Finding Ground

Knights, castle and magic, everything shouted at me like neon lights in Kabukicho. My original fear of kidnappers wasn’t as far off. Stolen away to another world entirely wouldn’t have been my first pick. But what about my life back on Earth? I had classes and projects to complete.

My fellow captured souls looked around at each other. Panic and fear was clearly painted over everyone’s face. We still had our doubts it seemed. It looked very real and convincing, but everything we knew this shouldn’t have been possible.

“This is all a little hard to believe,” the guy in front of me said. He looked roughly my age, but tall with a fit build like he exercised as a hobby. Short hair with a tank top and shorts, they felt like any college student I’d see around the dorms. Which reminded me to look down and see I was in my sweats and loose shirt from cleaning.

The man in the floating silver crown and crystalline cloak didn’t seem bothered by it. He just motioned with his left hand to us continuing. “Look at your left wrist and tap it. That should start clearing things up for you.”

We all humored him and lifted our arms up like he did and tapped. Suddenly, a blue video game screen jumped out at me making me take a step back. Am I dreaming in one of my MMOs? But none of the UI or terms look like any of the games I knew. It did have stats, levels and a class listed, familiar yet different.

“This doesn’t rule out VR,” the same guy said. I wanted to agree with him, but it felt like it was already pushing it. It was too complex and real.

But before I said something, the one in charge answered again like it was a routine. “Does your world have technology of that level?”

“No…”

“You’re in another world. I know it’s hard to hear, but that’s the truth. By the grace of the Goddess Antissia, we were gifted with the ability to call upon heroes from another world.”

“But I can’t stay here!” shouted the girl in our group. She had her hair tied up loose in a mess. It was difficult to tell but the blue and red striped patterns of her polo looked like a business uniform I recognized, but couldn’t place at the moment. “I need to get back home! My dad needs me, you don’t understand! I can’t do any of this!” There was genuine panic nearly on the verge of tears coming through her voice. It made me run cold thinking that we had all just been plucked away from our lives.

“I’m sorry, but that’s impossible. The summoning only finds those that have recently died. Even if it were possible to return, you’d only be going to die.”

“What the hell?!”

“You’re lying!”

“I’m not dead!” She shouted again and shook her head nearly screaming as though that would make any difference. They yelled it with their heart. Her voice nearly froze me to the core. And like her, I knew I hadn’t died. I was in my apartment before they took me.

The kingly figure waited out the panic and crying. There was exhaustion that bent his eyes down. When he did finally speak again, it wasn’t any better. “This is how the spell works, the Goddess wouldn’t take people that were still alive. It would be noticed in your world. That would only create more confusion.”

It sounded a little rehearsed, but he also said the previous group died. Like her, I didn’t want to stay here. The thought of being dead left me cold. I didn’t feel dead, but how did it happen? Should I believe him?

She still didn’t want to accept it. I could sympathize with the feeling. I wasn’t sure I was ready to accept that as a fact yet. But he did at least grant her the time to recover a little. They looked visibly shaken still, but at least willing to listen again.

“There’s much still to explain. I’ll begin with that you’re in the Kingdom of Tes Lyca and I’m Edwind Lyca IV, King. This is my wife, Queen Iyerna and the one that brought you here.” He motioned over to the rather tall woman standing out several meters in front of the throne. A faintly glowing book with a large red gem in the cover still rested open in her hand. She would have looked fairly normal if it wasn’t for the piercing green-purple eyes that almost looked like they swirled like a stew and the shining hair.

They seemed human, but just a couple things off. The whole shine or whatever they got going on sorta looked cool if I was being honest. It stepped up their presence making them seem more imposing just by standing there. Though for everyone that wasn’t in helmets, it was the norm. It made my dark walnut colored hair look disappointingly mundane and I was rather fond of that uniqueness.

“We aren’t special,” the self-appointed leader stated.

“Quite the opposite. The summoning grants you the blessing of Antissia giving you the Divine Slate.”

“Divine Slate?” The King motioned to his left wrist again. “You don’t have this?”

“No, we have no means to easily see our growth like you. Passers of the past granted us with their knowledge the Seer, but it doesn’t function the same way.

While the King was explaining things to him, I poked at the UI again or Divine Slate. ‘It should be listed here somewhere…’ In the lower right corner I found an icon that looked like the sun with rays going in all directions around the small chevron design. A quick test tapping on it confirmed that it would open up a description.

‘Blessed by Antissia – Granted to the chosen of the Goddess to exceed normal limits.’

I immediately groaned seeing such vague wording. It provided nothing but questions. All this change was too much. University and my apartment started to feel really appealing.

The King ended his back and forth with our leader. Those piercing strange eyes looked at us again. “Before we continue. Would you tell us your names and vocation?”

Leader took a brave step forward and addressed them. “Tatsuya, Tatsuya Komura, university student. Third year economics.”

Tatsuya glanced over to me. “Minoru Fuwa, same. Fourth year computer science.”

“Akihiro Shiomiya, business major.” The quiet one finally spoke. He was the shortest of us all by a few centimeters. They looked and certainly had that CEO Entrepreneur energy about him. A trimmed and proper hair cut with thin glasses and soft, but fancy looking button up shirt. Was he studying when they took him?

“Azumi Hirata, 24.” Just an age? The lack of more made me more curious, but it’d be rude to pry if she wasn’t willing to talk about it. She was probably still worried about her father that she mentioned.

“All fine trades, I would very much like to hear more when you have acclimatized. Sir Komura, Shiomiya, Fuwa and Lady Hirata, I understand this will be hard for you to adjust to, but we’ll provide what knowledge and support we can.”

Tatsuya turned pensive looking forward. “What dangers are you sending us against? You said the people before died and we’re just university students with no experience in fighting.”

“Our realm faces threats from powerful monsters and demons. Your predecessors died stopping their advancement. They won us a temporary peace. You have time, but if we waited until the threat returned you would surely die as would we all.”

“A preparatory measure.” That gave me a little relief even if they were still conscripting me into service.

“That’s right.”

“When we know what the Blessing has assigned to you, we can start you with getting prepared.”

“What we’ve been assigned?”

“He’s talking about the class on your menu,” I said, having been staring at it for so long already. “It’s at the top along with your level. Just like an RPG.”

“Right, I think I saw something like that.”

“Yeah, like mine says Astral Priest, so I guess that’s a spell caster or something.” Nearly immediately, there was an uncomfortable amount of murmuring among the knights and even a shocked look from the King. The royal had been fairly calm and neutral the whole time like he was a clerk helping us fill out paperwork at a bank. But this broke his fixed features. I wasn’t sure what to make of that expression, but it gave me the sweats and heart palpitations.

King Lyca braced his hands against the wooden through. He leaned forward at me, those crazy blue-pink eyes dancing with magic staring daggers at me. “Say that again, Sir Fuwa.”

“Astral Priest? Is that bad?”

“The Cursed Healer…Antissia, why do you test us?”