Chapter Two: 0-Star Curse – Part One

Chapter Two: 0-Star Curse – Part One

Heaven? Hell? Purgatory? No one knew where we went after we died. The former was unknown to someone like me, but I had lived through hell for most of my life. And purgatory? That was where I lived now, just waiting until I finally died. Rêạd new chapters at novelhall.com

But I knew I was still alive. We were all alive... My classmates’ anxious faces proved that. If this was supposed to be my life flashing before my eyes...

What a disappointment.

To begin, I blinked twice to confirm that what I saw was what I was, and upon confirming it was real, I took a closer look at the chapel-like room I was in. The walls were blindingly white, and the room was sparse of any real color. But there was a giant mural on the far wall. Above that was a stained-glass window depicting a naked woman with a sash. Was she a Goddess? I’ve never been interested in any deities, so religious sculptures, etchings, and the like were far out of my expertise.

The aristocrats were all together. Mia and Tokko were hugging, Shiku had his hands in his pockets, remaining in a relaxed position where he could act from. Damon looked to be taking it all in stride because the three girls who spoke of his erotic accomplishments had their arms around his waist. In turn, he had his arms around them, embracing them in a hug that felt like it was the verge of turning lewd.

Is this really the time for that? And weren’t those three arguing earlier?

The Mystery Twins couldn’t have looked more at home, so I guess nothing really fazed them.

“Hey man, you alright?” Greggie suddenly spoke up. I turned around. He was about to place a friendly hand on my shoulder, but I flinched away at the last second. The apologetic look in his eye told me he had forgotten that I didn’t like to be touched.

“Yeah... I'm fine,” I said, ignoring the awful stomach pain and blistering headache. I wiped my mouth with my hand and swallowed whatever blood was threatening to leak out of my mouth. A quick check with my tongue confirmed two missing teeth.

I turned around to face Greggie. Keeth was looking at the ground, his fists clenched in what was probably anger. Will looked beside himself, almost embarrassed that he didn’t do anything. A second later, the three of them apologized.

“Where do you think we are?” Will asked, scratching his scrawny arm.

“A church, maybe? Did we die?” Greggie answered, asking his own question in turn.

“Die? I just remember seeing a bright light. I didn’t hear anything odd, either,” I said. My phone was dead, so I couldn’t check it. My three companions looked at theirs, but they didn’t have any service.

Ami suddenly blurted out an odd greeting, and I realized we weren’t alone. Perhaps it was the bright walls camouflaging them, but soldiers wearing blindingly silver armor had us surrounded. Their sharp weaponry glinted in the light. And of the light, I had no idea where it was coming from. Looking up, I saw something like a holy abyss instead of a ceiling. Somehow, it was an incomprehensible concept that absorbed and emitted light.

Damon removed his hands from his harem long enough to assume a rugged, archaic fighting stance. It seemed as if a conflict could break out at any minute. Greggie probably wanted to act tough to make up for his cowardice on the plane, but the big man trembled like a frightened kitten. I just stood there and waited, staring with a searching eye because I couldn’t do anything else.

If a natural death is coming, I’ll meet it head on.

“Please find it in your hearts to calm down!” a feminine voice sounded from somewhere as a vivid light filled the room. An unpleasant pressure forced me to gaze up at the never-ending void of white. It glowed even brighter than a dazzling star, and a person phased into existence. Like an angel, this unknown entity descended. I couldn’t make out any details about her until she was close to the ground.

She was a woman who was more naked than dressed. If she was a Goddess or some other heavenly being, she didn’t dress like the ones from my mythology books.

It also came with a letter asking me to die.

Even now, as I’m standing here in this new unknown place, I’m the most poorly dressed amongst us. My shirt and pants were full of holes, and my shoes were scraggly pieces of leather held together with fabric and glue.

Really, it was no small wonder I wasn’t bullied for my clothing, but I guess I can attribute that to my remarkably excellent ability to stay out of sight.

But even through all that, I couldn’t find it in my heart to truly hate my parents, but that didn’t mean I forgave them. We had come to a unanimous unspoken agreement among ourselves to cut off all contact.

That was fine.

Am I broken?

Meruria spoke and explained that post-summoning confusion usually took days to fizzle out, so she was impressed by Tokko’s charisma and natural leadership. To expand on that, her last group of Soul Warriors were summoned half a century ago, and they were to be our instructors. Then she narrowed her eyes towards the only woman dressed like a teacher.

“You, the one frozen in place, paralyzed by cowardice. Are you the leader of this group?”

Ms. Mary was caught off guard, and she stammered her words, taking half a minute to say something that only needed a few seconds. “I... I... am their instructor...”

“Then why did you not speak up for your students? They should look to you for guidance and assistance, but I do not see any of that within you.”

“Holy Lord Meruria, could you continue with your explanation? You call us Soul Warriors, but what does that entail?” Tokko asked.

“That will have to wait until I have prepared the Soul Crystals. I did not expect a large group. In the meantime, shall I teach you about this world?” Her words were as sweet as nectar. It took all I had to break away from whatever force wanted me to stare at her lips.

Meruria was a Holy Lord, a person who had broken through the limits to reach the pinnacle of evolution. She channeled Holy Mana, and Dark Lords, the opposites of Holy Lords, channeled Dark Mana. A country led by a Lord was called a Divine Country. When asked if Dark Lords were our enemy, Meruria shook her head. As the hair passed by her eyes, she explained that Holy and Dark Lords were different sides of the same coin. People summoned by either were called Soul Warriors.

Soul Warriors were not used for war. Rather, they were like nuclear deterrents to prevent conflict. Every Divine Country was to carry out their summoning simultaneously to keep the equilibrium of power in check.

This world had humans, but any humanoid beings with animal-like characteristics were called beastfolk. There were monsters, who didn’t fit into either category. Most races inhabiting this world could evolve into a higher being, and the example given was an ogre transforming into an oni. Such evolution would grant a substantial increase in power and bestow new skills, spells, abilities, and techniques.

Slavery did come up, and Meruria said monsters were used as a source of labor, but enslavement spells could be used for other purposes. It was all very vague, though, which was probably on purpose. The currency of this world used copper, silver, and gold coins. There was a fourth tier, but it was used for extravagant purchases like buying land.

Meruria then asked us to line up because it was time. “Soul Warriors are measured on their soul’s potential, and it ranges from 1-Star to 5-Star. Is this familiar? Does it make sense?”

Shiku spoke up and compared it to a gacha game. “Yes! That’s it! Explaining it is the hardest part, but you’re talking to it extraordinarily well,” she said with a smile after he was done.