The next day, Kaito woke up as usual and went to have breakfast. His mother was already in the kitchen, preparing his meal like every morning.
He sat at the table and waited silently.
Somehow, things had stabilized in the real world. The curfew had only lasted one day, its purpose being to confirm whether they would be summoned again and to avoid any accidents.
Once the situation regarding the summons had been clarified—for now—all summoned individuals were prohibited from doing anything that might endanger others in case they suddenly disappeared, at least during that period.
Jobs adjusted their schedules. It wasn't a permanent solution, but for now, it was the best they could do while they searched for something more stable.
Soon after, his sister came downstairs and their mother served breakfast.
During the meal, his sister asked excitedly:
"Brother, what's your rank in your server?"
"Rank?"
Kaito blinked, confused.
"You don't know? Every Lord has a rank in their server. There isn't a global ranking yet, but there might be one in the future. Also—"
"Wait, wait" Kaito interrupted when he noticed his sister didn't seem like she was going to stop anytime soon. "I know what a rank is. I just wondered how you knew."
"Internet, of course! Gaia is super popular!"
'I should've guessed.'
He had completely forgotten that something as useful as the internet existed... and with the number of people who had been summoned, it made perfect sense that there would be tons of information available.
"I'm ranked 90,000. Tell me more about Gaia."
"90,000 out of a million? I guess that's not too bad, but..."
"Tell me about Gaia" Kaito repeated, frustrated.
Of course, even he knew that wasn't a particularly good ranking. Many were ranked below him, sure, but... he was a transmigrator. He was supposed to rise to the top in his new life. Yet he was only in the top 10%.
"I'll tell you!" his sister said excitedly.
"Gaia is a massive planet—like ten times bigger than Earth. It's a fantasy world filled with all kinds of races: humans, elves, dwarves, dragons... everything you'd expect from that kind of world.
It's divided into eight major continents. One of them is even underwater.
The races are spread out by continent. They accept others, but each one is governed by a dominant race.
The races are: humans, elves, the sea race, dwarves, demons, beasts, beings of light, and lastly, the ancient race.
Among them, the most interesting are:
The sea race. They're like oceanic humans, with unique hierarchies and marine animals used in daily life.
The demons, just like in the movies, ruled by a Demon King. They were at war with the humans centuries ago, but apparently the gods themselves intervened to end it.
The gods used angels as their enforcers. After the war, some of those angels stayed in Gaia, and their descendants are the beings of light.
As for the ancient race... they're a mix of many races. Their continent is full of variety, but it's ruled by a few beings that look like tall, pale humans.
They're experts in technology. It's like a place from the future."
"Incredible" Kaito muttered, surprised.
"I know, right? Isn't it amazing?"
"No, I mean I'm the one who goes to Gaia every day, and you still know more than I do!"
"You need to study more, big brother! I know so much more. Is there anything specific you want to know?"
"What do you know about the Black Forest?"
"A lot!" she answered proudly.
"The Black Forest is on the elven continent, which is the smallest of the eight.
That continent is full of small forests where elves and other species live. The two largest are the White Forest, covering 25% of the territory, and the Black Forest, with 15%.
Elves live in the White Forest, and dark elves live in the Black Forest. These two races have been at odds for a long time.
It all started because the now-dark elves descend from elves who allied with the demons during the war. They were seeking revenge against the humans who used to enslave them.
The elves, being peaceful, despised the dark elves for that, and they've been in conflict ever since.
Although elves rule the continent, many other races live there. But elves are the default authority and all intelligent races have to obey them.
According to the Lords, it's a B-rank starting zone.
"Why so low?" Kaito asked, interrupting her.
"Because of the huge number of wild beasts. It's a difficult area, but it's also much easier to grow stronger there than in other places."
Kaito nodded in understanding. It was true that conquering wild beasts might be easier than dealing with humans. Settling in a human town might be more comfortable, but for Lords who needed to conquer to grow stronger, it wasn't the most efficient choice.
"And what about skills?"
"Good question, brother. That's a hot topic.
You'd think that with so many Lords, someone would've unlocked a skill by now, but nope."
"None?"
Kaito found that strange.
"Not a single one. Doesn't matter if they try to learn from others or conquer powerful lands. Nothing.
The most accepted theory is that skills will come as rewards from the Tower of Worlds.
Although there are differences between Lords now, they're minimal. A few kilometers of territory or a few levels—nothing major.
That wouldn't make sense if they're meant to fight each other in the future, right? That's why people believe the Tower will dramatically increase those differences with its rewards."
'True.'
Kaito had forgotten, but the Tower of Worlds' description said it was key to territory development.
As Lords with a mission to conquer, strength was everything. The idea that its rewards would be overwhelmingly powerful wasn't a theory… it was practically a fact.
"Let me tell you more!"
"The top player in a server has the nickname 'Diablo' Basically like a Demon King. Super cool.
In another server, the number one is a girl. They call her the Ice Princess. She's so cold they say she can freeze things without using skills.
There's another girl whose killing intent makes enemies freeze in fear. People say she's related to the Grim Reaper, and she has a shadowy assassin who eliminates any threat.
There's another guy who's like a classic anime protagonist. Kind, strong, loved by everyone.
And there's also a girl who—"
"Wait, wait. There have already been fights? Why are there so many famous people?" Kaito interrupted, confused.
"You don't get it, brother! Gaia is so popular—the top ranks are basically celebrities!"
"And why are you introducing them to me?"
"For when you have to choose someone to join, of course!"
"You have so little faith in your big brother... Has anything interesting happened?"
"Interesting? Hmm... Oh!" His sister snapped her fingers. "Someone tried to hack Gaia's system!"
"Hack? How? It doesn't even have a physical form..."
"Nobody knows. But a red alert popped up in a national server—a Lord nicknamed 'Alien' tried to tamper with the system. As punishment, he lost all his levels and was banned for a whole day."
"Doesn't seem that bad now, but if that happens again in the future..." Kaito muttered.
"Exactly. Plus, someone who can hack an intangible system must be incredible."
"You said his nickname was 'Alien'? What if he really was an alien?"
"Oh, come on, Brother! If aliens existed, would they really be the curious type that makes weird inventions just to play around?"
They stared at each other... then burst out laughing.
For a moment, the description reminded Kaito of someone, but he shook his head and brushed the thought aside.
"You should take that world more seriously," said their mother, who had been listening the whole time.
"Even if it feels like a game, people can still die there."
"I know. Don't worry. I take it seriously" Kaito said calmly.
They had three lives, sure, but once those were gone... no one really knew what would happen. Some believed you just couldn't return to Gaia. Others thought you'd actually die.
Kaito leaned more toward the second. Gaia offered too much for there not to be real risks.
After breakfast and a little more chatting, Kaito decided not to go watch TV on the couch like usual. Instead, he sat at his computer and started searching for more information.
A while later, he said goodbye to his family... and vanished, returning to his territory.
Standing in the clearing that currently made up most of his domain, he muttered:
"It's time this place started looking like a real territory."