A Talk With Rorick

Eventually, I awoke while being completely disoriented and with a terrible headache. Just sitting up seemed to take all of my energy, but I was determined to grasp my bearings. Although I had an awful ringing in my ears and my vision was a bit blurry, I was eventually able to notice that I was in some sort of closed off room.

"Ahh, what the hell happened again?"

It had been a long time since I got this blackout drunk to the point that I couldn't even remember what happened, but then again, this didn't feel like a hangover. I'm not quite sure, but it almost feels as if I was struck really hard on the head.

Wait a second.

I stood up after recalling a flood of memories causing an intense pain in my head. I fell down on the cold floor while breathing heavily. It took everything I had to calm my body down again, yet before I could really recover myself, there was movement close by.

"I see that you are finally awake again. I do apologize for being so rough earlier, but you were getting in the way of our goals you see."

I looked towards the voice and could barely make out that it belonged to the robed man we were speaking with earlier.

"Ah, I see."

I wasn't quite sure where to go from here. It wasn't entirely clear if he saw through my acting or if I simply misread the situation. The fact that I am still alive probably means he has some sort of use for me, but I'm not sure what that might be just yet.

"Don't worry, you won't be forced to do anything until you have recovered from the head injury. But in the meantime, why don't we get to know one another a little bit better. I've already had quite the interesting conversation with young Alex and his friends."

Probably seeing the confusion on my face, he elaborated further.

"Oh, I mean the other summoned individuals, besides yourself."

Hmm, he really didn't give me much to go on there, so I guess I'll just continue my strategy from before. Not that it even led to a good situation though.

"You plan on forcing me to do something? Is this about that soldier thing you mentioned before?"

The man smiled at me, but I couldn't even begin to guess what that might mean.

"You will know all about that in due course, but how about a change of pace? Yes, let us have a normal conversation. My name is Rorick and I work as an advisor to the king as well as the head magician of this kingdom. Who might you be?"

I couldn't help but feel that he was fishing for information out of me. What exactly he wanted to know, I wasn't sure, but it wasn't like I could just ignore the conversation entirely.

"I'm Ron, former company employee."

"Ron huh? The younger ones gave me a family name as well. Perhaps you don't have one or maybe you just don't want to associate with it?"

"It's just Ron. I'd rather not think back on the times that I was known as anything else. Besides, I can be anybody in this world, right?"

"Very well, if that's how you see it. You said you were a company employee? Is that something like an occupation perhaps?"

"Ah right, I forgot for a second that this was another world. Yes, it is something like working for a large organization."

"Hmm, so not a student like the rest? And a part of an organization at that. Will your disappearance be noticed by others? Not that they could find you even if they tried."

Would my disappearance be noticed? Probably everybody at work would notice, especially after they realize that they can't just dump everything on me anymore. I bet they would think that I just went off somewhere and killed myself. Man, pretty depressing stuff.

"Let's not talk about that anymore. That life is over and I'd rather not bring it back up."

"Oh, quite interesting. Most of the young ones were panicking and begging me to find a way to send them back home. Perhaps this explains why you looked so composed after you all were first summoned. Did you not even want to live your life anymore before? Maybe you somehow knew what would happen and thought that this was a better alternative?"

I grimaced at realizing that I might have given him too much information.

"Well, no matter. Your future was almost assuredly set in stone in the first place. I just had to speak with you for a bit to determine if more drastic measures were necessary."

"What is this grand plan that you have setup for me?"

He smiled once again at the mention of this plan. It almost seemed like he enjoyed thinking about what was going to happen to me.

"I have said it before have I not? You will be forced into becoming a warrior for our army. This is an unusual situation in that we can almost be certain that you were not the individual that we wanted to summon, but we cannot be completely sure. So, with the uncertainty coupled with a new understanding that you are at least somewhat competent, you will also walk the path that the others are on."

What? Did he decide that I was competent by our conversation alone? He probably wouldn't be saying that if he had me perform a fitness test. But then again maybe they had their own means to adjust the body. Was he just looking to see if I could follow instructions and had even a little bit of self-awareness?

"Well anyway, you will understand most things as time goes on, but was there anything else you were wondering about before I go? It's not often that I get to talk to a person from another world after all."

"That fireball from before and magic in general, will I get a chance to learn that?"

"Oh, you are still on about that fireball? Most of the others seemed to get the message that that was out of their reach and stopped asking all together. But you, you seem to be fixated on it as if that were the only thing worth knowing about. Is it really so important to you that you would risk asking about it repeatedly to people you can't even be sure have your best interests in mind?"

I hated the feeling of giving away my motivations so easily, but he was right. The concept and appeal of magic is what caused me to jump into the summoning in the first place, so I wasn't about to let it go.

"You wanted us to be soldiers right? Surely the strongest soldiers are those with high magic ability, so wouldn't it be in your best interest to at least see if we can achieve that level?"

Rorick laughed for a bit at that.

"You seem to have a few misconceptions. Although it is true that the best magicians are highly capable of causing destruction, they are more like a strategic weapon rather than an effective soldier. After all, it only takes one well placed arrow and the magician regardless of ability will be slain. Furthermore, letting people from another world experiment with magic is a very risky proposition. One that we can't be sure is even worth the risk."

"So, you are saying I should just give up then, right? If you mentioned arrows, then I should just pick up a sword or something, strengthen my body, and then sacrifice it all on the frontlines for you all, right?"

He frowned for a second as if I was starting to cross his bottom line.

"Well, I suppose it is not impossible for you to get to the point of learning magic. Of course, you would have to contribute to the well being of our country to a sufficient point and would also have to show a certain level of loyalty, but it is definitely not impossible."

It was my turn to frown at his words, but he continued.

"Seeing as you were once a part of an organization you will likely know this phrase well. Give and take. You will be required to give a certain amount of service before you will be allowed to take any of our resources or knowledge. This is truly just the way of the world."

Yeah, he was right. I was very familiar with this phrase. However, it was wrong for him to use it as an argument, because I knew the true meaning. The company or the organization with all the power will take everything that it wants and only give back if it is convenient. I wouldn't let it show on my face, but this alone told me that my old company and this kingdom were basically the same. I guess I'll need to take some more drastic measures when the time is right, but for now I still needed to respond.

"Give and take, huh? It is true that my company worked off of a similar principle. Alright, I will play along for now."

"Very good, I'm sure you will not be disappointed in this decision. Well then, I suppose it is time for me to leave. Go ahead and rest up for a couple of days, then we will send some people to escort you to where you need to go."

I nodded my head at his words and then he took his leave. I still had a terrible headache, but at least for now I had time to think about what I needed to do. Surely sooner or later I would have a chance and from there it would be up to fate.