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Part 1.
“Hey dad, aren’t you going to come? Jiji and Baba are going to think that you hate them!”, said a mousey voice from the other room. “You should come this time!”, it begged.
“It is okay, they know how I feel about them.” Returned a voice from the room down the hall. “Also, you are too old to call them that still.” A middle-aged man said, stepping out of the room, wearing only a white-tee and pajama bottoms. “You guys should just go and enjoy your time with grandpa and grandma. I’ll stay and guard the house.” He said with a reassuring smile.
“You mean you are going to stay home and fall asleep watching the Machida-Verdy game. Why can’t you just be like most of the regular people in Japan and just watch baseball?” said the little voice, which belonged to a pretty, young teenage girl with jet black wavy hair down past her shoulders, deep brown big eyes behind long eyelashes, which were more focused on her phone than on the discussion she was having.
“Well for one… I’m not Japanese, never will be, not matter how much I have tried. For that matter, I am not much of a regular American either. Can’t stand Baseball or American Football, just wasn’t for me.” He said while running his hand through his hair, more white than brown now, with it creeping further and further into his beard. He wore a dejected look as he watched his daughter tool around on her smartphone. “It isn’t like you guys will be gone long, you’ll be over in Chuo-ku, just have a good visit, and you can tell me about it when you get back.” He said, rather weakly.
“Hana, are you ready? We will be leaving shortly.” Another voice came from the room down the hall. This one belonged to Satō Sumire, a beautiful Japanese woman he had met years ago at a mixer his colleagues had begged him to go to. She had graduated from UTokyo’s Economics branch with a master’s degree and was working for a decently sized company in Chiyoda. Yet was struggling to find someone compatible.
We met that night for the first time and found each other to be good company, then we met again a few weeks later, then the following week, and so on. It wasn’t too long before the talk about moving in with each other came about and by the sixth month we were in Chuo-ku meeting her parents. They weren’t exactly thrilled by the gaijin in front of them, but we survived the visit. At the end of the following year we were engaged, and married that following spring, with Hina joining us that winter.
“Hina wants me to come, what is your opinion?” The man said, standing in front of her.
“I don’t think it would be the best idea… dad…”, she responded, unable to look up at him. A look of guilt across her face.
“It’s okay.” He said with a forced smile. “I love you, you both be safe.” He said while kissing her on the cheek, not noticing the water welling up in the corner of her eyes.
“Love you too.” She said quickly as she rushed by him toward the door, grabbing the girl’s hand on the way out.
“Love you Hina, be a good girl.” He spoke.
“Bye dad.” Where the last words he heard as the door closed behind them.
“Fuck the game…”, he said as he turned around and walked into the dark bedroom and closed the door.
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Part 2.
A warm feeling crept around me slowly bringing me up from the depth of sleep. He could notice a light through his eyelids, cracking them open slowly attempting to adjust to the light in the room. With only his left eye open, he turned his head around the room trying to locate the obnoxious light that had pulled from him from a deep slumber.
As he looked around the room, he could see very different furniture than what had adorned their bedroom. There was a long thin lectern about four meters away, a large thick book resting on it, and next to it sat a large globe, and a small wooden table on the other side of the lectern. Next to that sat a tall backed red velvet chair, with a matching throw pillow.
Adjusting his head up he could see a wooden glass cabinet, filled with trinkets of different shapes and sizes, some glowing and or moving. To its left sat a low table, on it where small sculptures and incense, which was burning. Only now did he notice the smell, it was a comforting, memorable smell, but one that he couldn’t quite place.
Looking beyond the furniture was what was most startling. There were no walls or ceiling. The room just seemed to go on infinitely, the light along with it. Just a large void of never-ending brightness. Blinking to adjust, he took a second look, there was no change.
Alex lifted himself up to a sitting position, just now noticing the matching sofa, which was far more comfortable than it looked or had any right to be. He turned himself and put his feet on the ground, which was cool but not unbearably so, he put a hand on his head trying to think. “Where am I? This room surely breaks some laws of physics. Where is that smell from?”
“You can think all that you like, but you will never guess the smell.” A mysterious voice said from right behind his ear. Shooting his head up and turning his torso, bringing his elbow up and around with it, following that he shot up to his feet, taking a defensive posture.
He looked around the room, there was no one else there with him. Relaxing his guard and straightening his back. “Would you like to introduce yourself? Or have I just finely gone crazy?” His two fists, which were now resting near his waist, were ready to go up at a moment’s notice, but nothing in the room stirred.
“You are taking this far better than I would have expected.” The voice came from behind him. He quickly turned on his heel, there in the gaudy chair sat an absolutely stunning woman. She was draped in thin white linen which left little to the imagination, and had long dark hair covering her left eye. She had pale skin and rosy cheeks and wore a rather inviting smile. “See something you like?” she asked, in an alluring tone.
“Apologies, I’m a married man. Now if you could just point the direction back home, I will take my leave.” he rebutted, though his tone was shaky.
“Not anymore you’re not.” She said with a smile.
“Come again? You have a very weird sense of humor.” he said sternly, tilting his head forward.
“I said, unfortunately for you, you aren’t married anymore.” She lifted her arms from the chair and planted her elbows on her legs, bending forward and resting her chin on her clenched hands. “And before you think it, no she didn’t get a divorce. You just aren’t part of that world anymore.” Her smile faded and her eye looked at the ground for a second, before returning her gaze back on him. “You have been summoned to a new world by the inhabitants, you have to save this world.” She said, producing a guilty smile.
He felt precisely zero reassurance from it. Pinching his nasal bone, he took two deep breaths, and looked her directly in the eyes. “You mean to tell me… you fucking isekaid me!?” He looked back down at his feet, noticing that there was no reflection from the floor, just as with the ceiling and walls, it also continued on for infinity.
“Well, the people from Uvovia summoned you, I am just facilitating the transfer, and in your case making sure that your body is ready to make the transition.” She was now standing up, and had her hands clasped in front of her, she was wearing a worried expression that did little to dampen her beauty. “I’m not sure what isekaid means… so if it is something good, definitely.” She flashed a smile, but it was obviously forced.
“Okay miss…” he paused.
“Vathsvala.” She said, softening her smile.
“Okay, Vathsvala. I don’t know who you are, based on this situation and your looks, I can only assume you are some sort of Goddess.” She raised a hand to interject, but he continued, “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn. You pulled a middle-aged man with a family, to a foreign world, and based upon your initial statement about my updated marital status, you don’t seem to have a way for me to go back.” He took a deep breath and put a hand to stop her from speaking. “So now what you have, is a very angry husband of a now widowed woman. The lost father to a young girl. As well as a man who is nothing, but anger wrapped in self-control, who is now also starting to lose that self-control. So, the next words out of your mouth better be incredibly motivational.” The smile was gone from her face and one of confusion had replaced it.
“It’s true, I have no way to send you back, you are effectively dead. Silver lining is, your body came with, so no one will walk in and find your dead body.” She forced a weak smile.
“So instead they will simply think I am missing, or that I ran out and left them? I don’t know if you’re immortal, but how about we find out?” He said clenching his fist and cracking his neck.
“Yes, I’m immortal, and I apologize, I thought this was a better option, it worked fine for everyone else. Now that I think about it, in your case it was a very bad option.” She said sitting down in the chair and lifting her legs up in front of her.
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“Others?” he said, giving her a quizzical look.
“Yes, you are the third Hero that I have transitioned. You will save the world for the third time.” She gave an almost proud smile from behind her knees.
“Your other heroes where so bad, that we have to save this world a third time?” he asked wide-eyed in bewilderment.
“Well… Now... They did their job, they stuck down the Demon Lord.” She tilted her head as she finished.
“If they did their job, why am I having to do it, on round three no less. One, I hate cleaning up after other people. Two, if you are going to do something, have pride and do it right the first time. Three, if you are looking for some hero to defeat the Demon Lord, why are you picking some middle-aged man with a family. Wouldn’t some whiney teen that doesn’t leave his room because he is afraid of the world around him, probably because of something stupid that happened to him in middle school, and he is so overwhelmed with self-pity, that he may never be a functioning member of society and live out the rest of his days as a hikimori, living off his parent’s savings like the absolute piece of garbage that he is, be to most ideal option? It's not like anyone would miss him anyway.” He said in one breath.
“Well, the first two were rather young men. They did splendid jobs, and one of them even married the princess.” She laughed. “The truth is the whole summoning thing is kind of random. We don’t pick who comes, we just accept it as. The inhabitants believe it as gods will, but the god who created the spell is the one who set the parameters.” The laugh this time was a little more nervous, possibly because she had finally realized just how insane the whole scheme was.
“So… you are saying that it just happens to randomly pick someone from…?”
“From Earth. From Japan.”
“Who created this spell… can I talk to him? Is there some kind of management position with you gods?” he said throwing up a hand pointing behind her.
“Sadly, the god that created the spell was punished for its creation, as it interfered too much with the lives of the people. However, since the spell was given, the Supreme Being chose to drop the matter and believes that the gods infinite imprisonment was enough punishment.” She looked dejected with that answer. Altering the atmosphere of the entire room, to the point where even the light was dimmer.
“I’m sorry I asked. Maybe it is better we don’t get the Supreme Being involved. He sounds even more Machiavellian that I am.” he said, the winds completely taken out of his sails.
They stood there in silence for a short while, avoiding each other’s gaze. She had her left hand wrapped around her and holding onto her right arm, staring off into the infinite floor. Alex sat down on the deceivingly comfortable sofa.
“So… If I can’t go back, I am sure I can’t stay here. So what are my options?” he asked, giving her a weak reassuring smile.
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Part 3.
“Are you sure that is what you want? You will probably run into problems down there like this.” She said worryingly.
“It is okay, it will work out. I told you, I’m not really hero material. Last time I had to solve a serious problem, I nearly killed the guy because he touched my daughter's butt on the train. Doesn’t sound very heroic to me, does it?” he said with a reassuring smile.
“Not really…” she replied, pursing her lips to the side. “Remember, the man you are meeting is named Hordin. He is the Ruler of the Faustian Principality. He is essentially a king and is a strong and proud man. Please be respect…” She was interrupted by a finger across her lips.
“I told you; I’ll handle it. You worry too much. You have given me everything I need. I’ll fix everything.” he said reassuring her. Yet she still wore a stressed expression across her face. “No goodbye kiss?” he laughed jokingly, attempting to distract her. Only to be surprised when their lips met. It was quick, but still felt magical, and relaxed even any hidden worries about this. “I was just joking.” he said with a stupid smile.
“Promise me… you won’t do stupid things and get your self killed.” She said with tears in her eyes.
“I promise, if I do anything stupid, I won’t get myself killed.” he shot back, looking her deeply in the eyes. She wanted to scream at him for that, but she knew he meant well. We had stayed up here with each other long enough now to know each other very well. “Now if you will excuse me… I have a prince to meet, and fight to pick!” he said with a laugh as he stepped through the portal before she could put up and argument.
When the flash of light was gone, Alex was standing in the middle of a large stone room, before him was a dais. Atop it sat a throne, flanked by a young woman, and grizzled man. Between them, on the throne sat a middle-aged man, with a blond hair and matching beard, sunken deep eyes that could pierce to your soul. He sat up, back straight against his seat, his hands tightly grasping the arms of his chair, and he stared down at the new arrival, with a chiseled expression sculpted on his face. “Welcome to Uvovia… Hero.”
“Hello… Hordin.” he addressed him directly, meeting his stiff gaze with a light, playful tone. Gasps could be heard around the room, “Also, I’m no Hero, I’m the angry asshole you summoned to fix your problem.” he said through a grin, immediately shifting his tone in the opposite direction.
He returned with a disgusted look, but never broke gaze. He lifted his left hand and pointed into the assembly on Alex's right. A rather round man came forward. Quickly shuffling his feet ahead of him, almost as if they were dragging him toward me. “E-e-exu-se me-e s-s-sir. Th-th-the lord ha-ha-has ta-ta-tas-ked me wi-with con-con-confirming yo-you-your sta-stat-status.” He forced out, from behind a book he held up like a shield.
“Do what you must.” Alex said plainly. “Also, I have no intention of harming you. Are the summoned ones normally abusive people?”
“Than-thank yo-you.” he replied more calmly but was obviously still on edge. “No, s-sir, not real-really. Yo-you-you’re jus-just int-intimi- scary, sir.” He said while placing his right hand next to me right shoulder. A cool light appeared between them. Under his breath he began to chant.
“O’ dear lord of wisdom, or merciful one, who named the world, the stars, every peak, every beast, every blade of grass. Grant us the wisdom to know the information we seek.”
After his chant was done, the light flew from Alex's shoulder and into the book the man carried. After which he quickly backed away and went and kneeled before the dais. “My lord, I off-offer hum-humbly to yo-you, the sta-status of our cho-chose-chosen hero.” When he had finished, he lifted the hefty book above his head.
“For a being who is viewing magic for the first time, you didn’t seem that surprised.” Said the lord, still sitting squarely on his oversized stool.
“Well… it wasn’t my first time and let us just say that I was rather less than impressed with it.” Alex was wearing a cocky grin.
The smirk of the lord quickly vanished. “According to the accounts of the other heroes, neither of them had seen magic and when the magic to reveal their status was used, they shrieked in terror.”
“Sorry to rain on your parade. Unlike those other brats you had summoned, I have seen magic already. Greater magic than that, for one. Now, how long ago did you begin the summoning ritual?” he asked aloud.
“The ritual in total only lasted for an hour at most.” Said the lord in a confused tone.
“I see, so in the God Realm, time passes far more slowly.” Alex's grin widened. More gasps around the room could be heard from the mention of the being with the Gods.
“You were among the gods?” Said a priestly clad man on to the right, speaking up from the crowd.
“Among which did you see?” asked another.
“Tell of the Fire Goddess!” screamed a red robed man, trying to break through to the front.
There was a loud bang from atop the dais. The Grizzly Bear of a man had slammed the butt of his oversized axe on the ground, drawing everyone’s attention back up to the top of the dais.
“You spent time with the Gods then? Yet you don’t claim to be a hero?” For the first time the main leaned forward and rested his chin on his hands. “Care to share?”
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Part 4.
“Well… your only real options are. Complete the task and save the world or run off and hide in some unexplored corner of the realm, never to show yourself to anyone again.” Said Vathsvala, the last part coming out slightly snarky.
“While people aren’t necessarily my favorite, I really don’t like the idea of the hermit life. It sounds incredibly boring.” he replied with a sigh. “So… sounds like I will need to save the world.” At first a smile crossed his face, but then slowly faded.
“Is something wrong?” She asked.
“No, just can’t believe I actually said those words so seriously.” Alex responded as he flopped back down on the incredulously comfy sofa. “I’m assuming as a summoned person, I am supposed to receive some powerful gifts, right?” he said looking up at her with concern.
“I mean, they couldn’t really expect a regular human to go out and save the world, now could they.” he thought to myself.
“No, that would be wrong of us to just send you out, as a regular powerless human.” She said with a smile.
“So… not even the sanctity of my own mind is safe.” he replied, shooting a concerned look.
“I’m sorry.” She responded. “I’ll try to avoid doing that from now on. BUT! You will definitely be given some really strong abilities before going. You will have the Hero’s Blessing, which will give you a dramatic increase to your stats whenever you level up.”
“Wait… wait… level up?” he questioned with a look of absolute confusion. “There are levels in this world?”
“Well… yes and no.” She gave a coy reply. “It is a system that is used for the summoned heroes. While you will be able to see and measure everyone with a level system, and they will be able to do so for you. Their magic to measure people, doesn’t work on themselves.” She gave a smile, but not a reassuring one. “It was a kind of confusing system that was established for the sole purpose of the heroes being able to measure their strengths against their opponents. Though, only high level priests can use it, and the information is all stored in manuscripts kept by that church. So, it isn’t really all that practical.” She said with another strained smile.
“I see, so what other gifts are to be given.” he asked pointedly.
“You will also get Hero’s Duty, which will accelerate your growth. Party Leader, which will make all your allies stronger, and last but not least, Heroic Swordsman, which will give you big increase to the power of your sword.” She said excitedly.
“Sorry to break it to you, I don’t want any of that.” he said with a sigh. The look on her face at his response would have made you think that he had shattered the entire realm.
“Both of the other Heroes where glad to have the abilities though!?” She shrieked.
“Yes, and they both failed at completing their task. If they hadn’t, I wouldn’t be here.” he responded coldly. “No, if I am to do this, I want to mix things up a bit.” he got up and walked to the globe, staring down at the world and studying its geography. There were four continents, two larger and two smaller. There were islands scattered throughout the south and western oceans with varying degrees of detail. “First and foremost, I want knowledge. I need to know the history of this world and its people. From as far back as you can remember. You, being a god, I would assume you have been here since the beginning. So please, leave nothing out. Then after that, we can talk about the powers I will require to see this through. I am not sure how long I am able to be here in your realm, but I will take all the time I can. I will be thorough, and I will be aggressive.”
He spoke flatly. It was a matter of fact. He was already done with this world before he had even begun. The possibility that he would destroy this world was equal to the likelihood that he would complete the mission and save it. Either way, he didn’t care. Alex was going to find someone to take his anger out on, and teach them a lesson about stripping people away from other worlds in an effort to save their own.
“Now, you may want to call your other God friends. That way we can have a nice long chat about how this is all going to go down." He said with a cold smile.