Xavier couldn't believe his eyes as he stepped into the room. There was a large table stretching down the full length of the room as well as several small tables for people to sit at in small groups. There were people all over the room eating and several people in white uniforms carrying food around to those who were seated. The room was lit by elegant golden chandeliers and all the furniture was made of mahogany wood. "This is what I meant." Tyler smiled and clapped Xavier on the back. "Welcome to the best place in the castle, the feast hall."
Xavier couldn't help but drool a little as he looked at all the food before a pair of fingers snapped in his face. Xavier now back in reality looked to see Rachel pulling her fingers away from his face. "Of course both of these woken had to be gluttons." Xavier shook his head and held a finger up as if making an important statement. "Food is necessary for survival but why shouldn't we get to enjoy a necessity that can be prepared and presented in a mass variety of ways?" Tyler closed his eyes and nodded along with Xavier's words. "The words of a man who knows the value of life."
Rachel rolled her eyes and walked across the room sitting at an empty table by herself. The rest of the group sat at a table near the door and Xavier looked at the others. "So how do we get food here?" Tyler looked at him. "Just wait and see my friend." Xavier sat and waited and before long one of the people in the white uniform came up to them and placed plates full of food in front of each of them. Xavier looked up at them. "I'm sorry we didn't ask for anything yet. This must be someone else food." The man who gave them the food shook his head. "We have the most talented chef in the land. Just by looking at someone he can prepare them a meal that they love and also need. If you do not believe me try your food." Xavier looked at the others who were already all eating and he looked down at his food. It was a grilled fish on top of some leafy greens with tomatoes and a cut of lemon. Xavier squeezed the lemon over the fish and cut off a piece eating it and instantly felt a wave of familiarity. Xavier could feel smell saltwater and a gentle misty breeze on his face for a moment before a voice called him back to his senses.
"So my boy how does it taste? It is perfect is it not?" Xavier nodded to the man. "It's perfect compliments to the chef all the way." The man smiled walking away with an atmosphere of pride. "Thank you kind sir I appreciate it." He then walked through an opening into a room that Xavier could see some steam coming out of and assumed it was the kitchen. Everyone ate their food and began to talk about the kingdom. From the conversation, Xavier learned that the kingdom is one of eight on the continent and it is the third-largest of the eight. Each Kingdom has a capital city and several small towns throughout its territory.
Each kingdom is at peace with each other but monsters spawn from within kingdoms and attack the people living there. Surprisingly though every race that is on the continent is spawned as monsters but with variations between them. One such example is the orcs and goblins of the kingdom of Grumutille. While both are naturally some shade of yellow or green however monstrous orcs are red and called blood orcs and goblins white being named albino goblins. The most common though to Xavier and Tyler's surprise was the race of fairies which their monster counterpart was named pixie.
There were plenty of other monsters and the most common monster was a hive mind called the infestation. The infestation has corrupted a few forests to the south of the continent and occasionally tries to extend its reach. The adventures guild however keeps it in control as it gets stronger the deeper you enter so it's a great way to determine their member's overall capabilities and help beginners find easy farmable monsters to gain experience in combat. Xavier's interest was peaked the most though at the mention of the interface. "The interface is how everyone progresses in their jobs. For example, a framer would gain experience farming and turn it from a job to a profession. Once a job goes up to a profession it becomes very easy for them to do such things related to it as you gain levels and skills." Sintarra had explained to them yet Xavier and Tyler had no idea how they could use the interface.
"So how exactly do we use this interface thing?" Tyler asked her to try and figure out if they didn't get to use it. "Oh that is simple you already have it in part of your brain, you just need to visualize it in front of yourself and it will appear." Xavier began to focus but couldn't seem to have anything appear before him. Looking over to Tyler though he saw him adjusting his eyes as if he was reading something however Xavier didn't notice anything there. "Do you see anything Tyler? I can't seem to get mine to come up?" Tyler still looking through only gave a nod as a response.
Sintarra gave Xavier a compassionate smile. "It's okay most woken don't get it right away, part of being in another world and the amnesia we assume. Although there is somewhere we can take you to help you out." Xavier eager to try and see his own interface stood up and was already heading towards the exit of the feast hall. "Let's go take me wherever we need to go then." The others got up Ethan shaking Tyler's shoulder to get him to follow along and Rachel seeing them leave from across the room had to run after them to catch up. "You know you could have said something to me before leaving. You didn't have to leave me there." Ethan had his turn to snap back at Rachel. "Well maybe learn to stick with the squad if you don't wanna be forgotten behind."
After that, they didn't hear a word from Rachel for the rest of the walk through the castle. While the group made their way Xavier couldn't help but notice the beauty of the castle itself. Occasionally seeing out small windows he could see a large city dotted with plenty of buildings and monuments surrounding the castle. The group also passed several small gardens with beautiful flowers and ivy walls with a vast variety between each one. One thing that Xavier felt he stared at for an eternity as they passed by it was a large statue dimly lit from a small skylight. The statue depicted a man on a throne with eight flags coming off the throne. "Who was that statue of?" Xavier asked and Ethan took the time to explain it to him. "That is a man of legend. It is said in legends and myths passed down from the beginning of eternity that one day a king will rise above all others. That he shall possess power unimaginable to the mortal mind and his name will make dragons into lap dogs and demons fear his name. Once that king rises he will rally every nation under his banner and vanquish the monster threat for eternity. This is why we call him the Eternal King."
Xavier couldn't even begin to imagine how powerful someone could be so powerful in a world where everyone can gain immense magical or physical power beyond what he thought was possible. Realizing this though Xavier wondered how he had a standard for the average person when for all he knew this was the average way people lived day to day. He kept his mind on it trying to remember anything from his life before but all he got was weird sounds and shapes nothing better than static in his mind. Continuing the walk Xavier began to notice several opened doors and peeked into them as the group passed. He noticed several vials in one room with a man mixing them in a large pot while chanting something. In another, he noticed a collection of children watching a fight between two knights as they demonstrated how to perform some sort of combat maneuver. Tyler pointed out a room as well that had several strange animals in cages and they together noticed a man take one and tie a rolled piece of parchment to its leg and slip a small bag onto its back before releasing it out of a window.
What kind of creatures were those things in that room we passed? "Oh those? Those are homunculus. elementals often summon them and use them for various things and some specialize in summoning many at once. Those who summon monsters primarily are called Arcane summoners and ones who summon spirits and divine entities are referred to as Spiritual summoners. We often keep one employed if not several to be able to have a reliable way to send packages and mail between the kingdoms as such creatures can use magic to protect themselves and their cargo."
Xavier became a bit intrigued by the idea of summoning and wondered how hard it would be to master it. Before he could think on it too long though the group stopped at a large spiral staircase and Ethan pointed up. "You can learn how to possibly use your interface up there. Our astrologist is also a dream walker who helps guide people while in a state of sleep. They only accept one person there at a time and seeing as how we can see the light at the top she is open at the moment. Just remember do not criticize anything she says while you are up there or she'll refuse to ever assist you again." With that everyone stepped to the side giving Xavier room to make his way up the staircase one step at a time feeling his heart pound harder the higher he went. Finally, Xavier stopped at the front of a door slightly opened with an eerie blue light shining through the gap between the door and the frame. Before he could even speak a thin boney hand reached through and grabbed him by the hair and yanked him in the door slamming with a shut that echoed down the stairs. Sintarra and Ethan began sprinting up the stairs in concern as this was unlike anything they had experienced from the astrologist before.