"I am truly happy that most of you accepted my invitation, friends. I think we will be able to entertain ourselves quite a bit in this upcoming journey." - the creature, while having an obscured face, has a very happy tone to its voice.

"Now, some of you might be thinking, what is this place? What are we supposed to do then? I will answer those questions for you, eventually."

"Can I ask a question?" - a man named Gijs interrupts.

"Of course."

"Are you a God?'

"Ahahahah!" - the creature starts laughing, as his powerful voice echoes through the chamber.

"Truly, I might appear to some of you as powerful, maybe even as a Creator, but that is not the case. I indeed possess the ability to infiltrate other worlds, but I am far, far from the powers that a true Creator holds. I am sorry to disappoint you there. But, that does not mean that I cannot offer you help and protection in one way or another, however, what lies in front of you are challenges that you will overcome yourselves."

"Nick, is this the world of Estravis?" - Christopher asks.

"No, it is not. In fact, Estravis is indeed a plot of my imagination, and some things that I have put in there are inspired by events of this world. That information might help you."

"But there is magic, other races, kingdoms?"

"Yes. However, do not think that your knowledge of playing games or reading fictional books will greatly assist you. The reality is much crueler than some of the puny human minds could imagine."

"And remember," - the creature looks around all of the people -"While there are miracles of healing and resurrection, the threat of pain and death is always present. As much as I can do is not enough to shield you at all times. Of course, if some of you do not wish to improve, become stronger and explore, then you are always welcome to stay at this place. You will always have food, servants, luxuries, but eventually, you will be nothing more than a noble. If at some point, you wish to retire, I, Ornthalas, promise to provide you shelter."

"Can we see the rest of your place?"

"Only if you are planning to stay here, for now. And I won't be the one showing you around here, because it is not worth weeks of my time touring you around."

"Weeks?!" - some people gasped in unison.

"Yes, weeks. Through many, many years have I managed to establish this castle. I am not ashamed to invite guests, like you, to see my home, and that warms my heart. But, that is a talk we can have later on. I do have some things I need to attend to, so I will try to be as quick as I can. I hope you all will listen carefully." - the whole room grows silent, people quickly finish their meals and intently listen in.

"Now then, there are millions upon millions of different sources of power, strength, and knowledge that my mind can only think of, however, I can provide you with information on some of them, and explain the brief structure of those you are interested in. You can assume this as a 'character class' if that suits you better. There are creatures that study the very structure of the mind and soul of living beings and use that to manipulate them. These ones spend hundreds, sometimes thousands of years in seclusion, training to control their own body and manipulate their souls to enhance their physical abilities. Many people refer to them as 'Soulguards', but, for the ease of your comprehension, you can refer to them as 'Monks'. I highly suggest you start learning the common dialect as well, since if you call a Soulguard a Monk, they might be greatly offended, making you trouble. And again, I could go rambling about this topic for a long time, which I don't have. So I will be blunt. If anyone is interested in learning the arts of Soulguards, raise your hand."

After a bit of thinking, three people raised their hands. Christopher, Steph, and Ernesto respectively.

Christopher is a man heavily tempered by fantasy and games, and, while appearing slightly obese, this Norwegian man is putting great interest into what is going on around him.

Steph, a very young girl from the Netherlands, for the most part, seemed to be generally uncomfortable, but also put some interest into everything.

Ernesto, on the other hand, a fit man from the Netherlands, seems to be just enjoying his own time, talking with some of the people he knows, like Martin, and Mohaned from the UK and Liam from the Netherlands.

Interestingly enough, as the three of them look at each other, they seem to some-what recognize each-other. Christopher awkwardly waves at the other two.

"Good, good, more than I thought. You should be ready to temper both your mind and body, as my subordinates are ruthless, and will not let you go off easily. Once we are done here for today, I will assign you. Is that clear?"

"Yeah." - Ernesto replied.

"And, of course, I can see the shine in your bright eyes to learn about 'Magic', as you call it. While it is indeed a power source, it is by far not the easiest to grasp and learn. Only the sharpest of minds and the most dedicated followers of Knowledge can become students in manipulating such arts. The core structure, alongside with ancient formulas, incantations, components make up the majority of this. I will not ramble upon the different sources of Arcane, however, if any of you are generally interested in this path, raise your hands."

At this point, nine of the eighteen unassigned people raise their hands. Mons from Norway, Joao from Portugal, Mohaned from the UK, Dima from Russia, Kyrian from the Netherlands, Nick from the UK, Josh from the UK, Liam from the Netherlands, and Ville from Finland. They all look at each other, mostly recognizing one another.

"Of course you want to be a mage, Mons..." - Christopher says.

"Why would I not be one? I want to see how you Monk-boy will do against my magic." - Mons chuckles.

Dima, the man from Russia, is generally looking confused, as he seems to understand everybody's speech, but doesn't speak himself. From the ones that raised their hands, a group consisting of Nick, Kyrian, Mons, Joao, and Ville has been formed. Mohaned, Liam, Dima, and Josh formed the other.

"Good, good. I know some of you are indeed sharp in mind, but your true flaws will be revealed soon enough. And remember, your strength is formed by your talent and determination, not by the difference in skill paths. I would also like to believe that some of you have acquired some form of belief in your hearts, thus I present to you the path of Divine if you are willing to take it. It will require your absolute dedication to tradition, oaths, and religion, following the path of whom your belief follows. If it helps, the strongest beings out there are forged by Divine magic. If you are willing, raise your hand."

A moment passes, nobody raises their hand.

"Truly disappointing, but I cannot force you. Maybe along with your many paths, you will find enough belief to support a different decision." - the creature lowers its head in shame.

"Now, there are others in the realm of martial arts and brute force that we refer to as 'Cultivators'. While they are similar in the sort to Soulguards in manipulation their own bodies, the process and results differ completely. As to what exact difference, you will know in time. Anyone interested?"

Six people raise their hands. Stheffen from Norway, Matej from the UK, Andrea from Italy, Martin from the UK, Zion from the UK and Gijs from the Netherlands. They all respectively look at each other, mostly with recognition.

"I look forward to seeing the six of you meddle in such arts. Now, as I have mentioned before, there are many, many other occupations and sources of power out there, and I am not inclined to tell you about all of them. The three of you remaining, are you wishing to stay at this place? Are there truly no other desires?" - the creature angrily looks at the remaining group.

The three of them immediately have a cold chill run down their spines, TJ from the UK, Alex and Shade from Denmark.

"Woah Woah dude, chill. I just don't know what the fuck I want to do yet..." -TJ says.

"Can I be a Warlock?" - Shade continues.

"While I do not want to force you into anything, I highly suggest that, if you wish to become a 'Warlock' as you say, I do not wish to see you near my home ever again. While joking is fine, seriously dealing and bargaining with powerful creatures is not a righteous affair. The most I can do is appoint you to the 'Magic' group, and you can inquire from your teacher about it."

"Ok... got it."

"A DK, maybe? Is that a thing?" - Alex says.

"Same thing as I told Shade."

"Ok then..."

"Now, now then." - as the creature continues "I really hope to see how you all progress in your respective training. We will see each other and talk again soon enough, but I will take my leave now. And again, a warm welcome to you all, friends." - the creature slowly stands up and leaves the room, accompanied by the echoing sound of the large opening wooden doors.

"Holy shit, this is insane"

"So many mages, not gonna lie."