It was a normal day.
The third period talked about mathematics. It is definitely more than boring to the freshmen at high school. Add to that the heat and the humidity within the classroom, it spelled a great opportunity to doze off.
At least, that’s what he thought when a blinding light swept through the entire room.
It was not only the boy but everyone within the classroom. They are all enclosed to the radius of the blinding light.
Just as the boy’s thoughts were about to catch up, a severe pain assaulted his entire body. He felt the sensation of ‘flying’ as if he was struck by a heavily-speeding truck.
Thus, his consciousness was no more.
*****
“Keuhk..!”
Bits of blood flew out from his mouth. The boy woke up with a strong hiccup—and a lot of built-up blood on his throat.
His hazy vision slowly turned clear.
“I-I’m going to die…”
Just then, swathes of memories flooded his brain. It entailed the lives of two individuals—two people from different worlds.
Tsukasa Ryo, a person from modern Japan. He lived the life of a usual highschooler. Occasionally, he joined some extracurricular events for extra credits, but he never came to like athletic events. He is what most people would consider to be an academic.
Rein, a demihuman from the slums. In this world even more advanced than Earth, he lived the life of a scavenger. With all sorts of beasts, abandoned cities, and corrupted beings roaming on the land, his life is far from ideal.
While scavenging an abandoned city, he fell into the claws of monsters. He was certain he had died when he lost consciousness, but his confusing situation brought him back to reality.
“I traveled… to another world? No, I live here. Then, what is real..?”
As if responding to his question, a translucent black panel appeared in front of his eyes.
----------------------------------------
[Rein | Ryo Tsukasa]
Age: 16 | Rank: 7 | 18
[Strength]: 5/30
[Power]: 3/10
[Weapon Mastery]: 3/10
[Sword]: 2/10
[Dagger]: 1/10
[Control]: 6/30
[Burst]: 2/10
[Projectile] 4/10
[Dexterity]: 1/10
[Balance]: 1/10
[Misc]
[Hero]: 1/4
----------------------------------------
A hexagon shape is present within the center of the panel. Five circles are present within each point. Out of them, two were shaded while the remaining three were hollow.
When clicked, each circle sported a kind of status sheet.
Surprisingly, the middle part showed the [Misc] which showed one thing.
Despite being caught off guard by this thing, Tsukasa, no, Rein understood his current situation very well.
“Now’s not the time for philosophical shit…”
Rein found out that the panel could be ‘clicked’ with his thoughts
[Unlock?]
Without hesitation, he unlocked one of the shallow circles. It costed him one point out of the eighteen that he has.
[Energy]: 1/30
[Mana Control]: 0/10
[Mana Engraving]: 0/10
[Mana Affinity]: 0/10
Seeing this, Rein knew this was not the answer to his current predicament. It left him with no choice but to unlock the two remaining hollow circles.
[Mind]: 1/30
[Analysis]: 0/10
[Intuition]: 0/10
[Memory]: 0/10
[Willpower]: 0/10
[Charisma]: 0/10
[Life]: 1/30
[Recovery]: 0/10
Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.
[Immunity]: 0/10
[Perception]: 0/10
[Stealth]: 0/10
“This is it..!”
Looking at the [Life] attribute, Rein began dumping several points into it and [Recovery].
[Life]: 4/30
[Recovery]: 4/10
A miraculous feeling swept over him. His claw wound in the abdomen began healing at a very fast rate. With the feeling of pain disappearing, he could finally see his surroundings better.
It is a land filled with broken buildings and scrap metals. He is currently within an abandoned store filled with rusty metalware.
The smell of rust reached his nose, making him cough. This familiar yet unfamiliar sensation made him confused once more.
“I’m Tsukasa… but I couldn’t deny Rein’s memories. Is this how I would go into another world?”
He recalled the blinding light that swept over his classroom. Even now, he still feels surreal thinking that a scene from a manga would happen in reality. Worse, he is one of the participants included.
“This doesn’t seem like the usual other world…”
Recalling some things in his mind, he knew this world has far more advanced technology than Earth. There are fully-functional nano-robots who are able to regenerate a broken limb, flying ships, huge bipedal mechas, and sci-fi looking exoskeletons.
Strangely enough, magic also exists in this world.
“Five kingdoms, different races, mechas…”
Rein sighed to dispel the unnecessary excitement he felt. Otherworlders might feel that this world is very novel, but with Rein’s memories, this world isn’t that good at all.
There’s no doubt that living in a peaceful place like Earth is much better.
Rumble-!
The sound of an entire building collapsing interrupted his thoughts. His hand immediately went into his waist where a snow-white dagger was sheathed. He lost his sword due to his struggle with monsters, leaving him with his dagger and the two grenades strapped to his waist.
A loud roar rang out soon after. It he hadn't ducked and covered his ears, there's no doubt it could've imploded.
“So this is why it ran away!”
Rein gritted his teeth as he started to run away from this place. The Scythe Mantis was about to claim his life when it ran away. Turns out, it was scared by a stronger monster in the vicinity.
Swoosh-!
Each step made it feel like he blitzed through air. It was far different when he was still a normal student. He felt that he could easily control his body that contained enough strength to beat an athlete.
Rein chose to head to the backdoor of the store. When he came out, he saw dust coming over. The ten-storey building from the distance could be seen as its source.
From there…
“What the hell…”
A black dragon flew on top of the collapsing building. Its aura alone is enough to make him feel the chills.
Since his current attire consisted of a hood and a scarf, he used it to cover his eyes.
While he ran away, Rein examined what could potentially help him in this situation.
“I have a bad feeling about this… If it somehow pays attention to an ant like me..!”
In the end, he decided to spend his remaining points on one skill.
[Stealth]: 0 → 7/10
An invisible film started to cover his entire body. Vaguely, he felt that he became more ‘transparent’.
“Why wasn’t I in a more convenient place?!”
For once, he envied his classmates who were also ‘summoned’ by that blinding light to this place.
******
Rein’s guess wasn’t wrong.
His classmates went along with him to this other world. However, their situation is far better than his current predicament.
Unlike most depictions in fiction, being transported to an unfamiliar place all of a sudden made the entire class deathly silent. Confusion filled their minds before they were able to react.
Murmurs soon began to emerge from them. Their curious eyes scanned everything within the summoning room. The guards paid them no heed as they understood it was a usual reaction from being summoned.
Soon, five people entered the room. Their sheer presence made everyone quiet. It was a mix of authority and power itself.
They shared one commonality: outstanding appearance.
“You might be confused as of the moment, but we were the ones responsible for this summoning.”
A man with a pair of silver hair and eyes was the first one to speak. His clothes indicated his high standing, coupled with his gait and aura.
“I am the current ruler of the Vanahad Empire, William Vanahad IX. On behalf of this world, I apologize for dragging everyone into our matters.”
His words painted an ominous aura amongst the newcomers.
“Excuse me, but can’t you bring us back?”
The one who spoke was their math teacher, Fukuoka Matsumi, a young woman in her mid-20’s. Her beautiful appearance was one of the reasons why less and less people fell asleep during math class, but it wasn’t enough to shake off Tsukasa’s boredom.
Her hair is a mix of red and brown color—a combination of being a half-European.
“As of the moment, we don’t have the necessary technology to achieve that. Once again, I apologize.”
Silence overcame the room until one of the other ‘people’ alongside William spoke out.
“Tsk, tsk. Stealing the spotlight as always. What would I expect from a bastard like you?”
He was a muscular man with a large build. His blonde hair blended well with the pair of lion-like ears on top of his head. A long golden tail also moved behind his back every now and then.
“Listen well, young heroes!”
His voice immediately drew everyone in.
“As long as you follow me, you will have the chance to gain everything! It’s not just money and power, but girls from us beastfolk!”
His speech drew more uproar compared to William’s previous speech. The eyes of the male students flashed with a light of excitement.
“Nekomimi-chan! I’m not dreaming, don’t I?!”
“If you’re dreaming, what about me? This means everything’s real!”
This uproar was interrupted by the cold words of a long-eared woman.
“You always assume everyone is into your beastfolk, you big lion.”
Her presence was different from the others as her long green hair sported the aura of nature. Her maturity could be easily seen. However, the words that came from her mouth said so otherwise.
“What assumption? That was based on a well-founded reason! Don’t you forget that this bastard ran off with my sister!”
The silver-haired William’s eyes lost a bit of their luster. His depressive aura became even worse.
“I won’t disgrace him further. It’s up to us to convince these young heroes to choose their sides.”
“...Fine.” The elven woman replied. “Aren’t humans interested in elven people? As long as you gain their recognition, I won’t hinder anything from happening.”
The uproar from the male side lit up even more.
“Elves! It’s elves! Real elves!”
“God, don’t wake me up from this dream..!”
“These boys..!”
“Don’t be too hypocritical. Aren’t you girls also interested in elves?”
“Shut up!”
Seeing this, the armored person within the room added fuel to the fire.
“We have enticing succubi. They’ll serve the people on our side.”
“Since when is this summoning ceremony a fishing contest with women as bait?!”
The final person among the five, a young blue-haired girl wearing an oversized robe, became their retorter.
“Human women shouldn’t be overlooked. Just like the others’ declaration, I won’t interfere as long as you gain their recognition.”
“Even you?!”
The blue-haired girl heaved a deep sigh before rubbing her temples. Despite their ‘alliance’, they still fought for the best interests of their people. If not for that, this kind of cohesion would’ve been impossible.
“Listen here, otherworlders… or should I say heroes. You are called here for one purpose—”
Surprisingly, the girl looked at them sharply.
“—to defeat the Devil King!”