Chapter 1 – Introduction

'Oh, what's this?'

The scenery had suddenly changed. Just a moment ago this youth, Kai, had been at his home, but now was in a totally unfamiliar room. It didn't even seem to be of the same era, from modern information age to this seemingly medieval era.

It was a large room made of pure stone, intricate pillars surrounding the heightened platform in the center, on which Kai was currently standing. Sun was shining down from straight above the head, through a colorful patterned circular window, and concentrated rigth onto the stage.

"Ooh-- Great companship of heroes! Please, you must help us, a great evil is upon us!" someone said, their desperate echo drawing attention right away..

Now looking at it, there were also some other people present, maybe around 20 or so at first glance, but none of them were familiar. No, actually there was one familiar face, but the other didn't seem to notice Kai.

The group of people, who were obviously not locals, seemed to consist of people around high-school age like Kai and up to around 25 years old. And before the group stood a priest-looking person, the one who had just spoken.

Of course, this sudden appearance at a new place can be scary, but since there wasn't any imminent threat, everyone was just confused.

The priest was kneeling and bowing his head to the group, and keeping quiet. It took a few seconds until one of the strangers regained his composure and managed to speak.

"Please, there's no need bow like that... Rather, it would be very helpful if you first explained this situation to us..." He was probably a college student and looked fairly charismatic.

"Of course, but first please follow me to the resting place, the summoning must have given a bit of a shock. You can rest there and will be served food as well, I will explain everything there."

Though this situation was a bit unbelievable and they were hesitant, but they felt like they had no choice, seeing knights in armor standing at the edges of the current room. At the same time, the kind words of the priest were appealing enough to trust him the most out of the other strangers.

The summoned group quietly followed. When they started walking Kai happened to bump into that acquintance of his.

"Oh! Kai-kun, you're also here!?"

"Yeah, hello, Tsukimoto-san. What a coincidence meeting you here..."

"Ee, I see you're still as carefree as ever... You have any idea what's going on?"

"Nope, not a clue," Kai was freely smiling as he said it.

- - -

A bit later, when everyone had taken seats in what seemed like a conference room, tables and chairs near the walls pointing towards the center and one open end, where the priest was standing. A variety of snacks were also served, some of which looked totally unfamiliar, by women dressed in nun robes.

"Now then, as this was probably quite an abrupt incident for you and you're probably confused, I will now explain everything, and please, if you have any questions, feel free to ask... I am the head priest Vlaim. This is the world of Luavheim, a different place from the one you were summoned, although we couldn't choose between which world to summon from, only according to potential."

"Then, is this some sort of fantasy world, and we were summoned across here from our own?" a boy curiously asked.

"That is correct," the priest calmly continued, "Those summoned, you people here, are the chosen ones and have great potential beyond those who live here. People like you are known as Great Heroes here."

"But, for what purpose are we here?" one of the adults asked.

"That is, as prophesy has foretold, in the recent years the demon nation has increased its activities, and soon they will wage war on this whole world, bringing destruction everywhere. However, the same prophesy says that heroes from another world will appear and defeat the demon king leading the forces, bringing peace for at least another millenia."

"Are you telling us to go to war? We aren't some warriors!" a grown woman, who was visibly panicked, burst out.

"Please, there is nothing to worry about, I will explain some more... As I said you heroes have great potential, meaning that you have a much greater growth rate, your skills gain experince faster and you rank up easier. But at the same time, as to not expose you to real danger, you will be trained by instructors and accompanied by knights when you go exploring..."

"Ah, could you please explain the 'skills' and 'rank'? What are they?" the same boy calmly asked.

"Hm? Ah yes, I've heard that not all worlds have the system for this. Then, first is that everything contains mana and it is also everywhere in the surroundings. Mana is the medium of using magic. Skills are basically techniques that use mana to generate an effect, and the more you use a skill, the more proficient you became at it. At the same time, a rank is assigned to a class, which you will also receive later on. A class is basically an affinity towards certain groups of skill masteries, for example, a warrior's skills are mostly close combat related, swordmanship, dueling, and so on. And a rank is the total level of mastery of your skills."

Really, a fantasy world, almost like a game.

"Now, this would be enough for now," the priest continued, "Currently we're at the temple of Passagus, if you could please follow me, I'll lead you to the palace grounds nearby. At the palace you will be given rooms where you'll be staying at."

Well, as there wasn't much point to not listening to him, everyone just followed.

It seemed to be evening as the sun was quite low. As they exited the temple, which was fairly grand from the inside already, an even more incredible sight welcomed them. A huge castle with many towers, intricate architecture, and around them there were more buildings and walls. They were probably inside some sort of fort.

Entering the castle they stopped in the luxurios foyer, then the priest spoke again, "Tomorrow you'll be having an audience with the king, but for today please rest. If you have any questions feel free to ask, but tomorrow you'll understand this world better anyway. And if you have any requests, you are also free to make them to any of the servants here."

Another big group of people appeared. With a quick glance there seemed to be about 20 maid-looking people and as much knights.

"They will lead you to your respective rooms. If you want to look around you can, but it would be a better time tomorrow. Now, please..."

And that was it. They were first lead to a long corridor where there were many doors. Those were rooms for guests which were now given to everyone, to each a separate room, and a knight and a maid appointed to each one.

Kai wasn't interested in staying in his room, so, wasting no time, after seeing it he bravely turned around and went sightseeing the castle. From the door the knight and maid appointed to him started following immediately.

Kai was humming a tune for awhile, but soon stopped and turned to ask,

"It's a bit distracting with you following so close by, are we prisoners or something?"

"Not at all. We're just appointed to serve and help if you have any requests or questions, you're free to explore the castle as you wish," the maid's voice was unhesitating, as if the answer had been thoroughly practiced before.

"I see... Well, might I know your name then, please?"

She was taken aback by this, expecting some kind of different question, still,

"Yes, my name is Lia, 57th maid of the royal palace."

"And, this Mr Knight here?" Kai asked, looking at the man in armor.

He took a moment until he replied,

"Kust, knight of the special division of the royal guard."

"Well, nice to make your acquintance, my name is Kai, just a student..." with a polite smile Kai said.

Kai just walked around, looked out the windows into the courtyard and just merrily enjoyed the sights. He tried chatting with the two following him, to their surprise asking about simple things such as daily life at the palace and such, nothing about this world or how the situation was. Though they had answers prepared for such questions, they weren't needed. Actually, the simple topics were rather relaxing compared to serious ones which would have to be explained extensively.

From time to time Kai talked a little about life on Earth and his own life and activities. He was quite talkative and easygoing, not something one would expect from someone thrown into a foreign world. Still, all this helped the three to get to know each other.

When it had gotten dark Kai returned to his room. Having nothing to do, as soon as he laid on the bed and thought of falling asleep, he did exactly that.

- - -

Early morning.

Having fallen asleep early Kai woke up just before dawn. Again, since he was alone he got bored passingly inspecting the room. There wasn't much there – it was just a guest room, but since it was in a palace it was still fairly extravagant.

He exited the room, and there stood a knight. It wasn't Kust, but someone else.

"Morning!" Kai greeted him.

The knight jerked and turned to Kai, looking at him wide-eyed, he had not expected the person to wake up that early. He was actually just a guard on night shift, Kai's personal bodyguard and maid would come a bit later. Since the guard couldn't leave, Kai assured him,

"I'll just go to the garden and enjoy the morning, when the others start to wake up I'll come back."

And so he did.

A large garden. Bushes, flowers, trees, a canopy. The air was fresh and cool, the plants were covered in morning dew. Kai was just sitting quietly on a bench, feeling the surroundings and listening to the occasional bird song.

"Kai-sama, there you are!"

Kai opened his eyes to the sudden voice. He had been sitting there for awhile now and the maid was looking for him.

"Oh, good morning," Kai greeted her with a smile.

"Yes, good morning. But, please refrain from walking around without an escort."

"What? Is there a problem?"

"Not at all, but it's just regulations that require us to accompany the guests."

"Right..."

"Well, breakfast will be served in fifteen minutes. If you would please follow me, I'll lead you to the dining room."

When Kai arrived just on time, the others were already there.

"Ah, Kai-kun, where did you disappear to yesterday?! I had to be all alone in this huge place..."

There was one spoke up as Kai was walking towards a free seat.

Her name was Miyako Tsukimoto. They had been classmates for some time until Kai transferred to another school for his third year. They got along fairly well and were on quite good terms, maybe it'd be suitable to call them friends even.

"Well, good morning," Kai first greeted her with a polite smile, "Anyway, I just went out sightseeing. I just wanted to know what kind of place we're at."

Miyako's looks were well above average, she was actually quite beautiful, and in addition had a good personality. If not idolised, then she was definitely looked up to. At least, that was definitely the case in the class back in second year of high school. She had black hair and fair skin, and deep blue eyes that accentuated her gentle smile.

Kai almost went to sit at a free spot further away, but when Miyako tugged his sleeve he decided to sit next to her.

The head priest, Vlaim was also there to accompany them, as he was currently the one closest to them and the main person who explained things.

It was a feast, perhaps unsuitable for a morning. A few weren't used to eating heavily in the morning, but on the other hand Kai was eating hungrily, chugging down quite a large amount of food.

After the meal the head priest began speaking,

"In an hour you will be having an audience with the king, you'll be introduced, and after that it's time to receive your class and rank evaluation."

There were some murmurs. Compared to the day before, everyone was more relaxed and could think calmly. Thus the woman from the day before, now also unafraid, had to ask,

"Well, although you explained yesterday why we're here, is there any way to return to our own world?"

The priest stilled his gaze forward, closed his eyes, took an unaudible deep breath, and then started explaining with an appropriate expression,

"It certainly is possible, however, unfortunately not immediately. For your summoning a vast amount of mana and magic crystals were consumed, in addition there's a need for communicating with the gods also. It will take some time until everything is prepared, so until then it's a good idea to make yourselves comfortable here."

"That is to say, we're still requested to fight these demons, as you said before?"

The priest smiled politely, "There's no need to worry. While that is true, our nation's soldiers will always accompany you and you won't be exposed to any real threat."

And thus they arrived in front of the king. The throne room was what one might expect from a ruler of a country – scupltures, decorations and paintings on the wall, knights standing next to intircately engraved pillars, and finally the gilded throne. Noone was used to seeing such grandiose display, as they were looking around in awe. However, from the side one could notice that Kai's reaction was much more refrained.

"My king, this is the group of great heroes that has arrived to fight against the coming evil," the head priest introduced them as he kneeled, "Heroes, this is king Reginald III of the Kingdom of Freydal."

"I welcome you, great heroes, to my magnificient kingdom," his clear voice boomed throughout the chamber, "Though you may have arrived here abruptly, if you help the kingdom you will most certainly be rewarded greatly. Still, you are guests of my kingdom and will nevertheless be treated appropriately."

And that was basically all – a meeting with the king. The 'visitors' saw who the king was and the king just welcomed them as guests. His curt welcoming words were comforting and warm, instilling calm, however, there was also a hint of barely noticeable rigidity in them for whatever unknown reason.

Then some sort of orb was brought and put on a pedestal, together with a big bunch of what seemed to be some sort of tablets.

"Now you will receive your class and rank," the priest turned towards the group, "They are both not forcefully appointed, but actually this orb here will read your soul essence and then, and according to your affinities and personality, a suitable class is given."

As he explained he lead them to it.

"And these crystal tablets are a recording of your class, rank, your skills, and more different things. Let me demonstrate."

He took one into his hand and after a moment it slightly lit up. Turning it and showing it to the group, this was displayed there,

-Name - Vlaim

-Race - Human

-Age - 52

-Class – Priest of light

-Rank – Expert 3

Some 'ooh's could be heard. The tablet was very interesting. Though from the surroundings and architecture this seemed to be medieval age, the tablet was almost like a tablet PC from modern era.

"As you can see, these five are the main pieces of information that are usually displayed. These 5 are important in everyday life for adventurers and people doing quests in general. Now, please one by one grab a tablet and place your hand on the orb. It takes 3 seconds to evaluate, after which the tablet records the information and can display it."

The first one to try was the boy who had interestedly been asking questions earlier. Everything went smoothly, the orb shined for a second, then the tablet displayed its contents,

-Name – Tim Honda

-Race – Human

-Age – 17

-Class – Guardian (Overseer)

-Rank – Intermediate 5

"..." seeing the display Vlaim was surprised speechless, "Well, this is quite extraordinary... But, it's just fitting for a great hero such as yourself."

Those were words of praise. Hearing that, some of the others also wanted to see, and as they did, they got really excited.

Thus, one by one they were getting their classes assigned. There was much chatting and excitement at this game-like setting. The people seemed to be adapting fairly well.

The people who were strangers just the day before, were now getting along pretty well. It's just how it is when you're in the same situation – suddenly appearing in another world to be requested to go to war – so it was easy to begin socializing.

And finally, the last person to acquire his assessment was Kai.

"..." Kai was intently looking at his tablet after the process, 'I made a mistake...'.

"Is there something wrong?"

"Well, there are just question marks..."

"Please, let me see..." as the priest inspected it, he was surprised. Behind every point really were just question marks, even the name wasn't displayed, "Umm, please try again, there must be some kind of mistake."

"Hm, sure...", 'Now, let's try doing it correctly...'

After the unexpected second try, the tablet showed the data as it should.

-Name – Kai Hoshino

-Race – Human

-Age – 17

-Class – The Supporter

-Rank – 0

"..." Now the priest narrowed his eyes and looked at it in silence.

"Is there something wrong?" Kai asked with a joyful voice, unfazed by the priest's changed demeanour.

"Umm, well... No, nothing's wrong," however, his face that was surprised a moment before, now showed disappointment, even though he tried to hide it.

"Hey, Kai-kun, how was it?" the one who showed interest was Miyako, "Here, this was how it went for me."

-Name – Miyako Tsukimoto

-Race – Human

-Age – 17

-Class – Elementalist

-Rank – Intermediate 1

Hers was also comparably high-spec from everyone else. By rank she was actually 3rd, everyone else being in the beginner ranks, which, after being explained later, was the expected result. Immediately being intermediate was quite rare.

"Oh, Tsukimoto-san... Well, though my rank says 0, I don't really know what it means though..."

"Hmm, well, we'll know later, nothing to it right now," Miyako said freely. She, too, as the situation had proved to be harmless, at least for now, was excited about the magical setting of the place.

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