A flash of blue silver light illuminated a grand hall with a high ceiling. In the center of the palace hall, surrounded by golden pillars and a shining marble floor, a giant magic circle glowed, carving complex patterns into the floor. The royal soldiers on guard stepped back a few steps, staying alert.
They waited for the light to fade and for the summoned heroes to appear. They were the hope of humanity to defeat the Demon King.
"The circle is active! The hero summoning was successful!" shouted an old magus.
The light reached its peak, then..
BOOM!
A soft booming sound echoed. The light became extremely bright, forcing everyone to turn their eyes away. However, after only a few seconds, the light faded and disappeared. All eyes turned toward the center of the hall. Four figures appeared there.
Three men and one woman. They were wearing clothes from another world, uniforms, jackets, jeans. Their faces looked confused. Including Takuya Minami, who still looked dazed after being pulled from his apartment. This place was very different, yet it felt familiar to him.
When he looked forward, he saw an old man who looked to be around forty five years old smiling at them. The man wore luxurious golden clothes with fur made from expensive silk threads. His smile looked extremely satisfied.
"Welcome, heroes!" said the crowned old man. He sat on a gem covered throne. King Aldren IV, the ruler of the Kingdom of Valion.
Takuya frowned. For some reason, he did not like that old man. He immediately realized that the man in front of him was a king. But his instincts told him that the man was an idiot.
"What does he want?" Takuya thought.
While Takuya looked calm, the other three panicked. They were confused as well. Takuya felt the same, but he often read isekai novels, transmigration stories, or similar things. This was shocking and illogical, but it felt familiar in his mind.
He was the calmest among the four.
"Is this… a dream?" one of the other men, who was muscular with short hair, muttered.
The other one, who wore glasses, immediately observed the surroundings. His eyes were serious, ready in case something bad happened. He was the most mature one because he was already twenty two years old. The others were still teenagers.
Meanwhile, the girl with shoulder length red hair stared at the floor with her head lowered. Seeing people holding weapons made her scared. She moved closer to the other summoned heroes and held one of their hands. It was Takuya's hand.
Takuya glanced at her briefly. He should have been happy, but the situation did not make him feel that way.
"Please calm down!" a gentle voice echoed.
A silver haired woman in a long white dress stepped forward. A golden cross necklace hung on her neck, her eyes sharp and full of authority. She was Lady Seraphina, the Saintess of the Great Light Cathedral. She was the highest spiritual leader of the kingdom after the archbishop.
"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Seraphina. You are the chosen heroes." Her voice was very gentle and soothing. It felt protective. "I am the one who will evaluate your potential."
Seraphina walked toward the four of them, but when she tried to get closer, one of the summoned heroes stepped forward and spread his arms. His gaze was sharp and full of caution.
"Who are you? Why are we here and…" he looked around. "What kind of place is this?" the man asked.
The man's name was Shigeru Takeshi. He was a diligent office worker with a strong sense of justice. He was the most mature one there. Shigeru felt that he had to step forward to protect the others.
Seraphina bowed politely. "Please forgive my rudeness, Hero. I will explain everything," the woman said.
She explained that the four of them were heroes summoned by the mages of the Kingdom of Valion. Their task was to save the world from the Demon King. Seraphina also explained that the heroes had different kinds of powers.
They were chosen by the Goddess as saviors. They also received unlimited blessings. That was Seraphina's brief explanation.
"…we will provide the best facilities for you. We will help you become honorable heroes and defeat the Demon King. After that, you may choose to return to your original world or stay here," Seraphina explained.
Shigeru looked suspicious. "Why should we follow your request?" he complained.
"Because if you do not, then you will not be able to return to your world."
The answer was short, but it made Shigeru even more suspicious. However, when he was about to say something,
Seraphina suddenly walked closer and touched Shigeru's chest. She gently rubbed it. A faint purple light appeared, but almost no one noticed it.
Shigeru did not protest anymore, but Takuya saw it. He narrowed his eyes, but remained silent.
"Alright then, I will check your powers," Seraphina said.
A transparent crystal gem appeared in her hand. She stepped toward the first man, Shigeru. She was curious about the man who kept talking earlier. Seraphina also felt a large amount of mana energy from him.
[Name: Shigeru Takeshi]
[Class: Sword Saint]
[HP: 1.220 | MP: 140 | STR: 85 | AGI: 72 | VIT: 68 | DEX: 70 | INT: 20]
[Skill: Sword Aura, Blade Storm, Heroic Charge]
Seraphina immediately smiled. This was exactly what she expected. "Amazing. A candidate for a legendary swordmaster," Seraphina commented while nodding. "You have very great potential. I am sure you can become the most remembered hero in this world."
Then, she moved to the second man. A bespectacled teenager. He was from the same school as Takuya, but they were in different classes. A student who was very famous for his academic intelligence. Often ranked in the top ten students of his grade.
[Name: Hiroshi Kanda]
[Class: Beast Tamer]
[HP: 1.010 | MP: 350 | STR: 38 | AGI: 45 | VIT: 55 | DEX: 30 | INT: 70]
[Skill: Beast Contract, Mana Link, Insight Eyes]
Seraphina was amazed once again. Not just one talented hero, but they had obtained two at the same time. This was an incredible blessing.
"Deep insight and the ability to tame magical creatures. This will be very, very useful."
When Seraphina looked toward the only woman there, her expectations grew even higher. She hoped that the Kingdom of Valion would receive even more fortune.
[Name: Aika Mizuno]
[Class: Grand Mage]
[HP: 1.010 | MP: 600 | STR: 18 | AGI: 30 | VIT: 28 | DEX: 40 | INT: 95]
[Skill: Elemental Mastery, Arcane Blast, Mana Flow]
Seraphina swallowed. This was even stronger than herself when she was at the same age. All the heroes here were still level one, yet their stats were already equal to someone above level fifteen. This was completely unreasonable.
"Ah… this is incredible. A genius mage," Seraphina smiled sincerely.
This time, she looked at the last summoned hero.
It was Takuya.
Takuya stared at Seraphina from head to toe repeatedly. Seraphina felt uncomfortable, but because the one in front of her was a summoned hero, she tried to ignore it.
[Name: Takuya Minami]
[Class: ??? | Human]
[HP: 700 | MP: 25 | STR: 57 | AGI: 35 | DEX: 45 | VIT: 38 | INT: 8]
[Skill: Unlimited Gacha]
When she saw Takuya's stats, Seraphina snorted softly and turned her face away. "He is very weak. Why was he summoned? He is truly useless."
When she looked at the skill section again, she became even less interested. Not a fighter or a mage. Seraphina clicked her tongue in annoyance and turned away. This time, she completely ignored Takuya.
Seraphina faced the king and knelt. "Your Majesty, we have obtained three very talented heroes with great potential. We are very fortunate," she reported.
"Did we not summon four heroes?" the king asked.
"The other one is just trash, Your Majesty. He is useless."
The king nodded immediately. He understood. "Then take them to their respective rooms. Treat them well!" the king ordered.
Seraphina nodded. "Yes, Your Majesty."
Seraphina stood up and gave orders to the soldiers to bring the heroes to the places she had prepared. One by one, the heroes were given facilities according to their talents.
As he watched the heroes receive luxurious rooms one by one, Takuya smiled widely. But then something shocking happened.
"You will stay here, Hero."
Takuya froze in shock. "Is this not a horse stable?" he complained.
"Yes. This is your place."