The Gatekeeper Chapter 3- Worlds- New And Old.

After I am thrown out of the epicentre of realities by Gatekeeper-san.

I start to a.s.ses the situation. My surroundings are clear, there are no signs of any living beings in a radius of 500 Meters. Like my own Mana, I can sense mana radiating from other beings. I can make out any living beings inside the area in which I search, which includes: animals, plants, insects and humans. Right now, I am standing on soft gra.s.s with a river flowing in front of me. The air is pure, looks like engines, plastic and such aren't a thing here. Rather than running off like an idiot, I should first familiarize myself with this world.

I am left wearing a white t-s.h.i.+rt, long-black pants and st.u.r.dy brown shoes. This can be considered an appearance I am used to. Will this work in this world? I turn my body around in all directions, surveying the surroundings.

It's a nice weather here, in my world, it was deathly cold.

The weather is nice and warm. It feels like summer, but the heat isn't stingy or overwhelming; it's rather soothing. The warm weather combined with sweet and gentle breeze makes for a perfect atmosphere. I sit down on the soft gra.s.s and gather my thoughts. As Gatekeeper-san said, as soon as I thought about this world. Many files appear in brain with different t.i.tles, such as: Magic, Beasts, Structure, Culture, Common Knowledge, language, etc.

I start a.n.a.lyzing each and every one of these in great details so as to not miss a single aspect of this world.

Despite having my processing speed increased by 100 times, it took me over 15 minutes to examine every single detail.

Here are the general facts about this world.

This world, also known as 'Earth', has a total number of 5 'nations', which can be equated to 'continents' from my world. They do have South and North pole, but they haven't discovered them yet.

Unlike my own world, all 5 nations speak one unified tongue. It seems like they had a huge holy war around 500 years ago, and following the destruction, they decided to adopt a single language because the refugees had a difficult time conversing with the locals. The language spoken and understood by everyone here is called 'Gludeno'. I already know the speech and the script thanks to Gatekeeper-san.

Honorifics do exist in this world, but I've gotta be careful while addressing someone I don't know. Addressing someone in an inappropriate manner could lead to a number of unnecessary repercussions.

Name of the 5 nations are:

The Wise Kingdom 'ATHENA'. The Great Empire 'HADES'. Princ.i.p.ality of Sea 'POSEIDON'. Merchant Nation of 'DEMETER'. The War Dominion 'ARES'

The names of the nations are based on the Olympian G.o.ds from Greek mythology. Let's remember that, it could come in handy.

In this world, only n.o.bility, royalty, and highly influential families are bestowed with a family name. The rest of the population, which is close to ninety-percent, doesn't have a family name. This happens because the descendents of the royal and n.o.ble families have superior magic prowess than the general populace. The common folk are looked down upon by the people in the upper echelons of the society. Well, I guess this is also an 'unshaken event', where in each world, there is an established hierarchy which discriminates between people, creating an impregnable wall between those who are at the bottom and those who are at the top.

Well, coincidentally, I am here, and not shaking the world itself to its core with the power I've been given will be unlike me.

Let's have lots of fun here.

I learnt all about the local cultures of these nations. Furthermore, I also well-versed myself with the local religious practices and taboos of each nation. This will be important to lay low in various places should the need arise.

According to the laws of this world, I am cla.s.sified as an adult. A person attains marital age as soon he/she turns 15 years old. Which is also called 'adulthood'. For n.o.bility and royalty, this age drops down to 13 years, as they have to produce heirs as soon as possible to ensure that their lineage doesn't diminish.

About the population, there seems to be two major factions, Humans and Humanoids/Demihumans, which include cat-people, dog-people, elves, etc. There are many kinds of Demihumans and humanoids in this world, coexisting with the humans. Demihumans and Humanoids are considered inferior to humans in various regions of the world. There are no laws specifically targeting the demihumans or humanoids, despite that, the problem districts do still exist where they are discriminated against, and are considered menial compared to humans.

The Nation with the most united residents is The Wise Kingdom 'ATHENA'. The humans and humanoids coexist here in peace. but still, there are visible boundaries between them. The river alongside which I am right now is also part of the Kingdom of ATHENA. It appears that this river is the one which flows closest to the Royal Capital.

Guess Gatekeeper-san responded to my request and sent me close to the capital.

Now, onto the Average Criteria of the native people. A commoner adult has a Mana supply of 1000-1500 mageía while a n.o.ble has an average of 3500-4000 mageía at their disposal. A demi-human holds about the same amount of mageía as a commoner, but their physical capabilities exceed a normal humans by two or three times. Compared to these numbers, I possess an infinite supply of Mana. My mageía count can't be determined (Mageía is the standard unit of magical power in this world). And regarding Physical prowess, I already had the same specs as that of an average Demihumans', but after increasing it by 100 times, it just becomes stupendous.

Technology in this world can be equated to that of late 19th century from our world. They do however have magic, which gives them an upper hand over our world. Magic powered robots, magic-powered carriages, long-distance communication devices, airs.h.i.+ps, firearms, etc, can be found here. But some of these contraptions need a large amount of magical energy to operate and are too lavish for commoners. Things like long-distance communication device is even out of the reach of many n.o.bles, and are only said to be provided to the Royal family of each nation.

In addition to animals, this world has a number of unintelligent and semi-intelligent species of walking creatures, which can also be referred to as 'beasts'. Semi-intelligent species' of the beasts can also be summoned using dark magic; and by taming, can be turned into a servant. There are a very few races of intelligent beasts, which tower above all other, and are considered to be on the top of the food-chain, examples of this would be dragons and Centaurs. The semi-intelligent creatures rarely make an appearance in the human inhabited regions, they tend to reside unpopulated regions of the world, these beasts can't be summoned and are thus, subjugated. The beasts which reside in the human world are comparatively weak to their summoned counterpart. Even a weak Frost Giant from the realm of the beasts can take down the strongest Frost Giant which resides here.

The beasts which are called upon by summoning magic are said to exist in a different location altogether (for which I speculate that there is a reality where the strong beasts reside). These beasts are only said to appear as the summons of someone strong and even if they appear, they test the worthiness of the individual, and if deemed worthy, become the human's servant.

I feel like I will take a go at this summoning beast thing.

This world's geographic structure is significantly different from my previous one. It would appear that the ratio of the land and water remains the same. The difference being, there is no visible part.i.tion between the nations. What that means is that all the nations exist on a single enormous land ma.s.s. The only land detached from this humongous land is that of the south and north poles. The nation with no contact to the water bodies is the Merchant Nation 'DEMETER'; which is in the middle. The other 4 nations surround it from each cardinal direction. In the West it is The War Dominion 'ARES', in the North lies The Great Empire 'HADES', the South being occupied by Princ.i.p.ality of Sea 'POSEIDON', and lastly, on the East is The Wise Kingdom 'ATHENA'.

The size of the nations being ARES -> POSEIDON -> ATHENA -> DEMETER -> HADES. ARES may be the smallest nation in terms of size, but the same isn't the case for its military might.

This is generalization of the information I acquired.

Things will become clear as the journey progresses, I guess.

After loitering about for 30 minutes, I decide to get up and make my way to the capital. I am starving, and I don't have any money. As I speculated, guilds do exist in this world. The regions are in constant danger from the beasts, the adventurers from the guilds are tasked with subjugation of theese beasts, and they receive the appropriate compensation for doing so. I don't have detailed information about the guild, but I can infer the basic functionality of them.

I'll check out my magical capabilities later. Right now, food is the utmost priority.

I think this to myself, and with a mischievous smile on my face, I declare aloud.

"It's time for my adventure to begin!!"

I stand up with the new found energy, and with a general sense of direction, start walking towards the South entrance of the capital. It's about 3 kilometers from here, and there is a well-established road leading up to the entrance. I get on the st.u.r.dy and strong brick road; with my mind focused, I mumble to myself.

"Time to take these brand new upgrades for a spin."

I set my eyes on the road, a.s.suming a crouching position, I shout.

"Ready."

If any other humans were here, they would probably look at me with pity.

"Set."

I throw out these thoughts out of my mind, and while lifting up my lower body, I mentally prepare myself to calculate the time elapsed in the real world.

"GO!!!"

Immediately after my right foot springs me into the air, the well structured road which was once beneath my foot is completely obliterated.

After only a few moments in 'my' perspective, the southern entrance of the Royal Capital comes into view. I dug the heels of my st.u.r.dy brown shoes into the ground and reduce my speed instantaneously. The time it took for me to run 3 kilometers seems to be approximately 3 seconds in real time. Well, I was already pretty quick on my feet. I could run 100 meters in 10 seconds. So, getting a 100x boost would definitely make a colossal effect, therefore, the time was well within my expectations.

I haven't even started to master my abilities, I have a lot of room to grow.

Now, to enter the capital. There are numerous knights stationed at the entrance, each with a knight armor which looks quite exquisite. I wouldn't mind me some armor. But right now, I have to get past them to enter the Capital. I have the appearance of an average adult. I still feel a little weird about suddenly turning into an adult. But this means I can drink and gamble without any restrictions. Not that I am overly enthusiastic about these things or anything.

Let's just go and make up a story.

I decided to only use a given name. I would much rather act as a commoner and try to destroy the current hierarchy. As a person who has been subjected to an excessive amount hierarchical discrimination, I want to do something for the commoners. Compared to my previous world, I now have more than enough power to do so. This is the goal I've set for myself for right now. They say that the people who are goal oriented are the strongest ones out there, I make my resolve and start walking towards the grand entrance. There are two entrances which lead to the capital. Written in big letters using the local script of this world, on top of the left entrance, is 'HUMANS ONLY', with the other entrance allowing entrance for Demihumans and Humanoids. I don't think that this implies any kind of discrimination, rather, it appears to be just a formality as the Demihumans are being treated respectfully by the knights.

I settle into the queue filled with people attempting to cross the gate. Almost all the people here are in groups and have carriages pulled by horses with them. I turn my head and spot a carriage which doesn't appear to have horses attached to it. It seems like one of those carriages powered by magical energy. I have data on this, these magic powered carriages are quite expensive and they also require an immense amount of magical energy to power them. The owner of this carriage must be a very strong magician.

"Hey, you commoner, Out of my way!!!"

I snapped out of my mind prison with a sudden scream originating from behind me. I turn around and see a young man with blonde hair and green eyes of about 20, standing with his hands on his hips and his chest puffed out. He has a very slim build and a height of about 5 centimetre lower than mine. He has an exquisite looking robe equipped around his body, with only his chest-plate peeking out, which seems to have a crest engraved on it.

"Oi, YOU PETTY COMMONER! OUT OF MY WAY!!!"

This time, the shout is considerably louder, and given my enhanced hearing, caused my ears a lot of pain. I switch to my super speed a.n.a.lysis mode like a responsible adult and refrained from killing him with a single punch to his face. I am perfectly capable of obliterating him right now. In my perception of time, he isn't even moving. I could kill him and no one would ever figure out what happened. It would look like his face just exploded in thin air.

Now, violence aside, let's examine this situation with a peaceful outlook. Looking at his robe and the crest on his chest-plate, he must be a n.o.bleman's son. He must be one of those overprotected kids, who were allowed to throw the weight of their family around all their life. But he must be pretty strong magician for being able to handle that carriage. I inspect my surroundings and infer that he must be alone. I don't know why such a sc.u.mbag is allowed to roam around freely, but he picked a fight with the wrong person. I am way too adept at dealing with situations like these. My expression changes into that of a stoic one, and I reply to him with an uninterested voice.

"As you can see, this is a queue, you will have to wait you turn."

His expression turns into an irritated one, he announces while throwing his right hand into the air, with the index finger stretched out in my direction.

"You lowly commoner. I am the sole heir of the n.o.ble family-"

"SO!? Stand in line like a human, or do you consider yourself to be a Demihuman? If so, go stand in that line"

I interrupt his high and mighty self-introduction and say in a stoic and heavy voice. fit for an ikemen.

I point towards the two Demihumans standing in queue to enter the capital. I don't feel any guilt for indirectly insulting the demihumans, I'll use any means necessary to overcome the problem in front of me. I stopped caring about what people think about me a long time ago.

"You... How dare you insult a great n.o.bleman such as myself! This will be your demise! Rejoice, you will meet your end by the n.o.ble hands of the great Nex Ellis himself!"

His face turns red with anger and he screams like a madman. His screams are so loud that the guards also get startled and divert their attention to us.

This is perfect, everything is set. Let the ploy begin.

"Oh my! Would the great n.o.bleman Ellis-sama, willingly pick a fight with a worthless commoner such as myself?"

I say in a provocative voice. This is way too much fun. I feel like this world is going to be very interesting. The enraged n.o.bleman says with his hand stretched towards me.

"I, Nex Ellis, swear on the name of the Ellis n.o.ble family that will exterminate you."

He narrows his eyes and releases a fierce killing intent with a heavy pressure backing it up. If I didn't have this enhanced body, I probably might have already been on the ground, full of fear and agony.

He starts channeling magic of a bright red color into his right hand, he smiles as if he has already won the fight. Looking at him, my stoic expression changes into a delighted one. I say in a voice that would reach everyone watching.

"Knights, and all the other witnesses, I believe you caught that?"

I, too, release my killing intent while holding back the pressure, or Nex would have fainted from the pressure alone.

"Looks like I have no choice but to defend myself."

n.o.body had time to react, none could grasp what occurred.

"""""WHAT HAPPENED!!??"""""

Everyone shrieked together, the scene in front of them was one, that they never could have predicted.

Nex Ellis, a direct descendent to one of the most prestigious families in the entire ATHENA kingdom had his head stomped on my me. My 19th century looking shoe is placed on his bare cheek while he's flailing helplessly trying to escape.

The 10 or so people who were the only ones remaining in front of me in the queue, leave the way for me to go. Seeing this, I politely say to the trembling group of people.

"Please don't detain yourself on account of a commoner like me."

I show them a br.i.m.m.i.n.g smile, looking at which, the two ladies start to blush.

Seems like the looks come in handy on this side as well.

As I encourage them with Nex's face under my shoe, they start giving their information with the entry toll, and pa.s.s through the grand gate, into the capital. After a few minutes of the same exchange of information and money with some extra screaming and flailing on the side, the only people left are Nex, receptionist lady, knights, and me.

I lift my foot from Nex's ruined face and start moving towards the post. The knights observe me carefully, without lowering their guard even for a second. This was to be expected so I pay it no heed and stand in front of the receptionist. She seems to be only a few years older than me, around the same age as Nex, speaking of whom, he is standing there with his head hanging, as he brushes the dirt off his face and his clothes. I think the plan worked and he got what he deserved. I look straight into the eyes of the receptionist with a pleased expression on my face. She says in a professional voice.

"Welcome to the Royal Capital of The Wise Kingdom 'ATHENA'. I would need to register you name and age and the toll would be 1 silver coin."

Remembering the currency structure of this world, and comparing it to my original world, it becomes something like this:

1 Copper coin = 100 Yen

1 Silver coin = 10 Copper coins = 1,000 Yen

1 Gold coin = 10 Silver coins = 10,000 Yen

1 Platinum coin = 10 Gold coins = 100,000 Yen.

1 Royal-Gold coin = 10 Platinum coins = 1,000,000 Yen

A single coin with a value of 1 Million Yen is just way too excessive.

I call out to the person on my right in a sweet and low-pitch voice.

"Hey, Ellis-sama... Wouldn't you please help out a poor commoner?"

He seemed like a stubborn one, but he realised his mistake. Without making eye contact, he came up to me and handed me a silver coin which he pulled out from under his robe. I look at the received coin and smile at him. I could see the receptionist staring at me with doting eyes.

I suddenly turn back in the receptionist's direction, she averts her eyes which were fixated on me a second ago. I hand her the silver coin, she asks me while putting away the silver coin in a drawer filled with similar looking coins.

"Now then, what would your name be?"

"Oh, that would be Toru"

I thought about giving myself a new name, but the faces of both of my parents and my best friend Haruki flashed inside my brain. I should at least preserve some of their memories by retaining the name by which they called me by. I probably wouldn't be able to return to my own world, but, I will never stop looking for ways to make that happen. I was someone who had a lot of important things in my life. If I were to disappear suddenly, I am sure many people would be devastated. I certainly am very upset about this whole arrangement, however, let's make the most out of this until I am able to find a way back to my world.

"And what about you age?"

While I am reminiscing, the receptionist asks me about my age. I return to the present, locking away those heavy feelings deep inside my heart.

"I am a 16 years old."

After hearing this bit of information, the receptionist had a satisfied grin on her face. I can very well guess the reason, but let's leave it alone for now. I am famished, and I don't have any money. I don't want to humiliate Nex more either. Well, he did learn his lesson, so maybe we can be friends in the future.

I enter the capital through the gates, the scene in front of me is a perfect representation of a city from fairy tales.

There are Demihumans and humanoids roaming about; fellow humans shopping for day-to-day items, eating street food and coversing among themselves as well as with the demihumans. I don't have any money on me right now, and I don't have any idea as to where the guild is situated. I walk aimlessly, taking in the extravagant sights which keep giving me gooseb.u.mps the more I look at them. The buildings are small and made mostly by the use of magic, the brick roads are well constructed and st.u.r.dy, the small shops are selling goods, groceries, souvenirs, jewellery, and fast food. Many carriages with horses attached to their front pa.s.s by. People are using different kinds of magic in their shops to produce their product, children are playing with each other using what looks like spinning tops, and toy cars. This scenery sure is breathtakingly beautiful and calming.

I ask for directions specifically from the young ladies. Their eyes sparkle as they answer me energetically, in exchange for my name and age that is.

I follow the directions provided by a female elf and end up in an isolated alley with no Humans or Demihumans in sight.

Why do I have a sneaking suspicion that this will turn out to be one of those overly-cliche scenarios where I am cornered by thugs and extorted for money. Not that I have any. I start fantasizing about beating up the thugs if they do corner me with a grin on my face.

I think I turned into a fighting maniac after the whole Nex incident.

I turn my head in all directions in an attempt to get a grasp on my current location.

I'm completely lost.

After this realization. I walk towards an old building made up of red bricks.

I can feel strong magic power flowing through it.

KYAAA!!

Suddenly out of nowhere, I hear a scream which seems to be coming from about 30 metres in my South-west direction. It is definitely a girl's scream and I can probably guess what is happening. Looks like the thugs attacked that girl instead of me. I turn to the direction in which the scream originated from. I prepared myself for what is to come. When I was about to take off, my stomach growls, reminding me that I am on the verge of collapse.

Guess if I help her, she will lead me to the guild.

If it were a male who was getting mugged, I would most definitely ask him to buy me food, but the same can't be done for female victims. I weigh my options and set off.

So this is how it is going to be...