Prologue

.

Sleep, wake up, work.

Go home, sleep, and repeat.

That had been my endless cycle until now. A gray, exhausting existence, with no joy or purpose in life other than being another cog in the productive machinery. Day after day of relentless work, overtime until late at night, had devoured every trace of enthusiasm and strength. I even thought it wouldn't be surprising if people mistook me for a zombie walking down the street. My body, which had once been somewhat chubby, was now thin to the point of fragility (for some, almost bordering on anorexia).

Obviously, this alarmed my parents, who had once been proud to see me get my first stable job.

“Come with us to Grandpa's house, near the sea.” 

My mother called me one day in a tone that brooked no excuses. At first, I refused. My sense of responsibility, almost mechanical and cultivated by years of slave labor, stood between me and life itself. But when my mother showed up with my bags packed and the car running in front of my apartment, I had no escape.

So I ended up on the beautiful beaches of Siesta Beach, Florida, surrounded by my parents, siblings, uncles, aunts, and grandparents, all in swimsuits, enjoying the summer.

It was a family outing, the first in a long time.

For the first time in years, I felt alive again. 

I felt like I still had a family.

In fact, I realized that I always had one; my family was always there. It was me who wasn't there.

I had neglected my family for too long, wasting too much time chasing nothing.

What the hell had I been doing with my life all these years?

Just working until I dropped dead?

I really was a complete idiot.

That summer I understood: I wanted freedom.

I wanted to live to enjoy, not just to survive.

That's right, that has to be my goal in life!

And it was on that beach that I discovered something that left a mark on me: diving.

That image of the sun reflecting off the crystal-clear water, the feeling of diving in, floating, and exploring the world as if you were free from the chains that bind you to your physical body... it's pure freedom! A feeling that simply fascinated me. My heart clung to that magical experience, convinced that I had found a second purpose, a hobby that I wanted to turn into a passion.

Unfortunately, I realized it too late.

A week later, after spending hours watching diving and swimming videos on the internet, when I finally signed up for a professional diving and swimming course; I left home with the excitement of a child on his first day of school. I crossed an avenue with the traffic light on red, and suddenly, I heard the roar of tires braking sharply on the asphalt. 

I didn't have time to react, I just felt the strong impact.

A blow that came as fast as lightning sent my body flying several meters through the air.

My last memory was seeing the truck driver completely paralyzed with shock, with people who had witnessed the accident screaming and others running to help me. But it was too late, my vision darkened as that intense red liquid drained from my body, forming a pool beneath me.

Oh, God, if there is another life... maybe I'd like to be reborn as a beautiful fish.

And then I died.

Or at least, that's what I thought.

The next thing I felt was my body sinking into a strange abyss.

Darkness, cold, and silence.

And a very peculiar feeling of “Ah shit... I'm dying again” sank into my consciousness.

I couldn't tell if it was the afterlife or just a dream. But I could sense something: I was submerged in water. My body wasn't responding. Somehow, I felt as if my soul—yes, my soul or consciousness or whatever it was—hadn't finished merging with my body. The process was underway, and I could feel that first my consciousness awoke, still numb and confused, but I was awake. Then came the sensations, sight, hearing, and finally the activation of my motor functions such as arms and legs, along with a strong pressure and suffocation.

I wanted to scream, but when I opened my mouth, water rushed in like a broken dam, and air bubbles floated upward.

That's right, I'm drowning!

"...!"

Panic flooded me, the pressure, the suffocation, and the feeling that I was dying again made me desperate. Driven by sheer survival instinct, I began to kick and move my arms in all directions, completely forgetting my swimming lessons. I just kicked as if I were fighting the water, even though all it did was exhaust my energy and sink me even further into the water.

Above, I noticed the sun's reflective glare on the water.

My consciousness began to fade again.

Am I... going to die?

Just when I thought I was going to slip back into darkness, a pair of large, strong hands of a peculiar... green hue? entered the water to grab me under the armpits and, firmly, almost heroically, lift me up and pull me out of the water.

The glare of the sun blinded me.

Fluffy clouds against an almost beautiful blue sky were reflected before my eyes, which were almost blinded by the glare.

I coughed and spat out water as I felt like a newborn baby, my clothes completely wet and my body held in the arms of strong, muscular hands. That's right, I could feel a pair of rather strong muscles carrying me playfully as if I were a princess.

I felt too weak to try to stand up on my own, and it would also be in poor taste to struggle with my savior simply because I felt uncomfortable being “carried like a princess” despite being a man in my thirties.

After coughing and feeling the accumulated water clear my throat, I was finally able to take a deep breath of fresh air, my lungs filling with oxygen, and I breathed a sigh of relief at having escaped death.

Finally, I felt that I was out of danger.

Diving really should not be taken lightly.

My memories are somewhat confused, but I can still remember being run over. Considering that I am alive, I suppose it was a dream I had while drowning, a kind of near-death experience perhaps? I don't know. I don't know what that experience was, but the important thing is that I am alive.

My parents will probably give me a good scolding when they find out, and my siblings will laugh at me.

You wanted to dive and almost drowned, are you an idiot?

I can already imagine their faces.

But anyway, back to the important stuff, I need to thank my savior.

He's probably a lifeguard who saw me drowning and ran to help me.

“Thank you so much, friend, for saving me. I really don't know what happened to me. I think I passed out in the water and...”

I didn't have time to finish speaking, or rather, I couldn't finish speaking. My eyes widened as I stared in shock and disbelief at what I was seeing.

What the hell? Am I at a cosplay fair?

Holding me in his arms, with defined muscles and his gaze raised, with the sun reflecting behind him in an almost epic or heroic way, was an orc. That's right, a huge, naked orc with nothing but a loincloth to cover himself. His nose was raised high, his fangs protruding above his cheeks, his skin green and his appearance wild, but somehow with a touch of heroism behind his image. Although perhaps the latter was due to my own imagination at the moment.

But anyway, I could see that despite his brilliant projected image, his eyes, far from showing firm determination or confidence, or whatever, showed confusion and some concern.

“Um... young master, are you all right?” asked the orc, tilting his head in an innocent gesture. Somehow, I felt that if he didn't have his hands in use, the orc would probably have scratched his head in confusion. That's right, my impression of this orc's heroism lasted no more than two seconds when I noticed from his gestures, speech, and gaze that this orc was a good person, without a doubt, but he also clearly seemed to be foolish and of little intelligence.

“I-I'm fine...”

I replied with a slight stutter.

What else do you want me to do? I'm still in shock.

What the hell is an orc from a fantasy game doing holding me in his arms?

Am I still dreaming?

What the hell has happened?

And that's how my adventure in this new world began.

Rescued by a muscular, half-naked orc in a princess pose.

Some people might misinterpret this story, but don't worry, this adventure does not contain any homoerotic events of any kind. I still like girls... although I also think I should start training a little more often. I also want to have abs like Zac Efron in Baywatch.