She was definitely another looker. She had a slim figure and a cute face, which stood in contrast to the mature look of the goddess.
“I am the holy woman of Haigen Kingdom, Luishia. Returning you to the place from whence you came poses no difficulty. However, I am unable to do so immediately. It will be possible in one month’s time, during the next full moon. Those who do not wish to aid us in defeating the demon king may wait within the castle until that day.”
Nice. Isekai tourism.
“When we’re sent back, will a month have passed in our world as well?” Our class representative posed her next question.
“No. You will return to the point in time that you were summoned. No time will have passed in your world.”
Well, isn’t that just perfect? A little too convenient, even, if you ask me.
“Are there any among you who wish to return to your world? We will not stop any of you from doing so, even if it would mean that none of you remain here. However, I beg you all to heed our call. Bring salvation to our world!” At these words, the holy woman burst into tears.
Usually, this would have been the part where a self-proclaimed hero stepped up to the plate and rallied the rest of our classmates to stay and help. Unfortunately, the silence was deafening.
“I must apologize, but I think I speak for everyone when I say that this is too big of a decision to be made on the spot like this. Would it be okay if we used this month to think it over?” another one of my classmates said.
Wow, that’s pretty levelheaded... I think I’m down with that course of action.
“I understand. In that case, we ask that you participate in some training on a provisional basis. Our knight commander will provide further instructions.”
At that point, a brown-haired man with a full mustache and an intimidating face emerged from the group of tough-looking warriors. “Thank you for the introduction. Hail, heroes. I am the knight commander, Lugario. As for the specifics of the training, those will have to wait until we actually begin. First, I must determine your abilities.”
“Our abilities?” the class representative asked.
“Correct. Either speak or think the word ‘status,’” he instructed us.
Oh, so that’s the kind of world we’re in.
“Status,” I said. This whispered word opened a window that showed me all sorts of different information.
Inori Takafuji / Race: Human / Lv. 1
HP: 105 / MP: 103 / STR: 105
VIT: 96 / DEX: 110 / AGI: 121 / INT: 106
Divine Blessing(s): [Growth Boost] [5x Exp Multiplier] [½ Required Exp]
“It seems that you have the status of an average man of age,” the knight commander observed.
“All of my stats are average?”
“Indeed.”
The knight commander followed up by saying that heroes don’t start off with ridiculous stats. Judging by the reactions of everyone else, it seemed like they all had average stats too. I had kinda hoped that everyone else but me would have special stats, but I guess that hadn’t happened.
“You may have noticed you all have something called ‘Divine Blessings.’ These are gifts from the goddess for heroes like yourselves who travel to different worlds.”
To start with, it seemed like we had all been given the Growth Boost gift, befitting of fledgling heroes who were looking to develop themselves. In addition to that, we all had two unique gifts. The rest of my class had imbalanced gifts like “Imagination Magic,” “Limit Breaker,” or “Barrier”—a perfect fit for cheaters. In contrast, mine were all focused on experience growth.
My stats may not have been “hero-level,” but my gifts seemed very hero-esque. It was typical for classes like alchemists or thieves to pick up hidden skills later on that would make them even stronger.
After everyone finished looking over their statuses, the king’s voice boomed out across the room once more. “Very well, heroes. You may take this month to decide whether or not you are willing to lend us your aid. However...tonight, we celebrate! Indulge yourselves in food and drink!”
Wow, they really left nothing to be desired. Hm, I am pretty curious about what the food of this world tastes like. Would it be extremely epicurean—or paltry, thanks to an underdeveloped society? Think I’d much prefer the former.
Suddenly, a blue light appeared under my feet in the shape of a magic circle, just like the one from when we had been in the classroom. Oh, cool, they’re teleporting us to the banquet hall? In my mind, I had imagined that it would be rare for teleportation magic to be used, but it seemed that in this world, that wasn’t the case. I guess it shouldn’t have surprised me, since they had been able to summon all of us here. Obviously, summoning people from different worlds was a much more difficult feat than transporting people across a single world. If they could teleport things this easily, though, did that also mean they were able to collect different ingredients from all over the world?
My mouth was watering. I couldn’t wait to try all the food a fantasy world had to offer...
“W-Whoa, Takafuji...” A guy next to me called out.
I thought it was strange that he was trying to strike up a conversation with me, since I’d never spoken to him before, so I turned to face him. That’s when I saw his look of surprise as he pointed at my feet. What? Scared of teleportation magic even after you’ve just been summoned from a different world? There’s nothing to be scared of...
“Huh?”
By the time I realized what was happening, it was too late. I was the only person who had a magic circle beneath their feet. Just me, and no one else.
“What’s going on?”
While I didn’t have a single clue what was happening, a bright yellow light filled my vision.
When I opened my eyes, I was in a blank, white space that stretched as far as the eye could see. Okay, this is some serious déjà vu.
“Greetings. I am what you would call a goddess. You are currently in the space between worlds. Allow me to explain your current situation... Oh?”