Seeing the classmates and that friend that I had in my previous life, multiple emotions coursed throughout my body. The memories that seemed worthless, that were long forgotten resurfaced once again. My eyes teared up a bit.
What are these emotions?
Sadness? Happiness? Regret? Grief? Frustration? Nostalgia?
Or all of them?
I never thought I'll see them again. And yet here they are... summoned in another world and I, reincarnated into one.
Sigh.
It's going to be one heck of a reunion... when they notice me, that is.
I came out of my reverie when a student from the group ahead raised his voice to ask something.
"Excuse me, do mean this is not our world but an alternate world?", asked some student from the group ahead.
"Yes~ Summoned One, you are right.~"
"Hey, what is this devil.... is it some kind of monster?"
"Yes~ The Devils are indeed a monstrosity, they kill the innocents in thirst of power and to satiate their hunger. To save this world from that, to fight those calamities, you, my Summoned Ones, are summoned when we pray to our all-mighty All-Father."
"Excuse me, Miss Goddess, but we all are just ordinary peoples too. Sorry, but we can't do this, saving-the-world thing. We can't fight this devil that you speak of. We also don't have any special power. In fact, most of us have lived peaceful lives before coming here.", said a man, looking in his thirties. I remember him, he is Daisuke sensei. One of the few people and a teacher I respected in my past life. He is a just man of morals, he upholds justice, guides everyone to the right path or at least tries to guide them.
"Yeah!"
"Yes, he's right. M-mam, and c-could you send us back?"
There wasn't any accusations that the goddess was some fake or it might be a prank of some kind. Well, that is because she genuinely looks like one. I'm not talking just about her face but all this setup consisting of glowing patterns, huge pillars, armored-handsome men, and finally, this hot-blond-chick with a sexy outfit, give off a decent fantasy vibe even to me, a resident of this world (reincarnated).
"Yes~, I agree that you all have lived peaceful lives before coming here. But you are not ordinary people. Without you, all the hope that the people of this world have put on me and Heroes, will fade. There will be countless innocent casualties if you refuse your duty. To prevent all that, you must fight the devil. You were all chosen to be a summon. Chosen by All-father. How could someone, who got noticed by All-father be ordinary?... As for powers. All-father must have already bestowed some special power to each and everyone here. So most of you must be already stronger than any ordinary soldier here. And also, by increasing your level, you will become strong enough to battle a hoard of monsters on your own."
"But, I don't wanna fight! I just wanna go back to mamma!", says a boy ahead of us.
The goddess closed her eyes and shook her head, making a sorrowful expression.
"You have my apology, but I can't send you back to your world. I don't have such a power to do so. I was, also sent here to nurture this world. A Medician, to help this world face the cruel illness it is suffering... And you are my medicines.", She opens her eyes and adds, "... As for not wanting to fight. All of you Must~ Fight~ as~ you may not be able to Return Back to your world if you don't, as~ that is the only way you could. Not even one of you could stay idle. As~ all of this is for the Greater~ Good~. "
"Ehh!! But!!! whyy???? We didn't ask you to summon us." cries a girl ahead of me.
"If you d-don't s-send us back t-then..then.." stutters the girl beside her.
Few girls start crying their eyes out while their friends start comforting them or are crying with them. While some just stand and discuss with their friends. Confusion, agitation, and turmoil, everywhere. A girl, who was already afraid and trembling due to the sudden shock of summoning, faints. Some boys are panicking too, but most seem excited.
A boy called out to everyone trying to calm the situation. He had black hair, handsome face. He is Akira Aoki, he was the class representative and a pretty rich and popular guy, I think? Or was he the sports captain? I don't remember exactly, it was more than 17 years ago since I last saw them. He walks to the front.
"If you really are a Goddess who is sent here to help this world then why don't you do this yourself? You must be powerful if you are a Goddess." He probes the Goddess.
Goddess Helastia turns her head towards him.
"Hmm~... child~. Even if I am an all-powerful Goddess, I can't kill any being that exists in this world. There are certain rules that even I, a goddess must follow. As All-father decreed."
'Who is this All-Father she speaks of, can't he do it,... meh, maybe he will give some "I can't interfere in the mortal world" shit' I pondered as the conversation ahead went on.
"Oh, yeah? Then why don't the people of this world do it themselves? Why beg outsiders for help? These men standing there, clearly look strong. At least stronger than us teenagers. Why don't they do it?" He asked in a calm and collected tone.
"Ah~ you are very sharp, child~. These men are known as my Apostles, they are indeed strong, strongest in this whole world. But you see, most people of this world can't grow stronger after a certain point, they encounter a wall that stops their strength growth. And even if someone strong belonging to this world does manage to slay the devil lord. The Devil lord simply transfers his soul into the person who slew it, and thus he is reborn immediately. The same thing happens when my protectors or as I call them, my, Apostles do it. Many Apostles and strong warriors that sacrificed their lives, had proved this point multiple times. But when Heroes from another world slay it. Its soul goes back from where it came from and sleeps till it manifests its physical form once again. And thus yet another group of heroes is summoned to slay it again."
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"I s-see," he pauses a bit, to fully grasp her explanation.
"I see, then there is no option but for us to do this task. The people of this world must have put plenty of hope on the summoned heroes. And besides, just because we are called here without our permission, we can't just ignore the duty that falls on us.", spoke Daisuke sensei, who was closely listening to the whole conversation of Goddess Helastia and Akira-kun.
Some nodded in agreement. Some still want to complain. And a few boys look excited.
Sensei then inquired the Goddess about the powers she told, was given by this 'All-Father' to us. She beamed with an angelic smile that melted every boy's heart and begins the explanation. A few girls gave a cold eye to their boyfriends and the boys turned their gaze with a sheepish grin.
"Let me explain your powers, Summoned Ones. The powers you are given are based on a level system. They grow stronger the more you increase your level. And may also acquire more of them as you grow. Almost everyone of you, possibly have your own Unique Skill too, which can only be possessed by one unique individual. You can see your level and skills by saying the word 'status'." She paused and stared down at us from the majestic platform.
Giving us time to grasp what she just explained.
The busty Goddess looks at everyone. Her gaze falls on me, I turn my gaze away from her while blushing a bit.
'Damn! Isn't she a little too beautiful?'
Some students start murmuring the word 'status' repeatedly. The girls who were bawling their eyes out have changed their expressions and are now nervously reciting the same. They look a bit excited now.
As I was standing in the back, I wondered if saying "Status" make that screen appear once again or not. I recited the word and the same grey-transparent screen flashed in front of me. Seeing me mutter the word, Akane-san too recited the word beside me. The Apostle behind us didn't seem to care.
NAME: Ren Itsuki
AGE: 17
SEX: Male
RACE: HIGH HUMAN
ORIGIN: EARTH-818
TITLE:
The Not Summoned One
LEVEL: 1167
PHYSICAL STATS :
HP: 6/6
MP: 10/10
STR: 0
DEX: 1
DEF: 0
AGI: 1
LUCK: not defined
ABNORMAL STATE: none
SKILLS:
Disintegration lvl 1*
BLESSINGS:
Linguistics *
'Woah! It opened! My status screen!'
'Ah! Now I get why the goddess called me here, I have the same power as them too. So, I am a Hero too? Hmm.'
'What the hell is up with the Title? It's telling the truth... but still, it should've been the Reincarnated One, I guess? That would've been more accurate. Race is High Human? Can't say I know much about it.'
'Hm, my stats look fine for a level one beginner, luck is not defined, huh. At least HP should be above or equal to 100... heh, maybe it's just average beginner stats of every new playe.. uh.. 'HERO'. Oh! My origin world is Earth-818, huh. The goddess called my old classmates from Earth-818 and this world was referred to as Earth-01Z. Did it consider my old world as my origin world? So, it knows that I am a reincarnated person, huh....'
'Woah!! My skill! fucking finally! I got to see my skill's name!'
'Disintegration, eh. I wonder how it works?'
"Ooohhh! this is just like a game "
"I know, right! Fanty world Online has the same kind of status interface!"
"Heck yeah! Another world! the heroes have arrived to save the day!"
"Wooot! I'm so fucking excited to kill a monster! Just you wait, Sakamoto-kun. I'm beating you in kill counts! Hahaha!", such were the reactions of those "classmates".
'Hm? What is this star mark above the skill and blessing? Should I touch it?'
As I was going to touch the star mark, Goddess Helastia clapped her delicate hands, getting our attention. I turned my head back to her.
"Now~ Since all of you have a different amount of strength and growth rate. It is not wise to plan a uniform training regime for all of you. Therefore, we shall grade you in Appraisal Pond and thus, determine your unique training methods."
"Um.., w-what is t-this training regime you s-speak of?" asked a girl with shoulder-length blonde hair.
'Ah! I remember her! She is Aoi Sano. She was the class rep, if remember correctly.'
She seemed oddly silent all this time. If it was any usual day, she would shout her lungs out to get everyone in line.
'Seems like the summoning stirred her mind, huh.'
'But... it felt like she was invisible just now. It felt like she came out of nowhere....'
"Hmm? Oh!~ that will be decided by your instructors. Your instructors are the Apostles themselves."
'Heh!.. looks like the Goddess didn't notice her too.'
"Now, we shall depart to the Appraisal Pond."
Saying so, the Goddess pointed her arm in a random direction and opened the same kind of cloudy bluish-black portal.
Everyone was bewildered to see a portal forming in front of them. The Goddess asked to follow her, they were reluctant to enter something so eerie looking but Goddess Helastia assured them that it was alright.
"Now~ everyone, follow me inside!"
When the Goddess turned, I felt a tiny tinge in my heart...
'I don't want her to go...'
'Is this what you call love at first sight...?'
I noticed that her waist was quite thin, glorifying her wide ass and juicy thighs. That glimpse of her thicc-juicy thighs that I could see from the slit in her dress was such a tease!
The group began to follow the beautiful Goddess inside the portal. Seeing them, I also stepped forward, but an arm on my shoulder stopped me. It was the Apostle, Edmund.
He shook his head in denial...
He meant, I wasn't told to follow.
He meant I'm not a part of that group...
'Of course, for a moment I forgot that I am not with them...'
*Sigh....*
The portal closed with a swish.
'Meh... I'm just here because that freaky Goddess wants to have a "conversation" that's most probably related to that pillar of light.'
We have yet to engage in a conversation with that Goddess.
I looked beside myself, towards the chunni girl wearing an eye patch to see how she is taking all this.
'Hm...'
I guess she's doing just fine, seeing that nonchalant expression plastered on her face just as always.
'Still though, why are we being excluded from going to that Appraisal pond or something? Aren't we supposed to be heroes too? We too have the system that the goddess talked about... Uh... at least I do.'