Still trying to grapple with the fact I wasn't on earth anymore , I stood in disbelief as the maid who had introduced herself as Lulua continued to speak.
"Oh Four heroes, how I've waited for this moment. It seems you are finally ready to answer our kingdom's call to defeat the slumbering demon lord"
Four heroes? The only people I see here are shocked teenagers, me included. I mean how else would you react if you were summoned to another world to defeat some gruesome monster that threatened to destroy an entire kingdom the moment it woke up.
My name is Walker, Walker Valentine, and this is the story of how I learned that other worlds existed.
-
The many worlds interpretation is a theory that proposes that infinite parallel worlds exist.
This new world proved that theory true.
As amazing as it was as a breakthrough, knowing that I was not only not in my home country, but in a literal different plane of existence, I had a very bitter taste in my mouth. But I kept quiet as the elf maid before me gushed over the group I belonged in.
"Tempest, Fiona, Fitz, and Walker. With your help, we can finally put an end to this period of chaos and distrust!" Lulua exclaimed with a smile adorning her face, one of pure kindness and grace.
Even though I wasn't attracted to her myself, I had to admit. Lulua was beautiful on seemingly every level, maybe that's why they chose her to be the one to greet us. It only made sense, who would want to be sent to another world where some creepy old king explains he used magic to mystically kidnap you and bring you to help his world against your will?
Yeah I highly doubt that would go over smoothly.
Looking around I noticed the three others that were considered heroes just like me. One was a boy who towered over the other two. Going off the order in which she said our names, he must be Tempest, he seemed to be eating this whole interaction up. His jet black eyes and blonde hair shimmering as the elf spoke.
Besides him stood a girl like me, Fiona, except she was far more physically toned, with fair skin, ruby red eyes, and a mop of black hair that went down to her waist. She was absorbing every word that the elf had to say, making strict eye contact that would intimidate anyone who was on the receiving end of it.
Lastly there was another guy, Fitz I presumed, he had light brown hair, and his eyes looked like diamonds. On his face was a curious expression, like a kid who was just introduced to a magic set, he seemed like he was ready to learn more and more about this world.
Clearly I was the only one who didn't want to be here. Though I couldn't see my own face for obvious reasons, I knew the expression I wore. One of annoyance. It took all of my strength to not immediately object and demand to be sent home, but even that strength waned.
However, before I could open my mouth to say a thing, the elf looked at me, and answered the question I hadn't even asked yet.
"After you defeat the demon king, you'll be sent home at the exact moment you left, so don't worry, your home is waiting for you on the other side, we just need a bit of your help here, okay?"
"That's-"
"Amazing" The first boy let out, accidentally interrupting me.
The elf beamed "Yes the hero system is quite thorough is it, we wouldn't want you missing out on the best years of your life just to help us out, so our magicians have found a foolproof way to guarantee a safe return"
Next it was Fiona who spoke.
"So, where do we begin? You summoned us here to take care of some sleeping demon lord right? Where is he?"
The elf tensed under her stare.
"W- we don't know."
Now it was my turn, no interruptions, my fist clenched with the question
"What?" I tried not to sound angry, but clearly I had failed as the elf tensed again, and her face turned into one of worry.
She began to speak, this time in a meek voice
"We don't know where the demon lord is, his acolytes are masking his location, and our magicians aren't strong enough to break through their cloaking spell."
"So, we have to find out where he is on our own?" Great
The elf shook her head defensively.
"This world often has a way of betraying its inhabitants and their whims. If you want to find the demon lord, you have to use one of the many cheats this planet has to offer."
"What do you mean by cheats"? Fitz asked.
"There exist 6 artifacts that, when combined, can discover and send the user to the location of anyone they wish to find, regardless of the power used to hide them. If you four wish to find the demon lord, that is your best bet.
What did she mean by that? Apparently I wasn't the only one confused by her choice of words, as Fiona asked the same question parading around in my head
"If we wish to find him? Isn't that why you summoned us?"
"It is, but if instead you wish to live a life in this world, unimpeded by duty, no one here would dare oppose that."
So now we get a choice in how we get to live, awesome, that would've been great a couple hours ago when I was at home, in my bed, not having to fight a planet destroying monster.
This meant we had two options, either stay in another world permanently or search for a demon king somewhere hidden by powerful dark magicians in this fantasy world.
Just Great.
Tempest spoke up again, this time with an air of confidence.
"I think I speak for all of us when I say that we are honored to have the chance to help save your world, and we'd like to start helping as soon as possible"
No, no you don't speak for all of us, I genuinely don't want to be here.
I shot him a glare, but it seemed to go unnoticed as he continued to chat with the elf who seemed like she just had her day made by his heroic declaration.
"Excuse me" I raised my hand to gain the elf's attention.
"Yes?"
"How exactly are we going to fight the demon lord? It's not like we have any kind of power, at least I know for a fact I don't." Unlike blondie over there, I was gonna avoid speaking for a group of strangers I hadn't even so much learned the names of.
The elf made an o with her face as if realizing she hadn't explained some integral yet.
Instead of answering my question directly however, she instructed all of us to raise our hands and state the word "Status"
We all did what she said, and lo and behold, a menu straight out of an RPG appeared before our very eyes.
"This is the cardinal system, heroes summoned from another world generally lack a connection to the magicks and culture here, so with the summoning we have tapped into the latent potential you would have if you were citizens of this world. Granting you mana, and the ability to understand the reading and writing of our world as if it were your own "
So basically they installed a software into our bodies that allowed us to use magic? That's… different.
"What exactly is a class?" Fiona asked in reference to the word put into the upper right corner of the status screen right under the health bar. Before the elf could respond however Tempest answered.
"I assume it's like playing an rpg, so a class is the designation or role you have in this world. I'm a paladin for example."
"Precisely! In this world the inhabitants are allowed to pick a designation depending on the amount of mana they have, Since you are the four heroes, your classes are predetermined but also have completely unique skill trees and abilities that you and only you can learn."
I see, that's probably why they have to summon us to defeat the demon king, it's not just a lack of power but a compatibility issue, they probably need specific abilities to affect him, abilities only the four heroes have.
At least, that was a theory of mine, no way of knowing that for certain.
"What exactly does each of our classes do?"
"Great question." With a snap of her fingers and a muttering of the words, Circle of Appraisal. A series of sentences began to appear in front of each of our faces. "Now you can see the skill trees and evolutionary line of your classes, along with an explanation of your abilities"
Mine was simple.
White Mage, the prodigious class of healing and support.
So not only am I trapped in another world.
I'm trapped in another world as a support character
With only one skill.
Purification. To cleanse that which is tainted.
That was a fluke, right?