Emm took a deep breath. The air was crisp and smelled fresh in a way he wasn't used to. Rich and real, very different from what he smelled in his car. His nose tingled.

He... wasn't dead? He felt very much alive. He wasn't even on fire. On the contrary, he was wet and cold, which was the opposite of being on fire. And his bones weren't ground to dust; he felt no pain at all.

He took in his surroundings. Emm was lying down in the midst of a rather large group of normal-looking people who were standing around, staring at him in silence. They were in the middle of a grassy clearing with scattered tents, stalls and other shabby-looking buildings. They looked so shabby that he'd call them crap even if he'd been born a thousand years earlier. Some of them had people manning them. There was smoke coming from a few fires, too.

Emm was interrupted by a young woman crouching down in front of him. She had the blackest hair he'd ever seen, so long it touched the grass beneath them, and wore a rough brown robe. She reached out her hand and helped Emm stand. His legs felt shaky.

"Are you okay?" she asked, monotone. The way she looked at him almost made him shiver: it was full of pure, poorly-hidden hatred.

"I think so," Emm replied, "I thought I died." The words came out weakly, squeezed past the lump in his throat.

He wiped his eyes again and started wringing out water from his clothes. It was a damn waterfall. His hair was still dripping as well.

The group of people began chatting and whispering to each other. They were perfectly normal people, like those he'd meet on the streets any day of the week. Mostly young, a few of them could've been in their thirties, while others were only teenagers. There was a similar number of men and women.

In contrast to them, the tall knight wore plate armor that could've come straight from a fantasy convention. Bulky enough to look ridiculous and wider than a door. The armor had golden dragon heads on knees and shoulders that shined with reflected sunlight. No helmet or weapon though. A serious expression framed by a bob of blond hair, and a waxed mustache that extended far out sideways, twirling up at the ends. It reminded Emm of a cat’s whiskers.

Emm said, "Is this He—".

"Attention everyone! We can begin," the knight shouted on top of Emm's words.

The giant swiftly vaulted a distance of over ten meters to land on the top of a wooden platform and continued speaking while still in mid-air. Everyone stopped talking and instantly turned to look at him. It was almost eerie how in sync their movements were, Emm thought.

"Time is short, folks!" spoke the burly man. His voice was intense and clear, the volume much louder than what any normal person used. "I'm commander Boris. I'm sure you're all wondering where the hell you are. This world is called Alterth, and Miss Simmons here will be your Guide for the time being."

He gestured at the quiet woman with the long hair. At the same time, a few hands went up from the crowd. "Save all your questions for her, she’ll take good care of you. You've all been magically summoned here as [Heroes]. The good news is, you can go back if you're careful enough, determined, and play your cards right. The key to getting going back to your beloved Earth is the [System], a versatile tool you're all equipped with. I'm going to demonstrate, do not be alarmed."

Another world? What?

Boris took out a small object from his pocket pouch, then tossed it some distance away from them. It glittered like a diamond as it flew through the air, and landed in the grass. There was a soundless explosion of dust and smoke.

It only took the wind a second to start clearing the smoke away. Left standing there was a dark shadow, taller than even the knight himself. In the middle of the shadowy figure, though, were two glowing red eyes, as bright as car taillights.

The last wisps of smoke cleared away, and the crowd gasped, instinctively taking a few steps back. It was difficult to even begin to describe the monstrosity; it was straight out of a horror movie. Emm’s first impression was that of a gorilla, if gorillas were twice as tall as on Earth, and had shimmering silver scales instead of fur. Its arms were like trunks and it had two pairs of long, twisting horns growing out of the forehead. Puffs of steam were coming out of its mouth as it breathed and took stock of its surroundings, and there were long spikes of silver bone sticking out of its spine, knees, and elbows.

Emm couldn't take his eyes off it. The air around the impossible creature shimmered with intensity.

He barely blinked, and it was gone in a blur, charging straight toward commander Boris with a deafening roar. It was going to smash straight into him, and the knight wasn't reacting — but then it stopped, together with the roaring. It stood completely still.

Where its head used to be was the giant knight's armored fist, uppercutting the monster. There was an explosion of blood, and slowly, the monster's body went slack. It fell to the ground with a ground-shaking thud, next to Boris's feet.

It had all happened so fast that Emm didn't even have time to open his mouth, let alone scream. His heart was beating like crazy. The rest of the crowd was in a state of shock and confusion, staring wide-eyed at the horrifying spectacle before them. The only sound filling the meadow was the soft chirping of clueless birds.

Then, another, smaller thunk from behind.

That's when the screams finally began.

Emm turned and saw people shuffling and running, a few falling to their knees and crawling away on all fours. At the edge of the clearing was, Emm realized, what remained of the monster's head. It rolled around for a moment, leaving blood and brains behind, before settling down. Only then did its eyes stop glowing.

"Calm down!" Boris ordered, and the crowd went quiet again. Emm was still looking at the head. How had it died so easily? "You were in no danger whatsoever, the [System] is here to protect us. It measures power in terms of levels, and my [Level] is 54. This monster was only [Level] 29, meaning I can trivially defeat it. You are all [Level] 1 right now, and the way to increase that number is by fighting monsters. This area is extremely tame, so there's no danger. Just stay calm, work diligently, and you'll be as strong as me in no time! And when you reach [Level] 100, you’ll be able to go back home!"

Levels, seriously? This isn't a game!

The commander was waving his arms around as he was speaking, turning this way and that, making sure that they were following his every word. Some of the audience were nodding their heads, as if he was making perfect sense.

Boris paused.

Emm was close enough to see the trail of blood leaking from his nose and down his pristine mustache.

"All right, this is my cue to leave," he continued, unimpressed, wiping his face with a fancy handkerchief. "I'll see you in a month in the nearby town of Wilmester. I expect you all to be at least [Level] 10 by then, and whoever reaches [Level 15], I'll buy you a drink! Remember, it's all going to be fine, just do what Miss Simmons here tells you to do."

He winked at them, saluted, and launched himself into the sky, flying off into the distance. The force was so strong that a gust of wind spread across the clearing, swaying the grass, their clothes, and their hair alike. Soon Boris was just a small speck in the sky, where he landed on another, larger speck that had flown toward him in a wide arc. Together they disappeared into the horizon. Boris was... riding it?

Emm took a deep breath.

"That was a dragon, wasn't it?" he asked in a daze.

"Yes," said Miss Simmons, "now gather around, everybody. It's time for your questions."