Lewis followed the black clad archer, the apparent leader of this little band, as they navigated through the forest, the archer seeming to move in zig-zags for a while, which made Lewis question if he even knew where he was supposed to be going. If they were actually lost then that would have been super embarrassing for them, so he opted not to say anything and just follow along. None of the other ambushers seemed to be concerned as they weaved between trees and over small hills, until eventually the archer seemed to suddenly straighten as he began walking in a straight line.
Lewis was confused at the sudden shift in behavior, but followed along in silence, noticing all the others appearing to repeat the archer's targeted walk as if they could somehow sense something telling them were to go. Even Cleaver and Pears began moving with focused accuracy, as if they suddenly all gained some sort of GPS indicating the precise path towards their destination.
Lewis was beginning to feel a little weird about the entire situation until he spotted a light bleeding through the canopy. It pulsed softly and was clearly some sort of beacon as they moved in its direction, eventually cresting a series of hills and dense brush until the source of the strong light was revealed.
To Lewis's surprise, he found himself staring down at a large stone fortification surrounded by forest on all sides. The landscape was carved in a way that made the entire environment lead to it, as if it was the focal point of the entire area, the pulsing beacon rising from a massive tower at its center only reinforcing that idea. The castle's walls were tall and made of smooth grey stone, battlements stretching along their perimeter with small specks walking atop them.
They were far enough away that seeing detail was difficult, but it definitely seemed like the were a lot of people down there, and not just within the fortress, but also all around it within the clearing, a river running down one side of the area while what looked like a few hundred people gathered outside the castle walls, many small fires lit all over the place as people seemed to be lined up at makeshift food stalls or huddled around tents.
Lewis was shocked at the number of people present, the largest number of people he had seen since the world fell apart. Looking up toward the giant tower extending out of the center of the fortress, Lewis scanned it with his mana detection and found that it was definitely more than a simple lighthouse. Waves of mana were pulsing from the top of the highest point, sending out near invisible pulses of thin mana in all directions, sweeping over the entire area like some sort of radio signal.
"What is up with that light, it's sending out strange pulses of mana." Lewis asked no-one in particular, but it was the archer who turned to him, his eyes showing a hint of surprise as he answered.
"It's the beacon, it helps people locate the base even from far away. It's the main reason so many people have been able to gather here. Can't you feel it's call, like a compass pointing us in the right direction?"
"Huh, no I don't fell anything. Oh, wait, I know why. It's cause of my new class blocking the signal from reaching me." Lewis replied, clicking his fingers as he recalled his arcane nullfield's effects. It must have been crushing the weak mana signal before he even noticed it; no wonder he was the only one who didn't lock onto the base's location from kilometers away.
The archer gave him a side eye look but didn't comment further as they descended towards the fortress. It didn't take long before the low hum of constant chatter and the mouth watering scent of food drifted through the air. The gathered people were wearing all sort of clothing and expression. Most worried and nervous, but he spotted several people wearing modern clothing and talking to people that were clearly from this other world, many of which were all at level 1.
"You lot should stay here and get some food, also pass along the word about the orcs. Tell people to stick together and stay close, we don't want anymore disappearances. You, come with me, we'll go see the leader." The black clad archer exclaimed, motioning for Lewis to follow as the others broke off towards one of the lines serving some kind of broth.
With all the wonderful scents reaching a crescendo, Lewis felt his stomach grumble slightly at the idea of eating a warm meal, but he decided to follow the rapidly walking archer as they avoided the crowd and moved towards the entrance to the looming fortress.
Five people stood guard at the entrance, all in some sort of silver armor holding deadly looking spears, clearly members of the other world's military force before entering the tutorial.
They held out a hand to stop them, but the archer simply flashed some sort of badge, the guards immediately backing off and letting them through.
Walking inside, Lewis looked around at the many buildings and paved streets, looking nothing like he imagined. It was as if the entire fortress was brand new, no sign of mud or dust anywhere, a far cry from the ancient castles he had seen in photos and movies. Plenty of people were moving about on the well-lit streets, entering and exiting the various buildings.
He passed an apparent smithy, although it was void of activity, along with training grounds and other places, all seeming to have come packed with the large fortress. Lewis followed the archer through the streets towards a large central building that looked sort of like a palace with more silver-armed guards stationed around it and many armed men moving to and from the building.
Lewis was led in and brought to a large room where a bunch of people were rushing around, a large central table being filled with maps and other papers, a group of soldiers arguing loudly as a man in golden armor sat at the center and seemed to be deep in thought. Lewis identified him right away, the man exuding a presence of undeniable strength the likes of which he had never experienced before, like staring over the edge of a cliff, a primal urge telling him to be careful around this man.
[Human - lvl 19]
The room quieted down as the archer made his entrance, all eyes turning to him as he cleared his throat. Even the golden-clad figure looked up at them.
"We have recovered two members of the southern goblin hunt. They confirm it was orcs that attacked and tried to kidnap them." He said, the gathered people letting out sighs or whispering to each other.
"I knew it."
"That makes seven confirmed attacks,"
"Damnit, won't they be upon us soon enough at this rate?"
But the black clad archer continued, raising his voice to cut through the suddenly rising voices.
"But they not only managed to escape, but also witnessed the creatures perish... At the hands of this man." He added, moving aside and gesturing Lewis forward.
He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do as he looked at the intense gazes scrutinizing him, making him rather uncomfortable.
"Hey, I'm Lewis. I was wondering the woods about a few hours away and randomly happened upon the orcs chasing some people, so I help out." He said awkwardly, but somehow his words seem to make everyone go quiet.
He was confused about what to do are say when suddenly the golden armored figure seemed to blur, his body moving really fast as he arrived before Lewis, making him instinctively step back at the unexpected speed. He was far faster than Lewis himself, but perhaps slower than when he was in his boosted state. He scanned Lewis from head to toe before squinting.
"What is up with you. I don't sense any mana from you at all. And how in the world would someone as weak as you be able to take down a foul creature our own people sacrificed ten good men to slay, and that was merely a low-level orc at that."
Lewis was shocked that these orcs seemed to have been such an issue for them, after all, the man before him could surely kill him in an instant so an orc should be no match, even with his new unravelling strike, it would be of no use if his head was caved in before he had time to trigger it, something he was sure this man could accomplish with ease, after all, his mana detection showed a deep radiant glow around him, as if his very body was not made out of flesh and blood, but rather mana itself. He had wondered what a none-mage magic user would look like after those two other-world humans had talked about it, but it seems to be far more powerful than he expected, sir Laurence seeming to have abilities akin to his old boosting spell, but permanently active.
"I- eh, picked a new class when I reached level 10, which gave me a new skill that was very effective against them. As for my mana, it's because my mana is different; it's actually anti-mana and destroys any mana it touches." Lewis explained haltingly, wondering if coming here was such a good idea after all, as Laurence's eyes narrowed and his hand shot out, clasping Lewis on the shoulder.
He was so surprised that he instinctively tried to jump back, but the man's grip on his shoulder was like a vise grip, anchoring him in place as his feet stumbled and he hastened to catch himself before he lost his balance. Lewis stared at the golden armored man before him as no one spoke, Lewis too unsure of what was happening to risk doing or saying anything at all as he waited with his breath held.
After a few seconds, Laurence removed his hand, freeing Lewis as he stepped back, lifting his hand up as he analyzed it before nodding and speaking once again to the deathly still room.
"Interesting, you indeed have some unexpected form of anti-magic, it's as if any power beyond my skin simply vanished, quite unusual, but undeniably powerful. But you have yet to explain how you defeated an orc, your body is stronger than average, but nowhere near enough to fight such a brutal creature, and they are hardly likely to be spell casters either." He said calmly, his face remaining controllably neutral the entire time, but his eyes remained purposely glued to Lewis, watching his every move.
"I have a new skill from picking my class that is rather powerful. And it wasn't just a single Orc, but three. Although only one of them was an issue." Lewis added, his voice dipping lower as he recalled that crazed orc swinging its oversized club into his side and sending him flying.
"What did he say? THREE?"
"How is that possible, we only managed to kill a single one!"
"He has to be lying, such a feat is impossible."
The people gathered around the large table shouted, their arms waving in agitation at Lewis's words, but he simply frowned, not expecting such a reaction. The people all instantly quieted down when Laurence raised a hand, the man suddenly smiling as he looked at Lewis.
"Anti-magic powers and a skill that let you kill three orcs single handedly. It seems we have a true powerhouse on our hands. Either that or a spy conspiring with the enemy." He added in a dangerous tone that made Lewis even more nervous than he already was.
He had no idea how these people thought he might be faking what he did. The archer guy already said that there were witnesses, but randomly being accused of being a possible spy sounded even worse, especially when he had no idea who it was he could possibly be spying for. He had little knowledge of these other-world humans, and had no idea about the political situation for them, so he tried to say as much.
"Whoa, listen, I don't know what you guys are talking about but I'm from Earth, I've barely been here a day so I don't know much about your world or whatever." He added hastily, backing away a bit from the suddenly intense gazes from the people in the room.
"Indeed, you are from a world which I hear had no magic, nor other sapient races or large scale wars or conflicts, Morris has explained this to me." Laurence said, gesturing towards the black clad archer who seemed completely expressionless as he observed the scene. Not seeming interested in standing up for Lewis in the slightest.
"And yet, despite all your inexperience, you have risen in power faster than lifelong soldiers, even apparently outperforming Morris, the highest level person I have found from this Earth, and he has spent all his time hunting and leveling up, striking from the shadows and killing one prey after the other in record time, often only requiring a single perfect aimed shot to slay creatures beyond his level. His apparent years of experience with his weapon and assistance from our own best hunters making him rise faster than nearly anyone else. Except for you, apparently. Someone with neither a strong body, weapon or even magic. And someone that claims to have fought the greatest threats we have encountered so far entirely alone. Not only that, but three at once, and won. That seems like a tall tale to swallow, so either you demonstrate that ability you used to kill the orcs and it isn't a demon spawns borrowed power, or I execute you here and now." He said, moving into a clear fighting stance as he moved his legs apart slightly and bent his knees, ready to attack at a moments notice.
Lewis noticed the silver armored guards near the entrance both step closer to block of the doorway, their weapons unsheathed and pointed in his direction while the others in the room were either clutching their own weapons or subtly backing away.
Shit, how did I get myself into this situation. I knew returning to some form of society would bite me in the ass. No matter what I do, I always seem to get into these situations for no reason, alright, its usually just beatings and someone threatening to break my knee caps if I don't cough up some money. Outright execution is a new one for me, but being punished for things I never did is a surprisingly familiar situation despite all his effort to live life for himself in this new reality.