The Red Eyes

Our group once again starting moving through the city and for the first time I was actually able to see what normal people living in this world looked like. Everything I saw reminded me quite a bit of what people living in the medieval era would look like albeit with a few peculiarities.

For example, I saw a particular high class looking store have the equivalent of electronic lights. I knew that they had to be some sort of magic artifact, but still it was strange seeing other buildings lit up by candles on the inside, while this one had lightbulbs.

I also saw buildings that just wouldn't have existed, at least not in the same way, in my old world. There was a building showing off caged animals with signs saying that contract beasts were available. Another store had a vast array of artifacts with employees showing off their magical powers to potential customers.

Finally, I saw a rather large building, comparatively speaking, filled with bulletin boards and hanging papers. This building in particular seemed to be very popular and I knew almost immediately that this must be the fabled adventurer's guild. I smiled knowing that all of the staple buildings of a proper fantasy world were accounted for.

We continued to walk through the crowded streets until we eventually stood before a huge wall that curved around the city for as far as the eye could see. Right in front of us stood a large gate with many proper knights in armor interacting with the people coming and going. However, there also seemed to be another group of people donning black robes with red linings standing on a platform overlooking the gate area. Right beside them stood a tall banner of a gigantic black and red eye staring down at anyone passing by.

This didn't seem normal by any means and the idea that something was wrong became even more apparent when one of the robed figures yelled out to stop.

As if the man's words could control everybody's bodies at once, all movement stopped and complete silence overtook the area.

The man that spoke stepped forward and a strange wave of energy appeared at his feet. Riding this wave, he descended from his platform and walked over to Bruno. It was strange though. I might not have been the greatest authority on magic, but I still got the feeling that what that man did wasn't magic at all.

The other people in black and red robes also used a similar movement technique and formed a circle around the area to ensure nobody interfered.

Due to there being no movement and complete silence everybody could hear their conversation as the man spoke to Bruno.

"Commander Bruno, is it? I felt a strange energy coming from your group of trainees. Is there anything you are trying to hide?"

Even though I knew Bruno was fairly highly ranked in this kingdom, the man asked a question filled with malicious intent. I was almost certain that we were facing a man that held much greater authority.

"No sir, there is nothing to hide here. The only unusual thing I could think of is that we have the summoned heroes with us in this group."

"Gather them all for me."

"Right away."

With that Bruno motioned for all of us to go forward including the mages at the back. Left with no other option and with a lack of information about the situation, I decided to just follow instructions.

Soon the heroes were all reunited once again. I stood in a line with Alex, Greg, Jessica, and Samantha as the man in black and red robes examined us.

"Strange. You picked out everybody that I noticed earlier so you must be telling the truth."

He circled around us as he continued to perform whatever inspection that he was doing. Soon he frowned and called out once more.

"Mark, get over here."

Quickly one of the men from the perimeter flew over.

"Sir."

"Look at these people and tell me what you see."

This man, Mark, quickly started inspecting us much the same way as his leader.

"Hmm, I only see fragments. There are fantastical images of concrete and glass jungles, knowledge on concepts that make no sense, and a strength emanating from various parts of the body though the specifics are blurry."

"As I thought."

He seemed to be thinking quite deeply but then turned back to Bruno.

"You are free to pass for today, Bruno, but I will be raising concerns to the upper management. Check in with them as soon as you return."

"Yes sir."

With that, the black and red robed people all flew back to the platform and everything went back to business as usual. Despite that though, I felt like I just dodged a bullet. I wasn't entirely sure about their means of doing so, but that group of people seems to be an organization that inspects the general population for things that break the law.

If they saw something like the city that we lived in back home, then maybe it was some sort of mind searching ability. However, it seemed to not work very clearly with all of the summoned heroes. My only guess would be that our general thought processes and world view were way too different to easily see what was going on.

However, I would have to be extra cautious going forward. It was unclear how long they would take to be able to see into our minds clearly, but I was pretty sure if they did and found out that I had strengthened my blood then it would be the end for me. I guess I would have to focus on leaving this country as soon as possible.

After Bruno talked with a guard at the gate for a little bit he came back to our group and made a new announcement.

"Alright men, each of you will come forward and grab a weapon provided by the knights here. After that, we will regroup one more time outside the gate before starting our run. There will be multiple other knights keeping an eye on the group so don't get any ideas of running away. Anybody being caught doing so will be killed on the spot. I know most of you actually volunteered to be here, but it needs to be said for those of you who didn't."

With that, we each went forward and had the option to choose from various basic looking weapons laid out on a table by the gate. I assumed these were probably backup weapons for the guards or something like that.

After looking everything over and having no real experience with any weapon I decided to go with something long and eventually went with a small halberd with a spike on the top. It was probably one of the heaviest weapons, but it would allow me to keep as much distance as possible from any enemy I could be fighting. I had absolutely no faith in my ability to dodge attacks anyway so this seemed like the best bet.

However, I soon noticed that multiple people were looking at me with contempt and that almost nobody else went with a spear like weapon. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why though. It was a great advantage to have as large a reach as possible and the only real disadvantage would be a lack of range of motion in closed off spaces.

Soon we gathered on the other side of the gate and I could see a vast wilderness expanding out before me. We seemed to be in a fairly forested area with a couple of mountain peaks just barely visible over the tree line. Overall, it was a pretty normal environment although having lived in the midst of a city for most of my life, all of the nature was a nice change of pace.

Also, it seemed like everybody's demeanor was much more casual now that we were out of the city. People started forming groups and some conversations could be heard. Taking this as a chance, I decided to go speak with Alex a bit.

Walking over to him, I noticed that he was in a group with the rest of the summoned heroes. I doubt that I would be particularly welcome, but I suppose I fit into this group the most out of everyone here. So, I walked up and began a conversation.

"I guess it's something of a reunion of the heroes huh?"

One of the girls sneered.

"I'm surprised you are still alive old man."

"C'mon Samantha. You don't need to be like that. Ron is actually an alright guy."

Looks like the sassy one was named Samantha.

"I don't get why you are friendly with the old man Alex. He seems incredibly weak and he was probably something like a stalker back home. How else could he have been summoned with us?"

I was starting to think that both Greg and Samantha were conspiring against me or something. I mean sure they probably wouldn't be friends with me, but there were no real reasons to be sworn enemies, right?

Despite the obvious hatred of those two I decided to go through with my real questions.