Ryuji felt a strange connection to something from the moment he arrived in this strange world. He tried to listen to the king's words while gazing around, but the only thing he reacted to was a small woman locked in chains wearing a maid's outfit.
'Why is she standing there? What are the chains for? She's cute, but... are those fox ears real?'
"I do apologise, heroes, but this woman is related to the safety of our lands." The king pointed to the shabby-looking maid before he gave a long sigh. "One of you wasn't meant to be summoned. Instead, you seem to have been summoned because of her."
Despite the handsome king speaking louder than he needed. A male twirling his beard stepped forward afterwards. Ryuji felt this guy was a little annoying.
This man, who was a mage, would determine the person linked to the woman.
"Marduk, please cast a spell to reveal the one bound to her. The other half of the calamity star must be identified."
The king then turned to the students with a warm smile. "Do not worry. The person who was summoned will not be mistreated. However, you will have to spend your time paired with that woman because of what the Goddess prophesied."
"But, what if something goes wrong?" A lovely girl with blonde hair asked. Her eyes were sharp and blue. It was Erika Tendo, from the popular group in the class.
"Forgive me, but first, allow us to confirm everything. I will tell you once again. I am the king of this land. My name is Avandar Grigor the Second."
Marduk, the magician or sage, then walked down the elevated steps in his white and blue robe while holding a strange artefact in his hand.
Ryuji wondered if he needed a walking stick or some support. But held back as the old man with curled whiskers spread his arms and began speaking in a weird language.
"Arubelam Nazureth Veridu Revalla!"
When his chanting ended, a vast golden light enveloped the entire class, shimmering like stars sinking from the heavens.
'What a strange language... I don't recognise it... though what is this light?!'
The light flowed down and wrapped around two people, one of them the fox, who looked shocked, her eyes fixated on Ryuji while he looked around his feet. Then, towards the maid, who knelt with tears in her eyes and a smile on her lips.
'Why does she seem so happy... does this light mean something good?'
Then, the light suddenly began to transform before it turned blood red, and inside the light was a star that split into two halves.
One of the shards entered his body, while the other the fox on the ground... It seemed something happened and Ryuji was the extra after all.
"Marduk, since it was revealed. Release the lock on the other students, and keep a note of the one who was born with the cursed star." The king spoke in a strange language this time that the students didn't understand.
"Arubelam Nazureth Veridu Revalla!"
After that, the golden light began to fall again, but the strange light this time didn't turn red or change.
'That girl keeps looking at me with a strangely kind gaze... I want to set her free from those chains.' Ryuji's mind wasn't on the king or the strange situation anymore, but on the fox girl who was linked to him somehow. He could vaguely feel her fear, worry and hope... emotions that trickled into his mind and heart ever so slightly.
Each student was blessed with a star. After this happened, they all began to gain powers and soon forgot about Ryuji and the fox to think about themselves.
"Wow!? I suddenly feel so powerful!" shouted the handsome-looking kid at the centre of the room.
"Haruki, your whole body is glowing like the Christmas festival!"
'The handsome guy with the agile movements is Haruki. I wonder if he plays sports. His movements are smooth.'
"Erika... don't make fun of me! I have a strange panel in my eye that says I'm a holy knight. Is this some kind of nerdy game or VR?"
Ryuji noted the names of what seemed to be the popular classmates who all had cool-sounding jobs.
Before he could learn the names of any others, the damn old man shouted once again.
"How can this be!? The star shattered! The last divine star has become a star of disaster!"
"Oh goddess, Levia, save our realm!"
"Father... It is my fault. Because I didn't calculate correctly."
The king acted pretty cool, shaking his head, choosing not to blame his daughter and soothing his wife with simple movements and gestures.
"Forgive me, heroes; we would like to grant you a welcome to our kingdom and hope that you would treat this land as your home." He stood up for the first time, stepping forward and nodding to the class. Many people felt scared and probably wanted to go home, but speaking now would be foolish.
His gaze then trailed over Ryuji; a look of sorrow only appeared for a moment before he lowered his eyes to the fox, where a tinge of disgust appeared, causing Ryuji to feel irritated.
"We do not blame you should you feel angry or wronged. Your name was Ryuji, was it not? We will treat you differently from the other heroes. However, you can ask me for anything in return. I shall do you a favour as king."
Ryuji could have used this for anything, though he knew that there was only one thing on his mind right now. Thus, he waited for the king to finish.
"The red star is normally a powerful blessing—a sign of a new king. However, in the 5000 years, this kingdom has existed. It has only split in half once before. That happened before the demon emperor first appeared before the formation of Grigor itself."
'It seems to be a complicated story that I won't hear right now... however, I will ask for what I want. To free that girl from whatever those chains might be and place her in my care...'
Ryuji swallowed, wondering if this meant they would treat him like a criminal or a sinner. However, then he remembered they would grant him a wish, so it couldn't be that bad. He adjusted himself and prepared to ask the king for his favour in secret.
'I cannot become weak or inferior and lose out on making friends again. Mother would be upset with me.' He felt a sense of unwillingness, and then it seemed the king's aura started to fade.
The kind then leaned close to Ryuji and whispered in his ear. "Can you please tell me your class and attributes, hero?" His voice didn't feel angry or like some tyrant but like the old people Ryuji often trained at his mother's gym.
The king seemed to worry about Ryuji's silence and continued."To find out your class, just focus your thoughts and receive the word Status in your head. Or so the heroes of the past said."
There was no reason to hide it or cause stupid trouble by being arrogant or edgy.
Ryuji felt bitter about his transfer situation, but the fact the king gave him a tip and helped him, so why not at least grant this little favour? "I want you to free that maid and place her by my side." In return, Ryuji whispered his desire to the king.
This caused the king to smirk and nod with a slight laugh.
Ryuji felt he might have been conned, because the eyes of the king became amused and dropped all hostility towards him. The king could have forced the guards around the room to hold him down and torture him until he disclosed his attributes and class, anyway.
'Since he came to me with goodwill. I will return it.'
"Understood."
Ryuji then closed his eyes and thought of the novels and manga he read with Alex between training or playing games.
'I hope that it's not something overly trash or irritating. A sex system or a lust system... Those protagonists and systems are always so annoying.'
He hated reading those types but also loved the idea of them for him, who lacked connections with young people, both friends and otherwise. A growing boy likes lewd stuff, but when they slept with a heroine, she would then fade into oblivion no matter how much the protagonist claimed to love them!
'Ten chapters into the novel, and they're in love and having sex... They do it one time, and the heroine becomes addicted and then waits months or years for him to return. It's stupid.'
"Is there something the matter, Hero Ryuji? Your self-introduction was quite interesting. Hehe." The princess asked delicately as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Ah, sorry... I lost focus. Forgive me, princess."
'Status'
Name: Ryuji Vincenzo
Class: Berserker: Lv.1
Rank: C
Attributes
Strength: 10
Agility: 4
Stamina: 6
Grit: 12
Intellect: 6
Average Human combatant has 5 for their key attributes.
Talent
Yakuza Scion: Defeated monsters and friendly Demi humans can give the host a racial tattoo that He can equip for various benefits.
0/1 Equipped
***
"King Avandar, do I need to tell you anything besides my level and attributes?"
"No, talents are unique to the heroes and extremely well trained. They are your lifesaving abilities. Keep them safe, Hero Ryuji."
'This sneaky kind, somehow I feel he ripped me off with the maid...' Ryuji's instincts were correct because they shared the matching star. The pair would need to be in proximity anyway, though because he asked, the form might have changed from the original plan.
Because the king whispered something to the knight who was guarding the maid with fox ears before he returned to his throne.
It turned out that in the many novels he read. The kingdom mostly turned out to be the evil guys, but somehow Ryuji felt this was closer to a slice-of-life novel so far. Though most of the time, his gut was wrong.
'Well, they want us to fight, so maybe it's a dangerous type.'
He then walked to the rest of his class who were a little busy with their current glee and worries, but he felt that the first time failed.
"I would like to introduce myself again."
"Ahem... Ryuji Vincenzo, Rank-C Hero and I am a Level one Berserker! My stars are visible, can you see? Nice to meet you all, and I hope we can work together in the future!"
His classmates became silent before some of them smiled and greeted him. However, most of them just ignored him, probably thinking he was bad news due to the red light and broken star from earlier.
Ryuji felt he might have failed, but the moment he lifted his head, no longer bowing. He saw the king with a pleasant smile, nodding with a wave.
"Good, you are a talent that can help the kingdom. Do not feel inferior to those with flashier roles despite your class being C ranked. Thus, C-Rank Hero, Ryuji Vincenzo. I will be watching your progress."
It felt strange to be given such a response, but to have someone expecting something from him caused Ryuji to feel motivated to improve.
Though he couldn't help looking at the maid in the corner who looked at him with strange eyes; unlike before, they were still filled with tears. Yet he could feel disbelief, joy and gratitude in them now, and the negative feelings shrank.
'Well, I've always got along with older people and animals better. So It's normal for people my age who misunderstand me... I wonder how strong that guy is...' Ryuji thought while looking over to the handsome and popular guy at the centre of the class.
'He seems to be someone popular, like the centre of the class?'
Finally, it was the primary group's turn. The first person to be shown was the one Ryuji watched. It turned out that his name was Haruki Tanaka from the murmurs. Ryuji listened to Haruki's information, wanting to compete with him and become friends one day.
"Greetings, King. I am Haruki Tanaka, Rank - A Hero and a Level ten Holy Knight."
'How cool... a holy knight sounds so awesome.'
His eyes gloated towards Ryuji, who was patting the soft golden hair of the female fox despite the small woman trying to slap his hands away.
The woman was barely tall enough to reach his chest.
"My Strength is 15, and my other attributes are 12."
However, the king and the princess didn't seem too impressed, but they still smiled towards and congratulated him.
Ryuji wondered if those were bad attributes for a level ten holy knight.
****
After everyone introduced their class and skills, the king summoned several maids and knights who would guide everyone to their private rooms, and after the heroes settled in, information and training would be provided.
'I will be looking after that maid with fox ears... How lucky for me!'
When they escorted Ryuji, they took him to a quite large room with a spare bath in the side room and several outfits that seemed to fit his size.
They didn't show him his maid like they did with the others, and his room seemed a little distant from the other heroes, which caused him to worry a little.
After this, they gave Ryuji an enormous axe and cheap chain mail armour to wear as a C-rank hero.
"I wonder why my bed is so big, though... Is it because they liked my introduction? Let's knock on next door and find out later."
'However, where did that fox go? Wasn't she meant to be my maid?'
Ryuji felt the excitement of a class trip—because of his mother and father's random vacations.
So, there wasn't much time for him to join them in the past. Because travelled a lot in his earlier years, leading to a strange mix of introverted and extroverted tendencies.
"Hmmm?"
Suddenly, as the torch lights flickered, there was a knock at the dark maple door and bare feet tapping outside.
'Who could be knocking at this time? Maybe it's my neighbour wanting to get to know me,' Ryuji thought, putting on a thin towel still wet from the bath and opening the door.