The classroom that had once been filled with laughter now echoed with stunned silence. The students of Class 3-B stood in a vast white hall, marble floors shining beneath their feet.
Before them hovered a figure — a woman with crimson eyes and wings made of light and darkness. Her voice carried the weight of a god.
"Welcome, chosen heroes... to Valtherion, the world of divine war."
Gasps filled the air. Some students trembled, others whispered with excitement.
Hayate stood near the back, eyes wide, heart pounding.
"A... another world?" he muttered.
Suddenly, glowing blue panels appeared before everyone.
[Status: Awakening Hero Potential...]
Excitement rippled through the class. Names, stats, and skills appeared above each student's head — cheers broke out.
"I got Holy Blade Mastery! Level 23!"
"Fire Magic! S-rank!"
But when Hayate looked at his screen... nothing.
[Error: No Skills Detected][Level: 1]
Laughter erupted.
"Seriously? Level one?"
"Guess the goddess didn't need weak trash."
Hayate's fists clenched. His face burned with humiliation.
"There must be a mistake!" he shouted. "Run the system again!"
The goddess's crimson gaze turned toward him — cold, unfeeling.
"There is no mistake," she said. "You have no worth in my world."
Before he could speak again, a glowing sigil opened beneath his feet.
"Wait—!"
The floor disappeared.
Hayate fell into darkness.
He landed hard on jagged stone. The air was thick with rot and dampness — the scent of death.
"Where... am I?"
The only answer was a low growl from the shadows. Dozens of red eyes flickered open.
Monsters.
Hayate stumbled back, blood trickling from his lip. His body ached from the fall.
"They threw me... away?" he whispered.
The beasts lunged.
He screamed, grabbed a rock, and swung wildly. Pain shot through his arm as claws tore into his skin. He fell to his knees, breathing hard — vision fading.
"Is this... how I die?"
Then — a voice.
Cold, mechanical.[System Detected: Host in critical state.][Initializing Survival Protocol...]
A burning light enveloped his body. His wounds sealed. His right arm began to glow — black and red energy swirling like liquid fire.
"W-what... what is this?"
[Welcome, Rengoku Hayate.][System: "Revenant Rebirth" activated.]
The monsters charged again. Hayate stood, a grin spreading across his blood-stained face.
"You threw me away…" he said. "Now watch me crawl out of hell."
His arm flared with power — and the dungeon roared in answer.