'Something like this,' Nanami thought coldly, her crystal blue eyes glancing over at her classmates. 'It's obviously a trap, and these idiots are all about to fold.'
Just as she expected…
"This gift — we humbly accept it, your majesty!" said Haruto, the A-Rank Sword Master Hero.
He was the type who preferred to use his brawns over his brains, and his appearance reflected as much. In his previous world, he wasn't a bad person per se, but he wasn't a smart one either. Usually, if confronted with a matter that couldn't be solved, he would use his fists long before he made use of that pink slimy thing inside of his head. In this case, he saw shiny, thought about buying a dojo, and then accepted on behalf of everybody else.
After all, what could possibly be the harm in accepting free money…?
King Eldric's unsettling smile beamed at this sudden outburst by the broad, muscular young man. "That is very good news, Brave Heroes!" He shouted. "Now that you have accepted the reward for your grand and noble service, we do hope that you will go and train in our kingdom's state-of-the art training grounds before heading out into the world to hone your skills!"
He finished his speech off on a high note before discreetly instructing his underlings to deliver the chests to the Heroes' new dorms. They moved quickly and vanished, with the shiny chest disappearing right after.
A few of the Heroes were puzzled by this display, but after someone asked about it, the King happily explained. He also went on to entice them with all the other potential benefits that came along with being a Hero of their Kingdom, which included but were not limited to obtaining beautiful men or women, even more wealth, and status beyond compare. There were also the massive improvements that would come to their power if they furthered their abilities through battling other organisms, which interested a few of them greatly.
They had already seen their system interfaces when they were first summoned, but many of them were very skeptical about it, refusing to believe that they had actually been transported into a world with an RPG fantasy setup. Or, at least, that was the case until the top dawg atop his throne confirmed their far-fetched suspicions.
"We can actually level up?? Like in a game!?"
"What is leveling up…? Can any of you boys explain it to us?"
"I can't believe this is actually happening!"
The newly appointed Heroes seemed to completely forget about what happened to Toriyama as they excitedly chatted away. Yet, there was one among them who still remembered — she still remembered exactly what happens to those whom the people of this world deem useless. In Nanami's mind, none of these people were to be trusted, but she also knew that things had changed. As such, accepting the King's rewards was certainly the only choice they could make if she wished to keep her life. A hint of unwillingness flashed past her icy gaze for a brief moment, but it was quickly covered up with an intense yearning for more strength.
In Nanami's previous world, she could make use of her smarts to get out of just about any predicament. However, as soon as she saw the Holy Goddess fly and teleport, she realized that she would need far more than just her brain to survive in this world. It was this realization that sprouted up a yearning for greater strength. With her S-Rank Unique Skill and high stats, she secretly promised herself that she would survive. Not only for the sake of herself but also for her little sister, who was left all alone back on Earth.
Suddenly, the King's expression contorted as he remembered something. "Oh, and if any of you brave heroes manage to take out the Demon King, you will obtain something called the 'Demon King's Archstone,' which drops after the Demon King dies. It is the only known way for otherworlders to return to their home world!"
"!!!"
In that moment, Nanami realized two things. Firstly, she would kill this Demon King no matter the cost, and Secondly, she, along with the others, had been thrown straight into a deep morass of sticky webs and strings that bound them. The Goddess, the Three Holy Priests, and the King had all of them dancing around on their puppet strings. Yet, the worst part about it was that there was nothing they could do about it…
"There's actually a way home!?" Someone exclaimed.
"All we have to do is defeat this 'Demon King'!? With our new Unique Skills and stats, wouldn't this be far too easy!? I mean, we were even given the Job 'Hero,' which must mean we are exceptional!"
"Everyone besides Toriyama…"
The meek girl who said this was completely ignored, instead overshadowed by a C-Rank Hero trying out his Unique Skill.
FWHMM!
A small fireball materialized above the hands of the C-Rank Hero. It was six inches in diameter and spun in circles, emitting immense levels of heat. Yet, that heat was not harming the user. In fact, it even gave him a sense of empowerment, subsequently forcing a wide smirk across his square-shaped face. "Do you guys see this?? I now wield the power of fire — Fireball! It's my C-Rank Unique Skill!"
"!!!" "!!!" "!!!"
Everyone's eyes widened in astonishment as they watched the brilliantly glowing ball of fire swirl around above the young man's hands. Seeing this happen in real time among one of their own made the other Heroes discard all remaining inhibitions as they pulled up their system interfaces and silently said the names of their unique skills.
"Ice Wall!"
"Matter Manipulation!"
"Beast Master!"
"Shapeshifting!"
"Weapo…"
No one held back in the casting of their unique skills as a wide array of bright lights erupted in the King's throne room. His eyes creased in satisfaction, causing his disturbing smile to become even creepier. 'The batch this time is far better than the last time,' he thought excitedly. 'Just look at the three S-Rank Heroes! To have so many in the same group is beyond wonderful!" His eyes instinctively honed in on the three Heroes with especially dazzling displays of power. One emitted a splendiferous golden light, another a dark black and purple light, and the last one a significantly sharper shade of blue'ish light!
'They will definitely be the ones to get me the Demon King's Lamp! I will finally have three of my wishes granted by the Absolute Primordial God of this world!'
...