Sandra, when Will confirmed that he was the one who replied to her, Sandra covered her mouth with her hand as she cried tears of joy.
Even until now, she did not think that Will would actually be here. It was merely her hopes that made her think that he would be here, in this world, alive.
"Will." She said weakly and softly. It's the best news she has heard since ever.
Without wasting more time, she replied to his message.
{Will, please meet me at the nearest village from here.}
Will saw the message, and responded, {Okay.}
The nearest village from here is also the one that Will and Grace had visited before, the one where they saved a bunch of village girls and almost got caught by them because the villagers thought that they were both elves.
Will knew this, but they had no other way to find each other. Going to that village is the fastest way to find each other.
"I'm going to the village. Adaline, let's go." Will got on top of Adaline and they immediately ran off.
"Wait! Will!" Arbor yelled out but it was useless, they were already gone. It's exactly like what happened last time.
"Should we follow them on Drake?" Rias asked.
"We are. Get on!" Arbor and the other two got on Drake and proceeded to follow Adaline. But just like last time, Adaline's speed is far too great for Drake to catch up to.
Bruce was left behind. Everyone had forgotten about him.
"Um… okay." Bruce shrugged his shoulders and followed Drake on foot. Catching up to Adaline's speed was too much even for a hero.
Sandra immediately ran back to the village. She didn't have a map or road to follow, but used the sun to guide herself back.
It didn't take long for Will and Adaline to reach the nearest village.
"Oh, right, this village." Will did not have favourable impressions on this village.
"Adaline, stay here. Once I finish here, you can go back to playing with Arbor and your other friend." Will caressed her head and left her in the forest.
Adaline blended herself with nature while running around enjoying herself to the fullest. Being trapped in the base was boring for her.
Will strolled through this village. It seemed to be recovering from the aftermath of destruction he and Grace caused because they defended themselves from this village.
It looked dead, and silent. There wasn't much going on here. It must be because they were still mourning over their lost ones.
Will took out the communication stone and replied to Sandra.
{I'm here.}
{Um… where?}
{Where?}
Will saw two completely different handwritings responding to him.
{Oh, sorry Jack and Jasmine, wrong stone.} Will realized he had sent the message to the wrong people.
{It happens to me, too. XD} Jack replied and even wrote a little smiley face.
{That's why I like to label my stones so I won't confuse you guys with my family.} Jasmine said.
Will put away the stone and messaged Sandra for real this time.
{I'm here, Sandra.}
After not receiving a response, Will put the stone away and sighed. He was nervous to see her.
"Why am I nervous? This isn't the first time we've talked. Heh, now that I think about it, I felt like this the first time I asked her out… God, how can I tell her I purposefully avoided her all this time?"
"Hands where I can see them."
Will heard a deep voice, and something sharp against the back of his head. Will raised his hands slowly.
'Seriously? Again? What the hell is wrong with this village?' Will thought, did the villagers actually recognize him when he was wearing a completely different disguise from last time?
"Will Connor, where is my gun that you took from me?"
"Your gun? Wait, that sounds familiar." Will slowly turned around to see Clement, and right beside him was the princess, Harmony. They were both covering their faces very well using their masks.
"Oh, my, god, you were actually telling the truth." Harmony could not expect to see the actual 100th hero, whom everyone thought never came.
"I am not looking for any trouble, Will. I am only here to retrieve my son's gun." Clement said.
"Don't have it with me." Will said truthfully. He stopped using that gun because it's durability was close to breaking. He had been trying to find ways to repair it to use it again, since it is a magical item.
"I have searched for you, put a hold of my plans until now looking for you, just so I can have my gun back. I am going to get my gun today." Clement said.
"Or-"
"Clement, honey, let me help you with this. Let's settle this in the fastest and quietest way possible, so you won't get caught." Harmony intervened.
"Harmony-"
"No, listen, Clement you're wanted by the entire kingdom because you kidnapped me, and I do not want you to get captured and executed under my father's orders. And you, hero, you probably don't want me to reveal your identity to the kingdom, do you? So just give Clement his gun back, and we'll be on our way and we'll forget we ever saw you." Harmony said seriously and firmly.
"..." Clement.
"..." Will.
Clement didn't expect her to have this kind of side.
"So?" Harmony asked. All she wanted was to help the man she loves to retrieve his gun back, which is more of a momento from his dead son.
Will thought about the pros and cons about this. Killing them is an option, but Harmony is the princess of the Reyes kingdom, he's pretty sure that if he killed her he'd be labelled as a criminal and everyone would be looking for him, again only this time they won't give up as easily. If he were to kill them, the villagers would notify the guards, and they would most likely arrive in the village faster than last time. He cannot take that risk and put himself and Adaline in danger.
He could give Clement his gun back since he doesn't even use it anymore, and it's broken, but it's still a magical item.
"Fine… but do not say a word about me, or I will find you both." Will said in a threatening tone.
"We'll be back here tomorrow morning. Don't be late." Clement took Harmony and they rode off on their horse.
"He seriously tried to find me all this time for a magical gun? Stalker." Will said.
"Will?" A womanly voice called out to him from behind. Turning around, it was Sandra, clearly holding back her tears from the joy of seeing him again.
"Hey, Sandra." Will took off his mask and helmet to reveal his face.
"It's-it's really you." At that point her eyes started pouring a river of tears. She just broke down upon seeing him.
"It's really me." Will said.
Sandra ran up to me and jumped on top of him, he quickly caught her in a tight embrace.
"You're actually here. I thought I'd never see you again." Sandra sobbingly said and hugged him tightly, ignoring the exotic wooden armor he was wearing.
"I'm sorry I didn't-"
"It's okay, it doesn't matter anymore." Sandra knew what he was gonna say and cut him off.
They were in each other's embrace, it felt as if they were the only ones left in the world.
A while had gone by in the blink of an eye. Will and Sandra were both discussing various stuff outside of the village, that way no one can overhear their conversation. Will had just finished telling her mostly everything he had gone through all this time. He didn't feel right to tell her everything, but left out important details like the exotic seed, his abilities, and others.
"Wow, you've been through a lot." Sandra said amazed and heartbroken to hear how much he's been through.
"I have. It's not like I had much of a choice."
"Sounds like it. You know, Will, you've changed drastically."
"Have I? I don't think I have." Will thought he was the same person, but he was clearly wrong. Most people who change don't realize it themselves most of the time.
"Sure, it's very noticeable, not just physically but mentally as well. You used to be… how do I say this… wimpy." Sandra said with a smile.
Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.
"Wait, I was?" Will did not know he was wimpy.
"You were. Even Alex used to say how feeble and timid you were, like a puppy."
"I thought he was kidding."
"Well, you're not wimpy anymore. You seem stronger, more sure of yourself. You even attained muscles." Sandra touched his biceps, they are nothing compared to the arms of a bodybuilder, but he has indeed developed muscle thanks to all the time he has mined.
"I was always skinny, what are you talking about?" Will said.
"Skinny, yes. But you never actually had any strength. Even I could beat you in an arm wrestling match."
"You probably still could, with your hero strength that is." Will sulked a bit. It's true he has never been able to beat anybody in an arm wrestling match.
"Don't you also have hero strength?" Sandra asked.
"No, I don't."
Will, despite being an actual hero, lacks the physical capabilities that a hero possesses. He's not fast, nor strong, he only has average physical capabilities.
"Hmm… that is strange. Does it have something to do with the fact you weren't summoned properly?" Sandra asked, she trusted Will.
"Most likely. That reminds me, what system do you have?" Will asked, this is something that has been plaguing his mind all this time.
"System?" Sandra had no idea what he meant.
"You know, a system, that's how you received your powers, right?" Will was sure that the heroes also have systems, just like him.
"Will, this isn't like your typical manga… well sorta now that I think about it. But, no, heroes don't have systems." Sandra was telling the truth.
Will couldn't help but be shocked. Heroes don't have any systems like him?
"But, how do you know of your hero abilities?" Will asked.
It's... kinda hard to explain in simple terms. While I'm at it, I'll tell you what happened when we were first summoned. I don't have to tell you but I think it'll make more sense if I do. Want me to tell you?"
Will nodded. He always did want to know what happened when the heroes of this era were summoned.
Flashback…
Sandra, in her pyjamas, in her room, just texted Will about the 90-ish something abductions. This happened in the first chapter.
On her nightstand, she had a couple of photos of her family, of her and just Will, and another one with her, Will, and Alex.
She was scrolling through her past messages of her and Will, as well as various other photos that were in her phone. Very rarely did he answer her messages, this was after Alex died in that store robbery. She didn't say anything, but her sad expression says it all.
Then out of the blue, a bright summoning circle appeared below her.
"What the?!" Not knowing what to do, she instinctively closed her eyes and covered her face with her arms.
Next thing she knew, an unfamiliar voice called out to her.
"Hero, are you okay?"
The one who talked to her was the king. They were standing on top of a wooden platform without thousands of people watching them, cheering for them, like hardcore fans at a Justin Beiber concert.
"Wait, where, what?" Sandra was confused, shocked, she didn't know where she was.
"Hero, please relax, you're safe." The king assured her.
"It's fine to feel like this. We have all been through what you've been." Shaun Quincy appeared before her to comfort her.
"Sandra?"
Sandra then noticed that beside her, were a bunch of familiar people huddled together like scared and confused kids. All of them were her classmates. The one who called out to her was Bruce.
"Wait, aren't you guys…?" Sandra knew that these people had been kidnapped when she read about them in the article on the internet, so now she knew she was kidnapped.
"Go to your friends, we're almost done here." Shaun gently gave her a push to her classmates.
"Wait, what's going on?" She asked her classmates. But just like her, they were all scared and confused.
"Your highness, we're ready to proceed with the final hero summoning." A 5-striped sorcerer said.
"Excellent. This year is going by a lot faster than last time. Send in the volunteers." The king ordered.
And then 10 people walked up to the wooden platform on top of the summoning circle where Sandra had just been. They all seemed happy, willing to be here. Some were older, young, it varied in age.
"Let's give these brave people the applause that they deserve. Because of their sacrifice we are able to make this world better, to summon these heroes to protect us from the threat of the elves, and the monsters!" The king said loudly.
"YAAAAAAAA!!!" People cheered for them and made as much noise as they could.
"Start the summoning." The king ordered.
The volunteers who were standing in the summoning circle, closed their eyes and breathed in normally. And out of nowhere, the summoning circle glowed brightly.
"Yes! It worked!" The king said happily.
"It's already worked 99 times, your highness. Must you be so happy every time the summoning circle works?" Shaun asked.
"Yes! Every hero is important!" The king said. This is something they'll see only once in their lifetime, to be able to witness it is truly spectacular.
The bright light enveloped the 10 willing participants, and the participants disappeared. But, what followed next was unexpected.
There was a tiny rumble, it shook the ground and made everyone trip. The summoning circle turned black, the light was gone for the next 100 years.
"Wait, what just happened?" The king and the people stood up, they expected to see another hero being summoned, but got nothing.
Everyone was beyond shocked, and silence filled the area.
"Where's the hero? Where did he or she go?" The king asked.
"We, we don't know." The 5-striped sorcerer said, just as confused as everybody was.
"Hold on, let me check."
The Great Sage, who was witnessing the whole thing, appeared above the summoning circle.
"Do you feel anything?" The king asked.
"No, nothing. The summoning circle completed the summoning… but I don't see the hero." The Great Sage said.
"So what happened?"
"I don't know what happened. It's the first time it's happened." The Great Sage said loudly and in an annoyed tone. He's the Great Sage, not an omnipotent god.
"But, what? Huh?" The king couldn't process it. Like he said, this has never happened.
"Did it fail?"
"Wait, does this mean that those 10 people sacrificed themselves for nothing?"
"I think it failed because we already have The Great Sage and The Hero Shaun Quincy."
People started talking to each other, some were worried, others were scared. They all pretty much knew that if the summoning circle failed to summon a hero, next time it won't be able to summon another hero.
"Listen, everyone!" The king bellowed to them, and everybody went silent.
"We're not sure what happened here, but we have it under control. We already have 101 heroes. As soon as we figure out what happened, I swear everyone here will be the first ones to know. As for the last ten willing participants' families, don't worry, you will still get rewarded the same as the other families participants. For now we will take the other heroes back to the castle, train them, and make them feel like home."
People started to calm down. Indeed they already have 101 heroes. It's still a great number of heroes.
"Nobles!" The king said.
"Yes?" Several nobles, some of which were sorcerers, appeared and kneeled before the king.
"I want answers as to why the last summoning failed! Use any methods you need, except do not destroy it or break it. Or I'll have your heads!"
"Yes, your highness." The nobles respected their king's orders.
The king calmed down and looked at the remaining heroes.
"Heroes, please this way. I know you are all confused right now, but I promise that it'll all make sense." The King himself guided the heroes.
Some needed a nudge, and The Great Sage and Shaun also helped guide the heroes to the castle. It only made sense for everyone here to be confused, scared.
They were all huddled together. They were standing in the middle of the castle, the interior design looked as magnificent as it did outside.
In front of them were three seats, one of the king which was in the middle, the right which belonged to the Queen, who was already sitting there. On the left belonged to the Princess, who was currently missing. The king sat down on the throne and sighed.
"Get my daughter in here. She must be asleep again." The king ordered a noble who was just there. "And also go get the other heroes. They all need to be here for this."
The noble nodded his head and ran to another part of the castle.
"Other heroes?" Someone in the heroes grouped asked.
Right now there were only 49 heroes in the huddled group. The other 50 heroes had already been summoned the day before.
Summoning a hundred heroes takes a long time, mostly from interruptions, or other minor inconveniences that hinder their time. That's why it takes 1-2 days for all 100 heroes to be properly summoned.
No sooner than later 50 other heroes came to the room. They seemed more accustomed and more relaxed compared to the other group, which made sense since they had more time to process this information.
"Katy? Josh?"
"Britney? Cassandra?"
The two groups of heroes recognized each other instantly. They were all classmates and were shocked to see each other. Some of the heroes weren't able to recognize each other because they were the 'loners' of the class. They were the ones who never socialized, and/or the ones that nobody ever wanted to do with.
"Heroes, please be quiet." The king timidly said in order not to anger the heroes. But, they didn't stop talking. It's like when they were back in their regular classrooms in school and the entire class will NOT SHUT UP!!!
"Silence!" The Great Sage yelled inside their heads, and they all shut up.
"Okay, heroes, I am sure that you are all confused as to why you are here." The King said.
The heroes didn't talk, but they all wanted to know the same thing.
"As you might already know, this is not your world, it's another world. And you all have been summoned to this world. You are all heroes. Got it?"
The heroes were confused. That hardly explained anything.
"I'll handle this." Shaun said standing in the stance of a military soldier. He took out his spear from out of nowhere and pointed at the heroes.
"But I only wanted to keep it simple so they'd understand." The King murmered to himself.
"Listen up, you lazy asses. Stand up straight or else!"
Everybody stood upright, scared and tensed from his commanding tone.
"You all have been brought to this world by us. You are what the people refer to as 'heroes' meaning that each and everyone of you is given a hero ability. This ability is completely random. You might have more than one, but that is a rare occurrence. As heroes you all have super strength, speed, reflexes, and regeneration. You might think you're invincible, but you're not."
The heroes were still having trouble processing this, at least the majority of them are.
"Seems some of you are still confused. You, fatso!" Shaun pointed at a fat hero. As one might know, they were all ordinary people not too long ago. Some of them are out of shape.
"Me?"
"Yes. Step here now!"
The fat guy stepped in front of Shaun.
"What's your name?"
"Chandler."
"Chandler what?!"
"Chandler Chuck."
"Well, Chandler, punch that pillar." Shaun pointed behind him at a giant, thick pillar made of marble.
"What?"
"Ya deaf? I said 'punch that pillar.' and don't hold back."
"I- I don't."
Shaun pointed the spear right at Chandler's face.
"Either you punch that pillar or I'll break your arms. Your choice."
Chandler could tell he wasn't joking. He didn't know what to think. He was only watching his favorite anime before being summoned.
He stood in front of the pillar, and punched it. It created a tiny shockwave that shook the room.
*Gasp*
They saw that Chandler had left a large crack on the pillar.
"OWWW!" Chandler cried out in pain. He did give it his all, but it managed to hurt his arm in the process.
"Disappointing to say the least. You didn't even manage to break it entirely and you're already injured? I gotta get you in shape, that includes most of you in here. I don't think I have ever seen so many couch potatoes in one room. Get back to your whole pack of rodents!"
Shaun kicked Chandler back into the group of heroes. They didn't know why Shaun acted like that, they all thought it was pretty amazing.
Most of them were indeed out of shape. Most of which had never exercised a day in their lives.
"You all might think that that little, tiny bit of strength is amazing. But it's not! With that amount of strength you wouldn't be able to defeat a red goblin! You should be like this in order to survive in this world!" Shaun took a turn to punch the pillar, and the pillar collapsed into rubble.
All the new heroes were shocked beyond belief. They had only seen this kind of action in a movie before, not real life. And he wasn't even injured.
The king rubbed his head. It'll take some time to repair that pillar.
"I will be sure that every single one of you is strong enough to fight me. I will-"
Shaun noticed the Great Sage making him hand gestures. He understood and backed off.
The Great Sage floated in front of the young heroes and took out a round device.
"You may call me The Great Sage. I will explain later who I am in better details. But for now, I need to see what kind of abilities each and every one of you possess."
"Abilities?"
"Do we have such a thing?"
Most of the heroes are getting used to this world.
*ZZZZZZZ*
The Great Sage conjured lightning, fire, ice in his hands.
"This is my ability. I am the strongest, and oldest sorcerer and hero alive. Shaun!"
The Great Sage threw a lightning bolt only towards Shaun. Shaun quickly used his spear to deflect the lightning to another part of the room, which got destroyed.
"If you're lucky, you might have powerful abilities like I do. Many of the heroes before you possessed powerful abilities. So, who wants to go first? Who wants to be the first to see what kind of abilities you have?"
Only one man raised his hand, it was Josh.
"I do."
The Great Sage extended his staff to Josh.
"Touch my staff."
"Gross." Josh and some of the other young heroes said.
"...your heads are all messed up." The Great Sage said after reading their perverted minds. It's not like he could have said that in any other way that wouldn't have made it sound disgusting.