“R-Run!! Run! Escape from this monster!”

“Don't come to us! D- Aaah~!!!”

Following the shrill scream of a man, a headless corpse with a sword in one hand and shield in another collapsed on the ground, and the head previously belonging to the corpse flew a certain distance as it made an arc in the air before rolling on the ground. The eyes of the head were wide open in bafflement, the man whose head had been taken in a single slash didn’t even have time to prepare himself for his bitter end.

Blood flowed as the innards of the corpse spilled about. The other men holding swords and shields of the same kind as the dead man paled at the sight of their companion’s corpse. Cold sweat drenched their clothes, they could feel their end approaching. They kept their feet planted firmly as the dead man's blood slowly seeped in their footwear. Their horror knew no bounds as they gazed at the artist who created this disturbing scenery with unwavering and calm eyes. Within seconds, a second warm fluid mixed with the blood, but the soldier responsible couldn't care less as he squeezed out a single word before his head rolled away as well.

“Run…”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

One whole month had passed since the students had been summoned to this unfamiliar world. They were still scared and wary, but at least they had started to adapt. This world was a prison for some, while freedom for others.

No family. No school. No restraints. No manipulation. No scheming. No violence. No envy. No pride.

These were advantageous to the people who were already living a life in an unfamiliar world within their own family. People like Akio and Orihime felt liberated. They didn’t need to hold back anymore, and during this past month, they made sure to not do so. However, for the students who weren't suppressed by society as much as these people, they couldn't handle the sudden stimulation and curled themselves into a ball and shut themselves in their rooms, only to slowly adapt and overcome their dilemma.

In the past month, the students had learned about the most basic of aspects which made up this world. Of course, it would be impossible to implant the knowledge about a whole world inside someone in a mere thirty days. However, Shainaq had made sure to educate them enough to make sure that they wouldn’t act like lost lambs or preschoolers if they were to get lost in the market. Of course, the comprehension ability of the students was on a completely different level compared to normal people, and as such, they soaked the knowledge like sponges.

The students had grasped how to talk properly since the speech pattern was a bit different from Japanese or any other language for that matter, how to conduct themselves formally or informally, they had learned about the differences between this new world and their own, and had comprehended other things which would help them maintain a bare minimum level of common sense.

…

Thirty days after the students entered the mansion.

Asahi and Yosida were taking a stroll in the garden behind the mansion the students used as a residential complex. The garden, which was initially full of greenery and tranquility, was now on the verge of ruin. This was the place the students utilized to practice [Lord’s Blessing] manipulation.

As they moved, Asahi spotted a one-feet thick and six-feet tall stone tablet standing on the outskirts of the garden. This stone tablet was one of the thousands which were brought in to help the students with their training. The stone tablet was just a harder punching bag, nothing more, nothing less.

Asahi’s lips curved up as he gathered the surrounding [Lord’s Blessing] around him and circulated it for a moment before focusing it on both his feet and his right fist. Yoshida, who sensed Asahi’s intentions, stepped back and circulated [Lord’s Blessing] to create a thin membrane around himself to defend against the resulting damage.

Asahi gathered power in his feet and fist, and as soon as he sensed that the power was sufficient, he took off in the stone tablet’s direction and threw his fist at it. The stone tablet burst apart and the debris flew in all directions. The small pieces of stones raining down on Yoshida touched the membrane surrounding him and were repelled, protecting him from all damages.

Yoshida approached Asahi who was standing still at the spot where the stone tablet once stood.

“You’re the only one out of all of us who can destroy these things with one blow.”

“What are you talking about? Can’t you do the same thing as me?”

“Well… It’s possible… However, I would need to gather at least ten-percent more [Lord’s Blessing] than you to achieve the same result.”

“Fufu~ You’re too humble.”

As they talked about this and that, they saw a group of people walking toward the residential building while merrily chatting away. It was a group of six with four people walking together in the front with the rest two following them from close behind.

Yoshida’s eyebrows furrowed as he said in an agitated voice.

“Aren’t the girls spending way too much time with that weak trash?”

Naturally, the one he was referring to as ‘weak trash’ was Aki, while the ‘girls’ referred to Akio, Nikki, and Misaki. Aki walked while explaining something to the trio, their attention completely focused on his words, unaware that Asahi and Yoshida were in the vicinity and looking at them walk by. Vinayak and Umi followed them from a distance as they talked with warm expressions.

“And why is Umi acting so friendly with Khavare? Yes, he is strong and can be considered on the same level as us, but why does Umi show him such favor?”

Asahi just silently gazed at the group while brushing off the pieces of stone stuck to his clothes. There was a sharp contrast in the two's eyes as they gazed at the group. Yoshida was agitated and convicted, whereas Asahi was indifferent and cold.

“Yoshida. Muranaka may be weak, but his ability to understand and manipulate [Lord’s Blessing] is one of the best. Also, why do you think girls and Vinayak are so strong. All the other girls except for those four and Matsuda are weak, and the same applies to the boys except for Masahiko, Khavare, and us three. Why do you think that is?”

“I don’t know about the girls but Masahiko, Khavare, Tsun-chan, you and I are strong since we were already pretty strong on Earth. In addition to that, we have high affinities with [Lord’s Blessing], giving us a substantial boost.”

“Yes, you are correct. We are strong because we have high physical prowess and comparatively good compatibility with [Lord’s Blessing]. However, Khavare is different from us. Yes, he is comparable to you or me in raw strength, but his affinity with [Lord's Blessing] is slightly lower than ours. As for the girls, it may be so that their affinities are high, but their physical capabilities are catastrophically low compared to ours. Having said that, it is already a proven fact that the girls, Akio and Umi in particular, are comparable in strength to us.”

Every time Asahi mentioned ‘girls’, he was referring to only five of the many girls in their class. The extremely popular quartet, and Matsuda Orihime. He simply didn’t put any other girls, no matter how beautiful or wealthy they were, in his eyes.

“Now, my dear Yoshida, why do you think that is? Why are these aforementioned six people so strong despite being held back by one thing or another?”

“...?”

Yoshida crossed his hands in deep contemplation, many explanations running through his mind, but he couldn’t articulate a single one because he wasn't very sure.

“There is one factor common in all of these cases. Muranaka Aki. Khavare is Muranaka’s best friend. The four girls have been close to them ever since we arrived here. Orihime has been sticking close to Vinayak since all the restrictions placed on her by society and her family have disappeared. In short, Muranaka has been involved with all of these people, and it is not a secret that Muranaka is an extremely intelligent individual with a genius exceeding Misaki’s. Misaki, on several occasions, has admitted that her intellect falls short of Muranaka’s.”

“Asahi, aren’t you giving him way too much credit?”

Yoshida asked with an unconvinced expression. To which, Asahi just meaningfully smiled and said.

“Consider. There are two kings. King A is very talented and is competent enough to use those talents to bring prosperity and longevity to his kingdom. King B is equally talented, however, he is an incompetent fool who can’t make use of his talents and fails short of King A in all aspects. Having said that, the territory that King B rules enjoy prosperity and happiness on the same level as King A’s territory. Now, why do you think that is?”

“...King B… No... I don’t know. What is it?”

“It’s very simple when you think about it. Hither, King A is competent enough to employ his talents, but that doesn’t mean that King B’s talents will go untouched. What we need is a person intellectually superior enough to make use of King B’s talents to achieve the desired result. Here, those six people could be equated to the incompetent king while the four of us are the competent kings. They have one flaw or another which restricts their talents and makes them mediocre. Be it physical ability, or be it insufficient compatibility with [Lord’s Blessing]. However, it has been proven that they aren’t suffering through any of these setbacks. Meaning, there is an external entity influencing their growth. There are only two people in this mansion who can do so, Shainaq and Muranaka. And I can’t imagine Shainaq giving special lessons to anyone. He believes in self-growth way too much.”

“...So what you are saying is that Muranaka is helping them strengthen themselves by directing their growth? That can’t be. If that were the case, wouldn’t Misaki be the one acting as the ‘helper’, instead of someone incompetent and weak like Muranaka? His affinity with [Lord’s Blessing] is average and his strength is below average ‘cause he was originally a weakling. The only people weaker than him are the delicate princesses who haven’t carried a box all their life. He is at the bottom among boys in terms of strength.”

“Haha~ You think Misaki can match up to Muranaka? That's cute Yoshida. I consider myself a man of vast wisdom and sophistry since I have been helping out with my father’s company and accumulated quite a lot of experience. However, even I have to admit Muranaka’s intellectual superiority. His ability to think on his feet and cope with even the most disadvantageous situations is on a completely different level.”

“For you to speak so much about someone else… If he is so amazing, why didn't you ever acknowledge him during our time in school? You have watched him get bullied and harassed with an indifferent expression for the past two years. Even now, he gets humiliated by the other guys daily, but you turn a blind eye to it. You’re contradicting yourself here, you know?”

“Don’t misunderstand my intentions behind telling you all this. To me, he is still an insignificant bug. I can destroy him anytime I wish. However, the reason I speak like this is that his intellect is an asset to us in our hands, and a threat in the hands of others. Just imagine, what can a Muranaka armed with the knowledge of our world do if he is used by the enemy?”

“Yep, you are right about that. [Lord’s Blessing]? More like a fucking scam.”

…

The tenth Day after the students entered the mansion.

“[Lord’s Blessing]? I previously mentioned that it is a ‘force’. Well... That analogy isn’t completely incorrect, but it isn’t completely correct either. You could say that [Lord’s Blessing] is an entity capable of interfering with the matter on a subatomic level.”

As Shainaq explained, he raised his right hand. The students could feel a mysterious and invisible force gathering around his hand. Though they couldn’t see it, they could tell that the force first gathered around the fingers, slowly engulfing the whole hand. After about ten seconds of gathering, he punched at one of the numerous stone tablets in the garden, obliterating it.

“You all are aware of the many types of energies, are you not? Don’t tell me that all of you are from the art side?”

Since Shainaq casually brushed it off, the students kept their curiosity in check and just paid attention to the lecture. Misaki, who was always at the front and center in all of the discussions, answered with a calm voice.

“Energies… If you mean energies like mechanical, electric, thermal, etcetera… Then yes, we are aware of it. At least I am.”

“Is that so? Well, then it’ll be easier to explain. [Lord’s Blessing] is an entity capable of changing into the many different types of energies that you have seen or heard about in your world. Of course, it isn't capable of taking the form of every energy that exists and comes with its own set of restrictions like most things in the world, but all in all, it can be said to be a substitute for fundamental energy.”

Eyes of all the students, including Aki’s, widened with surprise.

“You must’ve heard about the four fundamental forces: Gravitational force, electromagnetic force, weak nuclear force, and strong nuclear force. These four forces govern our universe and aren’t derived from any other forces, thus called fundamental. There is no ‘fundamental’ energy since energy is transferred when there is a need to perform work on an object.”

“[Lord’s Blessing], as the name states, is, well, God’s blessing on the human civilization, or so they say. If I hadn’t visited your world and wasn’t confronted with the knowledge of physics, I would also be one of those blind people claiming that [Lord’s Blessing] is God’s gift, and nothing else. However, I did travel to your world and did sufficient research on this topic, only to be startled by what I discovered.”

“What if I were to tell you that no matter what action you perform, invisible energy is produced which is present all around you. Well, you might think we know this since when we walk or run, kinetic energy is generated. And when we sit, potential energy is present. That’s not it, I am not talking about those. I am talking about energy derived directly from your life. Your existence fuels this invisible energy called [Lord’s Blessing]. And this [Lord’s Blessing] can be channeled by us humans and manipulated to change into many of the different types of energies and forces you are aware of. I am not just talking about humans, all the beings that have life contribute to the accumulation of [Lord’s Blessing]. [Lord’s Blessing] is basically considered magic in this world, and if you were summoned and were to be taught by someone unfamiliar with physics, they would also tell you that [Lord’s Blessing] is magic and you have to learn it to be filial to God or some other bullshit like that.”

“I say all this, but don’t get me wrong, I am religious and I do follow all the doctrines of the Samahdi. It’s just that ever since I was confronted with science, my faith in this superior entity, which can crush our world with one finger, is decreasing by the day.”

He said all this and sighed. Ever since Shainaq had returned from Earth, he had to always keep up appearances and be religious, making him uncomfortable. This uncomfortable feeling was slowly turning into suffocation, and as such, he was very glad that he could talk with the students about all of this and let off some steam.

“Yeah, science does that to people…”

Misaki said with an awkward smile and continued when Shainaq looked over in her direction.

“...Can I please ask some questions?”

“Yes, please go ahead.”

Shainaq always acted like a teacher and he was honestly having a lot of fun chatting with the students on an everyday basis.

“You previously mentioned that this [Lord’s Blessing] is present on our planet as well, but we can’t sense or manipulate it. What does that mean?”

“Oh, I never said that you ‘can’t’ sense or manipulate it, I just meant that you aren't aware of the method. When I initially arrived on your planet, I was honestly startled by the sheer amount of [Lord’s Blessing] in your atmosphere. You see, the quality of the [Lord’s Blessing] in your world is catastrophically poor when compared to our world’s. However, the quantity makes up for the quality since nobody in your world knows how to channel it. Hence, all the [Lord’s Blessing] is left unused in your atmosphere. Whereas, in our world, more than fifteen billion people use the same [Lord’s Blessing], thus making it a bit stuffy. However, since there are double the amount of people in our world along with the rich wildlife and plant life, there is more than enough [Lord’s Blessing] to go around the planet.”

“Wait…! You said… Fifteen… Billion…!? Didn’t you say that our world’s geographic structure is seventy-percent similar to this world’s? Also, you said that the size of our planets is the same… So, how fifteen-billion…?”

“What do you mean? Your world can easily hold fifteen-billion people as well. As I said, this world is similar to yours in many aspects, but also very very different from yours in many more. You'll slowly learn about these discrepancies as you spend time in this world. I don’t wanna be that cliche guy, but it would be better to experience all these differences by yourself than to have me spell them out for you. Don’t worry, I will be with you every day from now on, no matter where you go, I will go with you and help you understand our world’s culture with references and examples. When I was over there, I practically watched all the movies and TV shows from 1974 to 2017. Don’t worry, I have quite the vast arsenal of knowledge and you will not be left behind on anything.”

““““““““...””””””””

While all the students were still worried about their situation, some people felt intrigued and interested well up inside their chests.

...

The seventh Day after the students entered the mansion.

At this point, those who were strong-willed had already somewhat adapted to the situation, while those who hadn’t been still trapped within their mind.

“Oh~ This is the first time that all twenty-six of you have attended since that first day.”

The last time all of the students gathered in the same place was the first day they had gotten here. After the briefing, all the doubts had cleared up. All those who had even a tinge of hope that this world was their Earth were crushed. They couldn’t handle the truth and buried themselves in their beds. Even their meals were brought to them by their friends.

This was especially true for a group of foreign students. They were already living in an unfamiliar land and associating with people of different nations, and now, they had been thrown into an entirely different world. No matter how sophisticated the students seemed for their age, they were still children with a fragile heart and soft will. It wasn’t surprising that they were crushed and took a while to recuperate and come out of their rooms.

“I knew that you all would come around someday…”

Shainaq gently smiled towards the students who had finally opened their hearts a little.

“Okay. Since the situation is what it is. Today we’ll take it slow and talk about some light topics to not stimulate the others too much…”

Shainaq moved around the class and said in a rather bright voice.

“...Let’s talk about basic etiquette and the way you should talk to people depending on their status.”

“First of all, let’s start with people and their social status. People fall under different cliques or groups, whatever you may wanna call it. Many factors could induce an individual to fall into a certain group.”

“In your world, people can be separated based on caste, religion, financial status, familial status, marital status, educational background, etcetera. Let’s take a simple and relatable example. Based on wealth, society is divided into high-class, middle-class, and lower-class. There are subdivisions for them as well. For instance, a person earning around a hundred thousand dollars a year could be considered a higher middle-class, while a person earning around ten-thousand dollars a year could be said to be a member of lower-middle-class society. You might think that it’s easy to classify people in terms of wealth, but that isn’t true at all, we are just taking a scenario and judging how the ‘society’ would judge that person.”

“Consider, the person earning ten-thousand dollars a year is a single man in his twenties. Society will accept him because he can easily live with that much money. However, what if the same person gets married and has a child, but his salary remains the same? Now, the way society looks at him is completely different. You guys are intelligent enough to know the difference, so let’s skip that.”

“You might be thinking that this is quite complicated, but trust me, this is the tip of the iceberg. We just talked about wealth, which is one of the easiest ways to classify a person. Now, what about religion? What about the educational background? Everybody has different opinions and everybody looks at these topics quite delicately, but even so, people pride themselves in being a member of a certain societal clique. I say pride themselves, but there are many more people who condemn and criticize themselves because they are a part of a social group that is looked down upon or denounced.”

“Since we have gained some insight on this topic, allow me to focus on the social situation of our world.”

“In our world, people are categorized into eight major groups, classes, statuses, or whatever. There are numerous divisions and cliques in those eight groups but you’ll understand them when you enter the society yourself. For now, just listen and understand, let’s keep all the questions for later.”

“First. Soldiers… Knight, warrior, protector, and many more names are given to this group but the essence of it remains with the term ‘soldier’. A person who is enlisted in the army and vows to protect the nation. Many types of people come under this category and they are fairly respected. Of course, higher-ranked soldiers are respected while the lower-ranked ones are not, that's the truth of society.”

“Second. Merchants… Businessman, trader, dealer, etcetera. A person who is heavily involved with the market and economical situation of a certain country, or sometimes, many countries depending on the prowess of the merchant. Connection with a high-ranking and influential merchant is always a good thing since the benefits can be enormous depending on the nature of the said merchant.”

“Third. Farmers… I don’t think I need to delve too deep into this. A person who is involved with the agricultural scene is called a farmer. I assume the first thing you thought of must be the poor farmers working in the field tirelessly. Though that image isn't wrong, it only implies to the lower-class farmer society, with middle and higher-ranked farmers being much more than what they seem.”

“Fourth. Nobles… Yes. It’s exactly what it sounds like. Nobles or noble houses are the ones who have a direct blood relation with the leader of a country. In very rare cases, however, normal houses may be awarded a low-tier noble title for certain outstanding accomplishments. This is a very rare case since most of the strength is concentrated among the noble clans. A noble clan retains its status as long as the ruling power doesn't get overthrown, and thus, continue to enjoy the benefits even with no accomplishments to speak of, also, you didn't hear that from me.”

“Fifth. Followers… Followers are priests in the Samahdi. Among all of the groups, only followers can stand toe-to-toe with the nobles in terms of superiority. Not everybody can become a follower. Yes, there are billions of people and Sahmadhis to accommodate them, even so, not anybody can assume the role of a follower since there are very strict criteria for becoming one. An average person has a chance to become a follower, but they will never be able to advance in the ranks and become influential.”

“Sixth. Philosophers… I say philosopher, but it’s entirely different from the philosopher you know of. It’s just that there isn’t a word in Japanese vocabulary that can correspond with the name of this group. Philosophers are people associated with teaching, learning, researching, enhancing, advancing, etcetera. They are basically like scholars. I fall under this category myself, though I am of very high status and have considerable influence in the philosopher's community.”

“Seventh. Commoners… Peasants, workers, people of poor birth, bottomfeeders, etcetera. While Followers and Noble reign at the top of the social strata, Commoners inarguably lick the dirt off of their soles. Most of the servants, most of the beggars, most of the low-wage workers, all fall into this category. They can barely sustain themselves, scrounging for every bit of food they can find. Out of the fifteen-billion people on our planet, more than half of the population falls in this category. Not just our world, in your world as well, the strong and wealthy suppress the weak and poor. That’s just the way it is.”

“Eighth. Mercenaries…. Hunters, bandits, robbers, assassins, etcetera. All of these fall under this category. They have the strength but do not have the patriotism. These people mostly work for money but are respected in society since their kind can come in handy and be used by the rich to achieve their goals.”

“As I said, these eight are only the major groups. All the people in our world can’t be categorized in these right groups. And even in these eight groups, there is a large contrast among those who are at the top and those who are at the bottom.”

“Let’s delve a bit deeper into this topic and learn more about these groups and their characteristics before learning the etiquettes and mannerisms you must follow.”

...

The twentieth Day after the students entered the mansion.

“Shainaq, so, you are telling me that Australia doesn’t exist here? Didn’t you say that our worlds were seventy-percent similar in geographical structure?”

“Misaki, don’t twist my words around, I never said that Australia doesn’t exist. I merely said that it hasn’t been discovered. When I came back from your world, I was honestly startled that we haven’t discovered a whole continent even after sending so many ships in the vast oceans. The result was that the ships just can’t enter the area around Australia. Their report stated that there was a consistent storm that wouldn’t let them pass. They lived in the middle of nowhere for one year with an empty wish that the storm would clear up, but it never did.”

“Oh, is that so?”

...

The tenth Day after the students entered the mansion.

“Aki, I am frustrated. I can’t bear it anymore.”

“Yeah, I can understand, but what can we do.”

“What do you mean by, ‘I can understand’, huh? You can’t. They have no proper underwear. The only thing vaguely similar to underwear is the cloth we get to wrap around our hips to cover our crotch and rear. And they don’t have bras! I didn’t mind it that much for the first three-four days since I felt relaxed and free, however, now I remember why bras were even a thing in our world... I. CAN’T. JUMP.”

“Yes, yes, Chisa, please calm down first. You could just wrap your chest like those female warriors from T.V. Breast binding, I think it was cal-”

Slap

“It’s truly a great conundrum.”

...

The twenty-fifth day after the students entered the mansion.

“No, no, that isn’t correct Aki-kun. In my opinion, the environment has more of an effect than [Lord’s Blessing] does.”

“I disagree. If that was the case, then tigers and lions in our world would have already devoured the human species before it’s transformation into a superior race.”

“Well… That’s true. However, it’s also true that the environment has a major influence on the genetic makeup of the said species. Also, the species’ [Lord’s Blessing] compatibility and [Lord’s Blessing] manipulation abilities.”

“Yes, yes, without a doubt. The animal and plant life on this planet is completely different from ours, but at the same time, it is quite similar as well. And not just animals and plants, in certain scenarios, even the humans of our two planets are very different. It’s truly interesting.”

“I second that sentiment, Aki-kun. Physics, chemistry, biology, and even mathematics. All that we learned in our world for the sole purpose of passing the exams and getting a job can now be practically applied with the presence of [Lord’s Blessing].”

“Now I somehow understand why these people are treating us so well. They are aware of our potential and want to use us somehow. I assume that if the group that was summoned was of comparatively stupid people, they wouldn’t have been treated the same way as us. It’s like we are being fed and nurtured as sheep, only to be placed on a guillotine later on.”

“Aki-kun, please don’t say that. Look, Akio and Nikki are trembling.”

“Hahaha~ Sorry, sorry, Manaha-san, Ayuzawa-san, and Arashiro-san as well. I am not saying that this has to be the truth, I am just stating it as a possibility considering the treatment we’re receiving. If they didn’t have an important role for us to play, they wouldn’t have been ready to invest so many resources in us.”

“Yup. I can’t refute that. I just hope that the worst doesn’t come to pass. Shainaq has been keeping us in the dark about many things. The only questions he answers are those related to public knowledge and such. He refuses to answer any question which revolves around our presence in this world.”

“Hmm…”

...

Thirty-three days after the students entered the mansion.

“I believe that you all have a basic understanding of our culture and proceedings. Having said that, nobody will rebuke you for behaving in an unprecedented way since they all are aware of your situation.”

“Now, let’s go to the capital of North Gliblici. The sole metropolitan city in our country, Rahan."