I follow Nadia through the corridors, Doctor Parker following us.
As I leave the medical wing, I see a hallway and notice a sign above the door written [Medium Area N°1], looking I see that next to it is called [Support Warehouse N°1], further away I see [Machine Room N°1].
"What are the numbers? Why do I only see 1 and not 2?" - Asked Nadia as I look at the names on the signs.
"Oh, that? We are in Sector N°1, there are 2 other Sectors nearby with similar facilities, built in case of emergency and conflicts with the other side!" - Nadia said rather calmly.
I nodded and opened the [Map], soon discovering that... we are underground?
"We are in the underground?" - I ask, Nadia looks at me, then nods.
"This place is so big, you must be really rich!" - I say, because in this hallway alone I've seen about 6 doors, if they are all around the size of the medical area, this must be about 300 M² in size, but it's certainly more!
If all of this is underground, and by the looks of it, about 20 meters below ground...holy crap, this is bigger than I thought!
The [Map] just loaded, this is fucking huge and I'm only on the 1st floor, there seem to be more, which are blackened and I'm unable to access them.
But due to it being an underground, my [Map] is very limited, I think it's scanning about 200~300 meters with me as the center, normally it's about 10 km.
Nadia to my question, just smiled and said nothing, just guided me to an elevator.
In the process I saw that dozens of white and blue dots appeared on the map, most of them being in a place that appears to be some kind of cafeteria and laser area.
...
In the elevator, Nadia presses the button to go to the upper floors, that is, we start to leave the underground!
And it doesn't take long to stop, Nadia gets out and I follow behind, I keep analyzing the [Map] and I see a path from my house to here.
I am about 70 km away, the damned have gone to the highway and apparently we are in a set of 3 identical 5-story buildings, the one in the middle of the 3, which is built on the end.
You could say that the 3 buildings are forming a triangle, with this one being the tip.
I already notice hundreds of white and blue dots, some yellow, which doesn't make me very happy.
Then I notice something different, a yellow dot that is twice the size of Nadia's, only today I realize that the sizes of the dots is linked to their level.
Nadia is almost 5 times bigger than Doctor Parker's dot, but this dot is 2 times bigger than Nadia's, which makes me frown, why is this person yellow?
...
I am soon taken to the 2nd floor, where we arrive in front of an office and I frown, the yellow dot person twice Nadia's size is here.
"What?" - Nadia asked noticing my obvious nervousness.
"Someone strong is there..." - I say fearfully.
Nadia's eyebrows twitch slightly, she quickly smiles and just knocks on the door.
"You can come in!" - A deep, masculine voice sounds, Nadia opens the door.
"Ah, hi Nadia... that would be?" - An old man says, looking at me from behind his desk covered with documents and books.
"That's the little beauty Tristan brought, she's quite interesting, you'll like her!" - Nadia says smiling as she introduces me.
The man, Mr. Pietro, shows surprise at those words, I am surprised to be unable to see his Level, but it must be around 250.
"So that's the girl Tristan brought? Well, sit down!" - Says Pietro pointing to the chair in front of him.
I glance at Nadia and Parker, before going and sitting down.
Soon I am under this man's sharp eyes, Nadia and Parker standing just behind me, one on each side... what a shitty situation!
"So...who are you?" - Pietro asked.
"Lagertha Juri Han, but I prefer to be called Juri!" - I said.
"I see... Ms. Juri, you must be very confused about everything that's going on, what was that thing that attacked you and-"
"I'm not interested!" - I interrupt him and say, which makes him look surprised.
"That... Tristan told me that was your first time being exposed to the Paranormal... did you already know?" - Pietro asks confused.
"I didn't know anything on this side, but I figured out the basics when I woke up." - I say calmly.
Pietro looks at Nadia and Parker, searching for answers.
"Mr. Pietro, Ms. Juri is an impressive young lady who has filled me with shock since she woke up, since she woke up in only 6 hours since it happened...she appears to be 100% fine, even though she refuses to let me look at her, everything appears to be fine, the gauges indicate that everything is stable and healthy, it doesn't even seem like she got here missing 1/3 of her vitality!" - Says Parker smiling bitterly.
Pietro narrowed his eyes and looked at Nadia. - "I didn't say anything to her, she found out about [Negative Dimension], [Paranormal] and [Negative Energy] all by herself, she did something and already knew!"
Soon confused Pietro looks at me, obviously looking for answers.
"Ever since I've known myself and learned language and grammar better, I have an almost perfect control over the information of my body and everything I own, I know if I will be having any medical problems, I know exactly when I will burp, fart and so on, I have the ability to force information to arise in my mind about things I don't know about.
Because of this I have analyzed this [Negative Energy] within me, finding out about the [Negative Power] that strengthens me when dealing with paranormal creatures and apparently, with those who use [Negative Energy] as well... I also found out about these Rituals and Abilities, I just don't know the details, since it was just a mention and that's why I had said that this ability of mine is 'almost perfect'!" - I begin to explain my lie/truth as best I can.
Pietro is surprised and listens intently to what I speak, closes his eyes a little and immediately asks. - "I understand in parts, but surely you have no information about our organization or more specific details about this new energy inside your body, correct?"
"Exactly! I also wanted to ask what this [Sanity] thing is, if you know, I understand the term, but why has this become more... characteristic than usual?" - I ask quietly.
"The [Sanity] is literally that, our sanity, what keeps us sane, if we lose it, we go crazy and it will be hard to come back!
The Other Side constantly attacks us in various ways, but its main weapon is the ability to drive reality humans crazy, often going so far as to kill us!
But [Sanity] is also our currency with the Other Side, we can always get it back by resting or doing things that make us relaxed, being with those we love and so on, but the more we connect to the Other Side, the more strength we need to stay on our feet and fight them, so we need to make sacrifices in exchange for strength!
So using part of our [Sanity] as currency, we acquire the [Rituals], [Abilities], [Talents] and [Characteristics], see Nadia who brought you here, she focused mainly on physical development and the Paranormal Element she connects with is Flesh!
Because of this, she chose Skills and Talents mainly, giving her greater physical abilities, where by activating her [Negative Energy], she is easily able to lift 5 Tons, as well as having some Rituals that I won't talk about!
Doctor Parker has focused on studying the medical field of Rituals, being connected to Death, having the ability to accelerate the healing of open wounds, stabilize other people's minds, and much more!" - Pietro said rather calmly.
I am very surprised by all this, this is quite different from what I expected, of course, I understood it would be different from the Fantasy I am used to, but it is a Modern World, what to expect?
"You said something about [Characteristics] but apparently none of them have them, what is that?" - I ask curious.
"The [Characteristics] can come by choice or side effect of some Skills and Talents, it rarely arises because of Rituals, where it modifies the individual's appearance, generating tails, horns, additional arms and etc... you'll see when you meet the agents underground." - Said Pietro rather calmly.
And well, what followed was a long and informative conversation, Pietro explaining me about the Paranormal, which made me acquire the Passive Skill [Paranormal Knowledge], which helps to compile and understand the Paranormal better.
Soon it was time for him to explain about the Aurea Order, telling me an intriguing story from almost 1 millennium ago about the birth of the Order, as well as the past.
I read it on the internet, but information older than the last 500 years is very fragmented and hard to find.
The mythology of this world is also very strange, there are hundreds of countries in the world and of course thousands of Gods and hundreds of Religions.
But everything that I found about Gods is very strange and even seems to have been invented recently with all kinds of drivel, many of the stories being very repetitive.
As for the dominant Religion, something that cannot be missing in any world, since without Religion, people are not people!
I may not like religion or believe in any, but I know that it is important for societies to progress with law and order, since religion brings fear and fascination to people's minds, leaving them more in order.
And well, the dominant Religion of this world that is also called Earth, is similar to Christianity, only that instead of a Jesus Christ, in the past who sacrificed himself and made a cross the symbol of God, was someone called a Saint.
The story simply said that 3,000 years ago, a child was born who from an early age showed himself to be very kind and caring, having knowledge beyond his time and helping the people to end famines and conflicts.
He healed people, and reached a point where a kind of aureole appeared above his head, where everyone who saw him could only call him a Saint!
But one day out of prejudice, as well as the lack of control of an Empire of the time, they captured the Saint who showed no resistance, so he was tortured for months or years into submission and to use his gifts for the good of his Empire and the high class.
Refusing, he was beheaded, and it is said that after his death, his body exploded into light, which formed a golden cross and stuck into the ground, no one had been able to move or damage that cross, no matter how hard they tried.
Thus began the Religion of the [God of Justice] and his son, the [Holy One]!
But well, the story told by Pietro is this!
Since ancient times, mankind has confronted his sins, his wickedness and thoughts, his emotions, the Other Side!
The Other Side is formed by Human Emotions, mainly the negative and distorted ones, for some reason, mainly Lust.
So in places with a high concentration of this energy, cracks would appear and creatures would come from the Other Side into Reality!
Many killings and rapes would occur, it took a while, but Humans started fighting back and discovering more of the Other Side!
Soon the wars would intensify, Humans fighting against Humans and also against the Other Side!
The Paranormal Creatures soon showed themselves to be carriers of intelligence as well, the danger from the Other Side only increased.
Centuries of chaos and killing progressed, which became 2 millennia!
In other words, everything before 1,000 years ago was widespread chaos, so the existing information is extremely scarce, as it may have been destroyed or modified for the current audience.
And the reason was shown when Pietro said that the Other Side gets stronger, the more people are connected to it!
Cracks appear more frequently, but 1,000 years ago, a so-called [Historical Burning] occurred.
An Emperor ruling an entire Continent ordered such a feat and warned other Continents to do the same, but that was all, a warning.
So on the Continent, nothing changed initially, it wasn't until decades later that there were changes, as the Emperor's specialized Armies dealt with countless Occultist and Paranormal Creatures.
Not to mention that they lied to the people in the villages, saying that the culprits were costumed people wanting to use the name of demons to scare them and so on.
People who personally saw it and didn't believe it, had to be silenced for better or worse!
Thus one of the bloodiest times on the continent that I live occurred, but it proved to be effective, as fewer Cracks appeared and the people slowly began to prosper, even though the Emperor received a terrible reputation that he is to this day.
And well, with prosperity and peace coming to the continent, others who saw this, began to do the same, but that's the interesting thing, they blamed the Emperor!
They said he was crazy and greedy, so he sent armies to annihilate other continents and subjugate them, but in the end they all resisted successfully, but the result was the death of millions of civilians.
A real bastardry, but in the end what could the Emperor do? He must have annihilated 1/3 of his people, so he must have had few armies, and he still had to take care to assimilate all the Kingdoms and Empires he had devoured, since it was an entire Continent!
So he had no way to retaliate against the whole world, it would be suicide!
But well, after 1 century, the Emperor had already died, his son who inherited him died years later and it was the time of his grandson.
A kind and wise Emperor, who led his people to prosperity and divided his Empire into several regions with names of the old Kingdoms and Empires, as a privilege and tribute, which today are the existing countries on the Continent.
And then this Emperor to fight against the forces of the Other Side, as well as Occultists seeking immortality, chaos and strange ideals, the Aurea Order arose!
Aurea being the name of the late beloved of this Emperor, who eventually died against the Other Side.
Since then the Aurea Order has expanded, having a few thousand members all over the Continent, investigating and connecting with various problems that have arisen over the centuries.
And the Aurea Order is standing even today, with over 900 years of history!
Over the years, many Kingdoms and Empires have helped the Golden Order financially, today all Nations of this continent help the Golden Order.
There are some Nations from other Continents with great relations with the Golden Order, but the influence in other continents is much smaller, especially in the Asian Continent, they are very isolated and firmly refuse to cooperate with other Continents.
They refuse to negotiate valuable knowledge and techniques that could benefit both parties.
Simply put, the same as in my past life!
A lot of information and there is even more, but I need to calm my mind and accept all this.
Then looking at Pietro I say. - "So this is where you recruit me now?"
"No, this is when you will be isolated for investigation, I apologize in advance, but please cooperate with the Doctors and Researchers, we will do you no harm, we only wish to prevent you from being an enemy!" - And with that my expression closes!
But unfortunately I am unable to resist, so sighing, I let them take me away, I don't want to hear any more and I already show my displeasure.
It doesn't take long before I am taken to the 2nd underground floor, where there they take me to a room with thick metal doors and reinforced glass.
"I apologize little beauty, but after the investigations you will be allowed to leave, we all go through this!" - Nadia said and I just shrug as the door closes behind my back.
I look at the white room with few furniture, I sigh and soon lie down on the bed, I grab my cell phone from my Inventory, ignoring the cameras, there is no signal, so I return it to the Inventory, I think and soon grab one of the books on the bookshelf to read.