The Purpose

The room is filled with Potions and  magical items, displayed on the wooden shelves and tables. Tori curiously looks at the jade skull displayed on the shelf.

“Uh, hero?” the red-haired mage says, while looking nervously at the ground.

“Uh, what is it?” Tori asked.

She then moves sideways, and now Tori can see a crystal ball placed on a cushion, sitting at the table. ‘Doesn't this type of thing show MC’s ability in isekai anime?’, he thought.

As Tori predicted, the red-haired mage told, “C-can you place both your hands on the crystal ball?”

Tori does what she said, placing both hands on the ball. His hands felt warm. ‘What cool ability am I gonna get?’ Tori thought.

“It will take some time,” the mage informed.

“So, what's your name?” Tori asked, looking slightly red. The mage had crimson hair with an attractive body. Tori has never seen such beauty this close.

“Uhhh M-my N-name?”, The red-haired mage's face goes all red. Her eyes rolled everywhere except Tori’s, poking her both index fingers together. She gathered enough strength and spoke, “M-my... name is Natalie Rouhoff.”

Tori's face got all red while looking at Natalie. ‘She’s a goddess’ is what in his mind. The ball then glowed a little. Tori and Natalie's eyes shift to the crystal ball. The ball glows a little brighter, radiating the white light, and in an instant, it goes off.

“What does that mean?” Tori asked. Natalie, looking confused at the ball, grabs the ball and checks if the ball is not broken. “Can you put your hands on the crystal ball again?” she insisted.

Tori does as Natalie had said and puts his hands on the crystal. After a while, it glows and goes off simultaneously.

“Mhm, I have to discuss this with the chief commander,” Natalie declared as she left the room.

“Wait!” Tori shouts, but he is ignored. “What was that all about?” he murmured.

Tori, alone in the room, starts navigating the items. The magical items hang from the ceiling, a mystical creature is inside the cage, and then he looked at the bottle of potions. He grabs a bottle of a red liquid substance. ‘This looks funny. What will happen if I drink this? Will I get any powers?’ he gulped. He was considering taking a sip.

“Hero-” a voice came from behind, which scared off Tori. His hands slip, and the potion falls on the ground, shattering into pieces. Tori's face goes totally pale. He slowly turns around and sees Commander Vice.

“Uh, sorry, my hand just slipped, and the potion fell”, he spilled the truth.

Commander Vice looks at the ground, then looks at Tori again. “It's alright. It's getting pretty late, head back to your room,” he said, showing no emotion on his face, like he had mastered the art of the poker face.

‘More like a solitary cell than a room,’ Tori thought. He agreed to the Commander Vice, and they both went to the ‘solitary cell’ room.

***

Tori and Commander Vice reach the guest room. ‘Huh?’ Tori looks surprised as the room looks a little cleaner than before. Cleaned the table and curtains, but no bed sheet. ‘Mhm, they know a bit of hospitality,’ Tori thought.

“If you need anything, the guards are outside.” Commander vice informs. “So, I shall take my leave,” he said and started leaving the room.

“Wait," Tori spoke. “Can you tell me when I can go home? I got things to worry about at my old place.”

Commander Vice listened but did not turn back. “I’ll tell you everything tomorrow,” he said and left the room.

“Why is everyone like this in this place?” Tori commented, “This differs from the anime.”

“...” Tori paused, “wait, if I am in another world, then there ought to be a system, right!?”

“But how does it work in this world?”

Tori started thinking. “Yeah, if I say system out loud, it might appear…. SYSTEM!” but nothing appears.

“What if I tap my left breast?” Tori tried, but no luck. He then started tapping every part of his body, from his face to his feet.

"I guess I don't have any choice," Tori takes his stance, "Kaaaaaa... Meeeee... Haaaaaaa.... GAAAA"

Nothing happened. Tori stayed in that position for a few seconds, embarrassed.

“What kind of stupid world is this!” Tori cried. “Why am I even doing this? I am just a normal guy who needs to take care of my family, and Now I'm Here, but for what reason!?”

Tori calmed himself as he was lying on the wooden bed. He stares at the ceiling as he cannot sleep. ‘I wondered if Mina and Miyo got home safely. Maybe Mom picked them up, but they would be worried after they found out that I'm missing. Did they go to the police? Or they go door to door asking about me? How will Mom handle this? I really need to get to the old world.’

The thoughts will not let Tori sleep peacefully. He gets up and explores the castle.

***

The morning shines bright out of the window, and the sunlight comes into the room. “Yawn my back... Ouch,” Tori wakes up from his half-baked sleep, his back hurts from the hard and flat surface.

“You are awake, hero,” Commander Vice entered the room. “Are you ready to know your purpose for which we summoned you here?”

“Sure. I wanna know”

Commander Vice spoke:

“2000 years ago, the great war started between all races to show their superiority. Humanity, which was already fighting the demon king, found itself in two battles at the same time.

Demons found the opportunity here and started attacking every other race, which were already weak from the Great War. As a result, many people died, villages were burned, and the demon king's terror expanded.

Looking at the dangers towards the demon king, everyone gathered and decided on a matter of how to see through this problem. The angles give every race a proposal to hold a great match known as ‘Ragnarök’, where every race represents their mightiest warriors in the arena. Among them, the one who wins the Ragnarök, their race will get ‘The Throne of GoldenFlame’.

After the alliance formed, all races fought together to defeat the demon king.”

“Mhm, what happens when you get the Throne of GoldenFlame?” Tori asked.

“The race gaining the throne gets 20% of the entire goods from each race, and they don't have to pay taxes for 100 years.”

“I see,” Tori said, “but what does all that have to do with me?”

“We summoned you here so you can help us win humanity the Throne of GoldenFlame. For the last 600 years, humanity has never won the throne even once. Because of the bad climate, our kingdom faces a dire situation, and it's our only hope to bring the kingdom back to its glory.”

Tori scratches his hair, “What do I have to do?”

***

At the gates of the kingdom, Tori is standing with the bag given by Commander Vice. The bag contains enough food to last 2-3 days. But Tori does not have an idea why he is there.

“As the ritual goes, the hero must have trained outside of the kingdom for one year. Then he has to take part in the Ragnarök, which is going to held after one year. The Thronium kingdom will always be grateful for your bravery,” Commander Vice said.

The gates opened. Tori looks at the gate and then at the vice. He was not prepared for this. “What? But why so suddenly?” Tori raised a question.

“It is the part of our tradition that is followed through thousands of years,” Commander Vice answered.

“Traditions?” Tori smirked and then started laughing. “Traditions. Hahaha, what a joke.”

“Just say clearly that you are trying to get rid of me, aren't you? Commander Vice Tori's face filled with rage, eyes looking straight at Commander Vice.