Now with a new sight (or in this case, person) to focus on, many of the Players were able to gradually tear their retinas away from a sight that would usually spell the end(?) for many celestial bodies so that they can start to follow the village elder on top of her floating platform to their next destination.

 

 

 

As Gab was doing just that, she saw for the first time the Pocket Village and its surrounding area.

 

 

 

And for some reason, it wasn’t quite what she expected.

 

 

 

On one hand, the Pocket Village at the bottom of the hill that holds the crater was more or less what she would expect a medieval fantasy village to look like.

 

Around a dozen or more wooden cabins for housing, a collection of larger buildings made of both stone and wood that would house the local businesses and several, more important looking structures that are built entirely of stone, including (as expected) a church.

 

 

 

On the village’s outskirts, there were a few fields set up for either grazing or agriculture, local guards on horseback on patrol and a decent sized river a relatively short distance away that would provide both fresh water and aquatic produce.

 

 

 

On the other hand, it was the landscape surrounding the village that caught Gab’s eye.

 

 

 

Towering over the clearing in which the village was at its dead centre, was a ring of rocky hills that were covered in all sorts of trees and various other types of flora.

 

 

 

From a metaphorical point of view, this ring looks like a natural wall, brought up from the earth for the sole purpose of protecting the Pocket Village and its inhabitants.

 

 

 

As well as possibly providing said inhabitants methods of which to temper themselves.

 

 

 

Considering that this was a setting in an RPG, Gab reckoned that this was likely by design.

 

 

 

But as she looked closer at the trees smattering this ring of hills, she realised exactly what was bothering her so much about this scene.

 

 

 

“Umm…Đất Vàng?”, Gab hesitantly called out to her new companion whilst tapping her on her taut shoulder to draw her attention.

 

 

 

“Hmm? What wrong?”, the Vietnamese Armed Combatant asked in confusion, wondering what could make this unreadable Player act this way before they even arrived in the village proper.

 

 

 

Pointing her index towards a part of the rig of the hill, more specifically the trees, Gab asked an odd, yet very specific question:

 

 

 

“Is it me, or are there eucalyptus trees on those hills?”, Gab asked.

 

 

 

Finding herself thrown by that odd question, Đất Vàng squinted her eyes towards the area the Freestyler was pointing at and found herself agreeing with Gab’s observation.

 

 

 

If one were to look up the term “Eucalyptus” on sites like Wikipedia (which, let’s be honest, would be the first place an average person would look at online for research purposes), they would learn that it’s “a genus of over seven hundred flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae”. Their distinguishing characteristics include bark of various consistencies and leaves that secrete oils that’s used for various purposes, including medicinal ones.

 

 

 

But in this situation, the most important aspect of these plants is that they are native to Australia.

 

 

 

Meaning: they’re some of the last plants you would find in a medieval fantasy setting!!!

 

 

 

And it wasn’t just Eucalyptus either. 

 

Gum trees, Banksias, Ironbarks, Bottle Trees, Lilly Pillies, Sheoaks, Frangipanies, Bottlebrushes, Hakeas, and many others that one might not necessarily recognise on sight.

 

 

 

All native to Australia!

 

 

 

“…uh, last time I checked, this game was meant to be set in a medieval fantasy world, right?”, Đất Vàng asked Gab, understandably feeling uncertain that they’re in the right game.

 

 

 

“Hmm, I guess that whilst the actual game world uses that setting, the Pocket Villages that we’re all sent to reflect the country/region we come from, probably so that we can acclimate to this world more easily.”, Gab gave her opinion, feeling that her guess would at the very least be one of the more correct ones.

 

 

 

“…wait, if this Pocket Village has flora native to Australia, doesn’t it also stand to reason that monsters outside of the village might be based on native fauna?!”, the Vietnamese Armed Combatant said, causing the the blood in Gab’s body to run cold.

 

 

 

“Then…I guess it was nice get to know you in the limited time we had together…”, Gab sighed whilst patting Đất Vàng on her shoulder in what was meant to be a reassuring gesture.

 

However, giving the content of their recent discussion, that gesture had them exact opposite effect on her!

 

 

 

After all, whilst a lot of people who were born in Australia tell people from overseas that the island nation isn’t dangerous to the point of labelling it as a “Death World”, it doesn’t change the fact that the country contains some of the deadliest native creatures known to man!

 

 

 

If any of the nastier dangerous animals appeared, in the outskirts of this Pocket Village, then one can forget about progressing, for their arses would be grass!

 

 

 

“Then again, I doubt the developers wouldn’t intentionally put anything that we can’t handle in the Players starting zones, so I guess we don’t have to worry too much about what we might face in those forests.“ Gab amended, having realised she may have accidentally caused Đất Vàng to experience a form of existential dread.

 

 

 

Thankfully, Gab’s amendment actually achieved it’s proper purpose this time, as Đất Vàng breathed out a huge sigh of relief, glad she wasn’t necessarily in a Pocket Village that was practically on “Hard Mode”.

 

 

 

After short while (which would’ve gone by quicker for Gab if she wasn’t consciously regulating her walking speed), all the Players in the area finally each the Pocket Village entrance that was facing the direction of the crater.

 

 

 

Inside of the village proper, a fair few of the local NPCs were looking at the new arrivals curiously, but didn’t make any attempt to engage. There was probably a prior agreement to wait until the village elder finished speaking to the new Players before before doing just that.

 

 

 

As they were waiting for Zalo to appear before them, the Players (in particular those who unfortunately wore little to nothing) took note of the onlookers clothes, which were basically a collection of rough-looking shirts, trousers and skirts that wouldn’t look out of place in medieval times.

 

 

 

The reason for focusing on this detail was simple.

 

 

 

Because these were almost the exact types of attire the Players were expecting to wear when they arrived!

 

 

 

And yet, why weren’t they?

 

 

 

~Whirl! Clunk!~

 

 

 

As soon as the Players heard those distinctively mechanical sounds, their attention was drawn from the villagers to the source of those sounds, which came from directly above them.

 

 

 

The village elder, Zalo, has arrived.

 

 

 

Because she was at an altitude that allowed them to glean only a few details of her appearance, they couldn’t precisely determine what type of platform she was floating on.

 

 

 

But as she was descending down to a point on the ground between the Players and the Pocket Village, they found the she was standing on what appeared to be a Steampunk-ish inverted pyramid, with sheets of copper-like metal welded on roughly 75% of its exterior, whilst the remaining 25% shows glimpses of metal gears, pipes and pistons that power the platform.

 

 

 

Since there weren’t any obvious controls, nor were there any signs that she was using her feet to press any pedals or the like, a lot of the Players presumed that it was primarily controlled by magic or at the very least by some other energy source she possesses.

 

Given that they were in a “Swords and Magic” game world, it wasn’t an unreasonable assumption.

 

 

 

As she landed in front of them, with the aforementioned platform planting itself into the ground (strangely not displacing any of the earth with the landing point), the village elder’s gaze surveyed the Players in her vicinity whilst cupping her chin in a way that is usually associated with older gentlemen that were in deep thought.

 

 

 

Whilst her eyes were relaxed and no expressions of disdain and indifference were seen on her, all the Player who found themselves subjected to her momentary glance found themselves shivering slightly. 

 

Not due to any physical discomfort, but rather from a feeling that, in only a second or two, everything about them was exposed to those calm eyes. A feeling that no-one would like to get when meeting a complete stranger, even if said strange was a seemingly kind old lady who was in a position of power in their starting area.

 

 

 

“Hm hm hm, it seems the God were telling the truth; all of you travellers from another world are starting at the very bottom in terms of individual power,’ Zalo said in calm voice that was somehow conveyed to the ears of every Player clearly, despite a lot of the being further down the back, “all of you being Level 0 and possessing only the Classes, Skills and Weapons that your assigned Facilitator provided for all of you.”, she finished.

 

 

 

This straightforward statement of their current capabilities caused a lot of the Players to shift uneasily, even though they’re only just starting out.

 

 

 

Of course, if a certain someone didn’t get such a massive headstart before they even fucking stepped foot in the game, then maybe, just maybe, they wouldn’t feel nearly as displeased as they are now!        

 

 

 

Coincidentally, little did any of these Players know, including the certain someone in question, Zalo only slightly fibbed a little during her assessment of their current capabilities.

 

 

 

A little while back, Gab made a few assumptions as to why none of the Players could currently see each other’s Player IDs above their heads which are, for the most part, correct.

 

But she missed an even simpler reason as to why they’re currently incapable of doing so.

 

 

 

Long reason short; none of them had an appraisal skill!

 

 

 

 The reason none of the Players in all the geographical regions had one was because Skills of this category weren’t offered during Skill Selection, not even a single Freestyler had one.

 

 

 

The only way they can get an Initial version of such a Skill at their starting point…was from a Pocket Village’s head elder!

 

 

 

Due to being selected for such a position that involved preparing the new Players for the challenges that Arbitrium presented, Zalo (as well as the thousands(?) of head elders) was granted the Advanced Manufacturer Class [Appraisal Mentor] as a Second Class, which allowed her to not only possess a wide variety of basic and specialised identification Skills, but also impart those same Skills to individuals (in this case, Players) who completed set tasks for her in the form of Quests!

 

       

 

On an aside note, her original First Class is the Advanced Manufacturer Class [Magiteknician], which gave Lifestylers who had started with the [Manufacturer] Initial Class the ability to create Items, Weapons and Equipment that combines Magic with Machines of varying complexity.

 

Her Steampunkish floating platform, [Inverse Monument, Nolybab], was only one of her earliest and least sophisticated creations!

 

 

 

Back to what exactly she “fibbed” about, for the most part, what she said about the Players Levels was true.

 

 

 

With the shocking exception of one!

 

 

 

Although she managed to keep her composure, Zalo was flabbergasted to find that, despite it only being roughly half an hour since the travellers from another world arrived, one of them was only half a step away from reaching Level 4!

 

 

 

No prizes for guessing as to who this individual Player was…

 

 

 

As she was questioning whether or not she was using the correct appraisal Skill (which she was), she then took notice of Gab’s Player ID, which was only visible to her. 

 

Since Player Announcements were also able to be heard by NPCs, she naturally was able to quickly put two and two together.

 

 

 

“Ha, to think I have gotten the traveller who received the first kiss of one of the eight Facilitators! Receiving a precious gift like that from a personification of the Elements is some that not even people in the highest echelons of power or Heroes of Antiquity have been deemed as worthy of such an honour!”, Zalo internal monologues with a chuckle, whilst keeping Gab in her peripheral. 

 

 

 

“I don’t know how she was able to pull that off, but at the very least, I don’t she would be classified as a “boring person”. In fact, she may be one of the most “interesting” travellers I may come across.”, she thought, before turning her attention back to the rest of the Players, with the intention of continuing the task she’s set out to complete as a Pocket Village’s head elder.

 

 

 

“Before I get into the reason as to “why” we, the people of Arbitrium, have asked for the assistance of people from another world to help ours, I’d like to start by answering some of your questions. After all, I can tell from the looks of quite a few of you that you have at least one burning on your minds right now.”.   

 

 

 

All the Players gathered before Zalo blinked a few times, slightly stunned that a high-ranking NPC is starting things off with a Q&A as opposed to simply giving them details in regards to the Main Story, which was something the official website only gave vague details of.

 

 

 

However, as soon as the “compulsory confused blinking time“ started, it just as quickly ended, with quite a few Players shooting their hands in the air.

 

 

 

Amusingly, especially to Zalo and several other Players, a majority of the ones who raised their hands had a blatantly obvious trait that they all shared…

 

 

 

“Ok, you, the hairy nude model in the back, ask away!”, Zalo shouted, addressing the aforementioned Player with an underlying cackle, causing the “hairy nude model” to feel an urge to vomit blood!

 

 

 

“Hairy nude model”?! Like HELL he was! 

 

 

 

In fact, the Player in question, a Projectiler who went by the ID “Geary Mammoth”, is a bikie gang member of The Rebels, the largest outlaw motorcycle organisation in Australia, which had at least twenty-nine chapters.

 

In short, despite him only wearing a pair of dark sunglasses and cupping his “Crown Jewels”, he wouldn’t even be the last person who would be a “nude model”, for fuck sake!

 

 

 

“Yeah, I’ve got a fucking question for you,” Geary Mammoth growl with obvious fury, “why in the ever loving FUCK are we we wearing the outfits we wear normally in the real world instead of what THEY are wearin’?!”, he shouted, pointing at the local NPCs, “Or not wearin’, in me and the others case?!”, he finished whilst glaring daggers at Zalo, who just shrugged it off.

 

 

 

“Weellll,”, Zalo drawled in order to increase anticipation, “apparently, the ones who organised you transfer, both in our world and in yours arranged it this way for two main reasons;

 

 

 

“The first reason is that they thought you might be more comfortable starting of in clothes that you are familiar with than you would be with unfamiliar ones, such as course, scratchy peasant attire.”.

 

 

 

“The second reason, on the other hand, is to allow me and the rest of the villagers, whom I was told you would refer to as “NPCs”, to acclimatise to your presence. 

 

After all, if travellers from another world like yourselves were to appear on your world wearing clothing similar to your own, wouldn’t you feel “uneasy?””.

 

 

 

That last reason floored all the Players present, even one like Geary Mammoth, into silence, since it was a perfectly logical reason that they can’t refute!

 

 

 

“And before you ask, and this is in relation to the last part of your question,” she addressed Geary Mammoth directly before shifting her gaze to the rest of the similarly scantily-dressed Players, which now had a faint amount of coldness in it, ““Why weren’t we told that this would happen?”, well, the answer is quite simple.”, she said before drawing herself to her full height, projecting a sense of dignity and authority.

 

 

 

“This experience, if you were foolish enough to subjected to it, is to remind you that in a world that you are in, especially one that you know as a “World of Choice”, your choices have consequences.”.

 

 

 

“And if you find the consequences of choosing to not follow a simple recommendation to be clothed when creating the avatars you will be using to traverse Arbitrium to be unbearable, I shudder to think about whether you can handle the negative consequences of more life-altering decisions…”, Zalo trailed off in an ominous way, making all the Players, especially those who were dealing with the aforementioned “consequence”, to shiver.

 

 

 

Then, as if a switch has been flipped, Zalo shifted back to her more friendly countenance.

 

 

 

“Ok, next question…you, the adorable girl with the glasses and fairy shirt, what question do you have for me?!”, Zalo said pointing to the now blushing girl who fit the village elder’s blunt(?) description.

 

 

 

The “adorable girl” in question was a Greek-Australian Medium who chose the ID “Echidna”, which references both the “Mother of Monsters” from Greek mythology and the spiny mammal native to her country of residence. 

 

Hearing the village elder call out to her (with such an embarrassing descriptor at that) caused her to stutter a little before asking the question that’s been on her mind ever since she completed her Character Creation a few months ago

 

“A…ah…I…I was w-w-wondering, w-why we d-didn’t have a-an option to be a r-race other than “human””, Echidna finished with a blushing face, causing both guys and girls alike to feel an urge to cuddle her, whilst they also realised what remembered a potential Character Creation option that wasn’t presented to them.

 

In a fair amount of fantasy RPGs that allows one to make their own characters, such as Dungeons and Dragons, players of such games have an option to pick a sentient fantasy race other than the default “human race”.

And yet, the Character Creation of Arbitrium that all Players go through weren’t given such an option.

 

“Ha, that’s a good question young lady.”, Zalo chuckled, pleased with both Echidna’s question and the way she asked it, “I won’t say that you are all “unable” to change your bodies into a different race entirely, as many of the known and unknown species and intelligent monsters do have methods to grant one the ability to Race Change, albeit under certain conditions.”.

 

 

 

“Whilst there are many reasons as to why that option isn’t granted to you all by the Facilitator of one’s own Battle Zone, who in this case is the Facilitator of Air, the core reason is simple; to give you time to adapt to the avatar made in your physical body’s image.”

 

 

 

“For the moment, all of you with the exception of one have yet to gain AP that will increase your initial amount of Free Attributes,”, she started whilst subtly glancing at Gab, which unnoticed by the other Players as they groaned in frustration, knowing exactly which “exception” she was referring to, “thus you, you haven’t experienced how much your normal physical and mental abilities will improve once you start pumping those numbers in.”.

 

 

 

“Now, imagine if you were doing that whilst piloting a spiritual body that is entirely different from your physical one, especially if the body you chosen was one of the heteromorphic (monstrous) variety. Not only would you need to learn how to adjust to your increased capabilities, but you also need to get the hang of how to utilise your new body!”.

 

 

 

“Not only would it take even longer for you to eventually leave the Pocket Village, there’s also a chance that learning to use a new body early on will be directly translated to your physical body’s muscle memory, which can cause you to mistakenly operate it like you would with a heteromorphic body!”

 

“When you are offered the chance to Race Change, you will be granted Skills that will allow you to differentiate between the two different bodies, which would dramatically reduce the risk of acquiring the aforementioned problem, so if you desire to become something other than “human”, I can only ask you to be patient.”

 

 

 

Echidna nodded in understanding, glad that there’s at least a chance to become something other than “human”.

 

 

 

After all, she often wondered what it would be like to become a member of an entirely different sentient species, especially since she poured over books related to the mythology native to her parents home country and various light novels that had MCs (Main Characters) who became non-human beings.

 

 

 

“Now, since I know that you didn’t come here just to listen to an old windbag like me flapping my gums all day long,”, Zalo joked, drawing a collective chuckle from the crowd, “I believe I have time for one final question. Any takers?”.

 

 

 

As soon as the final batch of hands shot up, Zalo just as quickly pointed at one.

 

 

 

“You, the skinny young man with the braces! What is it you’d like to know?”.

 

 

 

Although the “skinny young man with the braces” in question, a Barefist who called himself “Goethiafist”, took a slight issue with the way he was addressed, he ignored that particular feeling in favour of asking the question that’s be burning on his mind.

 

 

 

“Head elder, are the main enemies we are meant to face, by any chance…“Demons”?”.

 

 

 

As soon as that last word was uttered, Zalo’s head abruptly dropped to her chest, making it difficult for any of the Players to see her facial expression. However, due to her actions just now, they presumed she was wearing a “mask of fear”. The fact that her body began to shake violently gave a certain amount of credibility to that assumption.

 

 

 

For the Players, it made sense in context.

 

 

 

In many fantasy RPGs throughout the years, Demons were the primary antagonists and main source of conflict that players face in those games.

 

Since they’re usually depicted as an invading force that have embraced many aspects that can be typically be associated with the concept of evil, they are essentially the quintessential “bad guys” of many RPGs. 

 

Thus, they didn’t believe for a second that this wouldn’t be the main enemy they would be facing!

 

 

 

However, as they were thinking this, a strange sound came from the “paralysed” head elder.

 

 

 

“…fft!”.

 

 

 

Huh?

 

 

 

Understandably, everyone present was confused, considering that the sound she made almost sounded like…

 

 

 

“Pfft, ha, haha, AHAHAHAHAHA!! I’m sorry, young man, I didn’t react this way to a perfectly reasonable question, but…HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”.

 

 

 

…a LAUGH?!!

 

 

 

 But…why? 

 

 

 

Why would anyone be laughing over the thought of fight DEMONS of all things?! They’re meant to be the embodiment of pure evil, for fucks sake!!

 

 

 

“Haa…ha…ho, again, I’m very sorry, young man,”, Zalo apologised to the now blushing Goethiafist again as she began to calm down, “its just that I find it a “little” amusing that you would think that the Powers That Be in both this material realm and those on high would spend so much time, effort and magical energy to summon such a large number of people from another world…just to fight a race of people that are native to our world! HA!!”.

 

 

 

“…!!!”

 

 

 

…even if someone were to drop a pin on the surrounding grassland, all the Players would still hear the little sound it’s impact would make, given how much they were shocked into silence.

 

 

 

Demons…weren’t the main enemy they would face?

 

 

 

Not only that, but the were also native to Arbitrium?! 

 

 

 

“Now, before you say anything, we were informed by the people on your world that helped in getting you all here that demons are generally considered an enemy race in a fair amount of your world’s various forms of media,” Zalo begun, her voice now back to normal, “and that a main enemy that a fair amount of your fictions have is someone that is stereotypically known as a “Demon Lord”.”

 

 

 

“In the context of this world, those sort of cliches/tropes only apply to the demon race to a limited degree. There have been cases were certain members of the Demon Nobility initiated military campaigns to achieve dominance over certain countries and continents, as well as criminal organisations run by Demons that operate in the shadows. But then again, every other race in Arbitrium possesses both of those examples.”.

 

 

 

“So my advice to you, young man,” Zalo said, addressing the now sheepish Goethiafist, “is to not beat every single Demon you come across to death without a just cause. Otherwise, you would be forcefully given the [Enemy of the Demon Race] Title by the Demons, as well as the [Daemonophobe] Title by the other Races. And trust me, those are Titles you would not want to have. Unless, of course, you are planning to throw your lot in with one of the many Dark Forces on your region’s Main Continent.”.

 

 

 

As many of the Players were looking at the embarrassed Goethiafist in sympathy for making a wrong assumption based on popular culture, Zalo started speaking again.

 

 

 

“Now, I have a question for all of you, travelers from another world. If we can handle our own domestic problems with relative ease, why would the Powers That Be put so much time and effort into calling you all here?”.

 

 

 

A large portion of the Players were flummoxed by the nature of that question, whilst a smaller number of them put their thinking caps on to think of a viable answer, including Gab.

 

 

 

“Let’s see,”, Gab muttered, as she started recalling many light novels and anime that utilised an isekai theme, “whilst a lot of higher ups use summoning rituals to gain advantage over their rivals, a fair few of them have another reason as to why they would take such a risk in bringing a complete stranger (or strangers) to their world. And that reason would be…”.

 

 

 

Then, as if struck by lightning, Gab figured it out!

 

 

 

Thinking that there wouldn’t be any problems (in this situation, at least) Gab raised her hand, much to Đất Vàng’s surprise, as well as Zalo’s.

 

 

 

“Ah, you, the handsome lady, what’s your answer?”, Zalo shouted whilst pointing at Gab, causing her to chuckle at the flattering descriptor.

 

 

 

“…the reason the higher ups in Arbitrium brought us here is because the problem you and the rest of the people in this world isn’t a domestic one. I might even go as far as to presume that you’re facing an “Outside of Context Problem”.”, Gab stated, using a trope name that refers to a problem that is not within the normal context of a situation or place.

 

 

 

“Ha, that’s the correct answer, handsome lady!”, Zalo confirmed, before pointing her index finger skywards.

 

 

 

“As a matter of fact, the threat you have been brought here to defeat, which most of the nations in Abritrium have been facing for roughly two years, seemed to have came from that thing!”.

 

 

 

Before their eyes even began to swivel towards the direction she was pointing, practically every single Player there knew exactly what she meant by “that thing”. And it was precisely because of that certainty that they all started to feel a sense of cold dread.

 

 

 

Sure enough, the head elder was pointing directly at the Black Hole behind the three suns!

 

 

 

“It may interest you to know that none of many experienced people across many different Races who specialises in astronomy and time related fields, both magical and scientific, found any indication that this Black Hole was going to appear!”.

 

 

 

“No large stars going supernova, no spatial and temporal fluctuations, nothing! One moment there wasn’t anything behind Corporis (magenta star), Animo (yellow star) and Anima Mea (cyan star). The next moment, it just appeared out of nowhere!”.

 

 

 

“But, as it turns out, that was only the start. Within days of it appearing, strange creatures were shot from the Black Hole, with Arbitrium as the target. A fair few armies and Heroes were injured as a result of fending them off, and eventually defeating them.”.

 

 

 

“However, those who examined the corpses of these creatures discovered that these beings, capable of unprecedented destruction…were merely drones. An advanced scouting force, if you will.”.

 

 

 

A fair few of the Players faces twitched violently at that last statement.

 

 

 

Creatures from a Black Hole that are capable of inflicting such damage were only considered to be, for lack of a better term, “mooks”?!

 

 

 

Isn’t that basically saying that the inhabitants of Arbitrium have yet to face any of the main controllers behind the invaders?!

 

 

 

And they were expected to beat them!!

 

 

 

Zalo gave a wry smile as she saw the Players expressions, knowing exactly what they were thinking.

 

 

 

“As the handsome lady from before has succinctly put it,”, Zalo began, whilst referring to Gab, “these creatures can be classified as “Outside of Context Problems”.

 

 

 

“And whilst you may not be strong enough yet to defeat a drone just yet, all of you can be collectively considered as a “Outside of Context Solution”! Since you are not from this world, you can potentially approach situations that can be considered impossible to deal with by some of the more experienced NPCs as something that can be solved quite easily, or use Skills, Spells, Classes, etc in ways that we couldn’t even begin to comprehend!”.

 

 

 

“And you don’t need to worry about the enemy we are facing just yet. To ensure that you all are able to build a solid foundation for your abilities that you will take to greater heights in the future, the Deities of our world has placed these Pocket Villages in, you guessed it, pocket dimensions. That way, unless something particularly shocking happens here, the enemy won’t be able to ascertain your locations so that they can have you ripped apart.”.

 

 

 

“Then again, since you are all considered to be “immortal beings”, I imagine that all that would really do is give you incentive to formulate creative means of revenge.”, Zalo finished with a chuckle.

 

 

 

After Zalo finished her own version of an “inspirational speech(?)”, the Players heaved huge sighs of relief, glad that they don’t need to deal with those otherworldly “drones” and their “controllers” just yet.

 

 

 

And they found themselves agreeing with Zalo’s assessment of their potential. They can potentially use the abilities they acquire in Arbitrium in ways that the native NPCs probably would never have considered, and being able to come back from the dead to fight another day certainly doesn’t hurt.

 

 

 

Plus, it’s not like they’ve been truly isekai’d to this world. It’s just a game in which they can log out at any time they wish!

 

 

 

 

 

 Location: A certain cave

 

 

 

“Hmm, I have a feeling that the head elder in Wanderer’s Pocket Village is about to give her and the rest of the “Players” in her vicinity their first Quests.”, the Mistress mused, after having completed a particularly delicate procedure whilst sitting cross-legged on the ground.

 

 

 

“Whilst those Quests are good for getting a normal “Player”’s feet wet, it would be a tradgedy if such an abnormal one such as Wanderer started with one those instead of one I have in store for her…”.

 

 

 

As soon as she said that, she came up with a solution to her little “problem”, one that made her grumble a bit.

 

 

 

“Haaaa…it’s ironic, despite the fact that have a large quantity of what this field relates to, I never really dabbled in it that much.”, the Mistress sighed, as a blinding flash of light illuminated the now formally dark cave.

 

 

 

However, this wasn’t the first time that such a flash occurred in the last half hour.

 

 

 

As soon as the light died down, the Mistress’s abilities underwent a drastic change in focus, which she immediately utilised in the form of a palm-sized Magic Circle, one that had a truly mind boggling amount of runes, lines and icons compressed in such a small circle.

 

 

 

On an aside note, if any lifelong practitioners of the magical field that the Mistress was drawing from were to see this Magic Circle, they would offer her everything they possess and more just for a chance of learning it, even though she only dabbles in this field on very rare occasions!

 

 

 

The Mistress gave a sly smile as she wondered what sort of face Wanderer would make once she experiences the insane effects that this magic can cause.

 

 

 

The calculations have been completed.

 

 

 

The rather substantial amount of MP required was easily paid.

 

 

 

There wasn’t a single mistake in the Magic Circle.

 

 

 

And, most importantly, the target was selected.

 

 

 

Now, all the Mistress had to do…was chant…

 

 

 

Back at the Pocket Village…

 

 

 

“Now, to start things off, I’m going to give all of you a simple Quest on my behalf based on your selected Style, which upon completion will give you a bit more starting capital before you start taking on more difficult tasks, as well as the most basic appraisal Skill. The latter reward will allow you to better identify each other by the names you chose, as well as some other pertinent information regarding your targets.”, Zalo explained.

 

 

 

This got Gab worried. Once everyone got an appraisal Skill, there will potentially be nothing stopping the other Players from discovering her identity. Unless, of course the villager NPCs are selling Items that would at least be able to hide her IGN…

 

 

 

“As to what these Quests will entail someone of your chosen Style; Combatstylers will be tasked with culling some nasty but weak monsters outside of the village’s main entrance; Lifestylers be asked to fetch certain materials that relate to their chosen Class; and Freestylers…well, you guys get to take one or more of these, since you don’t have set paths like those who picked one of the other two Styles.”, Zalo continued.

 

 

 

“Oh, before those of you who are going to engage in the Quests regarding combat set forth, I would advise you to spend your starting capital on some appropriate battle outfits. Even though you are already wearing the clothes you had on when creating your avatars, they are classified as <Glass> Grade Equipment that would last you, at most, two battles or one big battle, as well as not offering any benefits for your Attributes and Stats.”.

 

 

 

As soon as she said this, everyone was still decent started to check the attributes of their clothes (whilst those who weren’t merely glowered) and found that the head elder was right.

 

 

 

This made clothing the first priority for all the Players, as they didn’t want to join the ranks of the (unwilling?) exhibitionists!

 

 

 

As for the issue of getting better Weapons, they could wait a little longer. After all, the purpose of the <Glass> Grade ones they all have on hand is meant to give them an idea as to what kind of Weapon they would really want, unlike keyboard MMORPGs players will replace as soon as possible whilst entirely focusing on their better attributes and abilities.

 

 

 

As for Gab, she actually felt somewhat relieved that she’ll be starting off in Arbitrium with Quests that every Player will get!

 

 

 

Nothing that will grant crazy rewards.

 

 

 

Nothing that will potentially too much attention to herself whilst she’s still relatively weak (unless she loosens her control over her Movement Speed).

 

 

 

None of that crazy shit!

 

 

 

Just normal Quests, with normal Players whilst going through a normal initiation phase.

 

 

 

…

 

 

 

…if only she were so lucky(?)…

 

 

 

“And now, Zalo said, whilst several interface screens that are presumably the Quests she was about to give, “let get sta…”.

 

 

 

As she was about finish her sentence, she stopped.

 

 

 

Gab blinked, wondering why the head elder stopped herself.

 

 

 

As she looked closer, she realised something quite…odd.

 

 

 

Zalo didn’t “stop herself from speaking”.

 

 

 

She just…stopped.

 

 

 

She looked like she was completely frozen!

 

 

 

As she was trying to wrap her head around what happened to her, Gab noticed something even more shocking.

 

 

 

It wasn’t just Zalo that stopped.

 

 

 

The sounds in the air, the gentle air currents that caressed her skin, her Vietnamese Armed Combatant friend, the movement of the other Players and NPCs, everything and everyone just…completely stopped!

 

 

 

“Oi…oi, oi, OI! WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!!!”, Gab shouted in a massive panic, but didn’t receive a single answer from the people around her, who are, for lack of a better phrase, frozen in time.

 

 

 

Her system notifications, on the other hand, seemed to have an answer for her.

 

 

 

<Warning: You have been selected as a target of a Spell cast by a higher being. Brace yourself!>

 

 

 

…

 

 

 

…!!!

 

 

 

…it was in that moment, that Gab, with several veins practically bulging from her forehead, went berserk!

 

 

 

“NO. FUCKING. SHIT!!!”, Gab screamed at the interface, the stress of the crazy events that have been happening to her seemingly caused her to reach a breaking point, “HOW FUCKING ELSE CAN YOU EXPLAIN THIS SITUATION! AND WHY ARE ONLY TELLING ME THIS NOW, UNLESS…!”.

 

 

 

Gab stopped mid-rant, as a shocking possibility as to why she only received this notification when time has stopped for the world, and not before this phenomenon has occurred entered her mind. One that she was very reluctant to voice out loud.

 

 

 

“…unless…this spell…has only just…begun!”.

 

 

 

As if answering in the affirmative, Gab heard it.

 

 

 

A voice.

 

 

 

A naturally sultry, female voice that immediately gave Gab goosebumps the moment her ears registered it.

 

 

 

(O chrónos eínai nómisma) (Time is currency)

 

 

 

(To nómisma den échei álli epilogí apó to na xodépsei) (Currency one has no choice but to spend)

 

 

 

Crack! Crack! Crack!

 

 

As soon as that voice started chanting in what sounded distinctively like Greek, bright white cracks started appearing in the area around the freaked out Freestyler.

 

 

 

The ground, the open air, the people around her, all served as surfaces for these strange cracks to manifest.

 

 

 

(Ostóso, gia chári tou eklektoú mou) (However, for the sake of my chosen one)

 

 

 

 

(Sas zitó, potámi tou chrónou) (I ask of you, o river of time)

 

 

 

 

(Sas parakaló, gia mia sýntomi stigmí) (Please, for bit a brief moment)

 

 

 

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!!

 

 

 

As more cracks appeared before Gab, she was forced to shut her eyes tightly, as the white light they emitted only increased in intensity.

 

 

 

However, even after doing that, Gab started seeing glitches behind her eyelids, as if she was experiencing a VRMMORPG version of an “interface screw”.

 

 

 

And yet, this Spell…still wasn’t done with the world around her!

 

 

 

(Kánte mia exaíresi stin períptosí tous) (Make an exception in their case)

 

 

 

Crack!! Crack!! Crack!! Crack!! Crack!!! BOOM!!!

 

 

 

Against her better judgment, Gab opened her eyelids just a peed as soon as she heard that last, highly ominous sound, and just as quickly wished she didn’t!

 

 

 

The very space around her…was breaking down into nothingness, leaving only patches of darkness in its wake.

 

 

 

In a strange moment of clarity, Gab couldn’t help but be reminded, due to the visual effects of the Spell and it’s relation to “Time Magic”, of the power of a certain Stand from JJBA: Part 5, which many simply hand waved away by saying, “It Just Works”.

 

 

 

<Warning: The Time Spell cast by a higher being will be fully actualised in:>

 

 

 

<3>

 

 

 

<2>

 

 

 

<1>

 

 

 

<0!>

 

 

As if on cue, the mysterious voice reached a crescendo, as the name of the Spell rang out in the fractured space, as if it was making its intentions for the world affected by it clear as crystal:

 

 

 

(Prosoriní Apallagí)! (Temporal Exemption)

 

 

 

 As soon as the Spell’s name resounded, the world completely crumbled away, leaving Gab in a dark void, one that was blacker than pitch.

 

 

 

The was no sound, but she could still hear her heavy breathing.

 

 

 

The was no sky, but air still entered her lungs.

 

 

 

There was no light, and yet she could still see herself.

 

 

 

Despite everything around her falling away to seeming nothingness, Gab somehow still existed.

 

 

 

 As she was wondering what the hell was going on, her system notification popped up to fill in a few of the gaps.

 

 

 

<Notice: You have been affected by a Time Spell.

 

For the duration of the Spell, you will be exempt from the flow of time IG for the Spell’s duration. Once the Spell’s duration is over you will return your previous position at 00:36am AEDT.>

 

 

 

“I’m…exempted from time?!”, Gab gasped, as she quickly pulled up her Menu.

 

 

 

Sure enough, the clock on the Menu’s screen was stuck at 00:36.

 

 

 

“Ok Gab, don’t panic…at least, don’t panic more.”, Gab muttered to herself in an effort to calm herself down.

 

 

 

“Alright…so, I suppose the billion dollar question is; who the hell went through all this trouble to cast what is obviously a high level Spell, with me as the sole target?”.

 

 

 

The moment she asked herself that, a strange noise pierced her head, shocking Gab at the suddenness of it.

 

 

 

“What the he…?!”, Gab started to say before, yet again, a system notification came up.

 

 

 

Only, this one seemed a little…different than the ones she’s been getting recently.

 

 

 

<Player “Wanderer”, you are receiving a call on a secure line.>

 

 

 

<Would you like to take it?>

 

 

 

<Y/N>

 

 

 

<Warning: The call is coming from a higher existence. Choosing to refuse this call, unless you are well acquainted with said existence, will most certainly result levels of misfortune that you are currently not capable of tackling.>

 

 

 

<But, then again, the choice is yours.>

 

 

 

…

 

 

 

…huh?

 

 

 

“…Ex-fucking-cuse me?!!”.

 

 

 

Did this so called “higher being” really just cast a time-warping, single target Spell on her that exempted her from the IG flow of time…to make a fucking phone call?!!!