The carriage jolted, and Lucas’s head struck the canopy with a thud.
“Hiss—”
He covered his head and snapped his eyes open.
Before him was the slightly decayed interior of the carriage.
The coachman was driving swiftly along a narrow path.
A dull pain pulsed in his head—it wasn’t just from hitting the canopy earlier.
When he was driving the carriage moments ago, for some unknown reason, a sharp pain suddenly struck his head.
He had no choice but to switch seats with an elderly coachman traveling with him, and then he lost consciousness.
Now that he was awake, strange memories suddenly flooded his mind.
Those images felt too real.
The protagonist was clearly himself, yet Lucas had no recollection of ever experiencing those events.
There were many unfamiliar faces in those memories.
The tangled recollections left Lucas’s mind in chaos.
“Are you alright? You’ve been acting strange ever since a while ago.”
A gentle female voice sounded by his ear as a hand touched Lucas’s forehead.
“No fever. That’s good. It’d be troublesome if you got sick while we’re on the run.”
“It’s only just the beginning of our escape. If you collapse now, it’s questionable if we’ll even make it to our destination,” the aged coachman added.
“There’s a town ahead. We’ll rest there shortly.”
Escape…
Lucas pressed his head.
A flood of memories clashed inside his mind, leaving him dizzy and unable to think clearly.
He struggled to piece together his thoughts and finally made sense of the situation.
Right, escape…
His border hometown had been invaded by an enemy nation.
Most people either died resisting or were captured by enemy troops.
Almost everyone had perished there.
After fighting desperately, Lucas barely managed to carve a bloody path out alongside his childhood friend.
Halfway through, they encountered the old coachman hauling goods and began their flight.
“Lucas? Can you hear me?”
The worried voice came again.
“Ah, yeah, I’m fine.”
Lucas replied instinctively, turning to the source of the voice.
It was a girl with long black hair and amber eyes.
Though her linen dress was somewhat worn, it could not hide her pure, natural beauty.
She was Lelia, his childhood friend.
The warmth of her hand on his forehead, her breath so close—Lelia leaned in, checking on his condition.
“No fever either… What’s wrong? You suddenly passed out, and since waking, you’ve been distracted.” Lelia’s brows furrowed.
“Is it the trauma from before? Or… are you struggling to leave the home you’ve always known?”
“No, it’s not that… I…”
Lucas opened his mouth but hesitated, unable to finish.
How could he explain the sudden new memories he’d just gained?
Even if he tried, she wouldn’t believe him.
“I’m just worried about the future,” he settled on a compromise.
“It’s alright. Once we reach the kingdom’s interior, things will improve. It’s different from the border—no enemy invasions, and there will be people to protect us. The beginning will be tough, but life will get better.”
Her wish was beautiful, but Lucas couldn’t calm his mind.
The new memories told him that Lelia’s hope was impossible.
He had only learned through those memories that the carriage was about to be ambushed by a pack of monsters.
This carriage, with almost no weapons, was just prey for the monsters.
Lelia would die in the jaws of those monsters, and he would be saved only after being bitten half to death.
After that, having lost Lelia, he would set off alone on an adventurer’s journey.
No, no, no—this couldn’t be happening.
Those newly surfaced memories were too strange.
How could such a coincidence occur?
“Wha… what’s ahead?”
The coachman suddenly shouted in alarm.
The slap of reality came fast and hard.
Hearing the coachman’s cry, Lucas’s heart sank.
Ignoring the headache, he sat beside the coachman.
Sure enough, shadows of several monsters loomed ahead.
He had no combat skills, the coachman was old, and Lelia was a frail girl.
There was no one aboard the carriage who could fight.
Lucas bit his fingernails, trying to calculate any way to save everyone.
His mind was still a mess, but he hurriedly sifted through the strange memories he had just acquired.
After the carriage encountered the monsters, the frightened coachman had stopped the horses, resulting in the ambush and Lelia’s death.
What if this time they didn’t stop and instead charged through?
Maybe they could break free from the monster’s attack?
Though unsure if it would work, the current situation left no choice but to gamble.
Glancing around inside the carriage, Lucas searched for weapons.
After a thorough look, the only thing he found was a worn-out axe in the corner.
What could one rusty axe do? Facing a pack of monsters, it was far too little.
“Lucas, what are you doing? You’ve been acting strange since a while ago…”
Lelia looked at him uneasily.
“Is something wrong? Why are you holding that axe?”
“Lelia, protect yourself. Don’t leave the carriage.”
Lucas gripped the old axe tightly.
Having something was better than nothing.
“There are monsters blocking the way ahead.”
“Eh? Then what do we do?”
Lucas said nothing.
He sat beside the coachman and spoke firmly, “Monsters ahead. Speed up, don’t stop!”
“Are you crazy? That’ll get us killed!”
The coachman trembled in protest.
“Stopping will be worse. Charging through might be our only chance to survive.”
The shapes of the monsters became clearer—dozens of wolf-like creatures.
Direwolves—among the weakest of monsters. Still, for ordinary unarmed people, they were deadly.
“Lucas, what are you going to do? You’re not seriously thinking of—”
Lucas tightened his grip on the axe and stared at the approaching direwolves.
“What else?”
Lucas said without looking back at Lelia inside the carriage.
“I’m going to protect you.”
“Lucas, don’t do anything foolish. You can’t defeat them.”
He ignored her. Holding the axe, he focused ahead.
He had made his choice.
He might die fighting, but if he didn’t fight, he would definitely die.
This time, he would protect both himself and Lelia.
He was determined to change the tragic future where Lelia dies.