I woke up with an ugly "ugh". And I mean, 'real' ugly. Like I'd gargled rocks and then made a failed attempt at speaking. 'Such a horrible experience!'
I must've been lying down just a second ago because my neck had that stiff, 'why-did-I-sleep-like-this' ache to it. With some effort—and enough awkward fumbling to be caught in 4K—I managed to prop myself into a half sitting position. My eyes took their sweet time focusing. Once they did, I took one look around and immediately got slammed by a whole lot of questions—
'—where am I? Was I in a cult meeting? A satanic Ikea showroom? A really elaborate escape room designed by someone with too much time on their hands? Do aliens have something to do with this? Wait, no, that doesn't explain the stairs—hold up, STAIRS?'
The floor was circular, the kind of perfectly symmetric architecture that probably made geometry nerds salivate. Around the edges, it dipped down into a wide spiral staircase. On the flat ground I was currently occupying, there were runes—or magic seals, or whatever the hell you'd call them—etched all over. They glowed faintly in a 'hey-just-finished-doing-something-shady' kind of way.
Directly above me, a dim spotlight cut through the murky atmosphere, pinning the circular floor under its lonely glow. Everything else was swallowed by darkness—the walls, the stairs, even where the ceiling should've been. The whole setup felt like someone tried to replicate the vibes of an underground theater with "creepy" as their artistic directive— and boy do they actually achieve it.
I craned my neck, trying to locate the light's source. Turns out, the spotlight was moonlight coming through a perfectly round hole above, coincidentally aligned with the perfectly round floor.
I wasn't alone here. Scattered across the floor were about ten other people, all looking equally dazed. Men, women, young, old. I couldn't help but frown.
"Please remain calm," a woman's voice called out from somewhere beyond the shadows. It was steady and soothing. Footsteps followed her voice. "…We mean you no harm."
"Who are you?" barked the guy who seemed to be the oldest one in our group.
No response. The footsteps continued upward. Eventually, the owner of the voice stepped into the moonlight's spotlight.
I let out an involuntary "Oh," and widened my eyes.
She was stunning. Like, 'real' stunning. Blonde hair that seemed custom-designed to shimmer under more flattering lighting, sharp blue eyes that looked like they could cut through bullshit like a chef's knife through butter. She carried herself with this poised, ageless grace that screamed "I'm better than you," without being outright rude.
What really stood out to me, though, was just how 'under-armored' Miss Perfectly Poised was compared to the medieval rejects flanking her. Her backup team looked like they'd been ripped straight out of some Renaissance fair, decked out with full suits of armor and sharp weapons. Meanwhile, this lady… she's practically naked compared to them. Honestly, I could've just walked up and shoved her down those stairs. One well-aimed nudge and she'd be relegated to permanent benchwarmer status. Quick. Painless. Efficient.
Her voice cut through my questionable train of thought.
"My name is Lirienne D'Athriel," she said softly. "I am part of an organization that deals with summoned individuals like yourselves—the Nexus Order of the Summoned. I hope you'll be patient enough to listen to what I have to say—for your sake, and ours."
'Summoned individuals...'
My lips twitched.
She was speaking 'English'. Actual English.
'Is this some kind of prank show? Where's the hidden camera crew hiding? No, what was that 'sucking' thing that dragged me into this mess in the first place?'
"...uh, sorry for my bad English, but," I quipped, sounding concerned. "were you the one who brought us here?"
I tried to keep my voice steady. However, I wasn't a stone-hearted bastard when it came to the thought of my family worrying about me.
She nodded softly, smiling faintly. "Indeed. The specifics of this summoning—and what it entails—are exactly what I hope to explain as well. However… before we begin, I'd also like for each of you to introduce yourselves—if you're comfortable, of course. Name, age, 'homeland', occupation, interests, and anything else you feel is worth sharing. Participation is voluntary."
I scowled slightly. These people clearly had some practice at the "summoning" routine. By their phrasings, this kind of situation isn't new, at least.
The others shot each other looks, none of them eager to kick off the awkward circle of introductions.
I exhaled, deciding to go first. "My name is Yure Aure. Eighteen. I'm currently stuck in Bali, working as a General Accountant at a villa and resort. As for hobbies… I guess speedrunning games is my thing."
"Speedrunning?" Lirienne tilted her head, a genuine kind of curiosity in her eyes.
"Yeah, it's like…" I shifted in place. "trying to beat a game as fast as humanly possible…? If you're familiar with modern games or RPG games in particular, it's like skipping cutscenes, exploiting glitches, optimizing routes—stuff like that."
"I see." Her nod was slow, deliberate, and paired with the kind of smile that made me vaguely uneasy. "That could prove… useful."
I frowned visibly. "Useful? For what?"
She let out a light chuckle. "You'll find out soon enough."
I wasn't a fan of whatever the hell that meant.
After that, the rest of the group do the introduction as well.
Apparently, there were twelve of us in total, summoned here.
We had Sasha the Engineer. Amad the Chef. Tess the Nerd. Judith the Army Woman. Garett the Farmer (cattle and all). Kazuto the Consultant of Corporate Mergers. Rai the Painter. Luis the Corps Man. Nathan the Oxford Guy. Sophia the Tomboy Girl. And last but not least, Darren the Construction Worker.
Their ages ranging from 16 to somewhere in their 50s. Good lord.
And they were all from different countries. Even more weirdly, they all spoke and understood English perfectly—made one think this wasn't a coincidence.
Lirienne nodded with satisfaction at the cooperation. She looked genuinely pleased with how well the introductions went. "Thank you for your willingness with the introduction. As promised, I will explain— in the simplest terms— on what's happening to all of you."
I wasn't holding my breath, you did.