Jombang City, East Java. That's the city where three young men live. They go to a well-known school, but that doesn't mean they are smart. Their grades only reach the average level.
Now that class has ended, the sun shines into the room with its bright rays. Many students can't stand it and leave, but there are still four of them remaining in the classroom. Not because of extracurricular activities or extra lessons, but simply because they are too lazy to go home.
"It's already half past four, but it still feels like it's only three o'clock." Lidya looks at the wall clock above the whiteboard.
"I-If that's the case, let's go home! W-We shouldn't stay here for too long, or the gardener will chase us away!" A girl with short shoulder-length hair and glasses starts to worry.
The girl with the trio is Anita. She is part of Micah, Rudi, and Lidya's circle of friends. However, she is not as idle and mischievous as the three of them. Anita could end up in their circle because the three of them are the ones who often talk to her. Not to mention Anita sits next to Lidya and in front of Micah and Rudi, which automatically includes her in their friendship.
"Don't worry, it's actually nicer to wait until the gardener comes! We're here until the time limit, right? So there's no harm in waiting until that time limit is up?!" Micah, lying down and playing with his phone, says that without any fear.
"That's probably because you're lazy at home, right, Micah?"
Lidya knows-- no, they all know the problem Micah faces at home. Both Rudi and Anita don't want to talk about it out of respect, but Lidya says it without any pity. Every time Micah says he doesn't want to be at home, Lidya always responds by mocking his home problem.
"Watch your mouth, Lidya..." Micah gets up from lying down.
Their faces are too close. They seem to be in the middle of a romantic scene. However, both of them want to destroy each other instead of being intimate.
"Classic, you laugh when you insult others, but you threaten them when they insult you! When will you grow up, Micah?! You're already in high school! You should get rid of that bad habit of yours!" Her expression changes to disgust.
"Do you want to try arguing with me?! Alright, go ahead! I'll counter all your arguments!"
"Well then! We'll keep going until we're satisfied!"
Rudi and Anita, who were watching, could only stay in silent. They considered this a normal occurrence, even commonplace. There was no fear that their friendship would be ruined by this small argument. After it was over, they would magically start talking normally as if nothing had happened.
Rudi's gaze returned to his phone screen. He opened a website with braille writing that he couldn't read. He didn't know the title of the website, but its content was somewhat intriguing.
'I see three people here.'
'Three people who are worthy of being world changers.'
'You are all chosen!'
Rudi watch the screen silently.
"Damn pop-up website..."
What Rudi saw was a website that suddenly appeared when he clicked on another website. Usually, the contents of such a website were difficult to remove.
He didn't believe what the "advertisement" website said. Moreover, they were currently four people at here, not three. He considered what was written there to be nothing more than a regular pop-up.
*Tak! *Taktaktak! He tried to remove the website, but it seemed that the lock was too strong.
However, that was where Rudi became increasingly interested. He kept scrolling down the page until he came across a red button that said, "Start Moving!", Rudi stopped scrolling.
He quietly tried to press the button, and...
"(*worried sound), I can't stand being here anymore. I'll go, okay? Goodbye!" Anita suddenly left the classroom.
She still felt uneasy about being scolded by the gardener for being too late.
"Ah, yes... Be careful!" (Micah)
Both Micah and Lidya immediately stopped their argument and waved to Anita as she left.
"Eh(looking at the pencil case)...? Anita, you left something!"
Lidya tried to chase after her, but Anita was nowhere to be seen.
"Ahh (sighing)... It's okay. She'll come back," Lidya said as she sat back down.
"Anita being Anita (nodding)," Micah commented.
"By the way, Rudi (peeking at his phone's screen)... What are you watching?" Lidya was curious because Rudi was very serious on his phone.
*Click! *Click! *Click!
"Nothing, just some stupid ad website."
"If it's stupid, why are you so serious (making a disgusted face)?"
"Because it's interesting (smiling)."
"Please don't do it, it doesn't suit you!"
It wasn't an insult because of her dislike for his dark skin, he just didn't suit doing it.
"Weird website (peeking in)...," Micah joined in.
"It is weird, but every time I click on this website, it feels exciting for some reason."
"Let me try (snatching his phone)!
Rudi wasn't surprised by Lidya's behavior.
*Click! *Click! *Click! Lidya didn't feel what Rudi felt. Her eyes grew heavy quickly and she returned the phone.
"Boring (handing him the phone)..."
"If that's the case, it's my turn (taking it)..."
All their previous arguments disappeared instantly. They interacted like normal friends. It showed how strong their friendship was.
This time the phone was passed to Micah. He tried tapping the screen until he came across...
"Hey, I see a weird button here!"
"Button?" Only Rudi was interested, while Lidya looked at Anita's left-behind items.
On the button was written, 'everything is has decided! Are you ready to leave?!'.
"Press it and you'll be transported into another world, ahahaha!" of course, what Rudi said was just a joke.
"When we press it, we'll be transported into another world! Woohoo!" (Micah)
No one took it seriously.
"Okay, I'll press it!"
*Click!
That's when they realized they had made a big mistake. The three guys disappeared without a trace. All their belongings disappeared with them, leaving only Anita's left-behind items.
"Sorry, I forgot to-!"
Anita was speechless as she returned to the classroom only to find that everyone was gone. She didn't know what had happened, but she still took her items and left.
There was no other suspicion in her mind except 'the gardener must have kicked them out.'
***
"So that's what happened..." Rudi said as he hammer on the dilapidated house.
Right now, he was talking to Doris and Sherry. The three of them agreed to help this married couple and their younger sibling renovate the houses in the village. In addition, fixing up the village could be the beginning of their adventure to find a way home. This village would be their first place to stay.
"It's all happened because... We were fool," Micah said, as he placed the wooden planks near them.
"It's rare to see you realize that! If only we didn't do something stupid, this would never have happened!"
Lidya threw some ropes up to the roof for Doris to use.
Sherry walked over with a tray of cups. "It must be difficult to live in a unknown place without proper preparation! Even with preparation, I doubt the three of you could handle it in this world. There are too many rules here, especially now that we are on a continent where many small countries exist. Move 3 kilometers to north from here, and you will enter the Nation of Akbar, where the rules are very strict. Walk 5-8 kilometers east, and you will enter the Nation of Wijaya and Jin Wei, where they have a bit of hostility towards each other. Moreover, when Jin Wei finds out that Wijaya, their neighboring country, is struggling to get help from the center due to Lord Petrel's successful rebellion, it will be a golden opportunity for Jin Wei to invade them. Forget about it, I'll be in danger if I continue to tell. By the way, the rules of those two countries are equally strange, and I can't even stay there for long. And the place we are currently standing on is in the Nation of Hamud, near the border of Akbar. The Viscount doesn't really care about his people; all he cares about is his stomach. It's as if the viscount is pregnant or something!" Sherry began to chatty.
Instead of expressing sympathy, she ended up explaining the state of the world around her.
"Whoever you are, I will still be grateful for your help, despite the little problem (glancing towards Micah). I will still appreciate your assistance. Without you, our fate may be different," said Doris.
The trio could only smile. They didn't know what expression was appropriate to use in this situation.
"Oh, yeah (raising his index finger)!" Micah remembered something Sherry said earlier. "Didn't your wife say that this viscount is a kind of corrupt person?"
"Not corrupt, just self-centered."
"Yeah, yeah! Whatever it's called! So, will he come here to see the village situation?" Micah stretched both of his arms with a posture that belittled the person on the rooftop.
After hearing Micah's sentence, the three locals immediately stopped their work. They were silent like statues with tools still in their hands. Their eyes widened as if they were staring. Their bodies suddenly trembled, and a cold feeling suddenly came over them.
Looks like someone accidentally hit a homerun.