It was morning already, and Ren was walking behind Kumiko and Akira. He recalled that morning when the king summoned them to the throne area to decide their pairs. He seemed troubled to follow the king's thinking of making that decision with his hand under his chin.
'Is it a coincidence that Kumiko matched with Akira, Kenji matched with Sora, and Mai matched with Izumi? Leaving me to do what I want for the time being is equally suspicious due to I am more familiar with all of them instead of only one person...?"
He was lost in thoughts, and the other two realized it.
"What's up with him? He seems like something is off."
"Well, of course, it is. Getting to another world to become a hero isn't something that happens every day."
Akira chuckled, but Kumiko still had her suspicions and approached him without him noticing.
'Maybe it's because I am-.'
Ren felt a sudden flick on his forehead and saw Kumiko staring at him, worried.
"You ok? You seemed lost in thoughts."
He shook his head and seemed a bit nervous.
"Y-Yeah, of course, I am fine. There is nothing wrong, trust me."
"Hmm..."
Kumiko continued staring and flipped around unbothered.
"If you want to say something, go ahead. But try keeping a cool head. We are here to train and have fun."
"I don't get how training will be any sort of fun."
Ren mumbled and looked the other way as they resumed walking.
"As the king said, we are here to learn about our magic. Magic should be fun, correct?"
He looked sad, like something bothering him, and he recalled the time the magic circle started sucking in Mai.
"I guess..."
Kumiko and Akira looked at each other worried about Ren's change of character. From his cheerful and happy reactions, all they get are sad and suspicious ones. After some time, they were standing in the middle of an immense plain, without a trace of trees on it, only grass.
"So, we are supposed to try and use our magic?"
Akira asked Ren and Kumiko curiously, and Kumiko nodded.
"Yeah, he said something about touching the crystals in our hands."
Kumiko rolled up her sleeve, making her white crystal visible to the others. She gently touched it with her other hand, and a blue visual screen appeared with her stats. Ren and Akira gathered around her to read her stats that were listed.
'Name: Nakamura Kumiko
Age: 17
Sex: Female.'
Kumiko embarrassingly rolled down as soon as she saw her measurements were written there, and the others looked at her curiously.
'Magic element: Light Magic
Special element: None
Mana measure: A+'
"Wow, sister! You can use earth magic, and you have an A+ in your mana measurements."
Ren looked at her, amazed, but she gave him a confused look.
"Is that good?"
"You kidding?! Mana is something like your energy. The more mana you have, the more abilities you can use. Usually, when you ran out of mana, you pass out but don't worry. With A+ you will be fine!"
Akira was excited as well as he thumbed up and answered her question. However, he didn't miss to give her an edgy look as he started scratching the back of his head.
"Or at least, that's what happens in most of the games."
She scrolled a bit further and read the next part.
'Abilities: 1/10
1: Light Spark. A spark of light appears before your hand and flies towards your target. Low-level ability.'
The rest of the slots were empty. The guys backed off, leaving Kumiko by herself.
"Come on, sister! Try it out!"
"You can do it!"
They were both cheering for Kumiko from a safe distance. Kumiko desperately looked at them, shouting excitedly from far away.
"You..."
She raised her hand and pointed towards Ren and Akira angrily. A scared look stopped happy cheerings as soon as they noticed the death glare in Kumiko's eyes.
"If you really don't believe I can do it, or I might explode myself like a science problem, then why are you so scared about it?"
Ren and Akira were both nervous, waving their hands negatively.
"Sister, I think you are aiming the wrong people here."
"Yes, how about some trees for your first target in case you blow them to pieces."
The more she was glaring at them, the more they were sweating.
"Light Spark!"
Finally, Kumiko cast the spell, and a magic circle appeared before her palm. It was colored white and started flying upwards, leaving a sphere of light behind. Then, the circle disappeared, and the orb was floating above Kumiko's hand without moving at all. They were all shocked by the magic they just witnessed. Not long after, Kumiko returned to her threatening glance, and Ren, with Akira, got anxious once again. She started chasing them around, trying to get close to get a direct hit, but they were faster and got away easier than they expected.
"Come back here!"
She yelled and threw the rock, even if their distance was more prominent. The stone almost hit Ren's leg, and he turned behind, terrified. He swallowed his fears, opened the visual screen of his crystal, and looked around. Another sphere flew his way and almost hit him, but a convex of dark made contact with the orb, and they both got destroyed.
"Wait. That was..."
Ren looked at Akira, surprised.
"Yup, dark magic. Just found it out."
Akira gave Ren a smile along with a thumbs up.
"What about we bring her down?
"Yes."
Ren nodded with a determined look. He looked back at his screen and saw an ability written. Surprised as he was, he closed the screen and opened his palm. A severe and cold look surrounded his face as a red circle appeared. Tiny sparks were flying around, and finally, a small fireball appeared in his hands.
"Hehe..."
He chuckled and gave a scary look to Kumiko.
"Umm... how about we talk this out, guys? I think everything's gonna-."
They started chasing her, throwing fireballs and dark sparks at her. The same evening, some moments before sundown, they all three fell and lay on the plain.
"I could say that was enough for today."
Akira said with an exhausted tone.
"Yeah, I believe it's best if we go back to the palace and call it a night. Today's objective was to learn more about the way magic works."
"Indeed, sister. They only told us to learn how to use our basic spells. They even forbade us from wandering off too far from the town."
Ren sighed tiredly. After a brief moment of lying on the grass, they stood up, and Akira stretched his arms upwards.
"It was a nice break."
He almost hit Kumiko.
"What's out with your arms, stupid!"
Kumiko seemed pissed off by his carelessness.
"Sorry, sorry."
Akira just ignored her with a bright smile and a fake apology. Ren smiled happily while looking at them fighting. The next day raised and Ren was walking alongside Kenji and Sora.
'Today, it's the preparation time. We are supposed to look around town and equip ourselves with armor, weapons, and use potions.'
"Hey, Ren, what's up? You seem troubled."
Kenji asked Ren, concerned.
"Oh, don't worry about it. I am just fine."
He replied calmly and wore a smile so that he can erase his suspicions. Kenji stared at him for a brief moment.
"You sure, buddy? You were quiet all this time. You were like a zombie, just walking in the street."
Ren turned and looked at Sora, wearing the same smile.
"I'm telling you, everything's alright. Nothing to worry about."
He moved his hands nervously so the others would stop asking.
"Whatever you say."
They continued walking in the streets, and Ren decided to stop getting lost in his thoughts.
"So, where are we going?"
Sora asked and bent over backward to see Kenji due to Ren's interference.
"I dunno, we can always ask someone."
Kenji had not a care in the world and saw a beautiful lady. He approached her with a smile and caught her two hands.
"Hello there, madam. Can I get your-."
A sudden punch in the head from Sora made Kenji back off sadly.
"I'm sorry for that. Do you happen to know any blacksmiths nearby?"
Kenji returned next to Ren, and Ren tried to calm his sadness down by patting his head.
"Come now; everything's gonna be alright."
He looked at Ren's big and warm smile and shook his head, making his tears wash off. The woman was shocked and pointed in a specific direction in the street.
"That's my father's shop. He is a good blacksmith, and you can visit and see his work."
"Of course, I appreciate your time."
Sora replied, and the girl calmed down and left. Those three headed to the blacksmith shop and walked inside. The moment Sora opened the door, a bell reacted and rang.
"Good morning, sir."
They all walked inside and looked at the shop. It was a regular blacksmith shop, with an anvil, a furnace, and weapons all around the walls. The man raised his look from the anvil that he was currently creating a weapon and seemed surprised.
"Oh, if it isn't the heroes. It's nice to have you here."
He recognized them by their school uniforms. They were about to take new clothes today.
"We'd like to order some weapons."
"By all means, come in. Don't just stand there."
They looked at each other and nodded. Then, those three walked near the blacksmith.
"Please, tell me your orders. I'll see whether I own them now or they need to be created."
Sora cleared his throat.
"I'd like to have a staff with a magic crystal at the end of it that will help me control my mana more manageable and light armor. Not too heavy, just enough to keep me safe from some low-level skills or monsters."
"Oh, me next!"
Before the blacksmith replied to Sora, Kenji started shouting with excitement and his hands shaking in the air.
"I want a bow! A strong bow that will help me hit my targets from great distances."
He put his hands near his chest and moved them like he was shooting an arrow, with one eye closed.
"I am an air magic user with the special element "razor" that makes my air skills sharper, so a bow can be pretty helpful if I manage to create air arrows."
He looked upwards curiously with his finger under his chin.
"Hmm... Now about armor. I think a light armor like Sora's will be fine with me as well."
"Good. How about you?"
His glance turned at Ren.
"A katana will be fine, sir. Just be sure it can withstand high temperatures."
The blacksmith went inside his storage room and came out some minutes later.
"A bow for an air magic-user, a staff with a magic crystal, a katana that can withstand high temperatures, and two sets of light armor."
He put all those things on top of a bench.
"It's twenty gold coins. Three for each armor, four for the katana and the staff, and three for the bow."
Sora handed him over a bag of gold coins, equal to twenty exactly. The blacksmith accepted the bag, and Ren left the shop with Kenji on his side. They waited outside as Sora was asking for information about a shop for potions. Not long after, Sora came out of the shop.
"Come on, this way."
Sora started walking in a specific direction, and the other two followed him. Quite sometime later, Sora and Kenji were inside a shop, with Ren waiting outside. Ren didn't want to get any potions and refused to go inside the shop. He waited outside to think about the whole situation once again, without the others getting worried.
'It's just like a game. First the tutorial section, afterward visiting the shops around the city to know where we can supply ourselves with different stuff and then...'
He looked at the sky troubled.
"The first quest to train our skills."
Suddenly, Ren heard a scream from the next alley. He rushed without a second thought and found an old lady lying on the ground, with someone else running away.
"Thief! Thief!"
Ren heard her shouting and started chasing the thief. He was very tricky and tried to get away by switching ways, but Ren caught up to him not long after. With a miraculous jump, he took out his sword and landed on top of the thief. The thief was down on the floor, and Ren put the edge of his sword next to his neck. They were in an alley, so there was no reason to worry about citizens.
"Give me the bag if your head means something to you."
He left the bag, and Ren took out his mask.
"I'll remember your face. If something like this happens again, I'm afraid you won't see the sun rising ever again."
And with those words, he took the bag and fled towards the old lady. Weirdly, the thief smiled once he saw Ren leaving like something was on his mind.
'I guess this world isn't that different from ours.'
Ren thought as he was returning the back to the old lady.
"Here you go."
He handed her her bag, and she gladly took it with a warm smile.
"Thanks, young hero. I will never forget your generosity."
Ren nodded and left the alley, looking for his two friends. He found them after some time of searching.
"Hey, Ren, over here."
He heard Kenji shouting and looked at him, waving his hand. Ren rushed towards the with a smile on his face.
"Finally, we found you. Where did you run off to?"
Kenji was worried.
"Just sightseeing and got a bit late."
He replied with an excited smile.
"Whatever, just tell us when you plan to wander off to somewhere."
Ren turned and looked at Sora. He seemed embarrassed by his own worries.
"Got it."
Ren thumbed up and continued smiling. Time passed by, and the next day came. Ren was walking behind Mai and Izumi that were leading the way.
'Third day came, training for level ups with our new equipment. Let's see what happens today.'
Ren seemed lost in thoughts once again.
'Now that we know our magic element and we have weapons, it's time for us to fight some low-level monsters to get level-ups, just like a game. But, sometimes there's an event coming right after that, and it's based on something that happens in this day.'
Mai gently touched his shoulder. She realized him being spaced out and decided to do something. Ren almost screamed from his shock, and his whole body trembled.
"You ok, Ren?"
He heard Mai's voice and looked at her, relieved. A sigh came out naturally, and he calmed down.
"Oh, yeah. It's fine, Mai."
She bent over slightly and looked at his eyes.
"Are you sure? Your eyes are telling me you are worried about something."
Ren could hardly see her breasts from the curve she did. He blushed and looked the other way anxiously that she might understand.
"What's wrong?"
She tilted her head, from side Ren was looking embarrassingly, with curiosity in her eyes. His embarrassment was drawn away, along with his anxiousness. Ren was amazed once he saw her cute face in front of him. Izumi pushed him sideways harshly as Mai's eyes followed him.
"Wake up, you meathead."
She seemed angry and clenched her fist.
"The others told us you are acting weird, so what's the act about? Is something wrong? We are your friends; we can help you any time you need us to."
A big bright smile was now on Ren's face, hiding his melancholy.
"I am fine, really. Nothing to worry about."
The nervousness in his voice was recognizable even from the walls near them. Izumi pouted with her arms crossed.
"Whatever, but just so you know..."
She opened one of her eyes and glared at him.
"If you want any help, talk whenever you are ready."
'Did she just...'
Comfort appeared on his face, and he shook his head lightly.
'No way.'
They made it to the plain that Ren, Kumiko, and Akira were the first day. Standing in a circle, Izumi stretched her hand forward.
"Here, take those."
A magic circle appeared, and it made three transmitters. Ren and Mai bent towards her hand and looked at it astounded by her magic ability. Then, with pride in her cute face, she started monologuing.
"Yesterday, since my magic can generate pretty much every weapon, I spent the whole day in the library for research and learned more about the rank system they use."
She raised her hand with her index point at the sky.
"For example, the abilities we use are divided into three sections, low-level, mid-level, and high-level spells. Also, you can upgrade an ability from time to time if you train. Ranking it up might result in unlocking unique changes, as well."
Ren and Mai were still looking amazed at the transmitters. Izumi shrugged without noticing them, paying no attention.
"Also, I found my magic, creation magic, is something unique itself. I am only granted two spells, one to create something and another to disintegrate something. Unfortunately, I can only use them with non-living things, such as a sword. Lastly-."
She realized Ren and Mai didn't listen to her, and she took her hand back angrily.
"Don't tell me..."
They looked at her, scared by her furiousness.
"You didn't hear a word I said, did you?"
"N-No, I swear we were listening to you all that time."
Ren sounded nervous as he was strolling behind slowly. She closed her eyes and clenched her fist.
"Then recall what my last sentence was."
Ren calmed down when he heard her request, and he let out a relieved sigh.
"You didn't manage to finish your sentence. Instead, your anger took over and stopped at 'Lastly.'"
"Tsk."
Her anger left her face, and regret took its place.
"You are right sorry..."
She looked down sadly and rubbed her palms together.
"I overreacted; I should have been more thoughtful."
Ren approached her and kindly patted her head, giving her a warm smile.
"Don't worry. It's ok."
She seemed enchanted by his words and smile. Before she had time to react, Mai hit her in her back with excitement in her voice.
"Come on, don't look so down. We should get going!"
Ren was running along in the forest, fearlessly. Those three split up to find more targets and gain more level experience. It was Ren's idea since the more killers a monster has, the more it divides its experience points.
'Now, I have to look for a monster to gain exp... but where?'
He was curious since it was his first hunting moment in the forest, and he was looking around, trying to spot monsters. His sight stopped at a wolf that was nearby, searching and smelling the surroundings. Ren hid behind a bush just so the wolf wouldn't spot him and peeked on it. He recalled the day before yesterday that he was throwing fireballs without anything getting burnt around.
'Hmm, fireballs should be safer than the sword. However, I can't be sure what abilities this wolf has. At the very least, I can lower its health with my spell and finish it with a sword attack.'
He stood, looked at his hand, and opened the visual screen somewhere that the monster couldn't notice it. He read the first ability carefully.
'Abilities: 1/10
1: Fireball. A sphere made from pure fire appears on your hand at will, and you can throw it. Low-level ability.'
He closed the screen.
"Fireball."
A magic circle summoned a fireball in his hand. Ren looked at it and slowly touched it. His passive ability, fire nullification, doesn't allow him to get inflicted by fire. Physical contact with a flame is the only way his skin can get burned; exceptions are low-level skills. He grabbed the fireball, rolled to the side, and threw it to the wolf, like he was playing dodgeball.
'Damn, this brings back memories.'
The wolf started shouting and running around from the pain and fell to the ground slowly. Then, he slowly approached it while being careful and all to make sure its core was destroyed.
'That was surprisingly easy for a first encounter.'
Before managing to touch it, it disappeared, and a message started ringing into Ren's head.
'Level up, level up. Claim your rewards.'
He seemed in pain since the voice he heard felt like shouting. He quickly opened the visual screen again, and the voice stopped. Ren sighed, relieved. He looked at the screen and noticed a plus sign next to the 'Abilities' part. He clicked it with no hesitation but curiosity on his face and witnessed various abilities lined up.
'Hm? All of those are abilities I can upgrade from time to time?'
He looked at it and spotted that he could only get the first ability, 'True Sight'. So he clicked on it without reading the information of the spell, and his screen went back to normal. As he was going to read its data, he saw his level count being on 4th only by winning one wolf.
'Wait, I am level 4 only by striking a wolf down? But he was supposed to be a low-level monster; what's going on...?'
He shook his head, living the surprisingness behind, and looked in the ability.
'2: True Sight. This ability allows its user to see things that the normal eye can't hope to see by itself. Supreme-level.'
But a shock didn't slip his mind.
'Wait! Supreme-level? It sounds higher than the high-level Izumi talked about. Is it some sort of secret techniques?'
Without a second thought, he turned and looked around the place. Wasting time on wondering for the abilities isn't an option. He decided to search for it more when he got back to the palace in the library.
"True Sight."
He looked around once again and spotted no monster around him, but a purple barrier caught his eye.
'What's that?'
Ren approached the barrier slowly curiously and noticed it was surrounding.
'From the angle that thing has, it's that it is surrounding the whole empire as a giant invisible sphere.'
Ren's eyes opened wider than ever from his astonishment when further information popped next to the barrier. Suddenly, the bush next to him started making noises. Ren immediately looked its way, setting his hand ready to summon a fireball. However, the bush continued making some noise, and to his curiosity, he yelled.
"Who's there?!"
The bush stopped, and Mai's head popped out with a nervous smile.
"Hey, Ren."
He let out a sigh of relief as he saw her coming out of there.
"Why did you have to make the sudden noise?"
"Heh heh, no reason. Just bored on my side, so I came here looking for other monsters and saw you staring at the air."
"Oh, I see. Well-."
He got interrupted by Mai's curiosity.
"What were you doing here? I mean, you were looking this way."
She stretched her hand and tried to touch the air in front of her, but she missed the barrier.
"N-Nothing at all."
She looked at him confusingly, but she didn't have any room to argue.
"Should we head back? You staring into thin air means you are done with your side too, correct?"
"Y-Yeah."
His anxiousness was drawn all over his face, but he continued playing along with Mai. Finally, he grabbed her hand and started running backward.
"W-Wait Ren-!"
She couldn't finish her sentence due to her embarrassment when Ren grabbed her hand; she just ran behind him silently.
'There's no way I can tell her about what I found; this might put her in danger. It's yet too early to make decisions.'
Meanwhile, in the kingdom, the king was sitting on his throne, looking relatively calm.
"It's time. The arena shall take place tomorrow."
An evil smile popped on his face.