"Welcome humans..."
The voice echoed through the cavernous space, ancient and raspy, yet carrying a weight that demanded absolute attention.
Lucius Moonwalker slowly stood up from the cold, polished stone ground, a shocked and speechless expression completely taking over his face. His clothes clung uncomfortably to his skin, still damp and chilled.
As his vision adjusted to the dim, flickering torchlight lining the massive pillars, he realized he was not alone.
Right in front of him, scattered across the intricate magical formations etched into the floor, were several other people.
There were about five of them in total, and unless his eyes were playing tricks on him in the strange lighting, he was absolutely certain they were all dressed in identical high school uniforms.
But the misplaced teenagers were not the most alarming part of his new reality.
At the far front of the grand hall, standing at attention in organized ranks, were people dressed rather differently.
Their attire was unlike anything he had ever seen in the real world.
A line of figures stood cloaked in deep, crimson red robes that trailed along the floor, their hands clutching twisted wooden staffs.
Beside them stood towering guards encased in heavy, gleaming knight armor, holding massive weapons that looked like they were pulled right out of the pages of a high fantasy novel. The metallic clinking of their armor shifting echoed in the vast silence.
Past the intimidating guards, sitting upon an elevated dais, was a small, ornate throne.
On that throne, an old man sat with a posture of supreme authority, a heavy red crown resting upon his silver hair.
Flanking him on either side were a younger man and a woman.
Both were dressed in the extravagant, layered silks and velvets of high nobility, and they were wearing similar crowns upon their heads, marking them as royalty.
Every single pair of eyes in the room, from the armored guards to the crowned nobility, seemed to be entirely focused on them.
They were staring intensely at Lucius and the bewildered school students who were currently standing right in the dead center of the massive room.
’What the hell is going on here?’ Lucius wondered as he slowly stood to his feet, his mind racing to make sense of the impossible situation.
He forced his brain to backtrack, searching for the missing link between his normal life and this grand, terrifying hall.
The absolute last thing he had remembered was walking home from his exhausting part-time work shift. The streets had been slick with rain. He remembered slipping, falling forward into a remarkably deep puddle of water on the sidewalk.
Then, without any warning, a flash of blinding light had swallowed him whole, and he found himself standing inside this ominous room.
Looking around at the teenagers shivering near him, it would seem he wasn’t the only one feeling entirely confused.
The students all shared the exact same expression of terrified disbelief on their pale faces.
Then, the old man who was seated on the throne leaned forward and spoke yet again, his voice cutting through the heavy silence of the room.
"I understand that you must be confused, finding yourselves in another world. But rest assured, as heroes, you are in good hands."
Lucius frowned a bit, his brow furrowing as the absurd words registered in his mind.
’Heros? Another world? Is this some kind of joke?’ he thought, glancing around to see if hidden cameras were recording their reactions.
But the sheer cold of the stone and the oppressive magical pressure in the air felt far too real to be a prank.
The king rose slowly from his throne, spreading his arms in a welcoming, albeit desperate, gesture.
"Our world, is currently in need of certain strong individuals, evil plagues this world, evil that only you, heroes from another world could conquer for us. we , the kingdom of Eldia, ask for your help."
A suffocating silence settled in the room for a while, the weight of the king’s absurd demand pressing down on the shoulders of the normal, everyday humans from Earth.
Finally, the quiet was broken.
"You’re saying you forcefully brought us here to help you with your world? magic?" a male student wearing glasses asked, his voice trembling slightly as he stood right behind a much bigger, broader student for protection.
The king on the throne turned his head slightly to face the bespectacled student, offering a gentle, almost patronizing smile.
"Ah yes, the book did mention your obliviousness to the ancient art of magic. Such exists not in your world. Which is why we have decided to teach you, and make you the best of what you can be."
The reality of the situation finally seemed to snap the fragile nerves of the group.
Almost instantly, a scared girl who was standing near the back, right next to Lucius, spoke out with tears already streaming down her cheeks.
"I...u want to go back. Please take me back, i cant fight."
The king’s gentle smile faded, replaced by a solemn expression as he sighed remorsefully at her desperate words.
"I am afraid i cant do that. The spell does not permit sending the heroes back to their world. They can only go back once the force of evil have been eliminated."
Loud, panicked gasps erupted from the students’ mouths.
The finality in the king’s voice shattered any remaining hope of this being a simple misunderstanding.
They now clearly understood what the stakes were, even without the king having to explain any further details to them. They were drafted into a war they knew nothing about, in a world they had never seen, and their only ticket home was bathed in blood.
It took a while for the murmurs of panic and quiet sobbing to die down, but they finally understood their station, recognizing that resisting the heavily armed guards surrounding them would be foolish.
Moments later, a heavy, smooth black orb resting on an ornate pedestal was rolled into the center of the room, stationed right in front of the huddled group. It pulsed with a faint, eerie light that seemed to draw the eye.
"Even if you cannot return to your world. We the people of Eldia still choose to help you with all our resources," the king uttered, his tone shifting back to one of regal authority. "Please place your hand on the orb, and let it read you so we can proceed to the next part."
Everyone seemed to be hesitating at first, staring at the alien artifact with deep distrust.
They exchanged nervous glances, unwilling to be the first to touch the unknown magic.
This tense standoff held until one of the students, the brave one with the glasses who had spoken up earlier, finally swallowed his fear, walked forward, and placed his trembling hand directly onto the smooth surface of the black orb.
Instantly, the orb flared to life.
Brilliant, glowing text materialized in the air above it, projecting for everyone in the throne room to see.
[Name: Steward Limba.
Race: Human.
Class: Arch mage.
Talent: Sss+.
Blessing: God of eternity.]
The king and his royal children all had their eyes widened in absolute shock as they saw the stats floating in the air.
The murmurs among the red-robed mages grew into a chaotic buzz of excitement.
"The god of eternity shines upon you? And an sss talent none the less? Impressive. Please, immediately, take this hero to his chamber, and make sure you give him the best food and wine we have."
Steward blinked rapidly, clearly not understanding what was happening or what the strange terms meant.
However, judging from the expressions of sheer awe on the faces of the royalty and the sudden, overwhelming respect from the guards, he realized his stats must have been incredibly impressive.
Deciding not to question a good thing, he didn’t waste any time and willingly went along with the beautifully dressed maidens who stepped forward to escort him away from the tense throne room.
Seeing Steward treated like a god, the remaining fear in the group somewhat subsided.
The promise of luxury and safety was a powerful motivator. The remaining three students also stepped forward, one by one, to do theirs.
A confident looking girl stepped up next, slamming her hand down.
[Name: Anna Eveerest.
Race: Human.
Class: Legendary archer.
Talent: SS.
Blessing: God of archery.]
The next girl, the one who had been crying, nervously touched the orb.
[Name: Racheal Onial.
Race: Human.
Class: Supreme healer.
Talent:SS+.
Blessing: Good of misery.]
Then came the last of the students, the large, imposing boy.
[Name: Oliver Wriker.
Race: Human.
Class: God hunter.
Talent: S+
Blessing: God of war.]
Each and every one of their stats raised a tremendous level of praise and cheering from the audience of nobles and knights.
The king himself stood up, stating proudly that this was the absolute first of its kind in hundreds of years, to have this many impressive heroes gathered in a single, miraculous summon.
The atmosphere in the room transformed from tense and ominous to celebratory and joyous.
Finally, the excitement died down just enough for the room to notice the last person remaining.
It was Lucius’s turn to present himself to the magical artifact.
Just like the rest of the students had done, he walked forward calmly, ignoring the pounding in his chest, and firmly placed his hand on the cold surface of the black orb.
He waited for the bright flash of golden light.
Instead, the orb sputtered. The light flickered, turning a sickly, pale color before the text finally forced its way into the air above.
[Name: Lucious Moonwalker.
Race: Vampire..human...vampire...
Class: None.
Talent: None.
Blessing: Unknown.]
A dead, heavy silence immediately settled in the sprawling throne room. The joyous celebrations from a moment ago vanished as if they had never existed.
Lucius stared blankly at the floating screen, then slowly turned his head to see the deeply disappointed, almost disgusted expressions creeping onto the people’s faces.
A single bead of cold sweat dripped down the side of his face, tracing a line along his jaw.
’What the fuck is with this thing? Vampire? Shit. why am i the only one with such terrible stats?’ he screamed in his mind, his calm facade rapidly crumbling.
He was absolutely certain that if the other heroes were still standing in the room with him at that exact time, they too would look at him with the same condescending disappointment that the king was currently giving him.
He was the odd one out. The failure.
The suffocating silence stretched on for what felt like an eternity, the tension pulling taut until it was ready to snap.
When the silence finally broke, it was not with an order for execution or a demand to cast him out, but with the king leaning heavily on his armrest and asking a single, deeply perplexed question.
"What is a vampire?"
Lucius froze.
"Wha.." Lucius stammered, entirely thrown off balance.
He was a bit surprised by the question, mainly because out of all the horrific things that could have happened, he had never really expected anyone in a magical fantasy world to ask what a vampire was.
And second, and perhaps far more importantly, was the absolute fact that he never, in his entire nineteen years of mundane existence, remembered being a vampire to begin with.