" "—Conversation

( )—Thought

"Welcome to the land of chaos, our deemed heroes!" sarcastic, loud, yet full of energy; those are the first impressions I got from a man looking down straight at us.

***

"Now this is bullshit," I grumbled.

Faceflat on the ground in front of me, Benedict struggled to get up as I just delivered a roundhouse kick to his face.

No, I'm not being a jerk and violent, well, I am violent but this is natural. For him and me anyway.

"I just saw you, clear as day, get out of the tent and you're telling me you didn't know who drank them?" I was sitting on my knees yelling because, for some reason, he took a sip from my bottle without my permission.

For the record, we aren't friends, far from it. We're more than nemesis of each other and yet, this fucking bastard did the impossible. The audacity of this guy is immeasurable.

"...I... I r-really... don..."

"Oh no you did. I know you're gonna do something like this so I set up a camera in my bag. Look here," I turn my phone in front of his struggling face. "Look at that, look at you meekly looking around. Look at you!"

Yes, I recorded him. Albeit at the very edge of the screen, he was shown taking my bottle and having a sip from it. Not a small sip, a fucking chug.

He and I go way back so I knew he would definitely go as far as this.

Benedict was, and still is, a school prankster. He doesn't go very far though, just doing a little tease for the laugh of it.

But that just happened to be what I hated the most. I like being left alone and unbothered.

It all started at the beginning of the middle school. and yes, we're almost in college.

I don't know why, our relationship is known to the whole school yet our teacher decided that it's a good idea to put us both in the same tent. They must've thought we'd get along somehow, but jokes on them, we might just kill each other.

So, now that he's on the ground, I think it's about time for the next scene—

"Benedict! What do you think you're doing, Ell?!"

—Right on queue.

She's Miria Will. Benedict's "lovely" childhood friend.

The cliched short brown haired girl whose always on the rescue for his dusty little prince.

"Are you okay Benny? What did he do to you again this time?"

An angelic voice of a rattled girl, seemingly so. No, she's anything but angelic.

Benedict's knight in shining armor, the school's most well-known girl.

"I'm o... okay..."

"Ngh! I'm done with this, I'm gonna go tell the teachers!" (So am I, duh. Honestly, what were they thinking?)

"Don't bother..." he smiled uncannily despite his wounds. (Seriously bro, let her.)

I don't want to be in the same tent with him, I don't know what's he gonna do so I'd rather get scolded.

Since they're responsible for lumping us together, I think I'll only receive a warning if I plead my case... I think.

I turn back and walk away knowing we're not getting anywhere. I'll try to ask them for our separate tent tomorrow.

"Where do you think you're going?!" she yelled.

"Back to the tent. You can tattle to the teachers if you want, I'll even come and join you, just ask." I wave my hand walking away without turning.

"Let's tell them..."

"Let's leave this as it is. It's my fault, I drank from his canteen... I gotta apologize..."

"Idiot! Why would you do that..."

"Sorry..."

"Not to me!"

"Yes..."

●●●

"Got spare water?"

"Hmm?"

"I asked if you got any spare water?"

"Yeah? Why?" she looked at me with a "duh" expression on her face.

(She's Raien Sy, my uhh... girlfriend? Friend? Along the lines of lovers but not yet couple. We're still minors after all.) Just kidding, we're nothing like that, I just want to say that, it sounded cool but cringe when you actually say so.

Though I am a teeny-tiny bit attracted to her, no one knows that, however. Don't tell them.

"I'm thirsty, why else?"

"Well, well, mister boy scout, weren't you the one who called me last night just to make sure I don't forget anything? Hmm?"

I called her last night to prepare everything she will need. Yup, a harmless reminder for a forgetful friend, but she just had to use it against me.

"Haa..." I explain to her what happened...

Bwahahaha! W-what the heck?! He did?!" ...and she started cackling as she took a bottle out from inside her tent.

"I'm just as shocked as you are you know? I don't know what kind of cursed wind blew to him that he thought it was a good idea." I can only sigh.

"...ha... That's so funny... Anyways, you sure you ain't getting into trouble again?"

"I don't know..." Benedict and I got in a fight one too many times. Even still, we always "resolved" it somehow without expulsion involved.

It all started when he pulled some kind of prank and I got involved somehow. At first, I would confront him and we'll reconcile but now, I smack him right in the face before talking, which, he would fight back and it'll become a huge mess.

Occasionally, we'd keep it a secret and if there's a witness, we'll try talking with them.

That's how we work together and I can't imagine a universe where we'd be friends.

"You best friends sure are close, how envious."

"Shut up,"

"Hehe..."

"I have to go back now. Thanks for the water. See ya later,"

"Mm. Send me regards to your 'best' friend!" with a laughing face, she wave at me as I head back.

Looking at her, she seems just a normal girl, but under those smiles is a forged persona.

●●●

I entered my tent and was greeted by Miria standing inside, her arms folded like a boss.

Behind him sitting on the bed is Benedict who is now all clean but his bruises are still slightly visible.

What surprised me is that there was another person here standing near Benedict.

A tall figure, a large physique, and a striking sharp look that seems as though he's piercing me with his glare.

Gil Ballande, a gorilla from my school.

Despite his intimidating presence, he's always relied upon those who needed menial labor.

From what I heard, he's somehow, with that build, gentle and kind. Although to me, he's just a nuisance that Miria brought in tow whenever she wants to confront me. Like, girl, I ain't punching you or anything.

"What do the three musketeers want from me this time?" I said, walking past Miria and putting my new bottled water inside my bag while mumbling, "Better safe than sorry..." under my breath.

"Your rudeness still is immeasurable, isn't it? I knew you were a bad influence on Raien,"

"Rich coming from you who's suddenly in our tent without my permission."

"Well, well, what do you know, this is also Benedict's tent. I don't see the need of getting your permission."

"Oh, so he invited you, how hospitable of him. Oh, who's this other guy here who doesn't have my permission? You also got invited by him? What, you're having an orgy or something—"

"Watch your mouth or you'll get it."

"Oh, I'm sorry, I better head out then before I get invited, too..."

I turned back and head to the entrance when suddenly I saw a raging fist in the corner of my eye. Before I could even realize what was it, it hit me right on my cheeks.

I was sent flying, breaking the tent in the process.

I was trying to get off the tent that was wrapped on me when I was pulled up with one hand and received a straight right jab flat into my face.

I fell onto the ground and then I heard a commotion going on, probably trying to stop Gil... I hope that was it.

Not too long until somebody I recognize came up to me and helped me back up.

"What happened?! What did you do?!" When I regained my senses back, I saw my long friend Allen. And around us gathered some of my classmates, gossiping no other else obviously.

With my swollen cheek, I tried to speak. "I... I m-must've... Cough* interrupted a threesome in my tent..."

"Fuck you, Ell! I'll kill you! I'll fucking kill you! Let go of me!"

Confusion arose from my classmates' expressions and I can hear Gil cursing me from somewhere.

After a while, a teacher came running and we were called in.

"You again Ell..? And now with Gil? How many more should you antagonize before you stop...?" our adviser said with an exasperated look.

"It's not my fault! I went to my tent and the three of them were there! I thought I was interrupting them so I went to leave and—"

"Stop lying you bastard!" Gil yelled in rage.

I'm not lying, how would I know that you're all there because of the previous incident?

Miria and Benedict tried to calm him down. The three of them are sitting a few steps away from me.

Allen is here with me since he's the president of the class. It's us five that are here plus the teacher.

"Stop that, Ell!" Allen whispered with a hint of anger.

"Am I wrong? Tell me why then,"

"It's because of the prior incident you delinquent!" Miria madly said.

"Prior incident? Please elaborate,"

Miria then started explaining what happened in her own words.

She began saying that she saw me beating the crap out of Benedict when I actually punched him once. Then, she asked him why did I do that, and still in her own words, he apparently told her that he was so thirsty and saw my water, then he drank a little intending to ask me later since he was so thirsty. That's when I entered the tent and beat him like crazy.

Even Benedict was appalled by her statement. He was sweating bullets and agitated but when he tried to say something, Gil stopped him.

I was on the edge of my seat hearing this but I tried to stay calm like I always am.

Since it was still all Benedict's fault in the first place, they apparently wanted to apologize but since they're afraid of me, they asked Gil to come and join.

They apologized to me, apparently, when I came back but I just barrage them with rude and crude words and the following incident is the result. Or so they say.

"Is that right, Mr. Nagal?" the teacher asked Benedict. he nodded slowly and that's when I need to butt in.

"Bullshit! I say bullshit!"

"Watch your mouth Mr. Lydds!"

"But they're blatantly lying!"

"Pipe down Ell, let our teacher finish!" Allen, again, whispered to me.

I listened and sat back down. This is no time to be like this. I must stay calm like I always am.

"Ahem..! Is what they said true, Mr. Lydds?"

"They are not, your honor,"

"We're not playing judge!" I heard Allen whisper but I ignore him.

"What happened your honor is..." I said what actually transpired in this situation.

I started with the fact that I left my bottle on the table full, unopened. When I came back, Benedict got out of the tent and I found my water less than half remaining. I then followed up with the peaceful method of asking Benedict who drank my water. When he played ignorance, I pull up my phone and saw him drinking, he said it was only a little so I punch him. I even showed the footage to the judge—err, teacher.

Then, Miria came and this and that happened.

After coming back from getting water, I saw the three of them in the tent, looking scary and provocative so I tried to get out but Gil punched me and here we are.

(It's just fair to add in a pinch of lie since you bastards basically lied about the whole thing. If you think you can beat me to it, think again you fools.)

"ahem! This is quite the incident. How should I approach this..." our teacher brushed his mustache as he showed a troubled expression.

"Since it's all Benedict's fault for not asking me before rudely drinking my one and only water, I guess he should just apologize and pay me back, at least twice the price, and we all can forget this incident as a little quarrel," I said pointing down to the floor.

"Huh?! What are you talking about?! You hurt him, how can we just brush this like nothing?!"

(Hey, hey, little girl, I have the upper hand here, y'know?)

"I also got hurt, 'twice'. I even deserve compensation yet here I am, humbling down so we can resolve this peacefully." Perfect.

"I can't accept that! I don't accept that!" (How stubborn you are, little lady. Benedict there is sweating so much, y'know?)

"Let's not forget, all of this wouldn't have happened if he had just asked me. My benevolence would surely give him a drop, no?"

"Aren't you too rude, huh? How about a little respect? Hmm? You don't sound like you're taking this seriously. Aren't you too used to this?" Gil was glaring at me dangerously but now I know he doesn't punch very strong. I took a couple of hits from him and I'm still able to talk so, meh. I've known worse so I wasn't a tad bit scared.

"For someone who was tasked to do bodyguard duty, why are you even here? You're not even involved in our business. Oh, wait, you beat me in my tent, sorry, it doesn't pack a punch that I already forgot. Why were you there anyway? Shouldn't you have stayed outside like what a bodyguard is supposed to do? Hmm?"

His veins bulges as I made my comment. I know this guy's easy. If he rampages in this place, the teacher will know how short his fuse was so I won't concern myself getting lectured for hours if we get in a fight.

"Settle down you two! We're in front of the teacher!" Allen said while looking at me specifically.

(I always get too worked up when dealing with these guys.)

"Hmm... This is quite something. We'll leave this matter for now until after the camp. Allen, I want you to keep a close watch on these four, especially Ell."

"Yes sir,"

"And you Ell... Ha... How much would it cost to put you on a leash? Please refrain from doing something stupid again... I'm tired of dealing with you,"

"Why are you treating me like a problem child? I'm on my best behavior when left alone."

"I'm gonna have to talk with your father again... And you three, please stay away from him."

"""Yes sir,""" the three answered. (What a good student you are...)

After that, the teacher let me and Allen out first.

Outside, I saw all of my classmates obstructing the door, gazing at us as we walk out of the tent like we were some kind of superstar.

"Tch! Here he is again feeling so high and mighty,"

"What does Raien see about him anyway?"

"Right? Maybe he used some sort of dark magic,"

"Ooh... What a creep..."

(As far as whispering goes, you're awfully loud. I can hear you, y'know?)

"You're not a superstar, you're a criminal,"

"Shut up!" Allen found a way to say that.

Back in my tent, I found Raien waiting inside sprawled on my bed.

"Hello~ mister cri-mi-nal," she smiled at me innocently.

Allen was back to his tent saying I should stay inside my tent since he was sure the teacher would separate me and Benedict.

"Not you, too,"

"Hehe~"

"Why are you here anyway?" I asked, grabbing a bottle out of my bag.

"Well, there's a lot of people outside so I thought I'll just wait for you. You cause a huge commotion, y'know?" she said while folding her legs still laying down.

"For sure. I don't know what they don't understand about Benedict being a total prankster. Am I the only one who wasn't happy being played with? Is it actually a trend now?" honestly, I can't believe them.

"You antagonize them so much. Miria's quite nice and Benedict knows how to brighten the mood. You just don't understand it," she grimaced.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm an oddball, alright?"

Suddenly, the door went wide open then Miria and Ell came marching.

"Hm! Delinquents should just sleep outside,"

Frankly, I'm tired of dealing with these people so I didn't open my mouth. I'm just waiting for them to leave so I can take my rest... Or not.

"Why aren't you packing..?" I asked calmly.

Miria looked at me with a "duh" expression and said, "Why?"

I just sighed and sat scooch Raien so I can sit down.

"Oh, did you really think he's leaving just because you're here?" (uh, yeah? I do think that's the rational approach, is it not? Somebody, please tell me what are the teachers thinking right now?)

"Just don't make too much noise," I said and followed up with an "I'm still a minor, after all..." under my breath.

"Tell me honestly Raien, what do you see from this guy? You weren't forced to marry him, are you?"

(Oh, I'm curious as well...) I honestly don't know why she's head over heels for me, not that I'm bragging but that's just how she is.

It might even be one of the seven mysteries in school for all I know.

Maybe it's because of some cliche stuff such as that I saved her in the past and she devoted all of herself to me. Not that I remember anything remotely similar but I can't just brush the thought.

"And why should I tell you?" Raien replied, getting up from my bed.

"But you weren't like that before..."

"It's none of your business..." she said and left without a delay.

That surprised me.

What Miria said is true, she wasn't like this before. In fact, she's the opposite.

I have a few ideas on why the drastic change, although it would be bad of me to presume so I didn't ask nor confirm them.

"There are better people out there, yet she's fallen for a bad influence like you."

(This girl... Just because I wasn't speaking doesn't mean I concede, you understand?)

I ignore her and replace Raien on my bed. The floor was uneven so my bed was a teeny bit uncomfortable.

"For your information, I'm gonna stay here for tonight. So you better put yourself on a leash because I wouldn't think twice about shouting if you act suspiciously."

(Now you're sleeping here?) There must've been no extra tents so it went like this.

Once again, I ignored her and close my eyes to sleep. Although the night is still young, around 7 pm, I surely didn't have the energy to stay up.

Today's pretty rough, that's what happens when Benedict and I share the same damn room. I wish this teaches our adviser the lesson not to hope Benedict and I become friends. Because that surely wouldn't happen in a million years.

"Oh, Ell, I forgot something..." I heard Raien's voice suddenly meaning she came back.

I opened my eyes and saw her digging into my bag of clothes.

"What are you doing?!" my clothes became a mess on the floor as the thoroughly search from top to bottom. What could she be searching for to empty my bag like this?

I hastily picked up my things and forcefully put them back in.

"Where is it?"

"What?" (Don't tell me... You think I'd bring a **** mag?!)

"My clothes, what else? I called you last night to bring it here today, washed, didn't I?"

"Oh, right... You scared me for a second there..." I heave a huge sigh of relief. It was about the clothes. I remembered it, of course.

"It's in my other bag." I pulled another bag hidden under my sheets, which I use as a pillow because I figured a pillow would be a huge piece of luggage. We're camping here for three days so I needed all the space I have.

"I-I-In-In... Indecent..!" Miria suddenly yelled and when I turned back, I saw her face flushed all red.

"Y-You've got it wrong! It's not what you think! Let me explain!" I hurriedly try to explain to her that she slept in our house because she was soaking wet from the rain. Then, her mother came in the middle of the night to take her and forgot to bring her wet clothes back.

(Wait, who am I, you're cheating boyfriend?!)

Suddenly, a bright light engulfed the whole tent in an instant.

I instinctively grabbed Raien's hand and prepare for what was coming. My forefront thought was if was the teacher coming to check on us because of Miria's sudden cry.

But the immediate voice after the blinding light killed the thought and a shiver ran down my spine.

"Welcome to the land of chaos, deemed heroes!" the strong voice of a man reverberated through my ears. I still cannot see, however, I know this voice doesn't belong to any of the teachers accompanying us or from my classmates.

Soon, the blindness slowly faded and I found myself surprisingly still inside the tent. With me, holding my hands was Raien who is visibly shaken and nervous. Just then I noticed that I'm sweating profusely myself, and my hands are quaking uncontrollably.

I looked around and saw Benedict and Miria on the other side of the tent. They are clearly afraid too and I don't need to guess why.

"T-that ain't one of the teachers, is it?" Benedict muttered. Before this, he's awfully silent. I wonder why.

"W-What happened..?" Miria said. Obviously, I don't know.

Still gripping Raien's sweaty hands, or is it mine that's sweaty, anyways, I crept closer to the open tent entrance. I poke outside and found out that we were not outdoors anymore. We're in some kind of colosseum of some kind. There are lights pointed in our direction, and behind the lights is pure darkness.

I signaled Raien that I'm going out. She nodded but didn't let go of my hands. Since she was coming out with me, I glanced at the other two and proceed to crawl out.

Once outside, I looked around and found that all of the tents in the campsite are there, the campfire, the portable toilet, still with us. In other words, things that we brought here are here.

One by one, my classmates came out of their tent with wariness in their eyes. Miria also came out with Benedict in tow.

Bright light, low elevation, cold temperature: these settings made every single cell in my body scream "danger".

I look around and found Allen looking at me intently. With him were the rest of my class so I assumed he wants us to group together in one place.

"Benedict, Miria, let's go to the others," I said to the other two behind me.

"Mm!"

"Let us," they both agreed and we hurried towards the others.

I have a conflicted feeling about how the three of us are agreeing on the same thing. But that just goes to show how important the situation was.

It was as if we were teleported here out of nowhere and are being watched. My sixth sense is telling me that we're being watched by others.

We arrived at them and we formed a circle looking around from the blinding spotlight directed at us.

"W-who are you people?! What do you want from us?!" growled Allen glaring in every direction he can point his eyes on.

I, amongst everyone else, am also glaring at the blinding light surrounding us.

"W-what's happening..?"

"Where are we..?"

Worry and questions have shrouded our minds. All of us had the same question but that's about all that we can do.

"Worry not, people from another world. We are not here to hurt you. We must apologize for the current treatment, but this is to ensure not only ours but all of your safety as well." the same man yelled from behind the light, which I cannot exactly pinpoint where the voice was coming from for some reason.

(Safety? What safety? We are being harassed, aren't we?) I'm skeptical of this man's words but for some reason, I seemed to believe him a little bit.

Another thing, I'm surprised none of my classmates were scared. I always saw them—myself included—as rich kids who never experienced this kind of thing. I was sure they'd panicked by now. Or maybe that was the reason why they were very calm.

"We believe you! But please, tell us what is going on!" Allen asked.

"Yes, I will,"

After a long pause, the voice explained to us what happened.

In this age, there is a racial war between different races that started thousands of years ago. Because of the human's pathetic short lifespan, they are pushed back and struggle to defend the land for ages despite the great talents that are born in their race.

As a way to defend the land, the Westelia International Committee—a union of all the countries in this continent—pressured the church to do the summoning ritual and ask for help from other worlds.

After a long back and forth, they decided to do the summoning, and a hero, not us, appeared to help. He boast an overwhelming strength and managed to stave off attackers from the demon continent for years until he had unfortunately perished.

The demon and dwarven kingdom joined hand-in-hand and defeated the strong hero and due to their alliance and the death of their first summon, the human race is now in peril.

The church decided to use the summoning ritual once and again and the result is us.

It's one of those classic fantasy tropes where the whole class is summoned.

"...our race is now in great danger so we beg of you, people from another world, to assist us to defend the land,"

To be completely honest, he's asking too much. But at the same time, what he said doesn't seem so bad.

Y'know, we are now free from the pressure of society if were really in another world. I don't need to go to school, no suffering, and no one will expect great and inconceivable things from me. How dreamy.

Wait, who expects from me anyways?

Whispers arose from the crowd around me saying, "Is this real?" and "Are we really in a fantasy world?"

"We cannot accept this! I demand you send us back to our home!" Allen, like the leader that he is, yelled an argument.

(Yes, tell them!)

"I apologize but we cannot. The summoning is a one-way portal for otherworlder to come here in our world.

(How surprising...)

Allen's face indicate that he knew this would be the case. After all, even if they can send us back, they'd just say they can't and we have nothing to do about it.

"At least reveal yourselves! Why would we protect this land when you don't at least show yourselves?" (they're pretty rude, not gonna lie.)

After a long silence, the lights turned off and I was attacked by a sudden blindness. (I shouldn't have stared a the light, dammit!)

Then, the whole place lit up and, while I wait for the blindness to settle down, I saw from the corner of my eyes that we are in some kind of stage. On my left and right are bleacher seats, the ones you would see in a football stadium, or the cinema where the audience would sit in stair-like seats going up while the players are at the bottom.

After a while, I can finally see and... (What is the fucking point?!)

Yes, now they have finally shown themselves... In fricking robes! (Fuck this!)

What's the point of that?!

Clearly, Allen and the others weren't so pleased by this either.

Whilst we grumble about it, I heard a "click" and the whole place turned black.

It is as though I am standing in a void with nothing but darkness in sight.

The blaring sound in my head slowly dissipates until I can't hear it again. (Seriously, what was that?)

I looked around, but no one I see.

The feeling of a hand gripping me tighter than before snapped me from the confusion.

It must be Raien's hands for sure. Her sweaty and trembling hands tells me that she was nervous so I held them stronger.

"Are you alright, Raien?" I asked.

...

No reply.

"Ra—" I thought she just didn't hear me so I was about to call again when an ear-shattering noise broke the silence.

It sounded a lot like a stereotypical sound of a flashbang in games and films.

And soon after that, my vision came back, and heard everyone screaming.

"Allen!"

"Han—!"

They were calling each other.

"Oh! Everyone is exceptional! This is great, more than we expect!"

"Is the other world powerful? Is everyone living there like this?!"

"I cannot believe this! You can't make this up!"

Cheers arose from the crowd above as if we'd done something unbelievable. I can't say for the others but I surely didn't move an inch. All I did was go blind and call Raien.

I looked around and everyone seemed confused as well. The people in question, however, are overcome with joy that most of them were jumping like they won the lotto.

"Otherworlders are indeed very powerful," the priest said. (I mean, how could you say that?) "pardon our sudden delight, we were merely in glee as we saw every one of you are very exceptional in magic and skill prowess just like the first hero we've summoned." (How did they think of that?)

I don't know how or when did they checked us, I assume when I suddenly go blind, but it could be well before that.

And magic? Really? That is what caught my attention. I couldn't care less about our skills, were normal students with no experience in life so we couldn't have any of those. At least for me. Well, I know how to cook, if that counts.

But magic? Seriously? Is this going to be more and more of a fantasy? And about their racial war, it couldn't be the demon king, right? Right?!

I cracked a smile that triggered Raien to stare at me with skeptical eyes.

(Don't look at me like that! Were in another world with monsters and magic! Demons and Elves! Dwarves and Dragons, How can I not smile?)

Whispers began to form again from our side, as well as theirs. Some of us are a little bit of delight after hearing that magic and they began to talk about it.

Raien as well is murmuring about using magic and I can totally understand her and my classmates.

Our class mostly has friends within our school if not only in it. Because of that, hobbies had been shared and talked around allowing basically everyone to know a thing or two about certain subjects.

That goes for fantasy books, too. Fascination around reincarnation is especially popular.

One could say everyone was happy about magic existing in this world. Hey, even if I am unable to use magic, seeing somebody shoot out flames from their hands would still be spectacular.

Raien's hands weren't trembling anymore. In fact, she seemed happy despite her expressionless face. How do I know? Well, we aren't together for 10 years for nothing. She tends to be pretty expressive when she's excited. Whether hugging someone close to her or pinching them. Right now, her grip was even tighter than before and her hand move a lot.

(Hm? Wait...)

I just noticed something. Everyone was so happy. In fact, they seemed too happy.

Normally, in a situation like this, we should be panicking. Yes, hearing about magic may have lifted the mood but I don't think everyone should be smiling right now. (Are they looking forward to this? I can't believe you all...) with an exasperated sigh, I just shook my head and ignore them.

The priest in front took off his robe and saw his elderly face wit lots of wrinkles. He also had a white beard and bald hair. He's also short compared to the others THAT DIDN'T SHOW THEIR FACES.

"Ahem!" the priest, which we all have been ignoring for now, coughs to get our attention. "Now brave people of another world, as you all might not know, every person in this world, regardless of race, is born with skills in them. These skills allow everyone to excel in certain fields more than others and help them get jobs. These skills also help us fight against monsters that roam outside the walls and expand territories..."

He was talking about skills, which at first I thought were just regular skills learned such as carpeting, painting, and such. It turns out that these skills weren't as close to what I imagined as I initially thought.

Apparently, these skills are some kind of superhuman abilities—by my standards—that are born within a person as soon as they are born. Everyone possesses these skills, and although some are better than others, nobody is left without one.

For some reason, just like the first person they've summoned, we, too possess these skills. I don't know why—how is that possible when there were no such concepts in our world?

Naturally, they would've appraised our skills by now. But, that blindness we experienced earlier is a way to know what category of skill we possess. We, coincidentally, all possess different kinds of skills. Just like their first hero have. They call it 'Special Skills'.

These special skills possess incredible strength far more than the regular ones. Although there are a sizable amount of people who hold these skills, they are yet to find a way how to identify them.

But, it turns out, yeah, again, all 'Special Skill' holders have a universal additional skill known as 'Soul Book'. Only 'Special Skill' holders have them and it allows the holder to find out what their skills were, as well as a description of what they could do.

Honestly, I was baffled by it I just listened half-heartedly. Despite that, I'm still able to remember everything he'd said. (Could it be...? The work of a skill, perhaps? What could it be? Information storing skill? Is it strong? Am I the main character? No, they usually have weak-looking skills and are revealed to be powerful later. I mean, it was probably an information/evidence-gathering skill, it couldn't have been weak... Mm...)

While I was off in my thought, the priest ended his speech and asked us to tell them our skills.

Ooh... My sketchy-alarm bells are ringing. What do you mean tell you, duh?

With my skepticism gone high, I decided to carefully assess their words from now on. They just casually asked us to do the unspeakable like it's no big deal.

"Please fall in line so you could tell us your skills..." (See? They just asked us to fall in line. There's no way my classmates would fall for tha—Raien...?) As I was thinking no one would agree on that, Raien suddenly pull my hands and went to the long line that had been formed.

(Idiots! Don't they know this is another world, who knows what would happen if anybody knew our skills? It might well be exploited and used against us. Don't your parent tell you not to give personal information to strangers?! Am I the one being weird? Argh!)

(With a straight face, I silently followed the line. Maybe they were just following them so that they wouldn't do anything against us. They wouldn't, right? I mean, were basically their 'new' heroes. I see you right there. I knew you were smarter than that. Phew!)

Despite the distance, I can hear the loud voices of my classmates excitedly talking about what their skills could be. (N-no way...)

On that note, how would we know?

Allen must've heard it and asked the priest.

"Oh, I almost forgot, in order to see your spellbook, you must pull all of your emotions and shout Spell Book: and then follow it up with your name." the priest smiles as if saying, "Simple, right?"

(N-no! I-I can't do that!) Imagining myself shouting [Spell Book:Ell!] in front of my classmates doesn't sit well with me. It's too embarrassing.

But what he said shines a lightbulb in my head. He said that we should "draw our emotions" so that must be the key to it. There's no way I would yell that embarrassing thing.

(Calm down... Think of everything dear to you... Everything that has happened... Take a deep breath and... Ngghh!) suddenly, a book appeared from thin air from bottom to top.

It has a brown cover and is about the size of a regular notebook. In the middle written was my name, Ell Lydds. The name was the only thing written on it though.

I leaned on Raien who was in front of me and whispered, "I did it, Raien," I pointed at the book to show it to her.

She, meanwhile, gave me a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

"I pulled the spell book! It's really easy," I, once again, showed it to her.

"Where? I don't see it,"

"Huh? Oh... So you can't see mine. Huh." That makes sense considering that they deliberately told us to 'tell' them our skills. Honestly, that's a good mechanic. I don't want anyone peeking at me from behind and revealing my skills to anybody.

"You really did? How'd you do that?" (Were you even listening?)

I sighed and told her what I did. In a second, she immediately closed her eyes as if she was thinking hard and opened it again.

"I did it!" she beamed at me.

I gave her a puzzled look instead.

"W-why are you looking at me like that..?" No, it's not because I couldn't see her spell book.

"Y-you were smiling..." She doesn't normally smile in any circumstances. Maybe this world just draws out our inner selves. At least that's what I'd like to think. I don't wanna imagine this world unleashing our inner demons or something.

Since I couldn't see her skills anyways, I decided to look at mine like a normal person.

But before I could do so, I saw everyone posing and yelling what the priest have told us to do. (Ha! Idiots! Those shouts were unnecessary....) I suddenly slapped myself after realizing what have I just said in my mind.

Raien looked at me quizzically and I just shook my head to assure her everything was fine. (What am I, an idiot?! What the heck?!) I was confused about why I, out of nowhere, thought of that. I didn't care about what was happening to them much less pay attention. (Things are... weird to say the least...)

I took note of that and decided to see what my skills are.

I tried to grab the book but my hands just passes through it. I tried various ways of grabbing it such us going for the back, or slowly but to no avail.

I was just sitting leveling my face. How can I not get it? Is there some kind of cue or something?

I looked around and see my classmates struggling as well. I assumed that they all got their own books but they seem trying to figure out how to get it.

(Arghh! I just need to grab it and flip it open!) I imagined in my head grabbing the book and flipping it open as I think.

Immediately after that, the book flipped open and I was shocked.

I grabbed the book now but it's still untouchable.

After that failed attempt, I think of the book flipping and the pages flipped. Think one, twice, it did so.

(So that's how it is... Well, that's easy... But we would have no way of knowing how!) as I screamed inwardly, the priest must've caught our struggling attempt on grabbing the book because he told us what we needed to do about it.

"Ahem! It seemed that you all cannot grab the book, just like from the information we've received, the book is intangible. However, to open it, one must think of flipping its pages in order for it to open." he smiled again at us after giving that instruction.

"Oh! He's right, it's flipping!"

"Wow! It's so magical! How could it be?" everyone was brimming with joy and delight as they look at their flipping pages, though I don't know if it was really flipping since I don't have no way of knowing, but I assumed.

They are all, indeed, happy to know how, but I wasn't. Why? Because instructions are supposed to be told after telling us about the existence of this book! Now after seeing us struggling! Are you doing this on purpose?! Are you?! Huh?!

After that internal complaint, I decided to look at my skills. For real this time.

I look at my book and see the first page.

Saw my name: Ell Lydds, my race: Human, thank god I'm still human. The rest of the page is empty so I flipped again and this time, my skills are really there.

I sifted through and it looks like I have... eight. Frail King, Overlord, Viewpoint, Water Mage, Fire Mage, Wind Mage, Earth Mage, and Sense Danger. Hmm... Isn't that too many? I don't know. Maybe that's the usual here? Or maybe because we're from another world.

Of the eight skills I have, three of them are glowing pale brown like the color of these pages. Because I can, I assumed that these glowing skills are the ones they described as "Special Skills". How do I assume? Because they're "Especially written".

"Your skills are supposedly shown on the second page and the glowing letters there are the "Special Skills" I talked about." As I was browsing through my book, the priest spoke up without his 'Ahem'. "The next pages contain the effects or uses of the designated skills. As you might've guessed, "Special Skills" are the strongest skills out there outside of a select few, and most skills are derived from them. That's why they are also called the "Original Skills" by others."

Based on what he's saying, "Special Skills" are the best skills you can get and the others are just ripoffs. After that, he said that there are a limited amount of "Special Skills" in this world. The skills don't disappear after the holder dies, instead, they temporarily disappear until a suitable host is born.

Because of that, some "Special Skills" are already known and it's possible that we possess some from their records.

A lot of what he'd said is dizzying involving notorious criminals and the legalization and dependence on the death penalty for all nations. He even went in his way to tell us not to use our skills against society because we are no exception to their law.

(How did we go from happy fantasy to scary?! I don't wanna live here!)

(To think of it, can we go back to our world? We left our family and friends back home... and why is no one complaining about it? Sure, I may not have the best relationship with my father but some of you must've missed them.)

This now getting creepy. The more I think of it, the more shiver I felt. It's as if they're oblivious to what's going on. Why aren't they panicking? Why am I so calm? Am I not afraid of not being able to go back? Argh!

With another suspicious thing added to my mind, I took a step back and analyze the situation.

But before that, I need to ask Raien about something first.

Thankfully, the priest isn't hasting us and just lets us read through our skills.

Luckily, no one was around since everyone was probably in their circles discussing their skills.

"Raien," I asked. She was staring at thin air but I know she must be reading her skills.

"Hmm? Wanna know my skill?"

"N-no, not that... " I cleared my throat and spoke again. "I-I don't think I can marry you..."

...

...

...

Silence followed my words. She stared at me as if she couldn't comprehend what I just said.

"W-w-what do you mean, Ell...?" her voice was a little trailing as if she couldn't believe what I had just said. (Hmm...)

"It's just... I can't..." I said, trying my best to sound genuine.

I was hoping to see some kind of cute reaction but she immediately shot that down. "Are you drunk?"

That's not the reaction that I wanted, but it's like... her, I guess? I was hoping to see a cute side of her or something but... meh, she's still herself.

"Just an experiment,"

"E-experiment..?"

A little disappointed but I told her what I noticed.

"Yes, because everyone seemed out of it that I thought you weren't you. I was trying to know whether you're still you so I said that."

I explained to her more and she, too, just realized the oddity of the situation.

"Y-you're right. I'm not home anymore, I won't be able to see my parents again, and yet... I don't care about it..." Raien and her parents are especially close so she should be shocked but she's calm and cool like how she usually acts. Except for that one but that doesn't count.

"It's odd. My thoughts and intentions are not on the same page." I said. "You may see my straight face right now and earlier but I am literally yelling and protesting inside." I'm not like this. I couldn't care less about anything.

"W-what should we do?" With a newfound suspicion, Raien stammered to ask.

"Hmm... I think we just follow through. It seems that we're not controlled or anything, just a little hypnotized maybe. However, we should act with all that in mind, okay?"

She nodded. "Thank you for telling me, Ell. I wouldn't have noticed if you didn't tell me. Now I'm worried about my parents. They must be waiting at home..." her voice was a little trailing.

"What do you mean? It's natural for us to help each other, right? But for now, we should worry about ourselves first. Let's be careful moving forward, okay?"

"Mm,"

With that in mind, I took a look at the third page of the book.

Frail King—Special

[The originator of Dark Magic. Curses, debuffs, illusions, summoning, and taming all fall under the 'dark magic' category.

The user will become extremely weak, frail, and slow if any summon or familiar is out.

The user is immune to curses and debuffs.

Allows the user to cast the spell of their summons and familiars regardless of the distance. Familiars of the user cannot disobey them.

Each matching sense of the summon/Familiar is directly connected to the user (i.e. smell, hearing, taste, touch, and sight) as well as the ability to turn them on and off.

Each of the summon/Familiar skills is in the hand of the user. The user can 'take' and reallocate them at will to any other summon or familiar.

The user can communicate with their summons/familiar at any distance.]

Overlord—Special

[Anyone who pledges, fears, or loses will in front of the user have their senses and thoughts accessible to the user. The user can dominate the target's mind, taking control of it or speak directly to the victim regardless of distance.]

Viewpoint—Special

[Everything the user sees, hears, smells, tastes, and feels will be recorded inside their mind. They have perfect memories of everything that happened to them and the ability to manage everything in their brain in an organized and easy-to-navigate manner. With enough training, the user may able to show what they have recorded in their mind to others.]

Water Mage

[Grants affinity for water.]

Fire Mage

[Grants affinity for fire.]

Wind Mage

[Grants affinity for wind.]

Earth Mage

[Grants affinity for earth.]

Sense Danger

[Alarms the user when something dangerous is nearby.]

After reading through my skills, I realized something. (I'm too strong, aren't I?!)

I'm basically a mage with dark magic being my main. (And what the fuck is this [Overlord] skill?! One promised and their life is mine?! How in the world?! I'm literally the embodiment of a demon king!)

(Do these even work?) Oh, yes, it does. I remember an alarm blaring in my head as soon as we got here. That must be the "Sense Danger" skill.

After semi-confirming the legitimacy of my skills, I slowly realized the danger of my skills. And realizing that, the words of the priest reverberate in my head. "Do not use your skills to harm others." "The death penalty is legalized and realized upon by all nations when dealing with criminals who abuse others using magic." This was the first time I felt genuine fear in my entire life.

Keeping my straight face, I turned to Raien who was too, staring at her book.

"What are your skills Raien?"

She looked at me with a familiar shocked expression.

"I think I'm the main character."

I asked for more and she told me that she had in total eleven skills and three of them were special. (What the heck, that's three more than mine!)

I told her that I had eight and gave her the gist of the description.

"You're dangerous, Ell. Is it because you always bully Benedict?"

"Shut up. But you're right, I'm dangerous." It seemed she realized it too.

"I wish I had that [Overlord] skill so I can control you," (Now, now, this isn't the time.)

We chatted for a bit and she told me the description of her skills.

Her first skill is [Blaze and Frost], a skill that negates every affinity for the user except fire and ice. In return, the ice and fire she created cannot be thawed out or put off unless she dies or she wills to. This, too sounds too dangerous depending on how she uses it.

Next is [Spatial Link], a skill that allows her to accelerate in one direction fast by connecting two points in space. This sounds tame but depending on how she uses it, could be dangerous, not only to others but to herself.

Last is [Lifesteal]. Come on, we all know how this works. She kills, she heals, simple. Although a bit more complicated than that. She has to kill something that possesses "mana" in its body for her to heal herself. Sounds strong but not 'that' dangerous. Although she might go on a killing spree when she's injured so never mind.

Her other skills are, [Sub-space], [Inspect], [Close Combat], [Blademaster], [Sense Danger], [Detect], [Accel], and [Night Vision].

Everything is self-explanatory. However, what piqued my interest is the Sub-space. It's basically an inventory where she can store stuff.

"That's cheating,"

"I wanna use my skills now!" I grumbled while she sounded excited. Remember, we just talked about our changing personalities.

I sighed and looked at her smiling face. Before it was a rare expression she only wears in front of family but she just casually smiles now. Is it gonna last forever?

As I was mesmerized by her beauty, the priest spoke without the "Ahem" again. "People from another world, I assumed you checked your skills by now. Shall we start listing your skills now?" His tone, his expression, and his voice are tame and harmless but his intentions couldn't have been further.

All of my classmates, including Allen, obediently complied.

Raien and I looked at each other and followed.

They set up a desk and a chair and the priest sat down and placed a book, an ink, and a quill on top of the table. (The stereotypical setup, I see.)

We were in the middle of the line so we wouldn't be last and also hear our classmates' skills since it was free information.

I told Raien beforehand not to tell everyone about his skills, especially the special ones. However, if all of our classmates have three, we have to comply and give the exact description since they have some of them in their records.

(Man, this is such a pain. They're very shrewd and my classmates wouldn't be wise enough to realize. I'm glad developed this kind of instinct to detect and make up suspicion.

I looked behind me to see whose around and saw Sophia Albert, Allen's girlfriend, looking fidgety and uneasy. Well, not really, but they were so close that everyone accepted that they were despite their denial.

"Surprised you're not with your bf."

"S-shut up! H-he's not my boyfriend, 'kay?" (?)

I turned back away from her.

The 'listing' has started now but I couldn't hear them yet.

(Wait, she's anxious... Does that mean she knew what was going on? Is that why she's not with Allen?)

I think she knew what was up. I just need to send her some kind of hint or just tell her upfront.

I turned around and casually said, "Did you notice?" She looked at me bewildered.

"W-w-what are you talking about?" (She doesn't? Is this an effect of a skill? Why?)

"Nothing," I turned away and decided to ignore her for now.

After a while, Raien was now stating her skills to the priest.

I heard some of my classmates' skills and most of them had three special, just like us but there are those who have one, two, four, five, or even seven. I was now confident it wasn't fixed so I have some room to lie.

Raien only told them eight of her skills to them. All are Blaze and Frost, Spatial Link, Close Combat, Blademaster, Inspect, Sense Danger, Detect, and Night Vision. I don't know why she said too many but I guess that's her way of being inconspicuous. After all, my classmates have an average of eight skills so she just followed that trend. (I wonder how many of them lied about their skills...)

Surprisingly enough, as soon as the priest heard the words "Blaze and Frost" his smile grew bigger. Although he didn't say anything about it, I definitely can say something about 'him'. Suspicious. Now you have another entry on my list of "everything I am suspicious of about this whole thing."

After finishing, Raien gave me a glance and walked toward where everyone went.

To my surprise, Miria and her friends greeted her and asked her a couple of questions. Yes, Miria isn't hostile to Raien but she's nowhere near talking to her because of my connection to Raien. But everything's weird enough to care about her, really.

It is now my turn to reveal my secrets to these suspicious people. Despite my reluctance, I can't 'not' tell them or else I'd be put into their own "suspicious list."

"Can you tell me your skills?"

"Yes," I told him all about Frail King, my elemental mage skills, and Sense Danger. I left my other two special skills untold since one of them is dangerous and one is useful when hidden.

I am definitely playing with fire here but they have no way of knowing, right?

"Frail King, huh..." his expression now turned to worries. Even the people behind him looked at each other as if something was up with this skill.

"Does something matter?" I asked hesitantly.

"No. It's just this skill was once owned by a notorious criminal. I hope you do your best not to use this or any of your skills and cause harm to others."

(What the fuck?! Dangerous criminal?! That's got to be a coincidence!) "Yes, I will," I replied.

He didn't comment on my measly six, which is the lowest of all my other classmates, which is what I was worried about. Astonishingly, he reacted to the "Frail King" understandably so. If that's how he reacted to it, I wonder how he'd react to "Overlord"? I bet he'd put me on trial. I hope he doesn't learn about my lies.

I left the line and went straight to Raien.

As soon as Miria and her friends saw me, they fled quickly and she was left alone.

"That was odd," I said. "She usually avoids you,"

"No, it's 'you'. She has no problem talking to me. But I guess it's odd since she stopped talking to me when I'm with you."

"Come to think of it, you mentioned that she was one of your friends before I transferred to that school," I recalled she told me all the stuff she did before I transferred and she mentioned Miria being one of her friends.

"So? Did you tell him all of your skills?" she ignored what I said.

"Hell no," I replied. " I just told them that I have one special. But he mentions that my "Frail King" was once possessed by a criminal so I have to be careful about how I use it."

"Oh, is it now? Well, my "Blaze and Frost" skill was their founder's special skill. Mine's from a hero while yours is from a criminal. How fitting." She just said something rude like it's nothing.

"What are the odds that my skill and your skill are familiar to them? How many special skills do they know though..."

This priest probably knows a lot of special skills and has records of their uses and potential. If that's the case, then it's a good thing that I didn't mesh lies in my skills, or else I'd be in trouble.

At first, I thought about mixing lies with my skills so they won't fully learn them but now I'm glad I remember hearing him saying that they have records on some.

(How much do they know though? Is it just the uses? Potential maybe? It might even be possible that they absolutely have no exact description at all. Just knowledge they got from witnesses.)

While I was lost in thought, someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around to see Sophia looking dead serious behind me.

"What?"

"I need to talk to you, Ell."

"About what?"

"Meet me later when we're free." After she said that, she left without saying another word.

"What was that about?"

"Oh, a tryst? Why am I not invited?" Raien commented. I'm sure she has something to say but I decided to ignore her.

What could she want from me to warrant a, ahem, tryst like this? And why me of all people? I don't remember getting along with her. In fact, she won't want to get involved with me and often reprimands Allen for being with me.

"What could she want..."

"It's definitely odd for him to call you specifically,"

"Will you come with me?"

"Why?"

"Just come, will you?"

"Alright, if you want to,"

●●●

The 'listing' ended without any problems and the visible joy on the priest's face is eerie, to say the least.

We were still in the stadium-like place but the priest ordered us to take our things so they could show us our living space.

I know I should've expected this but I am still in awe that my classmates were following their orders like kids.

Of course, we still followed so I went back to my tent and grabbed my belongings. Raien went into her tent and we decided to wait for each other so we could go together.

Despite her serious expression, I saw glimpses of sadness in her eyes as she walked away. Earlier, she had been oblivious to the fact that we can't go back home anymore but now that she realizes, I'm sure it hurts inside.

I want to do something for her but our situation isn't looking good for the two of us the only thing I could do is lend her a shoulder.

We've been together for the longest time so I knew how close she is to her family. I want to do something for her.

Before I could finish packing, Benedict walked in alone with a smile plastered onto his face. I don't know what it was but I don't feel anything about him anymore. Maybe it's because of my realization and I felt pity inside but I know we shouldn't be fighting right now.

He saw me looking at him and his smile instantly vanished.

"I uh... just getting my things..." he seemed scared, which is understandable, but I am not the one he should be fearing right now.

"Sure," I continued my chore and he went to do his.

Moments of silence filled the tent until he suddenly broke the cold air and spoke up.

"Say, Ell, do you think this is all real?" Under any normal circumstances, well, if not for this mysterious changing personality at least, his question sounds tame. Of course, we would hesitate to call this new reality a 'reality.'

However, because of that mysterious changing personality, his question now sounds very specific and suggestive. (Could it be that he, too, noticed the different vibe?) I can't say for sure but it's possible.

"It may, or it may not." I tried to sound vague and unsure to see some kind of reaction but silence followed that.

"Say, Ell, do you thin—" After a long pause, he started speaking again but Miria suddenly opened the tent and stopped him in his tongue.

(Oh my god, he's about to ask me whether or not I notice the different vibe of this place! Why, of all time, must you enter! Fuck you Miria!)

"Benedict, are you okay? Hurry up, everyone's done already."

"R-right..."

"Here, I'll help you," Miria gave me a passing glance as she strode the tent and help Benedict. I wanted to say something but this fucking girl just needs to get in our way.

I took a deep breath, calmed myself down and finished my job.

After that, I went out of the tent with a word.

I look around. Since Raien's still somewhere, I analyzed the area and found that the people earlier were not here anymore.

Around me was a wide colosseum shaped like the letter C. After taking a good look, I assumed that the diameter of this building is around one-fifty to two hundred meters.

It's absurdly huge, and the open ceiling just ramps up the scale.

The entrance was a wide gate hoisted above with two guards guarding it.

The tents we'd set up just don't even cover a fifth of it.

Now that I think about it, what about our tents? We don't own them, the school does. On that note, where's our supervisor? He was transported with us, right?

I scanned the surroundings and saw no sign of him. I check around and I don't see his tent either.

Are we filtered based on age?

It's strange indeed but I can't worry about someone who's not here.

While I was thinking, Raien tapped my shoulder.

"Hey, let's move. We're the only ones here," she said. "Why are you wandering around? I was looking for you everywhere."

Oh, I didn't notice. The tents must've blocked my position.

I looked around and everyone was gone. Well, except for Sophia was intently staring at me.

I tried to ignore her and walked forward to the entrance.

The three of us were the last ones but once we reached the guards, they told us that the way was the other way around.

I look back ad funnily enough, were all there passing through a small door.

Raien and I looked at each other and made our way there. Sophia just followed us from behind.

I wonder what our lives here would be. At first, I was thinking of fun adventures but my realizations just made this world more sinister.

I hope this is just some kind of mental effect upon coming to this world. Nothing major such as the church trying to control us for their own gain.

Now that's a scary thought considering that the priest talking to us sounds high-ranking and all.