In a place filled with death and blood. A hero and his party of ten make their way through legion after legion of demons. They were in the demon king’s castle, and Keola Kailani a man summoned from his home island, was here to end it all. He had seen too much in the years since he was summoned. His eyes were older than his twenty-one years. He was so hopeful when he arrived eight years ago. He had even gotten cheat-like powers, allowing him to level extremely fast, not to mention his ability to learn any skill and even teach them.
Even with his cheat abilities, Keola was weak. Everyone was already much higher level than him, and it would take time for him to grow, as he was forced into one near-death experience after another. Not once did Keola disparage the experience. He had seen enough isekai anime that he thought it was normal. No. It was the betrayal and horrors he had seen. Villages he was just a few hours or minutes too late to save. The treaties and surrenders were ignored.
Once he thought he could broker peace between the two people, for that was what the demons were, people. He had seen just what could be in a city out on the frontier, the two species living in harmony. It was there he had picked up his one and only demon party member. Shetara. How he wished he had left her behind instead of letting her join. There were only ten of them left when they were once twenty. His own little platoon of companions, sharing life and death battles, running to where they were needed, avoiding the demon generals.
Then. Shetara’s people learned she was with him and were able to track her through her magic. For two years they were hunted by the demon king’s elites, all the while he was trying to bring the people together. Showing one side or the other was just like them. Then not long after the demon Kings elites would purposely destroy any goodwill he built by killing the people or planting their own people to sow distrust. They were insidious and relentless, especially when hunting the Hero. They always found them when they were at their most vulnerable. Slowly, their party was whittled down losing member after member. Some left, others weren’t so lucky. Eventually, Keola and his party finally grew strong enough to fight back and were able to capture one of their pursuers. One of their members used mind magic to source out how they were tracking them. That's when they learned it was the Shetara they were actually following.
That night she had left. Leaving no trace, bringing them down to ten. It was then that Keola realized that peace could not reign without a true change between their people. So he took, on the clichéd hero task of hunting down the demon King.
All too soon Keola and his team were standing in front of the final door. Just beyond the king was commanding his troops and supposedly waiting.
The door opened and on a throne sat a giant man standing four meters tall, feathered wings sprouting from his back and a horn coming out and wrapping around his head.
His voice surprisingly high, “You...”
Whatever the demon king said would never be as the Hero began his assault releasing a slash that was there and not. A slash through the void itself.
The demon King was so shocked at the interruption he could only instinctively react. Yet that was enough. As just as fast the demon released his own magic towards the hero’s magic. Which, to his astonishment, cut his magic causing it to go wild veering away from the Hero. The last thing the demon saw before his head fell to the ground was two of the Hero’s companions' chests exploding.
“Noooooooo. If I…” Keola became incoherent as tears fell down his face holding his dear friends.
#
In an auditorium where a delivery man gives a lecture and another man watches and listens. A projected video is frozen on a screaming man covered in blood.
Nicki couldn’t tare his eyes away, as they grew hot. “Please stop.” His voice barely holding together.
“No.” Del pointed towards the screen, “You need to see. To understand just what you’re really sending these people into.”
“I did everything I could do for him. I matched him to a world he wanted. Where he could live and live the adventure he wanted.” Nicki felt like he was making excuses, even though he felt he did what he could. “I even sent him through the tutorial. He should have been prepared. What else could I’ve done?”
“There is always more we can do. It’s the entire point of this place, but listen to yourself.” Del pointed to the man's frozen face. “What he wanted. What a” lifts and reads the file, “fourteen-year-old wanted.” His eyes glared down from the stage. “When has a teenager ever really understood what they wanted?”
Nicki just stared at the man in horror, finally understanding what he was saying. He could have looked more into the boy's file. Found a better match. One that he could have thrived in. Possibly go through fewer hardships, or even somehow find a place he could easily get ahead of the issue avoiding it altogether. Not this battlefield.
“Now before you go thinking he wouldn’t have had any conflict or you could have sent him to a fluffy cloud world. Remember, they are Heroes. No matter where they go they will be tested.”
Nicki listened feeling attacked and chastised. He hated the feeling but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything.
“That all being said. You did everything right.”
Dumbfounded, “Then what the…What...Point...WHY?” Nicki found himself stumbling over his own outrage and confusion.
Del looked down his glare gone. “You needed to see, and most importantly.” He paused dramatically. “That you can do everything right and still fuck up. Not to mention you’re going to be more thoughtful about where you put them.”
“What?”
“You see you did everything right. He had a tutorial. He went to a world he would thrive in.”
“And yet.” Nicki looked at the screen, “All that pain, and....” His voice faded out fumbling for words.
Del let out a long sigh. “That's life. There is always pain and happiness. “Heroes tend to go through more than most.”
“But they're kids.” There had been a few older adults, a xianxia cultivation guy was just one, then there was the teacher, not to mention the literal sword But of the fourteen cases he had, more the half had been kids or teenagers.
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“See this is why I’m showing you this. Until now, you viewed all this from the abstract. Sure you’ve read books, seen shows, and whatnot. But until now they were just clients to you. Someone to match them with a world and poof they're gone. Out of sight. Out of mind. Now”
“Now I remember that they're people.” Nicki finished.
“Exactly.” Del held up a remote and point it at something Nicki couldn’t see and his heart dropped. “There’s still more because you see. You did fuck up.”
#
In a square not far from the church a boy appeared. Summoned by a rather over-enthusiastic wizard academy hoping to learn another world's magic. Jack Hill was walking around wide-eyed taking in the massive magical city after being kicked out for not actually knowing any magic. It didn’t matter to them that they had kidnapped him. It didn’t matter that he was a kid. All they cared about was that he didn’t know any magic and couldn’t do anything for them. The wizards literately just handed him some documents containing basic magical theory, a pouch of money, and a letter that would supposedly allow him to join the adventurer’s guild, and teleported him to the other side of their campus gates.
Everything happened so fast Jack didn’t have a chance to ask any questions, at all. They only asked for his name for the document. Now he was taking in the city, shocking if it wasn’t for the floating islands, and later learned continents. He could have mistaken it for a modern city back home. With the vehicles hovering or on wheels, and skyscrapers all around. Magic was everywhere as subtle as a lit neon sign, slowly changing shape. To the billboard advertising wands.
Jack had no idea what to do with himself. He would have to get a job knowing the money wouldn’t last. Should I go to the adventurers guild? It was a toss-up. He didn’t know what that was for all he knew it was this world equivalent to the DMV, after all, he was supposed to get an ID there.
He was sitting on a bench trying to figure out his next steps when he suddenly remembered one of the wizards mentioning a shop. Why didn’t I remember the shop earlier? It would have saved me some time. He thought annoyed with himself. He stood and headed off in towards the shop. Not once did he wonder how he knew where the shop was, or the name of it. It didn’t even occur to him that the wizards had never actually spoken to him about the world at all, and before he could think any of this he was already in front of one of the taller buildings making his way inside.
The building looked exactly like an office from his world, it was so odd that just for a moment he thought he was home. Jack quickly made his way up the evaluator to the top floor of the building where he was greeted by a receptionist at a desk.
“She's waiting just beyond.” She answered with a smile.
“Who?” Of course, he knew who. Jack shook his head and smiled, “Thank you.”
Jack walked inside to find a woman sitting in a three-piece suit and a half-quirked smile. “Wow, they really just sent you out into the world with absolutely no protection.”
This was when Jack realized he couldn't move, and finally understood he had made a mistake.
“Oh, don't worry. You’re our Hero now.” The woman said as she sized Jack up and down. “We just want to see what makes you tick.”
#
Del was merciful as he paused the screen with the woman talking to the boy as he finished “The next few years Jack was put through every possible test they could come up with. Many were not pleasant,” The screen changed showing scene after scene of horror. Scenes of the boy being dismembered, dissected, and things Nicki wished he could forget. “As he found himself on the edge of death, many, many times.”
Nicki stared in horror. He couldn't look anymore. It was just too horrible. He remembered Jack. At the time Keola was in the tutorial room so he couldn’t even send him in. That was how he learned he could have more then one Hero in the office. He felt like he had failed the boy, and he couldn’t imagine the pain he was going through.
“You sent that boy off and if he had the tiniest bit of training. He could have possibly resisted or if not resist..work to fight back against the witch.”
Listlessly Nicki looked up hoping for anything, “Is there anything we can do?”
“Send another Hero to that world. Hope they don't get captured and are willing to help the boy. Or better yet able to.”
Nicki sat straight a manic glean in his eye, “Then we need to do that now. These people need to be stopped!”
Del smiled, “I already sent someone. Jack is free, traumatized but free.”
“Then why show me?” Nicki asked slamming his fist down.
I’ve already told you, “You need to see your failures. He was still tortured. He will be forever changed for it and possibly not for the better.”
#
The presentation continued as person after person was shown on the screen. Nicki was shown a Hero who was imprisoned by a noble and made to be their pet. Just because he always wanted a Hero as a pet. It was the entire reason the Hero had been summoned to their world. If they had any power at all in the beginning they could have escaped, they had even started to learn magic before he was tricked and collared. They could have been warned and never forced into the slavery contract.
Another wasn’t even summoned by the people in a high-tech world. They were quickly taken for questioning by not having any identification. Then when she was scanned they found an unknown energy signature in her body and used that to fight back. In the most twisted way, she was a Hero as they pushed back their monsters.
Then there was the man who was transported and had no idea they were in a cultivation world, or even what that was. He would never learn to cultivate, and take in the heavenly energies all around him,. He would never learn how to use spells or become one of the world's immortals. He would never know he had heaven-defying talent and would grow in power insanely fast if only he knew where to start. The boy looked in all the wrong places never even understanding that a sect of cultivators could have helped him. Instead, he eventually gave up and found a job on a farm. He was living a decent life from what Nicki could see, not a great one but decent. It was one of the few he didn't know how he felt but he was happy the man seemed content. He had become a simple Hero to his family.
It was the last that gave Nicki some hope that he was able to do something. It was the class of kids that Nicki had first sent through the tutorial. They were pushing back k the dark. Singing their spells, crafting things that were improving the people's lives, and even relations between the species. Everywhere they went the world changed for the better. Even their teacher, she was there on the front line a general leading her people.
#
“You have done well so far, but you could do so much better.”
“ I was literally tossed into this with no idea what I was doing! Now you're showing me how even when I help I’m hurting them!” Nicki stood eyes red and close to tears, “WHAT ELSE IS THERE!? WHAT MORE CAN I DO?” His voice dropped “All I have is a tutorial.”
“There is so much more here.” Del walked off the stage, “This place is filled with all the tools you need. You just need to find it.”
Nicki looked up eyes narrowed, “Why can’t you just give me a straightforward answer?”
Del shook his head, “Not how this works.”
Nicki was feeling petty at his glib answer. “Then what if I just stopped? I could go home and never open the door again.”
“You could do that. It would be your choice. But you will forever be connected to this place. Knowing there is something you could do to help the children.”
“Then why won’t you tell me what else is there? What options do I have?”
“Why haven't you given them a system?” Del spoke tilting his head. “Reincarnated someone instead of just sending them as is? Given a grimoire to a mage? A cultivation or martial arts guide, a weapon, or even an AI assistant?” With every question, Nicki felt a tugging to different floors or places in the building. His head was jumping to each place. “You’ve read so many books, you should know their options, and even come up with your own.”
Nicki felt like an idiot yet, “I can do that? All I knew was I could send them places that's it. I didn't even learn about the tutorial room until a few days in.”
“I’m sorry. You were supposed to have been taught more but things changed. Doesn’t change that everything is here ready for you to use.”
“Where are they? How do I find them? How do I access them?”
Del stared at Nicki thoughtfully, letting the silence grow when he asked. “Have you done your tutorial?”