It's a normal day, all things considered.

Or, was. Was a normal day.

Let's get things straight. My name Is Yuu Hikaru, I'm sixteen and a high schooler. I get near-perfect grades, I'm popular, and have good mental and physical health.

Wonderful, no? I disagree. These things might seem all great, but they're not. Good grades? That just means there are higher expectations. And, when expectations aren't met, people are disappointed. Popularity? All that means is that everybody's eyes are constantly on you. Any mistake you made is going to be noticed and commented upon. Good mental and physical health? Well, there's nothing actually wrong with those two, I guess I'm lucky in that aspect.

So, what was with the particularly strange intro? Well, for that, you need some exposition. Now, there I was with the only two I actually considered friends, Togeshi and Akane. They are two that I've known for a large majority of my life, and I have indeed grown to care for them. Well, that's aside from the point.

Moving on, there we were, just hanging out, I guess. Not much was going on, we were just walking down the street, talking. For all accounts, it truly was just a normal day.

However, as you would guess from the obvious statement I spoke before, that was not what it was. First, the sound of a car crashing into a person. I don't know where it came from, but it happened. Then, the frantic and panicked screams of a person in a small cafe, followed by a gunshot. Next, below all of us appeared these white circles of what seemed to be carved into the ground beneath us. It shined with a blinding white, etched with three squares all in different angles in the middle, four lines all on different sides of the circle meeting in the center, overlapping the squares. Even so, I could barely see any other details, but that's of no matter.

Nobody seemed to notice even though it was a busy day and there were people nearby, Perhaps they were distracted by what I assumed was a car crashing into a person, or maybe something else. Either way, nobody cares, no one even looked at us.

Finally, before any of us could say a word, a large eye appeared over each of our individual circles, engulfing it. The eye seemed human, but the iris was a deep gray.

There was only one thought that ran through my head.

What is going on? Of course, I thought of more than that, but that was what mainly afflicted me

Then there was a voice.

{Request Confirmed.}

And we were gone.

...

Of course, that's not how this all ended. No, no, things seemed to only get worse.

For a few seconds, light fully swallowed us. So, I was unable to see. However, just as fast as the light appeared, it disappeared and sight returned to us. Oh, how I wish it wasn't as things were about to become much more confusing.

We were in a painfully extravagant room, larger than any single room I had ever been in before. It reminded me how that of European Medieval architecture, with marble pillars supporting the building alongside a red carpet leading up to a throne of above-average size. The stone floors seemed to shine, meticulously cleaned. There were these people in white-clad heavy armour, weapons sheathed.

And there, sitting upon the previously mentioned throne was a large man, easily above two hundred centimetres tall. He had a notable white beard, that was the first thing I noticed. His face was particularly wrinkled, nodding me in on the fact he must have been quite old. He wore upon his head a simple crown, and on his body red kingly robes.

At his side was a young woman, long and simple blonde hair. She was blindfolded, but that was by far the least strange thing about this all.

"Ah... father! It... worked?" The girl by the old man's side spoke, a hint of confusion in her voice. Her voice was soft, even with the confusion.

"Hm, yes. But, I believe something might have gone wrong... There should be five, not three." The man in the crown spoke, replying to what I would be forced to believe is his daughter's remark. What exactly does he mean there should be five? Where in the world even are we...

"What the hell is going on here!?" Togeshi, who of which stood behind me, clenched his fists, yelling out at the man... or, actually, pretty much at everyone here. He seemed to be a bit aggravated, and just as confused as anyone else.

Akane seemed perplexed, looking around herself.

"Oh, my apologies," The king cleared his throat, "I am King Mugra Van Draila, the current king of the nation of Draila. You, three heroes, summoned here from another world, I plead, lend us your power and help protect us from the current threat we face."

This... has to be some dream. No, that's impossible. This is far too realistic... but this man just introduced himself as king. Combine that with the architecture, the armoured people, all of it. The possibility seems all too possible to just be a possibility. Perhaps, it's just as this man has said, as far-fetched as it seems.

Why us? I honestly need a bit of time to think, but I probably won't get it.

"King? Draila? Heroes? Old guy, you aren't making any sense!" Togeshi continued, apparently what the king said didn't click with him.

"Yes, this must be especially confusing for the three of you. I'll be clear, you have all been summoned here through an ancient and powerful spell, one of which took all of my and my daughter's power to use. Usually, such a thing would never even be an option... however, this world as a whole might be in danger, for a new demon lord will soon rise to power, one of which is incredibly dangerous... The prospect of a war between all races and nations looms over each of our heads."

This surprised each of us but for Togeshi a different reason.

"That makes even less sense..." Yes, Togeshi was a simple person. He might not understand much, be he's not exactly stupid.

"Hm, perhaps you all need time to think about all of this. I have prepared rooms for you all, as such a thing must be terribly difficult to swallow. Knight Elfierl, Oparl, please lead these heroes to their room

""Yes, Your Majesty."" Two of the armoured people spoke in unison, moving towards the three of us. Helmets covered both of their faces, making it impossible to tell what they looked like.

"Please follow us." This time, only one spoke, beginning to lead us. I looked back at the king for a moment, before reluctantly following the two of them. This is moving much too fast... but I'll have time to think.

These knights lead us throughout the castle. The architecture really was exactly like that of the medieval era, and we seemed to be in quite the large castle. Eventually, we reached these somewhat wide stairs. circling around leading us up. We ended up at a wooden door after, contrasting with the stone around us.

"This is your room." The knights didn't say anything else, opening the door for us.

There wasn't anything else we could have done, so, we entered... and then the door closed behind us. The knights seemed to stay, guarding the door.

The room was nice. Large enough to fit the three of us with ease, and three beds for us too. There was another door that seemed to lead to a balcony, which would give us a good view of the world we were in now... even saying that sounds insane, but it must be true.

Then, it was silent.

Akane broke the silence by collapsing onto a bed, letting out a long heavy sigh, "This is so... weird. There's not even a better word to describe it..."

"Yeah! This has to be like, a joke right? I mean, we were just walking and then boom, we're here! Maybe this is some weird shared dream we're all having... Hey, Yuu, what do you think?" Togeshi went on, questioning me.

What I think? I think that maybe there's more going on here... this is all too, well, strange. Why are we even here, why is it us?

"Well, I don't believe any of them were lying... this is definitely real," That is what I think, though, "I'm going to go think, get me if you need me."

Right I was, I did need to think. This was all going way too fast, so I need to make it slow. I opened the door to the balcony, entering...

It was night. The stars were bright, illuminating the night sky. It was... amazing. Without light pollution and all that, the night's sky is even more amazing than it is usually. However, there was something not normal... there are two moons. One large, one a bit smaller.

That proves it, this has to be a different world... we really aren't on Earth anymore.

I need to think about this logically... I can't get caught up in sentimentality right now. I lean against the railing preventing myself from falling.

Just like I assumed, this is a whole kingdom. It stretched out far, it was obviously a huge kingdom. However, he said nation, so that makes me believe that there are several villages and smaller places that fall under the control of this Mugra guy. This must be the capital, maybe...

The king mentioned a spell to summon us here. That must mean there's a spell that can send us back... there has to be. Before any of that, however, I need to determine what sorta world this is...

"Status," I spoke this out loud, hoping for something... yeah, no, nothing. Of course not, that's a bit... you know, that's not going to happen...

Or not. A blue screen appeared in front of me, filled with words and such.

Name: Yuu Hikaru Species: Human Class: Hero LV: 1 HP: 25/25 MP: 20/20 STR: 14 AGI: 12 VIT: 14 DEF: 11 INT: 14 WIS: 12 CHA: 12 Skills [System], [Pride], {Larfus Translation >LV MAX<} Affinities: [Water], [Light] Spells: N/A

This can't be real... It's like a game, almost. Skills, spells, stats, level... it's becoming harder and harder to accept this as reality. And then there's the fact my class is hero... Well, they were calling us all heroes, so it's not too surprising. Affinities, is that what sort of magic I can use?

In order to see my status, I just thought about it... so, perhaps I can learn what these skills do by doing the same. Hm...

Do you require further information on skills 'System', and 'Pride'? Yes No

Another screen appeared in front of me, asking this question. Strange, perhaps it can hear me... well, I answer yes, sort of just touching where yes appeared.

And, then, once again, the blue screen appeared.

Skill: System Skill Abilities: Information unavailable Notes: Changes based on user Skill: Pride Skill Abilities: Pride is the embodiment of power, and as such, allows for enhanced growth of power. The Holder of Pride shall obtain three times the experience for both levels and skills. This shall also affect those Holder of Pride is nearby, regardless if they're enemy or foe. Levelling up shall fully recover HP and MP, regardless of how little HP or MP holder of Pride has left. Pride is a dangerous thing, and the faster someone grows, the faster their ego too is grown. Notes:

Nearby people levelling up shall not recover HP and Mp. Rest of abilities locked.

And there it is... the cheat skill. Aside from some of the menacing wording, Pride seems to be incredibly powerful. This system skill, however, is quite vague... I have no clue what it could do, especially since all information on it is unavailable...

Just what exactly is this world, and why are we of all people here?