《Yoshi-Kama》 Prologue: Invitation The timer had started getting to its last few moments. However, it seemed that everyone had arrived at the event. A person was around the corner trying to make it on time before the timer ended. He rushed as fast as he could. His breathing was as loud as a dog running gasping for air. ¡°Huff! Huff! Huff!¡± As soon as he got to the Central Hall he gasped as he threw his arms down in exhaustion. To his surprise, the timer got to zero when he arrived. [ Event: Welcome to My World ] [ Location: Central Hall | 0:00 ] A boy in the distance who had rushed over and been around thirty seconds early looked over at the man who made it. He thought in his mind that the whole interface screens that are hollow are an odd thing. It wasn¡¯t only him who had acquired this feature, many others had this hollow screen. He was struck in thought. Could this be a trap of some kind? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever heard of a Fantasy World having a sort of interface like this. Usually, it¡¯s like Medieval sorts of things in these types of environments. But, if only these people and I got this¡­ Why didn¡¯t the other people in the streets get alerted to this? Suddenly, the man who made it on time had cheered which interrupted the boy¡¯s thought to be focused on the shouting. Everyone started staring at the man as if he was a madman. But, something odd happened soon after¡­ ¡°Yes! I made it aliv-¡± Those would be the last words that man would ever speak of¡­ Shnkkkk!!! Blood sprayed the tough brick floor red as if a crime scene had occurred at that moment. The boy¡¯s eyes widened as he saw the horrifying scene. H-His body¡­ it was¡­ cut in half? The boy had remembered one thing before arriving at the Central Hall, when he had looked at the message pop up about having to arrive at this event on time. In small lettering, it wrote¡­This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. [ If you cannot arrive on time to the Event, it will lead to your death. In other words, you would be eliminated from this world. ] He broke a cold sweat running down his spine. He imagined the many deaths that could have occurred if he or others hadn¡¯t read that small message like the man who had died. People around who had seen the scene screamed bloody murder, they were terrified as if they had never seen death before in their lives. This isn¡¯t a child¡¯s joke at all¡­ That guy¡­ he¡¯s dead! The message that read the event¡¯s name was still apparent but with a different tone of color. Rather than having the interface color blue, it had turned red along with a new box with ¡°The Summoner¡± written clearly in a bold style. He looks at the interface in fear. [ Event: Welcome to My World | Time Elapsed: 0:00:01 ] [ The Summoner ] A mere second after the event began, a weird silhouette appeared, formed from a weird distorting effect within the air. It wore a cloak that was made out of black leather that shined the sun. But, that wouldn¡¯t be that long before the whole mood and weather changed. It had transitioned from sunny and clear weather to a darker, cloudy atmosphere. ¡°Who¡­ is that?¡± Everyone in the Central Hall soon turned terrified from the creepy figure. Most were confused about what was happening. Many shouted after the figure stood still for minutes in silence. ¡°What the hell is your problem!¡± Then, the figure covered with a black cloak finally moved. Both of its arms rose as if it was about to fly. People stood there dumbfounded and confused at what it was doing. But it spoke¡­ ¡°I¡­ Welcome¡­¡± The boy¡¯s eyes strictly focused on the figure in the distance and what it was saying. He gulped wondering what was left in his sentence that he paused. His heart rate gradually raised as the tension grew. Ba-Dump! Ba-Dump! Ba-Dump! ¡°To¡­ My¡­¡± His heart kept racing, he was truly terrified of where he had been taken. Ba-Dump! Ba-Dump! Ba-Dump! ¡°...World.¡± Silence filled the entire premises as those words were finally spoken. Tokuda Hajime¡¯s life would forever change from this moment starting now¡­ ____________________________________ Thank You For Reading, Chapters Come Out Daily! Chapter 1: The Lady In The Tracks The hum of the train was oddly soothing, even though he was running late. Through the window, the morning sun bathed the world in gold, casting long shadows on the pavement. He adjusted his bag strap and stared at the horizon, wondering if today would be as uneventful as the rest. People around him seemed to look like they were waiting for the same train going to the station near the school he attended. He looked off into the distance until he noticed that he would be in trouble with the school for being late. Damn¡­ Well, that thought didn¡¯t occur to me when I was walking over to the station. I should¡¯ve ran¡­ While relaxing his stiff arms, he looked over to his small-sized MP3 Player that he had bought a couple of months ago. He had took a look at it to see the time present on it along with the song that was playing at the moment. [ Playing: Kanashimi < 8:30 A.M. > 4-5-2025 ] Ever since he bought the MP3 Player he held in his right hand, music has been like a non-stop hobby for him. It¡¯s like a part of him now, a way to cope with his problems in life. He glanced up to see the trains passing, yet the train hadn''t arrived. It seemed that it was a couple of minutes too early for it to get there, he didn¡¯t know the exact minutes left but all he knew was that it was coming soon. Then, something caught his attention after a train passed. An odd-looking figure stood in the middle of the train tracks looking directly into his eyes. A chill ran down his spine while looking at it from his position off towards the platforms where everyone sat patiently for the trains to arrive. He focused more closely to notice that it took the appearance of a young lady. Maybe in her twenties, but she wasn¡¯t safe standing there. His eyes widened as he heard a hint of humming and rumbles coming from the tracks, it soon knew it was bound to flatten her. If I don¡¯t do anything¡­ She¡¯s going to get hit! The music that came out from the MP3 Player that traveled through the wires of the headphones stopped outputting music as the port and the earbuds disconnected when he got up in shock. Could no one see what he was seeing? It was obvious she was there, it wasn¡¯t like she couldn¡¯t be seen. He stood up getting ready to get in the way to save her from her fateful death by the train. ¡°Get out of the way!¡± His movements were fast, he almost got to where she was but, as soon as he tried to save her he struck out his arm and suddenly froze. The humming from the trains slowed down as if it were a video being edited into slow motion. His vision gradually turned into a monochrome view, everything had been stopped in time. The lady who was on the train tracks moved from her position to be closer to him. She looked into his light brownish eyes that had her reflection on his pupils, muttering something that he would never forget. Or to be more specific, words that would change his life forever¡­ ¡°Only you can do it¡­ Please¡­ Save humanity.¡± He was confused at what she meant by ¡°Save humanity¡±, he had been just a normal human living an ordinary life. So what could she mean by saving people or doing anything of that kind? Or maybe there was something he didn¡¯t know? Save¡­ Humanity? Tears streamed down the lady''s cheeks as her thick brown hair followed the wind¡¯s path as a big breeze came by. He noticed the tears and yet it still didn¡¯t make sense, was he a real person? ¡°Tokuda Hajime¡­ We¡¯re all depending on you to defeat that man¡­¡± Tokuda pictured a person in his mind as she spoke. Kill that¡­ man? Could he kill the person she spoke of? Tokuda has never been the type of person to seek violence, he¡¯s always been a kind-hearted kid since birth even though he¡¯s gone through a lot in the past.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. He wanted to express his confusion to the lady still standing there but like the other things around him, he still couldn¡¯t move. Suddenly the area around him started turning into a normal color scheme as the lady walked away while simultaneously opening a door that was formed within thin air. Everything that was happening felt like a dream to Tokuda, he¡¯s never heard of anything like this happening to anyone so there wasn¡¯t any other conclusion other than to conclude that this occurrence was his imagination. Before she entered fully into the door that Tokuda saw form, she had muttered her last words to him as she closed the door behind her. ¡°Don¡¯t forget us¡­ H-¡­¡±, Tokuda couldn¡¯t put his finger on what she had said before entering the door. It sounded like a weird distortion sound straight out of a video game. Like it was trying to hide what she was saying¡­ While he was still stuck in thought trying to figure out what she had said, the world slowly started going at the right pace and things started moving again. Instead of the previous inverted colors it used to be, now it had turned back to the usual view he would see before. Tokuda grasped the center of his shirt, gasping for air as the whole situation had spooked him. ¡°W-What¡­ the hell just happened!¡± The humming of the trains continued as Tokuda looked around to see people looking at him as if he was drunk or going crazy. ¡°Kid! Get off the train tracks!¡± He looked at his surroundings¡­ I¡¯m on the train tracks! He needed to get out of his position if he wanted to live longer since trains were already on their way towards where he was standing. I need to get out of here as soon as possible! I must¡¯ve been cursed! Ding! Ding! Tokuda jumped onto the platform and rushed towards his previously sat spot he was at before this odd incident happened. He grabbed his MP3 Player that had dropped while in the midst of running before towards the lady on the tracks as well as his baggage, he brought while heading to school since that was his main objective for the day. He ran out of the train station with the most speed he¡¯d ever run. Running out of breath, he didn¡¯t care. He just didn¡¯t want any part of whatever that lady said before. The words ¡°Save Humanity¡± and whatever she tried saying before were running through his mind the entire time. ¡°Huff! Huff! Huff!¡± Where do I even go? If I even try telling my family¡­ they wouldn¡¯t care one bit. Hell, they don¡¯t care one bit about my well-being¡­ *** Tokuda Hajime was indeed an ordinary student but, somehow he¡¯s gotten this extraordinary request to be the savior of humanity. Still, he hadn¡¯t the slightest idea of what he should do. If he were to go explain this to his family, he would most definitely get made fun of or even yelled at. He didn¡¯t have a good relationship with his mother or his sister at all. Then an idea popped into his head amidst running into a narrow street gasping for air while struggling to withstand the amount of running he had done. What if I tell the police? Will they believe me? ¡°Huff! Huff! Huff!¡± He was worn out since he wasn¡¯t athletic at all. To be specific he couldn¡¯t run even a mile if told so without breaking multiple sweats. He got up from his tired position and checked his MP3 Player to see what time it had been since it felt like the incident with the lady was a while ago. [ Stopped < 8:59 A.M. > 4-5-2025 ] ¡°Oh¡­ It¡¯s almost nine in the morning¡­¡± Should I head to school¡ª His stomach growls loudly as it interrupts his thoughts Grumpp! His hunger grew after every minute that passed, it had seemed like he forgot to eat before going to school. Then, various food choices popped into my head. I could get Hamburgers¡­ Or maybe Ramen¡­ After thinking hard about what he wanted he gradually walked towards a quick burger restaurant down the road, since he was pretty close to Shibuya he decided to spend his time there. Alright¡­ I should start heading out. As soon as Tokuda took a step forward, his eyesight went dark. Every thought in his mind disappeared and he couldn¡¯t move at all. This had happened previously with the lady in the train station but this was different, instead, he couldn¡¯t think at all or even process anything that was happening to him. Suddenly, he was able to think after being in the dark for multiple minutes. Am¡­ I alive? He slowly learned that his ability to move was back after trying to open his eyelids. He slowly looked around the area he was in. The thought that came first was that the area looked like a dark void, the floor, or more like everything was black. ¡°Where the hell am I?¡± He felt the floor but it had no sound. It was very quiet in the place he was in other than the droplets of water heard from a distance. Tokuda was confused and didn¡¯t know what to do or even how to escape this place. It could be a dream though¡­ Then, after a couple of moments of Tokuda trying to figure out what plan of action he would go with, a dark unsettling voice spoke up. ¡°You¡¯re finally awake¡­ Kid.¡± ____________________________________ Thank You For Reading, Chapters Come Out Daily! Chapter 2: One-Eyed Monster "H-huh¡­ Where am I?" Cold sweats rolled down Tokuda''s expressionless face. Most of it had to be from the shock of what had just happened right now. First, I see a lady in the middle of the train tracks. Now, I hear a deep sinister voice, and now I''m in this place that is filled with darkness and has an unsettling atmosphere. Am I high? Tokuda''s heartbeat had increased significantly, and he slowly began to panic. A room filled with emptiness of void had appeared, a monster that had one eye was with Tokuda. A white skin color and lanky legs that would most definitely terrify anyone in public if it were to be seen. It looked nothing but a horrifying character straight out of a horror story. From the One-Eyed Monster''s perspective, Tokuda had been asleep in this room for an eternity... The One-Eyed Monster gazed at the Tokuda as he got up from his lying position on the ground. "What took you so long¡­ H¡­¡± Tokuda was struck again by the weird distortion sound when the creature spoke. He last heard this type of sound when he was trying his best to save the lady back in the train station. That sound again¡­ I can¡¯t understand what he¡¯s trying to say. Could it be that both this creature and the lady are connected somehow. Or maybe I¡¯m just losing it¡­ Many scenarios ran through Tokuda¡¯s mind before he could answer the creature¡¯s question. Could this be the work of someone that he does not know of? But, suddenly, the creature walked closer to Tokuda, awaiting his answer. ¡°Tell me¡­ Why did you leave us¡­ Kid.¡± The creature looked at Tokuda with a furious expression. Tokuda hadn¡¯t known one bit of what the creature was speaking of. He broke several sweats after seeing the creature¡¯s fist clenched. ¡°Wh-What are you talking about? I don¡¯t know you¡­¡± he shouted while being frightened. What is he talking about? Leave us? This was the first time Tokuda had ever laid his eyes on any creature like him. If he knew him he would¡¯ve instantly known the creature right off the bat, so this whole thing confused Tokuda. The creature itched its chin as it thought away, ¡°Ah¡­ I probably got you for a different person. Although, you and him look the exact same¡­¡± Tokuda then finally moved over to the topic of how he even got to this place. "First of all, who are you?" The one-eyed creature made eye contact with Tokuda and gave a serious look.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. "Who do you think you''re bossing around, kid." Tokuda gulped. I should choose my words better if I want to get any answers from him. Eventually, the one-eyed monster took a deep breath and then proceeded to talk. "Humph. Fine, I guess I''ll introduce myself to you." Tokuda''s attention went directly to what the one-eyed monster was about to unfold. "Thank you." He glanced back at Tokuda. "You don''t have to thank me." "Let me introduce myself... I''m Ryoko, one of the infamous ''Shadow Gods''." Hearing the term shadow gods shocked Tokuda. In school, they would teach about the Conflict. More specifically, it was between the Sinju Clan and the Shadow Gods in the Old Era. The two sides fought furiously in a war that ended to a point where the entire Shadow God¡¯s to vanish. These ¡°Shadow Gods¡± were infamous for destruction and violence. They slaughtered anything in their way. Though, for some bizzare reason, they hated the humans as much as how the Senju Clan (Consisting of Humans with Swords and Horses) felt towards them. "A-A Shadow God? Weren''t they gone from this world back a couple of thousands of years ago?" "Yes, you would be correct on that. But, we have a realm called the Okami Realm where all ''Shadow Gods'' rest. But, today someone summoned all of us Shadow Gods." "Why did you get summoned here?" Tokuda asked with curiosity. Ryoko put his palm on his face with his wrinkly pale hands that looked massive. "That myself... I don''t know. Maybe... it was to kill humans since that''s our sole purpose in life." Tokuda trembled after hearing those words. To Kill Humans? Does that mean he''s gonna kill me right now?! "I''m sorry! Don''t kill me! I have so much left to live and experience, hell I haven''t even had a girlfriend or lost my virginity!" Ryoko glances at Tokuda and starts to chuckle. "Ha-ha! You think I can kill you?! How foolish could you be." Tokuda felt confused and couldn''t grasp what he meant by that. "What do you mean you can''t kill me?" Ryoko took another deep breath. "You can''t die to me because I''m inside your soul. This place we are in is the reflection of your soul." Tokuda was shocked by the type of soul he had that represented the place they were in right now. "How did you get into my soul? I still don''t get this whole concept." Ryoko cocked his head back, looking at the ceiling while responding to Tokuda''s question. "My best guess is that a summoning spell brought me here into your body as a host. But, the person who did it is someone I don''t know of." "Look, I''ve got a bad feeling about this. It seems like someone is trying to do something fishy and I don''t like it. Also, there''s this scent that''s horrible here." Tokuda acknowledged Ryoko and responded in a serious tone. "How can I help you with what''s happening right now?" Ryoko stuck his hand out towards Tokuda. "I''ll make you a deal, I want you to kill whoever used this spell. In exchange, I''ll lend you my strength and the ability to leave this place." Tokuda sat and thought his words over and over again in his head. Kill whoever used this spell... Strength... Sounds promising but one thing. How am I supposed to kill someone, I''m not the type to do that type of action. "Do I even have a choice?" "Pick your choice this instant" Ryoko Declares with a serious facial expression. "Fine, I''ll accept the deal, but no promises on killing the guy who summoned you." "Whatever... I''ll make the pact now." This kid thinks he can choose what he wants. It''s funny he doesn''t know the pact will break if he doesn''t kill the guy. That will lead to his own death. Everything will go to plan though, my foresight tells me he''ll be able to reach the guy. Ryoko chuckled in thought. "You will forget what happened right now and will live your life as if nothing ever happened. I will also forget this interaction as well." An odd aura formed around Ryoko that spurged surrounding his body after speaking. What''s that aura?! "Wait? I forget all this¡ª" At that very instant, a split second later, someone moved him out of the dark void he was in. Tokuda''s life would all change because of this event occurring. "Good luck, kid." Ryoko mutters while he fades away. ____________________________________ Thank You For Reading, Chapters Come Out Daily! Chapter 3: Welcome Quest Tokuda wakes up to a view he doesn''t recognize. The atmosphere here was very different from Earth. He wonders how he gets to these places. But, a loud sound distracts him. Neeighh! He looked to both sides but couldn''t find the source of the sound. Then, he looked behind and saw a horse and carriage on a path down the hill. A villager sat inside the carriage. It looked like the horse was following a path down a rough stone road. Tokuda was spooked by the sound of the horse. Damn, that horse is loud... where am I even? Everything feels blurry in my head from that odd interaction. He looked around the area he was at to get a good view of where he had woken up. Mountain ranges rose in the background. Fields of grass stretched on forever. However, a thought came to Tokuda''s mind when he finished viewing the scenery from where he was sitting. This... is like a Fantasy world from a video game! Have I been chosen to be reincarnated into a different world from the gods? I could be the heroine in this story! The villagers saw Tokuda''s odd excitement over being reincarnated. He peeked his head out of the carriage and shouted at Tokuda. "Hey, kid! You lost?!" Tokuda turned his head to the villager and felt confused. "Are you talking to me?" The villager sighed. "I can''t hear you well! Let me stop this horse!" Then the horse came to a stop with its feet going slow one by one. "So, you from around here?" Tokuda got up and then spoke to the villager. "I don''t know... I suddenly arrived here, where is the closest town?" The villager looked at Tokuda with a confused face. "Port Eldoria, are you from a different country? Your clothing doesn''t seem like the type to wear out here." Tokuda grabbed a hold of a piece of his clothing and then thought. Am I really in a different reality? This might be a Fantasy world. Villagers on horses are saying my clothes aren''t casual. "Hm... Port Eldoria doesn''t ring any bells at all." The villagers felt skeptical about his idea but then gave in to it. "Just come on into the carriage, I''ll give you a ride, free of charge to the capital." "Thanks!" Tokuda shouts while jumping into the carriage. He seems to have a lot of boxes here, I wonder if he''s a trader? "Hey, so what do you do for a living?"This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. The villager pointed towards the boxes. "I usually trade goods to other villages, I''m stopping at the capital to grab some stuff to sell. Oh, by the way, my name is Takano, sorry I didn''t introduce myself sooner." "Ah it''s okay, it was partially my fault for not greeting you nor introducing myself either. My name is Tokuda Hajime, it''s a pleasure to meet you, Takano." "Say, if you need any jobs that make good money just come to me, and I''ll hook you up with some trades you could do. You seem to be a nice kid so I''ll be here usually throughout the weekdays so don''t be shy to ask me." "Thanks a ton, I''ll let you know if I need anything." Tokuda looked out the carriage and saw a glimpse of the capital they were heading to. So this is the capital huh? It''s pretty huge but I guess it kind of fits the description of it being a fantasy world. I wonder if there are demi-humans and other species here. Well, it''s almost time for me and the trader to part ways. *** The trader got up and looked out. "Welcome to Eldoria''s Capital." "It looks nice!" Well here''s where I part ways with the trader. It was nice of him to bring me here. Tokuda jumped out of the carriage. "Thank you for taking me over here. It saved me a bunch of time." "You''re welcome! Come by the capital gates anytime you need work like I mentioned earlier." Tokuda ventured off throughout the paths of the Capital, vendors were everywhere. Selling every type of fruit that''s out there, it was a whole market. There are so many people here! The vibe out here is way better than back home, everything is so lively. I should buy some food, I''m starving. Tokuda dug into his pockets and pulled out some money that he wasn''t familiar with. "Huh? Wait, how did I get this money? This isn''t Yen at all." Did I get sent here with money that works here? Maybe I could have special powers as well! A Vendor selling apples caught the attention of Tokuda. He started to think how he hadn''t eaten an apple in a long time. I should go get some apples... it sounds pretty good right now. Something I didn''t notice at all is that they use the same language as me. I mean even the lettering on the signs everywhere is in Japanese. "Hey! Could I get two apples?" The Vendor looked at Tokuda with a confused look. "Yeah sure kid, also what''s those weird clothes you''re wearing?" Tokuda took a look at everyone, it looked like he was the only one who had the same type of clothing. Everyone else was wearing either armor or the old fantasy type of clothing. I need to get some clothes that''ll fit in with this world''s society. I don''t want people giving me weird looks everywhere I go. "Uh, how much are the two apples?" "It''s one silver coin, sir." One silver coin? Let''s see... Tokuda grabs all the coins he has inside his pockets. He counts thirty-seven silver coins. "Here you go!" I guess I have a bit of coins to use left. I should find an inn to sleep at while I figure out this whole power system and how to get on my feet out here. "Thank you! Come again!" He took a bite of the apple he bought. The apple exceeded any he had eaten in Japan. "This is so delicious!" It seems like this place is an awesome society, I mean the people are nice out here. The streets are clean and I feel like this is a big game-changer in my life. As soon as Tokuda was wandering off into the heart of the capital. A pop-up had shown up in front of him, the pop-up looked as if it came straight from a video game. A voice spoke, reading what was on the pop-up in his view. Ting! [ Event: Welcoming Players! ] Tokuda panicked when the pop-up showed up. He tried pushing it away with the best he could but nothing worked. However, he noticed that a button displayed the text "learn more." He gulped and then pressed this button. [ The Event starts in ten minutes within the center hall of the Capital. Please head over to the designated location to close this interface. If not apparent, you''ll be eliminated from the game. ] The word "Eliminated" kept circling in Tokuda''s mind as he read the pop-up several times. What does it mean by Eliminated? If I don''t show will I die? What''s this game? I thought I had reincarnated into a new world like the main character in every story. Drops of sweat were rolling down Tokuda''s spine as he figured out that this wasn''t your ordinary fantasy world. Instead, there was a dark truth to it all. ____________________________________ Thank You For Reading, Chapters Come Out Daily! Chapter 4: Life Change None of this is making a damn sense! How come I''ll die if I don''t go to the location? And where did this screen suddenly come to appear?! Tokuda felt utterly confused. But after a minute of sitting down and taking a breather to think about everything that had just happened, he knew what the right choice of action¡­ I need to find answers. I need to make it over to the location it''s telling me. Tokuda took a good look around and a marker of the location had appeared in his field of view. The marker was also very similar to one from a video game. He dashed through the streets of the capital, hoping that he would arrive on time. People looked at him as if he was a madman, pushing himself through crowds. But he noticed that other people were also running to the desired location as well. Are there other people that got the same thing as me? If so, why aren''t all the people in the streets freaked out one bit of it? Tokuda disregarded the thought and focused on his task of getting to the location. *** After nine minutes of running, he had finally made it to the place he needed to be. As said in the event pop-up, it went away after arriving there. He looked around and saw plenty of people surrounding the central hall he was at. But the thing that struck out the most was a timer that was in mid-air. "I wonder why we''re here?" "Hey! How did I get here!" "I swore I was at work." Everyone was concerned about how they, like Tokuda, got to this world. All those present had one thing in common. They were doing something and had been teleported to this place. So¡­ That answers my question. There ARE other people who got the event pop-up other than me. Tokuda looked at the timer that had been set for ten minutes in mid-air in the central hall. The timer had started getting to its last few moments. However, it seemed that everyone had arrived at the event. A person was around the corner trying to make it on time before the timer ended. He rushed as fast as he could. His breathing was as loud as a dog running gasping for air. ¡°Huff! Huff! Huff!¡± As soon as he got to the Central Hall he gasped as he threw his arms down in exhaustion. To his surprise, the timer got to zero when he arrived. [ Event: Welcome to My World ] [ Location: Central Hall | 0:00 ] A boy in the distance who had rushed over and been around thirty seconds early looked over at the man who made it. He thought in his mind that the whole interface screens that are hollow are an odd thing. It wasn¡¯t only him who had acquired this feature, many others had this hollow screen. He was struck in thought. Could this be a trap of some kind? I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever heard of a Fantasy World having a sort of interface like this. Usually, it¡¯s like Medieval sorts of things in these types of environments. But, if only these people and I got this¡­ Why didn¡¯t the other people in the streets get alerted to this? Suddenly, the man who made it on time had cheered which interrupted the boy¡¯s thought to be focused on the shouting. Everyone started staring at the man as if he was a madman. But, something odd happened soon after¡­ ¡°Yes! I made it aliv-¡± Unfortunately, those would be the last words that man would ever speak of¡­ Shnkkkk!!! Blood sprayed the tough brick floor red as if a crime scene had occurred at that moment. The boy¡¯s eyes widened as he saw the horrifying scene. H-His body¡­ it was¡­ cut in half? The boy had remembered one thing before arriving at the Central Hall, when he had looked at the message pop up about having to arrive at this event on time. In small lettering, it wrote¡­ [ If you cannot arrive on time to the Event, it will lead to your death. In other words, you would be eliminated from this world. ] He broke a cold sweat running down his spine. He imagined the many deaths that could have occurred if he or others hadn¡¯t read that small message like the man who had died. People around who had seen the scene screamed bloody murder, they were terrified as if they had never seen death before in their lives. This isn¡¯t a child¡¯s joke at all¡­ That guy¡­ he¡¯s dead! The message that read the event¡¯s name was still apparent but with a different tone of color. Rather than having the interface color blue, it had turned red along with a new box with ¡°The Summoner¡± written clearly in a bold style. He looks at the interface in fear. [ Event: Welcome to My World | Time Elapsed: 0:00:01 ] [ The Summoner ] A mere second after the event began, a weird silhouette appeared, formed from a weird distorting effect within the air. It wore a cloak that was made out of black leather that shined the sun. But, that wouldn¡¯t be that long before the whole mood and weather changed. It had transitioned from sunny and clear weather to a darker, cloudy atmosphere. ¡°Who¡­ is that?¡±If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Everyone in the Central Hall soon turned terrified from the creepy figure. Most were confused about what was happening. Many shouted after the figure stood still for minutes in silence. ¡°What the hell is your problem!¡± Then, the figure coated with a black cloak finally moved. Both of its arms rose as if it was about to fly. People stood there dumbfounded, confused at what it was doing. But, it spoke¡­ ¡°I¡­ Welcome¡­¡± Tokuda¡¯s eyes strictly focused on the figure in the distance and what it was saying. He gulped wondering what was left in his sentence that he paused. His heart rate gradually raised as the tension grew. Ba-Dump! Ba-Dump! Ba-Dump! ¡°To¡­ My¡­¡± His heart kept racing, he was truly terrified of where he had been taken. Ba-Dump! Ba-Dump! Ba-Dump! ¡°...World. Or if you humans don¡¯t like the sound of that, call it the trapped world¡­¡± Silence filled the entire premises as those words were finally spoken. Tokuda''s eyes widened as he heard what the silhouette had spoken. What is this guy talking about? His world? The Trapped World? It doesn''t make sense! "You may be freaking out, asking where you are, how did you get here, and why you''re here. I''m here to explain everything to you at this very moment." The Silhouette raises his arm and then makes an imagery of news liners online. "Today, I have selected many of you to be in this world, a world of only the usage of Ren. Everyone who arrives here also holds hostages in a world known as the Trapped World. Think of this as an experiment on my newfound discovery of the power Ren." People were thoughtless at the words the silhouette was saying. However, many of the people recognized the term Ren from history classes that taught them the term. "We''re trapped here?! Why so!" People tried to escape, but a barrier blocked it from the hall. "Why can''t we leave? I have a family to feed send me back home!" "People who inherited the power of Ren have been brought here. You may wonder how to escape this world. The answer is to find the missing pieces of the prompt. They can destroy this world and return you to Earth." Tokuda broke into a cold sweat upon realizing that this was reality and that everything was real. Missing pieces is the key to leaving. "Ren?!" "Didn''t it go extinct back in the old era?" They''re right it did go extinct, but this person... just by being in this world tells enough that he''s speaking the truth. Shit... This can''t be any good... There were claims online that scientists were researching the power source. But, many believed it was fake since there wasn''t evidence that proved the claim was true. Tokuda felt shocked and didn''t know what to do. But for some reason, his family came to mind. His mother, and his sister. He remembered all the good times with them and he shed a tear thinking about it. "You may think this is a bluff, but I warn you, this is reality. I go by the name of the Summoner. I wish you the best of luck in getting out of this place," The crowd standing around the fountain had fallen into silence. The summoner had already vanished within the second the speech ended. Although the speech was short, people cried. Others lost their mind to the fact that they weren''t gonna be able to see their loved ones. But, Tokuda Hajime felt differently about it. A fire lit in his eyes, and a goal had appeared for him. The goal is to save the hostages of this world and to achieve something for once in his forsaken life. This is my chance, I will complete my goal. I will do something that will be great for society. I won''t be a disgrace anymore. At that moment, Tokuda''s view of his life had changed forever. He was set on this motivation of his. Since leaving school, his dream was to be in a different world. Finally, it came true. Tokuda looked to his side. A sword lay against a brick building. It was very new and clean. As he grabbed it, his adventure began. He ran into the streets, and like always, everyone looked at him with a weird gaze. Tokuda didn''t care, then he ran into the fields of grass outside the village and saw wild beasts with axes out in the wild. *** "Four Beasts." He focuses all his attention on the blade and strikes the first beast with no hesitation. Schlickkkkk! "Three Beasts Left." The third one tries to attack him. Somehow, he dodges it and counters by piercing the beast''s guts. Blood splattered everywhere. Thump!!!!! He fights off the two with a fierce fire in his eyes, and he takes both down successfully. Tokuda proceeds to yell as he feels great in the moment after taking the beast down with a singular attack. Wosshhhh! The fields of grass were blowing in a direction due to the intense wind that had appeared. A pop-up appeared yet again, but the dialog on it was very much different than the previous one he had. Ting! [ You have achieved Level 2! ] [ Unlocked: Skill Tree ] "So, there''s a leveling-up system in the game." He clicked the dismiss button at the bottom of the pop-up. This work is exactly like a game, if I want to win in this trapped game I''ll have to grind and max out the skill trees as well as my levels. Once he also closed out the pop-up that involved the skill tree, a yet odd one popped up afterward. Ting! [ Hello, Tokuda¡­ Welcome to the Trapped World, I''ve created. ] ¡°T-The Trapped World¡­ A-And how do they know who I am?¡± All of this was very confusing for Tokuda, it felt like he was getting personally targeted or being spied on. ____________________________________ Thank You For Reading, Chapters Come Out Daily! Chapter 5: Hated Dream I feel this uneasy sensation crawling down my spine for some bizarre reason. Tokuda was unsure of what was happening at the moment. He closed the welcoming message from his view. "I should ignore it for now." He then remembers another pop-up that had appeared before the strange welcome message with "Hiro" in the content. I wonder what that Skill Tree feature is? Could it be similar to the ones in RPG (Role-play Games)? He scratched his head several times, wondering how to bring up this "Skill Tree Menu" or even the "Main Menu". Hm... I should start at least by saying simple keywords. Maybe a word brings it up or like a certain command... Tokuda took a deep breath as he prepared to chant keywords. "Skill Tree!" Nope... That didn''t work. "Start Menu!" ¡°...¡± "Menu!" As soon as Tokuda felt utterly hopeless and thought he wouldn¡¯t be able to get the command right, a familiar alert sounded in his head. Ting! The system recognized his command, after he had said "Menu" a sound indicated it worked, it brought up a hollow screen that was in the color of teal. "Ah! It worked!" He paid more attention to the screen to see what it had said. [ < Menu > ] [ Stats ] [ Party ] [ Inventory ] [ Options ] It had the usual options that a typical otaku who played games would always expect from a fantasy game. However, Tokuda was skeptical about which selection to make first. He saw all the options and didn¡¯t know where to start first. "Four options..." He had wanted to look at the "Skill Tree" first, but having these other ones piqued his interest. I think I''ll pick stats first... Just like he did with the previous pop-ups, all he needed to do was push his finger forward to push on the button that was hollow. As soon as he pressed "Stats" a different tone played and a new pop-up opened with details of his current abilities. Chime! [ USER: TOKUDA ] [ LVL. 1 ] [ HP: 100 / 100 ] [ REN: N/A] [ CURRENT TRAIT: NON-REN USER] [ Strength: 1 ] [ Speed: 1 ] [ Stamina: 1 ] [ Magic: 0 ] [ Attack: 1 ] [ POINTS TO ALLOCATE: 0 ] [ SKILL TREE ] Tokuda''s face went from a smile to a frown when he had seen his stats. Wow... I''m really weak ain''t I? Well, it may seem bad but, he''s only level one. Although, if he were to level up, he could probably get his stats up. But, before his thought could further progress, a selection box that stated "Skill Tree" caught his attention. There it is! Skill Tree! With the least hesitation, he pressed the button to open the "Skill Tree" screen. Chime! [ Skill Tree Skill: The Rebirthed ] [ Mesu ] [ Tesu ] [ Resu ] "The Rebirthed? What does that mean?" He tried to press on the "Skill Tree Skill" but, after all his attempts, nothing would work to bring up more information on it. And even after he also tried pressing on the other options, they didn''t work as well. Maybe they don''t work because I don''t have a trait right now... I wonder how I can get one. Tokuda yawned after closing the menu. Damn, I feel tired, I''ll check those other menu buttons out later on. It looks like I should go find an inn so I can go to sleep peacefully. He walks through the endless number of trees in his path towards the exit of the forest. The sun is setting already? I should hurry up before it gets too dark. *** Tokuda got to the main road of the capital where he last was when he had arrived with the trader. The road was as silent as an empty area. No one could be seen. "I wonder where everyone went?" Nevertheless, I need to find an Inn as soon as possible.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. He walks down the road that looks endless; surprisingly, there were lights that lit up the street at least. After thirty minutes of walking, he found an Inn. It looked like a place from a video game. He walked inside to see a lady waiting at a counter for someone to come inside to rent out a room. The lady welcomed Tokuda with a bow. "Hello! Welcome to the Sakura Inn. May I get you a room?" Tokuda''s eyes couldn''t keep off the lady who looked like she was around his age. Black hair that reached down to her waist; the outfit made it even better. I think she¡¯s been the most beautiful lady I¡¯ve ever seen¡­ Although, her pointing ears are kinda cute. Could she be an elf or some kind of half human? "Oh! I-Is there something on my face?" The lady looked away as she spoke, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. Tokuda scrammed while trying to explain that she didn''t have anything on her. Although he was too shy to say that she was pretty. "N-No, your face is good. I just spaced out; sorry!" He looked away but then remembered that he needed to book some nights. "Ah, I''ll take three nights, please." The lady smiled with her pink cheeks. "Okay! It will be thirty silver coins please!" He digs into his pocket again to find thirty silver coins to pay for the inn. Left with six silver coins, I can likely make it to the end of the week. He hands the silver coins off to the lady. "Here you go. Thirty silver coins like you requested." "Thank you! Your inn will be at door 105!" Tokuda heads off towards his inn while dozing off in the process. The hallways looked like they could keep going forever; they were just a repeat of the same things. But then he got to his inn after a minute of walking down the hallway. He opens the door and then sees how nice the inn looks. The beds at the time looked so good that one touch from them would send him straight to heaven. I can''t wait to go to bed. I''m so exhausted from all the shenanigans that have been happening all day. First, I had to go to school... Well, just getting to it until I magically got here. And then I got sent to this world that all of us got trapped in for some reason¡­ Tokuda looked at a clock he had never noticed in the upper left corner of his view. I''ve never noticed this clock before... Ten o''clock is the time right now? I wonder what time it is over in Japan, hell I wonder if people have been noticing that people have disappeared? Well, I don''t have to worry about that, I know my mom and sister won''t give the slightest care at all. Tokuda''s eyes started closing. Huh¡­ Weird I¡¯m thinking about them even though I dislike them a lot¡­ Then, slowly he entered into a deep slumber while last thinking about his family¡­ *** Tokuda¡¯s slumber ended when he gradually opened his half-shut eyes. Something felt off, he looked around and didn¡¯t recognize anything. "Augh... where am I?" Tokuda looked around his environment to see where he was, and after a few moments he started to panic about his whereabouts. ¡°Wait a second... Why am I inside a house!¡± I thought I was sleeping at the inn with the pretty black-haired lady. He got up from his lying position on the wooden floor but something felt odd about the house he was in¡­ This place feels familiar... Tokuda went to inspect the place a little bit more to understand where he was. The house gave off a nostalgic feeling. "T-This... It''s my childhood home." Why am I here? He looked around the living room to make sure it was his childhood house. But it seemed that his assumption was right; he saw photos in the living room of his family. He was confused. Then a high-pitched voice echoed down the hallway. It was a child''s voice. A child ran down the hallway leading to the bedrooms, shouting for its mother. "Mommy! Look! Look! I got the superhero I''ve been wanting to get!" Tokuda directed his attention to the hallway. The child rushed out of the shadows to the living room where he was. Tokuda froze as soon as the child was visible. That can''t be... that''s me when I was younger! "That''s great! I''ll give it a look after I serve dinner!" He heads over to the kitchen of remembrance and sees a clear image of a lady who was his mother. Mom? What''s going on here? Why am I here? This doesn''t make sense! Tokuda kept trying to think of what could be the reason for being where he was. All the pieces matched in his head, fitting together seamlessly. A man walked into the house from the front door, entering the living room. "I''m home." Tokuda moves his head with a fearful hesitation after hearing the man''s voice. Cold sweats were rolling down his neck to the point it was dropping on the ground. No. It can''t be... After that voice spoke, it was all too clear to him. The memories of this fateful day flowed into his mind. A memory he couldn''t forget if his life were on the line. This is the day... when all our lives changed. The reason why I don''t get along with my mother or my sister. That man... is my father. Tokuda''s blood boiled. The man''s face had ruined his mother and sisters. It made him furious. He couldn''t keep his composure. Just then, he clenched his fists until they turned bright red, ready to punch his father out of hate. The light changed in his eyes, and then his mother spoke. "How was work, honey?" Tokuda relaxed his hands, feeling the tension gradually fade away. "Daddy! You are here; let me show you my toy!" Tokuda''s father looked at his younger self, then turned away toward his mother. "Tokuda go to the room. I need to discuss something between me and your mom." Tokuda''s younger self felt odd. This had never happened before. But he didn''t know better, so he went along with the request. "Okay!" Tokuda watched as his child ran toward the hallway leading to his room. Shit! He''s going to run into me! Tokuda tried evading the collision between him and his child self. But something odd happened. Instead of colliding, he ran straight through Tokuda as if he were a ghost. What the hell? How did he go through me like that? "Aoi, I have to leave you and this household." After those words from his father, a plate fell. It was full of the dinner his mother had made. Tokuda''s mother had no words for what had come out of his father''s mouth. The only words that could come out of her mouth were, "W-Why?" Tears were rolling down her cheeks as if it were a flowing waterfall. It was as if her world had crumbled. "I have work to attend to." Tokuda''s younger self had heard this whole ordeal since the walls weren''t soundproof. He had also started crying as well at the fact that his parents were divorcing at that moment. Though young, he knew things most kids didn''t. He was smarter than others in his grade. Tokuda was silent. He hated that he had to watch this very moment again. A memory that he had much hatred for, a memory that he wished he could abandon forever. "Tokuda." His child self looked up to see his father calling his name in front of him. "W-What..." He tries to hide the tears that were previously coming out while trying to talk. "Take care of your mother. I know someday we''ll see each other again. And it''ll be for a good reason." He didn''t know what the words his father spoke meant other than to take care of his mother. Then, his father took his farewell and left the house. He, his mother, and his sister never saw him again. *** Ding! Ding! Ding! A bell was heard from far away along with heard hummings of what sounded like a train coming by on tracks. ¡°Where the hell am I now?¡± Tokuda observed his surroundings, he had been inside a train station. "Why am I here?" Muttering from his earbuds were blasting out while music was playing via his MP3 Player. "What time is it?" He looks over to the small screen on the MP3 Player and tries to figure out the time and date. But¡­ [ Tokuda¡­ Next¡­ To¡­ You¡­ ] Next to me? What could it be? The thought of something horrible happening was circling through his mind. He watched a lot of horror films so it was no surprise why he was so spooked. Tokuda glanced over to his right side to see a woman dressed in a white robe that was perfectly fit on her, her beauty made Tokuda feel like butterflies when gazing at her. This girl¡­ She''s from the train station¡­ ____________________________________ Thank You For Reading, Chapters Come Out Daily! Chapter 6: Train Station Tokuda stared at what he thought was a fragment of his imagination, he had thought that the entire incident with the train station the morning prior to entering this world was a dream or rather all in his head. But, he was dead wrong, she had appeared in front of him and was indeed not fake. Tokuda looked up and down at her observing to make sure he wasn¡¯t just dreaming. This lasted for a couple of minutes till the woman in the chair next to him looked to her right which was the side Tokuda was on. They both had a staring contest for several moments¡­ Then, Tokuda decided he needed to end it by saying something even though he didn¡¯t know what to say in a situation like this¡­ ¡°Are you the same woman from the train station, or to be more specific, the one on the train tracks right?¡± The woman continued staring at Tokuda¡¯s brownish eyes that reflected her pale face. She took a deep breath before talking, ¡°I am the woman who was at the train station, that was not an illusion of your imagination. I indeed was on the train tracks¡­¡± His assumption was right on the spot, he wasn¡¯t dreaming and she was real, before Tokuda could further continue the conversation she spoke up again asking him a question. ¡°Is your name Tokuda or H¡­ I need to know please¡­¡± That familiar sound played again, the sound of distortion¡­ I couldn¡¯t hear the other thing she said, this was like last time in the train station. She tried telling me something but it was nothing but an odd sound¡­ Tokuda was confused on why he couldn¡¯t hear what she tried to say but then disregarded it as he remembered a crucial question regarding the last time they met. Hummings of the trains still were heard from far away, it had seemed like for some reason the trains were still running even though they both weren¡¯t in the real living world¡­ Tokuda felt like he needed to ask why he couldn¡¯t hear what she was trying to say but, for some reason the question could come out. It was as if something was preventing him from speaking about the matter, like something squeezing his throat¡­ ¡°I-I¡­ Can¡¯t-¡± The squeezing progressed, Tokuda didn¡¯t want to give up on asking her the question though, the whole deal was confusing. Why couldn¡¯t he speak of it? What was preventing him from speaking about the matter? There were so many questions Tokuda thought of that ran through his mind as he kept trying to get words out. But, after many failed attempts he gave up, cold sweats ran down his spine, the feeling of what was keeping him from saying anything felt sinister or more like it had made him fearful of who it was. What the hell is happening to me? I wonder why I can¡¯t speak without feeling this strangling sensation around my neck¡­ After calming down, the girl had been waiting for his answer. Tokuda tried remembering what she had asked him¡­ Wasn¡¯t she asking for my name? Pretty sure it was something like that. Tokuda gulped as he prepared to answer her, ¡°My name¡­ Is Tokuda Hajime.¡± The woman lays her pale smooth finger with perfect rounded nails on her well smoothened lips while she thinks, ¡°Tokuda? It¡¯s cute for sure¡­¡± Tokuda was shocked by what she had just said, was this a confession he thought. No one in his entire lifetime has called anything about him cute. Maybe this has to do with him having a lack of communication with girls around his age but other than that he felt golden. She¡­ She said my name was cute? Flustered as his thoughts, he looked away in the opposite direction the girl was sitting down. Who was this girl? Tokuda didn¡¯t really know how to respond to such words. ¡°S-Since I told you my name, what¡¯s yours?¡± She paused for a moment in silence, looking towards the ground, tapping what looked like a miniature foot compared to Tokuda¡¯s... ¡°My name?¡± Suddenly, her mood changes instantly, it was like night and day. She shouted with a bright smile responding to Tokuda¡¯s question regarding her name. ¡°Oh! My name! Yes, my name is Mira! Sorry I didn¡¯t say it before, I must¡¯ve been zoned out or something!¡± ¡°Zoned out?¡± Tokuda was made more confused about the whole situation that had just occurred. But, at least he got to know her name. However, what was Tokuda¡¯s main objective in this weird imaginative world? ¡°Mira? Why am I here?¡±This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Hm¡­ Let¡¯s just say I brought you here to have a quick glimpse of who Ryoko took in as a host body!¡± ¡°What! How do you know Ryoko?!¡± He was shocked that Mira knew who the Shadow God was, he thought he was the only one in contact with him. How could she know him? He¡¯s inside my soul¡­ ¡°I know him because we¡¯re friends!¡± Friends?! No way! With a guy like that?! Tokuda couldn''t believe she was really friends with Ryoko. Ryoko never looked like the type of person to make friends with humans. This mostly had to do with his much hate for the human race... ¡°Y-You¡¯re friends with Ryoko? The Shadow God?¡± Mira chuckles as she looks at Tokuda¡¯s priceless face, it looked like he found out major news. She covered her mouth as he kept laughing, ¡°Yeah! He isn¡¯t that bad of a person y¡¯know!¡± ¡°H-How!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you next time we meet Kuda! I¡¯ve got to go for now!¡± Mira stood up and smiled at Tokuda with a huge grin as she walked away in the matter of moments. Tokuda raised his arm and shouted at Mira, ¡°Wait! I still have a bunch of questions!¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see each other again! I promise!¡± Before Tokuda could repeat his shouting to stop her from going away, she had disappeared already. He dropped his arms in defeat, was she bluffing about showing up again? He wondered as suddenly the world he was in started collapsing. Tokuda got up from his seat to exit the building while hearing the destruction of the train station. He exited the train station after many obstacles, now he stood in the middle of what looked like Shibuya in remembrance. Even though there were tons of tall buildings and stores, it felt eerie. No one was seen around him and all the lights and displays were off. He wondered when he would finally wake up from this dream of his, surely this wasn¡¯t reality. He raised his arm up to look at his hands, he clenched both of them and released several times. From the gray clouds in the sky, it looked like it was about to rain. He looked up towards the sky, nothing was on his mind at that moment till¡­ ¡°Mom¡­ Sis¡­¡± The two family members that he lived with back on Earth were suddenly in his head. Two that he didn¡¯t like, but he really did love them. Whatever brought him to that memory of when his father left drove him to tears. Tokuda crouched on one knew sobbing, to add on to the pot, the clouds he had seen earlier in the sky had been now raining on him. His black sweater he wore when he came to the trapped world was soaked, rain streamed down his face mixing in with his tears. ¡°When was the last time I told them I loved them?¡± Memories of the two flowed through his brain, it had been clear that he was having an emotional outbreak. One wish he had in the back of his mind was for everything to go back to normal and go back to how life was before¡­ Suddenly, he looked up to see buildings around him crumble and eventually be fully destroyed. Before he could make a step away or do anything, a door appeared. It was a bright white door that had no details on it. Just the color white. Do I walk inside that door? No¡­ It could be a trap¡­. Tokuda was suspicious, but there wasn¡¯t really any other choice. It had felt like everything was gonna be destroyed so what was the point of waiting in the middle of the road for nothing? He gulped and clenched his hands as he took baby steps with water splashing as he was in a puddle going towards the white door. Tap¡­ Tap¡­ Tap¡­ ¡°What the hell¡­ I¡¯ll take the chance¡­¡± He raised his arm to a position where he could grasp the handle of the door, it was an odd feeling. More like it felt like how it feels to be numbed at the doctor for a procedure, he couldn¡¯t really feel anything. However, as he twisted the doorknob, the door opened slowly as he pushed open the door. The inside of the place he was entering was white as well. He had no fear anymore, he wanted to get out of the place he was at. He took a deep breath¡­ ¡°Alright¡­ Time to go in!¡± He dashed right into the room the door led to. When he entered the room, his vision went fully white¡­ Then, everything turned black. *** Tokuda had woken up to a sight he recognized from before. Cold sweats ran down neck as he sprang his body up from the lying position had had last been in before waking up. He felt odd¡­ More like he felt like his body had changed. He lifted his shirt and looked at this lower torso and all around his body but nothing looked different, what could this possibly be? After finding nothing, he disregarded the entire matter and took a deep breath as he calmed himself down. He still felt off about the entire dream he had prior to waking up right now. ¡°That was a memory I wasn¡¯t expecting to go over¡­ And was that girl really talking to me?¡± He was still suspicious of the whole thing with the girl that had been in the train station with him while he was in dream-mode. However, something made it believable that that dream was real¡­ ¡°I¡­ felt like I knew her from somewhere¡­¡± Before he could do anything else a flash occurred in his head that projected a certain thing, more like a person. It happened so fast that he couldn¡¯t really tell who it was, but he saw long black hair and a robe. I think I need to go to bed, he thought while slowly laying back into a comfortable position on the Inn Bed. It was morning so he had all day to do anything, but he decided he would sleep in a little more since he was still tired. ¡°This¡­ has been one¡­ crazy¡­ morning¡­.¡± Tokuda¡¯s eyes slowly closed into a fully shut position, he had fallen into a slumber till noon of the day. His main objective next was to find his way through the town, or known as Port Eldoria. *** ¡°Ryoko¡­ It¡¯s been awhile¡­¡± Footsteps creaked on a wooden plank bridge, skulls were seen everywhere in the area. A woman with long black hair and white robe walked toward Ryoko¡¯s fearful tall body. He sat there on a wooden log looking towards the woman. ¡°Haven¡¯t seen you in a long time¡­ Eh, Mira?¡± She started closing the distance between her and Ryoko, ¡°Well, I¡¯ve seen you¡¯ve taken in him¡­¡± ¡°Ah¡­ That brat Tokuda Hajime?¡± ¡°He looks just like him doesn¡¯t he?¡± Mira smirks at the response that Ryoko gave, she instantly knew what he was talking about. ¡°He does indeed, how is he doing performance wise yet?¡± Ryoko sighs, ¡°He hasn¡¯t unlocked his true potential yet but I have hope for the kid¡­¡± ¡°Though, it sucks we have to see a our dear king like this¡­¡± ¡°Yes¡­ But, we must protect him by all costs.¡± Ryoko looked down towards his skinny yet odd looking pale white feet as he felt a cold sweat roll down his spine. "Yes, I''ll make sure he''s protected by any means..." ____________________________________ Thank You For Reading, Chapters Come Out Daily! Chapter 7: Rising of Factions After yesterday¡¯s incident with the summoner who ¡°requested¡± everyone to show up at the central hall along with Tokuda¡¯s odd dream. People have formed factions to find the missing pieces the summoner spoke of. Many people were set on trying to escape this ¡°Trapped World¡±, so the only logical solution was forming groups and seeking for the fragments. ¡°Join the Silver Vanguard!¡± ¡°We welcome everyone! Join us, the Crimson Talon!¡± Tokuda arrived at the central hall due to the commotion. He wondered if he should join a faction to help his goal, but became sceptical about the whole idea of joining one. I don¡¯t mind joining a faction¡­ but the thing is that I don¡¯t trust anyone. Anyone could backstab me anytime; it¡¯s not like we have multiple lives here. The rules of life still apply here as if we were still on Earth living our normal lives. He walked towards the stands for the factions. Many were enlisting by filling out typewritten paperwork. It had looked like some of the technology from Earth had come to this place as well, but a mystery was untold, how did they get the stuff so fast? Tokuda kept it in the back of his head while looking at the other stands. Hm¡­ I shouldn¡¯t pick one off the bat. I need to focus on picking one that will fit with my standards. ¡°P-Please join the ember guard.¡± A younger lady around Tokuda¡¯s age asks with a shy demeanor. Many people weren¡¯t paying any attention to them due to the fact that they didn¡¯t have a lot of members. It had only four members. Their funds were low. Most other factions offered to pay for your gear and weapons. Tokuda glanced at the stand and thought that it wouldn¡¯t hurt to be with a small group of people rather than a huge one. Naturally, people would try aiming for the bigger faction due to the fact that everyone would want to be in it. But, Tokuda thought differently, he thought that maybe they would be more trustworthy and better to be with. He walks over to the stand that has Ember Guard written on the sign in bold characters. However, Tokuda couldn¡¯t understand the lettering, he tried really hard to try understanding but couldn¡¯t. Something he picked up while he had been walking to the Central Hall is that many signs have different languages. For instance, the one he is looking at is English. But, the language everyone spoke was the same, everyone spoke the same language. Tokuda was ready to ask to join the faction but felt a bit hesitant as he got nervous. He scratched his chin and cleared his throat, he walked up to the table that had a woman sitting, waiting for someone to ask to join. ¡°Hey, I¡¯ll join your faction.¡± The woman glanced up to see Tokuda and made her face light up. She was happy that someone finally paid attention to their faction. ¡°Y-You will?!¡± Tokuda grinned while responding. ¡°Yeah. I¡¯ll give it a shot; how do I join?¡± ¡°Here, fill out the paperwork; after that, you will officially join our faction.¡± Tokuda grabs the paperwork from the younger lady and examines it, focusing on each line of text. They want my name, age, nationality, and power trait? I don¡¯t have a power trait... so what must I put down? He grabs a pen made of ink and writes down the information needed on the paperwork. Tokuda Hajime... fifteen years old... Japanese... and no power traits. I wonder if they¡¯ll accept me even though I don¡¯t have this power trait thing¡­ He walks back to the stand he had received the paperwork from and hands the paper to the young lady. ¡°Here, I¡¯m finished.¡± ¡°Ah! I¡¯ll let my friend Kamau interview you; he said he was actually interested in what you¡¯re capable of.¡± Crap. If they see my answer, I¡¯m toast. *** ¡°So... you have no power trait?¡± ¡°Um... I don¡¯t.¡± Tokuda nervously smirked while he repeatedly tapped his foot on the ground up and down while he was sitting on a hand-made chair. Tap¡­ Tap¡­ Tap¡­ Tokuda gulped as he awaited the final decision¡­ Damn it... I¡¯m certain that I will face rejection.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The man who was speaking to Tokuda was named Kamau. He was known in the faction as the head captain. The one who leads whenever they head to combat. He¡¯s taller than Tokuda by a lot; if speaking specifics, he¡¯s around the six-foot area of height. He was born from African parents and raised in Nigeria. His looks frightened most people in school back when he was kid, so he had almost no social skills, still in the Central Hall people will still give him odd glares. ¡°It¡¯s fine by me; I received my trait this morning shortly after fighting the wild beasts out in the wild forest region.¡± Tokuda felt confused about the whole trait ordeal; he had no idea how it worked or how one could even achieve it. Only if there was an explanation from the Summoner explaining what a power trait was¡­ ¡°Hey... Kamau was it?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s my name. What¡¯s up?¡± Tokuda looked down at his feet. Then, he asked what he thought was an embarrassing question in his head. He didn¡¯t want to ask about it but he didn¡¯t really have a strong idea of what it was¡­ ¡°W-What is a power trait?¡± ¡°Gawh.¡± Kamau sighs while shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯m guessing you didn¡¯t check out the booklets explaining everything?¡± ¡°Wait¡­ What booklet?¡± Kamau grabbed an object from a table behind him that he used to make coffee. He pulls out a book that looks miniature in his hand. ¡°This... it¡¯s the booklet that explains everything about the magic here.¡± Tokuda was shocked to discover that something like that even existed. He never knew until then that reading the book shown in front of him would solve most of his wonders. Kamau throws the book into Tokuda¡¯s chest with a careful motion while Tokuda tries to grab it. ¡°Here, give it a quick read.¡± Tokuda thanked Kamau, then proceeded to read it at that moment. My World is the title, huh? Makes sense due to the fact that he declared that he made this world, by the summoner of this world. He flipped page after page until he eventually got to the end of the booklet that Kamau gave him. Tokuda summarized the entire booklet into his head to get a better understanding of how the entire power system works. So... In short, Ren is a type of energy. It can form by mixing two things. One is the Natural Energy in the human body. The other is Will Energy from the soul and the will to fight. The choice between Mesu or Tesu depends entirely on your power traits. Mesu is a magic power trait, meaning you, the Ren Wielder, can only use magic abilities. Tesu is a sword power trait; you can only use blades. But the similarity between both is that you can infuse Ren Energy into both traits. These traits are always randomized; you can¡¯t pick one. The way to achieve one of these traits is by actually using the method to make Ren Energy in combat. Meaning, it has to be a moment of the slightest survival in combat for it to fully awaken. But, as soon as Tokuda was about to wrap up reading the book, he noticed some key details that were left out. What about the Skill Tree and leveling-up systems? Why wasn¡¯t that included? He thought there could be a reason that the ¡°Skill Tree¡± and other aspects like the leveling-up feature he has wasn¡¯t spoken about¡­ ¡°I should go tell Kamau that I¡¯m finished.¡± ¡°Hey, Kamau!¡± Kamau looked behind and saw Tokuda waving and calling his name from afar. ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡± Kamau was surprised at how fast Tokuda read the book. It took him some time to understand the whole concept, but he just treated it as child¡¯s play. ¡°Hey, so you read the entire thing?¡± ¡°Mhm. I read it all... I know how to get my power trait.¡± ¡°Ah, I see. You¡¯ve been accepted into the Ember Guard. The meeting is tomorrow; be sure to be here at eight o¡¯clock sharp.¡± Tokuda was filled with excitement. He was ready for his life to start kicking off with his newfound group. I feared I couldn¡¯t join their faction or any group. I had no magic in me. ¡°Kamau? I have a question!¡± Kamau looked back to see Tokuda shouting his name. ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s up?¡± Tokuda caught up to Kamau and asked him a question that would spark his interest in being able to obtain magic. ¡°Say, could you show me some magic?¡± Kamau put his hand behind his head. ¡°Sorry Kid, but the thing is... I can¡¯t cast magic spells like the ones in those fictional stories.¡± ¡°Wait... that could only mean you¡¯re a Tesu user?!¡± Kamau grinned. ¡°Yeah. I can only use magic within a blade that¡¯s infused with Ren inside it.¡± As he spoke, he pointed towards a big sword that was black and had clean edges. It also had a gem in the handle. Tokuda was amazed at how big the sword was; he inspected it and saw the gem on the handle. ¡°Hey Kamau, what¡¯s this shiny gem inside it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a gem that activates the sword; every Tesu User holds this gem with care. Meaning if it were to be destroyed, or even taken out, it¡¯ll make the user incapable of fighting.¡± ¡°So, if you were to fight and that gem was broken, you would die?¡± ¡°Yes... that one thing is our disadvantage as Tesu Users. The one thing we Tesu Users fear of ever happening during a fight to the death.¡± Tokuda gulped as he thought of the aftermath if that gem were to be taken. I can¡¯t imagine dying like that. But... Seeing your comrade die in action by just a little simple move of taking that gem is worse. ¡°Tokuda... you good?¡± He snapped back into reality after zoning out to the distance. ¡°O-Oh, yeah I was just zoning out. Sorry, Kamau, but I¡¯m going to be getting something to eat at this caf¨¦ I saw on the way.¡± Kamau grinned. ¡°Alright, just stay safe out there since you don¡¯t have magic in you. I¡¯ve heard there¡¯s already been people slaughtering each other.¡± ¡°Okay! Thanks for letting me be a part of your guys faction! I¡¯ll see you tomorrow!¡± Kamau watches as Tokuda takes off toward the main street. He walks towards the younger lady at the stand and sits down on a log. *** ¡°Hey Akane, I think we found a good kid.¡± Akane looked back toward Kamau with a confused facial expression. ¡°What do you mean?¡± Kamau sighed. ¡°That kid Tokuda... he just gave me a really good vibe talking to him. He also seems like a nice kid... which is the bad part.¡± ¡°The bad part?¡± Kamau looked worried. ¡°I just have a feeling he¡¯s going to have trouble fighting people like him. Will he struggle to kill a human, even if they killed many people?¡± Akane looks Kamau in the eye with a serious face. ¡°We¡¯ll help Tokuda. He¡¯ll be a strong man alongside us. He will be a member of the Ember Guard.¡± ¡°Damn Akane... you haven¡¯t cared for someone dearly since that one time back in junior high; it¡¯s kind of funny.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not funny! That was when we were both much younger.¡± ¡°Akane, you¡¯re letting out your ugly side.¡± Akane dashes at Kamau and uppercuts him. He flies up towards the main street. ¡°Take that, Kamau!¡± ____________________________________ Thank You For Reading, Chapters Come Out Daily!