"Allow me to explain everything," Julius uttered in a solemn voice, his expression serious and unwavering.
Noah, however, paid little attention to Julius, his gaze wandering around the room in a daze. He slapped himself, the sting of the impact jolting him back to reality. "This is a dream! Wake up!" he exclaimed, his voice echoing through the chamber.
But as he continued to slap himself, the pain becoming more and more real, Noah reluctantly came to the realization that he wasn't in a dream.
"So… this is real?" he muttered, still struggling to believe the situation he found himself in.
"What is… going on?" he managed to stutter, his voice low and uncertain.
"You are chosen to save this world and the worlds above," Julius asserted, his voice steady and firm.
"Don't kid with me! Send me back!" Noah yelled, his voice echoing through the room, a mix of frustration and desperation.
To an ordinary otaku, this would be a dream come true, a situation many would yearn for. But Noah wasn't happy about it. He pleaded with Julius to send him back to his real world, his voice tinged with desperation.
The reason behind Noah's anger and panic was his sister, Lucy. She was all he had left in his life, and he couldn't bear the thought of leaving her alone.
Julius quietly shook his head, his voice calm but firm. "I am afraid that's not possible."
"What do you mean by it's not possible?! You summoned me here, so you should be able to send me back too, right?!" Noah panicked, his voice rising with each word.
Noelle, who had been standing there, silently observing Noah's outburst, finally stepped forward. "We are not the ones who summoned you," she said, her voice gentle yet firm. "And it took a lot of power to bring you here. You have been here for six hours, and you just opened your eyes."
"Six… hours…" Noah muttered, his mind struggling to comprehend the situation. Too many things were happening to him at once, the weight of it all threatening to overwhelm him.
"If you truly want to save this world, then ask Asta," Noah insisted, his voice firm and unwavering. "He should be able to defeat every possible threat."
The last chapter Noah had read of Black Clover ended with Asta and his team winning the fight against the Dark Triad, the most evil organization in the Black Clover world so far.
"Asta? Who is that?" Noelle and Julius asked, their faces a mask of confusion and puzzlement, as though they had never heard of Asta.
"Why was I chosen to save your world? Couldn't you have chosen someone else?" Noah asked, his voice tinged with desperation and frustration. "Someone who can be more capable than me."
"You are misunderstanding something," Noelle asserted, her voice steady and calm. "We weren't particularly trying to summon you. We were summoning the chosen one from the prophecy, and whoever was the most suitable was summoned. And in this case, you seem to be the most suitable to save the world."
"No. No. No. No." Noah violently shook his hands, his voice rising with each word. "That ain't gonna happen. Send me back to my real world, now!"
"But—"
"That's enough, Noelle, Julius," a familiar voice said from the other side of the room, the tone firm and commanding.
Noah looked back to see who it was, and he was horrified upon laying eyes on the person.
"Tsunade…"
It was Tsunade, the fifth Hokage, her presence a stark contrast to the world of Black Clover.
"Why is Tsunade here…" Noah muttered, his mind racing with confusion and disbelief. Then, he remembered what Noelle had said a while ago, the pieces of the puzzle starting to fall into place.
"So, you are the one who summoned me here?" Noah asked Tsunade, his voice a mix of accusation and desperation, his mind racing with a thousand questions and uncertainties.
"Indeed." Tsunade nodded, her voice steady and sure, her gaze unwavering. "And it seems you truly are the chosen one."
"What do… you mean?" Noah asked, his face a mask of puzzlement as he tried to make sense of the whirlwind of thoughts and emotions swirling within him.
"In the prophecy, it was said that the chosen one will have the knowledge of all the worlds," Tsunade asserted, her voice gentle yet firm. "And you knew my name even before I introduced myself, so you must be the chosen one."
'That's because you are not real. You all are just fiction, and everything is fake,' Noah thought to himself, a sense of disbelief and detachment washing over him.
He took a deep breath, his voice rising with each word. "I don't care about all that. I want to go back to my world."
Tsunade stared at Noah, her face a picture of disappointment, a sigh escaping her lips. "Fine. If you don't want to save our and the rest of the worlds, then we can't force you to."
Noah sighed in relief, the weight of the situation lifting slightly. He had thought he wouldn't be able to go back to his real world or see his sister again. And even celebrate his birthday with her. Who knew, she might have also prepared something special for him to give as a gift other than the one she was going to buy from Noah's money? Maybe she was going to give him her chastity? Noah hoped.
"Unfortunately, the summoning gates are closed," Tsunade explained, her voice calm and steady. "So if you want to go back to your world, you will have to ascend to my world, which is the third world in this universe."
"Then take me there," Noah shrugged, his voice tinged with frustration and desperation.
"That's not how it works," Tsunade replied, her voice gentle yet firm. "If you want to come there, you must ascend there with your own power. And for that, you have to practice and master the power of the three worlds. Only then will you be able to go back to your world. And who knows, maybe you will change your mind and try to save the world after witnessing how dire a situation we all are in."
As Noah grappled with the surreal situation, he couldn't help but notice the gentle demeanor Tsunade was adopting towards him. It was a stark contrast to the fiery temper he knew her to possess, a discrepancy that only deepened his confusion.
'And besides, where are the main characters of the series? They should be able to stop and win against the enemies, right? I mean… the main characters always win by powering up at the last moment, or with the power of friendship. Or just an asspull by the author where the main character suddenly enters super god mode and annihilates everything.'
Tsunade turned to Julius and Noelle, bowing down gracefully before saying, "I will take my leave now. Take care of our Hero."
With a poof, Tsunade disappeared, leaving Noah to grapple with yet another layer of bewilderment.
"..." Noah raised his brows, a thought echoing in his mind: 'Since when did Tsunade start using shadow clone Jutsu?'
'These characters… they aren't exactly the same as they should be. Something serious is going on here, and it has messed with reality.'
"Ahem!" Julius cleared his throat, his voice steady and calm. "O~ chosen one, what should we call you? Do you have a name?"
"My name is No—no, you can call me Dedi," Noah replied, his voice hesitant and uncertain.
"Dedi dono." Julius reached out his hand to Noah, a gesture of respect and camaraderie. "It's our pleasure to have you here. And we apologize for the inconvenience caused to you. If it were me in your place, I would be mad too. No one would like it if they are forced to do something they don't want to."
"..." Noah shook hands with Julius, a single thought echoing in his mind: 'He is making me feel guilty.'
"Now then, Dedi dono…" Julius glanced at Noelle, his voice steady and sure. "Noelle will take you to the library where you will get your grimoire."
As Noah prepared to embark on this new journey, the question lingered in the air: What type of grimoire will Noah get?
(In the world of Black Clover, grimoires are magical books that contain spells and are chosen based on the user's magical affinity and potential.)
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Thanks for reading, and have a nice day.