I watched as they waltzed into the room, some with plastered on smiles and others with poker faces.
The first time I watched them walked in, sent my mind into a frenzy. Obviously, my otaku side screamed 'this is so freaking cool' whilst the teacher side was stunned silent. It was frightening to see people you have only read in stories, watched in movies, played in video games and now standing right in front of us was royalty. Knights, Vassals and many other nobility murmured to themselves as the king stood front center with three of his royal guards.
Since my reborn three things ran through my mind.
1. To always be cautious of those around you, to scan your surroundings and to make sure you do not miss a thing.
2. Be better, learn more and adapt. Whilst I've learned and gained knowledge in my previous life, I've forgotten one crucial thing, I've neglected my role as a teacher and failed to adapt when a situation arose.
3. To be level-headed and think clearly.
These three things will be the guidelines in helping me protect them and myself. In situations like these I needed to step it up. They needed a leader and I am their teacher, so it's my responsibility to make sure I am there to guide them whenever they needed me.
The king leaned over to one of his guards and whispered something into his ear. I would've never noticed that exchange the first time around probably because I was too excited but now that I am alert, nothing will slip past me again. Strangely enough as the king whispered, something inside of me switched on and the whisper of the king rang loud in my head.
"You know what to do."
The royal guard only nodded once as the king finished and the two repositioned themselves back to where they were. It was quick and those who weren't looking were oblivious to it. I was just that in my previous life but now I am more wary and focused.
In an instant another thing happened that I couldn't explain, voices appeared in my head, but they weren't talking to me but to each other. It sounded like my head was a radio broadcasting an interview and I was the live audience. It was surreal but what I heard shattered my reality.
"Sir, I'm at your service."
"Guard, once we evaluated the other worldlings in the skills test, I want your man to take the strongest and add it to our ranks. Then, I want you to take one of the females to my son in servicing him. After his done, dispose of the body and then call Faron to erase the other worldlings' memories of these two. Make no mistakes or you and your men will be held accountable."
"As your wish, my king!"
This was a revelation that cut me to the very core, things that I am learning now that happened before and was utterly clueless until the ordeal revealed itself or ended. My brain went into overdrive as it tried to skim my past life to see who was missing, then a pain hits my heart like as if I was going to have a panic attack.
Rex and Stella were the ones missing... What was worse, now that I thought about it, I kept seeing someone that resembled Rex a couple of times as I walked through the streets and hadn't even noticed and I couldn't even fathom the horror that Stella went through. I felt a strange sensation that ran through me, a tinge of shock that gave me the chills, that made my hands all clammy and made my heart ache. I am not a violent person by nature, but this world changed me and to be honest I welcomed the change.
I had not even been paying attention to the king though I knew what he said. It was a welcoming speech that was designed to lure you in. It was exaggerated and over the top. The king was like a hype person at an event or concert but had a narcissistic undertone to it. I wouldn't even be surprised if he had done this before. That these people had summon others before us.
After the king's long winded yet minute speech, he and his vassals ushered us to the throne room where he will entertain us with a much longer speech and where he would talk about the history of his country and what our role in this will be. Whilst most of the king's vassals had poker faces, some were poorly hidden or didn't wear it at all.
I however, knew I had my poker face on because if I hadn't, than everyone in the room including my students would've thought I had gone mad. We stood in front of the Dias where the king addressed us. My students where engaged in the king's words, some had emotions of fear and anxiety whilst others were beaming with the possibility of entering a world of fantasy. I knew this because that was the exact feeling I had in my past life, the life that ended me and my students.
As the king rambled on, I had other things on my mind. The conversation that appeared in my head dominated my thoughts and now since I have calmed down a bit, I needed to find a way to stop it. Rex from what the conversation conveyed meant that he would've been taken after the evaluation. Stella on the other hand was much more difficult because I needed to find out how they chose her and I needed to know if it was only Stella because if I find out she wasn't , my heart would break.
The king's only son, Marlos already has a death marker on him if he stayed on the same path as my previous life. His life is now dependent on what his choice would be.
But that's an event much later down the line in scenes if this was a story. This is not a story however, it's my life and even if this was a story, I'm the protagonist. And as the protagonist, I need to think this through.
To do anything I needed power and to get power I needed to wait until the skills test...
And even if I get them, I still have no idea how to use any of them. In this world the powers or skills are like that in a MOBA game where you have three primary skills and an ultimate. Unlike a MOBA which only had four core skills, we can gain more, learn more, earn more but are limited to only four usable ones whilst the rest are on hold until if we decided to change any core skills with a new one that had been acquired.
Billions of combinations for a strategist to have a field day with but I know, unless you're a gamer who loved to customize their load out, then this system would break you. Too many choices can have a negative effect in ways that will get you killed. Like any teacher, I would soothe those who had made a mistake and inspire them by saying that you can learn from it, to improve yourself, to not make the same mistakes again. I told my students that every time they made one but, in this world a mistake could lead to death.
In all the things I have learned so far since my reborn, I knew I had made many mistakes and all of them led to my student's death. I know that what ever happened to Rex and Stella was not my fault but as their teacher I'm much more guilty then the perpetrators. I've let myself lost sight of who I am with the enthralls of a new world and neglected my duties as their protector. I've even had the audacity to forget their existence, if their parents ever knew what a teacher like me had done to their child, I wouldn't even let myself ask for forgiveness.
Once the king finally finished his long winded speech, he sent us to our already prepared rooms to get ready for a banquet to welcome us.
I sat on the bed in a lowly dimmed room with the clothing they wanted us to wear laid out next to me, unworn. I needed to rearrange my thoughts first, to get my mind ready and to hopefully avoid making my first mistake. But sadly thinking logically is like fantasy, a lot of 'possibilities' and none of them appear as what they seem. Reality on the other hand is like a tsundere, great if it likes you, temperamental if it don't.
So, in the end, I ended up sprawled up on the bed as I stared up at the ceiling and reminded myself that this world was no different than our own. After so much thoughts and thinking, I finally realized that I'm pathetic and have no real power in helping any of my students. Not as their teacher and not as the only adult in their lives, in this world they could rely on.
{Reborn complete}
"What the..." I sat up with fear in my eyes. I instinctively reached up to the words in front of me like you would do in VR. To my surprise, the words lit up as if it was highlighted.
{To activate the 'Mastermind System', You, the player must complete a simple task within 4 days. Failure to do so will result in a penalty. Good luck.}
[System Update: 0/2 Students saved. Timer: 95:59:59 remaining.]
{Skills unlocked: Helping Hand, Master's Eyes, Information Network.}