“Oooo! The summoning worked!”

Hm. That was uncomfortable. Going from Datsyn’s realm to wherever I currently am did not feel pleasant. I hope that feeling of my body breaking down into atoms and being reconstructed was only because I was “birthed” into this realm, and that teleportation doesn’t feel this way every time. If teleportation even is valid magic, guess we’ll find out later.

A woman at what I would assume to be around 20 is making her way towards me. Her smile is calm and welcoming. Golden blonde hair and vibrant emerald green eyes. She’s almost a head smaller than me, and with her head tilted upwards she looks quite cute. Like a pet. Clad in white robes with rosy golden embroidery, I assume she’s some sort of princess, or priestess. 

“Welcome Hero. My name is Clarissa Pendon. I am the first Princess of the Pendon Empire, and Priestess to the Church of Pantheon. May I know your name, Hero?”

My eyes canvasing the room for a few seconds, taking in the sight of the room. It’s a medieval cobblestone room, but it looks neither dirty nor old. Adorned with expensive tapestry across the walls, stationed guards in dark silver armour, and a few other people I assume belong to the church. It looks quite fancy. I’m currently standing on a raised platform, with an intricate runic circle spanning across the entire dais.

“Alienor T. Datsyn. I was sent here to “take care” of the Demon Queen.”

I could hear the gasps across the room. Having my surname be the name of one of the goddesses was more of a joke on my part, not something she agreed to, but she can’t do anything about it now. This is going to be fun. Anyways, let’s figure things out first.

“Status.”

 

[Name: Alienor Tenebris Datsyn

Age: 21

Race: @4&/(! (Locked. Displayed: Human)

Occupation: Hero

 

Language:

Divine Language 

Human Language

Demon Language

Fae Language

Dwergur Language

Beast Language

Common Language

 

Crowd Control:

Aura of Intimidation

Aura of Authority

War Cry

 

Combat:

Enhanced reflexes

Enhanced speed

Enhanced strength

Enhanced agility 

Enhanced perception

Weapon mastery; spear, sword, bow 

Combat Aura

Aura of Negation

 

Hidden:

“%!@(=/ (Locked)

]

Hmm. Well that’s a good start. I’m glad my selection went through okay. I am curious about race and hidden. Hmm, I have an idea but we’ll see. Oh. Everyone is speechless? I guess I wasn’t supposed to know how to do that?

“Miss Alienor, it seems you are more accustomed to the system of the divines than the old heroes. Splendid. If you would follow me, let’s have a conversation in a more pleasant environment.”

I give Clarissa a nod and follow after her. We walk across a corridor, much the same as the room we were in. Old, clean, but obviously belonging to someone of authority.

“Clarissa. Are we in an estate belonging to the church, or the castle of your family?”

Oh? Seems she’s not used to being addressed without a title, not like I’m going to humour her.

“Both. We are in the Pendon Castle, but the wing we’re currently in is dedicated to the church. It’s mostly empty, as its primary use is summoning.”

I see. I suppose the castle is more secure than a church. I’m not exactly sure what kind of world I’m in. Corrupt and dirty nobles? Haughty royal family trying to bind and enslave the summoned hero? Killing me after I’ve “taken care” of the Demon Queen? Marrying me off? Might be all of the above, or it might just be a benevolent world with a truly malicious Demon Queen. I guess I’ll just have to figure it out. Sometimes I’m unsure if my penchant for fantasy and literature is a boon or a demerit. Maybe it’s both.

After a few minutes of walking we arrive at what I assume is the Princess wing of the castle. The colours are mostly pink, purple and white, and there are no male servants in this area. We enter a room and it’s exactly what I would expect. Big, luxurious, absolutely screaming ‘I’m royalty’. 

“Please, sit. Tea and refreshments will be served shortly.”

As I turn to sit I notice a full length mirror taking up a large space on the wall, reflecting me in it. I’m not used to looking like this, but Datsyn absolutely didn’t disappoint. It looks perfect.

My hair is a glossy black, flowing with a small amount of wave in it down to my hips. Royal blue highlights evenly divided in a gorgeous pattern spanning across the length of my hair. My eyes are the same royal blue as my hair, although they are a bit slanted, giving off a slight glare. I’m around 175 cm, with quite the paradoxical body. Slender, yet muscular, but at the same time the right amount of curves. It’s a mix of an alluring noble woman, and a trained fighter. My chest is also just the right size. That’s the one thing I don’t miss about my old body. I was pretty small and petite, but my chest gave me back pains. I quite like the current size. Enough to be attention grabbing, but not too big to be in the way. Overall I quite like this. The cool icy, but slightly intimidating gorgeous fighter. That’s a mouthful.

I suppose my cognitive abilities and perception truly is enhanced, as it felt like I was scrutinizing my body for over five minutes in subjective time, but it looks like it’s only been a few seconds. Quite the nifty ability.

“Miss Alienor, I am quite curious. How come you are so familiar with your situation, you hardly seem surprised or confused at all?”

“In my old world this was quite common, in a way.”

“What do you mean?” Clarissa’s voice betraying a slight tone of confusion.

“Summoning heroes to different worlds. Magic systems. Divine beings. They are all common concepts to the majority of my generation. I suppose it’s somewhat of a new concept, but it’s widespread enough within certain cultures that when I met Datsyn, I knew more or less what was going to happen.”

I’m technically not lying, I just don’t want to let her know it’s all fiction. I want to see how they respond to an “experienced summoned hero”. 

As Clarissa is about to ask another question, there’s a knock on the door. She signals for the one knocking to enter, and a maid with a small cart enters, followed by two female knights. Why are they coming now, instead of following us when I entered before I was alone with their princess? Weird.

The maid serves us tea, and I thank her. She gives me a warm smile and leaves with the cart. I pick up the cup and extend a tendril of my aura towards the tea. The tendril only has the width of a hair strand. I doubt they will poison me, not yet, but I want to see the reaction of the nights and princess.

I lift the cup to my lips, and observe the trio before me as I take a small sip. The knights aren’t giving any reaction, but I can tell Clarissa tensed up slightly. Hmm, good to know that they can notice just that small amount, but that makes me question if they are specially trained, or if it’s universal.

“Pardon. Old habit, I didn’t mean to offend. Though I do wonder, does everyone sense Aura, or is it a special training?”

Clarissa’s body relaxes as I give her my reasoning, and I can see the knights casting a glance towards each other. I’m not sure what that means.

“No offense taken, I was just surprised you have such control over your Aura minutes after arriving in this world. For normal citizens it takes years and years of hard specialized training to even emit Aura, and your control is on par with legendary figures. Though I suppose this is what separates a Summoned Hero from regular heroes. To answer your question, no, not everyone notices. I’ve been trained as a priestess to accompany the hero as a healer since birth, and my knights are elite guards who have been with me since we all were small.”

I see. So she’s supposed to be in a party with me. Control me? Monitor me? Or simply because the empire doesn’t want all the recognition of a potential Demon Queen vanquishing to go to a foreigner? We’ll see, but I can assume this is not a benign world. I wouldn’t really assume so from my encounter with the goddess and how hands off they are. Greed is always a driving factor, no matter the world.

“I see. Clarissa, tell me more about this world, and the conflict. I was only given a brief description from Datsyn.”

One of the knights drew her sword and walks towards me. “How dare you address the princess with her name, know your place!”

Know my place? Is she serious? I can hear a small whisper in my head, enticing me, telling me how to deal with this situation. I ignore it.

Letting the full force of my Aura of Intimidation out, I stand up and form a sword of Combat Aura in my hand. My Aura obeys and takes the shape of a golden sword, flickering and letting out waves of intimidation and authority. Time to make a decision.

“Know my place? I am not here to humor you. I was taken from my old world. Sent here with a job. To take care of the Demon Queen. I am not your toy, I am not your pawn. I will do as I please. I am currently not a threat to your empire, or to your race. I am merely here with an objective, and I could be your ally. I’ll give you a warning. Question me or raise a hand against me one more time, and I will take your life. Do you understand?”

Combining intimidation with authority, both knights go pale and stumble to their knees, unable to stand. I can tell Clarissa has stopped breathing. I reign in my Aura, letting my sword dissipate as Clarissa heaves for air.

“It seems you have a lot to discuss, princess. I’ll borrow a horse from the stable, and return here in a week. Remember my words. I am not to be controlled or viewed upon as a political pawn, neither for marriage or potential of war. I’m only here for one job, taking care of the Demon Queen. Discuss with your church and your council.”

With that I leave the room, asking for directions to the stable and leaving the palace. I only need a few things before I leave.