Many times over the course of my life have I wondered what it would be like to have powers. To be a hero. To save people to and fro. Following that line of thought I often wished for and contemplated Hero Summonings, Lord knows I loved reading about stories like that. Especially if the fantasy world in question had RPG elements in it, those were always super cool. It brings to mind fond memories of when I read the light novel Arifureta and then later on the manga version when it came out… but I digress. Moving back on point. Hero Summoning. With proper capitalization like a title of a work. Why? Because it happened. It happened it to me. Me, John Sparks age 25. I have been summoned to another world. And. It. Is. AWESOME~ Seriously, sure I’m going to miss my family and friends like crazy if I think about it all too much but… I got summoned to another world as a Hero! How cool is that?! Finally! This is my chance to live the dream! Well, one of them anyway… But still, it’s pretty great all things considered. In my honest otaku opinion.
Let’s dial it back for a bit though. Long story short? I was heading out to the mall, on foot. Dressed in a green leather jacket, plain white shirt, dark colored jeans and black rubber shoes I was ready for a relatively cold day in the Philippines. It was pretty normal for the most part, I made it all the way to one of the village gates. But as I was about to step out of the gate, just as I was about to set foot outside of the village my whole body just froze. I could not move a muscle. It was like being trapped inside my own body, only being able to look around here and there and breath but I was stuck. That’s when the white magic circle appeared. It came out of nowhere, shining brightly a few inches away from my extended foot. Then it expanded and shined all the more brightly as it did, blinding me.
The brightness lasted for just a few moments and then soon after I realized I could move my body again. The next thing I know I am here. Here being the Hero Summoning room of the Royal Palace in some kingdom I do not know the name of yet. I could tell it was some place known as the Royal Palace because of how high the walls and columns were, the intricacy of the magic circle I was standing in the middle of as well as the Princess that was standing in front of me with a pleased smile on her face.
“Greetings, dear Hero-sama!” Oh, Japanese honorifics are a thing in this world eh? I can dig it. “By now, I’m sure you have a lot of questions but please be patient! All shall be explained by my father, King Reginald!”
“I see.” I nod my head. “My name is John Sparks, my lady. But please, feel free to call me John.” I finish with a slight bow.
“Oh dear me! In my excitement I forgot to introduce myself, my apologies John-sama!” She waves her hands frantically in front of herself as a rather deep blush forms. But she quickly calms herself down and then takes a dignified stance that seems practiced. “My name is Wanda Brightshade, heir to the throne of the Human Kingdom Estriel. A pleasure to make your acquaintance!” Ahh, what a refreshing sight. A blonde beauty is smiling at me yet again.
Hm, Human Kingdom she said. So that must mean there are other kingdoms inhabited by other races. Cool! I can’t wait to explore this world and whatnot and see all the races it has to offer. Should make for an interesting sight!
“Anyway, John-sama, before we do anything else please follow me to the throne room. It’s time you met my parents and had things explained to you!” Wanda then starts walking out of the room, which only has one way in or out, and I follow soon after.
It seems the Hero Summoning room is located at the lowest sublevel of the palace because in order to make it back to the main lobby of the palace we had to go up a long-ass flight of stairs. Strangely, I noticed I was not out of breath form the excursion despite my terrible stamina back on Earth. Huh. Perhaps I was made stronger through the summoning or something?
After making it through the main lobby we passed through a few hallways, went left and right at times, went up even more stairs until finally reaching a large set of double doors. With two tall and heavily armored guards standing at the sides.
I assume since I was being accompanied by the Princess herself I was not accosted by the guards in any way. That and possibly they knew me to be the Hero that was summoned maybe? They would probably be able to infer as much from my clothing…
I was soon brought out of my musings from double doors sliding open all on their own. Woah, this must be the first sign of magic in this world! Wicked~ I sure hope I have an affinity for such a thing, magic that is. It would suck if I couldn’t use it for some reason… magic is a great ability to have. Plus, it’d be real cool to shoot fireballs and stuff…
“Princess Wanda.”
“Yes, John-sama?”
“How are these doors being opened right now?”
“Why, magic of course! The wards in the Royal Palace are tied to the blood of the royal family and doing something as simple as opening a set of doors is child’s play. Simply a strong enough will and affinity for magic in general is needed for most things around the palace. Does that answer your question?” While she said all of this Wanda had taken a lecturing pose, with one hand pointing up and with the other holding her elbow.
“Yes, that explains quite a lot for me. Thank you, Princess Wanda.” So, I was right. The doors were moving like that because of some sort of magic. Good to know. Speaking of said doors they are just about open now.
The throne room was absolutely remarkable. With red and gold banners streamed across the ceiling, statues made out of gold lining both sides of the room depicting the various races and what looks like beasts and monsters native to this world and a long red carpet leading from the entrance all the way to under the two thrones at the end with a large window behind said thrones with stained glass. What a grand sight all in all. It took my breath away for a few moments there.
In my stupor I almost stumbled when following Princess Wanda further into the room. Heading for the two figures seated at the thrones. We reached them in but mere moments at the pace we were going at.
The King and Queen of Estriel appear to both be blondes, that explains the radiant hair of Princess Wanda. It was a foregone conclusion. One that I highly appreciate. I always have had a thing for blonde women. Anyway, King Reginald has a thick beard and moustache giving him quite a lion-like visage especially with how his hair is let down and long enough to go past his neck slightly. The Queen… Damn. Like, my goodness, hot damn. She’s gotta be the hottest blonde girl I’ve ever laid eyes on. That’s how pretty she is. And those curves that are visible despite the royal garb she has on...not to mention the fucking huge tits she has. Hot damn again. King Reginald is a lucky man.
Anyway, the Queen seems to exude an aura of calmness as well, all the while with a serene smile on her face. King Reginald was also smiling good naturedly. What a welcoming family the Brightshades are.
“Mother, Father. The Summoning ritual was a success, John Sparks-sama was summoned through the power of the circle!” Princess Wanda declares once we are but a meter or so away from the thrones.
“Ho ho ho~ Welcome, Yuusha-dono,” the King intones with a rather grandfatherly laugh I notice, “I am King Reginald Brightshade, this is my lovely wife Queen Moira Brightshade and I take it you already got acquainted with our daughter?”
I simply nod at first. “That’s right, your Majesty.” Just to be safe I said that as well. Just because they make me feel so welcome doesn’t mean I shouldn’t follow proper protocol when dealing with royalty. Can’t be too careful after all.
“Good, good. So, you must be wondering why you were summoned like that eh, Yuusha-dono?” At my saying yes yet again the King continues, “Simply put, we need you to save our world. Please save Edea. An old prophecy dictates that a demonic invasion shall befall this world. Five years from now.”
Oh? Not happening anytime soon is it? Well, I’m glad to have a lot of leeway in this saving the world business. “I see. But I’m sure there’s more you have to say than that, please go on your Majesty.”
“Indeed.” King Reginald begins to stroke his beard as he ponders what to say next, “You are a Hero summoned from another world, I do not expect you to simply agree to save the world on a whim. Hence, your summoning was done as early as possible. In the 5 years before the invasion hits you may live life however you choose. Study, train, learn about the people, whatever you want. If you deem us worthy of being saved then… please do so.”
“...alone? Or would I have to find some way to unite the world against the threat?”
“I am glad you asked. No, not alone. There is an ancient treaty in place among all the kingdoms of the world that we must band together against the impending demonic invasion, with or without the help of the Hero or Heroes as it were that get summoned.”
“I see. I’m grateful that I am given choice as to whether or not to help but… you realize I’d most likely help anyway given the fact I can’t let so many innocents die knowing I could make a difference?”
King Reginald merely smiles with his eyes closed down to mere slits in response to my question. Then I hear melodic giggling coming from Queen Moira.
“Ara ara, such an honorable Hero we have summoned.” She then turns her head and addresses her husband. “Well then, dear, I think it’s time we explained a bit more about this world to John-sama. It wouldn’t do for him to be ignorant of certain things after all.”
“That’s right, that’s right. There is what you’d call magic in this world of ours John, but since you come from a world without access to magic in order to be able to perceive it let alone use it you will need a bit of a push. Therefore, I believe it’s time we unlocked your magic core. Wanda, if you would please do the honors?” The King gestures for Wanda to proceed and do as he says but what she’ll do exactly I can only guess.
Princess Wanda walks up to me until she is bet about an inch or two away from me, then she places a hand on my chest. “John-sama, please relax and try to stay still as much as possible. I will now unlock your magic core with a burst of mana.”
As soon as Princess Wanda finishes her statement a bright shade of blue begins to glow about the hand she placed on my chest. Not long after that I feel a warm sensation as something enters through my chest and suffuses my whole body but the sensation is strongest at the very center of my chest.
After a few moments of that warm feeling there is a flash of blue light that blinds me for a few seconds and so I close my eyes as a natural reaction. Upon opening them I end up gaping in shock at what I can see and from the power that I can feel from within.
Above the heads of the royal family of Estriel are floating names and below the names are what I can only understand to be a character level and class. Just like in any regular old RPG! Awesome!
Reginald Brightshade
Level 196 Blademancer
Moira Brightshade
Level 187 Sorceress
Wanda Brightshade
Level 38 Battle Mage
Woah, given the level disparity between Princess Wanda and her parents I am assuming that her parents have seen their fair share of battle and have lived considerably long lives as humans.
Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.
“King Reginald, Queen Moira… Your levels are quite impressive or rather, I can’t find the right words to express just how impressive your levels are...haha.” I can’t help but blurt out as soon as I finish gaping at them.
“Ho ho ho ho, Moira and I have seen quite a lot of action over the years as it is only right the the ruling family of every kingdom fights for the sake of the people.” The King explains.
“John-sama, why not check your status now? Simple say or think the word status and it shall display itself before you.” Queen Moira helpfully advises me.
“Status.” And with that a glowing blue box filled with text appears before me. “Can others see this as well or…?”
This time it is Princess Wanda who perks up and answers my query. “Actually John-sama, unless you will it to do so any menu that you bring up will not show itself to outsiders. That’s just how the system works.”
“I see, I see. Thank you.” With that I carefully read the information that has appeared before me.
John Sparks
Level 1 Arcane Master
Exp to next level: 100
Health - 1500
Mana - 3000
Strength - 190
Vitality - 120
Dexterity - 140
Intelligence - 300
Wisdom - 250
Luck - 80
“Hoooh, I get the feeling that my stats are pretty amazing for level 1. What’s an average soldier's stats usually like at the start?”
Princess Wanda once again is the one who answers me. “At level 1, an average soldier has stats that range from as low as 8-10 or as high to about 15.”
“Eh?! Seriously?!” My eyes bug out at the revelation. Haha, as expected of my being a Summoned Hero! Of course I’d have amazing stats right from the start.
“Ara ara, based on your reaction I guess it’s safe to say your starting stats are quite fitting for a Hero no?” The Queen titters with one hand covering her mouth.
“Not to mention having such an advanced class, John. Only the most adept and powerful of mind and body have ever gotten an Arcane class, nevermind being the Master variant. Getting an Arcane class bestowed upon you by the great sun goddess, Solaris, is quite the boon in this world.” The King says something really interesting just now.
“Solaris? Did she create this world?” I ask because it would be really cool to know about the local pantheon of this world and whatnot.
“You can read all about things like that in the Royal Library, John-sama. Should you wish to do so. For now, the three of us each have a gift for you before we send you on your way!” Princess Wanda declares with another one of her radiant smiles. Ahh, I feel refreshed yet again.
***
So I learned about the dimensional storage space that all sentient races possess in this world, otherwise known as Inventory. Along with the status page and skill page and so on it is really just like being inside a video game.
Anyway, I received three gifts before I was excused to do as I pleased. I was a little skeptical of the amount of freedom the royal family is giving me in their own home no less but I didn’t let it bother me for long. Who knows, maybe they have stealthy ninjas watching my every move or something as long as I am in the palace? Haha, that’d be real cool.
But yeah, the three gifts. One from each of the royal family members of the Kingdom of Estriel. From the King I received a katana made from silver that’s been enchanted with the ability to grow in power alongside its user, and it’s been mana-locked to my signature with my seeping some mana into it. Which means, only I can use it and if I lose it I can simply will it to be summoned back to me. Also, I was told that silver is incredibly effective towards the undead, demons and to a lesser extent other dark creatures so, useful! It has a black hilt and scabbard with a gold guard and is a little more than one meter in total length.
From the Queen I received 10 health and 10 mana potions as well as enchanted fingerless gloves that have metal plates on the back made of the rare adamantite metal. The gloves increase strength and vitality by 50 and 20 respectively. They are black in color. The main material that comprises of the gloves seems to be some sort of expensive leather.
And finally, from the Princess I simply received a huge sum of money. When I saw the amount I could not help but be surprised for two reasons: how high the amount was and the type of currency that they apparently use in this world. I had been gifted $300,000. That’s right, dollars.
I had my suspicions as soon as I heard honorifics being used as well as the term Yuusha, and well after seeing that the universal currency in this world seems to be dollars it only served to reinforce said suspicions.
I’m at the library right now and it’s an amazing collection of books. There must be thousands of dusty old tomes in this place that had dozens of shelves on each floor with a total of 5 floors to it.
Anyway, I opened a book on the general history of the world and to summarize my findings: I am not the first Hero to be summoned. Other heroes have been summoned across history and they weren’t always human. The other major races have summoned their own heroes before in order to deal with some great calamity. Whether be it a malevolent god, an evil champion, invaders from beneath the earth or whatever, there was always a Hero that was summoned and they always ended up helping the people of this world. Also, the heroes always ended up affecting the culture and technology of this place so, as a result there is indoor plumbing and things like a refrigerator, magic guns, cars, teleportation gates and so on.
So, for everything that I find that doesn’t seem to fit a medieval fantasy setting seems to be a change brought about by some Hero or Heroine from the past making a mark on history in more ways than one.
And I’m totally fine with that. All these convenient things existing in this world will just serve to make my stay more comfortable in the long run so I have no complaints.
The next thing I read up on a bit are the kingdoms of this world and the Magic Academy at the center of the known world. The Human Kingdom of Estriel to the East. The Elven Kingdom of Therion to the West. The Dwarven Kingdom of Kharlum to the South. And the Demi-Human Kingdom of Raithril to the North. I touched upon the main crafts and style of magic of each major race and read up on what the Magic Academy, Mistriel, has to offer in terms of curriculum.
All interesting stuff, but I won’t bore you with the details. I’ll just say that I was doing this in order to help me decide on where I’ll go in the future, and what sort of things I’ll do with my magic and whatnot.
Ah yes, and I did read up on the local pantheon as well and it basically consists of these major gods and goddesses: Solaris the creator goddess of the sun, Lunaria the goddess of the moon, Helios the god of fire, Zephyr the god of wind, Terra the god of earth and Deltis the goddess of water. Solaris and Lunaria are married to each other and created the other deities as well as the world of Edea when they got lonely in this vast universe, the story goes. The deities of fire, earth, wind and water are of course the children of the two mother goddesses. The world of Edea was made by the combined might of all deities. All deities are worshipped by the sole church of this world, but chief among them is Solaris for it is widespread knowledge that she is the one that came up with the system of levels and classes and so on.
So yeah, this world has got some pretty exciting lore to read about. And now, I think I know what I would like to do first upon leaving this palace.
Train in my use of magic!
***
Of course, I am going to need a base of operations you might call it while staying in this city so I went to what is called the Merchant’s Guild and bought a small little house in this city of Estriel. It’s a plain little place made from brick and tile and whatnot, has one bedroom, a guest room, a kitchen, a living area, a decently sized bathroom and air conditioning. Yeah, remember what I said about the heroes and heroines across history? Try not to question how far these modernization changes go.
Oh yeah, as a side note, it seems that monsters are a naturally occurring phenomenon in places where nature is pretty much untouched and they always drop one thing in particular every time without fail: a monster core, a valuable resource that can be used to power the various technology of this world.
So now I’m sitting on a comfortable leather couch in my living area and I’m focusing inwards, on the power that amazed me so much earlier in the day: my magic core. It turns out mana suffuses the very air and all of creation in this world but internal mana is housed in a container found in sentient beings called a magic core. You can train yourself to harness the mana in the environment but usually this is done through runes or magic circles and made use of for grand rituals since it is not easy to harness the environmental mana. Which makes casting spells and whatnot easier to do when using your magic core. Or so I read when reading up on the Magic Academy curriculum. The basics of casting magic were covered in the book itself.
I can feel it clearly though, the thrum of power that comes from accessing my magic core, the warm sensation of mana. Visualization of what I want to do and the belief that I can do it are key when casting any sort of spell. Incantations, spells, chants or whatever you want to call them are merely a means to achieving the end result. But doing it chantless, is possible. Just a little harder to do. But, when I checked my skills earlier it only contained one thing so far: Mana Manipulation. And it was maxed out at level 100.
So if I am right, I should be able to shape and mold my mana into whatever I desire… So long as I can keep a clear visualization in my mind, firmly believe that I can do it and have enough mana capacity…
I close my eyes, sit in the lotus position and set my hands in such a way that it looks like I’m holding a ball to my chest. The image if an arrow made of mana. I then take that image and focus on bringing it into reality. I pull on my mana and will the arrow into existence.
What happens next is that a bright flash of blue fills the whole room for a mere moment. Then glowing in between my hands is the archetypical arrow made of blue mana. It costed a mere 10 mana points to create. But I feel I can do more with this thing than just have it float in place. I feed it some more mana and will it to oscillate rapidly. It grows brighter and brighter that I almost have to shield my eyes from the light and it spins so fast that I can hear a distinct whirring sound coming from the arrow.
This magic arrow needs to be released. But I can’t let it go in here, my new house would be ruined. So now, it’s time to find a monster to kill.
I made for an interesting sight as I walked out of my house and towards the nearby gate to go to the forest beyond, with a bright glowing spinning magic arrow following me. I set it to hover behind me and to the left as I walked so I wouldn’t have to deal with the brightness directly. Also, it was convenient that it was glowing so brightly because before I knew it it was night time already.
I make it to edge of the forest and after a bit of thinking I decide not to go too far and so I walk about 10 meters into it and wait for some sort of monster to show up.
I did not have to wait long before I heard so rustling among some bushes nearby. And out from those bushes came five green slimes. They were all level 5.
Upon spotting me the five slimes rush to my position intent on dissolving me in their gooey bodies no doubt. Alright, I have my katana equipped on my left hip currently but with the spinning magic arrow I had prepared beforehand there is no need to draw it.
Without further delay I will the spinning magic arrow to be launched as fast as possible into the center area of the five slimes. It makes contact with the slime in the very middle and explodes in a brilliant flash of bright blue. Once the light dies down I see that all slimes have been obliterated by that one arrow and the grass area that they had occupied is singed to a certain degree.
Also, I leveled up four times bringing me to level 5 with the experience bar close to being filled up completely. I revel in the feeling of gaining more power like this for a few moments. It’s quite an addictive sort of feeling, making me feel so energetic and happy at the same time. I’ll have to be careful not to become too enraptured by the feeling of leveling up.
My internal musings are cut short however by the arrival of two dozen more slimes, the lowest level slime being 5 in this group but with the highest level being in the range of 8-10.
I draw my sword this time and decided to try something else with my magic. If I remember correctly, in a typical RPG a slime monster would be resistant to physical attacks but significantly weak to magic.
Therefore, what if I imbued magic into my blade?
“Enchantment: Magic Clad.” I say such key words keeping in mind a magic sword technique from Sendai Yuusha if I remember correctly, in order to keep a clear image of what I want to happen. And soon enough the shiny edge of my katana is glowing a bright blue color and releasing a thrumming sound not unlike a lightsaber.
With my weapon ready I charge into the large group of slimes, bending down slightly in order to reach them at a comfortable angle due to their small stature. I slash at three at once with a horizontal movement of my sword and all three quickly start to dissolve, but then two reach me in the lull between one movement and the next.
The two slimes begin to envelop their bodies around my legs. I stab my katana into one and fire a chantless spinning magic arrow at the other and then jump back to avoid the approaching slimes.
I decide to end this fight in the next blow and so charge up more mana into the enchantment on my katana. The mana blade around my katana elongates and widens by a few inches before I am satisfied with the output of power that I am gauging.
I release the stored up magical energy in the blade with a downward slash and I can’t help yelling out. “Getsuga Tenshou!”
And with that a crescent moon shaped wave of mana shoots of from my katana. It makes contact with the middle of the gathered slimes and they are all wiped out swiftly from the exploding of the crescent wave of energy. Alright, looks like along with my charged spinning magic arrow attack there is splash damage done by my lunar fang attack.
And with that, I am now level 10. I’ll check my status once again and spend attribute points once I’m at a much higher level.
Right now I have to stop this training session of mine because I’m suddenly feeling extremely weak!
In all the excitement today from being summoned, to speaking with royalty, to reading in the library, practicing magic and then fighting slimes I forgot one of the most important things.
I forgot to eat!