0.4 Prologue: History and Mythology

I am a reader, always have been. Protagonist being transported to another world, not new. King Arthur and his Knights journey to the Summer Country, Alice in Wonderland, Narnia, Joel Rosenberg and his Keepers of the Flame. Isekai is the Japanese word. I am also a gamer. Litrpg Isekai stories are a dime a dozen. You are likely surprised I was adjusting so well. Accepting the so called Admin at his word. The thing is, in that dreamlike Transition place, time seemed rather fluid. Hours or seconds, felt the same. I should have been panicking, but all my emotions seemed muted. As if they were being experienced by someone else. At the same time there was a clarity. In between bouts of blinding pain that made coherent thought impossible, there was a sense of Truth. The strange language, that place, made deception impossible. Every word, every meaning, every nuance was absolute. I’m not explaining it well.

Years later I would learn of Artorius, his use of Eldritch, or Pre-System Magic, and the nature of his Summoning Ritual. Although lacking sentience, the spell-form enjoyed a certain degree of intelligence, not unlike an advanced computer program. It was adaptable, changing in response to the different World Laws of the realities it visited. In many ways, my home World was exactly what the spell-form was looking for. A World free from the constraints of a System, where imagination and innovation promoted cultural and technological improvements. A World similar enough that transplants could survive, but whose differences would grant subtle advantages. Physically the two biggest differences was the lower Essence Density and the higher Reality Coefficient. Worldforce Essence is the precursor to Mana, the powersource of magic. Similar to the relationship between crude oil and gasoline. Its presence is also essential to the evolution of sentient life. Much like someone born in a high elevation adapts to process oxygen more efficiently, people from my homeworld process Essence more efficiently. That gives us an advantage when transmigrated to a high Essence World.

Reality on the other hand is more like gravity, in that it is a force that binds existence together. Unlike gravity, it affects the Soul, not the Body, A Soul from a stronger Reality but lower Essence Density allows a person summoned to the Realm to recover faster and use more powerful magic.

Transition was a place Inbetween. A dimension of pure Essence. A place where Thought mattered more than Flesh. Thinking becomes an almost physical act in such a place.

At the time I was just struggling to understand. All I knew about Essence, Mana, Reality, and the Inbetween were glimpses of intuition provide from my varied and eclectic reading habits.

I knew something was happening to me. I remembered that flash of white light. I was either dead or trapped in some sort of Isekai. Janus wanted something from me, was using the pain and distractions because he could not lie. Not Here, not Now. Honesty, however, is more than just the lack of lies. He didn’t feel like he was being entirely Honest with me.

Rather than fight the will of the Admin, who in all Worlds are beings of immense power compared to mere mortals, I needed to make sure I maximised whatever benefit I could. I needed information. How could a gag hidden in the User Agreement of an online game have this kind of power? LoL borrowed its pantheon of deities from the mythologies of Egypt, Greece, Roman and the Norse. “Admin”, whatever software or spell was providing the translation, used “Admin” when Janus clearly was anticipating “god”. I could believe an Admin from a more powerful culture took an interest in me. I could even accept that interactions with this culture influenced my home world's mythologies.

I do not know if all that was consciously flowing through my head at the Moment, or if it just seems that way as I try to reconstruct what happened.

-”If you will not accept Responsibility, then I must Invoke Necessity. I can not meet your demands.” His demeanor changed. He seemed tired, weary.

“I no longer have the Resources. Essence corruption has depleted the System. You are not the first Summoned, the Mana invested in the Ritual fades. You would have died if not rescued by the Summoning, is that not enough? Even if I could still Create legendary weapons out of pure Aether, why should I give them to you? Should not my loyal customers and employees receive my boons first?” Frustration echoed throughout Transition. He looked up, staring into empty space, addressing the Translator.

“Celebratents and Clerics. I suppose that will do. What do you want? I could try to send you back. The connection is fading, no guarantee you would survive. I think I could get you to within a hundred years of your departure. We do need you. We need to change, to adapt, to find a way to fight back.”

-”Fight against what? Why summon me?”

-”Why Summon you? Because you Consented. Because removing you would have no impact on History. Because you are a Hero, as defined by your own World Laws. You were willing to Sacrifice your life for strangers without training or remumeration. Personally I would have prefered a soldier or engineer. Someone with more practical Skills, but Choice was limited.

Your Consent provided you with sufficient information about the what. The Summoning could not, according to your World Laws, directly recruit Heros. It found ways to subtly influence the Imagination and encode itself into one of your Games. Much of your Mythology corresponds with the History of the Realm, while many of our Fables are echoed in your History.

The Lore contained by the Game is mostly inspired by the circumstances of the Realm. It is as accurate as the Lore taught in any Bardic or Scholarly Collegium of the Realm. Lore is often tainted with personal opinions and biases. That of your Game is no different.

Dungeons have been Corrupted, spawning Monsters that ravage the lands of the Realm. The Essence of the Wilds is also being Tainted, mutating the Beasts into Monsters. The Authority of the System has been Challenged by the Adversary. Without help the Realm will fall to the Great Devourer. If the Realm falls, can your World be far behind?”

That is a lot to unpack. I admit I was kind of hoping that I was chosen, special. The fact that my relative unimportance was just as important a reason for my summoning as my heroism, was rather disappointing. He could try and send me back, but after a hundred years, what would be left for me? If the internet taught me anything, there were cheats to be had. Powers I would need to survive.

I was expecting some sort of connection between LoL, the game I played, and the world to which I had been summoned. In the game, the Great Devourer was some Lovecraftian Evil from beyond space and time whose name could not be uttered. It figured in many quests dealing with insane cultists seeking the overthrow of the Empire.

-”What of the Empire and the Triumvirate? Where are the homegrown Heroes? You want me to save your Realm, but don’t want to give me any help?”

-”The Summoning Ritual was performed in the last days of the Triumvirate. Sadly the Empire has already fallen. It has shattered into independent City-States and minor Kingdoms. The Populace hides behind walls, fearing both Beasts and Monsters. We need a Catalyst to motivate Change. We need a Hero from Beyond the Realm to face the threat from Beyond.”