Congratulations you are in a new world

The first thing Mark noticed was the floor.

It was made of polished white stone, the kind that looked expensive enough to make him nervous about walking on it with ordinary shoes. Gold patterns ran across its surface, forming circles within circles, all surrounding the spot where he stood.

The second thing he noticed was the silence.

A dozen people in long ceremonial robes stood around the enormous chamber, watching him with expressions ranging from professional interest to barely concealed exhaustion. Behind them rose pillars carved with unfamiliar symbols, and beyond those pillars stood tall windows overlooking a city of white towers, red rooftops, and distant walls that stretched across the horizon.

Mark slowly turned in place.

A magnificent throne stood at the far end of the chamber. Several guards held spears beside the entrance. A strange crystal floated above an altar, illuminating the room with a soft blue glow.

He looked down at himself.

Jeans, T-shirt, Sneakers.

Then he looked up again.

"...No way."

Nobody answered.

Mark swallowed, trying to suppress the grin spreading across his face. He had read enough manga and watched enough anime to recognize the situation. He had spent hours imagining what it would be like to wake up in another world, receive an absurdly powerful ability, and begin an adventure that would make his previous life look painfully ordinary.

He hadn't expected the opportunity to arrive while he was still wearing the same clothes he'd put on that morning.

But here he was.

A magical chamber,Robed strangers, A mysterious summoning circle beneath his feet.

He almost wanted to laugh.

"Wait," He raised one hand,"Before anyone says anything, I have a question."

The woman standing nearest to him closed her eyes briefly.

Mark didn't notice.

"Am I in another world?"

"Yes," she replied.

His grin widened.

"And you summoned me here?"

"Yes."

"Because you need a hero?"

"No."

Mark's smile faltered.

The woman folded her hands before her. She appeared to be in her late thirties, with dark hair tied neatly behind her head and a silver insignia pinned to her robe. Unlike the others, she carried no weapon or staff. She had the calm, measured expression of someone accustomed to explaining difficult things to people who would rather not listen.

"We summoned you because our kingdom is experiencing a sustained decline in population," she explained. "The royal administration has authorized the summoning of people from other worlds in an attempt to address the crisis."

Mark stared at her.

He waited.

The woman waited too.

"...What?"

"Our population is declining."

"Yes, I heard that part."

"Then I believe we're in agreement."

"No, we're absolutely not in agreement!" Mark pointed at the summoning circle,"You dragged me across dimensions because your population numbers are going down?"

"That is the general idea."

"Where's the Demon Lord?"

A man standing behind the woman sighed.

There it was again.

Mark noticed the sigh but misunderstood its significance.

"Seriously, where is he? Is he in another kingdom? Do I have to defeat him before I can go home? Because if this is one of those situations where you tell me the Demon Lord is too powerful for ordinary people and then hand me a legendary weapon—"

"There is no Demon Lord assignment," the woman interrupted.

Mark blinked.

"No Demon Lord?"

"Not one we're asking you to defeat."

"Then what about the legendary weapon?"

"There isn't one."

"A special ability?"

"You have abilities,They'll be assessed shortly."

"A prophecy?"

"No."

"A goddess who appears in a dream and gives me a quest?"

The woman glanced at her colleagues.

"No."

Mark lowered his hand.

The silence that followed was considerably less magical than the one he'd imagined.

He looked at the floating crystal, the magnificent architecture, and the robed officials. Surely, somewhere in this arrangement, there had to be a mistake.

"You're telling me I got summoned to another world and I'm not even the hero?"

"We are telling you that you have been summoned to assist our kingdom during a population crisis."

"That sounds like a job."

"It is a responsibility."

"That's a job with better vocabulary."

One of the younger officials coughed into his fist. It might have been an attempt to hide a laugh, though his expression remained professionally blank when Mark looked at him.

The woman at the front didn't appear amused.

"My name is Elara Veyne. I oversee the registration of summoned individuals. Before we proceed, I need you to understand something. You are not the first person to arrive here expecting a grand adventure, and you will almost certainly not be the last. We have heard about heroes, Demon Lords, legendary weapons, mysterious blessings, and various other expectations that have no bearing on your actual circumstances."

Mark slowly looked around the room.

"How many people have you summoned?"

"Enough."

"That's not a number."

"It's the number I'm prepared to give you before we've completed your registration."

He decided not to argue with someone who could apparently summon people across dimensions. At least, not until he understood the rules.

"So, what happens now?"

"First, your identity will be registered. Then we'll establish your name and abilities, explain the kingdom's laws, and arrange your initial accommodation. You'll receive an orientation schedule tomorrow."

Mark stared at her.

"Orientation?"

"Yes."

"Like school?"

"Not precisely."

"Do I get a uniform?"

"That depends on the regulations governing your eventual assignment."

Mark rubbed his face.

He had crossed worlds and received an orientation schedule.

Somewhere, the universe was laughing at him.

Registration took longer than Mark expected.

He was led from the summoning chamber into a smaller office, where a clerk asked him questions about his previous world,Most were straightforward,His name was Mark. He came from a place the officials couldn't locate on any of their maps. He had no knowledge of their language beyond what the summoning process had somehow allowed him to understand.

When asked about his occupation, Mark hesitated.

"What should I put if I haven't figured out what I want to do with my life?"

The clerk looked up from the form.

"Your previous occupation."

"I was a student."

"Then I'll record that."

"That's it?"

"Would you prefer that I invent a more impressive answer?"

"No, but you could at least make it sound better."

The clerk wrote student in the designated space.

Mark leaned over to inspect the document.

"Could you put adventurer in parentheses?"

"No."

"Future adventurer?"

"No."

"Potential future adventurer?"

The clerk slid the form out of his reach.

"Your registration is complete."

Mark sat back, offended by the lack of imagination in the administrative process.

After a few minutes, Elara returned carrying a dark wooden case. She placed it on the desk and opened it.

Inside lay a small glass vial filled with pale green liquid.

Mark immediately sat upright.

"What is that?"

"The substance used to awaken your abilities."

He stared at the vial.

"You're going to poison me?"

"No."

"That was a very quick answer."

"Because this is a standard procedure."

"People usually say that before something goes horribly wrong."

Elara gave him a long look "Do you intend to spend the entire day assuming everything we do is an attempt to kill you?"

"Not the entire day."

She appeared to consider whether that was progress.

Beside the vial lay a thick book with a plain, dark cover Its pages looked yellowed despite the fact that the book itself seemed remarkably well preserved.

Elara placed it in front of him.

"Hold this."

Mark obeyed, keeping his eyes on the vial.

"What does the book do?"

"It records your name and abilities."

"Like a status screen?"

"No, a book."

"Right. Of course."

Elara picked up the vial.

"Extend your arm."

Mark pulled his hand back.

"Wait. Is there a less painful way to do this?"

"The procedure is brief."

"That wasn't my question."

"It is the only procedure available to us."

He looked from the vial to the book. Then he glanced at the door, briefly considering whether running away was a viable strategy.

Two guards stood outside.

Mark extended his arm.

"Fine but if I turn into a frog, I'm holding you responsible."

Elara administered the injection.

It stung.

Mark flinched, swore under his breath, and nearly dropped the book.

"Ow! You could've warned me!"

"I told you it would be brief."

"Brief pain is still pain!"

The vial was placed aside ,Elara watched him for a moment, then turned her attention to the book.

At first, nothing happened.

Then the pages began to move.

A faint green light spread from the spine, travelling across the cover in thin, branching lines. Mark felt a strange warmth in his hands. The light gathered near the centre of the book, and letters slowly appeared across its surface.

He leaned forward.

The name was long.

Very long.

Mark read the first few letters, frowned, and tried again.

"Mika... sho... se...g?"

The letters seemed to shift slightly whenever he attempted to make sense of them. He could recognize individual shapes, but the whole name refused to settle into something he could comfortably pronounce.

He looked at Elara.

"Did you just give me a name that sounds like someone fell asleep on a keyboard?"

"The book has inscribed the name corresponding to your mana and potential."

"So I don't get to choose?"

"No. The name is formed during the awakening procedure. Once you bind yourself to the book, it becomes your name here."

Mark stared at the letters again.

"Can I negotiate?"

"No."

"Can I shorten it?"

"Not before you've understood the binding process."

"Can I use Mark?"

"You may continue using your former name in ordinary conversation if local regulations permit it,But the name inscribed in the book is the one that governs your abilities."

Mark sighed.

He had imagined introducing himself to villagers, adventurers, and mysterious strangers with a name that would inspire awe.

Instead, he was struggling to pronounce his own.

"All right," he muttered. "Let's get this over with."

Elara explained the binding procedure,He had to speak the name aloud while holding the book. Until the bond was established, the writing would remain difficult for him to understand.

Mark took a breath.

He tried the name again, stumbling over the middle.

Elara corrected his pronunciation twice.

On the third attempt, the final syllable left his mouth.

The book flashed green.

The warmth travelled through his fingers and faded. The letters became clear, and the pages opened by themselves.

Mark looked down.

For the first time, he could read the writing without effort.

His expression brightened.

"Oh, that's actually pretty cool."

Elara allowed herself the smallest nod. "The bond is complete. The book will remain bound to you. Another person cannot steal it and claim your abilities, nor can someone else revoke your binding."

Mark turned a page.

Rows of text appeared beneath the inscribed name. Each ability was listed in a separate section, accompanied by descriptions he could now understand.

He leaned closer.

"Wait. These are my abilities?"

"Yes."

He read them once.

Then again.

Then a third time, hoping that repetition might somehow improve the results.

Basic Ability: Teleportation.

Uncommon Ability: Telepathy.

Uncommon Ability: Enhanced Raw Strength.

Mark's mouth fell open.

"That's it?"

Elara folded her arms. "Those are the abilities recorded in your book."

"No, I mean, that's it?"

"Would you like me to explain each one?"

"I know what they are! That's the problem!"

The clerk, who had been quietly sorting documents at the other end of the room, stopped moving.

Mark pointed at the book.

"Teleportation is useful, sure. Telepathy is interesting. Strength is fine. But where's the unique ability? The one that makes me different from everyone else?"

Elara looked at him as though he had just asked whether the floor was made of water.

"The Book of Names records every ability you possess. It does not conceal a special ability because you happen to want one."

"But what if it hasn't awakened yet?"

"The awakening procedure has been completed."

"What if it awakens later?"

"Then you will learn more about the abilities you possess as you advance. That does not mean you have an unrecorded ability waiting to appear."

Mark flipped through the pages again.

"There's no hidden section?"

"No."

"Secret abilities?"

"No."

"Anything that activates when I'm in danger?"

"Not unless one of your listed abilities has an application you haven't yet discovered."

He stopped.

That last part caught his attention.

"So there could be more to them?"

"There can be more to how an ability is used than a person initially understands. That is why training exists. But you should not confuse discovering a new application with possessing an entirely different ability."

Mark considered this.

It wasn't exactly what he wanted to hear, but it wasn't entirely hopeless either.

Perhaps teleportation could do something beyond moving him from one place to another. Perhaps telepathy had some unusual application. Perhaps—

"Don't," Elara said.

Mark looked up. "I haven't said anything."

"You have the expression of someone preparing to ask whether you can unlock an ultimate ability by completing a hidden condition."

He slowly closed his mouth.

The clerk began writing something on a separate sheet of paper.

Mark narrowed his eyes. "What are you putting in that report?"

"Nothing that concerns you."

"That sounds like something that concerns me."

Elara took the book and returned it to him.

"Learn your abilities. Practice them. Advance when you're ready. If you discover an unusual application, the Church and authorized scholars can help you understand it. But the Book of Names does not lie."

Mark accepted the book.

He still didn't believe that he had exhausted every possibility.

He simply decided not to tell them that yet.

By the time Mark left the registration office, the sun had moved noticeably across the sky.

He was escorted through several corridors before arriving at a balcony overlooking the city. From here, he could see people moving along wide streets, carts passing beneath stone arches, and enormous bridges connecting towers that seemed to float above the lower districts.

Far beyond the city walls, green fields stretched towards a line of mountains.

For a moment, Mark forgot about the book.

The world was beautiful.

Not beautiful in the polished, carefully framed way that scenery looked on a screen, but in a way that made him aware of how much there was to see. The city had a scale that no image he'd ever looked at could quite reproduce. Somewhere below, a bell rang, followed by the distant noise of a busy street.

He rested his hands on the balcony railing.

This was real.

He was standing in another world, beneath a sky he had never seen before, with abilities that didn't exist where he came from.

Whatever else happened, he couldn't deny that much.

A small smile appeared on his face.

Maybe the officials were wrong about one thing.

Maybe his story hadn't been ruined after all.

"Your accommodation is ready," said the attendant behind him.

Mark turned.

"Do I get a room with a balcony?"

"No."

"A private bathroom?"

"Your quarters have access to the communal facilities."

"Food?"

"Provided at designated meal times."

"Free food?"

The attendant hesitated. "You will not be charged for your meals."

Mark placed a hand over his heart.

"Finally. Something this world understands."

The attendant gestured towards the corridor.

Mark followed, carrying the Book of Names beneath his arm. He had a room to inspect, a world to explore, and three abilities to investigate.

He also had a gateway to repair, a population crisis he didn't understand, and no idea how he was supposed to get home.

For now, though, he had decided to remain optimistic.

After all, he had arrived in another world.

Surely things could only get more interesting from here.

The attendant handed him a folded document.

Mark unfolded it.

INITIAL ORIENTATION SCHEDULE

Below the heading was a list of times, locations, and mandatory sessions covering local laws, currency, public safety, ability control, and kingdom regulations.

Mark read the first few entries.

Then he looked at the attendant.

"How long is this?"

"Three days."

He looked down at the schedule again.

Somewhere in the kingdom, there had to be a Demon Lord.

There simply had to be.