7. Ishida in wonderland

WELCOME TO KOROVA!

Thank you so much for choosing to become a part of something greater. Through this initiation, we hope that you can fall in love with this world–just like we have.

Korova used to be a land of lush forests where magical creatures lived in harmony. However, a mysterious plague known as MP (Mysterious Plague) has begun corrupting this land; those who come into contact with it rapidly wither and die. Because of this, Korovans have begun to rely on outlanders for help–and that’s where you, dearest candidate, come into play!

Once an outlander is recruited, a preliminary trial is conducted in order to awaken their abilities. After all, we outlanders had no magic back in our world, did we? This is to establish a link between this world’s magic field* (1) and us. Once that’s done, you’ve passed! You’re officially a Korovan citizen, and you have magic. You’ll then be transported by our lovely Igasu* (3) workers to one of our branch offices* (2), where you’re currently resting.

Here, you will go through a second round of tests. While you already know what your affiliation and power might be, you ought to find a specialization! This is where our experts can begin to craft a personalized training plan. Furthermore, this is where you’ll become a Korovan inhabitant.

Prior to the first outlander, Korova was a land without humans. Because of this, to properly gain access to magic, you’re assigned a local species. No, you do not transform into that species (though some participants might acquire a trait or two); this is for documentation purposes only. Said species will see you as outlanders regardless, so please proceed with caution and decor.

Once you choose a role and get assigned a species, you’ll earn your equipment by participating in your very first Quest* (4)!

Now, what does this quest involve? Depending on how well you’ve mastered your magic skills over our short training period, you can choose to go on a recon mission, explore a dungeon, cull Prions* (5), or more!

Now, while we recommend to maintain the party you arrived with–after all, they’re likelier than not to be close to you–you’re always free to swap companions depending on your needs. After all, us outlanders are a tight-knit community where everyone knows and gets along with each other. We’re here to save the world, but we’re also here to have fun!

* Do NOT call the magic field ‘mana’. Locals consider it offensive.

* Do NOT call these ‘starter towns’. Locals consider it offensive.

* ‘Rabbits’ is now considered a slur.

* Is it now legal to punch outlanders who ask about adventurer’s guilds. Proceed with caution.

* You can call them monsters.

RULES:

Do not attempt to sabotage your outlander peers.

Do not commit crimes against locals.

Do not ask about the castle.

Do not stray from the intended path during Quests.

Do not repeatedly mention that other world. You don’t belong there anymore. You never did.

Do not abuse the respawn system, especially as a “joke” among “peers”. Repeated violations are considered a punishable offense.

Do not keep dungeon artifacts without permission. You’ll be closely monitored before and after Quests.

Do not attempt to kidnap Igasu to keep them as pets.

Do not interact with therianthropes without permission. They vehemently stand against outlanders and will not hesitate to kill us.

Do report all violations to the Outlanders Association.

Do report deaths, yours or otherwise.

Do attempt to blend in with the culture. There have been several complaints of outlanders who refuse to interact with locals.

Do consider handing in your phone. We’ll register your name, then let you know once we can establish a connection to our world.

Do ask if you have any questions! We have a vast collection of resources, pamphlets and information for any doubts you might have.

Do have fun!

:–<> –:

In some ways, this reminded me of a school trip. After the boring ass seminar, we were escorted to a huge dining room where we were torturously made to, eherm, incentivized to interact with other outlanders. The silver lining was that most seemed to find the idea dreadful, and as such, most groups just kind of kept to themselves.

Dinner, presumably to ease us into this world, looked shockingly familiar, which was to say that it was omurice. Yeah, omurice. They’d even written our names in ketchup.

While I looked for a way to flee back to the room, one of the kids went from party to party asking what kind of magic everyone had. Apparently she could summon a sword of light, too, and apparently that was the rarest ability. If I’d been someone else, I would’ve told her some other guy in our safe zone forest thing had that ability, too, and he’d turned into a dragon snack.

I sat next to Aoko, who sat next to Hisui, who sat next to Yukimura. We could theoretically choose where to sit, but of course, the corners were the first places to vanish. We sat in the middle of nowhere and everywhere, swallowed by people, and swallowing them in return.

The door was far–too far. Too far. It’d take at least a minute to cross this sea of people and flee back to the room. If one of the ra–Igasu staff asked, I’d just say I had a stomachache.

Yukimura and Hisui were a lot closer all of a sudden; they’d gotten paper and pencils from one of the staff and were now writing… what was it? Attack names? Personas? Anyway, they were having their fun.

Aoko picked on her omurice, glancing at them every now and then. I didn’t realize I stared until she looked back at me. I looked away quickly, shoving a mouthful of omurice into my mouth, but it was too late. “It tastes just like the one back home, huh?” She asked.

More than chewing on the omurice, I was chewing on the chopstick. I liked Aoko. She was pretty nice. She kept finding stray animals and trying to force people to adopt them. TAccepting a kitten had led to Mari Okada (the goldfish)’s death, so I’d declined ever since. (I’d named the cat Tarantino, too, which seemed almost prophetic…). All of this to say that I had nothing against her, really… “Yeah,” I said instead of nodding. I was evolving. New world, new Ishida. Ha.

“Though I’m a vegetarian…”

“Oh…”

“But I’m also hungry.”

“Oh…”

“Besides, we’re not sure about when we’ll eat again. Especially if we’re gonna go on those quests and stuff. I wish the pamphlet had mentioned what species there are aside from Igasu and dragonkin.”

Speaking of, I hadn’t heard any mentions of an intruder. Perhaps Tissu’s brother had just felt adventurous and decided to break in through a window. After all, he’d been working as a volunteer too… right? Wait, it was my turn to speak.

…or not. Fuck it. I really didn’t want to talk right now. Sorry, Aoko, your man was stealing my woman.

“I heard Tissu is at the hospital right now,” Aoko said. “That’s what they called it. Hospital. She might be able to talk again.”

I especially did not want to talk about that.

“I know it was a tutorial, um, trial, but still… maybe try not to be so violent. Since we’re starting anew, then–”

“Shut up,” I said.

She obeyed.

Yukimura invited himself into the conversation. “She’s giving you advice, asshole.”

I was getting irrational again. I had to stop. I had to stop. Even thinking this, I slammed my hand on the table. “I didn’t ask her to.”

“What? She was just being nice.”

“And I didn’t ask her to be nice.”

Hisui stood up. “Everyone, please. Let’s calm down. Yukimura, you interrupted their bonding moment. Kawakami, you did nothing wrong. Ishida, you’re kind of being–”

She actually jumped when I stood up. A few people were looking our way now. “Being what?” I asked her.

“Uh… um… nothing.”

By this point, the situation was unsalvageable and I knew it, so I fled. To others, it might’ve looked like I’d broodily stormed off, which was orders of magnitude better. It was suffocating, anyway. The sea of people was crushing.

As soon as I left the room, I shivered; it was cold. The world outside was dark, yet peppy and curated. It looked, for all intents and purposes, like a starter town. Still the silence was…

…not good. Someone stood beside the door. “Hiii!”

Said someone was Tissu’s brother again. “Bye,” I replied, but as expected, he blocked the way with his body. Next to him, I was a pipsqueak, I had to admit.

“Suffocating, isn’t it? They escaped their world, only to copy it in this one.”

I. Just. Wanted. To go to the room. To breathe. To have some peace while I still could. That was it. That was it. But no. “What do you want?”

Tissu’s brother pointed at me. “Would you like to escape?”

I shrugged. Whatever got him to leave.

“Nah, nah, don’t give me that. I thought you were one of the good ones.” That again. He continued: “Thing is, the rabbits haven’t told you this yet, but they’re panicking about you hurting Tissu. Volunteers can’t get harmed… with magic. They’ll keep you and the girl with long hair under a very close watch, trust me. But! If you come with me–”

“No.”

“...bleh.” He rolled his eyes. “You guys always say no, then end up joining us anyway. I’m Sen. Can I at least have your name?”

I would’ve said ‘no’, but that was kind of predictable, and I didn’t want to give him that satisfaction in case he guessed it right, so I said, “Ishida,” at the same time he said, “No,” then blinked, because he’d guessed wrong. Take that, gecko.

Sen snorted. “Alright, then. See ya, Ishida.”

I headed to the dorm, him the opposite way, but I stopped.

I could’ve asked him about the god and beetle shtick. What it meant. If he volunteered as a mole to whatever shady organization he was involved with. Because that was the way these things went, right?

As he walked, a dozen or so people joined him, all wearing uniforms, and all from the seminar, I presumed.

‘Good ones’.