Arthur and Benjamin warned me about the risk of not being present at the stage area, especially since I'd been the one to order every student to start the vote-counting process. It could plummet my serious and solidly built reputation. They were right.
Somehow, I'd been careless enough to forget this obvious fact after deciding to follow Kal. Strangely, Kal did not even sputter a word about this. Usually, he'd have pointed out the mistake in my judgment, but he stayed quiet as we returned to the stage.
Wait, isn't it Kal's fault too since he's the one who distracted me...
My thoughts raced as I tried to figure out why my limpid, quick-witted, and flawless thought process had been impeded, seemingly taken from my deviant state of mind right as Kal asked me to follow him.
Had I reached my limit, or was Kal's disturbance just a coincidence?
Had Kal somehow affected my state of mind and altered its course?
I soon concluded that my mistake was minor and that I should instead focus on not repeating such foolplay and fixate on what was at hand.
Arriving at our destination, Kal and I were baffled to see how efficient and organized the students were.
''You, from group seventeen, go help David and Maria count the votes for candidate seven from group fourteen. Marcus, group eight needs someone to verify the number of votes for candidate three. Go there quickly!'' A portly teenage boy said with confidence in his tone.
''On it!'' The two seemingly younger students responded.
I recognized the person who had just spoken as one of Wilson's friends.
'Of course, he has competent friends,' I thought with a silent scoff.
''Damn, they sure are organized as hell! They're all doing as Aiden instructed perfectly,'' Kal remarked in surprise.
''Admit it, your surprise isn't about them following Aiden's instruction so well, but about you not believing your eyes that the students in our school could be this smart and efficient, huh?'' Arthur said, sneering slightly.
And thus began Arthur and Kal's bickering again...
''Honestly, yes! I mean, what was I supposed to expect from a bunch of immature, not-want-to-be-failures kids? I thought they were all just a bunch of spoiled, rich brats whose parents had paid in advance for them to receive their diplomas.'' He retorted viciously, spouting his words as though he'd spat on these students.
''Ah, yes, I forgot your goddamn tendency to always look down on other people! How mature of you, truly!'' Arthur spat back, his eyes dripping with exaggerated judgment toward Kal.
''I'm not even looking down on them—they're far too stupid and irrelevant for me to do so anyway—I'm just stating a genuine, proper, and honest fact!'' He countered proudly, meeting Arthur's baffled gaze. ''You truly are a piece of shit, you know that?'' He simply said, matter-of-factly. Then the two of them began laughing like mad demons, as if their argument had never occurred.
''These guys... They always argue with each other and then laugh it off in a blast." I heard Benjamin muffle behind me, his exasperated face masking his laughter.
"Come on, you've known them for two years now! Their current behavior shouldn't surprise you one bit.'' I added with a hint of mockery, embarrassing Benjamin ever so slightly.
We soon reached a place with few people around, which was still close enough to the stage.
''So... am I to help my colleagues now?" I asked while scanning the area below the bustling estrade, searching for a place to settle.
''There. I found a not-too-crowded place, guys. And yeah, I think you should do that, Aiden, or at least pretend to help.'' Arthur responded quirkily as he pointed at a nearby four-seat table.
Making our way there, I met Arthur's eyes and grinned slightly. "I get your point, but that won't do. My help won't change the pace of things, seeing how organized they already are. It would go against my stance and values to go out there and offer useless and hypocritical help purely as a means to increase public opinion toward me."
Taking hold of the frontmost chair, I sat immediately. Arthur followed, and then I added, ''You see, those who are ignorant could likely be dissatisfied with this attitude, but not enough for me to worry about, since most are already too concerned with the vote to change their opinion of me midway. For the others—those who can use their brains efficiently—they'll realize my poised, confident, and laid-back attitude is that of a man who's honest about his beliefs and has nothing to prove.''
This concluded my solo stand-up-like speech, which left Arthur speechless!
''You know what, you're right! I should have known you were of noble descent after your intricately delivered speech earlier. How did I dare voice my opinion and suggest such foolish plans for my ever-so-humble kin—'' I interrupted him and amusingly apologized, "My apologies, dear peasant. My wish was not to come across as crass or aggressive in any way; I just viewed your idea as something that would go against my principles. Please don't be offended.''
''I get it, I get it. No offense taken, dear King Aiden~'' He faked pouting, mimicking my mocking tone.
At this, Kal forced a fit of laughter and coerced Benjamin into joining his act. He clearly intended to keep mocking him, I realized with a sigh.
After that, we chatted and waited for the voting process to end. It was a long and thorough procedure, but we were told the final results would be announced by early afternoon.
Shy of three hours later, the stage was cleared up, and a timid girl stepped forward hesitantly.
"Hm—hm, so… please, everyone, listen to me! We've finished counting the votes, so… so, w-we'll announce the results now!'' the clumsy girl spoke loudly despite her nervousness.
At her announcement, the remaining scattered groups began to gather, and soon, thousands had returned to the same place, forming a massive black square of people below the stage.
"Gosh, who's the bastard that put a shy girl on stage and forced her to speak in front of everyone?" Kal exclaimed angrily, his eyes fierce.
Arthur, noticing an opening, seized the chance to mock him. "Hahaha! You always get mad whenever a pretty girl's in distress. Truly a filthy womanizer!"
"Why? Is it such a bad thing that I care about her—a complete stranger who was obviously forced into this?" Kal shot back, his tone sharp. "And what about her being pretty? I didn't say a damn thing about that. Am I wrong for defending her?"
Unusual reaction from Kal, I noted.
While Benjamin tried to calm Kal, and Arthur clumsily apologized, I shifted my focus back to the stage. The tiny girl had disappeared, and soon after, eleven other figures stepped onto the platform.
They lined up as the one in the center stepped forward to explain how the procedure would unfold.
Just get on with it. Why drag this out so much when it could be over in minutes? I complained internally.
Still, through his tedious explanation, I learned two interesting things: First, the shy girl's name was Carla. Second, even if you didn't vote for the winning leader, you could still join his faction—if he allowed it.
"Let's not waste any more time. We will officially declare the number of votes for each candidate, from lowest to highest!"
The declaration jolted me out of my thoughts, and excitement rapidly bubbled up in my chest.
Kal and Arthur were no longer quarreling, now nobody dared speak. A heavy silence blanketed the crowd.
The tension broke when a girl stepped forward and began to speak.
"The last-place candidate, with nine votes, is Candidate Six!" she announced coldly, her booming voice merciless.
As expected, the crowd erupted in laughter at the slightly humiliating result. But I knew—Maxime was someone worth investigating.
She quickly returned to her spot, and a man stepped forward. The laughter died down, and the next announcement followed.
"In eighth place, with a whopping eighteen votes: Candidate Seven, Roxy!"
And so it continued...
"In seventh place, with twenty-seven votes, we have Candidate Eight!"
"In sixth place, Candidate Nine—Lisa Aberman—with twenty-eight votes."
"Fifth place: Candidate Four, with thirty-one votes."
"Fourth place, with forty-four votes: Jammes!"
"In third place, we have Clark Yugilson, with forty-one votes."
Now, anticipation and mild anxiety flared up in my chest as I pondered whether or not Wilson would come out on top.
The next result would directly declare the winner, and I couldn't help but feel the tension rising.
Don't lose your composure over such a thing, Aiden. I spoke to myself.
No matter the results, it would be useless and endangering to pose as someone who'd lose his composure and cool thinking over mere stress and loss. And I am not that kind of person.
After regaining my composure, I watched confidently as the two last representatives stepped forward together.
''Now, for the epilogue, we will directly announce the first-place winner. The second place will be cited last." The woman said confidently, and with a subtle side-eye glance, passed the torch onto her comrade.
A cheerful ambiance took over the entire area before the man could speak. Clap after clap, the sound of unfaltering yells and praise, lowered down second by second, turned into a deafening silence.
The anxiousness and nervousness of the people were palpable, as they realized they would have to be under the authority of a single man, a man perhaps younger than them. But there was no turning back, and the sound of a shrill voice quieted any unneeded thoughts that anyone could have.
''The person who will become the main ruler of this area, with an impressive two thousand and six hundred votes, is candidate two, Aiden Glain! Congratulations to our new leader!''
"No way—"
Loud cheers rang out, interrupting Arthur, while praises spread throughout the entire place. I could even make out Wilson's pale and barely hidden angry scowl from just across my group.
I had done it.
The cheerful applause lasted for quite a while, but as soon as I joined the figures on the stage and lifted my hand in a gesture that demanded silence, the second-place winner could finally be declared.
"In second place is Wilson Ygnir, with a little over one thousand and two hundred votes.''
The reaction to this was quite underwhelming. Aside from his numerous friends and brainless groupies and a few others who purely clapped out of respect, it was his complete defeat.
After that, my friends all climbed the stairs and felicitated me.
''I knew it, Aiden! I knew you'd be chosen!'' Kal shouted in candid fervor and happiness.
"Congratulations, Aiden! To be honest, I did not really expect you to win, but I wouldn't have wanted to be under anyone else,'' Benjamin stated.
''Jeez, I can't believe we're this lucky, man! With old pop Aiden in power, being the sugar daddy that he is, we're guaranteed to get free promotions!" Arthur joked, in quite the Kal manner.
I stood there for a moment, taking it all in. Barely hours had passed since I'd woken up to what should have been a regular day, yet I was now fully accepting being given ownership over thousands of individuals. Now it was my turn to take control.
The crowd kept applauding for minutes, but on my side, I knew once they were done, I would need to take control of everything. After exchanging casual jokes with my friends, I began to prepare myself mentally for the task at hand.
Once it had quieted a bit and I was confident that it was the right time, I went up front and spoke briefly to the crowd again. This speech served to organize what we would do next, as well as to set the image of a confident and serious leader right from the start.
If I stayed quiet and waited in silence awkwardly, that would be the worst thing.
Once I had finished talking about how we would prepare to look for a place to live in this unknown and changed world, we all received a notification on our status window.
It was from God.
But even after checking their notifications, most people still seemed fixated on me. I turned to my left and noticed Kal—and a few of the people who had announced the votes—shooting me knowing smiles, as if they were expecting me to do something.
"Alright, I get it," I said quietly after catching on to their intent.
Raising my fist in the air to signal I wanted silence, I steadied my breath, then raised my voice.
''I can see most of you haven't read the notification. It's fine; I will read it for everyone."
As expected, people whistled and applauded shortly. It really seemed like that's what they all wanted.
Once all sound was quelled, I cleared my throat and began.
"To the people of Region G-712: The leader selection has concluded. From now on, you are to explore this altered world and find shelter. Do not expect to recognize anything. Cities, mountains, rivers—everything you knew has been transformed. This world is not the one you know.''
Somehow, that last bit stung me hard. Acknowledging that this world was no longer the one where we were born would certainly prove to be one of the hardest challenges. But I could not falter, so I kept reading, my baritone voice as firm as it could be.
"On another note, all voters are now officially part of their chosen leader's faction. Switching allegiance is possible, but if you plan on doing so, you must leave your current faction beforehand; otherwise, the system will flag you as a traitor. Consider it a way of improving early loyalty—until this restriction lifts, six months from now. Then, you won't be able to know who's a traitor in your faction unless you investigate.''
The wind picked up, as if to add weight to my words. This reminder was something I absolutely needed. Things would only get harsher as time went on.
"One more crucial point: The leader holds absolute control over his faction. They may name it, build hierarchies, assign ranks and jobs, and create systems of power and privilege as they see fit. All order—or chaos—will stem from their decisions.''
This was yet another important reminder. One that was solely directed at me. If I messed up, I'd have to pay the price and fix things up.
"Finally, let me inform you that a neighboring region has fallen victim to the attacks of a few individuals who could not handle the sudden upheaval despite being branded. This resulted in the death of six of the ten leader candidates of this region, as well as twelve other casualties. As such, I've allowed some of this region's population to either join Aiden's faction or to stay in theirs if they're not traumatized.''
Taking a well-deserved pause, I concluded by the time the wind subsided.
"That is all... for now. I shall, from time to time, contact you and send information through messages just like this one. Until then, survive, organize yourselves, evolve in this fantastical realm, and reconstruct a small society within the faction you've chosen. Get stronger, fast, and even faster. You have been given the opportunity to become superior beings; do not squander this chance, mortals. May you prosper.''
This final message signaled the start of our new adventure, both an exciting and dreadful one. I could easily see that the seamless confusion that had originally vanished was slowly creeping its way back up the very souls of my people. Understandable, of course. How could anyone normal remain completely unfazed in such a situation? Even with our bodies branded to more easily adjust ourselves to the surreal environment, coping with it would remain difficult.
"Dear friends, this marks the end of God's message. As for us, this signals the beginning of a new era where we shall strive till the end to get back what's ours. Family, friends, lovers, and our former homes.''
"Now, I won't force any leader candidates who do not wish to be part of my faction to come under me. You're free to gather with your friends and those who choose you. But do not forget God's reminder. You won't have any perks, and it will be a treacherous path. As for everyone who chose to be part of my faction, I say we should depart as quickly as possible.''
"We are currently lacking a home, a society, food, and water. To those who have equipment, food, and other essential tools to bring, I will assign group leaders to help you gather everything up. While this happens, I will lead the main group in search of a place to live for all of us. Of course, we will constantly update you on our location through the map in the system window since our phones have disappeared.''
Everyone was ecstatic at how well I was handling the situation. In no time, many serious people had volunteered to lead those with important belongings, tools, or furniture to bring to the future main faction. All means of modern transportation and communication may have been taken away from us, but that didn't mean we couldn't carry out further expeditions to our homes to bring even more goods.
As soon as I launched the expedition, several individuals approached me, hoping to be granted temporary high ranks so they could assist in leading various teams. Among them were Jammes Lyzgak and Clark Yugilson, who had both willingly stepped down from their fake-leader positions to join me. Moved, it seemed, by my sincerity and leadership, they had chosen to place their trust in me.
I had no reason to turn down their support, so I gladly accepted them—along with a dozen others—into temporary leadership roles. This decision came only after thorough discussions among mature, thoughtful, and cultivated individuals—those who Kal, Clark, Jammes, and I trusted enough to grant them such perks.
It was agreed that these roles would be held only until we found and settled in a proper base. The only ones I had officially granted their first real high ranks were Kal, Jammes, and Clark.
Soon after our meticulous preparations, we carefully organized teams of fifty, each assigned to scout regions where they used to live. This system would massively accelerate the process of gathering valuable resources for the faction—or even personal belongings that served as mementos of our old world. Both were equally precious in our dire predicament.
...
It had been a tiresome three hours since operations began. I was leading over a thousand of my people into the unknown, while Jammes—luckily an expert in geography—and I tried to make sense of the transformed landscape.
Needless to say, after leaving our former prestigious high school grounds, nothing looked familiar. Before God had knocked us out cold to "brand" us, the world's structure had barely been touched. But now, the tar roads, bus stops, parking lots, trash cans—any trace of modern infrastructure—were nowhere to be found.
At one point during the operation, we feared our houses might have disappeared too. Fortunately, our first report confirmed otherwise. While every street had been replaced by barren soil, the buildings remained. Scout Team Five mentioned that a system notice appeared upon entering a house, warning that we had only one week before they would all vanish.
This revelation lit a fire beneath our feet—we really needed to locate a base and ramp up operations immediately.
"Look, Aiden. Doesn't this huge cave ring a bell?" Kal asked, pointing toward a humongous, oddly disproportionate cave that extended from the ground and arched unnaturally into the air.
"This is bugging me hard, but you're right," I said as I approached the surreal structure. "It looks like the catacomb we visited in our first year during that school history trip."
As I neared the entrance, Clark placed a hand on my shoulder and said with quiet firmness, "Be careful, leader. This may not be the same safe catacomb you remember."
I gave him a gentle smile. "I appreciate your concern, Clark. But don't worry—I won't go any further. I've already gotten the answer I needed."
Clark's brow rose slightly in confusion, while Kal, who had followed behind, shot me a knowing grin.
"You were right, Kal. This is the place from our school trip—just... altered, as God warned."
Before Clark could ask me how I was sure of this, I pointed upward. "Look at that oval-shaped cave, the third from the left. See the iron grids and wooden signs? Exactly like the original main tunnel in the catacomb."
"Impressive," Clark murmured, the faintest smile touching the corners of his lips as he tilted his head slightly. It was subtle, but I could tell I'd surprised him.
"So, I guess we know where to go now, right?" Arthur asked, his eyes shining with a hint of excitement.
"You're right," I replied, addressing him and everyone nearby as I pointed eastward toward a vast open plain. "Now that we know where we are, we can head east from here. That's where we might find the old abandoned castle."
...
Six hours into our journey and thirty kilometers of land traversed, we finally made it to 'The Buried Remains.' Well, that's how the area near the old castle was named by the system on the map, at least.
We still had to 'climb' a huge dune in order to be able to see this so-called castle. Truthfully, the former was quite big, but not nearly enough to accommodate a few thousand people. Worse, it was in ruins. Despite this information, it was clear that every major building or environment had a chance to not disappear but instead be transformed and—just like the catacombs proved—gigantified.
In fact, the whole journey took us way longer purely because the terrain was so much larger and denser. Purple linden trees with white and pink leaves literally stood right behind us and the dune.
As we panted and struggled to make our way up, the first scouts ahead reached the top and halted. They did not move or look at us from above as they often would to see if anyone needed help. None of that. They simply stared blankly ahead, but I couldn't tell yet what from where I was.
Once Clark took hold of a branch that emanated from the ground, he helped me up. Soon, a lot more people made it to the top, as if time had accelerated, but I couldn't look at them. Instead, my gaze—and everyone else's—was fixed on the sight in front of us.
A flat terrain that extended almost a dozen kilometers, and in the middle, a fresh and proud bastion, perhaps three times larger than the original castle, along with basic lodges and accommodations, stood strong.
Although this was something I had hoped for, this was simply too shocking a contrast.
In the end, after managing to pry my eyes away from the illogical sight, I locked gazes with Kal, who wore the same expression as I did. ''We've struck gold."