Looking around I see a royal hall, guards in silver armor exuding auras of power and skill. What appeared to be the king of the castle stood in front of us, a king who wore a red cloak, and his crown shone as brightly as the sunlight coming through the windows of the hall.
His blue eyes sparkled and his blond hair seemed to be made of gold. His appearance makes me think that he is a young king, perhaps newly crowned...
Next to him, a princess stood, her silky white dress, her hair as golden as the king's, and her beautiful sky-like eyes. She was exhausted for some reason, was it she who summoned us?
On the other side, a man almost two meters tall stood guard, watching us cautiously. He looked old, and his scars showed his combat experience. His black metal armor and sheathed sword intimidated everyone in the place.
"Hey? Who are you!? And what have you done to us!" Sakurai stood up and started shouting while looking at the king of the place. Sakurai was angry, I could see it on his face, but I think he was confused too. His troupe went after him to try to hold him back, they knew the situation they were in and didn't want to get into trouble, but they forgot that Sakurai is an arrogant man.
He seemed to be trying to get close to the king to get information, but before he could get any closer, two guards blocked his path to stop him. But before they could hurt Sakurai, the king gestured for them to stop.
"Stop, they are the summoned heroes, we do not want to hurt any of them." The king said as he rose from his throne. The man next to him reacted to his movement, and approached to help him move, it seemed that the king was having trouble moving, as if he was in pain.
Slowly approaching, the king made another gesture with his hands and proclaimed to the 31 students and 1 teacher on the floor in front of him.
"Chosen heroes! My name is Kailandor von Eldraéthia II, and I am the current king of the kingdom of Eldraéthia! You have been summoned to this world so that I and my people can use your help to save this kingdom, no, this world from the Ancestral Demon King of Chaos!" The king said firmly. Everyone started whispering amongst themselves, some were confused, wanting to go home, others were full of determination, others were joining in, and I, still alone.
The king continued.
"Please! Please, heroes sent by Eldragena, the Goddess of the World, save this world!" The king shouted once more, but this time he was stopped by the president's coughs; she took the lead from the students.
"Excuse me... King Kailandor, we're just students, I don't think we can do anything for your kingdom..." She spoke, with disappointment in her eyes, as if she wanted to help, but didn't have the power to do so. Other students joined her, saying that they wanted to go home, and that they didn't have the ability to help an entire kingdom.
At that moment, the King raised his hand and people wearing black cloaks came out from behind the hall, led by the man in black armor. A person in the center, who appeared to be a sage due to his long white beard and aged face but who appeared to be full of wisdom, carried a crystal orb, in the center of which a golden rune flashed at medium intervals.
The man in armor said, after asking his king's permission.
"I beg your pardon Heroes! But we have no way of sending you home unless you defeat the Demon King, who is the one who carries the portal to other worlds." He said, while raising his hand to us.
Some of my classmates started crying, especially some girls. They cried about how they wanted to go home and that they didn't have the skill to defeat a final boss for that.
Others looked around excitedly, with hope in their eyes for unknown powers and unexpected journeys.
"Now, I ask you, place your hands on the Divine Orb so that we can discover your talents! Then we can train you on that foundation." The man spoke, while the sage placed the orb on a pedestal.
The king approached, standing next to the orb, the princess next to him, and the sage on the other side, watching the orb.
"I'll go first." Sougo proclaimed. She sensed the tension between the students and wanted to give them a boost of courage by taking the lead.
The sage standing next to the king gave her instructions on the ritual, as well as introducing himself as the Ancestral Sage of the Tower of Magic, Negulos.
Sougo's hand touched the Orb, which began to glow in an intense golden and silver light. The guards, the sage, the king and the princess were all stunned by the light.
"Akari Sougo! The Heroine of Eternal Silver Light!!! 99% talent!!!" The sage shouted in amazement.
The king smiled slightly, surprised by the situation. All of us were puzzled, especially the president. What did those words mean?
"Hahaha! Very good, that relieves me, maybe we really can defeat the Demon King with you by our side, heroine Sougo!" The king proclaimed, his voice beaming with pride.
"What do those words mean, King Kailandor?" Sougo asked, while placing her hand on her chest.
"Your class and your talent. You having the talent of over 90% already shows that you were born to be a hero! That fills me with hope, but what made me sure was your class, you have the title of hero with you and also Eternity by your side, you really are the chosen one!" The king said, happiness bursting from his face and posture. The princess at his side ran to embrace Sougo.
"Thank you so much for coming to us heroine!" She said.
"Ahh..." Sougo sighed. She was confused by the situation, but decided to accept. It showed how good she was at her role as a leader.
The other students were all speechless at the situation, some looking on with admiration, others with envy.
After Sougo, Sakurai stepped in front of the orb, brushing the president aside. "Let me show you how strong I am too!!!" He said, arrogance covering his face.
The moment he placed his hand on the orb, it began to glow in a bright red light. Everyone was stunned again, even if they weren't as enthusiastic as Sougo's demonstration.
"Sakurai Keisuke. The Flaming Sword of Judgement! 97% talent!!!" The sage said, shouting with almost equal loudness.
"Impressive. Again, it fills me with even more hope seeing your talent."
Sakurai was disappointed by their reaction, but even so, he knew he was strong.
All the other students continued with their assessments one after the other.
The tests followed one by one, as each student hesitated, cheered or simply went with the flow. The talents varied widely, from modest figures to values that drew murmurs of approval from the sage and the guards. Some students discovered surprising abilities, such as the ability to manipulate natural elements, summon spirits or even enhance their own bodies with superhuman strength.
However, as the line got shorter, the murmurs and excitement gave way to a silent tension. After all, there were 31 students, but few had received titles or talent levels higher than 80%. Many began to feel small, overshadowed by the intense light of Sougo and Sakurai, who already seemed destined to lead the group.
I waited, as I always did. Being last never bothered me. It was something I was used to, like a shadow amidst the glare of others.
Finally, the last student before me placed his hand on the orb. The light that shone through was a pale, almost faint blue. The sage announced in a hesitant voice:
"Kobayashi Ren. The Alchemist of the Quiet Tide. Talent 57%."
Ren looked uncomfortable, but didn't say anything. He just stepped aside to make way for me, the very last one.
I took a deep breath and stepped forward. The silence in the room was deafening. Everyone was either tired or just disinterested in the "last in line".
"Your name?" asked the sage, his voice full of anticipation, as if expecting me to surprise everyone.
"Haruto... Haruto Tanaka," I replied, trying not to sound nervous.
I placed my hand on the surface of the orb. For a moment, nothing happened. Silence grew even more oppressive in the hall.
The orb didn't glow. In fact, it was as if it hadn't even reacted.
The sage looked at me, anxiety rising to his head. The king looked at Negulos, trying to understand the situation. A failure of judgment? What had happened? I could hear the voices of the others around the room filling with questions about what was going on.
Negulos snapped his finger and that Orb disappeared into thin air, and another one almost instantly appeared in its place. It was new, the handprints of the other students weren't on it.
"'T-try again, young man. Maybe that one was faulty, or even worn out after so many uses at once." He spoke, his voice hesitant.
"O-Of course." This time I couldn't mask my feelings of nervousness, my hand was shaking and sweating, I was scared.
The king slowly looked at me with pity, as if he knew what was going on. The princess wasn't even there anymore, she just walked away and joined Sougo with the other girls. The man in armor was already concentrating elsewhere.
When my hand finally touched the orb, it had a weak reaction. A colorless light came out of it, and quickly faded.
"H-Haruto Tanaka. The Talentless ... 0% talent." The sage muttered. He didn't know how to react to the situation. What was going on, he wondered. The king put his hand up to his face and sighed as he looked at me pitifully out of the corner of his eye. He signaled to the man in armor to get me out of that place.
All the other students had the same look as the king. And as the man in armor took me out of the hall, I saw Sougo questioning the king about what was going on, and Sakurai laughing with everything he had, and the same went for his troupe.
I was desperate... Wasn't I supposed to be a hero too? Why didn't I have talent?!