Rhys looked around. So far a total of 100 people had woken up. They were people of various sizes, appearances, age, and demeanor. Not a single one seemed to have a clue what was going on. Their chattering filled the skies.

Then a kid laughed loudly. Everyone unanimously stopped to see who it was that spoke. The kid was probably 3 years younger than Rhys, still in his school days, but the laugh he had was clearly one of delight.

"Ah---aH-aAHAHAHAHAHA! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. THIS IS IT HUH?!"

"THIS IS..."

"Isekai."

"Huh?" Several of the others looked even more confused than ever. Rhys wasn't big into manga or comics. But he could tell it was some nerdy speak the kid was talking about. After-all... he still held a copy of Re:Zero in his hand.

The only character he could remember from a tv series was when he was younger, a yugioh character called weavil. That's exactly who the kid reminded him of.

"You guys don't get it! We're in another world!"

He inhaled the fresh air of oak trees and chrysanthemum. "judging by the scenery....this is a medival setting!"

"What the hell are you talking about?! Other worlds? Medival Setting?!"

He grinned at the questions he recieved. "I guess that means I'll have to enlighten you all."

"We were all called here for a purpose. Be it as heroes or servants."

One of the others raised their hands as if they were in class.

"But... some of the bodies still haven't moved yet-"

"That's because they were to weak to handle transmigration."

Transmigration....

Rhys tried to remember what occured before he woke up like this, but he had no recollection. All he remembers was the warm embrace of light and the sudden darkness he was engulfed in.

There was a voice... but he couldn't remember anything about it. Though, he must've been home at some point. He was still dressed in his signature pajamas. A loosely knit blue onesie with cat ears on the top of his hoodie. This was embarassing. But so far it seemed everyone was too distressed to notice.

"Transmigration?! THATS BULLSHIT! COME ON KID, GET SERIOUS HERE."

"This clearly ain't no time to joke. There's dead bodies everywhere." The man who spoke was of large stature. He still wore a school uniform, but he looked very much like a delinquant. His clothes were various sizes too large and drooped down. His haircut spiked back.

The scars above his eye and running down his neck clearly highlighted the amount of times he brushed with death.

"I ain't got time to hear this stupidity. I need to get back now." He cracked his neck. "So tell me. What's the way back."

So fast.. In mere seconds, he was able to close the gap between them and grab the kid's collar. - they were both the same age, but the difference in appearance was astounding..

"Tch. You have an annoyingly smug look you know that?"

"Enough."

So much authority were held in those words, that everyone could only help but turn and see.

Standing at the edge of the clearing were 18 men dressed in knights armor. Cloaks of red and gold, cloaks of blue and gold, cloaks of purple and gold, and various other colors decorated their gear.

The man who spoke stood out in the middle of them all. His hair was very carefully grooomed so that they framed both sides of his face with perfect symetry. His eyes were stern and full of coldness. It was clear, even as undamaged as he was, that he had seen many battles.

In fact, one could surmise, that if he were to take on this entire group, he could massacre everyone in less than 6 seconds. That was the kind of authority that stood before them.

"Welcome heroes. To the no Man's Land. I ask that you do not quarrel within our presence. Violence within these lands are only punishable by death. Regardless of who acts upon it. "

The delinquant let the child go. "Who the hell are you? Some sort of cosplayer?"

"My name is Segel Di Estrati"

"The leader of the 13 Nations adventurers guild. From now on, you have all been welcomed to the world of Esmyrr. I'm afraid after this point, there is no return to your previous worlds. If you wish to live, come with us and learn how to survive."

A bit of uncomfortable murmers filled the crowds. They couldn't return? What kind of joke is that. Many were still skeptical about the entire situation, believing it to be a dream rather than a reality.

"This world is one full of violence and misfortune. If you do not wish to engage in violence in order to defend, you will not be penalized. A small fortune and an estate will be given to you to live out the remainder of your days comfortably."

A bit of uncomfortable murmurs filled the crowd.

"However...if you feel the true heroic drive to not be fodder. If you feel the need to defend both yourself and others, then you shall become a warrior stronger than you'd ever known."

The unusual 18 lead the group through a long winding forest. The lush greenery and foliage gave the forest such a vibrant feel. Nonetheless, it wasn't in the least bit lively. There were no birds, no rabbits, not even insects dared stumble into this forest.

Rhys wondered why that was. This would have been the quietest forest he had ever stumbled upon. At times, when the wind died down, it seemed even more silent than his own room.

After 30 minutes of this eerily silent walk, they finally reached it. A cityscape. The city was huge. It seemed bustling with markets, traders, businessmen and several upper classmen. It reminded him of his own city. A city that constantly strives for success.

"Huh..so even during these times, one can't escape that."

Various people eyed them on the way to their destination, but hurriedly averted their eyes the moment they were seen.

They were speaking about how odd the group was. It was clear they had never seen clothes like this before. They stood out way too much. Then again, it could be due to the group of elites at their forefront.

They were finally halted and ushered into this giant cathedral like building. The center of it had a long, slanting, pointed structure. It seemed at the very top of this equilateral prism, was another room. One could see light signaling from within it.

Inside the building, an instruction hall as well as a group of 40 adventurers awaited them.

"This area in which the adventurer's guild resides in is known as No Man's Land -An area unclaimed by any of the 18 great nations. As such, you are all free from any King's control to reside here for as long as you want." One of the Regals said.

"By the contributions of each king, you all should live peacefully if necessary. However, the riches you will be awarded as adventurers may very well outweigh the riches of that of even kings."

The other Regal also spoke.

 

"If it does not seem to your liking, then I'd usher you into the other room."

He pointed in the direction to his left. The darkened room remained entirely a mystery and seemed ominous.

Everything about the situation was entirely off. It appeared as if this was a sales pitch. "However- before you all make your decisions, I believe it would benefit you all to wait until tomorow before reaching your conclusions."

"This world is vastly different than your own, and I believe it may influence your decisions quite substantially after tommorow.

They promptly left the area afterwards. This hall was huge. Enough to fit in 5 times the amount of people in it at the moment.

With the regals all having left, people began to converse amongst themselves. Though they were all confused and worried, it helped ease their minds. Through their shared fate, they were able to find camaraderie.

Ugh... this is bad. They're all beginning to bunch up.

Yet another thing Rhys was terrible at. Making friends.

While everyone began to clump into groups of similar status and similar appearances/interests, Rhys stood in the very corner, alone.

Several hours passed by and the only ones who seemed to stick to themselves were Rhys, the Delinquant, and one woman who just couldn't wait to go to sleep. She was also dressed in sleepwear, so at the very least, Rhys wasn't left out in that aspect.

By nightfall 2 robed women entered the hall and bowed, asking the group to follow.

They were all lead down a long corridor leading down a winding staircase. It seemed there were dormitories underneath the building, comprised of about 300 rooms.

They were all assigned a room, given provisions, and ultimately left in the dark about what to do next. Uncertain, everyone stayed within their rooms.

Everyone around him felt entirely drained. Whatever the case was, this felt like a hostage situation more than anything. This was not what to be expected of a new world.

I guess that's the only thing I can call this huh... He traced motions with the his fingers into the cieling. These four walls felt nothing like how his old room did.

I wonder what Zuli's thinking right now... He drifted off to sleep with those last thoughts in mind. Getting reincarnated was entirely...draining.

In the morning, he was awoken by the sound of a roar so fierce, he could not help but jump out of bed and cling to the floor. The sound was very much so the sound of terror.

He dared not even move. Never once in his life had he been as afraid as he was now.

A deep feral voice bolted from the blue, engulfing the entire floor and everyone within it under its vile embrace.

 

"AHAHAHAHAHA WHERE ARE THESE NEW ADVENTURERS YOU SPEAK OF!? YOU CAN'T TELL ME THEY'RE STILL ASLEEP!"

The entire floor shook just from the sound alone. Or maybe it was all the transmigrants collectively shivering.

"Ashkan, lower your damn voice! you're scaring everyone in the room!"

"BAHAHAHAHA! YOU I FORGET HOW PUNY YOU HUMANS ARE. THIS CAN'T EVEN SCARE BEASTCHILDREN!"

One of the robed ladies that was cowering behind the door finally spoke up. "Oi. P-p-please keep it down... u-um...I'll have to remove you from the buil-building-" She grew ghostly pale as she said those words.

The perpetrator simply cleaned out his ears and licked his paws. "Fine fine. I suppose I'll keep it down a little. Though you outta speak up louder. If it weren't for my well-tuned ears, I wouldn't have heard a word you said."

"Prayers of the divine, Slenir. I shower my children under the aura of embrace." The robed woman knelt and clasped her hands together. Suddenly, as if being hugged by a calm and kind entity, everyone on the bottom floor calmed down.

For whatever reason, they felt like they could do anything. In contrast to the paralyzing fear they felt earlier, this was like inert bravery. No. It was as if they were assured by some higher being their safety.

So great was this assurance, that it felt as if they could do anything. Rhys released a sigh of relief.

What in the world was that?

"You all can come out now, I'll try and limit myself."

Even when he was calm, this Ashkan... his voice commanded authority. Everyone immediately complied, not wanting him to shout again. One by one the doors to each corridor opened up and the transmigrants poured out.

"Ohoh! So they are alive after all."

To their shock, the man standing before them was over 10 feet tall. Or rather, the beast. It was a tiger. Though it stood upright like a human being, it was very clearly a tiger.

Long orange hairs stretched from his face, tinted blue at the very tips. If any of them had doubts they were in another world... all of that was now erased.

Right before there eyes, was a tiger, walking and talking like a human being.

Rhys almost fell over. "So It wasn't a dream after-all."

A man stepped in front of the tiger. He was almost 6'4, but when standing next to a beast of his stature, it almost seemed as if you he was the smallest person in the room.

The man coughed into his palms and proceeded to make his announcement. "I'll have to apologize about such a rude awakening... You see, Ashkan cannot quite control his skills."

"CAN'T CONTROL?! ITS A PASSIVE ABILITY!!"

Yet again, that overwhelming fear griped everyone. The embrace of the god still allowed them to stand up, but they couldn't move. If Ashkan was to make one sudden motion, a good portion of them would pass out from the fear.

Fear to the point of madness... what an insane ability.

The only person unwavering was the man standing next to Ashkan. "Tch. If it's only active when you yell, and you can't control your shouting, then for sure you can't control your abilities!"

"YOU'RE A SLICK TONGUED MAN YOU KNOW THAT THIST?"

Mustering up all her energy, one of the robed ladies threw a shoe at the beast, causing him to instantly apologize and de-escalate his voice.

It was an odd sight to see such a giant beast of a man apologize like he did. His ears folded behind his head. Clearly he was truly sorry. In such an appearance it almost seemed as if he was a tamed house cat.

"If I may have you all accompany me to the top floors. There are various adventurers awaiting you. They'll be introducing you to the world, as well as how to at least keep yourself safe."

The words he said fell on deaf ears, because before he had even realized, over half of the group had fainted. The other half, were scared shitless.

The very first to pass out, was Rhys.

A couple hours passed there-after before all of them had efficiently woke up. They all found themselves in different companies outside of the guild halls.

Rhys' eyes shot open as he let out the last of his shivers. "Ohhh, so you're finally awake~~"

It was a woman's voice. He looked around frantically. There were several transmigrants with him that he recognized and one strange woman.

Furthermore, he was swinging back and fourth.

It only took a couple more seconds before he realized  he was slung over her back and being carried over her shoulder.

"Oi oi oi! I'm fine I'm fine. I can walk on my own." This was much too embarrassing.

The other 4 looked down in shame. They were also carried in a similar manner all by the same girl.

She stopped briefly to let the flailing Rhys down.

"Ah, I'm glad you are awake though. This part of the forest, while not particularly dangerous, I don't usually like doing too much work. Can you walk?"

Rhys got up and dusted himself off and gave an affirmative nod. "Good!"

"So I'll fill you in on what you missed. So far, these are your friends here, Gilbert, Roho, Frees, and Irei."

Rhys took a second to observe each of them. Their names were of various locations across the world. It was clear that the transmigration didn't target just one single area.

Gilbert gave a kind smile and nodded to him as he caught his eyes scanning over them. Roho also seemed to acknowledge him. Frees on the other hand simply glared at the boy and cracked his knuckles. He clearly was not someone to befriend.

Irei on the couldn't pay attention to anything going on....like, at all.

The kid was an air-head. He was maybe 2 years older than Rhys, but his eyes didn't follow anyone, nor did it really look to pick up on conversation. The entire time, his eyes trailed off chasing imaginary butterflies.

"I see... It's nice meeting you all. My name's Rhys." He nodded politely.

The Lady yawned. "And I'm Mae! Mae Flanks! Nice to meet you, Rhys!"

She aggressively shook his hand. "Since you were so courteously sleeping, Rhys, allow me to fill you in on everything."

"Right now, we are in the Forest of Truths. Don't worry, the weakest levels you'll encounter out here will probably be around level 5. I can kill such things with simply one hit, so you are all safe."

"However... I have to get one thing cleared up with you all."

She anxiously grabbed Rhys' hand and clutched it tightly to her neck. "Are you all really from another world!? Ooooh please please please tell me about it!"

"It's a concept I truly can't understand. So there are other worlds out there far from us... different life laws, different histories, different customs! Oh how wondrous!"

That look in her eyes... I don't know whats more frightening.. this lady or the tiger.

"Hey, now. That tiger is much more frightening than I am."

"What  The-" Rhys instantly jumped. "Did you just re-"

He caught the glimpses of all the other squad mates. They all seemed to say "YUP!"

She laughed heartily. "Did I just read your mind?"

"Its a passive ability of mine actually." She patted Rhys' head. "Anyways, that was much too rude of you. Between me and the tiger, I'm much much more powerful.... but not nearly as frightening."

It was weird. Her smiles seemed genuine, but her words carried just a little bit of saltiness in them.

"Erm... Ms.-"

"Just Mae"

"Ah..miss Mae. If you could read our minds, then can't you just gain all the information you want from the other worlds by reading them?"

"Ahhhhhh. You drive a fine point. But you see..- I can only really read the surface. I can't peer deeeeeep into your brains or anything like that."

"Like what Frees thought earlier about television. Unfortunately, I have no idea what such a device is."

"By the way... you should abstain from rude thoughts around me. I'm not that scary." She patted Rhys' head.

"Now lets see.... any information you might have missed. --ermm, I refrained from telling you all due to the fact that a majority of you were asleep until just an hour ago. Rhys, you're the last to wake up."

Rhys' eye twitched. Sure rub it in why don't you?

"Oh, I'm not rubbing it in at all. I simply hate repeating myself."

Having someone who could read your mind could be tiring very quickly. Her presence was more unpleasant than anything.

"Hmmm...I suppose I should start with... Oh! God Aura!"

"I don't know how your world works, but this is something even babies pick up on in their early days. I don't sense it coming from any of you, so I do believe none of you are aware of it."

God Aura? What in the wor-

"Mhm! So it seems I was right. You all questioned the word in your heads right now."

"Hmm... God Aura... God Aura.... how should I explain this. It's an algorithm that flows within all factors of the world. Every component from the speed, to the power of things is visible through god Aura."

"Oh so like, physics?" Frees asked.

"Mm..I think? I don't actually know this physics you talk about. But every animal and being on this world knows how to manipulate God Aura."

"So what exactly is it?"

"Hmmm... you guys are all in this world so I suppose you should be able to do it as well."

"Do you know the feeling when you flex your temples and the sound of thunderstorms fill your head?"

(I honestly don't know are familiar with this, but Its hard to describe....you just flex somewhere in your ear and it sounds like thunderstorms or rushing water...idk!---- after searching it up, I found it its the tensor tympani muscles.)

"Yeah that's it." Reading collectively off of people's thoughts, she deducted they were all thinking the same thing.

"Do that, but focus all your attention to your eyes."

As they all followed instruction, they were shocked. There was blight blue energy emitting from everything they stared at, including each other.

Rhys almost choked on his own spit. Above all of their heads were health bars, and numbers. Though he didn't know what each of these things signified.

---

Mae Flanks: Lvl 78

---

 

"What are those numbers..." They were everywhere around him. From the birds landing on trees, to the speed of the grass blowing in the wind.

When a simple leaf blew in front of his path he could see the numbers before him 5/mps.... it totally was like physics.

"They show how much vitality one has, as well as Mana."

"See?"

She hit herself as hard as she could. The noise resounded across the entire forest, but the only number that popped up, decreased her health by an infinitesimal amount and replenished before they could even notice a change.

 
The number hovered for a couple seconds before disappearing. Impossible. As he looked around, he was flooded with numbers.

How fast everything around him was moving, how fast he was moving, how fast his breathing was, how fast he was capable of moving. Much more, the number he held was overbearing.

Above his head was the big letter 1. It towered over him, declaring its independence. Above the rest of his comrades heads were the similar single digit letters.

Roho: 8

HP: 22/22

MP: 6/6

Frees: 5

HP: 12/12

MP: 5/5

Irei: 2

HP: 3/3

MP: 16/16

Gilbert: 3

HP: 4/4

MP: 4/4

"Mhm. The numbers above your head signify your level, or combat power. As you can see, not everyone starts off at the same level or combat ability. That's because this world is truly unfair."

"Amongst this world there will be those born with powers of advantage like myself. There will be those born stronger than you."

"However, regardless of ability, one can change their own fate through training."

"You lot especially, you...transmigrants. You have ability far beyond what many of us have or may be capable of reaching."

Frees scanned everyone in this room, then breathed a sigh of relief. "So I'm not the weakest in the room."

"No, that honor belongs to Rhys- was it?" Gilbert spoke.

Pretty bold, coming from a level 3.

At that thought, Mae laughed. She struggled to hold her breath in, but something one of the group had thought made her laugh.

"Alright. Now that I see you all you're all able to visualize the god aura, next I'll begin to teach you how to manipulate it."

"It'll take a while to control what you want to see and what you don't want to see, but you can all practice that on your own."

"And uh... please refrain from looking at people through those lenses, its considered disrespectful."

It was obvious to tell who still maintained the sight and who didn't. Their eyes glowed a radiant blue, or white, or red hue.

She let out a cough. "Without further ado, I'll explain to you one of the most well-known abilities. -Sacred Box-"

She held her hands into the sky and reached out into some unseen bag, pulling straight out of thin air, several swords, daggers, bows, and shields.

"See? Every one of you should be able to utilize sacred box. Though this one may take some time before you get used to it. But so far, I'd like you all to pick up your weapons. We're now deep enough in the Forest of Truths that there should be hostiles"

"You might want to equip yourselves. They are already upon us."

Before Rhys could react, everyone rushed passed him and picked up various weaponry and tools.

Frees picked a bow, Gilbert picked a set of daggers, Roho equipped himself with some gauntlets, and Irei picked up a random curly stick that was amongst the group of weaponry.

All that lay before him was a pair of discs. Chakrams. He hesitantly picked up the two weapons and could clearly see a -.012 damage float above his hand when it lightly cut him.

Just as he finally picked up the chakrams, rustling began to appear in the leaves.

"Keep in mind, young transmigrators, while I am hired to teach you about this world- I am NOT required to protect you. Besides, that would be too bothersome on my end. I've left you all with your weapons. Face off against them on your own."

Suddenly, piercing through the foliage, were 8 goblins. The short green apparitions were half the height of Rhys... He was the shortest one in the group.

However, they each had muscle definition beyond what they'd see on any human. 3 of the 8 held long spears. They were poorly made, composed of sticks and sharpened stone.

"Tch." Roho made his first move rushing the entire group of goblins. Several of them lept out of the way, but one of them were caught with the fist. Sending them skidding back several feet.

The goblins instantly regained their composure and rushed him. At this same time, the 3 with spears regrouped and attacked him from the sides- a pincer maneuver.

It seemed the game was over. Roho would certainly get impaled and die.

Until an arrow shot from Freese's bow and stuck into the shoulders of two of the goblins. This discombobulated the group enough for Roho to jump back with the rest.

Gilbert was the first to speak. "As you can see, rushing in mindlessly will do you no good. These things are smarter than they look."

The next couple of minutes went by in a flurry. They all attacked at once, and while everyone held their own, Rhys was incapable of keeping up with his own opponents.

Just a couple flashes of green here, and there and he was getting flustered. He quickly found himself separated from the rest of the group who was fighting off the goblins evenly.

His random attempts to slice his enemies with his sharpened discs failed over and over. He chucked one forward, but the goblin simply dodged it, before the other one jumped up behind him. One single hit.

Then, nothing.

His world went black. He could only slowly hear the sounds of metal grinding with stone, and clashing noises of combat.

Then his world drowned out and everything fell into silent tranquility.

It feels warm...

    It reminds me of when I first transmigrated...

                   Am I dead?

                                    Already...?