One centimeter at a time, my body moved to the side until I slowly fell with my face on the deck. I groaned a bit in pain and I slowly began to wake up thanks to it. Everything looked dark at first, but then things got less blurry instead as I opened my eyes. All of a sudden, a cold wave hit him and then made him roll onto the deck.

  The cold water surprised me and woke me up in no time, thanks to the shock. I tried to get up, but I failed to move my arms. They were tied on my back for some reason. I raised my head a bit and then looked around in confusion. It didn’t take long for me to realize that I was on the deck of a dark ship.

  “Good day, hero. It seems that you were unlucky enough to wake up before the right time. Well, fear not. The trip is about to end.”

  An amused voice came from behind and then I saw a man wearing weird clothes while holding the wheel of the ship. He looked exactly like a pirate would look in the final centuries of middle ages, the weird hat, the eyepatch, and the overly fancy clothes that were old, dirty, and worn out as well thanks to the sea breeze. I couldn’t make much else of his appearance thanks to the surrounding darkness. It was night, and it was very cloudy as well… I could see some flashes of lightning in the distance, but that didn’t help me see things at all.

  When I looked to the side, I saw a bunch of people on the side. They were wearing more modern clothes, sweatpants, jeans, sneakers, and so on. They were all tied up like me, and they were as unconscious as they could be since the waves were hitting them and they weren’t waking up.

  “What the fuck is going on? Is this some sort of weird show?”

  “Worry not, hero. You will come to understand everything soon. I have a good feeling about you, so enjoy the trip.”

  “There is the port, captain!”

  “Raise the sails and prepare to unload our heroes ashore. We don’t have all day, so get moving.”

  A bunch of people began to move around working following the captain’s orders and thanks to that, I had the chance to force myself to get up. I felt like a worm twisting my body to pull that off. Still, I soon regretted that as I looked at the surroundings. Behind me, I could see an insane storm with several whirlwinds in the distance, as if they were blocking the path I came from. In the other direction, I could see an island that expanded immensely on the horizon. We were heading there, but the island passed me some serious bad vibes.

  I gulped as I tried to recall what had happened… My name is Sean… Sean, what? I couldn’t recall. My profession? I couldn’t recall it either. The last thing that I could recall was… when it felt that an image was about to form in my head, I felt a painful headache like something had hit me , or like I tried to recall something that I shouldn’t. This wasn’t good.

  While I was trying to recall anything, soon the ship anchored for a bit and then I got kicked on the back as the crew began to put the unconscious people on their shoulders to carry them to the beach. I ended up hitting my face on the deck, but soon managed to get up.

  “If you are awake, then get up and move. Unless you want me to kick you into the ocean while you are still tied.”

  I looked at the guy who kicked me and glared, but soon my expression softened when I saw what seemed to be a curved sword at his waist… that felt odd and out of place, but at least it made me realize that I shouldn’t go against those guys, at least for now. Nothing good would come out of trying to look brave when I can’t move my arms and the opponent has weapons with them.

  Slowly, the ship approached the port that was basically a single bridge made of old wood and filled with holes. I hesitated on stepping on that, but soon he saw those crew members carrying two people on their shoulders stepping in, so I did the same, following their footsteps. In the distance, I saw some torches, but I also saw the sky brightening a bit in the distance. Morning was coming.

  After crossing the bridge, the pirates threw the prisoners on the sand and the impact made them groan in pain. They finally began to wake up little by little. In front of them, those figures with the torches stepped forward and watched them, but soon I noticed their eyes on me. There were two men with torches in their hands and hammers on their backs… war hammers. The one leading them was a red-haired woman with a short ponytail and green eyes. She had two crossbows on her sides and a spear on her back. She had this air of a dangerous beauty, the type who would lick her lips while she put crossbows on my chest without hesitation.

  “Why is this one awake already?”

  “Why would I know? Maybe he was sleeping before he was brought here.”

  The red-haired woman asked, and the captain replied behind me. He looked amused as ever as he saw everyone getting up and some people vomiting. Even though they were sleeping, it seemed that the shaking of the ship still affected them. Still, I was surprised to see close to one hundred prisoners counting with me. Fortunately, once everyone was brought here, the pirates began to untie us… that was good since I was starting to feel my fingers getting numb. I massaged my wrists while looking around.

  “Listen here, heroes… you have been brought to this world to fight for us. You don’t have any other option here. We don’t have money or food to share with useless people.”

  The redhead looked truly disgusted as she said that… the captain also called me that, but his tone was always the mocking type. It was safe to assume that they were the cause why we were here, but were they also the cause that I can’t remember anything?

  “We are at war against many types of enemies. Monsters, demons, demi-humans, elves, and so on. This is a world where only the strong can survive. If you prove your worth, we will reward you, but if you can’t even fend for yourself, you will suffer a fate worse than death at the hands of the enemies. Follow me.”

  Everyone looked as confused as they could be while looking at each other, I could tell that I was showing the same expressions as I did before and considering their whispers, they also lost their memories and could only recall their names… I didn’t feel like I knew any of them and it didn’t look like they recognized each other either. It was probably hard to recognize anyone when they didn’t know anything aside from their names. Still, none of their faces made me feel anything.

  Everyone followed the woman while the other two stayed at the back of the group. It looked like the pirates would stay behind. We began to cross a forest while following the redhead. The light was limiting, but the sun was rising in the distance and the clouds were dispersing as well. Aside from some people tripping, nothing major happened.

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  “Around two hundred years ago, you people began to appear in our world. We didn’t know why you were here and neither did any of you. At first, we tried to live in harmony, but then some of you joined the enemy's side and then started the conflicts. Even now, some of you so-called heroes join the enemy’s side to make things even more complicated. Thanks to them, all of you will have to fight. If you don’t like this, then obtain the power to do things as you see fit, but you won’t receive support from us.”

  That made them sound like they weren’t the cause of us being here… it also made it sound like we didn’t belong here. I wanted to ask some questions, but I wondered if it would be a good idea to stop her now. I didn’t want to draw any more attention to myself. In this kind of situation, people like me end up becoming the target of people like her to be made an example out of.

  “Don’t be mistaken, our people are fighting too, but we can trust them, but we can’t say the same about you all. At least for now. If you prove yourself useful, you will have a decent life here. If you use your head, you will prosper and live a long life. If you show your bravery, you will obtain a place among us. Fail to have to accomplish that and your life is pretty much over here.”

  She went quiet after that, but soon we were able to find a bit of an open area ahead. Some trees had been chopped down, and the area cleaned to create something like a fortress. It didn’t seem that reliable at all, and if they had one so close to the ocean already, I could only guess that their situation was quite bad. Then again, perhaps their territory was beyond the ocean or something and this place was just a bonus that they needed or wanted… I had thought that they wanted a defensive force to protect their land, but they probably wanted some people like us to work as cannon fodder for their expansion plans.

  “This is one of the human alliance bases. You will be able to find anything that you need to live here. Food, lodge, clothes, armor, weapons, and so on. Right now, we aren’t preparing for anything big, so you guys will have the chance to adjust to your new life slowly, but soon all of our forces will have to move and you will have to follow.”

  The gate of the fortress was opened and the sound of the wood being moved echoed as the gate emerged from the ground. The place looked a lot bigger than we were able to see from outside… There were even some houses made of stone, but most of them were rather simple and made of wood as well… in the distance, I could see something that appeared to be like a giant crystal emitting a lot of light. That light only grew more powerful as the sky cleared and morning arrived fully.

  We crossed the gate and soon found some armed and armored guys on the side. There were two pairs on each side and they looked dangerous while they studied the newcomers. The people of the fortress also studied us and whispered amongst themselves. The place looked far more mundane than I had expected… it looked like a fortress from outside, but it also looked like a militaristic town from inside. It didn’t have more combatants than anything. It had around ten civilians for each combatant and they were supposed to offer support to them.

  Among those people, I was able to see some people that looked old, like over sixty and we’re missing a limb or two… when our eyes locked, I immediately realized that they were like me… people who came from who knows where to this place and has been here for decades or maybe that was just my impression.

  It seemed that our arrival was quite the commotion. It stopped the whole town. Shops, restaurants, inns, and even buildings that looked like dojos stopped to see us heading to that crystal. When we finally reached it, we confirmed that it was five meters tall and three meters wide, but the shape was hard to describe. Regardless, the redhead turned around to see us.

  “Once you touch this crystal, you can obtain some power to fight, and that will even unlock your true potential. Choose the option that you all feel the most comfortable with and don’t worry about missing out on anything because you can obtain those options later. Let’s see… you. Step forward and then touch the crystal.”

  The redhead looked at me and pointed at me as well… I knew that I would stand out, eventually. Still, it was better not to waste time and not make a fool out of myself here. I didn’t know what would happen in the future, but I could tell that I couldn’t look pathetic or indecisive in front of so many people and at such a moment.

  I stepped forward and then touched the crystal without hesitation. It began to glow and its life enveloped me. Amidst the light, I saw something that seemed familiar.

  Several copies of myself appeared in front of me wearing different types of clothes. Each one of them seemed like they fit the titles that I could see. When I focused on a title, the image referent of that title would appear in front of me with those clothes.

  All of them left quite the impression on me, but I didn’t know which one to pick… based on the order, I would say that the first three ones gave me a good feeling of how they agreed with me. I imagined the safest option would be mage, to be able to use magic and attack enemies from a distance. It shouldn’t be that hard, but considering my body, I imagined that the first three options were indeed the best options. I felt that I also woke up earlier than the others because I was in better shape. Maybe I did something before coming here that made me work with my body. I wasn’t big, but I was lean. In the end, I chose the first option and then the light vanished.

  Sean

  Primary Classes: Archer Lv 01

  Health: 80/80

  Mana: 100/100

  Stamina: 100/100

  Strength: 09

  Dexterity: 10

  Magic: 06

  Vitality: 08

  Spirit: 10

  Endurance: 10

  Luck: 05

  Free Points: 00

  Techniques:

  Spells:

  Effects:

  Once again, I felt a powerful sense of nostalgia, like I had seen this many times before. The window slowly decreased in size until it stopped at the left corner of my vision. Still, my clothes looked the same. My blue sneakers, my grey sweatpants and my hoodie of the same color. I had a bracelet made of crystal on my left wrist, though. Still, I was easily able to take it out.

  “Keep that to yourself. It is a link to the crystal. As long as you have that, you can find the direction of the closest crystal. This can also register how many monsters and enemies you have slain and once you approach any crystal, you will receive your rewards from it.”

  “How?”

  “You will see it when you do it for the first time. Anyway, tell me the options that you saw and which of them you choose.”

  That didn’t feel like the smart thing to do… not telling also wouldn’t be very smart since I would stand out even more. For now, I have to make myself useful to these people until I can obtain more information and I can obtain the tools to fend for myself.

  “Ten options, huh? That is the limit. Most people only get three… you don’t look like a big deal, but maybe you have some experience or you tried a lot of things before. Regardless, I don’t have time for this. Go to the southern side of the fortress and present yourself to the hunter’s guild. You will receive your training and your basic equipment there. You will also have the chance to use the place there for one week and have free food as well. After that, you will have to rely on yourself and your skills to survive and show that you aren’t a waste of air.”

  There were a lot of things that I wanted to ask about this situation, but the redhead made me leave just like that. The fact that the other prisoners stepped forward as she called for them also made things difficult for me. In any case, my only option was to look for the hunter’s guild and hope that the people there were more understanding.