Back to Incrad

After he launched all of his primary questions to the faerie, he was finally able to rest assured about his upcoming journey.

First, he understood that he was not going to be forced to fight to death right away. Regis gave him warnings that were pretty scary, but it was still just a mere precaution for the future him.

Ultimately, he was an asset that the Goddess did not want to lose because of his special identity. He wasn't a disposable agent, and he was also granted with his own free will to fulfill his own wishes on top of the Goddess'.

The reason Cecily came was also to speed up his progress and allow him to move through the floors easier with the data she already possesses. The general itinerary Cecily provided was enough to make his will stronger.

He didn't have to wait for long. In less than five minutes after their discussion ended, fate came to say hello to them. Elgin's fate as a Player.

He was welcomed with an invitation in the form of an eerie purplish warp that was slowly getting bigger and bigger, wanting to devour Elgin.

[This is it! It's coming, Elgin. Brace yourself and jump into the warp. Mind you, dimensional travel is not going to turn out pretty for a first timer!]

Elgin nodded.

The more he looked at it, the more hesitation began to form, so he threw away all of his thoughts and just jumped straight in.

_____

The travel duration was only a few seconds.

Within that time, he was brought back to Incrad.

"It's really.." Elgin whispered lowly, looking at their current location.

There is no way he could be mistaken. This was a place he had seen countless times in the past. The spawning point in front of Ulya's gates.

The idea hadn't settled in him just yet, but he really was a Player now.

He gazed at the other summoned Players. They had various appearances and features. One person had elven ears, the other had beastkin features, and so on.

The number of people were much lesser than what he had expected.

[That's because Players won't all drop at the exact same time. They do come from different worlds, so some distances might be much larger than the others. Just wait for some time and everyone should eventually be collected here.]

Elgin hummed. Contrary to his expectations, the jump wasn't that bad. He did feel some adverse effects, but it wasn't enough to bother him.

It wasn't the same for the others.

"Kyaaa!!" A shriek rang, followed by another scream or two.

Fear, panic, anxiety, dread- all the negative emotions surged up.

"Oi oi oi, what kind of sick joke is this?! If this is some acting set, quit playing!!" A robust man was sprawled on the ground as he shouted loudly.

His condition was not great. Not only him, but every single person who got dumped here didn't look great either.

The warp travel's effects caught up to them, and sounds of vomiting were starting to appear left and right., worsening the situation.

The only ones who weren't affected was Elgin, and three other people out of the total number of eleven. A green-haired elf, a normal looking human, and one wearing a hood that covered their entire body.

[Those three, they must have a good aptitude like magic if they were able to act nonchalantly after the travel. You might want to look out for them.] Cecily reminded, already doing an excellent job as Elgin's guide.

"Calm down, everyone! Let's not panic and think this through!"

It was one of the three who managed to stay impervious. He was a human, but had a stature taller than most, with neatly trimmed black hair and eyes. His clothes were quite modern.

[That's someone from a modern plane. You must've seen ones like him before, right? There, technology is quite advanced.. And worlds like Incrad are only considered fantasy. I've been to one of those planes before, it was pretty.. strange.]

'Who is that?'

[Well.. a random dude you won't have to pay attention to. Don't waste your time on these folks and focus on yourself. They will only slow you down. It's fine to get some comrades in the near future, but let them fight their way out on their own first. If they can't even survive by themselves, they're not worth it.] Cecily commented, clearly looking down at the panicked group of people.

"Do you know something?! Wait, you seem like you're completely fine! Don't tell me, this whole thing is your doing??! Haa?!" The robust man from earlier scrambled to stand back up and grabbed the collar of the speaker roughly.

"N-No, I don't know too! But panicking will do us nothing good. It's just basic common sense! You don't want to be rash, make a mistake, and potentially lose your life, right?! What happened to us clearly isn't normal! I was sucked into a portal. When I opened my eyes, I was already here!"

"My name is Adel. We all seem to have been thrown here for a reason, right? We should stick together until we know more!" Adel proclaimed bravely.

"Tch!" He released the grip.

"You guys are like brainless monkeys right now. All of you don't even know how to regulate mana.. Except for a few." The elf, who was part of the three who didn't get affected by the warp travel spoke. "There's no point in grouping up with the likes of you. I'm leaving."

Elgin felt the elf's eyes linger on him for a few seconds before being retracted.

[Just like you, he must be scanning for potential talents. He is an elf, which is a race that is born within regions with high mana influences. It's not strange that he's this calm. I think he marked you as a 'passing' candidate.]

Elgin stayed silent. He decided to only observe the crowd from a distance to see how things will play out.

"I know, but aren't we all in the same position here? We're helpless until more information gets discovered. I'm saying that until that time comes, we should-" Adel tried to reason with the elf.

"No. I'll just waste my time here. I'm going to travel alone." The elf cut him off. He abruptly turned around and left towards the gates, not sparing a single glance back.

[Child, I think this is a good time for you to part from them too. Your first priority in this case should be to enter Ulya and make your way to Yggdrasil after gearing up a bit.] Cecily advised.

Elgin nodded. He also didn't find much importance in this group of guys.