A clear day, passing through a town, we find ourselves at an apartment building where our short, cheery, dirty blonde, scruffy-haired protagonist, Tobe Kusakabe, is getting ready for another day of college. He puts on his shoes and grabs his bag while saying goodbye to his father and sister, and . Instead of taking the elevator, he runs down the stairs to the bottom floor. The public bus he takes to college arrives in front of his apartment. Tobe enters and greets the bus driver, walking down the aisle, passing other students and passengers, before taking a seat at the very back beside his best friend, who is also one of our main protagonists, Miri Takanashi.
Miri is the complete opposite of Tobe. She is a tall, sometimes expressionless goth girl (who doesn't really try to be a goth girl) who mostly wears black clothes, and has black-painted fingernails. She enjoys listening to music through her wired earphones. And actually she was an adopted orphan, she lost her parents in an earthquake building collapse accident when she was 7 years old, and after she lost her parents and eventually got adopted, Tobe was always there for her, so now she has a crush on Tobe, but she doesn't let that leak out. Tobe is actually Miri's senior in college. He greets Miri and is surprised to notice a white-haired kid was sitting beside him quietly. Tobe greets the white-haired kid, who responds politely. Tobe asks for his name.
The white-haired kid replies,
"...Jun, ...Jun Kishibe."
Tobe says,
"Jun, huh? I'm Tobe, Tobe Kusakabe. What college do you attend, bud?"
Jun replies,
"...Heroda Uni."
Heroda University also accepts young prodigies who are supposed to still be in high school, like Jun (and Umi Kakeba), who is only 16 years old.
Tobe says in a cheery tone,
"Oh! Same as us! By the way, this is my buddy Miri, Miri Takanashi. We both attend Heroda Uni. Actually, quite a lot of people on this public bus do."
Jun responds shyly,
"Oh, uh... cool..."
Tobe clarifies,
"Yo, you don't have to be so nervous. Actually, you look new."
Jun replies,
"Well, I am. ...I just started attending."
Tobe flashes a smug grin,
"Oh! So that means I'm your senior then! You can just ask me for help if you need it, okay?"
Jun says in surprise,
"Wait, you're not in high school or something?!"
Tobe says with a disheartened tone and a quick response,
"I literally told you I attend the same uni as you."
Tobe then comedically exclaims, pointing at him,
"AND YOU SHOULD RESPECT ME! I AM YOUR SENIOR!"
The bus was lively with chatter from students and other passengers. Tobe and Jun continued their conversation while Miri stayed quiet, looking out the window and listening to her music. The bus usually takes a specific route to their college, passing through a long tunnel. Miri kept watching out the window until they entered the tunnel, where everything went astray.
From Miri's perspective, the tunnel seemed to be shifting, and the lights blinked in random patterns. Miri noticed that none of the normal passengers were phased, but the college students were. Then, the bus started shaking, and the lights flickered on and off in random patterns. The students panicked, turning their heads to figure out what was happening. A bright, blinding light shone from the other end of the tunnel. The students assumed it was the tunnel's exit, but they were wrong. The light consumed the entire bus, blinding the students and forcing them to shut their eyes. A few seconds later, they opened their eyes to find they were no longer on the familiar road heading to college, but on a dirt path in a more green, unfamiliar landscape. They looked out the windows and saw various animals, strange creatures, forests, trees, and hills as far as the eye could see.
A student named Yuka Warebara spoke up,
"Wait, where are the normal passengers? Why are only the college students on board?"
Everyone looked around and noticed that the normal passengers were gone. A Gyaru girl pointed at Tobe,
"Look at you, shortstack! You've got cat ears and a tail!"
Tobe looked and was just as surprised. Other students began to notice physical changes in themselves. Tobe faced Miri and blurted,
"Oh! Look! You have a halo!"
Miri was also surprised. Then, the bus veered off the dirt path onto the grassy ground. Jun made a more pressing observation,
"Better question—WHERE IS THE DRIVER!?"
Everyone turned to see the driver's seat empty. The bus picked up speed, going down a grassy slope, causing the students to panic.
In a quick decision, Tobe and Miri bolted down the aisle. Tobe quickly took the driver's seat and tried to stop the bus. He stepped on the brakes but noticed it was only slowing down a little. He turned the steering wheel sharply left, trying to drift the bus, which slowed it down somewhat, but they eventually crashed into the trees at the bottom of the slope. The impact shook the students inside.
A few minutes after the crash, Tobe and Miri woke up. They saw the other students climbing out of the crashed, tumbled bus and followed. They checked their surroundings, realizing they were obviously no longer in Japan. Some students explored the area, while others checked the bus or contemplated their situation. Then, a female voice echoed in their heads,
"Check your right wrist."
They followed the instruction and saw a glowing, white square with a cross (X) symbol tattooed on their right wrists. They all touched the symbol and their status bars appeared.
The status bar showed their 'Levels,' 'Stats,' 'Race,' 'Skills,' 'Spells,' and 'Class.' They checked their races and classes:
Tobe – Demi-Human Cat – Mage
Miri – Angel – Knight
Jun – Demi-Human Wolf – Thief
Yuka (Shy Student) – Half-Elf – Summoner
Lala Tanahara (Flashy Gyaru) – Demon – Spear Wielder
Hiro Hirotoshi (Destructive Delinquent) – Human – Axe Barbarian
Chisa Ikabe (Popular Diligent Student) – Demi-Human Fox – Katana Swordswoman
Naoto Yugaha (Black-hearted Playboy) – Elf – Necromancer
Toma Kuhugani (Geeky Otaku) – Human – Assassin
Umi Kakeba (Casual Student) – Dwarf – Archer
After checking their races and classes, they obtained their first skills. Tobe's first spell was "Mana String," which solidifies a target's mana into a string he can take hold of. Miri's first skill was "Slash," which requires a sword-like weapon. Jun's first skill was "Stab," requiring a knife-like weapon. Yuka's first skill were actually three, "Contract," "Summon," and "Half-Summon." Contract creates a summoning contract with a weakened creature. Summon fully summons a contracted summon. Half-Summon only summons a certain part of the contracted summon. (As a side note, Yuka's Race Ability "Creaturea Lamvia" was already unlocked from the get go, this passive race ability allows half-elves to understand many different creatures that normally don't have a sense of language or has a capability to speak)
As they checked out their new skills, some students worried about their families and friends back in their world, while others were fascinated with their surroundings. Miri, who was an orphan adopted at five years old, didn't care much about her foster parents. Yuka asked Tobe if he missed his family. Tobe cared deeply for them, always remembering his late mother's words:
"Always keep a smile on your face, even if you're sad, even if you're hurt, even in your lowest moments. Despair never leads to anything good, so keep smiling no matter what."
Suddenly, Umi asked the group in a somewhat panicked tone,
"Where even are we!?"
Lala replied,
"Oh, we're definitely in the countryside or something."
Others responded in a low, serious tone,
"Then how do you explain the status menu?"
Toma interrupted,
"Oh yes! We are most definitely in an Isekai!"
Umi asked,
"An... Isekai?"
Toma replied,
"Precisely! An Isekai is a genre where people get transported to a completely different world."
Hiro rudely interrupted,
"You really think we're gonna believe that!?"
Toma remarked,
"Then can YOU explain why we have a status menu? Hmm?"
While the others continued discussing and arguing, Miri heard loud noises, like wind flapping, coming from afar near the mountain peaks. She tapped Tobe's shoulder to get his attention. Tobe turned to face what Miri was pointing at and was shocked. He made a loud, surprised sound, which drew the others' attention. They all looked to see two yellow dragons flying directly above them, heading toward the horizon, confirming that they were no longer in the world they used to know.
End of Chapter Stats of our Young Adventurers:
Tobe Lvl 1 - (Skills: Mana String)
Miri Lvl 1 - (Skills: Slash)
Jun Lvl 1 - (Skills: Stab)
Yuka Lvl 1 - (Skills: Contract, Summon, Half-Summon)