A boar with needles sticking out from its fur was charging at me with a loud squealing war cry and all I could think to do was run. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't running because I was afraid to fight it but because I had nothing to fight it with. I know what you're thinking, what about that weird air thing that I did?

Well, I tried it and nothing worked. All it did was ensure that the monster gained ground and nearly gored me with one of its needles. So, I thought I would lose it in the forest and that was a mistake.

Water sloshing in my boots made it uncomfortable to run and having to peek over my shoulder made it hard to see what was in front of me. I nearly smacked into a tree, and tripped over a gnarled root, falling flat on my back and smacking my head against the ground.

The world spun and all I wanted to do was lie on the ground until I heard that war cry and scrambled to my feet. 

"It would be great if I could get some help now," I yelled to the sky, squinting at the treetops as if someone would fall from one and take this burden off my heels.

Nothing came and the more I ran, the more tired I felt. It felt like I was running in circles, nothing but trees lining my way and this creature on my heels ready to bite into me or prick me to death. My stomach growled and I pressed my hand to it. This was not the right time to be hungry when I was literally going to end up as this thing's lunch!

"If you don't eat soon, you'll pass out," a soft and airy voice said close to my ears and I stumbled, tripping over my feet and tumbling into a bush.

The world was upside down as I opened my eyes and caught small flecks of light falling from overhead. A patch of sunlight coming through the treetops illuminating a tiny fairy. 

"You're a little small to be Death," I mumbled dazedly, feeling like my tongue was trying to stick to the roof of my mouth. "Hey, am I seriously gonna die here?"

This fairy must have been a figment of my imagination. Something that came from being way too hungry and way too tired to function. I closed my eyes, hearing the boar's cry in the distance. Eventually, it'd find me and the thought should have made me scared but I just felt tired. 

"I don't remember the Hero of Air being so lazy."

The soft and airy voice, while pleasing was also irritating. 

"Couldn't you let me die a little quieter?"

Something pried open one of my eyes and I stared at the face of an irate little girl. Their lips pinched together, brow furrowed and eyes narrowed like a disapproving parent. Maybe I should've felt some shame being reprimanded by someone so small.

"You asked for help and now you're giving up?"

Their mouth moved in time with the voice that'd been so close to my ear. I wanted to say that it was a coincidence or brush them off because the light was aggravating my eyes. But either action would've taken too much energy.

"Your stamina is low, if you don't eat something then you'll pass out," they said and I mumbled incoherently in response.

They sucked their teeth and I felt like I was being chided. Their hands pulled away from my eye and allowed it to shut, blissful darkness and the warmth of sunlight easing me into sleep. I wrinkled my nose when the boar's cry echoed off the trees and surrounded me. It was distant thankfully, maybe I'd pass out before it found me.

Wait, that was almost the same as giving up and just letting myself die wasn't it?

I groaned as something tugged at my cheek then again at my upper lip. It felt annoying, like a gnat pulling at my face. 

"Would you st—"

Before I could finish, something was thrown into my mouth and as a reaction, I bit down and tried not to gag. A sweetness filled my mouth and I chewed slowly and thoughtfully before swallowing, sighing as I opened my eyes. The fairy floated in front of me with their arms crossed, a triumphant smirk on their face.

"Are you feeling better?"

I nodded slowly. I'm not sure what it is they gave me but it didn't feel exhausting just to exist anymore.

"That's good," they intone slowly, sparing a glancing over their shoulder. "Because —"

"Gwoaaaar!"

"You've been spotted."

My eyes shot open as the fairy moved aside, barely seen from my peripheral and the boar was in plain view. Upside down in a bush, I must have been a funny sight to see because its lip curled back in a sneer exposing sharp canines as if it was laughing at me. 

If this was a dream, then the fear in my chest that this face would be the last that I'd see would have made it into a nightmare. I swallowed and the boar huffed, digging one of its hooves into the grass as I pressed my hands against the grassy outside of the bush. As we stared at one another, a cool breeze rippled through the leaves and the sound of birdsong filled the silence. My heart's hammering pace slowed and I pressed my lips into a thin line.

 「 AIR BLAST 」 is available for use.

The notice flashed before my eyes in bright blue text over a transparent black background, I blinked slowly, the words vanishing.

What was that?

"Gwoaaaar!"

The boar's warcry spurred me into movement and as it charged towards me, I pressed my boots against the bark of the tree, ignoring the water running down my legs. A thought occurred and I grinned wickedly, pushing against the ground and trying to focus on the air pockets trapped beneath my palms. Let them build up, a little more, a little more. The boar's stampeding pace and raging cry grew closer and just as it nearly reached me, I shot into the air with a loud cry, soaring over its head. 

Flipping backward, I landed on my heel and stumbled. The boar colliding into the tree bark, squealing loud as its tusks sunk into the bark and it tried to wrench free. 

"Gwooa..." The boar butted it's head against the tree and tried to pull free, grunting and twisting one way then the other.

"You trapped it, great job!"

I wanted to agree with the fairy and their enthusiasm but from the way the boar was desperately trying to wrench free, it wouldn't hold for long. One of the tree's lower branches snapped and fell free from the force of the boar's impact and a thought crossed my mind. I curled my hand into a fist and eyed the creature then thought better of it. 

If I hit it with my bare hand, I'd probably end up injuring myself on one of the needles. Carefully walking around the boar's struggling form, I swiped up the tree branch.

 「 TREE BRANCH 」has been equipped.

I eyed the tree branch and tilted it in my hand. A small square window appeared with numbers and words written across it, startling me into almost dropping it.  

"If you're not careful, it'll get free," the fairy reminds me. 

One on one with it, I probably wouldn't get very far but I have a handicap and I'm definitely going to take it.  Holding the branch with both hands, I round to the boar's side and its wild eyes glance in my direction and it begins to struggle with renewed vigor. I grit my teeth and raise the branch then start whacking the boar from behind. After a few hits and pained squeals, it dawns on me that this would look absolutely ridiculous but it was much better than being gored to death.

I glance upward and saw a thin blue bar, the words Prickleboar LVL 1 overhead with a percentage that was steadily going down with every hit. The bar's color shifted from blue to orange then red. With every hit, the boar's squeals grew more frantic and pained until its body slumped as the last bit of the bar vanished from sight. The boar's legs collapsed beneath it with only its tusks embedded in the tree's bark to keep it upright. I panted and sucked in a breath, walking to the boar's side and peeking closer.

The eyes that'd been glaring at me so ferociously and with such wild fervor were now empty. Devoid of color, and even pupils, only endless voids. I stepped back as the window appeared before me.

"EXP..." I muttered, reaching out to it.

"Congratulations!" The fairy cried, throwing out their arms and spinning in a circle, a small breeze picking up as they moved to my side. "I really thought you were going to just die for a second, Air."

"And who're you?"

I fell to my knees and rolled backward onto my butt, letting the adrenaline run through me as my mind tried to catch up and my heart tried to slow down. The window followed my line of sight and the fairy did as well, hovering just on the outer border of it.

"I'm Nubi, it's a pleasure to be of service, Hero of Air," they said and bowed to me.

I breathed through my nose and pulled my legs in close to my chest, laying the branch down and pulling my trembling hands to my lap.

I was chased through a forest by a spiky boar and just killed it by literally beating —

I pressed my hands to my eyes and thought to yell but that might have attracted more monsters so instead, I internally screamed.

"Hero of Air?" Nubi asked innocently.

"I literally fell from the sky!"

I threw myself back onto the grass and rolled from one side to the other, not minding if I looked crazy in front of Nubi. All of this was crazy, none of it made sense!

"Now, now, calm down," Nubi soothed, their hand patting my forehead as I rolled onto my back.

"And then a pig tried to eat me!"

"Technically, it's a prickleboar and you were in it's territory."

I chose to ignore that little tidbit. It wasn't as if I wanted to fall into the territory of an irate animal that would've pricked me to death! And who cared if it was a prickleboar or a pig or a regular boar? To it, I was lunch!

"And I shot an air bubble out of my hands!"

"The skill is called 「 AIR BLAST 」, Air."

I pressed the heels of my hands to my eyes and hoped that I could will all of this away. Stumbling to my feet, I staggered back through the way that I came, noting the broken branches and the hoof markings. Something told me that I shouldn't look back at what I'd done. Going into another frenzy wouldn't help and I didn't have the energy to spark up another rant.

Eventually, I found the river where I'd started and collapsed into it, resting my head against the bank while my body stayed submerged. I didn't mind the water in my boots now, it was comforting at the very least. Something that at least made sense.

"Air, what are you doing?" Nubi asked, and I groaned in reply. "You're laying in a river."

I couldn't bring myself to reply. This was all too much. It was all too strange. I was literally going to pop any second now with just thinking about it. I sighed, enjoying the water cooling off my heated skin and letting me just laze in the flow of the river. At least it was shallow, if it was any deeper then I might have drowned with how tired I felt.

From above, I could hear Nubi sigh and I drowned it out to let my mind have a moment to process. 

There was no sense in screaming over what already happened. I killed something that was trying to kill me, I nearly passed out from hunger, shot air out of my hands and I fell from the sky. Then there was the woman who spoke to me in that void. My eyes cracked open and I looked up at Nubi floating lazily overhead.

Maybe she had some of the answers. Although I doubted it, I hadn't even told her my name and she somehow knew. 

Then there was the question of the things I saw. The window that was still floating across my line of sight, almost blending into the scenery if not for the translucent background and out of place text. Then there was the bar and the levels, the enemy name.

Skills, weapon equipment.

The more the pieces fell into place, the louder my groaning got and Nubi floated by the side of my head and looked at me worriedly. 

I'd seen these tropes before. Read them in books and anime while I should have been doing my homework or preparing for work. If I remembered right, things like this were called isekai. Being transported to another world. Some of the mechanics, the language, the knowledge, it might be similar to the world I came from but there may be differences.

I closed my eyes and slipped further into the water. That would explain the voice that I heard before. Maybe she was a god or something. Though she didn't seem like she knew much. Or maybe she was keeping things from me. I don't know which irritated me more.

"At least tell me I'm not the protagonist," I mumbled under my breath.

Dread pricked in my chest and I glanced up at Nubi.

"Hey Nubi, why do you call me the Hero of Air?"

Nubi tilted her head to one side and stared at me as if I'd asked the most obvious thing in the world, and maybe I had for her.

"It is your job within this world."

That didn't sound good. It sounded like way too much responsibility.

"And what does that mean exactly?"

Nubi blinked slowly then smiled pleasantly as if she was remembering something wonderful.

"The Hero of Air, one of the four legendary elemental heroes, will save this world." 

I blinked at her and nodded.

"I see."

Then without hesitation, I said.

"Can I quit?"