Time passed slowly in the village house. The tension hung in the air like a wet blanket, and Levi was about to start counting ceiling beams when distant hoofbeats broke the silence.
Outside, the horn didn't sound again. Instead, voices rose—sharp at first, then relaxed, like someone had just gotten good news. One of the older men standing near the doorway exhaled loudly and chuckled.
"Just merchants," he said. "Thank the gods. Thought it might've been bandits or Lord Fallon's tax hounds again."
The news rippled through the room like a breeze. Relief settled on the villagers' shoulders as they slowly began to rise, murmuring with renewed energy. Doors opened. People filtered out.
Levi blinked. "Merchants? Seriously? All this for… merchants?"
Mae gave him a look. "Not all travelers are friendly in the North. Could've been worse."
Levi nodded slowly. "Could've been swamp bandits or, I dunno… some walking lizard men."
She raised a brow. "Boy, if you've seen lizard men, you need a stronger tonic."
Levi didn't smirk this time—he looked more doubtful than anything. He'd seen mods that turned Skyrim into a lizardman apocalypse. Who was to say Westeros didn't have those too?
Instead of bantering further, he followed the others out onto the muddy lane. Through the low morning mist, a small caravan was pulling in—a handful of wagons, wooden and worn, pulled by shaggy horses. A few riders trailed alongside, cloaks damp from travel.
One rider dismounted near the path and raised a hand in greeting. "Apologies for the scare!" he called out. "Didn't mean to set off your horn. Couldn't see proper—too busy not sinking into the swamp or getting eaten by lizards!"
Levi squinted. "Hey, I said that first."
The villagers chuckled. That rider—youngish, scruffy beard, worn leathers—seemed friendly enough. He waved again and stepped aside as the rest of the caravan rolled in.
The merchants began to set up a makeshift stall with practiced ease: a crate flipped into a table, wares unwrapped and laid out like treasure—herbs, tools, rough-spun fabric, tin trinkets, and even a few shining brooches. The smell of something spiced and fried wafted from one of the back wagons.
Levi's stomach let out a traitorous gurgle.
He rubbed it. "Of course I'd get reincarnated without snacks."
Still, he felt a lightness in his chest. No raiders. No pitchfork mobs. No dragons. Just a traveling market. It wasn't a Steam Summer Sale, but it would do.
He took a step forward toward the door—only to feel a light plink on his shoulder.
He turned.
A tiny pebble dropped to the floor.
Standing a few feet away was that same snot-nosed kid from earlier—the one who had pelted him when he first arrived. Jory. The kid grinned like a gremlin caught mid-prank, then bolted out the door before Levi could say a word.
"Hey—!" Levi started after him, but paused on the threshold.
Outside, Jory ran straight to the caravan and threw himself at one of the riders—the same scruffy man who had spoken earlier. The man barely had time to brace himself before the boy collided with him in a hug.
"Da!"
The rider froze for half a beat, then burst into a wide grin. He scooped Jory up with one arm, spinning him once before planting him back on the ground.
"Well, well! Look who's grown a foot since last I came!"
Levi blinked, leaning against the doorway. "Huh. So that gremlin does have a dad."
Mae appeared beside him, arms crossed but smiling faintly.
"Didn't think Jory had a family?"
Levi shrugged. "Thought he just spawned in to torment me."
She rolled her eyes. "That's his father, Harwin. Travels with the traders, stops by every month or two."
Levi nodded slowly, watching the two reunite. A pang hit him then—small but sharp. Something about the boy's grin, the man's laugh, the simple happiness of it all. It was so... normal.
So human.
And so very far from his gaming chair, monitor glow, and a half-eaten bag of chips.
He looked down at his mud-stained tunic and sighed. "Man, I really am in this world, huh?"
Then something flickered in the corner of his vision.
He paused. Blinked. Looked again.
It wasn't a bird. It wasn't a hallucination.
It was… a window.
A full-blown, transparent Cheat Engine window floated in the air like it had been alt-tabbed into existence. Plain, utilitarian, and deeply familiar.
There it was—his old friend.
Cheat Engine 7.4File Edit Table D3D Help
[🗔 Memory View] [🧠 Add Address Manually] [🔍 First Scan] [⏩ Next Scan]
It even had the scan fields open, waiting for him to input values.
Levi gawked. "No way. No friggin' way."
This wasn't some flashy game interface. It looked exactly like the version he'd been using the night he died—janky font and all. Like someone ripped it straight off his desktop and slapped it into the world.
He moved his hand cautiously. The window followed his line of sight, not touch. It hovered there, stable, waiting.
"I must've lost it," he whispered. "I finally broke. I'm seeing Cheat Engine in a swamp."
And yet… the longer he looked, the more real it felt.
This wasn't a delusion.
This was his Cheat Engine.
Still blinking, Levi did the only thing that made sense in his rattled, delighted gamer brain.
He threw back his head and screamed—not in fear, not in pain.
But in victory.
"Yessssssssssss!"
The villagers all turned to stare.
A dog barked.
Jory's father blinked.
Mae groaned and covered her face. "Oh gods… here he goes again."