Novels2Search
A DIFFERENT KIND OF HERO
1st Chapter : Gods and mortals, games and reality

1st Chapter : Gods and mortals, games and reality

"Yo" What stood before my eyes was a young foreigner-looking man, standing in a blank white space that stretched out into the horizon. He had an awkward smile and his eyes seemed a little nervous as he lifted an arm up into a static wave.

"Hi?" I was a little skeptical of the situation i was in. Was i dead? Was this the afterlife? Such thoughts drifted through my mind as stared blankly at the man. His blonde hair almost seemed to drift in an unseen breeze as he lowered his arm and took a step toward me.

"So, like. Sorry about that Shiina, it was kinda my bad you ended up being sent to your death... tee-hee." He tilted his head to the side a little and tapped a fist to the side of his head.

"..." I felt myself growing both angry and exasperated at his laid back behavior  and confession. I watched as he reached into a pocket in his cargo shorts and ruffled around for a few moments.

"Now where was it....... Oh right!" He took his hand out of his pants pocket and moved it to the front pocket of his Hawaiian, floral print shirt. After shoving 2 fingers inside of it, he pulled out a large folded piece of paper and handed it to me. I was trying very hard not to tsukkomi him about how such a large object shouldn't be able to fit in that small pocket.

"Here, take a look at this for a moment and i'll explain the current situation to you."

"... Sure." I slowly opened up the paper and felt my eyebrow twitch at it's size, almost as long as my own body.

Congratulations~

You have been specially selected to be either reincarnated or summoned into the world of Demonia.

By the time you are  reading this, you have most likely been either;

A: Killed of in  an unfair manner or;

B: Been on deaths door due to unfortunate circumstances.

In the event that someone like you who has an extraordinary amount of good karma suffers a terrible fate unbefitting of your karma, you will be given this special choice.

Please let it be noted that if you are from a world such as Earth, the world of Demonia will seem "Game-like".

If you choose to be reincarnated, you will be randomly given a base race to be born into and your stats and skills will be of a higher quality then your race's.

You will also have an enhanced growth rate and you will find it easier to learn new things.

If you choose to be summoned, you will remain in the waiting room of the afterlife until a summoning ceremony is being undertaken by a race of Demonia.

If you choose to be summoned then you will receive 1 free specialty from the god that has presented you with this document.

On top of the free special, you will also have a much higher starting limit to your stats and your growth rate will be enhanced.

As an extra bonus of being summoned, you will also be granted 1 ability based on your personal circumstances and personality at the time of your death or near-death before being summoned.

If you have any questions regarding this document, please feel free to inquire with the resident god.

Thank you for being a part of our wonderful system~ Have a great day.

"... ... ..." I slowly raised my eyes up to the "god" and folded the paper back up again, handing it back to him and sighing once.

"So, any questions?" He asked with an awkward smile on his face.

"Yeah just one. Are you the reason i was put to death so easily?" I almost seemed to growl the words out which surprised me a little.

"Ah... Yeah i am, sorry about that. I was kinda bored and saw an opportunity to get a new follower so i just... Played around with a few minds to make it so you would be accepted by the system." His smile dropped into a look of apology and he raised his hand up to his chest in an apologetic sign.

I was a little annoyed, sure. But at the end of the day, i could at least enjoy my life a little from now on i suppose. My day to day activities almost never changed.

Get up from bed, wash my face, eat breakfast, brush my teeth and head out the door for work. Take the train to my job at the current construction site, do manual labor for 11 hours, take the train home, cook and eat the meal i felt like that evening, shower, brush my teeth and go to bed. Rinse and repeat, day in and day out

The only real time anything else happened was when i went out drinking with my coworkers of my ex-friends or the time off during Christmas or my birthday. So in a way, this was like a dream come true for me.

"-sigh- Well... I'm not really that pissed off i guess, so let's get this over with shall we. I'll take the summoning i guess, i don't feel like being reincarnated yet." While it could be cool to start life all over again, i wanted to live my current one to the fullest.

"Ah but one- no two questions actually. The first one would be, would i keep my memories if i reincarnated and the second one, will i be able to reincarnate into that world when i die?"

"Well for the first one, it's entirely based on luck whether or not you will keep your full memories if you reincarnate. And as for the second one....... If you would like to make Demonia your new core world then sure i can arrange that for you. But you won't keep your memories if you do die and reincarnate I'm afraid." He had a small smile back on his face and he placed his hands back into the pockets of his green cargo shorts.

"That's fine. If it's a game-like world where fantasy and reality coexist then it's fine indeed. So this free specialty, what is that?"

"Ah that? You just tell me one thing you would like to have, like say, an ability or an item that only you would have, something like that."

I placed a hand to my chin and pondered deeply. Something only i would have huh.......... OH! Maybe something like from that web-novel i started reading? I slowly brought my hand back to my side and asked in a slightly nervous voice.

"Does it matter how complicated or powerful the ability or item is?"

"Nope~ Just as long as you explain it in detail so that i can grant it to you."

I thought back to a certain ability of a certain web-novel, "S--ve Har--", the ability to pick and choose bonuses with bonus points.

I explained in detail what i could remember from reading it and the guy leaked an admiring voice before nodding once.

"Well now, it's not everyday you find someone wanting something of that scale. Luckily for you though, that concept already exists to some extent in Demonia. It's just not as complicated or all powerful as that though." He waved a hand up in front of his face and then a blue box appeared in front of him. After poking his finger at it a few times and scrolling it around like it was a touch-screen computer, he nodded once and it disappeared.

"Alright then. I suppose i should fill you in on a few more details." He waved his hand again and a small table and two chairs appeared between us. I talk one seat and he took the other and he proceeded to explain a few more details to me.

"My name is Jun and I'm one of the many patron gods in Demonia. I have a few temples and shrines around the world and I'm in charge of the following statuses.

Growth correction for even stats so that one stat doesn't become too powerful compared to the rest.

Magic understanding. This means that those who are under my sign can more easily adapt to and learn magic easier. It also allows them to form their own magic and magic based abilities.

Understanding, meaning they can have a more deeper understanding of knowledge as well as being able to control the flow of the conversation more easily.

And lastly, wisdom of the ancients. This is sort of a specialty that only certain followers are able to learn. It means they can harness the knowledge and wisdom of the ancient races and learn special skills that have been lost to time. On top of that, they can also better understand the secrets of the world and the status system, unlocking many unknown hidden functions of the "menu"." He took a deep breath before continuing with his speech.

"While i can't exactly tell you what's going on in the world nor can i tell you about the political and economical situation of the many races, i can tell you this. Follow your heart and don't let yourself be deceived by those around you. While I'm sure that the spark in you will give rise to a special ability, it's not good to rely solely on that. Just remember this one fact, people can just as easily lie to themselves than lie to others. Just because they believe something is true themselves, does not mean it is true."

"Wow you sure are very talkative aren't you Jun. By the way... What happened to the memories of the past few days before i wound up on that chair? As far as I'm aware, i pressed that button and then suddenly, 2 days have passed and I'm standing in front of my ex-friends."

"... I don't know... Someone else seems to have their eye on you as well but I'm not sure why they would want to erase your memories like that. Oh and just for the record, i made sure that no matter what you had said, you would wind up on that chair."

"-sigh- I get it, so one more question. Regarding "signs" and "followers" Is it possible to be under the care of more than one god?" I was slightly curious since he said someone else was interested in me.

"Yes it is possible but most of the time, we gods try not to share a mortal between ourselves... We get a little possessive after all hehe." He laughed a little and then gave an exclamation of surprise.

"Wow what impeccable timing is this? It looks like a summoning ceremony is under way right now. And by the high imperial court of Gardenia of the human tribe. Well then, Shiina, good luck and have fun out there, i'll be watching over you."

Before i could even utter a complaint, he leaned forward and placed a finger to my forehead, a spinning sensation hit me and i saw a light formation appear in front of my eyes.

"Hey wai-" I suddenly felt myself being pulled into the light and i felt the sensation of being pulled through a vacuum tube before suddenly appearing inside a strange magic formation.

"........ It's a success your royal highness! A new hero has been summoned!" I heard a loud voice shout happily from behind me and i felt a wave of nausea hit me.

"Ugh~ God damn this feels terrible urp-" I fought down the urge to vomit and raised my eyesight to survey the room, a hand resting over my pale lips.

Your bonus ability [Mind's Eye] Has been registered.The meny category [Bonus] has been registered.Your status has been updatedYou have successfully been summoned to DemoniaYou have successfully learned every language of DemoniaStarting main quest {{Summoned}}Your basic attire has been registered as equipmentThe menu has become availableWelcome to Demonia, we hope you enjoy your new life here, Hero

I blinked twice before a smile rose to my lips. Cool. This is pretty cool.

"My lord! He appears a little unwell. Did the summoning go wrong somewhere?" "This one looks pathetic -sigh-

I could hear an undercurrent of speech drift through at the same time he voiced his words.

This must be the function of [Mind's Eye], almost like mind reading i guess.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"Hmm perhaps we should let him rest for a few moments... Hughes, prepare some water and medicine for our guest."

"At once highness"

I heard a pompous sounding voice and an over eager voice a little to the right of me and i looked up towards the sound of the voices.

I saw a young man standing up on top of a small podium situated a little ways away. He seemed about 31 or 32 years of age. He had short white hair and golden crown embedded with various gems like rubies and emeralds. He was wearing a white buttoned shirt and white pants of some kind with a red-gold king-like regal gown draped over his shoulders. It was obvious at a glance he was the king of those gathered here.

His blue eyes carefully scrutinized my appearance as he slowly took in my figure. I wasn't entirely sure but, i could sense a sort of sinister aura being emitted from him, causing me to gulp.

A few moments later, another young man cam hurrying back holding a tray with a glass of water and some white powder-like substance.

He seemed even younger than i was, maybe 20 or 21 years of age with shoulder length black hair and pair of circle-rimmed glasses covering his blue eyes. He was wearing the typical butler style clothes; White button down shirt with a black waistcoat and long black tie. Along with a pair of black trousers. He even had a handkerchief in the front pocket of the waistcoat...

"Please take this medicine sir hero. It will ease the queasiness you are feeling."

"Thank you..." I picked up the small piece of paper that had the powder on it and poured it into the water before stirring it with a spoon that was also placed on the tray.

Once it was mostly dissolved into the water, i picked up the glass and brought it to my lips.

-gulp gulp gulp- "Pa~ Tastes like lemon..." I accidentally leaked my thoughts out and slowly brought the glass back down to the tray, my ears and cheeks growing hot.

"Pardon me." The butler-like man slowly bowed and then walked off towards a door on one side of the room before disappearing behind it. I stretched a little before facing the king again.

"My apologies for having you look after me like this." I bowed before raising myself up again and continuing.

"My name is Katamiya Shiina, It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance my lord."

"Fumu. My name is Furio Dean Gardenia, King of the holy country of Humas and current leader of the Human Alliance. Please do not hesitate to call me Furio or even Dean if that suits you more." He flashed a small smile towards me.

"I'm sure you are probably wondering why you are here correct?" He gazed intently into my eyes and it caused me to almost take a step back from the invisible pressure he was giving off.

"Ah well... for the most part, yes. I already know the general reason behind summoning but not the reason why you yourselves have summoned me. I had a little chat with a man name Jun a short while ago."

At the mention of the name Jun, the king almost seemed to radiate a small amount of fury, small enough to almost go completely unnoticed.

"I see... So you have spoken with one of the gods of our world? That is a very rare chance occurrence for our people, but i guess since you are from another world, it is normal." He seemed to calm down a little and then continued.

"Our people have been oppressed by the demon king and it's army for countless years and even after summoning many hero's before you, it has yet to be destroyed. While it's not that the other hero's were killed, it's just that they have all given up after failing to kill the demon lord.

We hope that perhaps you, the 7th hero might have a better chance at ridding this world of the evil that is, the demon lord." "I hope this one is a little easier to use. But that bastard Jun huh... He may have given the brat something to help him squeeze out of our control... We are already so close to taking control of this world, i don't want anything to go wrong. This is the last time the humans can summon a hero for at least 100 years. At least that fool of girl is already on the verge of collapsing from depression but she is still a demon lord after all..."

"..." I was shocked at what i heard from under the words he was speaking. If what i thought was correct...

These guys are bad news. I got summoned by the bad guys? What a joke... I slowly looked a little to the side of the king and stiffened. A large mirror showed my reflection; medium height, medium build, short black hair, black eyes...

The fuck is this? I'm 17 again....... Yes, i had suddenly reverted to being 17 again, this fact causing me to stiffen unnaturally.

"Is something the matter sir hero?" A shy voice snapped me out of my reverie and i finally took notice of a young girl standing on the other side of the king.

She seemed almost frail with her thin body and limbs, a white shoulder-less dress was donned on her and a thin scar ran along the entire length of her left arm, from the shoulder down to the wrist. She had pale blonde hair that fell to her waist and a small braid along the top of her head, from one ear to the other. Her pale blue eyes gazed at me with both fear and nervousness and she held a small white flower in her right hand. I looked at it and then, as i wondered just what it was, a small window appeared before me.

Weeping LilyA rare flower that is said to bloom in the depths of the S-class dungeon [Nightmare Valley]S-Class ItemRarity LVL [9]Danger LVL [19]Alchemy IngredientMagic CatalystInedibleIf consumed, can cause permanent debuffs to be applied to consumerWhen used with nature magic, can force victim to submit to casterThis rare flower is said to be found in the very bottom layer of the dungeon [Nightmare Valley]

It is a powerful item and catalyst and should be handled with care.

If you see someone holding this item openly than you better be on guard, you may just wind up on the receiving end of a powerful curse.

[Gods Grace] The magical properties of this item can be harnessed to learn the hidden skill [Scent Of Death] (% of success [5])

I immediately questioned the young lady about the flower she was holding in her hand.

"That's a pretty flower young miss, what's it's name?"

"Eh!? Oh this? It's-" As soon as she was about to tell me, the king interrupted her.

"Julia, please go inform your mother of the successful summoning."

"Ah... Yes, father." She bowed once towards me before elegantly walking off and through the door.

"..." I gazed into the kings eyes and then said the one thing i had to no matter what. I wasn't about to be fooled or betrayed yet again. I didn't want to go through that sort of thing again.

"So can you tell me the real reason you summoned me here, Asshole?"

""""!!!"""" I heard the sounds of armor clanking and swords being drawn but i ignored them for now. I was more interested in the king smirk.

"Hou~ Are you saying that there is something else to this summoning? Please do tell us all what that might be."

"Before i do that can you please tell me how to check my status? I'd like to at least know my own details before i possibly make an enemy out of an entire country."

"HAHAHA! An interesting person indeed. Very well then, as a reward for entertaining me i'll do just that. However..." His smile dropped and was replaced by a frown. "I wish to know one thing first. I am a man of my word and i will help you in understanding yourself before possibly needing to kill or imprison you. In what way did you figure i was lying?"

"... A skill that lets me know if someone is lying..." I decided not to reveal too much just yet and kept it at that.

"Hmm... Very well then. Just recite the words [Menu Open:Full Status]"

I bowed once to thank him.

"[Menu Open:Full Status]"

StatusInventorySkillsMagicEquipmentQuests[Locked][Locked][Locked]Bonus

I brought my finger up and tapped on [Status], a large window showing my basic stats then popped up.

Name: Katamiya ShiinaAge: [17]Race [Human]Patron: [Jun] [Heris]Title: [Betrayed]Fame: [100]Allignment: [Neutral]Gender: [Male]Professions: [5]Villager [1]Hero [1]Student [1]HP: 305 / 250 [+55]MP: 190 / 150 [+40]Strength: 17 [+3]Endurance: 15 [+25]Agility: 15 [+5]Intelligence: 20 [+5]Wisdom: 50 [+20]Dexterity: 20Defense: 100Magic Defence: 164Evasion: 23 [+3]Attack Speed: 44 [+20]Bonus Points: 103Skill Points: 20Friends: 0Not serving a kingdom at this timeNo monsters tamedNo slaves ownedMonsters Killed [0]Skills Learned From Monsters [0]People Killed [4041]Skills Learned From People [0]Dungeons Cleared [0]Quests Cleared [1]Titles owned [3]Equipment Forged [0]Items Created [0]Skills Created [1]

"Oh wow it's fairly detailed isn't it? Well then, i guess i better explain myself a bit more then.

I slowly brought my eyes back to the king and smiled a little.

"I know exactly what it is that you are planning. You want to conquer the world and the final piece that is blocking you, is the current Demon Lord. Too bad for you though, i don't like being lied to or betrayed." I gave a small wave and then turned to face a giant window behind where i stood. There were a few guards standing in my way but i braced myself and ran.

I weaved through the surprised guards and threw a fist out as i neared the window, shattering it and plunging myself out into the air.

"Shit..." I looked down and saw a 30 foot drop below me. Thankfully there was also a small pond near where i was falling so i tried as hard as i could to guide myself towards it. I felt a strong impact as i hit the surface of the water and a small message appeared in front of me.

Due to the impact and the lack of protection, you have suffered 30 damage [-30 HP]

I groaned from the pain as i rose to the surface and breathed in a gulp of air. Luckily the pond was deep enough that i didn't hit the ground and hurt myself further.

I heard a large commotion from above and saw the guard pointing their open palms my way from the shattered window.

Before anything could happen though, i saw the king move into my vision and he waved his hand causing the guards to lower their own hands.

"I don't see why we can't just let you go for now, that display was certainly entertaining after all. I will allow you 1 week to leave the country before i send the army after you Shiina-kun. It's the least i can do for you."

The king's shout echoed out into the surroundings and i slowly spat a breath as i swam my way to a shallower area of the pond.

"... -sigh- 1 week huh... Better find out where the Demon King girl's territory is." I had decided that since the humans were the bad guys then surely the current demon king was the good guy. Such twisted logic almost seemed natural for me at this point.

I slowly stood up when i found myself in a really shadow spot and then made my way out of the pond, pondering on what to do first in order to gather information......................

Yay~ Chapter 1 is here -fanfare- -fireworks- -applause-

Anyway i gotta go to bed right now as i'm posting this since i have work tomorrow :C But anyway thanks for the support guys and girls for both this series and my other one~ I'll leave a link here for those who don't know of my other series. [My other one~]

Anyways as always~ Thanks for reading my works~ I love you guys <3