BALLAD OF THE ORC PALADIN

The New Reality

The morning had started like any other for Kaito Nakamura. He sat quietly at the back of his high school classroom, trying to balance his boredom with the sleepiness that threatened to pull him under. The sound of the teacher's lecture droned on, a distant buzz in the background as his thoughts wandered. He doodled mindlessly in the corner of his notebook, imagining himself in the middle of an epic battle, sword in hand, facing a monstrous opponent. In his daydreams, he was always the hero—the one who could change everything. But real life had no such grandeur.

Kaito had always felt out of place in the mundane world around him. He wasn't particularly popular, nor did he excel at anything. He wasn't a top student or an athlete, and he wasn't someone people sought out. He was just... there. Another face in the sea of classmates. He dreamed of something different, something more- a life that had meaning and excitement.

It was during one of those very thoughts, his eyes glazed over in a half-awake state, that something happened. His vision blurred. The classroom around him seemed to waver, as if the air itself was rippling. Kaito blinked, shaking his head, but the sensation only intensified. The world twisted, a whirlpool of colour and sound, and then—darkness.

When Kaito opened his eyes, the first thing he felt was the ground beneath him. It was cold and hard, like stone. His body ached, his mind disoriented. He groaned, rolling over onto his back, his vision swimming as he tried to make sense of where he was. The sterile classroom was gone. Instead, he found himself staring at a sky so vast and blue it seemed unreal.

He shot up to his feet, heart racing. What happened? Where am I?

Looking around, he realised he was no longer in his familiar world. He was in the middle of what looked like a dense forest, the towering trees casting shadows that danced in the afternoon sun. The air smelled different—earthy, rich with the scent of pine and damp leaves. But something was off. His limbs felt heavy, his movements sluggish.

He looked down at his hands, and his breath caught in his throat. His skin wasn't his usual pale colour—it was a sickly shade of green. His fingers were thick, tipped with claw-like nails. He touched his face, finding a broad, flat nose and sharp tusks protruding from his mouth. Panic surged through him. This wasn't his body. This wasn't human.

He staggered back, his pulse quickening. A reflection in a nearby puddle confirmed the horrifying reality—he had become an orc. His face was monstrous, his body massive and hulking. What was happening? How did this even—

Before he could process any of it, a sharp pain exploded at the back of his head. He barely had time to react before his vision blurred again, and everything went black.

When Kaito came to, he was no longer alone. His hands were bound behind him with thick rope, and he was sitting upright against a cold stone wall. The first thing he noticed was the faint glow of a fire flickering in front of him, casting long shadows across the cave-like room. The second thing he noticed was the strange assortment of people surrounding him.

An elf with long silver hair stood a few feet away, leaning against the wall with a bow slung across her back, watching him with cold, calculating eyes. Beside her, a dwarf in heavy armour with a thick beard sat sharpening his axe, his muscles bulging with every movement. And finally, there was a human, a young woman dressed in a deep-blue mage's robe, her staff glowing faintly in her hand.

Kaito's mouth felt dry as he tried to make sense of what was happening. His mind raced, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember anything after the moment he blacked out. He had no idea who these people were, or why they had him tied up.

The dwarf was the first to speak, his voice a deep rumble that echoed off the stone walls. "Well, looks like the orc finally woke up."

The elf's eyes narrowed. "You sure this one's not part of the raiding party? Could be a spy."