- Court of new Beginnings -

Tap tap tap, tap tap....

An elegant lady sat behind a registration desk and tapped away at the old, yet well preserved type-writer.

The words that were printed out on the white paper gave out a mysterious glow. Each word was written in an abstract language and anyone who saw it, would feel like it contained an infinite amount of information. The paper in which it was written on curled behind the type writer and faded into nothingness but somehow, it still kept on spitting out more and more paper as the lady typed on it.

In front of the reception desk, was a golden majestic hall with chandeliers that lit up the entire place with bright golden light. A huge analog clock with five different hands floated above the reception desk as each hand slowly made it way towards the 12'o clock mark. A red carpet was also rolled from the entrance door to the reception desk and many sofas and coffee tables were placed on either side of it. Each table was accompanied by a white vase with golden illusive flowers.

Many people were seated on these sofas. Some talked with each other in small groups while others just sat there and relaxed by themselves. It seemed as though they were waiting for something to happen.

Time passed by and the hall suddenly grew quiet as the last and the shortest hand on the clock made its way to the 12'o clock mark. The receptionist also stopped typing and mumbled two words under her breath.

"Augment. Voice."

A small golden circle appeared in front of her mouth as she completed her sentence. Her other hand was holding the torn off paper from the type writer as she read the contents silently on her mind.

The clock's hands finally aligned with each other. A short happy jingle was played before the hall turned extremely quiet again. The receptionist spoke into the square box after a few seconds of silence. The golden circle in front of her mouth seemed to amplify her voice making sure that it reached every corner of the hall.

"Good Evening agents. Before we begin the program prepared tonight, the Court of new Beginnings would like to congratulate you for staying alive and successfully completing your tasks in the past year!

You are the ones that have completed all the tasks issued by us and have not violated any laws implemented in the contract! This is indeed commendable and you will be rewarded soon!"

The receptionist then made a twirling motion with her fingers. This made the clock glow with bright golden light and the face of the clock suddenly projected a huge circular screen. There were many abstract symbols on it and the guests were able to easily read the countless information on it. It seemed that the symbols would appear in their mother language for different guests.

The receptionist then continued :

"We shall now begin the program with the yearly report:

Passed agents....99

Failed agents...10167

....

....

....

and finally, the bounty of the ' Criminal ' has been doubled again for this year totaling upto 3 million codes and a 'Jail-break'. "

With another twirling motion from the receptionist, the screen displayed the figure of a middle aged man. He was quite tall and wore a neat brown suit with a matching overcoat. His black hair had white sideburns and was neatly combed to the side. His face was sharp and expressionless but his grey eyes had a cold glare that seemed to maul the soul of the person who stared at it. Any ordinary person would feel a domineering effect just by looking at the photo.

The guests heard the bounty but nobody reacted.

Sure, the rewards would definitely make anyone drool. It would take them their whole lifetime just to save up to that amount; and buying a 'Jail-Break' was impossible even to the best of them. But.....they'd rather start saving up money than try to hunt the bounty.

This was a reward that had about 0% chance of success and 100% chance of instant death. Especially if that person was the one looking for you. Nobody wished to play Russian-roulette with all chambers of the revolver loaded.

"With this we have come to the end of the program. Your rewards will be deposited in your safes. Thank you."

--- East Cinter --- Red Rock Street --- Red Rock Middle School ---

A young boy stood up from his desk and started packing his books after glancing at the sky outside. It was nearing winter and the sun was quick to set. This gave the classroom a mellow red tint even though it was just 4 pm. The boy had borrowed some history and mythology books from some libraries, and was so engrossed in it that he had lost track of time.

He had curly brown hair and carried a bored expression on his face. His eyes were glazed as if he did not care about anything that happened around him and he wore a middle school uniform that was comprised of a simple white shirt, brown pants and black shoes. There was also a brown overcoat on the desk beside his own. The only characteristic feature about him was the round, steel rimmed glasses that he wore all the time. It's lens were thick but did not refract any light. They were clearly just for show.

While packing his books, the classroom door suddenly opened and a middle aged man walked inside. The boy looked up and saw that it was the night guard, Mr. Kasper Fortes. The night guard looked at the boy and chuckled,

"Heh.....last day in middle school and you're still here huh, Potter boy."

Mr. Kasper was a friendly looking man with mature facial features. He had neatly combed black hair and wore a blue shirt underneath his thick black jacket. He also wore black trousers and neat black shoes that were wrinkled due to constant use.

Geo smiled at him with the same bored expression and said,

"Hello Mr. Kasper. It's my last day here, so I thought i'd spend some quality time with the school today. Also, please use my first name, it's Geo."

"Heh...you're here everyday tho."

Mr. Kasper had always seen the boy reading some books after class, since he got his job as a night guard. At first, he thought that the kid was just a troublemaker that was detained by some teacher but was surprised to find out that this 14 year old was staying back on his own accord. He was even more surprised when the kid showed up nearly everyday after class. Due to this constant interaction for nearly 2 and a half years, he had a gist of Geo's character.

Smart, polite, disinterested, and very bold. Geo also had a signature smile that did not have any emotion, it was just there for politeness. Whenever he was focused or happy Geo's eyes would sharpen up.

It rarely happened whenever Geo was around him, but the one time it happened, was when Geo had caught a pile of books that had slipped out of the teacher's hands, midair. Though he had the usual bored face, his eyes were crystal clear for quite a while after the incident. His lips had also curled up a little bit. This wasn't much of a reaction but it had some emotion in it.

Mr Kasper had just started to enter his office that day, when he saw this.

'So the kid 'can' smile', he had thought at that moment.

While Mr. Kasper was reminiscing about the past few years. Geo had already put on his brown overcoat and was walking towards the exit.

"Goodbye Mr. Kasper. I hope i'll see you around the neighbourhood!"

Geo stopped before the classroom door and said with a smile. The night guard smiled back and nodded.

"Let's hope so. Goodbye kid."

Geo quickly headed towards the school library and returned the books that he had borrowed.

The sun had not set yet when he exited the school building. He stared at the red dyed sky and let out a deep sigh.

' Today was boring as always.

Sigh...Don't those anime mcs* always end up in some kind of cool fantasy world?

Why did 'I' end up here then?!

Did my luck run out while spinning some wierd gacha of transmigration??

This world isn't even as advanced like the Earth where I came from!

This world's name, Elnia, literally means 'Land' in ancient Illyc.

Isn't this too much of a coincidence???**

Or are you saying that i'm some side character that will eventually meet the main character and reveal the fact that I was from Earth too, only to end up getting killed right after my short screen time, by some evil organisation?!

....Man....if that happens, I won't even be able to taste magic or whatever voodoo mungachunga.... Sigh....At least the history and mythology here are different. Otherwise I might have gone mad from having nothing new to do! '

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* Main Character/Protagonist

** Earth in Latin is called 'Terra' which translates to Land. Since Elnia also translates into 'Land', the protagonist thinks that Elnia might just be Earth but with a fancier name.