Amongst All Other Worlds, Why Did It Choose Such A Clichéd Setting?

Just as the king and advisor reached the top of the stairs and were near a balcony above my head, I shouted to them my thoughts, half expecting to be executed on the spot.

“King Solar, I will do everything within my capabilities to prove to you that the kingdom needs my powers. It might not be today, or this month, but I will prove my worth as a beckoned champion from another era!”

Ha! It seems one of my assumptions was correct! While the spell cast on me was quite dangerous and I had to watch my words, through the cleaver use of synonyms, it seemed I could still converse and get the idea through that I was a... Beckoned champion?

...

I would have to work out a slightly better phrasing for the idea, but regardless, I could still inform individuals of my situation if I was careful with my words. Noticing my reply, anger began to grow across the king’s face as he roared at his assistant.

“DEAMONIUM!! Didn’t you clearly inscribe the spell to execute this man at the utterance of words that he was a summoned hero???”

In shock, and anger directed towards me, the advisor gave his reply.

“Why of course your majesty, I would never dream of failing to act as per your wishes. However, it does appear the individual has found a rather... Unfortunate loophole to the spell’s behaviour. Shall I make adjustments, my liege?”

Satisfied with my small act of rebellion, I spoke in reply towards the angry duo.

“My apologies your highness, I merely wished to test a theory surrounding my new found restrictions. I have a very curious and inquisitive mind, so I only wanted to test my theories. Had I been wrong, my lifeless corpse would be lying on the floor, an appropriate trade-off for my actions.

However, you have my utmost sincerity that I will keep matters of my existence and circumstances a state secret. After all, while I am a beckoned champion, that phrase itself means I should serve the kingdom to the best of my capabilities. You have my word; I will act with the highest level of integrity in safeguarding this knowledge.”

With anger still plastered across his face, the king was ready to roar another decree towards my direction, when suddenly, his attention turned towards the other entranceway across the balcony.

Quickly, my eyes followed his shocked expression to see a man, leaping high into the air spinning in a brilliant spiral of light, then, I heard a powerful and confident shout towards my direction:

“DIE YOU BASTARD!”

Accelerating at incredible speeds, the man propelled himself towards my direction with such ferocity, I had little time to react! In his hands was an incredibly well-maintained and extravagant looking spear. Instinctively, I twisted my body to block his drill-like attack with my shield. Swiftly raising my left arm, I absorbed the blow with my serpent shield.

*Clang*Crash**BTOOSH!!!*

A shockwave of wind echoed through the hall. Suspended in the air above me, was a young man with blond hair tied crudely into a ponytail. His face was filled with confidence and anger at me blocking his surprise attack. Then, using his spear, he vaulted behind me, repositioning for a charging style attack!

Time slowed as I was able to predict his next movements, while he was noticeably faster than the bandits, I could still follow his motions with ease. Intercepting his crude stabbing attack, I deflected the blow with my sword, while delivering a powerful kick to his legs.

Success! With a look of disbelief across his face, the mysterious assailant looked at me in shock as he lost his footing, falling forward onto the palace floor. Quickly, he rolled around to try and regain his footing, but I was already one step ahead. Without pause, I smashed the sole of my foot onto the man’s chest, producing an audible “Clang!* sound as shoe hit metal, pinning him to the floor. Then, I kicked his spear away with my other spare leg and pointed my sword towards the man’s neck. Suddenly, those sickening voices made their way into my mind again as my right eye began to burn.

“Yesssssss! Thisssss isssss gooooood— Let ussss feast on this query’s core!!!! He holdsssss great powerrrrr. RELEASE US!!”

NO!

I shouted as loud as I could in my mind. While I wasn’t happy with the unexpected aerial assault, I had no reason to kill this individual. Furthermore, I couldn’t stand the thought of losing control of my body again, so I angrily defied the snake’s alluring suggestion to devour his heart.

“Hssssss! To defy usssss. Kotato! — So impudent!!! She will not... Be happy!”

I don’t care! Just get out of my head you stupid serpents! I am not someone to simply be commanded and follow your will!

Displeased with my refusal to murder the spontaneous assailant, my mind became filled with the horrifying sound of slithering snakes, hissing in terrifying laughter! The sound was so repulsive, I wanted to scream at experiencing the sensation! However, I somehow managed to maintain my composure as I stood, towering over the defenceless and defeated spearman. Looking at his face, it was filled with incredible rage about to explode at a moments notice having been defeated. Correction, he began to explode, sending an array of vulgar insults towards my direction.

“HEY YOU FUCKING BASTARD!!! GET THE FUCK OFF OF ME YOU SHITHEAD!! HOW DARE YOU MAKE ME, THE ALL POWERFUL, SPEAR HERO, HARU SPEARGIN, LOOK LIKE AN IDIOT!!! I’LL FUCKING STAB YOU OVER AND OVER UNTIL YOU’RE NOTHING MORE THAN A PILE OF MINCED MEAT!!!!”

Man, what a racket, my ear drums were beginning to hurt just listening to this sad individual spout insults about how I had offended his honour by beating him when he initiated a surprise attack! And what was that? Spear hero? Did I hear that correctly? Was this man actuall—

*Crash*

Before I could finish my thought, a woman, clad in brilliant golden plate armor, came crashing down to the floor, landing behind the flailing spear hero. She had medium, blond hair tied in a tight ponytail. Accompanying her feminine features, was a pair of piercing brown eyes as she rose to match me in height. She emitted an aura of grace and command. Then, speaking to me in an authoritative voice, she commanded me to release the hero.

“Adventurer, on behalf of the royal guard, I, Commander Raya, apologise for this man’s poor actions and assault towards your person. Please, I implore you to release him into my custody where I will make sure adequate punishment is administered.”

Then, she turned towards the king to give an apology as well.

“Your majesty! I sincerely apologise for failing in my duties to appropriately control this individual—”

As she spoke, three other men quickly descended the stairs to join her at the bottom. Each of them was equipped with a unique weapon: A bow, sword, and magic staff. Not wanting to jump to conclusion, but I imagined these other individuals were the remaining summoned heroes of the kingdom. Then, the king roared in anger at the whole charade.

“SILENCE!

Haru, stop your pathetic whining and obey your commander’s orders! How many times must I tell you to act with integrity?!? And Raya, if you fail again in your duties of controlling the heroes, I’ll make sure to have you replaced with one of my other trusted guards!”

Taking the hint, I released my foot from pinning the spear hero to the ground. Noticing he once again had freedom, he energetically leapt to his feet and attempted to deliver a punch right to my face! However, he was stopped before his actions could be completed. Raya, realizing he would attempt some underhanded trick, had already grabbed Haru by his ponytail, aggressively yanking him back towards her.

“AHH!!!! MY HAIR!! LET GO OF ME YOU FUCKING BITCH!!!! I’M STILL NOT FINISHED WITH THIS ASSHOLE OF A HERO!!!! I’m going to skewer him so hard th—”

Stunned by the spear hero’s comments, she merely shouted back at him.

“Nonsense! Him? A hero? He’s just a powerful adventurer who single-handedly defeated a griffin protecting one of the kingdom’s dukes! He was brought to meet with the king at the request of the Hawthorn household!”

“Pfft, didn’t you see how the king was yelling at him you cunt? Just look at him you bitch! He’s got some fancy ass sword and shield. Not only that, he’s clearly wearing clothing from my world! Why did your kingdom go and summon ANOTHER FUCKING HERO!!! I AM MORE THAN ENOUGH to kill some stupid fucking demon lord!!!”

Then, seemingly as if she had already done this before, Raya smacked the shouting spear hero behind the head, rendering him unconscious.

“Adventurer, I apologise again for this man’s words and actions. Please, I instruct you to not speak a word about “hero” or any of these other individuals.”

“That won’t be necessary Raya.”

The king spoke, having regained his composure from all of the commotion.

“This adventurer, is well aware of the consequences, should he mention the existence of the heroes, isn’t that right, Kotato?”

“Why, of course, your majesty. I would never dare reveal the existence of these individuals to the kingdom. — Now, if you’ll excuse me, your highness, I do believe my attention is required elsewhere, at the adventurer’s guild.”

Attempting my best at a formal “sass”, I offered a slight bow towards the king, then made my way towards the entrance to take my leave. The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence as only my footsteps could be heard walking towards the giant metal doors. As I approached, I opened the gates to complete my departure. Confidently, I left the hallway as I began racking my brain about what to do regarding this magic seal constraining my actions.

---

After leaving the palace proper, I was met with no resistance from the guards as I strode out the fancy stone gates. Finally in the heart of the city, I looked around to take in my surroundings.

I appeared to be standing in a giant, open plaza lined with beautiful masonry. Erected in the middle of the court, with all its glory peering towards the city, was a statue of King Solar. Below it, was a magnificent stone water fountain. Crystal clear water flowed from its faucets, swirling and draining into the giant marble basin. I had to admit, this level of engineering was very impressive in my opinion.

As I began aimlessly walking around to explore the kingdom, I decided to see if I could ask my helpful assistant a question directly. Now that I thought about it, this was something I had never even attempted! So, with my question ready, I asked my mind for more information about this “Mind Seal” spell.

So, ummmm, helpful assistant? Could you tell me anything about this “Mind Seal” spell?

---

An awkward pause as I asked my inner monologue the serious question.

Nothing, no mysterious voice entered my head to respond to my request...

Well, I mean, It’s not like I was actually expecting something to happen.

Then, as I started to begin thinking about what to do next—

[Attempting Summoned Individual’s Query Request – Calculating – Requesting Access To Administrator’s Database]

Hah! So I could ask question like this! This was actually pretty amazing! I was thrilled at the realization that I potentially had a super powerful search engine, all for my personal use! While I was waiting for the response, my mind began to race at all the questions I could potentially ask it! There were so many things I still wanted to learn about in this world!!!

[Error – Access Denied – Recalculating]

[Checking Memory Stores For Contextual Information On The Lost Magics “Mind Seal”]

Hmmm, so the administrator denied my request. Was I actually in a computer simulation of some sort?

[Success! Information Regarding The Spell “Mind Seal” Has Been Uncovered – Would Kotato Like To View These Results? [Y/N]]

Ummm, Yes please! Tell me what you know about this “Mind Seal” spell.

Suddenly, a holographic box appeared across my vision, kind of like how an augmented reality device would display something over the world. None of the citizens around me seemed to react to the text box, so it was probably only visible to me. Eagerly, I began reading away at the description for “Mind Seal”

---

Spell: Mind Seal

Incantation: “World bind my targets mind in an ethereal prison, make it so their thoughts will break if they utter thine secret. By punishment of death, inscribe my will to thee— Mind Seal!”

Status: Lost Art – Developed approximately 100,000 years ago by the demon god, Diablos. Currently unusable in modern Terra.

Description: A spell that implants a brainwave and verbal monitoring mana particle cluster inside the target. The mana signature of the target is continuously scanned to see if a set of rules inscribed by the caster are broken. If a specified condition is met, then the spell will activate, vaporizing the hosts mind resulting in instantaneous death.

---

Well, that’s rather ominous, but matches what was described to me in the palace. But the phrase “currently unusable in modern Terra” clearly stood out. Next, I began to ask my assistant my follow up question:

Is there any cure for an individual afflicted with Mind Seal?

[Calculating]

[Answer! – Infected Individuals May Only Be Cured If The Spell Is Disabled By The Initial Caster]

[Additional Information – A Sufficiently Powerful Cleanse Could Theoretically Remove The Effects Of Mind Seal As Well – Results Unclear]

Hmmm, well, that kind of lines up with the theory I had thought about before accepting this consequence. Wanting to experiment, I reached into my backpack to pull out my secret weapon. Carefully removing a single bandage from it’s wrapping; I applied one directly to my forehead! Then, as expected, my mythical healing item began to work its magic.

[Mythical Healing Item Detected – Applying Effects Of Full Body Restoration]

Hah! Take that King Solar! Looks like I was going to be completely cur—

[Error! – Mind Seal Unable To Be Cleansed – Designated Individual – Kotato Yamata – Still Affected By The Ancient Spell “Mind Seal” – Danger!]

...

Well, I guess even “mythical healing items” have their limits when it comes to healing injuries...

Slightly disappointed that my cunning plan to rid myself of this “Mind Seal” had been unsuccessful, I continued to aimlessly wandering around the city, taking in all of wonderful fantasy scenery it offered. The level of activity present in the town was very reminiscent of walking around a densely populated city from back home. Horse drawn carriages served as substitutes for cars on the streets, while the many traffic jams filled with yelling merchants and coach drivers was frighteningly similar to my experiences on Earth. I guess while the technology had changed, humans would always find ways to express their anger for not reaching their destination in an efficient manner. Like time, some things always remained a constant, even in different worlds.

Starting to notice that people were paying particularly more attention to my forehead, I decided to remove the bandage as I continued walking down the cobblestone pathways. My goal, was to find some type of clothing store so I could better fit in. While ripped clothing was all the rage at one point in time, this was clearly not the case in the Kingdom of Solara. Furthermore, I couldn’t imagine that wearing dress clothes was the best idea when it came to manoeuvrability during combat. I imagined that I would require something with more flexibility, such as a light leather armor or something similar. That was a thing... Right?

Regardless, I maintained my focus on scanning the various signs hanging above the many plentiful businesses along the pathways. “Fredricks Fine Foods”, “Garren’s General Goods”, “Ingrid’s Innovative Inn” —

I mean, I guess the names were... Descriptive... But seriously? What was with the pattern of using only words that matched your name and products??? What was I going to see next? “Caitlyn’s Clothing Corner”???? No sooner had the thought entered my head when I read the next sign above my head...

“Conroy’s Clothing Corner”.

...

Disappointed at the lack of creativity or traditional “branding” of products and stores from Earth, I continued walking though the streets, hanging my head in an unsatisfied manner.

Then, as if the world itself had understood my craving for finding some sense of normalcy in store naming’s, that’s when I found it. In front of me, blowing in the wind on a sparsely populated side road, was what I had been looking for. Hanging above the old wooden doors was a rusty signboard that gave off an aura of rule-breaking arrogance for traditional naming. Standing before me, was the store named “Wicks Smithing & Armor”.

Finally! A store that wasn’t the same beginning letters for the owner’s name and what they sold! While I could have easily imagined the label “Wicks Welded Wearables” was a thought at some point, clearly this owner wanted to be different. They had differentiated themselves!!! Satisfied I had finally found a business I would be happy investing my “compensated funds” with, I excitedly grabbed the metal door handles and gently swung the door open.

Inside, was everything you would expect from a fantasy-like armor store. The shop was small, but efficient. Making great use of the space provided, rows and shelves dawned the many equipment types offered for eager patrons to view and purchase. The left-hand wall of the store was adorned in the finest of plate-mails, chains, and armors, while the right was host to numerous weapons, such as swords, axes, and clubs. There was even a “free-for-all” bargain bin near the entrance for 2nd hand goods or lower quality makes.

Thrilled at my discovery, I happily walked all throughout the isles taking in the foreign sights. While I had been to many clothing stores on Earth, there was something different about walking through a medieval setting where weapons and combative gear freely hung on display. While there was no one else in the store, my presence was certainly not ignored. Presumably, the owner of the store had been eyeing me ever since I entered. He was a man of short stature with a bit of a belly to his frame. His eyes gleaned an inquisitive brown as he watched me happily jump from shelf to shelf in glee. While his face was rough to look at, I could tell he seemed to be enjoying me looking in awe at all of the available products he had to offer.

Then, seemingly as if he knew I needed assistance, the man in question gradually made his way towards the wall I was staring at, greeting me in a rough voice.

“Greetings patron, the name’s Tarragon Wicks, proprietor and craftsman for Wicks Smithing & Armor, finest store for all adventurers in the kingdom.”

Not wanting to be rude, I happily responded to the owner with my own introduction.

“Likewise, Mr. Wicks. It’s a pleasure to meet you. My name is Kotato, and I’m a traveling adventurer looking for some wares to aid me along my journey. In particular, I am looking for a pair of armor with high durability and flexibility. Would you have any recommendations?”

Looking me up and down, the shop owner began stroking his beard, as he contemplated the many pieces of equipment he could offer me. Then, he spoke again in his rough voice, asking me some questions about my capabilities.

“What’s yer combat style? Adventurer rank? Years of experience?”

“Ummm, I use a sword and shield with spellcasting weaved in between gaps in pacing. Currently I’m unregistered, and I have... Half a day in combat experience?”

Seemingly annoyed at my response, it was only then I noticed the man had swiftly taken a dagger from one of the shelving units and thrust it towards my direction! In a panic, I somehow managed to twist my torso and dodge the spontaneous stabbing assault! Then, I shifted my weight to reposition behind the shop owner, ready for his next attack when—

“Heh! Seriously kid, what’s the point in lying to the guy tryin to help ya? You’ve got sharp instincts and expertly dodged my sneak attack without issue. Furthermore, you were great on your footing and positioned yourself for a counterattack, all within seconds. What’s an expert like you doing in a place like this?”

Still recovering from the spontaneous “test” the shopkeeper put me through, I decided to phrase my response to meet his expectation.

“You see, I was in combat with a griffin just outside the city. While I managed to slay the beast, my clothing was damaged in the process, so I figured an upgrade was in order.”

Not “completely” the truth, but it made the most sense, given the occasion and his high expectations for me.

“Hmmm, well I knew you were a skilled fighter based on your stance once you entered my shop, by no ways was I expecting to hear you’d slayed a griffin! Interesting...

Apologise kid for testing you like that. But, now that I have a better idea about your skill level, I think I can make a good recommendation. However, I do have a question for you. Why my shop? Clearly, you’re a noble of some sort based on your clothing, so why visit me when many of their stores would suit your fancy?”

“Do I necessarily need a reason to visit your store? I liked the quality of the product you offered, nothing more, nothing less.”

A cheerful grin grew across the owner’s face, then, he energetically grabbed my hand in an uncomfortably violent handshake.

“Hah! Well said Kotato! Alrighty then, lets get started on finding you a new set of equipment!”

With enthusiasm and a pip in his step, the shopkeeper strolled towards the back of the store, disappearing from my sights through an open door. Clearly happy with the prospect of a client he could offer his finest work to. I could hear the passionate sounds of armor and weapons clanging in the background, leaving my mind curiously imagining the untold frenzy they were being displaced in! All alone in the store, I was left wondering, hopeful, that his expert insight would provide me with just the equipment I was looking for, to successfully begin my adventures in this world.