“Alright. Put your hands on top of the paper in the stone tablet. So that your physical status will appear”

The man in his early 20's instructed the red-haired boy beside him. He's pointing his finger towards the stone tablet with a paper on its top.

[Ryuji's POV]

Currently, I'm in a room in the Adventurers Guild with a receptionist. The room is located on the farthest back of the huge building, several rooms away from the main hall.

The man with me has a brown hair and eyes but compared to Lily it was darker. His looks is really manly or wild. I can't think of a much better word to explain him other than those two. He's taller than me or I say he's taller than my new body, standing maybe 178 cm or more. His voice really fits his appearance.

“Okay...”

I step forward so that my hands can reach the stone tablet.

The stone tablet that is lying in my front is really what the name implies. It is a huge white colored cube with some odd writings on its body.

No matter how I look at it, it is an inscription that cannot be found on earth.

On its corners, many jewels in different colors gives a slight shine.

I do as the big brother insisted. I placed both of my hands in the paper on the tablet.

Then the inscriptions that is written on it began emitting violet. Slowly it became brighter and brighter and brighter. The whole room almost filled with violet lights. I caught a glimpse of the receptionist's face beside me, his expression was very shocked just as I am.

When the tablet reached its brightest point, everything came back to normal. The shinning tablet was now once again became dormant. I removed my hands that is still on the paper.

I stepped back a little so that the receptionist can take the paper from the tablet. Still shock because of the tablet event.

He slowly raised the paper, starting from its corner he lifted the paper from the tablet slowly with ease.

Then while looking at the paper on his hands, he narrowed his eyes when it caught something.

He look at me with his serious wild face. The look that is enough to intimidate anyone with weak heart.

“Can we speak? Just the two of us? Away from here?”

[Have I done something wrong? Or did I failed the test? Why is his aura suddenly change from friendly to hostile?].

I want to ask him those questions but his scary looking face didn't allow me to. So I just responded to him with my low-pitched voice. It bothers me because he looks very serious and why is it that we need to get away from here.

“Sure. Lead the way”

Upon hearing my response, he immediately head outside the room, I just follow his shadows from behind.

That explains it, the wall that is separating the room where we came from and to the others is too thin. It is obvious that he didn't want our conversation to be overheard.

We came back all the way from where we came from.

Pass many rooms in the hallway then turn two or three time before finally reaching the main chamber of the Adventurers Guild.

The Guild Hall consist of chairs and countertops with the other guild receptionist on the other side. The workers of the guild consist of different races, races that to me are mythical but here they are at my sight. Some with animal ears and tails, others with pointed ears and many other fictional beings that came to life.

In this world the guild is the one who gives works to adventurers which I found too similar to the online role playing game that I usually play back then.

Now, the usually crowded room only contains few adventurers perhaps because it was noon, they may be out for lunch or they may have already taken a quest from the Quest Bulletin that is standing next to the countertop.

Once the female receptionist with cat ears finish talking to an adventurer in well-used leather armor, the man that I am following approach the cat girl. I remain near in one of the chairs and did not follow him.

When the only thing that separates the two of them is the countertop the man speak.

“Mary! I'll be gone for a while, please look after my stuffs.”

“Geez, always skipping work time!”

“I'll buy you some sweet donuts on my way back~”

The man blink his right eye while smiling to support his sugar-coated word. The cat girl’s face lightened up as she hear those words before opening her mouth and say.

“Okay leave your stuffs to me!”

Her smile if she was a human was ears to ears. The only thing in my mind that time was—Too Dense— and my eyes are narrowly open looking at both of them.

The receptionist waved his hands while he's moving away from the countertop and approaching towards me.

He look at me then slightly shook up his head, he's clearly signaling me to follow him again.

Then we both made our way out of the Adventurers Guild with him leading the way, the test result paper is still on him clenched violently by his left hand.

Before everything comes to this I'll trace it back an hour and a half ago, when I first came here to Adventurers Guild.

~~Flashback~~

From the view outside it is what exactly that guy from the Imperial Army meant. The dual story building was huge, it is far bigger than the other buildings surrounding it. There are beautiful linings carved on its outside walls with 4 banners hanging on it. The design of the banners can be compared to a winged dragon or that's what my imagination is telling me.

There are some adventurers going in and out some clad in metal armor, leather, chain and other types of war equipment from middle-age.

A short time has passed and after I observe it from outside I decided to enter the heavily crowded landmark.

I gently put my hand on its swinging door then followed by a slight squeak sound from it.

“Good day sir! Filing a quest? Or maybe up for one?”

I nearly ran back to the door when some loud voice of a girl shouted from my back. I faced to see where the voice came from but nothing appeared on my sight. I look left and right but I can't find where the source of the voice is.

Then I noticed the small figure standing in front of me. If I was 160cm the figure standing before me was 135 or less. I slowly lowered my head to meet the gaze of the figure. Her shoulder length hair is dyed in dull-green, of course eyes of the same color. She was dressed in a guild uniform.

[Oh god! She's cute, I really want to pat her in head...] That is what my mind is shouting at the time but I managed to keep calm and restrain myself from this strange behavior.

Maybe it was rude to ask her race if I already know what it is.

The dwarf girl's gaze never left me with her curious face so I forced a smile.

“Uh, No I'm not filing...and I'm not an adventurer.”

The dwarf girl scanned my body aggressively as if trying to find a needle in a stack of hay. In the end she look at me in the eyes and responded.

“Oh! I see so you'll be registering today right?”

[How did she know?]

Did she used magic and see through my most inner parts?

[No, no stop your useless thoughts! Snap out Ryuji!] My mind once again countered my nonsense thinking. When I finally came back to reality I immediately responded to the dwarf.

“Well, sort of.” My low-pitched voice said while I am scratching the back of my head.

“Okay! I'll get a pen and adventurer form. Please wait in the bench for a while.”

I nodded in response but I don't think if that dwarf girl saw that because she dashes to the room of employees in an incredible agility.

All that's left is me, standing in the middle of the guild hall, surrounded by adventurers.

They were chattering different topics and they all sound like a mosquito lingering in my ears. My eyes wandered for a bit before something caught my attention.

On the side of the empty bench beside the wall, there is a shelf.

There are a few books that is remaining there with various sizes. I made no hesitation then immediately go to the bench near the book shelf.

I pick the book that is the thickest among the others there.

There is a title written on its cover but I can't read it.

Probably because it is not one of the written languages from earth. I turned the cover page then the next and then next.

I release a sigh when the only that I can do is stare blankly in the book full of knowledge. I decided to flip it one more time before returning it back to the shelf.

But in the page that I accidentally flip there lies the world map of this world. A slight smile appeared on my face as I've seen a familiar writing, I can read this page, from this page and beyond I can read it.

It appears that aside from the frontier of Aldebaran, there are only 6 more towns remaining under the current king of the Human Empire.

First was the Royal Capital, the largest city of humans in this world which was located 3 miles north of here, the second largest was the City of Meissa situated 7 miles southwest but before Meissa you need to cross some unnamed sea, the third was the town of Rigel it was a bit nearer than the first two located only 2.5 miles away from here. I decide to ignore the rest of it and flip the book once again.

[Records of the Holy War]

It appears that instead of a records that is written on its introduction page this section contains more of a story.

—Story Time!—

This is a story that began with gods, many gods that desires a single planet.

Let's skip a bit to where the holy war started to break through.

It is around the time when the 9 races were losing the war, they were defeated countless times than you can imagine. Because of that the humans—wisest among all the other races—formed an alliance to the others, alliance whose only goal was to drive off the Forces of Evil.

It didn't gone well at first, eventually after a decade or two they've successfully formed it. With the humans leading the army then began their counter attack.

But no matter what, even with their combined forces, they only manage to slow down their fated death.

And so the humans struggled once again.

The elderly sages of the human realm that bears vast amount of knowledge in sorcery began to work together in order to create spell, a spell that will change the flow of fate.

Eager to complete the spell as early as possible, madness has driven them on using live sacrifices.

At some point, the spell succeeded.

A white crow has appeared. Or in other words, the flow of fate has been reversed upon the arrival of the first savior.

The power of the first hero far surpasses every demons that he slay.

I take a quick pause and look in the palm of my free left arm. Then flip the page of the book afterwards.

The alliance finally made a move, with the hero leading the army, they've exterminate every forces of evil in the way just as what the monsters done to the innocents.

One by one they slowly take back what's lost to them, lands, homes, crops, livestock's, and even the abductees.

Now that the forces of evil is the one on the edge of the cliff, the hero didn't even hesitate to mercilessly slay the commander of the evil forces.

When the dark lord has lost the Historical Battle, everything came back to normal. Or almost normal, because they fought and struggle together to win the war the races that is said to be created to step on humans became their permanent brothers-in-arms.

Many years has pass since the glorious victory of intelligent creatures in the war, they became careless, lowered their guards just because there is their hero.

One cursed day, the evil forces once again made a comeback. The alliance was too full of themselves, putting all the weight of defeating the forces of evil to the hero. It’s almost a couple of decades since the epic battle of the hero and the dark lord, the powers of the hero came to cease. The alliance were defeated and the story begin restart once again.

[I see. Now I know why I was here...]

[Summoned Hero huh?! I am not as foolish as the first hero]

[I will not save anyone, nor change the so called flow of fate]

[These creatures only think of themselves! Selfish Humans!]

[I'll find a way to return to Kasumi! And...And escape from this madness!]

And so, my hatred towards humanity once again became lit up. Just by reading a story makes me want to punish the one who summoned me here.

I closed the book in a violent way that made it produce a sound that echoes in the guild hall.

Some adventurers glance at me, I want to return their glare but that will only make things worse.

I calmed myself up with my eyes shut close and then taking a deep, deep breathe.

“...Hey, are you okay?”

The whispering voice of the dwarf girl came gently to my ears.

I opened my eyes, she was sitting beside me looking at my face. There was some kind of paper on her laps and a pen on her right hand. Her feet was hanging, barely reaching the floor below.

“Oh. Yes, I'm fine...”

“Sorry, it took me too long to get this form”

“It's okay. I manage to find a 'good' time killer.”

“Thanks for your kind consideration. Here! Please fill these up”

She gave me the paper and the pen. The paper consist of a name, age, sex, hair and eye color, height and the job classification.

I write down on it normally, answers that corresponds the details needed.

Only the 1/4 part of the paper that is horizontally divided was the details that I filled out. The other 3/4 part says that it was for job classification.

I faced at the dwarf receptionist beside me that is swinging both of her feet simultaneously.

“Job??”

“Ah, as for those parts. Please proceed to the farthest room in the back, there you'll meet a man named Paul.”

“I see

“Here it is done”

After the form was filled out, I raise it in order to show it to the girl beside me. She look at it while smiling.

“Hmm. Ryuji huh? Nice to meet you! My name's Marley!”

“Likewise”

After my response I get up from the chair.

I head straight to the door that Marley has instructed me to go. The hallway was long and has many turns and rooms. Rooms that is occupied with the other receptionist and adventurers holding their interviews.

It is only a matter of time before I arrive at the farthest room after the long hallway. There I met Paul who was slacking off even in his work time. He's sitting on the chair behind a worktable, with his both feet on it.

He immediately notice me when I get closer to him.

None of us speak as we look at each other, then to break the awkwardness I showed him the adventurers form. He lets out an “Oh” upon receiving it.

“Ryuji?”

“Uh. Yes”

“Wait a moment I'll prepare the equipment.”

“...”

Paul place my paper on his worktable before standing up. He headed straight to huge marble-like cube on the side of the room.

At that time, I am still thinking about the story in the cursed book that I red. Paul notice my unease expression so he spoke.

“Something's bothering you?”

“Uh…Well...sort of”

“Can you tell me what it is?”

He stop his work on the stone tablet and begin to face at me.

“…The...—I opened my mouth once but it didn't work like it usually did, so I gathered my resolve and try it again— “The Hero Summoning Spell”

“Oh that, it’s like a children fairytale right?” he smile slightly while delivering his words.

“Uh. Yes....Can I ask a question?”

Paul nodded in response.

“About the hero this year... What happened?”

“It spread like a wildfire. I'm surprise you didn't heard it yet...but fine I will tell you. Don't trust my words so much because this is secondhand.”

As Paul started his words, he looked away from me and continue to set up the stone tablet. I was just standing there listening only to his words.

“Some says, the spell this year was failed, while other says, it was because of the weak spell casters. But no matter which one you believe in, they have a common outcome. The war this time was not in our side. Only the hero can defeat the dark lord and if there is no hero, then our fate has already been foretold. I suggest to enjoy your time now, love your parents, confess your love to your love one, do what your heart really desire...while you still can.”

He speaks normally like it is end of the world.

My face darkened as I look down. With my low-pitched voice I said silently enough for Paul to hear. “I see.”

“It's done!”

I turn my gaze towards Paul when I hear his voice. He's smiling while his eyes never leaves the stone-cube.

He take the paper that is lying on his work table and gently place it to the white stone cube.

Paul look at me and said. “Alright. Put your hands on top of the paper in the stone tablet. So that your physical status will appear”

Now back to present.

After we made it out of the adventurers guild with Paul still leading the way, we walk for almost 5 minutes across the town plaza, some deserted alley, and reaching our destination. The walkways found in the top of the great wall of Aldebaran.

The scenery there was begin beautiful. The whole city is very busy, countless people and carriage cross the roads from time to time.

Paul once again looked at my test result before looking at me and said.

“Who are you?”

I felt that his gaze is looking beyond me, gaze that will not allow me to sleep peacefully. His question was simple yet it surprise me.