I wasn't sure of exactly what was going on. All I knew, at the moment, was the fact that I wasn't at home. I wasn't on that concrete platform, and I was surrounded by people just as confused as myself. Life had taken the fastest 180 I'd ever seen and I wasn't quite sure if I was even alive right now. Purgatory? Hell? I knew without a doubt it wasn't heaven, though. There was the odor of feces in the air, and the cobble street under my hands was caked with dirt. Several people were gasping for air behind me. Others were gagging and retching at the new air around them. I'd already gotten that out of my system. When I had finished catching my breath, I looked around. We were... somewhere. In a building, I think. I managed to rise to my feet unsteadily and propped myself against the nearest wall, still trying to expunge the rancid taste of vomit on my tongue. I shuddered.

It took several minutes of everyone collecting themselves before people started standing up, mostly men first, with women scattered in that mix. Another ten minutes and my legs were getting tired, so I sat down again. I took a shuddered breath as I held my head in my hands and curled up. This was too much... why me? Random my ass, this had to be because I didn't tip the pizza-delivery person wasn't it! You assholes!

"Excuse me?" Someone called out, sounding rather weak and familiar. I turned. And I saw. And boy was I was glad I did. There was a face I knew, which sounded almost impossible all things considered. Out of everyone on the planet, there was someone I knew.

"Amapola!" I returned jovially. A smile broke on my face and I could see the relief wash over her. With everything that was going on right now, I was just happy to know I wasn't dead, the vomit made sure I knew that. But knowing I had a friend here too? Everything was suddenly looking up.

She was the same Amapola I knew a couple of months ago before she moved to Canada. Short build, maybe around 1.4 meters tall, black hair down to the middle of her back, and pretty brown eyes. She was the picture of "petite and sweet". Some people would judge my tastes in women when I said that she was my type. But to be honest, I didn't care. She was absolutely adorable.

Lost in thought for a while, I suddenly remembered that this wasn't Earth.

"You wouldn't happen to know where we are, would you?" She shook her head, before perking up.

"That man, uh- F.S. said we were going to be on... eye-wapa ear-orc, didn't he? The planet, that is. I don't know anything else, though... sorry..."

"Hey, it's fine, I'm just as lost as you, honestly. I don't know if anyone else knows where we are, though. But... I don't quite know exactly what to do now. We're here, I can say that much, and we're alive as far as I know." Honestly, this was a seriously shit place to be right now, and I just wanted to sit down, close my eyes, and sulk in the corner. But there was no corner here. It was a round pillar of stone all the way around and about as tall as a three-story house.

I pat the ground next to me and Amapola sat down with me, hugging her knees to herself to make her as small as could be. She was too cute. Honestly, she was too cute.

Out in the throng of people that collected themselves, there was a prim looking man, wearing a suit with a suitcase at his side; a stereotypical businessman that looked high up in the corporate ladder. He fixed his tie in place and looked out over the people. Black, short, messy-yet-sophisticated hair that made him look like some sort of "main character" type of person, and stern grey eyes. His eyes seemed to be pulled backwards, looking like they'd been taped that way, giving them that sharp eagle-eyed look. All in all, he looked very stern, but also very calm.

I watched him look over the group of people slowly collecting themselves before he cleared his throat.

"Everyone!" He yelled, perhaps louder than he expected to, because even he was taken aback by the strength in his voice. He shook his head and continued as eyes were suddenly drawn to him. "If everyone remembers correctly, we were brought to this new place by some man known as 'F.S.', Yes?" He posed the question to everyone, and there was several "yeah" "yup" and "I'm scared" responses. He sighed in relief.

"Alright, then first things first, we should get a headcount!" He was calm, wasn't he? The only reason I was calm was because I knew someone here. Several people stood up seconds after he mentioned a headcount, and he began to tally up everyone.

"I count forty-three of us here, we're missing seven." He furrowed his brow. "Does anyone, by any chance, know anyone who was called and isn't here right now? Or their names? Who was called when?"

To my surprise, there was a bunch of people to speak up, but he ended up calling on a man who looked... average. That's all I could say about him. He was simply average. Black hair covered his face, he had brown eyes, an average body consisting of average muscles. He was simply average. I have no idea how I picked him out of the crowd of forty people, but I guess I did.

I closed my eyes, rubbing them. I had to remember what that man said about closing my eyes. I held them shut for a few seconds, and there appeared what I could only describe as a web-novel reader's wet dream which was thrown into a meat grinder.

A sight I saw whenever I read online books was shown right in front of me. A blue panel of information that I instantly remembered as the cliché "Status Screen", and a green one above it all that assured me I was in a safe location.

WELCOME, EPIPHANIUS BARNABY,

TO "Aiewapa Iriöq"

YOU ARE CURRENTLY INSIDE OF A SAFE LOCATION. DO NOT WORRY. LANGUAGE, AND LOCATION INFORMATION WILL BE GIVEN UPON REQUEST WHEN YOU ARE AWAKE. THIS IS ALL THE FRONTIER SYSTEM CAN OFFER AT THIS TIME.

Name Epiphanius Barnaby Title: None Age 25 Traits: - Sex Male - Class Spellsword Level: 0 Primary Soul-Sword Milestone: -- Secondary Book of Knowledge Quest: -- SKILL LIST Seeker of Knowledge

[E]

Your mind wanders to the places you haven't been, the places yet seen, and the knowledge not attained. A waste...

Your power as one who desires strength from the past leads you to the ruins which contain new and old knowledge, as well as weapons to assist in your growth.

Distance: 20km Radius (40km Diameter)

Cooldown: 1 Week

Duration: 4 Hours

Grasp The Soul

[E]

Your soul is your weapon. Call for it, and heed its lust for strength.

Summon your soul in the form of a weapon of your choice. As it grows stronger, it has a chance to grow an ego.

Summoning: 3 Seconds

Cooldown: None

Duration: Until broken or recalled.

Drawback: If broken, fall unconscious. If not recalled in 24 hours of summoning, experience Hysteria.

Pierce The Flesh

[E]

Wield the very might of the soul. Spread your strength like your wanderlust requires.

Your sword sends forth power beyond what a normal human can handle. Deal extra damage to creatures with flesh. However, if your body is not strong enough, you will experience backlash.

Cooldown: 15 Seconds

Effect: 1.75x Damage against enemies with flesh.

Requirement: A physically strong body.

Drawback: If requirement is not met, immediate physical damage is taken.

Tip: You are in a place where magic from the past is considered taboo, beware where you use you spells!

So, if I understood everything at the moment, from choosing my class, Spellsword, I basically assigned myself to being a wandering warrior. And the more I wandered... the stronger I got. Alright, that made sense. These skills weren't that bad either, I think. I looked around for the supposed Book of Knowledge I was told was my secondary weapon - like a book could be a weapon in an actual fight - and found it on my hip.

"I didn't know you were a reader." I looked to Amapola with a start, but her eyes were glued on my book.

"I'm not. It's something my class, Spellsword, gave me - speaking of, what's your class Amapola? Knowing you, you probably chose a class you think would help people, right?"

"A-Huh? Oh, my class." She closed her eyes for three seconds and I waited more for her to scan her class. I didn't see any weapons at first glance, but looking at her now, I see she has a swords hilt under her shirt and a... is that a crossbow? "I chose Witch Hunter. Apparently it's an umbrella term used to hunt all the bad things: Werewolves, witches, vampires, things like that..." That, completely went against what I thought she would choose. I thought she'd choose Cleric or something. That sounded like it would heal people at least, but Witchhunter? She must have seen my confusion and worry but assured me of herself.

"I'm not that bad at these things. I'm actually really into studying up on fantasy creatures - which gives me bonuses against supernatural enemies; like werewolves and witches, the more I study! So as long as I get books on them I'll be fine!" At least she was optimistic about it. Oh well, if she thought she could do it, she probably could. Well, it was good to know I had a Van Helsing on my side then.

Meanwhile, the procession the businessman was working on was seemingly coming to a close. Everyone thought he should be the leader, and those who didn't had formed... I want to say five groups. Someone finally asked a question I was about to.

"So... how do we leave this place?" And the moment they asked that, the circular walls receded around us, wrapping back to one point and pillar of stone, which should not have been physically possible. And then it vanished. The pillar of stone that was once the tower was gone. "Oh.... that's how..."

Instantly my mind wandered to the medieval setting we were thrust into. In the town square, I fell back onto the cobblestone road and looked around.

Within the area we suddenly were, there were screams, gasps, and then there was silence. People, seemingly human at first glance, were surrounding us. Hundreds of them. I gulped, and suddenly there was the rapid footfalls. I already have a bad feeling about this. And, wouldn't you know it, bursting through the crowd of onlookers appeared many people wearing, I think, leather. Some of them had bits of metal in places for more protection as well, those are the ones I assumed to be of higher ranks.

Swords were pointed at us, who were in a circle on the floor where the giant pillar was and I was already getting ready to make a run for it. The businessman, who at this point might as well be the leader of the group, walked towards the soldiers(?) with his hands in the air.

"Ruä!" One of the soldiers yelled, taking a heavy step forward with the face of his shield pointed to the man. He froze, and I could see the sweat shine on his neck. Then, as if it was natural, began to speak in a different language.

"Ovyeuyte dji deopa! Dapö oqiaä!" The knight flinched, probably hoping he wouldn't have to talk and could get this over with. "Dapö yliaä yteaä!

I whispered over to Amapola "You wouldn't... happen to know what he's saying, would you?" I looked to my side in hopes she was there to nod, but nope. She shook her head, which should have been expected. "Yeah I thought not..." Next thing I knew, there was three people up there. Two soldiers and the businessman, holding a conversation. He was probably explaining everything that was going on to them, and about our confusion. it seemed to be an extremely in depth conversation by the looks of it.

So, if my thoughts are right, he was one of the first three to open the system, and maybe that's why he's so calm. By that logic it would make sense why he can talk to them, that man F.S. said the first three to open it would get the ability to understand the language. Thankfully, it wasn't the first seven people who were sent somewhere else. Then what else could it be? Pure chance? Some prerequisite they had completed?

I groaned into my hands. Why was this such a pain to think about already. All we could do was watch and stew in our anxiety as soldiers stood stalwart and watched our group of forty three. I felt like crying. In the meantime, while they were talking, I looked at the book on my side. It was clasped in a binding like a cross with a buckle on the top. I undid that and pulled it free. Opening it I expected some in depth instructions on how to use the class or something, like a player manual.

I wasn't given that luxury. On the page in front of me, I saw a collection of symbols that I didn't understand. it looked like some random collection of unknowing yet cliché magic signs. There was a big circle in the center, a star, and between the areas of each point was a symbol. There was a silver lining, though, and that's that below that were the meanings for the symbols.

A flicker in the void

A crackle in the desolation

A howl in the fog

A bellow in the gloom

A weakness, exploited

Now what kind a fifth-grade edge lord shit is this? I was sure I had a less than pleasant face when looking at the meanings, but I didn't care. This was beyond stupid. Was I supposed to find more of these? I sighed. Flitting through more pages, I had hoped that I would be able to find more of pages in there, but there was only three very similar pages to the first one, but they hadn't told me what the symbols meant. I assumed the class thought I would memorize these meanings, or the signs at the least - that was a negative captain, my memory is terrible.

Clipping my book back into it's little storage area, I closed my eyes and looked at my skills again. Without much thinking, I opened my eyes and looked at my hands. The Grasp The Soul skill said a weapon of my choice, so did that include guns? I thought the skill, almost said the skill aloud, before I gripped my hand into a loose fist and thought about it again. I watched as purple particles formed in and around my hand before it slowly took the shape of... a blob of purple before it dispersed into the air.

Okay... no gun apparently. I focused on my hand again and this time imagined something simple: a sword. The purple motes of light formed between my fingers once more, fitting between them to form the handle, then the handguard which curved around my entire hand, before the blade appeared. Although blade might be an overstatement. The sword turned into a rapier, which meant it was more of an oversized needle than anything else. Narrowing my eyes, I focused even more, trying to get a proper image of a sword rather than just an idea. A sturdy handle with a curved-upward handguard. A long blade that has curved zig-zags as it reaches its apex.

A flamberge.

With a person who has a name like myself, I figured I might as well have a sword just as extra as my namesake. I tried to test how solid it was with simple things: a flick against the blunt side, pushing it against the cobble street and... that test scared me. By pushing it against the stone, I noticed that in its path, there was simply nothing. It carved through the stone like it was butter. I shuddered. What would this do to a person?

Pulling the sword out of the stone, I released my grip and it fell, only to go out in a small, contained burst of air as it touched my thigh. And I'm not proud about it... but it made me jump a bit.

Thankfully, it seemed nobody saw it happen.

The entire group of forty-two now, the suited man up talking with the probably-soldiers, all stood together, surprisingly. I expected one or two to move away, but it seemed they were all at least semi-rational. Looking to the other people surrounding our group, I kind of felt like a caged animal.

Stop looking... why are you staring? Stop...

I felt sick...

I wanted to curl up and ignore everything, but thankfully, Everything was hidden from me as I was embraced. Looking up, I saw Amapola's face above mine. "Ama-" She shut me up by putting a hand on my head. I let out a breath and closed my eyes. That's right... she was this kind of girl, wasn't she? Always so gentle. A few minutes later and I was calmed down. Pulling away I looked to the sky. It was pink, but it was still mid day. Rubbing my eyes, I looked to the conversation the leader and the knight were having. Sighing, I realized for the second time today I didn't understand a single thing they were saying. I knew earlier I wouldn't, but not understanding a conversation really sucks.

We all stayed put for an hour after that, the knights finally relaxing and standing at attention, weapons put away before the majority of them left. Five knights remained. The leader had gone somewhere a bit ago and people were going different directions instead of the square we were in, likely to avoid causing any trouble. I had struck up a conversation with Amapola over various things, mostly things about before we were teleported, before we died of boredom. We weren't given the luxury. Before I could even see what happened, the leader of our group had begun walking back to us with a strange look of worry, anger, and anxiety.

"Everyone..." He took a shaky breath, like I had when I almost had a panic attack after waking up here. "I've just been told that if we want to have any chance of living in this city, we need to either pay for citizenship... or become soldiers. And... since none of us have m-"

"Don't give me that shit!" A voice from the group yelled. The businessman narrowed his eagle-like eyes as he looked towards the groups feet. He felt bad already, leave him be. "You were supposed to negotiate for us! What the hell is this? You say you're the leader, and yet you're telling us that our only option is to fight? You're an... hey, who are y-" There was a resounding slap sound through the air and, looking at the group I belatedly noticed that Amapola had moved over and was the one who had, in fact, been the slapper. Oh damn...

"And who gave you the right to criticize him? He clearly did his best, and you didn't even offer an alternative! He negotiated because it was all he could do at the moment, did you expect us to fight off so many knights all at once? Are you stupid? Did your parents give birth to such an inbred piece of shit that your brain turned to shit before you were born?" Damn Amapola... go off! "And who the fuck even are you? You look like a hippy wannabe from some shitty anime, and to top it all off, you have the gall to complain without offering anything of value to the table? Look at you! You cockless, half-witted pulp of a chromosome deficient, inbred troglodyte fuckmuppet!"

Holy shit... Amapola went on and on for around five minutes before she finally took a breath. The businessman looked so much happier, the "hippy wannabe" that Amapola just emotionally ruined was about to burst a blood vessel in his head before she turned around and walked back to sit next to me. Apparently she broke them down enough they just began crying after a bit.

"Remind me not to make you angry..."

"Don't make me angry."

Nodding to that, we sat there for a bit. "So... we're gonna be soldiers, huh?"

"Yup, seems like it."

"Don't wanna?"

"Mmmh... Nope."

That settled that then. I used my first skill and led Amapola away. My eyes had this weirdly cool sensation wash over them, like eye-drops, as I led us out of the city. Thankfully, guards weren't a problem, and they just... let us through. It seemed they were only inspecting carriages. The closest... ruin, I think, is ten kilometres away. So if Amapola didn't bring anything, we'd have to hunt for food. I was semi-confident I could be good at it, but Amapola was the one with the crossbow.

"So, where we heading Ephy?"

"Advent- AGHAHH Don't pinch my sides!"