The door in front of them belonged to what Josh could only refer to as a tavern, the wooden frame had long since been worn down from the countless uses that had taken place before. The building it belonged to was stitched together from red and white bricks, the mismatching colors blending together to spell "The Swine."
While he checked out the building out, Josh spotted a small octagonal window, and peeked inside. Through it, he saw men gathered around wooden tables, almost all giving off clear signs of intoxication, and each one clutching their mugs as though it were the last thing they would ever hold.
Whatever they were drinking was unfamiliar to Josh, but he assumed it was something similar to liquor, as it seemed to have similar effects. The mugs were filled with a liquid that looked like liquid gold,and the customers acted like that's exactly what it was, each one sipping the liquid like it was divine nectar. The drink gleamed under the lanterns' lights, and the patrons' eyes glowed with an intense light. Their grins were too bright and too wild, and their teeth flashed like sparks as they wildly yelled for more.
"…Hey, sir? Are you sure this is the…uh, Warp Point? It looks rather intense in there. So much so that if I had a daughter, I don't think I'd be comfortable sending her in there."
John sighed, the man looking straight ahead. He surveyed the outside before motioning for Josh to come closer.
"First off, it's Warp Station, kid. Second off, it's obviously not in broad daylight. And yes, it's intense if you get yourself mixed up with a bunch of drunk dipshits. Obviously you're able to fend for yourself, right? Or Tiga would've never accepted you, so you should be fine without me. Still, just stay with me."
"All right."
*Is Tiga a combat university, then? Damn it! It won't take long before they realize I'm a fraud if so.*
"I said stay with me, kid."
"Sorry!"
The outlier wasn't hard to find. The moment John and Josh stepped over the threshold, a few of the men took the time to stop and stare, but most remained engrossed in their uproarious conversations. Josh was the youngest in the tavern by what appeared to be quite the significant amount, and his outfit wasn't doing him any favors, as he was clad in colors that were much too bright for the dim atmosphere.
An assault on Josh's senses began as John led him farther into the tavern. The smell of what was most likely their version of alcohol burned his nostrils, and it combined with a tangy scent of some sort of substance other men were inhaling. His eardrums were barraged by loud laughter, shouting, and insults that the men were hurling at each other. And the floor felt sticky and wet, its surface clinging unpleasantly to his shoes, and covered with countless spills from the customers.
Josh could feel their eyes on him.
*Honestly, I can't believe that this is the place we're heading to. I thought it'd at least be something cooler.*
He needed to rid himself of his terrible thoughts, anything to remove the one reoccurring thought.
*You do not belong here.*
Their scrutinizing gaze, their vicious thoughts, their judgments. They were judging him. They were negatively judging him. Without even getting to know him they were already judging him. Like a cliche it happened over and over again. Was it bound to happen no matter the world? Why was he so out of place no matter where he went? Why did it have to follow him around?
His face reddened, his cheeks warm. He didn't belong here.
"Can we please hurry up?"
He uttered a simple plea to John. He couldn't show his shame, his vulnerability. He couldn't show weakness. That would cause others to look down on him. He needed to be strong, strong enough that people would look up to him. Weakness would do nothing but invite their scorn.
*I don't want to be looked down on! They're just the same as me! They don't get to look down on me! We're all people, we're all red blooded creatures!*
*You should know better than anyone that that mindset doesn't hold up very well.*
"We're here."
Directly across from the entrance was a door to an employee-only room, where they were now. It had once been painted a bright red it seemed, but now it was faded, and sections of the paint were curling off, exposing the old wood underneath. A dull, brass handle sagged slightly in the socket, and Josh couldn't help but feel it had less than a week's use left.
What caught his eye was a combination of two attributes. One, the eye-level peephole, with a gold sheen and a small circle of glass. And the employee-only sign.
*Oh…I can read their language, I guess. How did English even appear in this world anyway? And…*
"Let us in, dumbass! It's John!"
"Did you bring number 217?"
"Yes, otherwise I wouldn't be using this entrance!"
"All right, all right, calm down."
The red door opened to reveal…no one there?
"…wait, I swear you were just talking to someone." Josh said, his gaze surveying the room. Inside was not something you'd see in the average bar. No familiarity remained.
The walls and floors were a stark white, covered in designs that looked too modern to fit the outside. There were swinging gold-gilded lanterns hanging from the ceiling, casting dim shadows behind the pair. In the center of the parqueted floor was a circle painted on to the floor colored a deep blood-red.
The circle was not at all a perfect one. It had many spots where it was uneven and crooked, and areas where more attention had obviously been given to. In the middle of the circle was another painting, this one the likeness of a distorted creature.
The creature had horns much too large to be considered natural, with claws almost the size of its entire hand. Its eyes were slits, and poorly drawn, and its entire body was covered in scales.
"Never seen a Warp Station before, kid? First rule, don't ever leave the doorman visible."
"So…is he here then?"
"Boo!"
"Shit!"
A hand grabbed Josh's shoulder, causing his hands to fly up in fright.
Josh whipped his head around, only to find that there was still no one there.
"Are you invisible or something? Is that it?"
"Bingo, little buddy. It's a common skill for someone in the investigator branch. Unfortunately, it's not really the best branch to be a part of, considering most of the skills lack versatility and combat use."
"Is it hard to learn?"
"Ehhh…not really. It depends though. Some people are better at different pathways than others. Think of it like innate talent. Hard work is good. And so is innate talent. What's the killer combo? Both. If you can work hard and have major innate talent, you're probably heading to the Royal Guard in no time."
Josh tilted his head in confusion. He was still in the dark about concepts like branches, and Royal Guards, so most of his questions would just end up causing more questions. Him and John approached the red circle, standing in the middle.
*But if I ask more and more, I'll look stupider and stupider. This does seem to be important though. Becoming a Royal Guard sounds like a significant position. And these branches sound like no joke…*
"Wait?! Are you invisible?! But that's—!!!"
Impossible? If anything, wasn't being transported to another world impossible? Or a man appearing out of—
"Wait, were you invisible too?!"
Josh blurted out in embarrassment. There wasn't anything to really be embarrassed about, but he was pretty sure he'd been talking to himself about his home world earlier, so if John had witnessed that…
"Nah, I just used the warp point. And what about invisibility? That's like the oldest trick in the book. We have better cloaking techniques than that obviously, but this idiot is a lazy bum. So he doesn't use much. I should honestly report him for that, because changing Warp Stations is such a drag."
"All right kid, you ready to go? We're gonna leave this place soon and head over to the academy. Soon as in practically now. We just need to input some mana into this thing."
"Yeah, I should be ready to go. I don't need anything extra, right?"
"Nah, you should be fine. Come on Jake!"
"My bad, John. Do you always have to be so impatient? You have a wife and kid to get back to, while I'm stuck here talking to my coworkers. Let me chat a little."
"My wife is exactly the reason I wanna hurry this shit up."
"All right, got it!"
Without warning, the circle beneath Josh blazed to life, flooding the room with a violent, bright red glow. The paint liquified, and began to swirl around John, until the circle was entirely enveloped in it. When that happened, a purple glow emanated from it and the floor disappeared. John didn't resist. He stood firm as the floor slowly crumbled away and then let himself fall. His figure was swallowed by the violet light.
Josh had already stumbled back when the light had begun to glow, and was now watching in fright as John disappeared. He took a couple steps backward, heat and terror rushing through him until he felt a firm hand catch him by the shoulder, preventing him from leaving.
It was Jake.
"You're the first student I've had who's ever been unprepared for this. You need to strap in little buddy, because this is light work. Now, are you gonna walk in, or do I need to throw ya in?"
"I don't want to go. Please, let me out."
"No can do number 217. But, when you're safe and sound, I want you to learn more about the investigator branch. Each branch shamelessly promotes themselves, and I see you're rather confused. While we're on the topic of that…you're not sure what that animal was, right? Well, ask one of your classmates when you get there, I'm sure they'll know. Come back soon some time though, a doorman loves company!"
And with that, he tossed Josh into the light.