Before, I’d been the most ridiculous looking person among the Heroes. Now, after completely changing into my new attire, I was still the most ridiculous looking Hero! Royals of this particular empire sure loved the color blue. That wasn’t surprising, considering that it was the color of their ruler’s hair. I was wearing a bona fide prince raiment—cerulean and chic. The leggings were rather comfortable, as well as the underpants that the servant girl had pulled up on me without any shyness. Red, green, and yellow precious stones decorated my tunic, alongside golden laces and epaulets. Or was it really some other metal that just looked like gold? I couldn’t be too sure, as this material had a more intense luster and barely noticeable hue of red. Just like Derryx’s cloak.

I wonder if the other earthlings would believe that I’m a prince if I stood at the emperor’s side? Nah, no one in their family has black hair and gray eyes.

“You look great, Hero Jesse,” the emperor praised, with a believable sincerity. “I’d even go as far as to say that you look almost worthy of my daughter. But only almost.”

Redion chuckled as Christinia playfully punched him on the shoulder, her face red like a tomato. The father and daughter sure were close to each other. But something still didn’t feel right about them. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something was off. That was my intuition as someone experienced with people.

“Thank you, Your Majesty,” I replied, but without bothering with a bow. The emperor didn’t seem to mind, as he was already eager to start his lecture. Perhaps the guy had a dream of being a teacher instead of a monarch.

“With that out of the way, let me start,” Redion said enthusiastically. “Aethelrend is different from your world, as you’ve probably already noticed. Here, people can gain magical powers and supernatural abilities. Well, they are supernatural for you, as far as I know. For us, they are just a part of everyday life. Of course, not everyone can do what I can. I don’t want to brag, but I’m the strongest person in my Empire. That is a part of what makes me a worthy ruler, but only a part.”

Everyone attentively listened to the emperor, me included. The more I understood how this different world worked, the more options I had. Actually, Lisa—the shy girl at the corner of our group—held a notebook in her hands and made notes with her pencil. Had she been kidnapped while doing her homework?

“The source of everything in our world is Aether—an invisible energy encompassing everything. Only Deities and Gods can manipulate it directly, as for the rest of us, we can Saturate our Souls with Aether as a result of our actions. Then, it can be transformed into Vis, or Mana. For that, you’d need either a Vis Heart or a Mana Core. We, humans, have both, unlike some other races. But they must be Awakened, first. . .”

And on he went, telling us how there were many different ways to Awaken a person, humans in particular. It could happen by accident, as a response to a particularly dangerous situation or emotional outbreak. Or it could be safely done by consuming an Awakening Potion, which was extremely costly for the average person. Or, you could Awaken after completing a special training routine that would push your body to its limits. Anyway, none of these methods would be used by us—the Chosen Heroes. Instead, we just needed to touch the Obelisk of Lesser Divinity that, not coincidentally, had been floating near the ceiling at the center of the royal hall ever since our arrival. In fact, its help had been used to summon us in the first place.

“Vis is an energy of one’s body that grants physical powers, while Mana is an energy of one’s mind that grants the ability to use magic,” Reiden explained. “Each Vis Heart has an Aspect representing various living forms, each Mana Core has an Element representing forces of nature and laws of universe. Aspects and Elements are graded based on their Rarity. They can be Common, Uncommon, or Rare. As you advance your Stages and follow the Way, though, you can further transform your Aspects and Elements into Ultra Rare, Unique, Epic, even Legendary Rarity Aspects or Elements. The four Common Aspects are Beast, Insect, Bird, and Fish. The four Common Elements are Fire, Earth, Air, and Water. The more rare an Aspect or Element is, the more mysterious and powerful they are, but, at the same time, the harder they are to train. For you, though, that shouldn’t be a problem.”

I gave a passing glance to the other Heroes. Some, like Keira, were trying to hold back their yawns. Some, like Merlin, had sparkling eyes. I could relate to both types.

Redion continued, “As Chosen Heroes summoned here from your planet Earth, that has no Aether at all, your ability to Saturate it is unprecedented, allowing you to follow the Way faster than anyone else, advancing Stages effortlessly. Each Stage is a step in the development of your Vis Hearts and Mana Cores—yes, plural. Because, unlike humans native to Aethelrend, you Heroes have two of the each.”

“Wow!” Merlin gasped. Learning that he had twice as many sources of power made him even more excited than he had already been. Perhaps that boy was the easiest person to manipulate for the emperor. I could bet that he would throw himself at deadly monsters if you told him that it would make him a better mage.

“Bronze, Steel, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Mithril, Orichalcum, Adamantium, Etherium,” the emperor said slowly, giving a stronger emphasis to the last two words. “Those are both the metals of our land and the Stages of a Vis Heart or Mana Core. I am an Adamantium Paragon, which means both my Vis Heart and Mana Core have reached this stage. Sir Noiren is an Adamantium Paladin, meaning that only his Vis Heart is on this Stage. Dyrrex is an Orichalcum Archmage, his Mana Core a step away from Adamantium. Most of the Dark Lords are of the same Stage as me, but I really have a very low chance of defeating any of them on my own. To make the matters worse, some Dark Lords have reached the Etherium Stage, giving them an almost unstoppable level of power.”

So he’s kind of a big deal, but still a weakling compared to our real enemies? He’s really not a good politician if he’s ready to reveal this sort of information without even being asked. Though his opponents are a bunch of teenagers and losers, so that’s not a big deal. They’re just glad to feel oh-so-special that even an emperor could only rely on their help.

And sure enough, none of the Heroes seemed too concerned about their future confrontation against beings of legends that could put even the superhuman emperor and his knight to shame. The reality of their situation hadn’t hit them just yet. Or they were just a special type of human who had no common sense. Probably both.

“I Awakened my powers when I was fifteen, after that it took me fifty-six years to reach Adamantium,” Redion revealed a rather surprising truth—no one thought him being older than forty. But his next words were even more shocking, “Now, I’m ninety-eight, I’ve spent twenty-seven years as an Adamantium Paragon and I know for a fact that I’ll never reach the next Stage, Etherium. You, though? You’re different. Each of you should catch up to me in ten years. And when you do, even the strongest Dark Lords would be afraid to confront you.”

Honestly, I really doubted that last part. And if it were true that we’d be stronger than our enemies soon enough, that would also mean that he would have no power to resist us, either. What would stop us from taking over his country or killing him? Other earthlings, though, were more concerned about another matter altogether.

Seeing our reactions, the emperor chuckled, “I see that most of you are more bewildered about my age than about your own potential. Some showed disbelief when I claimed that Nia is my wife and mother of Chris. But there’s nothing unusual about that. As you advance in Stages, your body and mind change, becoming closer to perfection. A human-born Adamantium Paragon like me can live for four, even five hundred years. This number will be at least twice as high for you, Heroes, unless. . .”

“Unless?” Merlin asked with anticipation. Why was a teenager so interested in extended lifespan, for god’s sake? He would be lucky if he wasn’t killed by those Dark Lords in the next ten years!

Redion made a pause and his gaze passed by each of us, most Heroes eager to hear what he had to say next. “Unless,” he said solemnly, “you overwhelm your limits and reach the Etherium Stage, achieving biological immortality.”

“Wow!” more than one Hero exclaimed.

“Wait, wait, wait,” I interrupted the overly-enthusiastic crowd with the voice of reason. “So, where are the immortal Heroes of the past generations now? Or had none of them reached Etherium? Or were they all killed? You’ve mentioned that some Dark Lords have reached this Stage as well.”

The emperor frowned for but a moment, before answering me, “I see that Hero Jesse has a good head on his shoulders. Indeed, some Heroes of the past have reached Etherium. And some of them are alive to this day. For the time being, let’s say that those Heroes, after fulfilling their duties, left Aethelrend for other worlds at some point. A few of them chose to return to their home, Earth. Others, Ascended to higher dimensions in a hope to become Deities. That’s all that I can tell you for the time being.”

So their saviors didn’t like it here, huh? I thought with doubt. And why do they need to repeat the Summoning if the Heroes are so strong and always win? Why were they unable to get rid of Dark Lords for good?

I’d have totally liked to ask the emperor some inconvenient questions, but I didn’t forget how he’d slashed at me with his lightning blade. Even if that was just him showing off his power to us, I was sure that a part of it was just pure intimidation. Though subtle, there was still some hostility towards me. Or was I overthinking things?

After giving us a couple of minutes to absorb everything he’d told us, Redion clapped his hands to get our attention. “Now that you, our Chosen Heroes, know that you’re fighting for a just cause and that there’s no limit to your potential, I think it’s time for us to proceed to the most important part of our meeting today. . .”

“C-could it be?!” Merlin exclaimed, jumping up from his seat.

“Yes, Hero Merlin, you guessed it right,” Redion smiled, showing off his perfect white teeth. “Let’s start the Awakening!”