Thirty two Court Summoners stood in a circle. Around them were piles and piles of crystals and other valuable looking materials.
In fact, those crystals were known as essence crystals. Pure, materialised essence. These ones just happened to be moon and star crystals. Just one could be considered a treasure for small states and kingdoms, however, in this room alone there were at least over a hundred.
They were currently in a large hall in the kingdom capital, all of them bore the Moonshine insignia denoting them as Court Summoners. Highly capable individuals who directly served the Royal Family.
All the Court Summoners lapsed in deep concentration, sweat constantly dripping down their foreheads. It was apparent that they were doing a highly sophisticated and complex summon. In the centre of their circle, a dense concentration of chaotic essences warped the air and slowly tore open a crack in the fabric of space.
As the summoning neared its end a Court Summoner collapsed, probably as a result of essence exhaustion. This caused the burden of the other summoners to increase dramatically, despite just the loss of one team member. The essence crystals around them were quickly used up and shattered, all fueling the pool of essence in the centre.
The tear widened with a sound that rent the soul, more summoners collapsed, however, they had only now reached the most crucial stage. Pushing the essence through the tear they had to maneuver it to pull out the summon from the other side. It required the utmost cooperation and coordination between all the remaining summoners. If they failed now, everything would be for naught.
Seconds felt like an eternity as they tried their utmost to fulfil their task. Finally, they managed to hook an entity and reeled the essence back in.
However! They were met with fierce resistance from some unknown force, the already pale faces of the summoners become paler. They weren't going to go through this torture for nothing!
Redoubling their efforts they poured everything they had into the essence reel. Not long, they managed to summon the entity just as the tear closed and the fabric of space fixed itself.
Immediately, more than half of the summoners collapsed, fully drained of their essences, unfortunately for some this included their soul essence...
They would not be waking up from their slumber.
Servants rushed in as soon as the summoning was complete and carried away the summoners to have them treated and taken care of.
What was left in the centre of the room was a young boy, perhaps 16 or 17. He had black hair and wore some kind of uniform, a sparkling look lingering in his eyes.
…
Kanata Yamada was your average schoolboy. He didn't really have anything going for him, except that one could consider him extremely 'cultured.'
He knew all about the latest manga and anime and tended to indulge in the new popularised genre. Isekai.
He often had delusions of getting run over by a truck and reincarnating in a fantasy world where he would slay corrupt nobles and get a harem. Yeah, he was quite 'cultured,' indeed.
Walking home from another boring day of school, he strolled through the same shortcuts he used every day to get him. Past alleys and through shopfronts. A new issue of Jobfull Rebirth came out today and he was dead set on reading it. He didn't have any friends to burden himself and could fully indulge in the otaku lifestyle.
He was truly a 'cultured' boy.
However, at this moment, a tear opened up in front of him. A dark swirling vortex poured out of the tear. It filled the area in an instant, Yamada was immediately swallowed by it and swept into the tear shortly after.
Then the tear closed and a gentle breeze swept by. It was as if that whole ordeal never happened.
Having been sucked into the tear, Yamada found himself in a black space, his heart racing at the deep black void that surrounded him.
Countless possibilities flashed past his mind, only to be broken by a deep voice.
"Young hero, it is your time to shine!"
"Take up your arms and save the world!"
The voice spouted inconceivable things, however to Yamada, it only fueled his chuunibyou tendencies.
"Are you god!?
"Are you gonna send me to another world?!
"Which world is it?!
"What cheats am I gonna get?
"Can I choose?"
He instantly let out a barrage of questions.
"Alright, it looks like I have jumped the gun, let me explain the situation to you,"
Yamada's eyes lit up brightly as he listened intently to every word said,
"It is correct to assume that I am a god, and yes, I will be sending you to another world. The world of False-Apostles and Heretics to be exact. Don't worry, I will be giving you the great Hero System to guide you on your quest to save this world!"
Yamada felt like this was a dream. Everything was just too good to be true!
"Really? Okay, so who do I have to defeat? Is it the Demon Lord? It has to be the Demon Lord, right?!"
"Haha, you will find out your quest when you reach the other side, for now, I can only tell you to be prepared as your adventure will be perilous and fraught with danger. Even if you have the almighty Hero System, of which I bestow upon you, there will be dangers that will force you to your wit's end, so be prepared."
The voice was really over the top with all the way it said each word. It almost sounded fake, not that Yamada in his state of ecstasy was able to see that.
"Alright, alright, Kami-san, can you tell me a bit more about this world?"
"Of course, of course, it is a world of magic, kingdoms and empires! Civility is a rarity and conflict is mounting! You will learn the rest through the System, now off you go!"
Giving a rather perfunctory answer, the 'god' sent away Yamada.