Meeting Tinny
When his shadows had finally disappeared, I opened the box. Until that moment, I hadn't dared to open it—I had waited. But now, I was alone. Completely alone. And something inside me told me that it was finally time. The box contained the professor's gadget, the one he had spoken about so often.
We had been sent on a critical mission to this dimension to determine whether human beings could survive here. Earth was dying. Humanity stood on the brink of extinction. Climate change had wreaked havoc on the planet—earthquakes ravaged entire cities, reducing them to rubble. The sun had become deadly, scorching the ground and killing nearly everything it touched. Then came the brutal cold, colder than anything we had known. Humanity's numbers had plummeted. The population had dropped to just five billion known survivors.
That was why we were sent here—to find hope in another dimension. But now, I was the only one left. The only one still breathing. And the person who knew how to operate the dimensional loop hole was gone—dead. I opened the box, only half-hopeful that I might find something—anything—that could shine a light on my desperate situation.
Inside the box, I found a stack of books. Disappointed but determined, I pushed them aside, flipping through them quickly. They were filled with experimental notes and personal diaries—important, but not immediately useful. Just when I was about to give up, I saw it: a small metallic container, tucked neatly between the pages. It sparked my curiosity.
I picked it up, turning it over in my hands, thinking carefully. After a few moments, I decided to open it. As soon as I did, a bright blue light burst from the box, so intense I had to turn away to shield my eyes. When the light faded, I looked again—and at first, I thought it was empty. But then I noticed a small button inside.
I reached out and pressed the button.
Instantly, the box began to shake. It lifted off the ground and hovered in the air, trembling with energy. I stepped back instinctively, unsure of what was happening. The box began to disassemble itself, its panels separating and reconfiguring. Before my astonished eyes, it reassembled—not as a box, but as a tiny robot.
It slowly opened its eyes and looked at me for a long moment. I stared back, my heart pounding—not with fear, but with a flicker of hope.
It murmured something I couldn't quite understand. Then, scanning me with the same blue light, it spoke clearly:
"Sergeant Alexandria. I am AL-XXSS5869. But you can call me Tinny."My eyes lit up with excitement—finally, I could get some real information about this world.
"Where am I, Tinny?" I asked eagerly.
He responded with precise details.
"You are on the beasts' world—Planet 20013 from the ninth solar system, recently discovered. It rotates around two suns and is significantly larger than Earth. Its population consists mainly of beast-men, also known as orcs, along with the white wild beasts. A quarter of this planet's inhabitants are Titan Beasts, massive and rare. The orcs, however, make up the majority of the population."
"What are the living conditions like for the orcs, Tinny?" I asked, curious and concerned.
"Alexia," he replied, "that's hard to say. No one from Earth has ever gone to the beasts' world and returned. That remains a mystery yet to be solved."
I looked at Tinny for a moment, fully aware of the danger I was in. Suddenly, I heard footsteps approaching from behind.
"Hide!" I whispered urgently.
In response to my command, Tinny quickly disassembled into a sleek form and wrapped himself around my wrist, transforming into a watch.
I looked up—my heart skipped a beat. Towering above me were two long, powerful legs. I raised my eyes to meet his. His gaze, a striking shade of blue, locked onto mine with an intensity that sent a jolt through my chest. My heart was pounding, but I forced myself to maintain a calm expression. There was something in his look—not suspicion exactly, but a quiet scrutiny, as if he sensed something was off about me.
He finally spoke.
"You look different from the other females… or is it because of your attire? I've never seen clothes like those before. Where did you get them?"
I glanced down at my pants and boots, suddenly aware of just how different I looked. Compared to him, clad in a rough animal-skin skirt, I stood out like a flame in the dark. No wonder he noticed.
He nodded to himself thoughtfully.
"I'll find a better outfit for you—something more fitting."
With that, he turned away, his focus shifting to a nearby workbench where a fresh kill—his prey—lay waiting to be processed.
I watched him, a wave of relief washing over me, mixed with confusion. Why hadn't he pressed further? Why hadn't he demanded an answer? His calm acceptance unsettled me more than anger might have.
Finally, I found the courage to speak.
"What's your name?"
He turned slightly and answered without hesitation, as though he had been waiting for me to ask.
"Adrian," he said. "I'm from the Saber-Tooth Tiger Clan—one of the most powerful tiger tribes."
Then, without missing a beat, he added, "You're not from here. You're the first of your kind to arrive and survive this long."
His words stopped me cold. I stared at him, caught off guard. How much did he know?
"What do you mean by that?" I asked carefully.
He looked at me, unfazed.
"By what?"
"That I'm the first person of my kind to survive."
He nodded slowly. "Exactly what I said. Others have come before you—but none lasted. You're different."The others who came before me… what happened to them?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.
Adrian looked up from his work, his expression calm but thoughtful.
"Some died from the extreme heat or the brutal cold," he said. "Others, like your companions, were attacked by wild beasts. And some… some arrived already dead."
His words hit me like a cold wave. So I wasn't the first—but I was the only one still alive.
He studied me for a moment longer, then tilted his head slightly.
"I wonder… where exactly are you coming from? And more importantly—how did you manage to harness the magic of dimensional teleportation?"
That question hung in the air like a weight. My throat tightened. He called it magic—but for us, it was advanced science. Could I even begin to explain that to him