After being swallowed by the blinding light, Michael found himself laying down inside a luxurious castle.
In front of him were a few steps leading to a big throne, behind it was a large stained glass of what seemed like an angel.
Multiple people with priest clothing were beside the person on the throne which he assumed was the king, staring down at him with worried expressions.
Ten pillars on each side formed a line to the altar with a big red carpet that has gold patterns in the middle.
Besides the ones in front, there were even more luxurious pillars and windows littered all around the gigantic room that spans 40 meters in each direction with a 20-meter height.
In the middle, a diamond chandelier hung with bits of emerald and ruby.
The walls were made out of very shiny materials that has gold patterns, while both the dome-like ceiling and floor were made out of marble.
It was like nothing he had ever seen before. Even the most stunning buildings back on earth aren't comparable to this.
Underneath him were runes the same as the ones earlier, but now written with chalk on the shiny tiles.
He noticed the same pattern around the carpet with one person chanting on each of them.
The person that had attended to his circle bowed when Michael turned around and backed away.
'You've gotta be fucking kidding me..." Michael inwardly cursed.
But the anger quickly disappeared when he notices an orange-haired girl beside him laying down, dismay and panic quickly taking over him.
Michael quickly grabs the girl by the shoulders and turns her around to see an unconscious Mia. He had hoped it wasn't her but it was just a pointless expectation.
His heart sank at that moment. He had failed to save her.
He bashes his bloody hand holding the umbrella on the ground whilst the other tightly held Mia.
"I'm sorry, I'm...sorry, I'm sorry...." He apologized with tears at the corner of his eyes.
Michael felt bad. If it was only him then he can manage, but bringing along a loved one was a different story.
But the crying didn't last long as six more beams of light shot up on the runes around the red carpet to the ceiling, catching his attention.
Three people came out of each beam but the most apparent of them all was the one to his right a few meters away.
Came out of it were a blonde boy and a red-haired girl; it was Zack and Rebecca.
His eyes brightened at the sight of familiar faces. The thought of being a hero didn't seem too bad now.
Perhaps with some friends, he can carry on.
But suddenly a girl's shriek echoed as she points towards Micheal, grabbing the attention of everyone followed by their horrified expressions.
At first, he didn't know what was going on, but then he remembered the fact that there were three people in each beam.
A flashback to when before they got transported then came to him.
In a cold sweat, he looks to his left to see the body of the student he had beaten; lifeless.
He screamed in shock and stood up in fear.
Before he knew it, he was surrounded by the guards.
Some raised their spears at him while others pointed their crossbows.
They were all lightly armored, with white sleeves and padded leggings that are covered with grey metal plates on the joints, chest, and back.
Gems were also embedded inside their gauntlets, but that alone already gave Michael an idea of what they are and it's best to not confront them.
"Drop your weapon!" One of the guards yelled as he enters the encirclement with his shield up.
Compared to the others, he was in full metal armor.
It was titanium white in color with grey and gold patterns. On his back, a majestic yellow cape with an arc-like cross fluttered.
The man's red eyes faintly glowed underneath the opened visor of his helmet. Intimidating Michael greatly.
"W-What? What weapon?" He exclaimed with a quavering voice.
There were a total of 15 guards around him including the captain-like figure.
"I SAID DROP YOUR WEAPON!" The guard roared.
Michael was startled by this and unconsciously took a step back.
Suddenly, the umbrella on his left hand opened. He had accidentally pressed a button on it.
The guards were alarmed and quickly backed away.
Unfortunately, one of them accidentally pressed a trigger on their crossbow, hitting him on the thigh.
"AHHHHH!" Michael screamed in pain as he dropped down.
"Stop! That's not a weapon! It's just an object to cover us from the rain!" Zack yelled after snapping out of his daze.
The guards didn't listen and also surrounded him.
"STOP!" The man on the throne roared.
"How dare you hurt the heroes!"
"B-But sire, he ki-" The man in full clad armor tried to explain before he stopped midway as he saw the king's enraged appearance.
The man felt the murderous gaze of the king and kneeled in fear. "Please forgive this unruly servant for his transgressions!"
"I will take responsibilities for my men. Punish me if you so desire, I will not question thee and will accept any retribution." The man added as he lowers his head further.
The other guards also knelt shortly after with their heads rooted on the floor.
Zack quickly passes through the kneeling men as he ran towards Michael with Rebecca following behind him shortly.
"A-Are you okay?!"
"Finer than ever," Michael said with a feeble smile.
"Oh don't fuck with me."
"But you just asked the obvious?" He said teasingly despite in pain.
In a situation like this, he knew staying calm and composed is a priority.
Even if there's an arrow stabbed in his thigh.
"Omg! Mia!" Rebecca exclaimed as she crouches down and embraced Mia in her arms.
"Did something happen?!"
"T, this fucker attacked us...But she wasn't hurt...I think she just fainted..." Michael breathlessly explained as he looks at the others who were also sent here.
There were a total of 20 students, excluding the one who had already died.
All of them if not the same age, only had a one-year difference. They all wore different uniforms.
Michael also noticed the looks of disdain and fear from them.
"Heal that man up first! I shall tend to your punishments later!" The king ordered.
"Yes sir!" The guards replied, standing up and going back to their positions, with one of them exiting the room.
The guard that left entered a few minutes later followed by a man in a green cloak.
Just from the looks, Michael had assumed it was a healer.
"This will hurt a little, but please bear with it..."
"It will only hurt a little." The man said in a soft tone as to not scare the young boy.
Michael nodded followed by a scream.
The man had swiftly taken out the arrow.
A bright green light emitted from the man's hand followed by a soothing feeling.
Blood gushed out of the wound, but before it had even dripped down to the floor it had already closed.
Michael was astonished.
The man then wrapped Michael's foot with a bandage.
"The wound may be gone but some of the pain might still be there...This is just for support, you can take it off once you feel everything's fine." He explained with a smile before kneeling to the king and leaving.
After calming down, he laid his head on Zack's lap and gathered his thoughts.
Meanwhile, the king sighed as he writes on a piece of paper with a troubled face.
-He understood the language, which is common in these kinds of situations but would suck if it didn't, he was thankful it was.
-His first impressions of his fellow "heroes" will bring him some scornful and biased eyes. He should be careful.
-The king seemed kind and righteous, but he's having some suspicions.
Despite being your average high schooler, Michael is a collected man, he won't risk things and he'll always carefully plan everything.
A perfect personality for being a businessman but he has no interest in commerce thus using his time on various other activities, one of which is reading novels.
He then sat down and formed a circle with his friend group and summarized his thoughts and opinions. They both fully agreed with Michael's judgment despite still being dumbfounded by the situation.
After a few minutes, the king finally stood up and spoke. "Welcome heroes! I know this is a surprising event, so I gave you all some space. But now I think is high time to explain the situation."
"Firstly, welcome to the world of Fantasia!"