Chapter 2

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"Oh, please, great heroes, save our kingdom from the dark lord!"

His eyes immediately flashed open, seeing himself in a different room that was unfamiliar to him, along with the view of an old woman standing in front of him that appeared to be in her sixties, her complexion pale with wrinkles and a crowfeet seen around her eyelids with gray hair as a black robe covered from neck to toe.

The room is bare, with no furnishings or decorations. The walls and ceiling are made of stone, and the floor is made of polished wooden boards, as strange, large pentagrams are painted beneath him. This appears to be a chamber of some sort meant for rituals or whatever they are doing.

Still noticing his hand holding his crucifix, he breathed a sigh of relief that Seth wasn't separated from it, but he was wondering how he got himself in here. It's like a dream he's having. Did he hit the ground? Shouldn't he be dead now from the impact? Perhaps this is the afterlife?

Suddenly, a beam of blue light manifested from his left side, rapidly materializing a confused fourteen-year-old that looked like he came from the old wild west. He had a blue shirt, pants, and shoes, along with a blue hat, blond hair, and blue eyes.

Then another one came to the fray, this time in his right, as the light manifested an elderly, tall Chinese gentleman who is presumably around eight feet tall, appearing to be in the late sixties with a well-kept gray beard while wearing a green robe and a short flat hat fit for warriors in ancient times.

What piqued his interest was the massive height of the weapon this man is holding, towering even the wielder as it is considerably ten feet tall—an impressively large weapon known as the guandao. The shaft of the weapon is nine feet in length, with a blade at the top resembling that of a crescent moon with dragon insignia carve into it.

"Where the hell am I, and who are you people?" The cowboy said, slightly irritated but bewildered by how he got in here, "Is anyone going to tell me or what?" His right hand hovered on the gun that is on his belt and his blue eyes scanned the area in suspicion, ready to pull his Colt Single Action Army encase if there was fight about to break out.

The mysterious, robed old woman then coughed to get their attention; her raspy voice echoed through the hollow chambers of this secluded area. She forced a comforting smile, and her eyes narrowed towards the three individuals. "Welcome, heroes. Welcome to the world of Spheroidal. My name is Ada, an High Priestess that served under the order of the gods," she paused, looking each one of them in the eyes.

While the other figure, a warrior with his guando, stood in silence as he observed the conversation and his surroundings, intrigued in appearing to be a place he had never seen before in his entire life, his mind raced with countless questions that he wished to ask.

The blue-shirt kid begins to become more annoyed than before. "Lady, that isn't an good explanation. You kidnapped me and brought me here without my knowledge; now explain everything or else were going to have problem," he drew his gun, pointed it towards her, and readied to fire at a moment's notice, though he wasn't going to shoot her; just make her think he would.

Seth widens his eyes from this, even though he is fearful of people. A strange emotion of kindness swirls within his heart and soul: "Put the gun down; there is no need for violence." His timid voice doesn't calm the agitated cowboy; it only grabs his attention.

"Keep out of this; I have enough shit to deal with, and this old hag is a part of it," he retorted before returning his gaze back to her, "spill it," demanding the answers he needs so he can grasp the reality of this strange location he is in.

Ada glanced at the gun directly pointed in her direction, seeing it as a unique flintlock that is still dangerous nonetheless. She has no reason to be afraid because this is exactly what she signed up for anyway: "I shall speak if you sheath your weapon away, young man." The woman's voice softens in tone when she looks at him.

Staring at a contest between two for what felt like eternity, he conceded and holstered his firearm. Seeing him lower it down, a wave of relief washed over her. "Thank you," she said, sighing in relaxation that she didn't get shot. "The reason you're here is because we brought you to this land to save it from evil magician known as The Dark Lord." The elderly woman's expression became grim, "for he is threatening to destroy everything around us. If you fail to stop him, he will enslave and kill us all."

Softening his expression, Seth wanted to ask a question but couldn't; his social anxiety returned like an old wound reopened, and the emotions inside him overwhelmed the boy greatly, rendering him incapable of articulating coherent sentences to them if he ever decides to speak again. The idea of talking to another person is daunting.

Finding it weird that he was able to speak due to his compassion that surged through his thoughts, he silently asked himself if this is what being empathetic feels like or if he is having the complete opposite of what he usually is, like someone controlling him to be kind for some reason.

"Look, lady, if this is some prank or trick that one of my friends is pulling, It isn't funny. In fact, it's getting old very fast, so if you have nothing better to say, then let me go before things get ugly," he angrily stated with his tone, doubting that any of this is real.

However, the giant, who was mostly silent the whole time, decided to bring up a question of his own: "What benefits us in defeating this person?" Asking in regard to the objective and goals of their mission, just trying to get the overall context of the situation.

Her response was, "saving the world, he had already caused much devastation with his army and the monsters he conjures." In a straight and honest answer, Ada prayed to the gods that these summoned heroes is as reasonable as they have told her to be, for this is getting too much for an old woman like herself.

Nodding politely, he caressed his beard in contemplating whether or not it was worth participating in this. The warrior with Guandao then said, "I see. If we defeat him, are we able to get back home?" Perceptive of their situation, he cannot accept blindly without knowing the fate of this task that was suddenly given to him.

A terrified look spawned on his face. "No, but..." Ada paused for a couple of seconds, glancing at the cowboy, who was incredibly pissed, seemingly prepared to use his gun at the moment. "The three of you will be rewarded handsomely with everything we have to offer and the fame that will come with it."

"Handsomely, huh?" The blue-shirt boy's mood changed quite drastically from this news, feeling generous about the potential fortune he will acquire. "You got yourself a deal, lady," he said, smiling from ear to ear as he tipped his own hat in courtesy.

Listening to everything carefully, the giant with Guandao raised a brow when his eyes met hers and said, "Very well, I shall assist in stopping this threat." As much as he wished to get back home, the thought of innocent people and the land in itself being endangered by a tyrant is all the motivation that warrior like himself need.

Deeply inhaling, her fear subsides upon seeing their resolution. A spark of hope welled within her as she gazed at them with awe and admiration. "I'll lead you all to the king." A relieved smile appeared on her lips. The priestess turned around and walked towards two large doors that lead somewhere in this strange building.

Following behind, Seth and the two walked through a narrow hallway decorated with paintings and tapestries hanging on the walls. The light from the torches illuminated the halls, casting shadows everywhere whenever they followed Ada through the long, winding corridors. The ceiling is high above, as its air is thick with dust and age.

Their footsteps echo when they traverse through the hallway, occasionally accompanied by the sounds of ambient noises behind the walls and wooden doors they passed through as all three continued moving, sometimes being passed by the occupants of this building.

Seth notices how the people residing here look like they came from medieval times, wearing clothing from erased periods of history, with their conversations about different things such as religion, politics, magic, or jobs they have been working on lately. They carried an atmosphere of prosperity and luxury within these hallways, reflecting the prosperous country they all live in.

Was he sent in the past? Maybe that would be the reason, but he never heard in the history books anything about magic being widely known or the world being called spheroidal. He find it odd to think that most of his education was taught by a pastor who kindly took him in.

Although it is not uncommon for people in this ear to have different names for calling Earth, It is still weird though that there weren't details in regards to the undead, the dark lord, and so on. feels as if everything here is alien to him, which it is. Whether that is a good thing or not is up to him to see how this will go out.

Because honestly, he never intends to go save the world; he simply wants to be left alone by others and continue his own journey where nobody can hurt him; just living peacefully is his ideal goal and life's purpose of, well, surviving.

He is sure that this king is reasonable to dismiss him from this dangerous task; he is only fourteen and shouldn't be involved in anything involving this Dark Lord or saving the world stuff. The thought of getting to know others and traveling long distances that he has an interest in going to isn't his type of tea.

"Do you believe this crap?" The voice at his side snickered from the statement, looking over and seeing the blue-shirt kid looking at him. "Knights, magicians, and using some ritual to bring us here?" Finding the situation and everything crazy, "This has to be some sick joke, I mean seriously. This stuff isn't even real," finding everything unbelievably silly.

Looking down for a brief second before looking back at him, Seth felt the need to reply, but his thoughts clogged his mind, preventing him from saying anything at all. "Okay" was the only word that escaped his lips before awkwardly moving ahead from this awkwardness.

The blue-shirt boy became curious about this weirdo. "So, do you have a name? Mine is Billy the Kid, Billy for short," introducing himself to be polite, figuring the kid won't respond to him unless he does the same, smiling gently in hopes of getting a proper answer this time.

As Seth wanted to make friends in a dire situation, he was still finding himself hesitant to make conversation with people he never met; they are strangers nonetheless, yet his heart and mind urge him to engage in interaction despite his fear of doing so, his timid nature taking over as he shyly replied, "Seth," answering with a faint whisper while only glancing in his direction before back onto the floor.

Frowning from this, Billy grows angry at this person's inability to hold a conversation or even make eye contact with anyone; they share the same age, and this kid is not showing any initiative whatsoever. This is absurd. "Hey, when you're talking to someone, you should have eye contact with them," he says, annoyed at the person's behavior. "And quit whispering; not only its weird but I can't hear you properly. Speak clearly, for God's sake."

Startled by this sudden change in attitude, he felt his heart beginning to beat faster; sweat formed on his palms as he swallowed his nervousness. "Seth, my name is Seth, pleased to meet you," he said, breathing deeply through his nose, nerves getting worse when he has to have direct eye contact with someone.

Chuckle escaped from the cowboy's mouth, saying, "Now that's much better," satisfied that the person was actually sneaking normally for once. "see? It isn't that hard," complimenting the kid's social improvement from their initial meeting, "nice to meet you, Seth."

His cheeks blushed in embarrassment; it is not everyday that someone is nice to him except the old pastor who took him in. It feels good for once that someone else is being polite to him even though he was rude from the beginning. "Okay," he simply said, letting out a quiet, soft, shy chuckle.

Unbeknownst to them, the composed warrior who was silent throughout their conversation was intently listening to them; his attention was mostly focused on Seth, who expressed sympathy for the predicament of their current situation, realizing how unprepared he were.

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