A group of children, all the same age, gathered at a quiet, secluded spot away from the bustling activities. "So, is everyone here?" a voice chimed in, as if conducting a roll call.
Among them stood Asher, Cedric, Evelina, and Freya, who had just joined them. "Hey, guys, hope you didn't start the party without us," Evelina broke the silence with her usual flair.
"This isn't a game. But I suppose manners were never taught in your household," a blonde girl retorted sharply.
"What did you say? Come on, say it again, I dare you," Evelina bristled, clearly irked by the remark.
"I'd rather not stoop to your level," the blonde girl replied coolly.
"Elora, stop being mean," a boy who bore a striking resemblance to her interjected with a smile.
"Let it go, Lina. Elora could wipe the floor with you if she felt like it," Asher attempted to diffuse the tension while subtly reminding her of who she was challenging.
"Oh, right, ummm... Finn isn't here though. We couldn't find him anywhere," Cedric reported, trying to shift the focus away from the confrontation with the blonde girl.
"I guess we'll have to start without him," one of the boys, who exuded an air of nobility, suggested. No one seemed to object to his proposal.
*****
The meeting was convened under the guise of the fair, providing a pretext for everyone to gather and exchange information about their discoveries in this new world.
They were the ones who had been reincarnated into this world alongside Jett.
Ray, formerly known as Ryota, was the most vocal among them.
He possessed an in-depth understanding of the WAR BOUND game, although his knowledge couldn't rival Jett's.
Nonetheless, his expertise in the game alone was a significant advantage.
He was the one who proposed that the world they now lived in shared similarities with the WAR BOUND franchise.
He explained everything he knew about the game and the similarities he found, outlining which character each of them embodied and their corresponding storyline within the game.
He also shared some secrets he had gleaned from the forum that would aid them in leveling up.
While most of his tips were top-notch, some proved to be somewhat inconsistent, as he primarily focused on warrior classes.
Unfortunately, due to the nature of the original story, he couldn't offer much assistance to Freya, who had the priestess class.
Others who were familiar with the game shared their knowledge, and those who focused on different mediums like movies, TV shows, cartoons, and even the board game contributed what they knew.
They discussed various survival strategies based on their combined knowledge.
The overarching storyline they all understood was that fourteen heroes were summoned to a fantasy world of swords and magic, tasked with defeating an evil dark magician who later transformed into a Lich.
"Shut it," Asher chided her, silencing her with a playful chop to the head before turning his attention to Jett.
"Ow, that hurt, you meanie," Evelina complained, rubbing her head in pain.
"Ignore her, she's just a troublemaker," Asher apologized to Jett, though he couldn't help but wonder where Jett had been all this time. "But honestly, though, where have you been?"
"Lagia, a town really far from the capital," Jett replied.
"I hope you weren't slacking off and playing house like this dimwit over here," Elora remarked, eyeing Jett with suspicion.
"Come on, just cut him some slack. He's much stronger than you think," Asher defended Jett, then turned to glance at Finn in the corner. "I bet he could disarm you easily in a duel," he added with a faint smirk.
"Huh?" Finn struggled to process what he had just heard.
"Haha, I see you enjoy joking about impossible situations," Elora chuckled lightly, though the tension in the air was palpable.
Everyone watching could sense where this was headed.
"How about a bet? You wouldn't pass up the chance to prove yourself right, would you?" Jett suggested with a sinister smile. "The loser has to fulfill the winner's request."
"Don't do it, Elora."
"She's not going to... right?'
Elora grinned at Jett. "Is that so?"
'Crap, she's going to.'
'How does she not see what's happening?"
"I guess we'll just have to see what happens next."
They all whispered among themselves as the tension continued to escalate. No one dared to be the voice of reason and tell Elora to reconsider, not even Aiden, who appeared to be her brother.
"I accept the terms. When do we start so I can pulverize him?" Elora proclaimed proudly, pointing at Finn, who was now hiding behind Ray, visibly trembling with fear.
Freya watched with a mixture of disgust and concern as Jett baited Elora into a senseless duel with Finn as the unwitting victim. Something felt off to her. 'Jett Grift, you are a menace. What are you hiding?'
*
*
*
The group is finally back together.