Tales of a Unicorn Ranger

The door creaked open as a young man entered the apartment. Tossing his house keys noisily onto the vanity, he felt his shoulders sagging with mild exhaustion as he approached the mirror. Trim brown hair, dull eyes, and his striped employee uniform had all but branded him as an employee at a fast-food joint. To say that he was less-than-average was an understatement. Even his nametag, which bore the name of "Alex Smith", seemed overly plain.

Still, his life wasn't too bad. He hadn't flunked out of school yet, and this job helped him afford his favorite pastimes. Making his way over to his bedroom, Alex found himself sinking into his chair as he booted up his computer. The startup sequence had him throwing his Burger Shak cap off his head, his fingers practically digging into the cheap fabric as he threw it to the side.

He looked at the miniature unicorn plush that was sitting nearby. "How's it going Angie?" He gave it a small tap with his finger. Obtained when he was a child, people probably expected him to throw it away when he was presented with his first action figure. But he had a soft spot for her that guaranteed her a spot on his desk.

Maneuvering his mouse to open one of his MMOs, it only took him a few clicks before he found himself in the shoes of one of his characters. It was a standard open world game, nothing too special. It had a robust combat, a crafting system, and so on. Most of the time he spent his time grinding. But today he only had one goal for his level 45 character: get a unicorn mount.

He didn't care that it wasn't in the current meta, he didn't care how weak it was, and he did didn't care that it made him uncool. Unicorns were awesome. And if he was being honest, portraying unicorns as weak completely undermines its rich history as a creature of great power in traditional folklore. Just ask Scotland.

But first thing's first, he had to finish crafting this lead. With the materials already in his inventory, all he had to do was wait a few minutes for the NPC to craft it. The knowledge had Alex reclining in seat, blandly watching as the timer counted down. The only real entertainment on screen was the background behind the UI screen, where entire throngs of player avatars crowded in front of the blacksmith as they spammed every manner of potion, spell, and other sparkly affects to cure their own myopic boredom. He considered joining them, even if it was only to distract himself from his own tiredness. But his relaxed state had his eyes lowering of their own accord, uncaring of the colorful display on screen.

He didn't think anything of it when he dozed off. After all, it is a normal occurrence for someone to go AFK in a crafting hub. The sleep he experienced then was blissful. While he did not dream, there was a certain feeling of refreshed contentment as the body recharged itself. By the time his eyes began to open, the first thing he registered was just how rested he felt. But that is where his sense of normalcy ended.

It took him a few moments to register it, but when he attempted to blink away what he thought was brightness of the computer screen, he realized that he was in a white void. The sight had his eyes continually blinking, and his shock caused him to take back a step. Since when was he standing?

The disorientation he felt at that moment overwhelmed him, his heart constricting as he stumbled on his own feet and fell over. Landing ungracefully on his behind, it was the dull pressure of the invisible floor that forced him out of his momentary panic.

Taking in his surroundings, the white void seemed endless. Mind-numbingly blank in all of its totality. With a mild sense of instability hobbling his legs, he tried desperately to find some form of color of shape in the vast expanse. He was pretty sure if he was left in this void for too long, he would begin to see why "white room" punishments were considered torture.

But as if some force recognized his growing distress, the off-putting scenery began to change. The white blissfully became tainted with a few shades of grey, and what was once a singular plane of space started become dense with shade and depth as Alex finally began to recognize the form of 3D space.

Standing in what he now realized was an evening sky, Alex found his legs rendered immovable as his body instinctively froze on what it perceived as the only available perch he could stand upon. If he moved anywhere else, he would-rationally speaking-fall and die.

A calm voice broke through his thoughts. "Is this scenery not calming enough for you?"

Turning his head, he spotted a pristinely dressed figure. A man. One that was wearing green robes and was looking at Alex curiously. Like he couldn't understand why he looked so frazzled while they stood in the open sky. Placing a hand on his chin, the brown-haired man looked contemplative for moment before his face showed the signs of realization. "Ah, right. I always forget to make the ground clearer when I do this."

At his words the stable force beneath his feet began to shift, with the empty-looking air shimmering in a great light before it was replaced with green grass and dirt. He could even smell the scent of morning dew and mulch. Its appearance made Alex fall to his knees in gratitude, a great sigh that could be mistaken as a sob leaving his lips as he finally found purchase on stable ground.

"Oh thank god." He mumbled.

The man from before approached Alex, walking down from his area from the air as if he was walking down invisible stairs. "You are going to need to be more specific. There are several gods here. The name is Zackaios, by the way."

Alex looked at him, his mouth agape. "So is this a really lucid dream or..."

Zackaios looked down at him, looking sympathetic. "Not really. You may perceive it as such, but I'm sure you've seen enough isekai to know where this is going."

"Wait, I died?!" Alex screeched, still hunched in his knees. "But the last thing I remember was playing a game?!" He paused as he took in his surroundings again, with his terror from before being replaced with a mixture of humiliation and indignation. "I died playing a game?!"

"Technically you died from an aneurism." Zackaios clarified. "It probably formed from stress. Or bad luck. But however arbitrary the death, you still have the option to live. In a manner of speaking."

Recomposing himself, Alex found himself laying on the grass as he looked at the sky accusingly. "Figures. So what's the catch? Do I have to go on a noble quest or something?"

The man raised an eyebrow. "That's it? Straight to the terms of reincarnation and barely any questions about your death's legitimacy?"

Alex shrugged his shoulders. "They way I figure, either you are lying and I will wake up from a very impressive dream, or you are telling the truth and complaining about my death is useless." He huffed. "So we might as well skip to the part where you tell me why I was chosen and all that good stuff..."

A wry chuckle escaped the man's lips. "Well, at least we can skip the boring parts." He looked pleased at that prospect. "Well, it is world filled with mechanics that should be somewhat familiar to you. It has spells, weapons-"

"Basic game world stuff." Alex droned, still looking at the sky. "If you don't mind, can you skip that stuff and tell me what I will need to do?" If he was dead and being reincarnated, he might as well enter the new world barely knowing anything. He was owed a sense of wonder.

Grabbing a walking stick that appeared out of thin air, Zackaios found himself silent for a moment as he thought over which information was the most important. "Well, the rules dictate we can't force you to do anything. So you are more than free to deny my humble request. But since you are intent on rushing through the formalities...I want you to interact with unicorns."

That last sentence had Alex bolting upright and looking at Zackaios in the eyes, which he now noticed were a friendly shade of grey. "You are going to have me what?"

"Interacting with unicorns." He slowly repeated. "You know, those mythical creatures that you have a secret love for? Those same creatures that other people dismiss as "girly" and "dainty"? The only reason I chose you for a transfer is because you know how undervalued they are."

"Sold." Alex claimed, rising to his feet with newfound enthusiasm. "How do you want me to interact with them? Do you want me to save them from the edge of extinction? Do you want me to lead a herd of them to their new home? Or..." He fixed Zackaios with a look so serious he almost cracked a smile. "Do you want me to show the world the power of the unicorn?"

Zackaios lifted one of his sleeves to hide his emerging smirk. "I appreciate the enthusiasm, but I just want you to interact with them in a positive manner. I do not particularly care how. But you should know that unicorns are fairly rare in this new world you are heading to."

"Will I get one as a mount or companion when I get there?" Alex asked, raising one of his hands up.

In a sudden emotional turn, Zackaios looked like the question left a bad taste in his mouth. "No. Do you really think I should just force one to have allegiance to you? If you want one as a companion, then you will have to be like everyone else and earn it. As it stands, I am already giving you an absurd benefit by making sure one is near you when you wake up in the new world."

"Sounds good enough to me." Alex said, stretching his arms. "Now show me my class selection."

Zackaios nodded his head. "That's not how this works. Your attribute points are dictated by a mixture of your actual skills, which are usually below average in your world, and selective input from yours truly. Given the circumstances around transfers, we usually try to give you skill boosts in a certain area depending on where you'll end up. There will also be a temporary special effect on you called "New Transfer" that will prevent you from dying in the spawn area. You'd be surprised at how many times gods have lost their transfers almost immediately because of how they were resurrected inside a conflict zone."

Alex had a look of worry shine through his eyes. "That's not where I am going to spawn, is it?"

Zackaios waved his hand dismissively. "Oh no, you'll just be alone in the woods. The creatures in that area are not even all that strong. It'll be the perfect starting area for you. Any more questions?"

Alex sat on the ground, thinking. After a few moments of silence he shrugged shoulders. "No."

Zackaios clapped his hands, the action causing the ground beneath them to slowly morph into a blinding light. "Great. Now, off you go. Do try not to starve to death, the new transfer effect only lasts for a day."

Alex almost choked on his own spit. "Wait, what?"