It was just your average day in the classroom. During the break, many students would hang out with their friends, talking about what happened the other day or about the homework we had to do. Meanwhile, the teacher was in the faculty room, waiting patiently for the second bell to ring to start class.
A friend casually walked up to my desk. His name was Daniel, and his hair dyed brown from the original black was something that always caught me off guard. Compared to his usual look of a timid kid with glasses from last year, I guess he decided to change his image by wearing contacts and switching up his hair. He’s even purposefully made his school uniform less formal, unbuttoning the top and cuffing up his wrists.
“Hey Jay, what did you think about that new game trailer released the other day? Looks pretty fun, huh?” [Daniel]
“You should already know that my parents are strict with that type of thing… Even if I wanted to play it, it would probably get confiscated the moment I got my hands on it. It’s better if I don’t get my hopes up.” [Jay]
A long time ago, I managed to save up enough money by doing chores around the house and managed to buy a previous generation console for a cheap price from my friend, my parents found out and took it away, because it would eventually ‘rot my brain’. Ever since then, I’ve decided to never touch anything like it again since it would be hopeless. In any case, they at least they paid me back for the amount it cost me.
“You can always go to my house we can hang out there! But I guess you’re always tinkering with those random machines at home, huh.” [Daniel]
“Hah, nothing that exciting. I’m just messing around with random stuff to pass time. Once homework is done and all your friends are busy playing games, there really isn’t anything else to do. Anyways, the bell is about the ring, so you better go back.” [Jay]
Daniel glanced at the clock behind him at the front of the class, sighing in disappointment. He said his goodbyes and started walking back to his seat. As he headed back, I looked outside the window and noticed a reflection of light in the background. Quickly turning around, a bright light had appeared in the floor, quickly engulfing the classroom.
Screams rang out as it spread, with everyone trying to run. I dashed towards the door, yet no one could open them because they were shut tight for some reason. Looking back at the light, nothing had happened yet to those who were inside it. It slowly crept to the corners of the room, and suddenly a bright flash of white light blinded my eyes, fading into black.
“O, heroes, hear my plea!” [???]
This annoying voice was the first thing that greeted me. It sounded sickly, yet also pretentious at the same time. As I collected my bearings, I noticed that I was on the floor along with many of my classmates. We were in what seemed to be a castle, full of paintings and statues. The roof was covered with golden chandeliers and fancy jewelry, probably amounting to ludicrous amounts of money.
Amongst all the knight-like figures standing around us in a circle, there was one person that sat on a throne, to which I’m reasonably assuming is the king. Next to him was a short woman with long purple hair, with a mask covering her face. It had an odd engraving on it, somewhat like a symbol of sorts.
“Today, I have summoned you heroes because of the fact that we are facing impending doom!” [King]
No one seemed to be listening to him, but rather looking around like I was, trying to figure out what’s going on. Nevertheless, he went on talking anyway.
“The demon race is invading our kingdom, and are breaching through our defences. Since none of the other races are trustworthy, we have placed our hopes into refining all of you promising, young heroes!” [King]
Great. What is this horribly cliche plotline going on here?
One of the other students stepped up towards the king. I believe her name was Emi. She was what people would normally describe as aloof, lost in her own world. With short bobbed hair and long earrings that bounced around on every step, she got stopped by the knights from approaching any further.
“Ah, so, um… What is this place? How did we get here?” [Emi]
Glad someone said what we were all hoping to hear. The king looked at her from above his mighty throne with a slightly annoyed gaze and cleared his throat before talking again.
“I apologize for not explaining that sooner. You have all been summoned to the kingdom of Vai, using magic of the highest degree. Though we have made many sacrifices, we believe that this is for the greater benefit of our country. In any case, in order to combat the dreadful demons attacking our country, we request your aid!” [King]
So their answer is to take a bunch of high school students, huh? That probably wasn’t the best idea. I looked around me once again and found Daniel, shooting me a confused look. Sorry, but I don’t know what’s going on either.
Another question had been shouted soundly across the hall.
“When will we be able to get back home? Please… I need to go back to my family…” [???]
“Well, or course you will be able to return! Erm, at the moment we don’t have enough mana to do that. You see, we spent it all summoning everyone here. However, if you manage to train hard enough and defeat the demon king himself, we will definitely be able to see what we can do. And don’t worry about your family. While here, time at your home planet is completely stopped.” [King]
A lot of people breathed a sigh of relief, even though this was so obviously a lie. This is merely a story to keep us from running away!
The king waved his hand to one of the knights in front of him, signalling for him to do something. Right away, the knight slowly makes his way to the front, with his armour clanking at every second. As he turned towards us, his stern face and a large scar that ran across his eyes were definitely intimidating some of us, myself included.
“Hello everybody, my name is Gantz. I will be in charge of your training from now on.” [Gantz]
There were commotions starting to pop up in our group.
“Wait, we haven’t even said that we wanted to fight yet!” [???]
“I’m sure that’s a concern of yours. You can either leave the castle doors now and be forced to fend off death at any moment, or you can stay here to be safe and prepared for any situation. Under my training, there is nothing to fear.” [Gantz]
What he said was true, and everyone realized it. We don’t know anything about this world, and it doesn’t seem all that bad to be connected to royalty for the time being. Unless you’re a hardcore otaku, there aren’t any downsides to staying here.
“... I’ll take your silence as acceptance. Now then, please look at this.” [Gantz]
The man took out a shining blue orb from his pocket. That was able to fit in there?! Oh, I guess it makes sense, since we’re in a world with magic after all.
“This is an identifying orb. It will be able to display your status and project it for everyone to see your skills. Here’s how we’re going to proceed from here on. We will look at everyone’s skills and, along with the other knights, I will divide the group into différent groups with varying skill. Afterwards, you will head to the barracks for the night. You over there, you’re first!” [Gantz]
He said statuses, so this like a game, huh? He pointed towards a tall looking boy, with hair shaved bald and piercings on his nose. Are those even in fashion still? He looks like your stereotypical delinquent... I’ve never talked to him before but from what I’ve seen he seemed nice enough.
“What’s your name?” [Gantz]
“Uh, Aran?” [Aran]
“Aran, place your hand on his orb. If you feel anything weird, don’t worry, that’s just the orb doing what it’s supposed to. Just for reference, the average adult without training is roughly level 5 and has about 10 points in each stat!” [Gantz]
Gantz extended his hand out and Aran looked at it for a few seconds before placing his hand fully on the orb. Within, you were able to see a weird mist-like substance twirling about like a tornado. Soon after, a screen popped up in the air, with a wall of text on it.
If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.
Name: Aran
Level: 1
Exp: 0/10
Health: 25/25
Mana: 20/20
Strength: 8
Defense: 7
Constitution: 10
Dexterity: 9
Intelligence: 14
Wisdom: 10
Skills: Heal, Staff mastery, Wand mastery
Titles: N/A
Wait, this guy is a healer?! Everybody’s face dropped. How could such a ruffian looking guy have stats like these? I guess it really is true that you shouldn’t judge people by their looks. But anyways, now I at least know that we’re basically living in some kind of fantasy game world.
“You have talent, kid! We don’t have enough healers on the front lines, so you will definitely be an asset. These stats are no joke either for a level 1! Haha, looks like we made the right decision with the summoning!” [Gantz]
Aran had a little grin on his face as he went back into the crowd. Seems like he has a smooth sailing path from here on out. As more people went up, it seemed that the standard was pretty high, matching that of Aran’s. Soldiers and mages took up the majority of the roles, and every single result was making me even more nervous in knowing my own.
I finally got up to the front of the line. Once Gantz signalled for me to come up, I walked a bit faster than usual, eager for something so childish. I put my hand on the orb, and it began to twirl normally like everyone else’s. As time passed, it felt like there were several spiders crawling on my hand. It felt weird, but not dangerous. I closed my eyes for a second before looking up, and there it was in all of its glory, right in front of me.
Name: Jay
Level: 1
Exp: 0/10
Health: 20/20
Mana: 15/15
Strength: 6
Defense: 6
Constitution: 6
Dexterity: 8
Intelligence: 8
Wisdom: 6
Skills: Automate, Eagle Eye
Titles: N/A
Well, that’s a tad disappointing… Why are my stats so low? It's not like I'm any less fit from the others... And these skills also seem kind of unorthodox. They’re pretty unique from the others though, so maybe it’ll be useful in the end? Hopefully this doesn't lead to me being kicked out.
“Hm. So it seems that your stats are on the low end of the spectrum compared to everyone else. But no matter! You are still strong in your own right, and we will train you so that even demons will fear you!” [Gantz]
Ah, this sense of pity is embarrassing. I’m not weak compared to the average person, yet compared to the people here, you might as well call me a child. At the very least, I plan to not be a burden to others.
Walking back towards a spot in the crowd, I zoned out, thinking about those two skills. What did they do? How do I use them? Thinking back again to why I’m here, there’s still so many things I don’t know and need answers to. This train of thought continued on until the rest of the class had gotten evaluated.
“Many of you are talented. A lot more than we had ever hoped for. It is of confidence that I dare say you will become the strongest this country has ever seen. Starting tomorrow we will commence the training, but for now, we shall lead you to your rooms. Get a good night’s sleep, and in the meantime, the other knights and I will separate you into different groups as I mentioned before.” [Gantz]
Several of the other knights that stood by began to move out the doors.
“Please follow them to your chambers. This concludes your day.” [King]
Ah, right, he was here the whole time. I guess he really isn’t all that memorable. The rest of us all followed the knights outside and through the halls. Looking around, the decor was more or less the same gaudy stuff that was present in the king’s chamber. Just how much are they spending on this building? I feel a tap on the shoulder, and it’s Daniel.
“So, what do you think about this situation so far?” [Daniel]
“I guess it’s pretty weird. It seems awfully like those games you play, huh?” [Jay]
“Yeah, it’s definitely strange. But the weirdest thing is that everyone is just going along with them. I expected everyone to be a lot more scared. Meanwhile, I’m over here barely trying to contain myself from screaming out loud.” [Daniel]
“No kidding. I mean, demons? This all sounds like a dream.” [Jay]
We continued talking for a while until the guards in front of us stopped. We were surrounded by two halls that went on quite far, with doors on every side. It seemed that this area was built only for the intent of housing a bunch of people. One of the guards began speaking.
“Please choose where you’d like to sleep and tell us your room number. Everyone will have individual bedrooms. Sharing is not allowed. All the rooms are the exact same.” [Guard]
I look around and there are already classmates discussing that they should get rooms next to each other. That’d probably be for the best, actually. Daniel and I turn to each other and nod.
“So, what about these?” [Daniel]
He points to two open rooms in the middle of the hall. It seemed fairly well maintained and clean. On the two doors stood large numbers, 44 and 45.
“Sure, I don’t really care. If all the rooms are the same, there really isn’t much of a choice to make.” [Jay]
“I guess you’re right. Let’s go back to the guards.” [Daniel]
We turned back towards the guards and told them our room numbers without any troubles. I went back to my room and opened the door. It looked oddly normal, not something I would expect from a castle. Similar to a hotel room, there was one bed right in the middle of the room, with a desk stuck in the corner. On the side of the bed was a closet, for people to store their belongings.
However, what really drew my eye was the large window above the desk, with a magnificent view of the town we were in. Or kingdom? I’m not really sure what to call this place. In any case, you were able to see everything, with what I’m assuming to be the main marketplace, all the way to the fields outside of town. The street lights illuminating the night sky made the view beautiful and serene. I definitely have to explore this place sometime soon.
Jumping face-first on the bed, a loud creak ensued. Wow, they really skimped out on these. At least I have somewhere to sleep now, it’s better than nothing.
Thinking back to my conversation with Daniel, this world really does seem like a game. Ah... I really want to go back home. My parents are probably super worried about me. But it doesn’t seem like that’s happening anytime soon, so I should learn to adapt as fast as possible. Since they were able to send me here, I should definitely be able to go back, right? Come to think of it, there was that one thing Daniel told me about to test out.
“Status.” [Jay]
A large screen popped up again listing my stats. It worked! Apparently, this is a staple in every game. I sat back up to read it. Everything was the same as before, but the two things that pique my interest the most are these...
Skills: Automate, Eagle Eye
I click on Automate.
Automate
5 Mana
Keep an object in a constant state of motion for an hour. The result is dependent on initial conditions. After the effect is over, the object returns to its original state. Able to stack hours. Deactive at any time.
This doesn’t seem all that strong itself, but I can already think of some interesting ways to use it... I wonder if I jump and cast this on myself, will I fly? That’s enough theory for now, what’s the other one?
Eagle Eye
Passive
Allows far sight and ability to see clearly in the dark.
So this is just for my eyes… Doesn’t sound all that powerful. I guess it’s useful for exploring.
I plopped back down on the bed. I should probably get some sleep and worry about things tomorrow. It doesn’t seem like I’ll be able to do anything on my own here, in any case. As I headed towards the door in order to close the lights, I noticed something out of the corner of my eyes inside the wall near the doorway. Wait, is that…?
I approached the unknown thing slowly. In the wall of the room, there was a hole big enough to put your entire hand in and some more. Carefully peering through the gap, I could make out the shape of a web.
Oh no.
There’s a spider in my room. This is it. Now I have to burn the whole place down. Although, on second thought, that’d probably get me executed. I kept looking inside the hole to locate where the spider was. Deep within, I saw something move. That’s probably it.
Taking a piece of paper from a stack that was on my desk, I carefully made my way back. I reached my hand inside the wall and slapped whatever it was with all my might.
I heard a small ‘scree!’ from the spider before a small screen popped up right in front of me.
[1] Spider has been defeated!
[1] Exp gained.
So you can even gain experience in this world? Well, it’s not like that was unexpected at this point. At least now I don’t have to worry about a spider in my room again. I threw the piece of paper into the trash and hopped back onto my bed. How did that hole even appear in the first place? Curious, I took another glance at it, before noticing some shadows shifting. Oh god, not again.
I took another piece of paper and did the exact same thing.
[1] Spider has been defeated!
[1] Exp gained.
Phew. Hopefully that’s the last one. I took a minute to carefully scan the rest of the hole before confirming that there were indeed none left. Then, all of a sudden, a blue light shined in the corner of the hole and a spider appeared, as horrifying as ever. They spawn?! What kind of horrible joke is this? This is going to be a pain to deal with.
I looked around the room to see if it was possible to patch up the wall somehow. Within the drawers of the desk was a circular metal container that looked strong enough to crush the spiders. Maybe I can use this.
Carefully, I put the container inside the hole and rolled it towards the spider. Sure enough, it died. Alright, now that that’s confirmed, let’s hope this works. While the container still had its momentum, I put my hand above it.
“Automate!” [Jay]
What I saw was amazing. The container began rolling and bouncing off the walls, keeping its speed for at least the last thirty second, and had no intention of stopping anytime soon. There was a small but annoying clanking sound every time it hit, but I was used to sleeping with lots of noise, so it probably wouldn’t bother me.
I waited for a while for the spider to spawn again. Once again, the blue light appeared, and right as it came to life, it was met with the crushing force of a large metal cylinder.
[1] Spider has been defeated!
[1] Exp gained.
Alright, that’s perfect. If I remember correctly, I can stack this skill so I guess I’ll keep it on for as much as I can. Using the rest of my mana, I put my hand back on the container and cast Automate twice. This should keep it on for about three hours.
Finally, now I can go to sleep peacefully without worrying about it. I head back to the door and flick the light switch off. Jumping back on the bed, I closed my eyes and snored the night away, putting all my worries for the time being aside.
-----
I was greeted in the morning with a large ray of sunshine right in my face, immediately waking me up and out of bed in order to avoid being blind. Once I stood up, however, I was bombarded with several screens.
[179] Spiders have been defeated!
[179] Exp gained.
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
Level up!
“Uh… what? Status...” [Jay]
Name: Jay
Level: 6
Exp: 33/60
Health: 35/35
Mana: 25/25
Strength: 12
Defense: 11
Constitution: 11
Dexterity: 12
Intelligence: 13
Wisdom: 11
Skills: Automate, Eagle Eye
Titles: N/A
Damn.