Chapter 2
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King POV
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"What? You can't fight at all?" Darius and other nobles screamed from their lungs.
"I apologize before your highness. But in our previous world, we are merely normal humans. Concepts such as fighting with a sword and even using magic are incomprehensible to us."
"I understand that swords might not be your world's primary weapons, but you can't even use magic?"
"Calm down, Darius," I asked my aide to calm down.
"But your highness. If these heroes can't fight, how will they prevail against forces of darkness?" Darius spoke. This is indeed a troubling matter. I slowly drove to a corner. Could it be that prophecy is fake? Is there no hero that will save us? No, the prophet uses her life for this prophecy. It can't be wrong. There must be a catch to this.
"Take them for an aptitude test," I said. Just because they do not have experience doesn't mean they do not have potential. Let's see the test results first.
"Yes, your highness."
"Aptitude test?" Stella asked Parker. He only shook his head, indicating he was confused too.
"Well, Darius, while we wait for the 6 balls to appear, let's tell them what an aptitude test it is."
"Aptitude test examines your body compatibility with faith crystals. It also decides which type of forces you belong to. Is it a magician, or is it a fighter?"
"I deeply apologize, but I still do not understand."
*sigh*
While sighing, Darius explained. "A person's talent in magic is categorized into 6 different parts. It is body strengthening, weapon edge, sense perception, magical construction speed, magical construction strength, and magical construction stability. The first 3 are usually needed for warriors and archers, while the others are reserved for mages and clerics. Is there any that you do not understand up to this point?"
"So, what about faith crystals?" Nana asked.
"Well, before that, let me continue. Each category is ranked. From the lowest E to the highest triple S. Well, I have never seen triple S before. A normal soldier's talent will usually reach D level. But a talented one may reach rank B in the category they excelled in. Now we are going to talk about faith crystals. Faith crystal is a catalyst that can further enhance your power. By installing them into your body, these crystals can boost your strength, making normal people from D to B or making people with talent from B to A plus or even S if they have the aptitude. Of course, faith crystals aren't widely spread. Only 20 percent or so of the human population has received it. We do not have an endless supply of that crystals. And there is a danger if it falls into the hands of criminals."
"I see. "Parker answered.
"Ahh, they are here. Please make a line and put your hands in the sphere balls starting from the left. We will record your potential," I said, instructing the heroes how to use the crystals. This isn't good. Just hearing that they can't use a single magic already took years of my life. If their talent does not reach at least B after the test, then they are the same as ordinary citizens, and they are all useless, and our country, the fate of Light Alliance, is doomed.
"This is..."
"What is it, Minister Darius?" I looked at Darius, who gave a surprised but relieved expression
"Mister Parker is an S+ in body strengthening, weapon edge, and sense perception. The other talent is B."
"Great. Continue." I said with a cheerful mood. Damn you, heroes. I thought I would die from a heart attack with that statement of not being capable of using magic earlier.
"Mister Hart is an S+ in Body, S in sense skill, B in Weapon Edge, C in magic stability, D in Magic speed, and C+ in magic strength," Darius said in a cheerful mood. The other nobles also have an enlightened expression. We can see from his stature that he is a muscle head. The aptitude test is kind of rough sometimes.
"Miss Chloe is C in Body, S+ in Weapon Edge, A in sense skill, B in magic speed, B+ in strength, and C+ in magic stability," Darius said. My smile keeps getting bigger. If the other people transported here have the same talent as these guys, we will crush those demons in no time. Let alone S+, there are only 4 people in my country that reach S in rank. And that is only 1 category, their other talent is mostly B or C, and they are at least in their forties by now. If these young boys were to train, they might even reach SS or triple S. If we cooperate with others, 21 of these heroes will surely crush those demons like an insect.
"Miss Nana is an A for every type."
"Average girl, huh?" Hart says with a smile, "a true jack of all trades is here. Haha."
"Damn it." Nana cursed
"No need to worry, miss. An A is considered a genius. And these results mean you are versatile. Hahaha," Darius consoled Miss Nana with a smile. If I do not have to keep my face here as a king, I want to comment on those results too.
"Next is Will, ahh, a mage, but his speed is quite low. An SS in magic strength, an S in magic stability, but a C in speed. The others are either C or D. Rather than a mage, he is a wizard."
"Haha. Make sure to cast before the battle is over, Will."
"Muscle head, be silent. Your test shows nothing in intelligence. Are you really from earth?" a sharp rebuke from Will is shot toward Hart. The mood is cheerful.
"And the last. Let's see, Miss Stella, is it? Though you just discovered your name yesterday, please help us in our cause. Let's see her result.... huh??" Darius gave an awkward sound. "Sorry, staff. Are these numbers correct?" he asked.
"What is it, Darius."
"SSS in magical construction stability, SSS in magic construction speed, S in magical construction strength..... These numbers are unbelievable. Well, the others are D minus, though. "
"A glass canon?"
"Will, she is weaker than you. Aren't you glad?" Nana teased Will
"Well, her magic is ridiculous, though," Parker added.
"Make sure to protect her. Maybe we can assign that muscle head for her protection." Will said.
"I see. Thank you." SSS is the highest number measured. It is in the realm of monsters. Now, rather than be relieved, I am worried about whether these powers can be controlled.
"Alright. Prepare the suitable faith crystals." Richard tried to command the guard.
"Wait." My voice interrupted everyone
"What is it, your majesty?"
"I am sure they haven't gone to the faith academy. Shall we send them there first?"
"But, with their talent, is it necessary?"
"We need everything we have if we were to win this war. Let us not take an unripe fruit. We shall send these heroes to the academy while undergoing strict training from a court magician and top-class knight. We must nurture their talent to the fullest." I declared.
"As you wish, your highness."
With that, I dismissed the group for today. It turned out well in the end. It was better than I thought. They are powerless unless they receive a crystal. Other countries also have those crystals. We should determine their behavior before giving them the crystals.
"Your Highness. Why didn't you install crystal stone right away? With each passing day, our border is being eaten by those demons. Even if it is unripe, we should immediately put them into action. If we educate them through normal standards or even private tutors, we might lose more than 10% of our territories by the time we successfully nurture them." Darius tried to persuade me
"Say, Darius."
"Yes, your majesty?"
"Just if. If they turned into traitors. Do you think we can defeat them?"
"W-w-what are you saying, your highness?" Darius went pale in an instant.
"That's why in that academy, in addition to teaching them magic, we should teach them the common sense of our world. Persuading them to help us."
"I see. We can look into their behavior. If they showed rebellious behavior, we could deal with it."
"Let's pray that is not the case."
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Parker POV
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"Whew. That went well." I said while lying on my bed
"I thought they were going to dispose of us when they found out we can't do what they want." Will said
"Parker, why did you tell them anyway?" Chloe said while pouting.
"It is not good to lie. If we lie and they send us into the battle without any preparations, we might be killed by those they called demons. It turns out we have a high potential here. I feel we jump into that light novel."
"Those light novel about summoning and reincarnation that was popular on the internet 40 years ago, umm, how did they usually end?" Stella asked me.
At that moment, everyone went silent.
"Umm, Stella. Most of them hung up in the middle. The ending was never in sight." Hart answered in my stead
"I see. So we have no references."
"Haha... I read the archives on the internet about those stories. I was addicted to it, but somehow after a hundred chapters or so, the author died... I felt like committing suicide to ask the author in heavens about the continuation of that one..." Will give a dry laugh.
"Not to mention other light novels closed by their publisher, and that one where the author stops writing. And that one with infinite hiatus. My grandfather still cursed it until now." I add an answer to Stella's question.
"Seriously. Even the other world has schools. Is there any world that does not have schools or academies?" Chloe pouted.
"I can't rebuke that. I am with you, Chloe. "Hart patted Chloe's shoulder.
"That's a line for muscle head Chloe. Don't say it." Nana warned her.
"Hmm...."
"What is it, Stella?" I asked her
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"We have an aptitude of S in magic. But you said that we can't use magic in the other world. Isn't that weird?"
"Now that you mentioned it. In games and novels, we usually have some cheat ability from the start. Maybe that's the cause?"
"If we have an aptitude of S in magic, we should at least be able to produce some kind of magic now, right? Even the small one." Nana said.
"Alright. Nana, Stella, Will. Try it. Try to cast some magic." Hart said
"Fireball!!" Will shouted while holding out his hands, but nothing came out.
"Pfft!" Hart holds his laugh.
"Damn it. Stop it, Hart. You are the one that ordered me to! I've been tricked!! Stella, Nana. You try it!"
"Umm, I will pass on that."
"Nana. I will hate you for life, you know." Will glared
"Eh? Umm, Stella. Why don't you try first? I will follow right after you."
"Hmm, magic, is it? Hmm..." Stella closed her eyes. While stretching her hand, "Ice ball!"
A sphere of ice appeared above her hand.
"Ouch! It's cold!" She said while dropping the ball
"Whoa! Awesome! As expected of an SSS talent. Learn from it, Will!"
"Damn it, Hart. You can't pick on someone because you have a big body. Try to do it! "
"Alright. Stop it, gentleman. We are not joking anymore. With this experiment, magic exists in this world. Nana, try it." I ordered her
"Eh, umm... let's see," Nana tried to mimic Stella by closing her eye. "Ice ball."
But nothing came out.
"Nooo! I am as stupid as Will!! Why is the amnesia girl better than me?" Nana hold her head while crouching in the corner of the room
"I am not stupid!!"
"Hahaha." Chloe just laughed. Hart follows. I smiled at the scene. In these 3 days, we have become closer. Maybe because we are stranded in an unknown land. I feel glad
"Alright. Laugh time is over. While we waited for our enrollment, let's practice. Stella. Please teach us. How did you do it?"
"Um... close your eyes. Imagine. After imagining it clearly, put that image into your hand. I think that's what I do. "
"Will, you have the most talent after Stella. Try it."
"Don't laugh if I fail, okay?"
"Sure!"
Will took a deep breath, then he chanted ice ball.
"It comes out." a small block of ice appeared. It had a very rough shape, the size of a finger.
"Hmm.... it is not the same as Stella. Let me try. Ice ball," a block of ice also appeared in my hands. But its shape is even worse than Will's. However, it is larger.
"I will not lose. If Parker with B talent can do it. I must also be able to do it." Nana said with a spirited voice
"That's a failure flag," Chloe added.
"If you fail, don't kill me, okay? Because I will not be able to hold on to my laugh." Hart said
"Concentrate. I will do it. Imagination. Gather to the hand.... ice ball!!"
"Ooo. You succeed." Hart said
"Yes!!" Nana said with her fist punched high
"We have a second successful attempt. Its shape is also correct. Any additional lesson, miss rank A," Parker said, looking interested.
"Who are you calling, Miss A?! The secret, well, it is just as Stella said. But... I think you should take your time when casting."
"I see."
After that, we continued practicing. Will was able to do it on his third try. The others also managed to do it, and I also managed to do it. But it takes a lot of effort to make an ice ball. Maybe it is just because my talent is B, or is it because I am not used to it? That king and nobles seemed to expect us to fight against an army by ourselves. I wonder if we can do it. Just how strong is the demon?
"Okay. It is late. Let's sleep. I am tired of all that practicing magic. It was fun, though. Good night." Nana said. The others followed, and we retired for the day.
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Stella POV
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After watching those guys train magic, I went to sleep. Watching them was pretty fun. I didn't manage to get into any discussion. Whenever I tried to speak, something seemed to obstruct me. It must be because of my amnesia. They knew about our world culture. So they could talk to each other like that. Me, I just woke up 2 days ago with no memories. Even this name, I doubt it is mine. Something felt wrong. I wonder what it is. Ahh, no good thinking about it. It just made my head hurt, and I felt tired. Let's go to sleep.
"Good morning, heroes. How was your sleep?" The king politely greet us
"It was good." Will replied
"Thank you for your hospitality. So, if I may ask, on what occasion do you summon us today?" Parker asked the king
"Your enrollment to Faith Academy has been accepted. You will go there today. The castle maid has prepared all of your things."
"So soon..." Chloe commented
"I apologize. But humanity is at stake, so we need to rush a bit. Please study well to become a fine leader of humanity, heroes."
And so we were rushed into a carriage at the very morning. There are 3 carriages, 1 is ours, and the other 2 are for our luggage plus 2 maids. There are so many things packed in here. I am surprised that the king managed to get this done so soon.
"I feel like a rich girl now," Nana said
"Weren't you one, Nana?" Hart asked
"Yes, but it still feels overwhelming. It's like I am riding a car belonging to the president of the United States."
"Well, I know what you mean. Look at those people waving at us. And those knights on their horses guarding us," Will said, "We will save them, right?"
"Sure, Will. We will surely save them," Parker said.
I just stared at the scenery. It's beautiful. Feel kind of familiar. Well, Parker said this scenery often appears in the recent virtual reality game. So I must be reminiscing about those games. While the others babble something incomprehensible, like comparing this to certain VRMMO games, I just look at the beautiful blue sky. The carriage window can be opened. Let's open them and look more closely.
The carriage ride went on for hours. When Parker asked the driver, it turned out the academy was located in the next city. By this carriage speed, it is estimated that we will arrive at night. I was starting to get nauseous from this. Chloe also seemed to hold her urges.
"Hmm...." I hum while looking at the forest
"What is it, Stella?" Parker asked
"Stella is a cool taciturn type, huh? She only gazed at the sky from the start." Nana commented
"There seemed to be movements there," I said
"Yeah. You are right." Parker affirmed.
"Maybe just some rabbit or a deer. "Hart said, "Ahh, but considering we are in another world, I want to look to this new animal too. Count me in."
"Watch out!!" a knight fly toward the window we are looking to.
An arrow flew toward our direction but was deflected by a shield.
"Kyaaa!!" Chloe and Nana screamed. I just stood there frozen.
"Goblins! Get yourself, armed men! "The leader of the guard shouted while brandishing his weapon. He jumped out from his horse and ran towards those goblins.
"Watch everyone. This will be our job in the future," Parker said while his eyes were glued to the window.
"Those knights do some impossible movements there," Hart said in awe. It is true, though. For example, some jump over 5 meters, and using trees, he propelled himself toward some goblins. Some cleaved goblins with their shield into 2 pieces in 1 stroke. And the others can deflect 5 arrows with their swords. And there is some magic added later in the game. Fireballs were shot by some swordsman burning the goblins to a crisp. Ice spears were added later, and the show is getting more interesting with the addition of spells coming to play. Lightning, ice, fire, even rocks, and wind.
"We can move like that too someday?" Hart said
"Awesome." Will said
"We are definitely inside some game," Nana added.
"This is real gentleman," Parker added.
There are more than 100 goblins, but they were all annihilated by the knights in a mere 1 hour. We have a good show at the start. But we get more nauseous because of the stench of goblins' guts scattered everywhere.
"I am getting sick." Will, Chloe, and Nana lay beside a camp set by the guard knights.
"Well, the stench is no joke." Hart and Parker said with a wry smile
"Is this your first battle? Some behave like that." The guard captain Alex greet us.
"Come on, you are our heroes. If you do not get used to this kind of stuff, our path looks bleak!" Another bulky guard laughs at us while giving me a drink. The stench was horrible that I puked once. My state is still better than Nana and Chloe's. But I can't say I am totally fine, either.
"Even if I were to become a swordswoman, I would not go near those beasts." Nana declared.
"Well, goblins, in particular, are the enemy of every woman." Guard knight told us
"Because they raped them to reproduce?" Parker asked.
"O, you knew?" he replied
"Kind of famous even in our world.... those beasts," Parker said with a wry smile.
"Hahaha, the hatred towards them even reaches your world, huh? Those guys sure are despicable."
"Sir, we should get moving. It is getting dark." Some soldiers whispered to the guard captain.
"Well, I sincerely apologize, but we are pressed against time. We have to move again.
"Hm?" I turned my head towards the forest. A slight pressure was added to my body.
"What is it, Stella?" Hart asked
"Get to the carriage, and don't forget to close the door. Hurry!!" the guard captain said with a rushed voice. I quickly jumped with Hart.
"Race the horse!! Keep going until you reach academy city. No matter the cost. 5 of you guard the carriage. Run with your horses."
"What is it, driver?"
"Trolls and ghouls. And quite a lot of them." the driver answered.
"Wait, why are we leaving them? We should run together." Nana said
"We are just a hindrance to them. Don't worry. They are the imperial top knight order. Even 15 of them can win against 20 or 30 of those ghouls and trolls. But they can't display their full power when guarding a carriage like this."
"Is this happen often?"
"A big assault like this is quite rare. But not impossible. Lately, the roads have become even more dangerous." The driver said as he paced his horse, and our carriage ran at full speed.