I could feel my body twitch out of unconsciousness as I began to awake from what felt like a deep slumber. I felt an abundance of joint pains too. Everything hurt, actually, leaving me in a slightly confused panic as my vision made an attempt at becoming clear.

“Oh! It seems like he’s finally starting to awaken.”

Yet, before I could even get a proper grasp of myself, a gentle voice came from fairly near me—and with it—I could also hear several others murmuring all around me. As I slowly regained my vision, my eyes met with another blue sky. This time though, seemingly through a translucent ceiling that looked as if it were positioned underneath massive trees as the branches towered over almost everything.

Mm? Geez, my body feels heavier than usual. And it hurts! Why in the world do I suddenly hurt all over the place?!

“Oh! Don’t try and move around too much, please. I’ve heard that the summoning ritual can be exhausting on the one being summoned after all. Do not worry though, we already have a room prepared for you.”

As that same trance-like voice spoke such, two hand claps followed for a reason beyond what I could currently grasp. Regardless, I couldn’t care much for it as I tried to instead make sense of her words prior instead.

Summoned? What is she... Wait. Wasn’t I supposed to be teleported?! I’m sure that’s what that Goddess said, right? Did something go wrong?!

“Mm!”

“Princess!!”

I suddenly propelled myself forward in an upright position, and in doing so, it had caused a young woman near me to stumble backward. And as she did, she in turn let out a particularly cute and muffled noise that was accompanied by a separate shout from another. I was unable to focus on either of them for too long as an intense stream of pain flowed through me in response to my sudden movement.

“Ouch!! Tsk. Ah, that was definitely the wrong thing to do. Definitely... Hm?”

A single glance over my surroundings gave birth to a newfound swelling of fear as a frightening scene entered my vision. Several men were brandishing what seemed like long swords—all focusing the tips of their weapons in my direction.

Huh?! Did I get teleported—or summoned—just to die again?! Dammit, what exactly is going on here?!

“Please! Sheathe your weapons this instant! It’s an inexcusable act, and I won’t allow for such a display of senseless disrespect to go unpunished if continued. I never gave such a tactless order!”

“Princess! We still don’t even know this man’s alignment yet! It’s too dangerous to just ignorantly assume that he’ll be on our side! That caution stands to double due to him being a human as well!”

“A human...?”

That single word escaped my mouth as I then gave their appearance a more detailed inspection. They held an appearance resembling humans, yet one distinct feature stood out and differed. They seemingly all had sharp, pointy ears. It was only then I finally realized where exactly I had potentially ended up.

They’re Elven? That must mean...that this is the southeastern part of Cretho? Out of all the places to end up... The Outer Region.

Cretho was a peninsular country that was split into three total regions. The first being the Upper, that separated the two countries with shaky ties—Cretho and Isluna. Due to this, a large part of Cretho’s military was stationed there. The second was the Central, primarily composed of villages and cities, including Cretho’s capital, Nefra. Around 95% of Cretho’s population resided here, excluding its soldiers. And the last was the Outer, which had been labeled as a “no-man’s land” due to the viciousness of the monsters that claimed and roamed the region. It was a place with an abundance of forests and mystic qualities that hid beyond the southern mountain ranges of Cretho.

That being said, players already knew that it was also the home of the hidden Elven race and its city, Dormou, amongst other things.

That explains why they’re so on edge then. The Elven have always held an unbreakable distrust toward other races. You even needed a certain certificate to even gain access to this city in MO. So Dormou, huh? I guess I better try and ease their concerns the best I can.

Lifting my hands up, slowly, I could feel a dozen of piercing glances toward my sudden movement.

“Ah, I may be human, but I don’t mean you all any harm. You said earlier that you summoned me, is that correct? I’d like to ask you some questions and exchange a bit of information, if possible? My name is Ara—my name is Albel.”

Hearing this, the guards seemingly relaxed the intensity of their stares and aggressive postures. The young woman, who was near the guard that shouted earlier, then turned my way and quickly shortened the gap between us. As she gave a short and proper bow, one befitting of her dignified demeanor, she spoke up enthusiastically in contrast.

“Mm! It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Sir Albel. My name is Marna, the First Princess of Dormou. We will be happy to answer any and all question you may have.”

❖

We had changed locations from what was explained to me as the roof of the Elven Castle, and now, we were in one of the dining areas. A few guards remained posted near the doors while several maids were tasked with bringing in some refreshments. I had asked them if we could discuss everything first, but the First Princess—Marna, insisted that I should rest instead. We then came to this middle ground, somehow, which was to eat and chat.

It’s not like I would have been able to rest anyways.

During our walk from the rooftop, I was able to uncover a few things about my current situation. First and foremost, I was indeed now in the body of Albel. From the black hair, to the stature and build—it was definitely the character I had created. Secondly, I was able to even pull up my own status menu and inventory, which further convinced me that I was definitely in the same world of Aerith from MO.

Name: [Albel]

Rank [Human]

Level: [60 (MAX)], [N/A]

Class: [Divination/Wizard]

—SUB: [N/A]

Alignment: [Chaotic Good]

INFO:

Unique SKILL - [Extra Class]

Titles - [Goddess' Token],

[The Diviner]

Or at the very least, I think so?

A single glance at my status only furthered my current puzzlement. There isn’t any difference in accessible information when using the [Investigate] skill on yourself or others versus accessing your own status menu. You’ll be presented with the same information depending on the level of your [Investigate]. However, if you were to use [Investigate] on a monster, the INFO changes. If a monster has a title, it would be displayed alongside their name—whereas the player’s titles—would be shown in INFO.

Looking at my own status, a few things were different than normal as well. I didn’t have a single clue on what the title, Goddess’ Token, was or implied. On top of that, the Unique SKILL hadn’t been there before either. That also included the additional open slot in my Level and a SUB category.

I’m going to have to give it some more thought later.

Having to push it aside for the meantime, we then had finally arrived in the dining area. Ever since then, we’ve been sitting in this quiet and intense atmosphere. Well, at least for myself. The Princess had adamantly argued in favor of waiting on refreshments first before we could even get into our discussion. I was actually starting to feel a tad bit awkward though.

“Um, Princess Marna...”

“Marna.”

She immediately replied back before allowing me another word.

“Huh?”

“Just call me Marna, please, Sir Albel.”

“Ah, well, Marna. Do we really have to wait until—?”

“Of course we do!”

Marna had quickly voiced her desire once more without holding back, startling me in the process.

“There’s no way we can have a proper chat without any sweets! I won’t allow it.”

“Ahaha, I see...”

She held a slight pout now as she insisted on us waiting. I could only breathe a momentary sigh as I internally began to rush the staff’s service.

At the very least, come back already, maids! Please!

Most of all, I could feel the piercing gaze from another individual in whom didn’t seem to be too accepting of my presence still. It was the same guard who had spoken up in caution about me earlier. Marna had introduced him as Vaalyun, an Elven official—of Captain ranked—who was also her personal guard. He simply ignored me after that without sparring me a second word, but that only extended to just that—speaking to me. Glaring was still his preferred choice for passive confrontation apparently.

I just wish he’d do the same here. She told me not to mind him too much, but this guy has been staring potentially into my soul this whole time. Or at the very least, he’s definitely attempting to figure out whether it’s possible to do so or not!

I sat still with sweat drops seemingly forming at my brows, and finally, the maids reentered the dining room shortly after. Several small carts filled to the brim with a variety of different confectioneries had arrived. Marna immediately leapt to her feet and picked at several of them in succession. Not a single person, besides myself, blinked an eye to her swift movement. Taking a few onto a small plate—with a small bite here and there—she walked back to her seat.

Well, if they don’t care, I don’t see a reason for me to care either. Probably better that way.

We had only spent a very, very small amount of time together, and yet, I could already form an idea about Marna based on those around her. She was a beauty that moved at her pace. Seemingly my own age, if not younger, yet hard to tell since she was of Elven blood.

Marna had gorgeously well-kept and light pink hair that made its way down to her the waist of her light blue and white garments. Her middle bangs sank down to her nose, and yet, you could still clearly see her mesmerizing golden eyes. Ones that had caught me a bit off guard earlier. She had shared similar eyes to that of the Goddess, Eve.

“Mmkay! Met’s sho!”

In between a few bites, Marna decided to happily and suddenly spew a line of gibberish. I couldn’t understand even slightly at what she was getting at.

“Hm? What was that exactly...?”

“The Princess said to go on and start the discussion, human. So, ask your questions already.”

The scowling man near her responded for her without hiding or even making an attempt at ceasing his blaring dislike of me for a single second.

I think you’re hearing something completely different than myself, Captain Vaalyun, but okay. As long as I can find out about what I want to know. I just wonder if I’ll understand her replies...

“Ah, understood. Well, firstly, I was wondering about a comment you made earlier. The one about me being summoned here.”

“Munch. Munch.”

As I glanced in Marna’s direction, she didn’t even seem to be listening at all.

Is the food really more interesting than someone YOU summoned?! If that’s the case, we really should have just had this discussion before the food came...

“Indeed. We preformed the ritual in order to summon an Effigy. One that could and would assist us.”

Once again, Captain Vaalyun answered for her.

“I see, I can understand the ritual part, but what do you mean by Effigy?”

“For centuries, the Elven have claimed ownership over the Divination arts. In doing so, we’ve been able to establish a safe environment for us to flourish in. Away from humans, and to prevent atrocities where possible.”

Captain Vaalyun declared this without even answering my initial question. And before I could respond, another voice spoke up.

“Mm! And I’m sure hearing that would only make you further question the reason why we would need an Effigy—a hero, yes?”

Her mouth was seemingly a vortex and her stomach—a bottomless pit. It was if she had completely swallowed everything whole at a record pace, as several small plates sat near her side of the table. Even so, her face and demeanor had mellowed out into a more regal look—one now befitting of the title of First Princess.

In response, I lingered on her words as another train of thought passed in a moment of silence.

So, an Effigy is basically a hero? So, heroes exist in this world? I still don’t understand how I was even summoned to begin with. That aura that the Goddess wrapped me in, was that not her teleporting me here? Should I just tell them that?

In the case where they’ve failed the summon at the same time I was teleported; it could mean that I wasn't the Effigy—the hero—they were expecting. In the event where they’ve summoned an Effigy to counter some sort of imminent war with another race, or even humans—that wouldn’t be something I think I would be able to involve myself in.

No, what right do I even have to get involved in any war in the first place? Especially after I just arrived here.

Another brief sigh escaped my mouth as my thoughts began to swirl around. War. One wouldn’t expect that the first thing they’d potentially be hit with would be talk of war—just right after dying and being transferred into a different world at that. Especially in a situation where one could be deemed as the main assert in a war against their own.

“Oh, and we didn’t summon you to take part in any war efforts against humans—or any other race for that matter. Be at ease, Sir Albel. There’s no intentional animosity or directed aggression of that sort here in Dormou.”

Marna expressed this with a rather heartfelt smile, as if she had read my mind. Thanks to that, I could feel the spur of an uncanny feeling of deja vu.

“Huh? Did...you just read my thoughts...?”

“So, you did think this discussion would be heading toward the topic of war? The crease in your brows was definitely quite telling, but it seems like I was pinpoint with my deduction! Hehe.”

A soft chuckle flowed freely from her lips as she now held a rather charming smile instead. I felt embarrassed, as if I had worked myself up for no reason at all.

“As Princess Marna stated, we’ve never had any intention on summoning an Effigy for some war.”

They had immediately dissolved my own self-created misunderstanding, and from there, began to explain the summoning and what it meant for the summoned Effigy. To my surprise, I really hadn’t been the only one to be summoned from a different world apparently.

“Huh!? So, there’s others that have also been summoned already before me?”

“Mm! For reasons unknown to us, it seems like multiple Effigies have been summoned throughout the country and its surroundings. And though I say unknown, that’s only in regard to the why and how they decided to summon their Effigies.”

Marna revealed such as she then took a sip from the tea cup near her.

“Is that because of what Captain Vaalyun stated earlier, about claiming ownership over the Divination arts?”

As her eyes met my own, her expression seemed to say I was correct as she continued.

“I’m glad you’ve been paying attention. Yes, exactly that. Divination arts are considered a lost magic. Being allowed to observe the future has been a sole vocation of the Elven people as well. It’s thanks to that we were alerted ahead of time.”

That once continuous smile now turned somber as she settled her cup of tea on its saucer at her sentence’s end. I couldn’t help but feel curious as to the why.

“Alerted? Of what exactly?”

“As Princess Marna and I have stated, there’s no war ahead of us—specifically—that is. Instead, the Divine Elder of Dormou has prophesied that this world is headed toward an unimaginably chaotic era. One beyond anything we’ve seen thus far. Such is the reason why we’ve gone against our norm and summoned our own Effigy.”

Another unheard-of revelation was made. A chaotic era. I made an attempt at searching my knowledge of in-game events, and not a single thing came to mind.

No, as the Goddess said; the game was nothing more than a duplicate of the world itself. If what I’ve played through already has no mention of something referred to as the “chaotic era” that I know of, then that just means that the events that are about to take place would be completely new, right?

Forgetting about formalities, I couldn’t help but slump and throw my head back slightly over the chair I sat in. It was a lot to take in after all. A world on the verge of complete chaos is no different than having a series of wars knocking at your door. At the very least, the latter was far easier to deal with since you’d already know who your enemies potentially were.

The Goddess never said anything specific either. Is this what she possibly meant by her request? Interacting with this world will—without a doubt—lead me to having to deal with whatever the chaotic era implies, but.

I couldn’t help but think about the other Effigies. What were the tasks they themselves held after being summoned? Did they potentially receive a similar request from the Goddess? She had claimed jurisdiction over Aerith; thus, it would be strange for her to not know about the other Effigies.

“Mm, I’m sure you have a lot on your mind, Sir Albel. It’s rather obvious to see, so how about we put a hold on any further discussions for today, hm?”

Marna asserted her own voice amid my swirling thoughts, forcing them to a momentary stop.

“I’m sure the summoning was also taxing on you and I can tell these answers aren’t exactly helping that either. So! I believe it would be best for you to get some rest after all. We can resume tomorrow morning, if you’d like?”

As she looked at me, she seemed genuinely concerned about the aftereffects of the summoning. Given everything I had learned about today and how sluggish my body felt—I couldn’t help but agree with her.

“Ah, I think I’ll have to accept that offer. Sorry.”

“Worry not, there is no need for any apologies, Sir Albel. I’ll have the maids show you to your room. If you need any further assistance, they will be on wait—just outside your door. Don’t hesitate to ask for anything, okay?”

“All right, thank you.”

Once more, she clapped her hands twice. Two maids then bowed and began directing me to outside the dining area. Honestly, I was doubtful toward whether I’d get much rest, and instead, only delve deeper into thinking everything over. Those concerns were immediately unfounded, since the moment I made it to my room and laid my head on the bed—I fell into a deep sleep within a mere few seconds.