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esamastation · 1 day ago

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Gamer girl gets transmigrated into a farm boy Chapter 1 [<<Prologue - Chapter 2>>]

Katie wakes up with a face full of hay, which is so far from any experience she's ever known that it takes a moment for her to even categorise the sensation as what it is. Prickly pieces of straw stick against her neck and cheeks, and there's something crawling in her hair that makes her sit up with a shriek, flailing frantically to get it off.

It's an ant, she finds out, as it crawls over her fingers and she flings it into the hay with a shudder and a "Eurgh!" that sounds… a bit off.

Everything about this is a bit off.

There's a ceiling of rough wood above her head, with thick wooden beams crossing from left to right. They've got a name, she's pretty sure - crossbeams? Probably not. She's distracted by how rough they look. Like they're handmade. Are those… are those axe marks?

There's stuff hanging from them. Farming tools.

Did… did she get drunk and get out of the city somehow and then… break into someone's barn? Or maybe she'd allowed herself to be picked up by some handsome farmer and they'd ended up fooling around in a barn. She can't quite recall…

Sitting up, Katie does a quick inspection of her surroundings, but there's no one else in the hay with her. It's just her, in her - actually…

What the hell is she wearing?

Also - what the hell has happened to her everything?!

Alarmed, Katie does a quick patdown on herself, her hands moving over the rough shirt. The chest beneath it does not feel like her own. Her breasts have been replaced by a flat expanse of muscle, and that's just the start of the changes. Now that she's looking, her hands are huge, her legs look weird in their rough woollen trousers and her feet are enormous. She's only wearing one shoe, too - well, it's more of a leather slipper, actually. But that's beside the point, because - is that -?

With a quick glance around to make sure no one is watching, Katie sticks a hand between her legs.

Yep. It is.

That's a dick.

"Oh, sweet," Katie says, brightening up. "This is a dream!" Either that or she'd just gotten isekaied into the body of a dude. A huge dude.

Sadly, a dream is way more likely.

That cleared up, Katie looks around with new interest. She - or rather, he - seems to be in a hayloft. That's what it looks like to her, at least - and there's the piles and bales of hay there to prove it. There's also a wooden ladder not far from him, leading down from the little hay-filled attic.

Carefully Katie scoots over to the edge of the hayloft to look down. There are two carts parked on the ground below the loft - old timey, wooden, probably horse drawn wagons. And it's really the ground down there, rough brown earth, not wood or stone. There's tools on a rack, there's poles sticking out of a wall,, with saddles and girdles and all manner of leather straps hanging on them, there's buckets and barrels and boxes and, and…

Katie's heart begins to beat with excitement. It all looks very medieval. Like something out of a fantasy movie or a show! Sex change and a fantasy dream - that's like getting two for one!

Quickly ruffling his hands through his hair to clear out the hay, Katie glances around for his other slipper and finds it buried in the pile, not too far away. Quickly he pulls it on, making a face at the feel of bare and not exactly clean leather on his bare foot, before standing up.

And promptly almost hits his head on the rough-hewn ceiling beams. The loft, Katie finds, is not terribly high - he has to bow down to keep his head from scraping against the ceiling.

Well. All the more reason to head down.

As he starts making his way down the surprisingly sturdy wooden ladder, the barn doors clatter and open. Like a deer caught in headlights, Katie freezes mid rung as a young woman steps inside the barn, already calling loudly, "Good morning!"

She's like something out of a videogame cutscene or a renaissance reenactment. She's blond and pretty, with freckles and the permanent blush of someone who doesn't tan but spends a lot of time in the sun. She's wearing a dress made of thick layers of sort of orangey-red wool with white apron, both of which go all the way down to the ground, belted at the waist with thick leather. There's at least two knives hanging off her belt, and three satchels.

She looks amazing. Also, very familiar.

"Oh, you're awake already! Good morning, Van," the woman says as Katie just gapes at her. Throwing her very long braid over her shoulder, the fantasy woman gives him a smile. "I'm working on breakfast, but Daddy wanted me to get you up and ask you to get the cart out - he's going to the town today."

"Ah - right, I'll just - uh -?" Katie manages, before everything tilts slightly sideways.

Van, did she just call Katie Van?!

Above the woman's head, the air flickers and white text appears like a hologram out of a sci-fi movie.

[Farmer's Daughter] [Janelle Gylcross] [Lvl. 4 Commoner]

Katie gapes at the text and the woman laughs. "What, were you hoping to sneak out?" she asks, amused. "Better luck next time! Get the cart set up, okay? I'll have porridge ready by the time you're done."

"Uh," Katie says, intelligent, but Janelle is already heading out of the barn, humming as she goes, her braid swinging down to her hip. Still hanging on the ladder, Katie is left staring at the open barn doors as they slowly drift shut behind Janelle.

Katie knows that name. Janelle Gylcross. Janelle was a sympathetic NPC killed early in Age of Tales… along with just about everyone else known by the player character. Their death was a trigger for the very first moral choice in the game - the player was questioned about it and could choose to lie or tell the truth.

Well… it's not the first time Katie has dreamed about video games. And it explains the sex change - she'd just finished playing the game, too, so it makes sense it would be Van. It's not even the first time she's dreamed of being Van.

Van is kind of her favourite.

Something about this is off, though. It feels like Katie's forgetting something.

Then another flicker of white text catches Van's eye. Over a pitchfork, it tells him, [Pitchfork, Lvl. 1.]

It's like an oil stain spreading over the water's surface - or like one of those virtual reconstruction scenes from Katie's favourite cyberpunk movie. The whole barn seems to ripple, and suddenly everything is subtly different. Or maybe not different - added on.

Everything Van can see has a tag of white text floating above it. [Hoe, Lvl. 1.], and, [Saddle, Lvl. 1.], and [Wooden Barrel, Lvl. 1.], and [Bucket, Lvl. 1.] Everything is level one, except for the two carts, sitting in the middle of the barn. One of them is a [Cart, Lvl. 4.], and the other is a [Cart, Lvl. 6.]

"This is some prime isekai shit," Van says, grinning.

Testing things, he jumps off from the middle of the ladder. After all, there's no fall damage in dreams, right?

Well, there is in this one. Ow, his foot - he landed on a piece of rock, and the leather slippers aren't exactly thick-soled. Actually, they don't have any soles at all, they're more like socks, which does not seem useful as footwear goes - and that's when he sees a pair of wooden sandals, waiting for him at the bottom of the ladder. [Overshoes, Lvl. 1.] the white text informs him, and inspecting the leather slipper-things, Van finds that, yeah, it looks like they've been worn down in the pattern of the sandal straps. Okay then.

The sandals are surprisingly comfortable, as Van slips his enormous feet into them. They fit like they've been made for his foot. They also make very satisfying clip-clop noises as he walks.

Katie is starting to get the picture here. This is Van just at the start of the game. Van's grey, woollen trousers - Lvl. 1 - and the huge tunic he's wearing - also Lvl. 1 - are exact match to the game's starter gear, as is the belt hanging off the second bottom rung of the ladder. It fits him snugly, the belt loops worn at the exact perfect length to fit around his thickly muscled waist. He's got a couple of satchels and a knife hanging off the belt too, like Janelle did, though there's just the one knife.

And, just like he expected, one of the satchels has nothing but mostly round pebbles in it, the other has a long strap, thin but firmly woven cord with a little leather bit in the middle. Van's starter weapon, a Shepherd's Sling, Lvl. 1.

Exactly like in the game.

"This is so cool. I always wanted to get isekaied," Van muses and then looks around. "Okay, here's hoping I don't wake up anytime soon."

Now. What was Van's first quest…?

Promptly, a white-framed quest window pops up in front of him.

[Market Preparations, Lvl. 1.] [Janelle has asked you to prepare a cart for a trip to the town. Prepare the Reins, the Collar, the Saddlestrap and the Straps.] [Quest reward: 10 exp, 1 Bowl Of Porridge, 1 Apple.] [Accept?] [Yes.] [No.]

Looking around, Van finds the four necessary items easily enough - they're hanging off a pole in the wall near one of the carts. Approaching them eagerly, he finds another window popping up, asking him [Prepare items?]

"Yeah, sure, why not," Van answers with a grin and hits [Yes].

His body takes over for him then, moving with a weird sort of automation. Katie is not exactly out of control - she can feel Van's body moving and taking the straps and untangling their bundled up mess, but it's not Katie making the conscious decisions to move. Van's fingers work expertly, doing work Katie has no idea how to do, and then his body turns and his big feet carry him over to one of the carts, moving to belt the straps into their proper place on the wooden poles sticking out of the cart.

It's beyond trippy.

In a few minutes, the cart is ready for a horse, or an ox, or whatever it is that will pull the thing. It's… cool in a kind of detached creepy way. Van's body can just run on automation.

Boy, would've that come in handy in the warehouse job. Just, hit here to load up the pallet, and off her body went, automatically finding every ordered item. Probably would've wrapped the pallet up and filled the shipping manifest automatically and everything. Now that would've been something.

"Hey Van, Janelle said you were getting the - oh, you're done already?"

It's a guy this time, a big broad-shouldered farmboy type, with brown hair and blue eyes and everything, wearing the undyed peasant garb and wooden sandals similar to Van's. The white text even confirms it.

[Farmboy] [Josel Berndal] [Lvl. 3 Peasant.]

It's kind of funny, seeing Josel from Van's perspective. Josel was designed to be a gentle giant, obviously intended to be big and impressive - and he would've been… if Katie hadn't absolutely maxed out Van's height, making him about head's worth taller than Josel. It's not why Katie made Van so big, but it certainly added to her amusement.

"Morning," Van says, smothering the urge to ruffle Josel's hair fondly.

Josel is leading a horse, holding it by the bridle. It's a huge animal, with massive hooves covered in thick hair - a proper workhorse. "I got Bell ready," he says. "Should we strap her in?"

[Bell] [Lvl 6. Workhorse.]

"Uh -" Van says and another quest window pops up.

[Extra mission! Market Preparations Lvl. 1, Part 2.] [Janelle has asked you to prepare a cart for a trip to the town - meanwhile Josel has been getting Bell ready for the cart. Strap Bell in front of the cart.] [Quest reward: 5 exp, 3 Slingshots.] [Accept?] [Yes.] [No.]

"Sure," Van agrees and hits [Accept] on the quest window and [Yes] for the [Prepare items?] prompt. Again his body begins moving on its own, taking the huge leather collar as Josel brings the massive workhorse in, making her walk in a circle and then leading her back towards the cart. She's docile, for such a massive animal, Van muses, as his body moves to get the thick Collar around her huge neck.

Josel gives him a surprised look, watching him. "You've gotten strong," he comments and then, with a shrug, turns to work on the wide, cushioned Saddlestrap, which should apparently go over the horse's back. "I guess you're getting used to the work."

"Heh, yeah," Van answers, grinning. The height dial wasn't the only one Katie had maxed. Van is, to put it mildly, built.

Guess it translated to reality, so to speak. Dream reality.

Between Van's automatic proficiency and Josel's practised motions, they get Bell the workhorse ready and properly strapped into the cart. Josel rewards the horse with pats and pieces of a carrot he has in one of his satchels, grinning with good-natured farmboy happiness as she nudges at him hard enough to almost knock him over.

"Oh, right, here - picked these up for you yesterday while I was out by the river," Josel then says and from another satchel digs out three almost perfectly round pebbles. "They're good, right?"

[Quest Market Preparations Lvl. 1, Part 2 complete! You gain 5 exp and 3 Slingshots!]

"Yeah, thanks," Van agrees and takes the pebbles. Aside from being very beginner level, this dream is really looking up.

"Van, Josel!" a female voice comes from outside. "Breakfast is ready!"

They head outside, Josel at the casual pace of a young man well used to everything around him and Van trying hard not to stare at everything like a tourist.

It really is the Gylcross farmstead, exactly like it was in the game - which Katie had rather figured it would be. There's four buildings in a ring around a square of dirt, with farm fields peaking just past the buildings. One of them is a pretty impressive two storey farmhouse with shuttered windows and a big old porch. There's a pen full of chickens not far from them, and close to it there's a white goose, running loose and pecking at the ground. Behind the barn, Van thinks, he sees some goats in a pen.

Janelle is waving at them from a table set in front of the farmhouse, with a pot and plates and a pitcher of something. "Come eat while it's hot!"

"Yes, miss," Josel calls, humble, and Van follows him to the table.

"I told you, it's just Janelle," the farmer's daughter says. "Go on, sit."

They sit and she serves them pretty hefty helpings, handing them wooden spoons. The porridge is hot and thick, but a bit bland - like plain rice in milk, or something. Josel eats without saying anything and Van takes his example, wondering if it's always like this if you try to eat in a dream, if everything is tasteless.

Then Janelle pours them both a pint of what has to be beer - or ale? Whatever it is, it smells thick and tastes… kind of weird and not at all like Katie expects beer to taste like. It's not bad, though.

"Daddy is heading to the town to pick up some things," Janelle says as they eat and Van tries to place the taste of the not-beer. "One of you will go with him and do all the heavy lifting - do not let him do it," she says firmly. "His back is acting up again. Now, which one of you will it be?"

"Van can go," Josel says before Katie can even begin to wonder which would be better. "I went last time, it's his turn."

Yeah, and the heart eyes the farm boy is giving the farmer's daughters have absolutely nothing to do with Josel's eagerness to stay, uh-huh, yep.

Van grins and covers it with his pint. It's pretty cute - though the crush Josel had on Janelle made their inevitable deaths even sadder in the game. It was always kind of obvious what would happen to them, but still…

"Great - here," Janelle says, handing Van a perfectly red, plump [Apple]. "A snack for the road."

[Quest Market Preparations Lvl. 1 complete! You gain 10 exp, 1 Bowl Of Porridge, 1 Apple.]

This dream is pretty damn cool, Van decides and accepts the Apple with a nod as thanks.

"Finish your breakfast - Daddy will be here soon," Janelle says and turns to Josel. "Do you mind feeding the goats for me today? The big one almost knocked me over last time. Please?"

"I got it, miss," Josel agrees earnestly. "Don't you worry about it."

"Janelle," she corrects.

Josel nods very seriously. "Miss Janelle."

Janelle stomps her foot and Van chuckles into his not-beer. As he does, the door to the farmhouse opens and man steps out, patting at his chest and checking his clothes. He's dressed much fancier than they are, in a vest and dark brown slacks that look like they've been pressed - and he has actual shoes rather than sandals or leather socks. The shoes even have heels and everything.

He's also got one hell of a moustache.

[Farmer] [Jaques Gylcross] [Lvl. 8 Landowner]

"Morning, boys," the man calls, straightening the lapels of his vest. "How y'all doing this morning?'

"Good morning, Mr. Gylcross!" Josel pipes up. "We're doing just fine, thank you."

"Good, good," Mr. Gylcross nods. "Janelle, sweetheart, make sure the fire doesn't go out in the kitchen - I want the house nice and warm when I get back."

"I will, Daddy," Janelle promises. "When do you think you will be back?"

"Before sundown, with any luck," Mr. Gylcross says, casting a look up at the cloudy sky overhead. "If it starts raining, we might have to stay the night." He looks over their table. "All done with breakfast? Let's get moving then. Drakner is in town, and I want to bring some of the winter grain with us to sell, get us some spending money. There's a lot to do before harvest, a lot to do!"

A quest window pops up immediately after.

[Trip to town, Lvl 2.] [You have been asked to escort Mr. Jacques Gylcross to town for a spot of shopping. Load and drive the cart from the farmhouse.] [Quest rewards: 15 exp, 3 silver pieces.] [Accept?] [Yes.] [No.]

Josel nudges at Van and quickly he sets his pint down. "Right - right away, Mr. Gylcross," he agrees, and accepts the quest. Here's hoping driving a cart worked on automation too, else they'd end up in a ditch real quick.

Proofread by @nimadge, many thanks.

And so it begins.

I would like to post this somewhere other than tumblr, for archival purposes, because tumblr sucks for archival purposes. AO3 is the best for that, but, eh, it still feels weird to me, the idea of posting original fiction on ao3. Even though lot of people do it. Idk.

What do you guys think?

#original fiction #isekai #litrpg #idk how to tag this #oc #i guess

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