The air in the sterile, sound-dampened conference room was thick with unspoken dread and the scent of stale coffee. Six figures, the very definition of "top brass" from various international defense and intelligence agencies, sat around a polished mahogany table that reflected their grim faces. Sunlight, filtered through armored windows, painted long, indifferent stripes across the room. General Alistair Finch, a man whose stern countenance was now etched deeper with fatigue, rubbed his temples. His daughter, a bright young anthropologist, was among them.
"Eleven hours," General Finch stated, his voice a low rumble. "Eleven hours since the initial energy surge. Tens of thousands. Gone. No trace. No wreckage. Just... gone."
A junior secretary, a young woman named Anya, entered quietly, placing fresh water carafes on the table. She moved with practiced grace, but her eyes held the same distant shock as everyone else's.
"Satellite imagery confirms simultaneous energy flares across multiple continents," reported Director Zhang, a woman whose calm demeanor rarely faltered, but even she seemed to be holding herself together with sheer willpower. "South America, Central Africa, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe... all at precisely 04:23 Zulu time. Our initial assessment suggests a uniform displacement event."
"Displacement," scoffed Admiral Marcus Thorne, a burly man with a surprisingly jovial face that currently looked like a deflated balloon. He ran a hand through his thinning grey hair. "Sounds like they just collectively ghosted on reality. I'm just hoping they didn't forget their passports. Customs in the afterlife can be a nightmare, I hear."
A ripple of uncomfortable silence followed, broken only by a soft sigh from the Russian representative, Minister Voronov. Thorne often deployed gallows humor, a coping mechanism for the absurdities of their line of work, but today it felt particularly brittle.
"This is not a joke, Marcus," General Finch said, his tone tight, though his eyes darted momentarily to Thorne, perhaps seeing a reflection of his own desperate need for levity.
"Of course not, Alistair," Thorne conceded, his usual twinkle dulled. "Just trying to inject a little existential dread into our already delightful morning."
The discussion continued, a complex web of theories and impossible probabilities, each expert wrestling with the sheer scale of the phenomenon. They were dealing with an event that defied every known law of physics, every established protocol.
Suddenly, the door to the conference room burst open. Agent Ben Carter, normally impeccably composed, stumbled in, sweat beading on his forehead, his uniform disheveled. He was breathing heavily, his eyes wide with a frantic mix of terror and awe.
"Sir! Sirs! They're... they're—" he stammered, trying to catch his breath, his voice cracking. "They're back! All of them! Just... just moments ago!"
A hush fell over the room, even thicker than before. The six top brass, rigid in their seats, stared at him.
Admiral Thorne, however, seemed to deflate even further before a strange, almost manic grin stretched across his face. "Who," he drawled, pushing back from the table, a flicker of that usual twinkle returning, "the British? Or was it the ones who forgot their passports?"
-------------------------------
The tearing agony in Layla's head, the one that had twisted her memories and birthed the Soul Mark, abruptly ceased. The world, which had spun into a chaotic vortex, snapped back into jarring focus. One moment, she was standing amidst the bloody aftermath of the goblin massacre, the next, she was elsewhere.
A familiar scent assaulted her senses: the dry dust of her village, the lingering smell of woodsmoke from breakfast fires, the faint, cloying sweetness of overripe mangoes. Her feet were on cracked earth, not the goblin-trod dirt of the Isekai world. Sunlight, hot and unapologetic, beat down on her head, completely different from the perpetual twilight of the goblin camp.
She was back.
Layla stood, dazed, directly in front of her father's compound, her "Transit point." The mud-brick walls, the simple wooden gate, the faded paint on the door – they were all exactly as she remembered. Around her, life went on, oblivious. Women haggled over vegetables at a nearby stall, children chased a worn rubber ball down the narrow path, men sat under a baobab tree, playing draughts. They were going about their day as if nothing had happened, as if worlds hadn't collided, as if she hadn't just plunged into a nightmare and emerged… changed.
She looked down at herself. Her tactical armor was still on, but it was scuffed, stained with dried goblin blood and mud, parts of it cracked from impacts. In her right hand, she still clutched the blood-soaked, crudely sharpened goblin sword, its grotesque hilt sticky against her palm.
A small child, chasing his ball, froze, his eyes wide as he stared at her. Then a woman, haggling loudly, noticed him, then followed his gaze. Her jaw dropped. A silence began to ripple outward from Layla, conversations dying, heads turning. Within moments, dozens of eyes were fixed on the mud-stained, blood-soaked woman in strange armor holding a crude, terrifying blade. The murmurs began, a rising tide of confusion and fear.
Just as the first shouts of alarm were about to break through the stunned silence, a series of bright, triumphant prompts flared to life in her mind, startling her further.
[Ping: Congratulations, Host! You have successfully completed your first tour to the Isekai World!]
[Ping: Reward: Elemental Affinity Token acquired!]
[Ping: Elemental Affinity Token: A rare consumable item. Use to awaken an individual's innate elemental affinity, granting access to a specific elemental power tree. Can be used on self or designated target.]
[Ping: Congratulations, Host! You have successfully wiped out an entire Isekai Force (Goblin Village)! Your ruthlessness and tactical acumen are commendable!]
[Ping: Reward: 500 Isekai Coins acquired!]
[Ping: Congratulations, Host! Your achievements place you in the Top Ten Vanguards globally!]
[Ping: Reward: 100 Isekai Coins acquired!]
[Ping: Congratulations, Host! Your achievements place you in the Top Five Vanguards globally!]
[Ping: Reward: 200 Isekai Coins acquired!]
[Ping: Congratulations, Host! Your achievements place you as the Number Three Vanguard globally!]
[Ping: Reward: Chance to increase Elemental Affinity!]
Layla blinked, the rapid-fire messages almost overwhelming. Her "tour"? Wiping out an entire village? And she was in the top three? She had spent every waking moment fighting, killing, running, surviving, pushing past every boundary of fear and morality she'd ever known. She had activated a Soul Mark, or whatever dark thing had rooted in her mind. Yet, she was only number three. A cold, unsettling curiosity took hold. How many tens of thousands of people had been sucked into this "tour," and how many had numbers one and two killed to outrank her? The thought sent a shiver, not of fear, but of profound, terrifying realization, down her spine.
[Ping: First Tour Completed: Status Function Activated.]
A new interface bloomed in Layla's vision, overlaid transparently on the bewildered faces of her former neighbors. It was a clean, organized display, far more detailed than anything she'd seen before.
[Name: Layla]
[Age: 17]
[Race: Human]
[Equipped Items:]
* [Damaged Tactical Armor (Uncommon)]
* [Goblin Sword (Common, Blood-soaked)]
[Soul Mark:]
* [Madness (Tier 1): (Current Growth: 12%)]
[Inventory:]
* [Isekai Coins: 665]
* [Heim Coins: 875]
* [Elemental Affinity Token (Rare)]
* [Chance to Increase Elemental Affinity: X2]
Layla stared at the detailed list, a strange mix of comprehension and disbelief washing over her. Madness. That's what the system called the burning feeling, the one that had been smothered for so long, now blossoming into something undeniable. A 'Soul Mark' indeed. And Tier 1. It made sense; she felt... different. Sharper, less restrained.
Her gaze then lingered on the 'Elemental Affinity Token' and the 'X2 Chance to Increase Elemental Affinity'. So, this was how she was supposed to get magic. She'd seen the goblin mage, glimpsed the raw power of their elemental attacks. With this token, she could probably awaken similar abilities, perhaps even surpass them. She could shoot fire, control earth, manipulate water – things that had been mere myth just hours ago.
And the X2 chance. That was huge. It meant she wouldn't just be able to use elemental magic, but likely start with a stronger affinity, a deeper connection, a head start over anyone else. Over any other Vanguard.
She'd spent untold hours fighting, killing, surviving, enduring physical and mental torment that would break most people. And it seemed it had paid off, not just in survival, but in power. The thought of being Number Three still gnawed at her, though. If she, after unleashing such controlled chaos and activating something called 'Madness,' was only third… how much blood had Number One and Number Two shed? What kind of horrors had they endured, or inflicted, to climb higher? The idea didn't fill her with dread, but with a cold, almost thrilling fascination.
[Ping: Use the elemental token?]
Of course, she was doing this right here, right now.