Robena
Unknown Village Outskirts
Nighttime
I kinda feel like Robin, but with a headache and without amnesia...
You died that day. Whatever the reason, the old you is dead. Either by truck, murder, or even a flowerpot, you died. Thankfully, the great deities of Isekai granted you a second life, complete with a CYOA! Unfortunately for you, you've forgotten every detail about that CYOA, and now have to navigate this brave new world with whatever knowledge you have of it! Good luck heroes!
Remire Villiage
First of the Pegasus Moon, Imperial Year 1179
Three Months Before the Start of Canon
You're falling. That's all you have time to comprehend before you fall face-first into the snow, surrounded by trees. Where are you?
In the distance, you see a village. You should probably head that way before you freeze to death.
Before you can take a single step, an agonizing lance of pain spears through your cranium, and you collapse from the agony. Memories of how to hold a sword, lance, ax, bow, and gauntlets pour into your mind. Memories of Magic and Faith, of tactics, of armor, of riding pegasi and horses, shoves itself into your mind, all while the searing pain continues.
As you stagger to your feet, the howls of wolves reach your ears, and you prepare for a fight, instinctively reaching for the weapon you favor most.
The last thing I remember is a red car that suddenly accelerates while I'm still crossing the street, leaving me with insufficient time to avoid it...
...And then I feel nothing under my feet, and a sense of going down really fast. Before I know it, a blast of icy cold hits me as my face and body make contact with the white, surprisingly soft snow. Did heaven freeze over, or was I now living out a certain genre that was supposedly fiction? I slowly get up, groaning from the cushioned impact, only to fall to my knees as I clutch my temples in agony. My face forms a grimace as pain takes over my world. Make it stop, make it stop!
In the midst of it all, I... learn things. Thing that feel as if I was taught them, as if I had practiced them, even though I know I did not. So that's how to wield a sword in real life. It's more expansive (and complete with practical experience!) than what my previous stock knowledge was. Not only that, there's also... magic. Calling upon the power of lightning, and wielding it in conjunction with my blade. If not for the pain, it would have been nice to learn something so fantastical. Tactics. The ebb and flow of the battlefield (both literal and metaphorical ones). An in-depth study of the
Art of War and other such texts, a deeper appreciation of them than before. Not only tactics, actually, but also strategy, operations, and some logistics too. Things that an officer would need. Even leadership lessons too. There are other skills that come to my mind, but those are the most prominent ones. I could probably pass for a budding Tactician at this rate, like Robin...
And then the pain stops, with only an ache lingering by, and the feeling of almost nothing but the cold snow is a pleasure... which proves to be short-lived as howls ring out around me. Wolves! I might be made mincemeat by the wildlife! But the techniques of swordplay, of magic, float in my mind, as if to tell me that I now have the tools to defend myself.
I have no idea where they come from. It reminds me of ex-nihilo knowledge from jumpchains, but I'm not looking a gift horse in the mouth. I quickly stand up once more, slight clanking sounds being heard to my ears as newfound instincts draw a sword from my left. It feels natural to hold, and I can already visualize how it can be swung, whether in the usual manner or versus armored foes and such. The sword itself... features a straight, double-edged blade and a cruciform hilt. A typical arming sword, it looks like, but one couldn't go wrong with a design that worked well for centuries, right? It's versatile too, good for cut and thrust.
A glance of my surroundings show that I'm not the only one. There are eight others who are also staggering up right now. One is even banging his gauntlets and making a show of sparks out of it. Most if not all of them look like knights in armor, though not in fully-covered plate. A glance at myself shows that I'm also wearing armor too. Padded cloth could be felt on my skin, and I see the characteristic chain links of mail. A brigandine encircles my torso (which feels heavier than usual), while a trenchcoat tops off my ensemble. They're all colored in sliver and black with purple patterns and gold trim, too. Kinda reminds me of Robin again.
I ready my sword as I look out for the approaching enemy. It still feels cold, surrounded by snow (and I haven't seen snow for ages!)... and the darkness of the night doesn't help. Yet there's also that funny feeling of, well,
rightness...