I Became a Swordsman in the Middle Ages.

A shabby cabin.

A young girl sat on the bed with a blank expression.

The girl looked around for a moment, then pinched her cheeks several times.

Only after her rice-cake-like cheeks turned bright red did she stop pinching.

“… What’s this?”

She lowered her gaze.

A white dress. Short arms and legs.

“This is absurd.”

The girl, making a deflating sound, flopped back onto the bed.

“…I didn’t download any pedo games, though.”

It seemed she had somehow entered a different game.

Encountering an unexpected error is never pleasant, especially for someone who has their first day of work tomorrow.

She let out a short sigh and muttered softly,

“Log out.”

…However, no matter how much time passed, nothing changed.

“…Log out.”

Even shouting it again made no difference.

“Menu.”

“Status window.”

“Skills.”

“Call GM.”

Slowly finding it strange, she abruptly sat up.

The first thing that caught her eye was an old wooden table, next to which was a small mirror.

She carefully walked over and picked up the mirror to check her appearance.

The image of a young girl who looked about 6 years old came into view.

“………”

And the ID card beside her.

[Sisilia]

[Born in Saint Michael Year 483.]

‘…Another World?’

A familiar character name. Appearance. Even the birth year.

Everything was the same as her character in Another World, except she looked a bit younger.

‘But then again.’

There was no unpleasant sense of perspective unique to Another World, nor the dull feeling compared to reality.

And the memories that came to mind.

The words of the GM about the sequel to Another World, and the gate.

‘…Then is this place the sequel to Another World?’

It was the most plausible guess.

After all, this happened right after that conversation.

Then why can’t she log out?

“…Am I trapped in the game or something? Does that even make sense?”

Sisilia instinctively denied it.

She clutched her head and reached out for the bed’s headboard.

The rough surface of the wood she touched with her hand was a level of detail she had never felt in any VR game she could remember.

‘It’s too precise. Is there a need for it to be this realistic?’

This time, she kicked the end of the bed with her foot. The quite heavy bed creaked and moved slightly, transmitting a sense of weight and impact to her toes.

And the strange uneasiness gradually washed over her.

‘It feels real…’

Suddenly wanting to check something, she faced the wall.

She clenched her fist and struck with all her might.

Thud!

With strength unbelievable for a child.

And pain unbelievable for virtual reality.

“…It hurts. A lot, at that.”

Sisilia curled up like a ball, holding back the tears welling up.

No matter how much virtual reality games improved, they could not replicate this kind of pain.

Then, a word naturally came to mind.

‘Reality.’

Though unbelievable, there was no other possibility.

If not, this situation couldn’t be explained.

“……”

This place wasn’t some game, but reality.

The setting was probably a world based on Another World.

“No way.”

Sisilia’s lips trembled.

-Could you please be a tester for us?

-There’s no one as suitable as you…

Is that it?

The GM she had spoken to earlier was actually a real goddess, and that goddess had sent her to this world.

A slightly cliché setup for a novel these days.

That kind and benevolent face turned into the most hated face in the world in an instant.

“Calm down, calm down.”

The problem was that if this world were based on ‘Another World,’ it would be hell itself.

She wouldn’t have time to leisurely fall into a panic.

‘…I need to prepare. I have to survive first.’

Sisilia began to thoroughly search the room.

***

“This is all I have…”

She gathered all the items in the cabin and placed them on the table.

It was nothing short of bleak.

‘All I have is stone bread and one knife. I guess I should be grateful to at least have a cabin.’

Having a safe base was a big merit.

At least she didn’t have to worry about being bitten to death by wolves in the forest.

Sisilia, accepting the situation as positively as possible, first picked up a piece of stone bread and bit into it.

…It had no taste.

“How do I use Divine Protection?”

Sisilia clenched her fist and swung it in the air.

Whoosh-!

Her hair fluttered with a sharp blast.

She spoke in a slightly relieved voice,

“The usage method is the same.”

Divine Protection is the measure of power in ‘Another World.’

Fortunately, this part remained the same. The attribute is also the same as ‘Divine Protection of Wind.’

‘And that means I’m relatively strong for my level.’

This is where the difficulty of Another World comes from.

Unlike other games where you just say the skill name and it activates automatically, in Another World, the user had to directly ‘manifest’ it through imagination.

Sisilia’s manifestation level as the rank 1 player was incomparably high.

So this could be considered fortunate.

It guaranteed a certain degree of force.

“…Shall we look around a bit?”

Now that she was done organizing, it was time to move.

Sisilia stood in front of the door with an awkward gait.

Standing on tiptoe, she barely opened the door, and the dense forest seemed to dance and sway.

The corners of Sisilia’s mouth slowly rose.

Even in this bleak situation, she was in a very good mood.

‘My heart is pounding.’

Her heartbeat quickened.

The excitement of a new world.

The confidence of a veteran.

An escape from the tiresome reality.

Not having to go to work tomorrow.

It wasn’t any of those.

‘So when it officially opens, other people will be dragged here like me?’

It had been 10 years since she only played a dreary game without newbies.

The thought of seeing squishy newbies already made her excited.

‘Let’s level up as much as possible before the official opening.’

A hint of madness could be felt in Sisilia’s eyes.

***

Terezia, capital of Lianen Kingdom.

There, the Windsor Knights, who protected the people from the threat of demons, were located.

The front gate was wide open so that anyone could request help, and it was bustling with knights and citizens.

But today, a slightly unusual scene unfolded there.

“I’ve come to become a knight.”

As the clear voice rang out, the surroundings briefly quieted down.

The knight Carl looked at the girl up and down with a dumbfounded expression.

Silver hair flowing down to her waist, skin as pale as paper, wrists so slender they looked like they would break if tapped.

Her height barely reached his waist.

She was probably about 6 years old.

“Go away, little one.”

Carl waved his hand unsteadily. He was already stressed from weekend duty and had no intention of participating in a child’s antics.

“Where do I take the entrance test?”

However, Sisilia didn’t seem inclined to back down.

Sighing deeply, Carl tried to speak a bit more menacingly.

“This isn’t a place for kids to play around. Go on quickly. Before this uncle gets angry.”

“As expected, it’s this pattern.”

Sisilia took about two steps back with her hands clasped together.

Only then did Carl frown, noticing the dagger in the girl’s hand.

“Why is a little kid carrying around something like that? Put it down right now.”

“I’m sorry.”

The girl suddenly bowed her head and apologized. Then, without even lifting her head, she spoke in a flat tone,

“I’m in a bit of a hurry.”

“What?”

“Then, I’ll be going.”

In an instant, Carl’s vision was filled with fluttering silver hair.

And at some point, he found himself face to face with a sharply shining dagger.

Carl instinctively stepped back to avoid the dagger, but the next moment, that dagger was embedded in the wall.

Kwaaang!

An impact and roar intense enough to shake the wall.

“Y-you, w-what are you doing!”

Carl shouted hastily. But the girl calmly answered as she pulled out the dagger,

“This is the fastest way.”

Carl was half frozen.

The moment he tried to speak, the girl’s dagger flew again.

“Wait! Wait a sec!”

Carl had no choice but to dodge this way and that.

It wasn’t because the opponent was a young child.

He ‘had no choice’.

The girl was fast, and the attacks came from almost unpredictable angles.

In simple terms, he could barely avoid them.

‘Impossible!’

He was spewing disbelief, but a knight was still a knight. As the startled Carl’s mind stabilized, he gradually adapted to Sisilia’s sword.

Sisilia distanced herself and lowered her sword. A faint trembling could be felt in her small hand.

‘As expected, it was too much. With this body, it’s difficult to beat even one knight.’

The most basic foundation of the game is fast leveling up.

For that, hunting in a good hunting ground is essential.

The problem was, this place wasn’t Another World.

Of course, there was no way the hunting grounds Sisilia knew before would exist here.

It meant she had to sequentially clear quests she had skipped before, and gradually grow step by step.

It was a very bothersome and tedious task. Like the tutorial, that process needed to be ‘skipped.’

The method was simple. If you don’t want to climb the stairs, take the elevator.

‘I need to make them think: Leaving me alone is too dangerous.’

She closed her eyes. And pictured an image.

A technique only possible with ‘Divine Protection of Wind’ that is not easily visible.

The most ‘threatening form of Divine Protection’ she could currently manifest.

‘Overwhelm them.’

As if tearing the air, a sharp sound engulfed the surroundings, and the wind stretching from the tip of the sword wriggled as if it were a living creature.

Soon, the wind gathered at the sword’s tip and began to elongate and emit light.

“Sword energy…?”

The knight in front muttered in bewilderment.

Sisilia quietly smiled.

‘I’m glad. I managed to manifest it poorly with this meager amount of mana.’

But her hands were already trembling, and a line of cold sweat flowed down.

Even knowing that maintaining Divine Protection any longer would ruin herself, she gritted her teeth.

One step. Just one more step, and it would be enough. If she could just release this, she could definitely enter the knights.

However.

‘Something is strange.’

The expression of the knight in front was odd.

His face was pale, but it didn’t make sense for him to react like that after seeing sword energy.

A knight shouldn’t die from a single blast of sword energy.

Come to think of it, his gaze was directed slightly upward.

‘Is there someone behind me?’

Before she could even turn her head, someone’s hand grabbed the back of her neck.

Sisilia was slowly lifted up.

It felt like standing on top of a tall building.

“Stop it. Your body can’t take it anymore.”

A thick beard. A sturdy physique.

Above all, the silver epaulet on his shoulder.

“If you had moved with that just now, it would have put a great strain on your body.”

“C-Captain! How are you here…!”

‘He must be the knight captain. My future boss.’

Sisilia meekly peeked at him and lowered her eyes.

She had the mindset of catching anyone, but she reeled in the biggest fish possible.

“And with this level, you still have a long way to go. Sword energy is used by anyone in this order of knights.”

The eyes of the knight captain staring intently at her were filled with interest.

“But considering your age, there is potential. Who are you?”

Sisilia barely opened her mouth.

As a penalty for the overuse of Divine Protection, an immense drowsiness poured over her.

“… I’m fine with just room and board, even without pay.”

“?”

“Instead, annual salary negotiations are a must…”

Leaving those final words, she fell asleep.

Everyone in the hall was dyed with incredulity.

Author’s Notes

Happy New Year everyone! ! >_< !