Chapter 2 - My Status

Another horrible day begins, I wake up and go to have "Breakfast" it's hardly what I eat that can really be called breakfast. I live in what can be called a "Shack" and eat the cheapest instant food possible.

At least I have a place to live and something to eat, it could be worse. My job is also bad but at least I managed to get one, you know many people don't want to have an "Abuser" working for them. So I'm slightly grateful to at least have a job to support my life.

After breakfast, I put on my uniform, looking at my almost empty and "motivating" wardrobe, but there's not much I can do, my best clothes are basically the school uniform.

Then I walk to school, I don't have money for any form of transportation, so I walk.

After a long walk, I arrive at the school gates and enter just in time to not be late.

During class, the teacher takes attendance.

"Takashi Nakamura" the teacher calls me.

"Present, professor," I respond as always.

"Hmm, it seems he didn't come today..." he always does that kind of thing, last year I almost failed due to absences when I was actually in class, I hardly ever miss it, but this guy always does that.

'Tsk' at least this year he's been busy, so I didn't end up with so many absences.

We continue this monotonous class, the content is slightly difficult. I'm not an amazing student, but I'm not bad either, considering this is an elite school, my grades are average.

After the period is over, I go to the cafeteria, thankfully the food is free. Without the cafeteria food, I would probably be malnourished since everything I eat at home is instant food.

"ARHGG" I receive a strong kick, I don't know why, but these rich people like to kick me, it's as if I'm just an insect in their eyes, so it's not even worth punching.

"I heard you flirted with my girlfriend yesterday," Kaito says in an accusatory tone.

"..."

'He must be talking about when Yuki found me at my mother's grave...' I don't say anything, if I do, he'll beat me even more. He gets angry at my silence and starts kicking and stomping me, this has happened so many times that now I know how to reduce the damage.

Or rather, I was forced to learn how to reduce the damage after he broke 3 of my ribs with those kicks. This is not even close to the first time he's said I "flirted" with Yuki, honestly, I think he just wants an excuse to beat me.

After a few minutes like this, he leaves, and all I have is a slight pain and some injuries.

'Better than in 1st year...' in the first year, if I had been beaten like this, I probably would have had to go to the hospital. Not that the current damage isn't bad, but when you get used to it, this kind of thing starts to seem like little.

I walk to the cafeteria to eat, if I miss the meal, I'll have to settle for instant food for dinner. I arrive at the kitchen and knock 3 times on the door, then 2 more times slowly.

"Come in, Takashi," the person inside calls me.

"Thank you, Aunt," I thank her after entering. This slightly overweight and seemingly old woman who works there is someone everyone calls Aunt, and she's quite nice.

She's the only person at this school who's really been kind to me, although she speaks in a rude way.

She gives me a well-prepared plate and asks me to sit in the corner. Although it may seem a bit bad, it's actually the best way for me to eat calmly.

I can't always eat here, but whenever I can get into the kitchen, she gives me a full plate and a safe place to eat. She knows about my situation, but she's just a cafeteria worker, so the most she can do is provide more food and sometimes give me a place to stay for a while.

But I'm grateful for that, when I eat outside, it's usually difficult, and the bullies end up making it hard for me to eat my food in peace.

After eating everything, I thank her and leave. Her food is delicious, it has that homemade touch that reminds me of my mother. I have a lot to thank Aunt for, even this small gesture is something meaningful to me.

"There you are, Bakashi, hurry up and go buy my lunch," as soon as I go out to the cafeteria, I see Hana. She always forces me to pay for her lunch. I go to the cafeteria on the other side of the school and buy her order, then I go to the classroom.

'Just 2 more months, I've already endured more than 5 years, 2 months is nothing...' I always tell myself how much time is left, to try to keep my mind in the right place. Because of them, I've developed horrible reflexes for myself.

One example of this is that to maintain my self-control in stressful moments, I end up squeezing my hand with force, usually drawing blood since I press my nails into the palm of my hand with a lot of strength.

This can be treated as mild self-harm, but the pain in the palm of my hand helps my mind not to do something stupid. I'm not proud of this self-destructive reflex, but there's not much I can do to stop it.

This is the reason why I usually have a bandage on my palm.

"Hey, idiot, get out of the way," Tsubasa pushes me as I was entering the door, there was more than enough space, but he insists on doing this. The fall made me hit the ground face-first, a little blood trickles from my nose, but I wipe it with a tissue I have in my pocket and continue walking to my desk.

By reflex, I squeeze my palm hard, having to accept everything in silence may not be the best for my mental health, but it's the best for my body not to suffer something worse.

Everyone is already in the classroom when the teacher enters. The 6 of them sit in a group near the front row, showing their "friendship," but I know it's not quite like that, they're just together because they're the most influential in the class.

I'm sure they would betray each other if necessary.

'What I wouldn't give for this whole classroom to just disappear from this world,' I think about how I wish this class would just vanish.

"W-What is that?"

"The floor is glowing?"

"What the hell is this?"

"Does anyone know what's happening?"

The classroom floor starts glowing out of nowhere, everyone in the class is confused. Suddenly, a flash of light occurs.

"What a bright light..." I whisper as I become temporarily blinded by the intense light.

"WELCOME, BRAVE HEROES!" A loud, powerful voice speaks to everyone.

Everyone in the class is confused, while I see that we are no longer in the classroom.

"What place... is this?" I'm doubtful, what I see is a large white hall with gold, while everyone in the class is on a circle with strange writings.

There are many people wearing medieval armor around the circle.

"Hey, what is this place?"

"W-Were we kidnapped?"

"Did we die? Where are we?"

Some start to panic until a beautiful woman dressed in a dress that looks like a fantasy saint's costume starts speaking.

"Hello, brave Heroes, I know you are confused, but you have been summoned to help the Kingdom of Elysia," she welcomes us with a beautiful, almost angelic voice.

"Hey, what the hell is this? I didn't come here, send us back!"

"T-That's right, send us back..."

"We want to go home!"

Everyone starts talking and murmuring about it.

"Brave Heroes, although I understand your situation, unfortunately, we cannot send you back. But rejoice, the one among you who has the greatest contribution will be able to make any wish come true," what she said excites the crowd, after all, having any wish fulfilled seems tempting.

'I wonder... could I wish my mother back?' what she said gives me a glimmer of hope.

Soon the group of 6 goes to talk directly to the beautiful woman. She has long blonde hair, emerald green eyes, and is dressed like a saint while carrying a large white staff.

'They got excited too quickly...' no matter how tempting this is, she didn't even say what we're supposed to do.

"So, are we supposed to kill the Demon King or something?" Kaito asks the saint.

She responds with a smile.

"Fortunately, the Demon King no longer exists since 800 years ago, you Heroes have been summoned to help eliminate the remnants of the demons." This somehow takes some of the weight off of why we're here, after all, the prospect of facing a Demon King is kind of scary.

"Well, your questions will be answered later. For now, follow me so we can evaluate your status. One last thing, remember that when you see your Status, don't tell anyone what your Unique Ability is, only mention your common skills."

"What is a Unique Ability?" someone asks.

"Only the summoned Heroes have one. It is a trump card for each of you, and it should not be revealed because there are demons who can discover what they do if they know the name."

We soon follow her as she talks about various things. This place seems to be a fantasy world with underdeveloped technology and magic. I just think it's crazy how these rich kids don't realize the danger we're getting into.

Basically, she said we will enter the war against the demons, and the one who has the greatest contribution in the elimination of the demon race will have any wish fulfilled.

They apparently want to completely eradicate the demons. After walking, we arrive at a large room with a small sphere in front of a large sphere.

"Put your hand in this sphere, and after that, your Status window will be created. To access it later, you just need to say 'Status.' Remember that the total power as well as the maximum level you can reach will be revealed in the sphere."

Everyone gets excited to do this, I can't deny that I'm slightly excited too. A new world means new opportunities. After that, a student is called by the woman who said her name is Saint Rosaline.

He soon puts his hand in the small glowing sphere, and a few seconds later, the large sphere shows a number and a word.

Total = 500 Max Level = 1500

"Look, everyone, it's incredible...." One of the guards says when seeing the status. Soon the saint begins to speak.

"As you can all see, this young man's current total status is 500. For a better comparison, common trained humans would normally have 50, with a maximum level of 100 or 150."

"This young man, who is level 1, already has more strength than any common guard, showing why you Heroes are so important. If this young man can reach level 1500, he will have incredible power." Everyone understands what this means. In this world, we are much stronger than the average person.

Soon everyone wants to go see their status, several students pass through the crystal, and almost all have a status above 500 or are at 500, and their maximum levels are between 1300 and 1700.

Finally, it's just the 6 and me.

"Well, I'll go first, guys," Kaito says as he puts his hand on the crystal.

Total = 1200 Max Level = 3300

His numbers were the highest, leaving everyone impressed, even the saint was impressed, showing how high this status is.

"So everyone can have an idea of how incredible this is, the Max Level cannot be increased, meaning it is the limit, and the more you have, the stronger you will be in the future. This boy Kaito will be an incredible hero."

"It's my turn," Kaori says excitedly as she puts her hand on the sphere.

Total = 1000 Max Level = 3000

Again, everyone is impressed, and the one who seems the most excited is the saint.

'This saint is kind of... superficial?' She seems so excited about those with high status, but she acted normal with the others who had lower status.

Soon Yuki goes forward and touches the sphere.

Total = 1050 Max Level = 3100

"Looks like it's my turn," says Tsubasa, touching the crystal.

Total = 1500 Max Level = 4000

The guards and the saint seem like they're going to explode with happiness when they see this status, it's the highest so far, surpassing Kaito's. The students are all amazed, but I can't get excited like them.

Soon Sakura tries, but it's unlikely anyone will surpass Tsubasa.

Total = 1020 Max Level = 3050

Hana walks forward, being the last of the group to see the Status.

Total = 1300 Max Level = 3500

Her number is also impressive, but this much power in her hands just gives me chills. She's the one who set my house on fire, killing my mother. Hana is one of the worst in the group.

"Well, now it's just you, young man," she says, looking at me. I walk calmly to the sphere, hoping I have a good number. I feel a tingling as a screen appears in front of me.

[Status]

Name = Takashi Nakamura

Race = Human

Age = 18 years old

Level = (1/100)

Power = 3/3

Life = 5/5

Stamina = 4/4

Resistance = 9/9

Magic = 1/1

Total = 22/22

Titles: Inhabitant of Another World - Title given to those who come from another world

Active Skills:

Limit Break - Capable of slightly exceeding the power limit, becoming about 3% stronger.

Passive Skills:

Attract Hatred - Passively attracts hatred, making them target you.

For everyone, what appears is: Total = 22 Max Level = 100

The Saint is visibly disappointed. My status is basically that of a common person, and there is no Unique Ability tab, indicating that I have nothing.