Another Worldly Summons

Chapter 100: Reign Of Fire

With the ever-worsening situation in the New World, ASEAN's constant involvement in war, and the restrictions on migrations and lockdowns on their mainland—implemented, ordered, and lifted several times—it has become a core cause of discontent in the wider Southeast Asians. Fortunately enough, or perhaps blessings in disguise, with information funneled through broadcasting networks in the country, everyone understands the situation. They comprehend the countries that may actually invade them, their warmongering tendencies, and anti-Southeast Asians sentiments. Nonetheless, there are also those who wish to venture outside the world, not because they want to escape the shackles of lockdowns and migration restrictions, but mostly because they desire to explore and meet other non-human natives.

Some believe it's merely an elaborate scheme to locked them within their houses and countries, both during the pandemic and the transition to another world. They suspect a large-scale control and manipulation of information to brainwash them, to the point where it has become a comical sight on social media to witness people protesting to be given evidence that they're from another world. In response, the government has proceeded to showcase several non-earth animals captured in the new world, including the increasing delicacy in Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam, and to some extent in the Gulf of Thailand—an infestation of large squids called Krakens. These creatures typically reach lengths of 100 feet, with some unverified reports claiming lengths of up to 250 feet.

Orcs and goblins were also put in zoos, and even wyverns of Laurian honor guards have been paraded and flown by, much to the shock of several people who believe they're fake. There are still some skeptics persisting before Southeast Asian officials began giving the order of dissecting orcs alive in a paralyzed situation, causing uproar on social media and stirring up concerns of inhumane treatment from animal rights advocates about the torture of these creatures alive.

Furthermore, other issues, such as slashing half of the educational budgets, were impacting some of the state-sponsored schools. There were considerations for the removal of scholarship programs and free tuitions from the government, raising concerns about the declining literacy rate in certain regions of the country. With the budget cuts, the situation became increasingly dire, and the challenges faced by the new normal generation—encompassing the pandemic and the post-transfer era, almost a decade since—were evident.

Many of the children born during this period were notably and concerningly focused on tablets, mobile phones, computers, and social media rather than engaging with the outside world and school. Some were quite alien to the concept of school, as after the transfer, almost two years, the classes remained via distant learning. After that, there were an additional 2 years of mixed face-to-face and virtual learning upon arrival in the new world, following safety measures as some states were in partial martial law to control the crowd. The subsequent wars that ASEAN involved in Rodenius called for additional restrictions and countermeasures, putting strains on the people. The irony, though, is that classes returned to full-scale operation in the climax and ending stages of the ASEAN landing operation in Parpaldia, amidst their largest military operations with partial mobilization ordered at the time.

Not until much recently did full-time classes in the new world begin. Students, mostly from elementary school, often throw tantrums or show discomfort in full scheduled classes, seriously threatening their ability to be competitive learners at school. With budget cuts looming on the horizon and some parts of the country basically experiencing a chronic shortage of teaching equipment, classrooms, and maintenance for their existing facilities, there is an increasing problem that could dangerously affect students' ability to learn and the potential future of the country is in a questionable state. This is why there is strong opposition to potential budget cuts in the next fiscal year due to war spending and the reallocation of finances.