A large city sprawling out over the horizon, a grandiose castle, and slums reaching out even further. The streets were still busy, despite the sun already having set hours before, drunks and suspicious figures moving about through the barely lit streets. Towards the castle, the houses grew bigger, fancier, and more well lit, along with guards patrolling the streets, though they still lacked in comparison to both the castle and the plain but large white church that stood nearby.
Yet it was not just the streets that were lively. Many could be seen moving through the castle windows, wearing somber faces, the grounds swarming with organized groups of armored warriors.
His gaze shifted to outside the city walls, outside the farms and roads that still marked civilization, to the wilderness that surrounded it. Beasts prowled about in a wide-reaching gathering resembling an U-shape around the city, largely ignoring each other. An ill omen by itself, made only worse by the gatherings of dark-robed people in pockets near the beasts.
As if on command, both sides came to a stop, the air itself not daring to break this moment of stillness. These few moments seemed to drag on for an eternity.
He could see a Knight, sitting on a rock near the largest road out of the city, the only place that hadn’t been covered by beasts. Covered in dirty armor draped with a robe, she stood up with a sigh, covering her sad expression with the helmet.
Mere moments later, everything was in flames.
—
Thomas woke up with a gasp, only to wince in pain.
Except there was no pain that followed, his eyes opening only to see he had no idea where he was. Last night was spent in a bed, along with many nights before that, since he was suffering from cancer, supposedly terminal for all the years he lasted.
Everything feels off, it feels different. Where am I?
His gaze settled on the white blanket currently covering his lower half, only to realize his body has changed. Much younger and much stronger, he could already tell. No scars were on his body to at least roughly tell him the age, but it hardly mattered, he was clearly rejuvenated. No aching in his joints, no pain from his movement, no struggle to breathe. His illness was gone, and his strength returned.
Didn’t expect to get revitalized to my… Early thirties maybe? How would she feel-
Trying to recall his past, his memory seemed empty. Although he could think just fine, he struggled to recall any specific details from before. He knew there were people, family, but they had no faces, no voice, in his mind. Something in there felt of sadness, but it was not his own. Sadness that only welled up anger in him, but he decided to put that aside for now.
Fuck, that’s not a topic for now. Or ever, probably. Can’t believe the only ache I brought with me is emotional.
Finally he shifted his gaze, realizing that in the mostly-white room he sat in, a woman in pale gray robes looked down on him with a smile. “Please, do take your time, it is normal to have troubles on your first day,” she spoke with a pleasant voice, echoing in the room that lacked anything except for windows.
The windows. One looking down at the sunset, and the other on the opposite side. Looking at it, he recalled the nightmare with a headache. He stood up, realizing only a moment too late he was naked beneath the blanket. “The clothes are next to you,” the priestess spoke before he could cover himself. She was still staring down.
I’d admire myself too, but right now it’s just embarrassing. What a first meeting. Have I been laying down here for long?
As he was quickly clothing himself in clothes similar to the priestess, except darker in shade, “My name is Theresa. As you may have noticed, this is not your world. I am here to help make your initial stay more comfortable,” the priestess spoke again. Taking another look, the well-endowed priestess had blonde hair reaching her back and blue eyes, finally holding eye contact with him. Tom was decently tall, and unless something changed, he still was, but so was she, locking eyes with him at roughly the same height.
“New world, huh. If I knew this was going to happen, I would’ve read more novels. Thomas, by the way,” he spoke for the first time, pushing away his bad feelings.
“Perhaps that will be to your benefit, Thomas. The world may not necessarily be against you, but it is better to not have unnecessary delusions.”
“Delusions… So I am not the only one here, then. Chosen One type of delusions?”
“Correct. You will find yourself gaining far more strength than you could wield before, but caution will always be important. After all, anyone can grow, and many have started before you.”
“Thanks for the advice. So how does this work then? I got summoned, and now I will go and fight?”
“Hmm. Not quite. Allow me to go on a tangent, this place is called by many names, such as Hero Church or Summoning Church, but the actual name is Temple of Order. We simply do not bother correcting others. We are in charge of taking care of Summoned heroes, contrary to the belief that we summon them ourselves. The System takes care of that, and even the Gods can do little more than pressure it in times of need.”
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Gods. Another topic that seemed important to learn about.
I can’t say I ever was a fan of theology, but I think I remember enough to not insult any Gods accidentally.
“The Summoned, or Heroes as most call them, do not have any obligations besides following the law. You may do anything you wish, or at least try to, but the paths provided do tie one down. Following a God may come with responsibilities, however it does come with the benefits. Skills, powers, whatever you may call them, they will grant you strength in return for your service, alongside whatever power comes from the System itself.”
“System?”
“Oh? That seems to be commonly understood by the Summoned, but it seems every rule has its exceptions. It is described as a game-like interface, though more human, visualizing your power, but it is also what you gain your strength from. There are other ways, of course, but there is rarely any reason to try something else. Ah, you will be able to interact with it once you are fully integrated, as you are not a native, that may take a few days.”
As Tom was about to ask another question, a neutral voice spoke in his head, “Finalizing. A moment, please,” and before he could react, a blue interface appeared in front of him.
Finished initializing interface for Thomas Turner.
Welcome to a new world, Adventurer :D
Due to urgent circumstances, interface integration has been sloppily hastened!
Due to urgent circumstances, System contractor has been requested for user’s protection!
Quest:
Survive the night.
Reward:
Full System access
Please do your best until help arrives, Adventurer!
System contractor… I wonder, could it be the one I saw?
“That is slightly concerning. I just got a quest to survive the night.”
For a brief moment, surprise and worry flashed on her face, quickly replaced by a frown. “Truly, that is a cause for concern. It implies that even here is not safe, despite the neutrality we try to maintain. It seems introductions must be cut short. Very well, let us hasten.”
Request for access to user’s interface.
Due to limited interface access, user may not process this request.
Due to urgent circumstances, Guardian privileges have been granted to requester.
“Quite lacking. No matter, it shall be enough for now,” she continued, followed by a hand gesture that made another window appear for a second, explaining an increase in ‘defensive measures’.
Turning away, Theresa started walking out of the room, so Tom went to follow. “A buff? Also, not that I would’ve rejected the help, but it feels like I had quite a lack of say in this guardian stuff.”
“You are free to try to survive on your own, later. For now, I will have you follow my will. If it truly bothers you, perhaps try thinking of it as an act of a Good Samaritan,” the priestess spoke. Her expression slowly turned cold as she tapped on an invisible surface mid-air.
“Ah, sorry, I didn’t mean it in a bad wa-,” Thomas tried to word his apology, but was cut short by a bell suddenly resounding through the Temple.
Stopping before a door, Theresa looked in the direction of the bell, as suddenly other robed characters started moving about in the other parts of the building.
Looking back at Tom with a smile again, Theresa spoke. “Here we are, our basic armaments armory. Nothing fancy or enchanted, you would struggle to wield such weapons regardless. Have you any experience with weaponry?”
Following her inside, Tom was greeted by rows upon rows of gear, and as she said, there were no fancy weapons, but the sheer amount and variety filling this room with basic steel weapons was still incredible. There was something satisfying about seeing such cleanliness and organization.
I thought I kept my house clean, but wow, this is something else.
Broken out of his admiration by the priestess swiftly moving to grab a flail and shield, Tom finally responded. “Uh, can’t say I have. Only firearms and a bit of archery, but that is probably worthless here.”
“Archery would be useful, but not here, not now,” Theresa quickly picked out a large spear and a buckler shield. “No time to train you. These will be simple enough. You can stab, maybe sweep, but most definitely block and dodge. Though you may kill someone stronger by chance, maybe if they stumble, you will most definitely be outmatched right now, regardless of what awaits you.”
Putting the spear in his hands, she then strapped the buckler to his left arm. “You have a strong body, you could probably take on some weak monsters by yourself already, but that will not help against skills.”
“Glad to hear the compliment, what would you recommend then? Besides the stabbing. Also, how were you sure of my dominant hand,” Tom asked, while Theresa was already moving out.
Fuck, am I asking too much? I’m panicking, aren’t I. Deep breaths…
“Wait for them to whiff. Then stab them. If they rely on their skills too much, pray that they do, then they will leave themselves vulnerable to basic attacks. For the most part, just stick to me. You chose which hand grabbed the spear,” she kept talking, already leading them out of the Temple.
The Temple was surrounded by empty grounds, a large ring empty save for the Temple around the castle, providing a field of grass in the heart of the city. Outside of the field, on one side were the walls separating the castle, on the other were large houses with their own gardens.
Feels like an expensive district. In the center and they have gardens? That’s really something.
“By the way, I know I’m asking a lot of things, but where are we going?”
Theresa was moving very fast, to the point Thomas would have to jog if she sped up even a little. “It is alright. It must be confusing for you, and it is better to ask than to have misunderstandings. Those may end up fatal. Your interface told me there was a System contractor moving to aid you. I do not know who it is, but we should actively seek them out. Or, the more likely case, move to a spot where they may easily find you.”
As they moved forward, they entered a large public space, centered with a marble fountain. A short road from here led to the castle entrance, where they could see many knights moving about in a hurry, followed by another ringing of a bell, this time from the castle. Even though he couldn’t even see the bell, it was a piercing, clear sound that resounded far.
Whatever, this is probably the time to say it. Worst case I can just say it was a fever dream.
“Um, this may sound weird, but I think I should mention it… Before I woke up, I had a strange dream where I had a skyview of the city, and, uh, I saw a knight there? Outside of the city.”
They were already standing still, but the priestess still paused to look at him. “Elaborate?”
“It was… I think I saw monsters and people gathering outside, in the forest, probably what is threatening us. And then I saw the knight. She was sitting there, looking all depressed. Her armor didn’t seem to be in good condition either.”
“Fuck.”