"Zombie! Zombie! Zombie?" Finn crawled backward in panic before he realized he wasn't in the forest anymore.
The rainstorm was replaced by endless blue skies, the forest was gone, and the zombie turned ungrateful explorer was missing too.
His brain had trouble processing everything, so he muttered.
"Am I dead? Heaven doesn't look too bad." Finn stared at the big burly man standing over him and continued to grumble.
"Heaven really does let anyone in, huh?"
"What is that supposed to mean?" Grut growled as he cracked his fists. His face that only a mother could love darkened as he felt the urge to punch Finn.
"I'm just kidding. Chill, I'm just shocked at all."
"Where am I, by the way?" Finn quickly raised his hands up as he explained.
"What happened to the other guy?"
Grut scoffed, "You're the only one here, pal. If it wasn't for my master's kindness, no one would have bothered to wake up at all."
Seeing the confusion on Finn's face, the so-called young master stepped forward. His soothing voice drew Finn's attention.
"You're outside Southern Emerald City. Follow me, I'll explain on the way."
The young man didn't wait for Finn's response and began walking with traffic.
Although Finn didn't know what was going on, he knew that was a rare opportunity to get information. So he climbed to his feet and stumbled. The dried mud on his UltraMax raincoat made his movements stiff.
Am I in another world? Finn couldn't help but have this thought. Everything he had learned sent a shock to his core.
He seemed to have arrived at a place that didn't exist on Earth.
It was like he had traveled back in time to before the industrial revolution. Everyone traveled using horses and carriages. Traveling merchants was still a thing.
From everything, he knew Southern Emerald City didn't exist and didn't exist in history either.
So, being sent to another world seemed to be the most likely explanation.
Hekil, the young man who had helped him, turned out to be one of those traveling merchants. He had been traveling city to city selling his merchandise for a hefty profit before buying more to sell to the next city.
So far, he had been to Great Fall City and Hidden Cloud City before making his way south.
He was still new to being a traveling merchant, but his prior experience traveling with his father had taught him everything that needed to know.
"UltraMax? Are you from the lost continent?" Hekil asked as he stared with intrigue at the logo on Finn's clothes.
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Those words are in English, right?. It's one of the mortal languages from the lost continent. So, you must be from there?"
"My great great grandfather used to be from there, and my father told me stories about that place. He said it used to be the closest to the mortal realm before the great separation, which is why it still uses those lost languages." Hekil stroked his chin as he looked at Finn with deep eyes.
Lost continent? Is that Earth? Finn contemplated before realizing something, "Wait, how are you able to read it?"
"My father taught me. He also taught other mortal languages like Mandarin, Japanese, Arabic, and Spanish. He always said that if there ever comes a day I can go back to the lost continent, this would be useful."
"Other than that, these mortal languages aren't as useful as the primordial language."
Finn felt even more convinced that this so-called lost continent was Earth. To have every language back on Earth, it had to be, or at least there was a clue on how to get back to Earth.
"Maybe I'm from the lost continent. Do you know how I can get back there?" Finn asked with some hope.
Hekil stared at Finn like he was joking before bursting his bubble.
"If anyone knew, how do you think my family would still be here? The lost continent is called the lost continent for a reason. No one knows where it is, and no one knows how to get out either. My great great father accidentally came to this continent because he got sucked into a whirlpool and arrived here."
"If you have the courage, you can try getting sucked into a whirlpool and test your luck." Hekil rolled his eyes, but when he saw the devastation on Finn's face, he softened his tone.
"Hey, it's not impossible. It's rumored that immortals can travel to the lost continent. If you can become an immortal, then you might be able to go home."
"As relatives from the lost continent, we shouldn't give up hope of going back home."
Although wasn't the greatest with words he gave Finn hope on a way to get back home and then continue looking for his brother.
"Hekil, thank you so much. How can I repay you for your help?" Finn asked sincerely. After getting so much help, he couldn't repay the favor back.
"A drop of water given in a time of need should be repaid with a fountain. Unless you can give me that fountain, don't bother repaying the favor." Hekil shook his head before reaching into his robe.
"Here, since we can be considered relatives, take this gift. It can help you get into the city and join my Uncle's martial arts school. If you ever become a prominent martial artist or even an immortal, don't forget about this favor." Hekil patted Finn's shoulders with a smile as he handed him a small pouch.
"I will." Finn said with a serious expression.
"Grut, let's go! We are losing daily light." Hekil called out.
Grut breathed out heavily as he pulled the cart full of merchandise forward.
No longer slowed down by Finn, the young master and his servant rushed towards the city with the countless other merchants.
Finn clenched his fists as he stared at their shrinking backs, engraving their appearance into his heart. As a good man, he was someone who planned on repaying back favors.
"A drop of water given in times of need should be repaid with a fountain. What a good phrase? I wonder if he learned it from Earth, too." Finn muttered before walking toward the city.
He was taking his first steps on his journey. One that would be filled with obstacles, full of twists and turns, and traps beyond his comprehension.
Whether he could actually reach the end wasn't a concern for him at this point in his journey.
All he knew was that there was a possibility of being able to get home by becoming an immortal. And since that was the path that needed to be taken, he would go for it.
As for how hard becoming an immortal was, he would quickly become aware. Until then, the long walk to Southern Emerald City was as peaceful as it could ever be.