Chapter 98 - Prologue
In the afternoon in Tokyo, a black-haired boy wearing a high school uniform enters a bookstore. The boy's name is Nijisaki Ken. His current age was 16 years. He is a second-year student at Hoshina Gakuen high school.
"Ken, you haven't been here in a long time. What book are you looking for?" a shopkeeper's uncle greeted him.
"Ahaha... I'm sorry uncle. I've been a bit busy lately. I'm looking for an interesting book to fill my free time." Ken smiled at the shopkeeper. He looked at the titles of the books on the shelves. Ken has been fond of reading since childhood, especially novels and manga.
"Okay, if there's something you like tell me right away. I'll give you a discount!" The shopkeeper went back to his work. He tidied the books on a shelf not far from where Ken was looking at novels.
"Okay, uncle!" Ken became even more excited after the shopkeeper gave a discount.
"Haha...ooh, how's your grandfather doing? Don't forget to give him my regards." The uncle has known Ken for a long time and also knows his family.
Ken is currently being cared for by his grandfather. His father and mother died in a traffic accident when he was 5 years old. Since then he was raised by his grandfather, Nijisaki Godou.
"Grandpa is fine. I will pass it on. I will buy this novel." Ken took a book and took it to the cashier. After he finished, he immediately left the bookstore.
On his way back home, his cell phone rang and when he checked it was a message from his grandfather.
"Hey, what's that!?"
"Look at the sky!"
When he put the phone back in his bag. Ken heard the people around him screaming. Suddenly the sky became very dark. Thunderclouds covered the sky of Tokyo and continued to spread to the surrounding cities and possibly the entire territory of Japan.
"what's that?" Ken saw that there was a pattern in the lightning cloud like a magic circle in a novel he had read.
Lightning began to strike the land one after another. Until finally 4 large lightning struck in all directions and one of them struck him.
"Noo!" Ken tried his best to dodge it, but the lightning bolt was a thousand times faster than his movement.
The bolt of lightning hit Ken's body, but strangely there was no explosion at all in that place. After the strike, Ken disappeared and only his cell phone lay where he had been standing before.
***
"Ugh..." Ken slowly opened his eyes. His head still felt dizzy from the previous lightning strike. When he opened his eyes, he saw a dimly lit room. Next to him lay 3 people who looked the same age as him. They were also wearing high school uniforms. One by one they started to wake up.
"Oh, where am I?" The first person to wake up was a girl with long black straight hair. She looked panicked as she looked around the room.
"I remember that I was struck by lightning earlier." The second person to wake up was a brown-haired boy with a tall and sturdy build.
"Hmm..." The last person to wake up was a girl with short black hair and glasses.
"Welcome, heroes from another world. I apologize for summoning you to this world." A middle-aged man with long blonde hair and beard walked up to them. He was wearing a luxurious robe all in gold and silver. In his hand, he held a wand with a red crystal on it.
"Who are you? And where are we?" The long black-haired girl asked him. She felt a little scared when he approached them. In addition, she was also confused to see the clothes worn by them. They wore clothes similar to those in a movie with the theme of royalty.
"Forgive me for being late in introducing my name. I am the emperor of the Adrienne Empire, Galia Adrienne. To my right and left side are my sons and daughters." Galia introduced himself and the two people next to him.
"I am the second prince of the empire, Valco Adrienne. It's a pleasure to be your acquaintance" A handsome young man with short blonde hair and golden eyes was the first to introduce himself. He looked several years older than them.
"I am the third princess of the empire, Celine Adrienne. Nice to meet you, lord hero." A beautiful girl with wavy blonde hair and looking the same age as them was the next to introduce herself.
"You are currently on the Clorius continent. In another world to be exact." Galia calmly said it, but his tone seemed guilty.
"What!?" The long black-haired girl was shocked. The other three people including Ken also felt the same way.
(Another world!? How can I go home!? Grandpa must be worried waiting for me!)
Ken's face turned pale after hearing that. He was afraid that his grandfather would be worried about him.
"What have you done to us!?" The brown-haired boy gripped the collar of Galia's robes. The soldiers behind him wanted to immobilize him. But Galia raised his hand to stop them.
"Quickly return us to our world!" The long-haired girl screamed hysterically.
"I'm sorry for what we did. But please save our world." Galia and the people in the room knelt. This made the brown-haired boy let go of his grip and didn't know how to respond.
"Can you tell me about it first?" The short-haired girl asked Galia. She looked calm but her body was shaking.
"Ah... well lord hero..." Galia stood up and was about to tell him about the world's situation but was immediately cut off by the short-haired girl.
"If you mention your name first then your surname, then my name is Shiori Akama." The short-haired girl introduced her name. She knew outside Japan the surname would be put behind her name.
"I'm Sakuya Midori." The long-haired girl followed Shiori's way of introducing herself.
"I'm Ken Nijisaki." Ken then introduced himself. He still judges the behavior of the people around him. He was still confused when faced with a situation like this. What he was thinking about right now was how to get back to his world.
"I... I'm Kazuki Satou." The last person to introduce himself was the man who had previously grabbed the collar of Galia's robes.
"Okay Mr. Ken, Mr. Kazuki, Ms. Shiori, and Ms. Sakuya. First I will explain about this continent..." Galia began to explain all things related to that world. He explained it in detail for them to understand.
The important points they took from the explanation of Galia were:
1. They are currently in a different world from theirs, to be precise in the Clorius continent.
2. Clorius Continent is divided into 2 regions by the Alba Mountain Range. The west is inhabited by humans, the east is inhabited by demi-humans and demons.
3. Human territory is governed by one empire and nine kingdoms. The empire they were summoned was called the Adrienne Empire.
4. The Clorius continent is currently in crisis due to the attack of an outside being who claims to be a god. Eventually, they learned that the creature was a fallen god.
5. None of the creatures on this continent can stand against them. Therefore they conducted research using the pieces of objects and notes they got in the ruins about summoning humans from another world. That person will later be given a blessing by the gods to fight evil.
After hearing that explanation the four of them including Ken became frightened. Not only were they suddenly transported to another world, but they were asked to fight against beings who claimed to be gods.
(I want to go home soon...)
Ken is still worried about his grandfather's condition. Because he is the only family that Ken has. His grandfather must have been confused when he suddenly disappeared. Then he raised his hand and asked Galia.
"Hmm... How do we fight them? We're just high school students. Can we return to our original world?" Ken ventured to ask about it.
"Yeah right! Can we still go back!?" Kazuki joined in after that.
"Let me explain, father." Celine came forward with a sweet smile that fascinated Ken and Kazuki.
"Okay." Galia nodded slightly to allow her.
"First of all, I apologize on behalf of the humans of this world for summoning you without your consent. I'm also sorry that we don't know how to return you to your original world. But we will find a way with all our might." Celine spoke apologetically and bowed her head to the four of them then started to continue her speech. The four people could not bear to see the princess do that. At first, they were afraid that they wouldn't be able to return to their world, but when she said she would find a way, they became calmer.
"As for the next thing, you were summoned to this world with the blessing of a hero. You have innate skills that are either passive or active when you are summoned. When summoned to this world you acquire a language comprehension that allows you to understand what I say and also speak our language. You also already have master-level powers. Your development is also faster than the people of this world. In this world we divide into two, those who use mana are called mages, while those who use aura are called knights. When you become a mage you can still use aura but in a certain amount vice versa. Those who can use the same amount of mana and aura are very rare and also dangerous for the user." Celine gave a tiny smile looking at the four people and then continued her explanation.
"You can check your skills by closing your eyes. Ah, by channeling your power, you can confirm that you have the power of a master." Celine closed her explanation then opened 6 magic circles on her body as a demonstration. Gold-colored mana shrouded her body.
"Ah!" Kazuki was shocked to see it. He felt the pressure from Celine's body which was smaller than him. The other three people felt the same way. They all calmly heard Celine's explanation. But in their hearts, they were still confused and afraid of their current situation.
"Sorry, lord hero. Then you can try it. And please tell me your innate skills so we can provide maximum training for you later." Celine immediately withdrew her power and chuckled.
One by one the four of them imitated what Celine did. Each of them opened 5 magic circles and aura seals. And they imagine the skills they have. Each of them had a different color of mana and aura.
Ken: 7 colors mana
Kazuki: 5 color aura
Shiori: 4 colors mana
Sakuya: 5 colors mana
(As expected of a hero. Even their colors are amazing!)
Galia who was initially shocked suddenly became excited when he saw the strength of the heroes.
The other people in the room were also surprised to see it because normal humans in that world only have one color of mana or aura. When they opened their eyes, Celine immediately asked them.
"how is lord hero? Did you get the skill?" since it was his first time seeing a hero from another world in person, he became too excited. The four people nodded at his question. They then explained their skills to Celine.
Kazuki: Superhuman body, Master All weapons.
Sakuya: Saintess Possession, Goddess support.
Shiori: Invincible Magic, Princess all Elements.
Ken: Imitation, Manifestation.
When they heard the skill of the first three people, they smiled broadly because they knew about the skill. But after hearing Ken's skill, their smiles froze. Because they're hearing it for the first time and don't know how to train it.
"Hmm... I've never heard of this kind of skill. Do any of you know?" Galia asked the mages in the room then looked at his two children. Valco just shook his head stating he didn't know.
"...I don't know either, father." Celine thought for a while and gave the same answer as Valco.
"Put that aside first." Galia looked at the four of them. Then he did something that took them by surprise.
"I beg you to help our world! I beg you!" Galia bowed his head to them.
"We beg you!" The people in the room followed him. They didn't answer right away. Finally one of them spoke.
"But can you give us time to grow and learn about this world?" Shiori was the first to answer.
"I can't refuse if a weak girl like her accepts it." Kazuki forcefully agreed.
"I'll come too." Sakuya gave a hesitant answer. Finally, they all looked at Ken.
"I'll come with you." He sighed heavily. His mind couldn't escape from thinking about his grandfather's condition. Because he was the only family and person who cared for him until now.
"Thank you, lord hero, thank you!" Galia and the others smiled in relief after hearing their answer. Then he continued his words as if he had just remembered something.
"Alright, let the heroes rest. Tonight we will have a banquet and tomorrow we will start training them. Celine, please escort the heroes to their room." He looked at Celine next to him. Celine understood and nodded slightly.
"Please, lord hero. I will escort you to your rooms." Celine smiled sweetly and left the room with them. Before going out, Ken accidentally saw Valco and Galia whispering but he ignored it because he thought it was a matter of this empire.
The next morning the heroes started training. When people other than Ken are trained based on the skills they have acquired. Meanwhile, Ken is doing knight training in addition to mage training. Because the imperial side still doesn't know how to use Ken's skills. What they didn't know, Ken naturally learned how to use his skills and managed to have the power of a mage and knight. He had the same number of magic circles and aura seals.
(First, I will help this world, then find my way home!)
Ken made up his mind in his heart.. What he didn't know was that in the future he would be bound to that world.