of salvaged items we planned to sell. Most of it was junk to me, but Newmill had explained that there was a lot of value in some of the loot I was passing up.

On the way out, we came upon another adventurer. They looked freaky. From their feathers, they were half-owl. They walked forwards with their head completely swivelled backwards. We saw the back of their head coming towards us. The feather colouration created two false eyes that stared at us.

“Hello?” The half-owl was walking in our direction, so I called out to make them aware of our presence.

“Hello,” said the owl. Their voice was soft and dreamy, though I couldn’t hear it well because they were speaking away from me.

I was a bit unnerved by the sight of two false eyes staring directly at me. I knew they were only there to ward off predators, but it was still creepy. Above their head, I saw their information.

[Evesham]

[Age: ???]

[Level: ???]

That was strange. This was the first time that I was unable to see someone’s age. I said, “It’s nice to meet you. Are you dungeon diving too?” I hadn’t seen anyone else until now, so I felt obligated to make some small talk. But for such an off-putting person, I should’ve let them walk by.

“No, I am not here for the dungeon.” Evesham’s voice was gentle for certain, yet there was an eerie quality about it.

“Then what are you here for?” I asked.

Newmill tugged on my shirt and told me to leave them alone. I wanted to, but I had already started the conversation, and it felt rude to stop.

“I am looking for allies in the Kingdom of Humans.”

Newmill and Penrin immediately entered fighting poses. That answer meant that the owl was from a foreign country and possibly an enemy. To diffuse the situation I said, “That’s nice. We’ll be going now…” I stood flat against one of the dungeon walls and then scooted towards the owl to pass by without confrontation.

“Why the rush?” asked Evesham.

Their voice made me freeze. I knew if it came to a fight, we were toast. This half-owl was too high of a level. “Rush?” I said. “I’m not rushing at all. In fact, let us keep you company. It must be lonely traveling by yourself.” At this point, I wasn’t focused on getting away but surviving. Somehow I had endangered all our lives when I only wanted casual chit chat.

“May I pose a thought experiment to you?”

“I love thought experiments,” I said with a twitching fake-smile. “Please, go ahead.”

“Suppose a monster has removed the arm of your sibling. How will you retaliate: take the monster’s arm, take all of the monster’s limbs, or something else?” When asking the question, Evesham’s voice remained stable and did not fluctuate at all.

I gave the question some thought. At first, I was looking for an answer that would appease the owl, but then I began to think about it earnestly. “I wouldn’t sever the monster’s arms. That would be meaningless revenge, and I would rather them face real justice. After all, an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.”

The half-owl’s head swivelled quickly to me. They were wearing a mask so I couldn’t see their face. Evesham said, “What a splendid way to phrase it. Well said, child.”

The praise was undue because I had plagiarised the words from Earth, but the sentiment was aligned with how I felt. “Why do you ask?”

“I seek to bridge the divide between monsters and humans, so I seek those who are of same mind.”

“Me too!” I said excitedly. “That’s exactly what I’m trying to do.”

“Most pleasing.” For the first time, Evesham’s voice seemed to have a hint of emotion. “Will you permit me to test your resolve?”

“Of course!” I said. Penrin and Newmill expressed that they didn’t think this was a good idea, but I didn’t listen to them. This was a chance for me to gain a strong ally that could help me towards my goals. I wasn’t going to allow the opportunity to slip by.

“I am going to cast an illusion on you, to test if you truly believe your words from earlier. May I do so?”

It comforted me that Evesham asked for permission. I hated having spells cast on me without my knowledge, which Earthlings too often liked to do. “You may,” I said.

“Very well.” Evesham spoke some words that I couldn’t understand and then became wreathed in black soot. Suddenly, below my feet, tentacles came out and held my body in place. I struggled against them, but they firmly held my body still.  Evesham reminded me, “This is only an illusion. At any time, call for me to stop and I shall end it.”

I wanted to pass Evesham’s test, so I allowed the tentacles to hold me in place. The way they writhed freaked me out so I hoped the test would end quickly.

Tentacles then appeared beneath Newmill and Penrin’s feet to bind them too. I cried out, “They’re not part of this. Leave them alone.”

Evesham repeated, “This is only an illusion. And it is an illusion that only you are experiencing. Your companions are not under my spell.” The half-owl conjured a trident and then stepped towards Newmill and Penrin. They held the trident high and then used it to pierce both of my friends. Newmill and Penrin both screamed in pain.

“Stop it! Why are you hurting them?” I asked while trying to struggle free from my restraints.

“I am not. These two are illusions of your friends.” Evesham stabbed both of them again, this time in the eyes. The horrified screams of my companions were awful to listen to. I wanted to save them. Even though I knew none of this was real, it still felt like reality.

Evesham then pierced their stomachs. Newmill and Penrin’s faces of agony tortured me. The awareness of this being an illusion was doing nothing to quell my torment.

Evesham explained, “This illusion occurs in a fraction of a second. Your little friends are completely unaware of what’s happening right now.” The soot-covered owl stabbed Newmill and Penrin again, this time in rapid succession.

I tried to tell myself that what I was seeing was a lie, but despite being convinced of it, the sight of this torture overwhelmed me. I hated seeing my companions in agony. I hated hearing their screams. Though, of all my hatreds, one was the strongest: my hatred towards Evesham.

I was fully aware this was a test. The owl was checking to see if I would stand by my words.

Evesham sent a forceful thrust of the trident into both Penrin and Newmill, and then twisted it to cause further pain and screams of suffering. The owl said, “The rational part of your mind understands this is an illusion, however you cannot suppress your feelings. You despise me for the torture I’m inflicting on your friends, don’t you?”

It was true. I couldn’t rationalise my animosity towards Evesham. I hated and loathed them. I abhorred them with every fibre of my being, but that wasn’t all.

“I’ve seen it countless times. You who speak of goodness, fail when it comes to action.” Evesham poked and prodded more with their trident. “You can feel it, can’t you? It is written on your face. You do not simply hate me for what I’m doing. You want to pull the trident from my arms and turn it on me. You want to inflict pain unto me as vengeance. But once isn’t enough. You want to reflect back unto me the pain I’ve caused tenfold. Am I mistaken?”

They weren’t. As much as I wanted to save my companions, I also wanted to hurt Evesham. My head drooped. “Please, stop it,” I said. It was my loss.

The illusion snapped away. The tentacles no longer existed, Evesham stood back where they were when the illusion started, and my companions were unharmed. They were looking at me with a worried expression. They were clueless as to what I had just experienced.

Evesham said, “Once again, another one who is all talk.” They swivelled their head backwards and began walking through the dungeon again.

“Wait,” I said. “I know I was unable to live up to your expectations, but we can still be allies. I still believe that vengeance is wrong and that monsters and humans should coexist. Isn’t that enough? In my world we say, ‘don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good’.”

While walking past, Evesham said, “What part of you is good?” Their voice had a level of condescension that I could only bear from Penrin.

There was nothing I could say that could persuade Evesham. Instead, a self-serving request came over me. “Evesham.”

The owl stopped upon hearing their name. They hadn’t introduced themself, so they were naturally curious as to why I knew their name.

I said, “You can show me illusions of people being tortured, right?” It was a long shot but there was no harm in trying, so I went for it. “Do you know a person named Loftus?” If there was anyone I wanted to see tortured, it was him.

“Such folly…” said Evesham. They twirled their wing feathers around to cloak themselves and then turned into hundreds of bats. The bats flew down the tunnel and left our view.

“Wow!” Both me and Newmill were amazed. “That’s so cool.” We wished we had an ability like that. Being able to fly, travel quickly, and disappear were all amazing skills.

“Is it?” the unimpressed Penrin asked. At first, I thought she was being aloof as usual, but then she pointed to the floor where Evesham disappeared. Because Penrin had a high Body level, her eyes were stronger than ours. She could see that Evesham had pulled a cloth over themself. The pattern on the large cloth was of bricks, so it was hard to spot but when Penrin pointed it out, it became more visible.

“So… uncool,” said Newmill. Evesham had pretended to disappear into a flock of bats but was actually crawling along the ground with a brick blanket.

I agreed it was uncool, but I also made a mental note to steal that trick. It could be used in conjunction with my silhouette cosmetic.

The three of us exited the dungeon and sold our salvage to a merchant at the entrance for 100 GP. All in all, we made 600 GP. Or at least I did.

Penrin and Newmill both retired for the day and bade me farewell. “Today was a lot of fun,” said Newmill.

“Yeah it was!” I replied. “Wasn’t it, Penrin?”

Penrin looked at me, annoyed.

Newmill joined in and said, “Wasn’t it, Penrin?”

She squinted her eyes at the two of us and then said with some reluctance, “It was fine.”

“No, no. Not fine. Fun. Say it with us, Penrin. Fun.”

Her fists clenched. “I think I’ve got another F-word for you two.”