Conscripts

S E C O N D C H A N C E S (An Isekai Adventure)

"How you get to this world of Xadia is beyond me. The mechanics behind world transfer is not something we've fully explored, but I've met some people like you. They can only describe the experience as an unpleasant yank." Robert curled his two fingers. "But for why? Let's just say that you are some of the sharpest individuals that the world needed."

When the question 'How is that the case?' would inevitably pop up, Robert would reply, "I read the contract." once again, in his casual and seemingly sarcastic tone, but not exactly. But what was ultimately the reason was revealed soon after. "The Emperor wants you to be awakened, and I did. Who is the Emperor? He's the so-called ruler of a Human Empire, but not really, because I rejected his rule and lived by myself."

Robert couldn't help but be amused at what attempts the guy was doing to get him back into the Empire. The thing that is hard to deal with Robert is that he's such a wild card. He doesn't give a single fuck if he gets arrested. In fact, if the Emperor ever dared to do that, it'd probably hurt his regime more than it would benefit him. That's kinda how he could live relatively peacefully like that for a while. It's funny, because usually only divinely strong individuals could have that kind of influence, while Robert's just an average magic practitioner and fighter.

As for who is opposing the Witch? Well, let's just say he didn't really need to answer them.

"I have such a good timing for this." He just chuckled as he heard the explosions. "Yes, if it's not the Empire soldiers, it might be small pockets of resistance from peculiar individuals looking to rebel. Well, they're generally just nuisances to her, but if you fellows want to oppose the Witch, and doesn't want to serve an aristocratic Empire at the same time." Robert had his palms wide open in a 'be his guest' gesture. He'd be fine with either what they chose.

S E C O N D C H A N C E S (An Isekai Adventure)

Robert made his way pass the unfortunate fallen of the city, surrounded by goblins that a few moments ago were so much hungry for his head. The Witch did keep her promise after all, letting him and the reincarnated go free. Secretly though, he had been carefully checking if they had weapons that contained his enchanted rocks, and he'd sneak them back into his pocket. Meanwhile, he'd begin to ponder. What was her deal with these reincarnated anyway? She had no qualms about slaughtering the city defenders, yet they let a couple of people go freely. But then again, she never made anything clear, so anything he thought up at this point would simply be speculations. What was objective to him at least was that what she did do. Her invasion of the city, the systematic slaughter, her past record, there was no way she is not a villain in his eyes. But then again, Robert didn't have a lot of emotional affiliation with the Empire anyway; he'd care even less if his relative hadn't been once associated. That's sort of the reason why he went independent and just lived his life reclusively near that village.

But the problem now is...

"Oh that seems like her alright." Robert said. "Every appearance of hers is mysterious, spooky and often accompanied with bloodshed, so it gives that aura. I do believe that's what she wants to be seen as. The first time I was unfamiliar, it was icy dicey. Now it just looks edgy."

He's sorta stuck with them now. He could just leave for his house anyway, but considering they just arrived here, it wouldn't be right to leave them there to starve. If Riley were here, she'd bring them home. There probably is something about these guys that the Emperor wanted him to wake them up.

"I believe I owe a formal explanation. I am Robert James Avant. I live down that road, a few cemetaries away, near a village. Local people know me as the man who outsource magic jobs to rocks and planks. But I digress." He said. "Now, I know you have been confused, and rightly so. Let's take a walk to my house, and on our trip, I will be taking all your hearty questions till sundown. Then, a man's gotta eat. It's fish night."

Innocence Lost - A Science Fantasy RP [v.03]

Alexander Kherol

The Last Ascendancy Commander

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Distant Years

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"See, it ain't too bad, is it?"

Trotting down the lines of maple leaves were two men, both members of the Ascendancy military, but no one would really know, because one was an old man embroidered with wrinkles, but nevertheless showed the athletics that rivalled the next man, or rather next boy according to some alien culture, one of the age to bend a rhino's horn. They were off-duty, wearing their own off-duty exercise clothes, the boy having thick opaque glasses on him.

"I guess not. But I don't know Faro, it doesn't feel...you know, the way you described." Alexander shrugged his shoulders as he jogged along with his instructor. Officially, the man occupied his leadership training, but some recommendation (plus some inner arrangements) led to the elderly instructor basically being his tutor and companion for probably the rest of his academic training.

"Christ, at this pace you're already gonna graduate with lofty positions lining up for you. Your tuition is well-secured. What else? A medal? I don't see how you can feel insecure about it."

"I know, I know." He nodded his head, having heard this multiple times. "I shouldn't feel that way. But then again, there's just something that tells me otherwise."

"Look, maybe you need a girlfriend or something." Alexander gave Faro one of the most 'are you serious look' he had ever given him, despite his eyes never been seen. "I'm serious! Look, why don't we catch our breathe a little?" Faro nudged the young Alexander as they stopped by a park. A park with a pretty garden, tables scattering the lawn and a porch containing a piano for public use. They took a seat at an empty table right in front of the porch.

"Don't get me wrong. It's not the goofing, hugging, kissing and buttering biscuits type that you teenagers like to do, though admittedly they are parts of it, but..." Faro's lips perched, to an increasingly intensifying furrowed eyebrows of the young mentee. "Being a husband, a parent, a grandparent and soon to be great-grandparent, it teaches you something."

"Like what?"

Faro shrugged, "That the world doesn't love you? I hate to sound like a doomer to a young talent like you, but for all the love people like governor Saxon, that kid Kotaro, or any of those starry-eyed over your genius mind, you don't need anymore of that."

Alexander stopped, laid back on his chair and sighed. For all its worth, Faro was right. With all the achievements weighing on his shoulders at the mere age of 18, he knew this well. He never really was in short of 'love', but he was in the absence of it.

"No I get it. Thanks. Shall we head back or something?"

Faro tapped on the table strongly. "Come on, sit down, relax and enjoy the music." He said as Alexander flopped back down onto his chair, his eyes glancing over the piano placed under a porch. Someone was getting ready to play. Something about her in particular caught Alexander's attention immediately as she sat down on her stool.

---

---

She could have easily been mistaken for any other woman, but her sky-blue eyes and long orange-brown hair were so distinct that Alexander couldn't help but notice. Despite the impression and the seemingly melancholic song she played beautifully on that piano, he much had a feeling that he had met this girl before. He had a person in mind as he quietly slipped his way around the porch, as she finished the song, was given a round of applause from the crowd of park-goers.

"Hey there, great performance." He quickly gave a thumbs-up, one which she graciously thanked him, before continuing. "Just a tiny thing I wanna ask. Do you happen to know a person called Anna Agonskaya?"

The girl remembered thoughtfully, "Yeah, I was friends with her, but it was a long time ago. Haven't met her for a while."

"10 years?" His follow-up was instantaneous.

"Yeah, how did you know?"

A big smile formed on his face, Alexander pinched the side of his glasses and lifted it from his eyes. Now, she too would be able to recognize him, with those colorful eyes that pierced through the layers and appreciated the person behind them. Her first real friend.

"Alex?" Her eyes widened by the seconds. Her joy overwhelmed all composures, "Alex!" And she threw herself at her old friend, whom, at this point, was already prepared to be smothered.

"I miss you, Sarie." Alexander said, as he pulled her even closer than she already is.

"I should be the one telling ya that..." She grumbled. "Ya went away so suddenly."

"Sorry." He said. "I should have gotten your contact. It was lonely for quite some time for me too."

"It's fine. Ya probably couldn't anyway. We couldn't afford personal cells back then." At this point Sarie finally let go. "We were on cheap home lines, so we'd just say hello and goodbye at best. What have you been up to these years?"

"Oh, it's wild. Long story short, I'm now preparing to be a military officer."

"Officer?" Sarie laughed as she gazed him up and down. It's also surprising that she was, if not a little bit taller, as tall as he was. It's kinda crazy because younger, he was visibly the taller friend. "Whoa, look at ya! I never would have thought ya'd be mingling around with the tough guys and gals."

"Uh huh..." He plainly raised his right hand and showed his palms clearly. The scar from that incident ran straight through just above his thumbs. "I'm not that physically deficient."

"But you don't look that kind of guy to begin with. You're smart, compassionate, kind,..." Sarie said and Alexander shyly glanced away at the comment. "For me, I'm just a craftswoman, doing wood stuffs. Nothing fancy."

"Where do you live?"

"Just a few bus ride down the street. I'm here today with a couple of friends I met at a political convention." She waved them over, two guys apparently. Political conventions, though? Damn. That's not something Alexander thought would come out of her mouth. They shared brief introductions with each other, and newly they didn't know who he was. Looked like the whole genius of Alexandria thing did fade away for good once he left. Overall they seemed like the average joe, perhaps a bit awkward socially, but Alexander couldn't help but feel like there was this mocking tone the moment he mentioned he was in the military. Welp, they probably thought he was one of those edgy teens seduced by the cringy ads. Alexander also introduced Faro to Sarie too, which went better. The old man was classy. The two friends excused themselves from their group for a few minutes.

"Well, now that I found you again, let's not lose contact again. You have a phone now?" Alexander asked, to which Sarie nodded excitedly. They briefly exchanged numbers. "You wanna hang out sometime as well? You know...just the two of us, catching up on life."

"Sure! There's Ascendancy Day coming up in 2 weeks." Sarie said. "If everything goes right to schedule, I should be free on the last two days. We can hang out then!"

"Perfect. I'll send you the details later." Alexander gestured at the phone. Sarie returned him a nod and a warm smile. It was good to have him back. "I have to go now. The old man's waiting."

"See you, Alex." Both waved goodbyes to each other before returning to their respective groups. On the returning trip to the academy, Alexander felt pretty close to being interrogated by Faro for that hug earlier. But the day was definitely better for him. He already made plans to have those two days off, and overall was pretty happy. Finally something he could actually look forward to.

S E C O N D C H A N C E S (An Isekai Adventure)

Yeah, it was fun to keep rereading all the posts, bit by bit, as my own post came together.

I hope @Conscripts posts soon. We need Robert in this party, for his style alone lol.

@RabidporcupineCan't wait to see what you've got for Chatak, from the outside-tower perspective.

@Zool

He's the most non-anime person in this anime RP.

S E C O N D C H A N C E S (An Isekai Adventure)

Unlike the rest of the newly awakened, Robert knew he couldn't afford to waste his energy. Despite the seemingly professional attitude, he was worried about the fight, and that he would run out of strength to cast spells. That is why his fighting sequence was much less the more beautiful yet chaotic solo performance by the other three, or the coward Dexter, Robert's handiwork were a lot more structured. He telekinetically grabbed the sword from one of their dead comrades, and waited for the moment. A goblin impulsively leapt high and down on Robert, only to meet a small invisible barrier right on its chin. The impact made the goblin fell flat sprawling on the ground, its life ended with a stab in the eye. Another one came at him, a forceful slam made it lost momentum, and Robert drove his sword through its opening and into its stomach. He'd then hurl all three swords into those archers in front of him, and then mind controlled their crossbows against their allies.

By the time they retreated into a defensive situations, however, Robert were concerned of his stamina. He could continue, but he'd not hold out for a lot longer, so he would take a step back behind the line and caught his breathe. It was when what apparently were two of the head leaders of this invasion appeared in front of him, slaughtering the people he called upon. Robert groaned as he gazed into their eyes, not really out of fear of being peppered with spear stabs, but really their attitude. He always had the impression that these people at the top were all intentionally being mysterious and never really communicate properly with people. Well, everyone in this world is, to most extent. And he was right.

He was among the last to leave the tower, but unlike the rest of them, he looked calm and non-hostile, but still quite confrontational.

"You know, we're not guessers, so when it's a good time for you people, stick with straightforward languages."

S E C O N D C H A N C E S (An Isekai Adventure)

I was gonna wait a little for Dexter, but I do want to get the posting order stuffs out of the way, and it's a fight scene, so everyone can show off as much as they want. Your man Rob will show off his stuffs in my next post, but if you guys wanna cooperate to...you know...beautify the fight sequence, feel free to let me know.

S E C O N D C H A N C E S (An Isekai Adventure)

"Glad I can have your composure. Now follow me." Robert said as he quickly but steadily led everyone through the huge lobby that connected the entrance, the coffin chamber and a whole lot of other room that he and the rest of the people here would be dying to know, but there were no time for it, as the sound of explosions, screams of both men and what appeared to be goblins. A voice echoed in his mind amidst the chaotic whizzing of arrows. 'There's too many of them!'

Robert asked the voice to come over to the sealed tower with his stuffs, before continuing with leading the rest of them. As he was about to answer David's question, it basically answered itself, as multiple of the armored goblins breached through the door, ironclad and sword in their hands, ready to murder all in sight.

"Well, that." He only had one last thing to say before the goblins began to attack. One was awfully ahead of the rest, with swords raised, but a beam shot right into the creature from the artificer's fingers. Smoke billowed out from the spot where it landed, but the goblin was still twitching. It apparently went through but not enough to take it out of the fight. He needed some readjustment.

Seems like there is no time yet for the resurrections.

"I have no idea of their weaknesses yet, so normal combat principle applies for now."

S E C O N D C H A N C E S (An Isekai Adventure)

Chill, I know it's my turn. Correct me if the world's name is wrong

S E C O N D C H A N C E S (An Isekai Adventure)

Welp, it went exactly as he expected. One threatened to kill him with the crossbow. One basically already crapped his pants. And Robert thought they would be some legendary heroes of antiquity or something. But they had weapons at least. That probably accounts to something right? Right?

He knew he didn't look or act exactly the most friendly of person to be the first to meet anyway, and that's on him, but he never looked like those priest or priestess anyway. He is a mechanic, an artificer, they demand a lot, and he too. The first thing he demanded were some composures.

He put one hand in his pocket and another on his lips, figuring out how best to convey this whole mess of a situation in the most efficient way possible. He fizzled with a small black rock in his pocket then on his hand, occasionally tossing it up and down, as he walked to the side of the room where an empty furnace stood. He threw the rock into it, then blew a gust of wind onto his two fingers. Gradually, a blue flame appeared on the tip of the fingers before engulfing the rest of them. Immediately, he swung his hand in the direction of the furnace, and the blue flame flew into it.

A few seconds would pass in relative silence, as Robert stood with his hands on the top of a furnace and legs crossed. Before any of them could really question this, a large and sudden bang sound rippled the air. It might be overwhelming for the people unfamiliar with sudden loud noises, but for someone with so much lab experience and shenanigans like Robert, all it did to him was just small inconvenience.

Waiting for a few seconds for them to recompose themselves, he'd stand there as if nothing had happened. "Did your ears hurt? Now you know you're not dead." He clasped his hands. "Like I said, it never has a good explanation, considering you just get yeeted from another world to this one. But you don't want to be yeeted off again. Trust me, it's not pleasant." For real this time, he finally explained. "Long story short, you are called upon to this world Xadia in the defense of...shall we call it 'the Empire' for now, which is now under attack from an outsider's army."

He waited a few seconds again to let the words sink. "See? Just made things even more complicated. What you need to know for now is that we're basically surrounded. And you're not getting out alive and whole if you're being confused and scared." Robert then gave a stern head-tilted glance at David. "Aim that crossbow at me again, and you WILL be dead. For the last time."

S E C O N D C H A N C E S (An Isekai Adventure)

Robert didn't fully understand the quest given, but then again he never understood that tower anyway. A group of individuals being zipped out from another world now awakened in a body that who knows what picked for. And he was expecting them to help? There's no guarantee that they'd actually be nice enough to do so, but they wouldn't even understand to begin with. But urgency clouded all logical judgement, as the man in the black gambeson hastened through the tower corridor to the coffin chamber. They should have already awakened, and to his guess confused, scared. He was pretty much right, to no one's surprise.

Approaching the four newly-arrived was a rather sharp-looking young man in black gambeson and breeches, huffing a little from his travel to the tower. He quickly brushed his hair over his forehead with his hand, gave everyone a quick glance, before letting out one last puff before speaking, in a hurried but seemingly casual tone.

"Everyone up? Everyone good? Functional? Hmm?" He glanced across the rather diverse group of individuals, before cutting right to the chase. "This...never has a good explanation, but I'm going to need you to ready to fight, soon. Yall familiar with it?"