"Huh…Where am I? Am I dead?" Toshiro questioned as he puzzledly looked at his surroundings.
He was on a luxurious king size bed. There were silky white bedsheets and a purple blanket that felt like velvet covering him. There were four bed posts around him as well as a white canopy. The canopy was translucent, so he couldn't make out all the details of the room he was in. It seemed really nice though. Toshiro squinted his eyes as the sunlight that shone through the canopy entered his eyes.
He struggled to recall what had happened before he lost consciousness. He spoke out loud to solidify his thoughts.
"Okay…Okay. Professor Johnson asked us to open our books. Then I heard a sound and saw a bright light…AN EXPLOSION!? Wait, an explosion, a terrorist attack. That would make sense, IU (International University) was created by the UN. A terrorist attack on IU would cause a lot of damage. WAIT WAIT, don't get distracted. Alright, I couldn't hear anything after that, but why? Oh, my eardrums must have burst, but…WHA! Wait, I can hear perfectly fine now. Plus, I'm not hurt at all, I actually feel pretty good. Okay…Okay. Then what happened?" Toshiro continued his muttering, deep in a state of deductive reasoning.
"Sirens…siren from police…NO AMBULANCES. We were all half-dead," Toshiro mumbled as he suddenly remembered something.
Toshiro remembered the sight of a badly burned and bleeding Fumiko being placed onto a stretcher as she moaned in despair, calling Alex's name. He also recalled the pleading voice of Leni, the annoying but cute loli. He remembered the voice seemed like it was calling for someone, not for someone to save her. But for someone to stay with her until the end. These memories sent shivers down Toshiro's spine and made him nauseous.
Toshiro Ryumori had witness many gruesome injuries and defects during his time in university, after all he was nicknamed the Mad Doctor for a reason.
He couldn't count the number of human corpses he had dissected or the number of malformed experimental rats he had thrown in the trash. But when he remembered the scene of two of his friends so disfigured and anguished he couldn't help but want to vomit. Tears started to spill out of Toshiro's eyes as he started to weep for the loss of his friends.
"Why am I here and they aren't? Why am I alive?" Toshiro mumbled as he cried.
Then something hit him. A switch flipped in his well developed brain. "Huh, why am I alive?" Toshiro questioned, dumbfounded.
"I was blown through a row of chairs and tore them off the floor. I was filled with shrapnel and couldn't even feel any pain with how serious my burns were…3rd, no maybe even 4th degree burns," Toshiro continued to mumble.
"By all accounts, I should be six feet under. Judging from the state of my body I couldn't be healthier. I shouldn't be sitting here talking without a scratch. I didn't die in the ambulance, and this clearly isn't a dream. And if I'm okay everyone else should be too. Then…Where am I? Yup, that's my first priority. First, gather info, then find everyone else," Toshiro decided on a plan of action within 5 seconds.
All of those thoughts took place in that short span of time.
Toshiro got out of the luxurious bed and moved the canopy aside.
He felt the cool touch of the white marble-tiled floor against his feet.
After standing up he glanced at his clothes or to be more precise, lack thereof.
"Huh, What the fuck, where are my clothes!?" Toshiro spat out in confusion.
Yup, Toshiro was completely naked, dick, balls, and all.
When he looked around the room more clearly he saw that the bed, an empty wardrobe, a luxurious-looking desk, and a full-body mirror were the only things in the room.
Toshiro walked to the edge of the window and gazed outside. He saw a sprawling cityscape below, built as if it were rising to a summit. But this was not the kind he was used to. This city to say the least was, "Old-timey as hell!" Toshiro yelled in astonishment.
"Smooth-stone roads? And those houses? Stone foundations and wooden frames with clay-tiled roofs. What the hell! What country is this; it looks like something straight out of a fantasy game or something!" Toshiro exclaimed in bewilderment.
"Seriously, is this a joke or is this a fucking isekai situation. Sigh. Whatever I'll just get the fuck out of here first," Toshiro continued grumbling as he approached the door to the room.
"Hmm, I guess it's open," Toshiro thought as he opened the door.
When he looked out the door Toshiro saw a pristine white marble hallway with white granite floor tiles. The floor was also covered in an exquisite red carpet embroidered with gold.
"Eh, why do I have a bad feeling about this," Toshiro said cautiously.
There was a locked door to his right that he couldn't open as well as an open hall to his left. Toshiro proceeded to walk down the hall, constantly checking his surroundings. He noticed 9 other open doors as he continued.
Toshiro continued walking until he entered an enormous dome-shaped audience chamber, it was about 100 meters in diameter, when he looked straight ahead he could see another door with a raised podium next to it.
"What the hell is this place?" Toshiro said, completely mystified.
It was then that he heard a familiar voice. It was an annoying voice from an idiotic American friend, but it cleared away a lot of his anxiety.
"Yo! Shiro!" yelled a certain American blonde as he ran over.
That's right it was Alex Grayson.
"Wha...Dude, what the fuck! Stop running! Hide the elephant trunk!" Toshiro yelled as he desperately covered his eyes.
Alex was in the same state as Toshiro, completely nude.
"Oh shit, my bad, " Alex said while scratching his head.
"Anyways, there are white robes over there," Alex said, pointing to the far left side of the room. 8 other people were standing around in a circle, chatting up a storm.
"And you didn't put one on," Toshiro said while glaring daggers at Alex.
"I was happy to see you, man. We all thought we died," Alex said with a serious expression.
This let Toshiro know just how serious, the ever joking Alex, was in this situation.
Toshiro was stunned for a brief moment before nodding.
When they reached the left side of the room there was a basket with pure white bathrobes as well as a basket with Jesus sandals next to it.
Before Toshiro could put on a robe a petite body tackled him to the ground.
"Wha"
"Big Brother Toshi," screamed Leni. Toshiro was about to push her off but felt slight wetness on his chest, it was Leni's tears.
"You're alive!" Leni cried out, seemingly relieved.
Toshiro gave the little loli a head pat and a hug before breaking away.
"Why were you happier to see Toshiro than your actual brother," Leon grunted as he helped Toshiro up.
Toshiro looked across the faces of everyone he could see. Alex, Fumiko, Daksha, Oliver, Irina, Leni, Leon, Choon Hee, and Li Chang. All of them were alive, without a scratch.
Toshiro gave out a deep sigh. "You're all okay,"
This lifted a massive weight off Toshiro's shoulders, making his burden a lot lighter.
Toshiro glanced at everyone's faces and then noticed, they were all either staring or looking away from him. To be more precise Leni was the only one staring at him with a perverted grin.
Toshiro's faced turned red as he remembered that he was still in his birthday suit.
He quickly slipped on a robe and a pair of Jesus sandals.
"Oh, by the way, guys..." Toshiro began to speak before being cut off by the sound of a door swinging open.
They all looked in the direction of the sound. The large exquisitely decorated wooden door next to the podium swung open. Following that, a group of about 50 men and women entered the space. They were all dressed in gleaming silver half-plate armor with what looked like black body gloves underneath. Each of them wore a different looking crest in the center of their breastplates. The largest group of knights had the crest of a sun radiating 7 beams of light. Another group of knights had the crest of a burning sword and a frozen shield crossed together. The group with the lowest number of knights wore the crest of a purple book being held in the mouth of an indigo crow. They all looked like knights straight out of a fantasy game.
They spread out and covered the perimeter of the chamber, causing the 10 students to move towards the center of the room. None of them wore helmets so all of their expressions were visible. There was a mixture of expressions among them. Some seemed suspicious, some looked exalted, and most of them just seemed curious.
When the knights had completely disseminated throughout the room, a trumpet blared causing the students to cover their ears reflexively.
"What the hell is this light novel-esque situation,"
"Don't ask me," Choon Hee whispered to Toshiro nervously.
After the trumpet sounded, 10 people entered the room and walked upon the large platform at the room's northernmost point. The 10 students cautiously approached the podium.
"I guess those are the blokes in charge," Oliver whispered to the group.
"They better explain this situation," Irina said with an icy look that could make a baby cry.
"Don't say anything rash," said Fumiko as she gave a stone-cold smile to the whole group.
Everyone gulped and nodded silently, even Li Chang.
"You stand in the presence of the honorable Holy Pope of the Septimian Orthodox Church, ruler of the Holy Rylous Empire, Robert Caltron III as well as the revered 7 Virtues of God," declared one of the knights in a loud voice while gesturing to a gaunt old man wearing intricate-looking robes.
His outfit looked nearly identical to the vestments worn by the Christian Pope. He had a long white beard and flowing white hair that came down to his neck. There was also a group of people in pure white robes standing in a semicircle behind the old man, 4 looked like men and the other 3 seemed to be women.
One thing didn't escape anyone's notice, "What the hell is this old guy's face," the old guy looked to be relishing the situation. He had a gaze that thought the entire world belonged to him.
"You also stand in the presence of His Majesty King Isaac Crowyth, monarch of the Crowyth Sword Kingdom as well as Her Majesty Queen Lidia Apheoria, monarch of the Kingdom of Apheoria," declared another knight.
He said while gesturing to a middle-aged man and woman dressed in extremely flashy attire.
The middle-aged guy looked about 40 but was buff as hell. He was wearing standard red kingly robes and had a huge greatsword that looked like it came straight out of WOW strapped to his waist. He looked extremely uncomfortable when standing next to the old man, but this didn't ruin his dashing good looks.
"Oi, what the fuck, this guy looks like Tom Crew from Mission Unstoppable!" everyone yelled in their head.
The woman was in her late 40s. But she could pass for her early 30s. She wore flattering purple robes that accentuated her balanced figure. She had an extremely thick book strapped to the side of her waist. She also didn't seem comfortable with this situation.
"Holy shit is that Natalie Fortman!? Are we on the set of a movie right now!?" everyone screamed again inwardly.
Everyone was stunned by the looks of the two people but then they noticed, something.
They could all be summed up in one statement.
"What the hell! What language was that and how do I understand it?!" Li Chang whispered loudly in surprise with an astonished expression.
"Say what"
"Huh"
"How the..."
"Wha..."
"The fuck..."
A cacophony of different responses sounded in the chamber.
Everyone had the same bewildered look on their faces. They couldn't be blamed for it. They were a collection of geniuses who studied 15 common languages and 5 lesser-known languages, each. There were no human languages these students had never even heard before.
Yet somehow every one of them was able to understand this language as if it were their native tongue even though none of them had heard it before.
"Calm yourselves, young heroes," commanded the old geezer in an auspicious tone.
All of the students quieted down and looked in the old man's direction with expressions that could only mean "Oi, old bastard, explain the situation,".
The old guy splendidly ignored those gazes and continued his speech. It seemed as though he had this prepared.
"Heroes from another world, welcome to the world of Ioglerah. Our God has summoned you from your world while you were at the brink of death. It is so that you might defeat the forces of the Demon Emperor and restore peace to Ioglerah,"
All of the students looked at the old man with mouths agape. They clearly couldn't believe what they were being told.
"No, no way, I mean this fits with what I was thinking...BUT NO WAY," Toshiro screamed inside his head while staring at the old man with his mouth agape.
"So, heroes from another world. I implore you to save our world!" declared the old geezer in a pompous yet majestic manner.
There was a mix of reactions among the students due to that declaration. Daksha instantly fainted from shock and was caught by a weak-kneed Oliver and an angrily trembling Irina. Choon Hee seemed to be grinning but was drowning in a cold sweat. Li Chang had one eyebrow raised and was glaring daggers at the old man. Fumiko had her eyes closed and seemed to be deep in thought. Leon and Alex just stood there with their mouths wide open, and Leni was tugging on Toshiro's sleeve, asking him if he heard the same thing.
"Are you fucking kidding me, we ended up in a whole new world!" Toshiro nearly screamed.