
In the Hall of the Zircodina Royal Palace, twenty people stood while observing the shining magic circle up close. The hall looked majestic with gold ornaments on its left and right. And the red carpet stretches from one side to the door on the other.
A middle-aged man was standing on the ground slightly taller than the others. She has white whiskers, sharp blue eyes, and long brown hair braided with white hair in some parts. He wore a red shirt, black silk trousers, and a long robe in red. On each piece of clothing he wore, there was a embroidery of a pair of golden swords on it. He sat on his golden throne, looking out into the hall.
Several white pillars stood upright to support the entire hall. Among them, there were several middle-aged men and old men. Their clothes were not the same as those sitting on the throne, but still gave the socialite aura with extravagant style. Everyone was proud to stand in this place.
They all stared at the glowing magic circle in the middle of the hall that was shining in golden color as if it was doing something.
Suddenly, five people appeared from within as the shining light dimmed.
There were two men and three women, this is the group Alexander sucked in earlier. Without a shining light, the group could finally see and realize that they were no longer in school. A huge shock appeared on their faces as they looked around only to find a room filled with strangers.
John, who thought he was the first in the group, shouted to everyone in the room.
“What happened? Where are we?”
The middle-aged man finally got up from his throne and raised his hand before saying in a calming tone.
"Welcome! Welcome to my kingdom, Zircodina, four heroes..."
Suddenly, he fell silent. Even the others in this room tilted their heads in confusion.
“Four heroes?” They all muttered when they saw that there were actually five people.
"Where are we? What do you want from us? What do you mean by four heroes?"
John growled while taking two steps back as if he was scared.
“True, what do you mean by four heroes when five people stand here?” Maria asks John because she realizes there are five people coming out of the magic circle.
Somewhat suspicious and he wanted to know the reason behind the stranger's statement. Something went wrong as they were sucked into the magic circle. He was afraid that something worse would happen next.
Sandra and Ayaka could not control their fear. Their bodies began to tremble as they hid behind John.
Only Alex could remain silent. He had seen the worst thing in his life yesterday, there was no reason for him to be afraid of this either. For him, his life was already at stake with his current state. He had even thought of killing himself, so the thought of dying here had already dispelled his fear.
"Let me repeat." The king coughed to regain his composure before continuing.
"Welcome. This place is my Kingdom, Zircodina. And I am the current king, Faras de Andalla Zircodina. We have called you to help us fight the demons that want to destroy the world. Please, help us defeat the devil and achieve success in world peace."
"No, no. I don't want to help you. Send us back to our world. I'm sure you can do it too because you can call us here, right? Please, I don't want to deal with anything in your world!" Sandra shouted while holding her head.
The king closed his eyes and shook his head.
"I'm so sorry. We can't send you back to your previous world. The magic circle we used to call you was a one-way travel magic circle. There's no way to go back."
Alex felt that nothing bad would happen to them after hearing this conversation. He has hit rock bottom, so it is better to keep going with all the risks. And that's what he's been doing for the last few years.
He finally took one step forward before asking.
“If you cannot send us back, what should we do next?”
"Oh!" Astonishment filled the king's face as he nodded.
“I'd like to ask you to put your hand on the crystal ball in front of you to get the necessary equipment in this world. However, I want to give you some basic information about this world first.
"The name of this world is Grisaia. There were three factions in this world: Humans, Demihumans, and Demons. There is actually a more complicated explanation about the three races, but simply put, we are only going to talk about Humans now.
"We, man, have three kingdoms. Zircodina which is the kingdom you are in today is known as a military superpower with thousands of soldiers. The second kingdom is the Acacia Kingdom. This kingdom is famous for its academy named Akasia Royal Academy. Many elites in this world came from this place. The last one is the Holy Kingdom. This kingdom is famous for its Holy Church and Religion."
“Now, the peace between the three factions has been disrupted and our faction may lose to the Devil Race. A lot of bad things can happen if they defeat us, they will kill and rape our family's brutality. That's why I hope you, the heroes, can fight for us and win the war."
The king finally finished his explanation, letting Alex and the others process the information in their minds.
John was the first to react. Given that he has the most ability in this group compared to Alex and the others. After hearing his entire explanation, he felt like becoming a hero. He changed his mind as soon as he changed his clothes. He stepped forward excitedly, slowly reaching the ball on the small podium not far from the king. The crystal was transparent because he could see what was inside.
He placed his hand on the crystal as soon as he stood in front of it, it suddenly shone with a rainbow color.
*shing*
A yellow card mysteriously appeared out of thin air, hovering above the crystal. The rainbow light then shot into the air, projecting John's status.
[Name: John Penn
Occupation: Hero
Rating: 0
Level 1
STR: 100
AGI: 100
VITS: 100
DEX: 100
INT: 100]
It looks like an RPG game for John. The status should represent Strength, Agility, Vitality, Agility, and Intelligence. Strength has to do with his strength, dexterity is his speed, vitality has to do with his health, agility is his agility, while intelligence is his magic power.
John took the card and looked at his status. Although he understood the meaning behind these statuses, he did not know whether these figures were good or not.
The answer is the shouting and excitement of the surrounding community.
"He... Hero!!"
Cheers burst out in the hall, bringing to life the tense situation from before.
"We've got the hero now!"
"See that status! Each one is a hundred points at level 1," said one of the old men while pointing at his status.
John's body trembled as soon as he heard it. He was happy because he had the 'Hero' as his job, but his status was quite alarming.
Therefore, he looked towards the king and asked politely, "What... Is there a problem with my status?"
The king took a deep breath.
"Let me compare it to level 1 kids. They usually each had ten status points, while the average adult each had thirty points, but their levels were usually fifteen to twenty. Instead, your status was far above theirs to the point that no one in this world could reach."
Seeing John become an important figure in the eyes of the king, Sandra who now bears the status of John's girlfriend should have certainty to get through this hell.
John glanced at Sandra for a moment and put on a complacent face. The arrogant face was actually addressed to Alex, the only man in the group. Despite wanting to ridicule him, he decided to wait until he found out Alex's status first.
Therefore, he went back to the king and asked, "Your Majesty... Her Highness... May I know about this stage? Why is it said that I have a rating of 0?"
King nodded.
“To answer that question, you need to know about status and level first. Each level usually gives you 5 status points that increase according to your work. As for the specifics, you need to experience it yourself and see which status increases.
“If it is a matter of rank, this world divides the rank into ten that is from 0 to 9. Your rank will increase every hundred levels, and there will be a profit every time you move up the ranks. For normal people, the benefit is status points, but I'm not sure if we're talking about heroes. Nonetheless, it must be something great."
“With the status advantage, there is usually no one who is able to defeat someone who has a higher rank. However, your status is equal to the status of a rank 1 warrior, allowing you to fight with them now. This has made you an exception, as expected of the hero."
The king finished his explanation with a satisfied smile, adding to John's pride once again.
"A 9 only? There should be a level 1000 right? Or a rank 10?"
John felt strange about the king's explanation of the ranking system. If a hundred levels equals one rank, why don't they have a rank 10?
The king shook his head in disappointment.
“According to legend, only one person managed to reach rank 10 and ascend. Currently, there is no 9th rank in the world. The last one appeared four hundred years ago. He said that when you reach rank 9, it is very difficult to achieve it progressing even on a level. The difference is like Heaven and Hell."
John thought for a moment and smiled widely before asking the others.
"What about you guys?"
Although the rest of the group seemed hesitant, they could only move forward. The question of returning home can be discussed later so as not to make things worse.
Sandra ended up being the first and shocked the entire hall with her status and work. His status is almost at John's level and his job is Archmage. The king quickly arranged a teacher for him, who was the strongest magician in the Zircodina Kingdom. Sandra couldn't care less about it as long as she could get more protection for herself.
The same goes for Ayaka. He is a Sage and gets the same teacher as Sandra.
Maria's turn came right after, but she kept asking Alex to go first. However, the others urged him to go first because they were curious about his status and work.
The entire room was filled with silence for a few seconds as Maria's work was revealed. He was an Arch Priest, and the king immediately ordered the guards to send information to the Holy Kingdom.
The atmosphere of the room suddenly changed as the ministers started congratulating the king. One of the princes had offended one of the archbishops of the church, so their relationship was not good at the moment. Having Mary in their hands will mend a broken relationship.
Maria was unable to understand her arrangements, but she was happy that her work and status at least had significance to the kingdom. Alex has not had his turn. Therefore, he turned around and said softly to Alexander.
"I'm done, it's Alex's turn."
Alex is not interested in his thoughts. Given the king was confused as to why they numbered five instead of four, Alex could somehow imagine what kind of result he would get.
He thought, 'In the end, I will become useless again, right?'
Having no hope for himself, Alex puts his hand on the crystal.
[Name: Alexander Sirius
Occupation: Ordinary Person (Someone who is dragged into another world)
Rating: 0
Level 1
ST: 5
AGI: 5TH
VITS: 5
DEX: 5TH
CORE: 5]
*Gedebuck!*
His feet were treading too hard until the king almost tripped. On the other hand, Alex just looked at his status emotionlessly as if he didn't care about it.
“Haha... Alexander, you are the best.” said John cynically.
"You can't beat a kid with that status, Alexander. Both in the previous world and in this world, you will always be a loser." Sandra added more salt to her wound.
Alex sighed as he took his card and stepped back. He might speculate about the outcome, but his heart still hoped for something better. At the very least, he could abandon his identity and live peacefully in this world. It was disappointing after one thing or another.
"Mr Alexander.It is also our fault for forcing you to come into this world. At least, I can give you a place until it's all over." The king softly apologized.
“You don't need to apologize...Your Majesty.”.
Alex shook his head. His face looked tired and disappointed.
He said, "I'm sorry if it sounds disrespectful if I ask, but may I ask for a place to rest? I'm a little tired."
Others do not take this lightly and want to snap at it. Fortunately, the king stopped them by saying, "Of course. We have seen the proper conclusion of the call. The heroes also need time to adjust to this new world. Therefore, we will end this meeting and let the heroes rest. Guardians ! Guide the heroes to their rooms."
"Yes, Your Majesty!" Several guards entered the room, knelt down, and followed the instructions of the king. They walked towards the heroes and extended a hand, pointing in a certain direction.
"Here we go."
In the hallway, right after they had exited the room, John and Sandra could not control themselves anymore.
"I know you can make me laugh, Alexander." John mocked her with that arrogant face.
"A loser will always be a loser no matter what world you're in." Sandra looked down on him and snorted.
"Both of you! You shouldn't treat him like that. We've been transferred to another world, so we need to stick together." Maria intervenes to protect Alex.
He was very sympathetic to Alex because he believed that despite his poor performance, he still had his own strength. At least he did not deserve this cruel treatment from both John and Sandra.
"Let's go join her and tell her how useless she is." Jhon shrugged his shoulders.
Maria shook her head helplessly.
Seeing that Maria would not come to ridicule Alex, Ayaka held back. He didn't have any problems with Alex to the point that he needed to mock her like this.
On the other hand, Alex ignores them and chooses to follow the guards. Maria gritted her teeth and asked herself, 'Why did this happen?'