I shift in my school desk, leaning over to grab the book I need for the English class that's about to begin.

  As soon as I move, something whizzes by my ear.

  I stop my hands before they even start unzipping my bookbag, looking up to see what it was that just flew by. My eyes catch sight of the culprit, just as the wad of paper hits the head of the person sitting in front of me.

  The classmate turns, his eyes first falling on me, then moving to the person sitting in the desk behind mine.

  "Curtis," he says to the guy behind me. "I'll be waiting for you after class."

  "Yeah? What ya gonna do? Threaten to get your football buddies to beat me up?"

  "Keep talking like that, and I might." He turns back around, facing the front of the class.

  With the commotion having died down, I unzip my bookbag and pull out my English textbook, placing it on my desk.

  "Lezard," Curtis says in a whisper. “You’ll pay for that.”

  For dodging your petty attempt to bully me? Don’t make me laugh.

  Rather than answering, I simply wave my hand dismissively.

  Unlike the two guys who were just arguing, I'm just an average size high schooler. The perfect target for a big guy like Curtis to pick on.

  Hey Curtis, I can feel you glaring at me, you know.

  Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, the bully can't see the smirk on my lips.

  Still don't have a clue, do you? Well, that's to be expected of a dimwit like you.

  I keep my thoughts to myself. It'd be rude to make a scene just before class begins.

  Speaking of, where's the teacher? He's normally here by now.

  I look out the window to my left. Since this classroom is on the second floor, I have a good view of the school courtyard below, including the gate.

  Teachers and staff have a dedicated entrance, but many of them use the main gate, regardless.

  I’m not exactly expecting to see him rushing through the courtyard, though. In fact, I’d be quite surprised, if they were the case.

  But despite not spotting the man, my face is still covered in surprise.

  Or rather than surprise, it's displaying absolute shock.

  No way! This is…!

  Goosebumps crawl up my arms, as if my body were reacting to a sudden burst of cold wind. That same feeling courses through my entire body, filling me with an uncomfortable sensation.

  I shut my eyes and turn from the window. The next instant, the world goes white.

  Even with my eyes closed, the intense flash is nearly enough to make me shield my face with my hands. But before I can make any moves, the light vanishes, along with the school desk, the floor beneath me, and even the cool air against my skin.

  Everything is replaced by an unfeeling darkness.

  As if waking from a dream, the world returns. Sensations hit me. A hard floor beneath my feet, a subdued light penetrating my closed eyelids, and whispering voices from all around.

  Slowly, I open my eyes. And what I see is…

  "What happened!?" Curtis yells, looking around the ornate room.

  Turning, I see every single one of my classmates. There's Curtis, of course. But there's also Josh, the football player he was arguing with, along with my childhood friend, Mitsuki.

  However, we're not the only ones here. Many pairs of eyes watch us, some looking just as shocked as my classmates.

  "Lezard," Mitsuki says, stepping up to me. "What's going on?"

  Although Mitsuki is full Japanese by birth, she grew up in America. So even if she looks Asian, she speaks perfect English.

  I give her a sidelong glance. "Why are you asking me?"

  "Don't you usually have some insights during times like this?"

  "Sure, I guess. But what exactly are you expecting me to know about this kind of situation? It's not every day that we get summoned to another world, after all."

  Mitsuki looks surprised. "Summoned to another world? What exactly do you–"

  "What a miraculous summoning!" A young woman in elaborate armor steps forward. "Not one, not two, but a whole squad of heroes!"

  She stops at the head of our group. "Never before have we received such a blessing from the gods! Surely, this world has nothing to fear now!"

  "How young," a well-dressed man says. "Can we truly win by sending these children to battle?"

  "The previous hero was nearly the same age, wasn't he?"

  "Perhaps that's why he failed."

  The young soldier sends the man a glare, but it doesn't have any effect on him. When she turns back to us, her face has already returned to normal.

  "Regardless of the strange circumstances, we shall proceed as normal." She steps aside, revealing a pedestal that's been standing behind her. "In order to gauge your strength, we require each of you to step forward and place your hand atop the orb."

  The orb she's talking about sits in the grasp of several metallic fingers that rise from the pedestal. It looks like a holy relic, so there shouldn’t be any surprise to hear that it serves such an important purpose in a world with magic.

  At least, it shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who's been calmly analyzing our situation like Mitsuki and I have been doing.

  But not everyone can adjust to these circumstances so quickly.

  "W-what's going on?" Nina asks in a small voice. "Where are we, and who are these people…?"

  The young soldier seems to realize that she skipped a few important details in her explanations. Or rather, she didn't really explain anything at all.

  To make up for her mistake, she opens her mouth to soothe the worries of my classmates that have yet to catch up with what's going on. However, someone beats her to the punch.

  "Don't worry, Nina," Isaac says. "I've heard stories similar to this. Considering the events that have transpired until now, there's only one conclusion. We've been summoned to another world to save it from some unstoppable disaster."

  "Eh!? But that kind of thing only happens in movies, right!? Isn't this some kind of trick!?"

  "No, I suspect that everything we've seen so far is real."

  "How can you be so sure? Maybe we've been kidnapped by some weirdos…"

  "If that were the case, then something like that would be impossible." Isaac points to the ceiling, where an orb of light is floating.

  "No way…" Nina gulps. "It's got to be a magic trick, or something…"

  "I've thoroughly examined it. There is no trick, no chain, no source of power. You can see right through it, meaning there's no battery or electronics inside. It's real."

  Everyone's looking up at that floating orb of light now, soaking in Isaac's words. Now that it's been pointed out to them, they can't deny what they're seeing with their own eyes.

  "It is as your companion has concluded," the young female soldier says. "Our world is on the brink of ruin, and only a hero can save us. Or in this case, many heroes."

  "I'd like to hear the details." Isaac pushes up his glasses with a single finger. "But I suppose that can wait until after you gauge our capabilities."

  "Excellent." She steps up to the pedestal that holds the orb. "My name is Rosa, and I’d be very pleased to see each of your strengths."

  Hmm. This might be a little troublesome. What am I going to do if…

  No, I can just deal with it afterwards. After all, I already know the answer.

  I shake my head, releasing a sigh at the same time. Mitsuki gives me a questioning look, but I pretend not to see it. Though she knows that I'm ignoring her, just like she knows that I know she knows.

  While I'm thinking, Rosa points to a student. It's a guy who looks so normal, he'd blend in with just about any crowd.

  When he realizes that he's going to be the first to have his strength tested, his face turns a bit white, but he's more afraid of looking scared than he is afraid of whatever that orb will do to him.

  The rest of the class watches on as he takes the short stairs that lead up to the orb.

  "Just place your hand here." Rosa directs him.

  "L-like this?" He puts his hand on the orb.

  Although we can't see it from here, I know that the orb is displaying his status on its glossy surface, revealing everything about him.

  His level, his stats, and his Heroic Skills. They're all being displayed for Rosa to see.

  "Level 30," she says. "Respectable stats, with a clear bias toward melee. Heroic Skill is [Heraldry]."

  "Is that … good?"

  "Yes. Compared to the people of this world, you could be considered exceptional. Though we will need to study this Heroic Skill to find out what it does."

  "Really? So I'm strong?" The relief in his voice is obvious.

  "Indeed. Though compared to the previous summoned hero, you're still lacking. However, perhaps that's why so many of you have arrived. Even if none of you can match his strength, when added together, perhaps you can accomplish what he could not."

  "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

  Rosa motions for him to return, then waves forward the next person. This time it's Josh, the captain of our school's football team, and the same guy that the school bully, Curtis, hit with the paper ball just before our summoning.

  The same scene plays out, except at the end, there's a noticeable difference between him and the first guy.

  "Level 40," Rosa says. "It seems not all of you are of equal strength."

  "Seriously?" He sounds far more confident than the first kid. "Does that mean I'm even stronger than that other summoned hero you keep talking about?"

  "No, even with your heightened level and stats, you still fall short."

  "Oh, man. Thought for a minute that I was something special. Hahaha." Josh shrugs.

  One by one, all my classmates take their turns with the orb. There's about a 50/50 split between those who are level 30 and those who are level 40.

  At first, it looks like it's random. But after a few of them have their levels revealed, the reason for the difference becomes clear.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  The level 40s are exceptional in some way, like Josh with his good physique from years of playing football.

  But it's not just physical attributes that are taken into account.

  A particularly shy girl walks down the stairs after taking her turn. Most likely thought she'd be level 30, but it turns out, she's one of the level 40s.

  Her stats are skewed heavily toward magic, as is her Heroic Skill. The reason for that is because she's quite intelligent, regularly scoring high marks in school.

  Since it takes both physical and mental attributes into consideration, then that means…

  My eyes fall on Mitsuki. She decided to take her turn, leaving me in the back by myself. Her hand falls on the orb, and…

  "Ohhh." Rosa makes an impressed sound. "Level 45. High stats all around, and a Heroic Skill called [Bushido]. It seems you may well be the strongest among the heroes."

  "I don't know about that." Mitsuki's eyes fall on me for the briefest of moments. "But I'll do my best to help with whatever strength I have to offer."

  "I'm glad to hear that you have such an ironclad will. We may be relying heavily on you in the future."

  With that, she comes back to my side. As she returns, my final classmate steps up to the orb.

  Isaac places his hand on its surface without instruction or hesitation, and his stats appear for Rosa to see.

  "What…?" Rosa looks at Isaac's face. "Level 50, extraordinary magical strength, and … two Heroic Skills."

  Isaac removes his hand, his face completely composed, as if this were the expected result. "I thought as much."

  That's all he says before turning and taking the steps back down, leaving everyone to wonder why exactly he expected to be the strongest hero here.

  Though the answer is obvious to me.

  Hmm. What to do…

  I get lost in thought, completely oblivious to the fact that every single person in the room is staring at me.

  Mitsuki nudges me. "Hey, it's your turn."

  "Hm? Oh, right. Guess I better get it over with, huh?" Another sigh escapes my lips.

  "What are you so troubled about?"

  I wave my hand dismissively. "Nothing. I'll be back in a minute."

  I step up to the orb. Even without touching it, I can feel a subtle power radiating from its surface, like a balloon that's putting out enough static electricity to make my hair stand on end.

  Reaching up, I place my hand on its cool, glossy surface. Immediately after, words appear within the orb.

  "T-this is…!" Rosa looks up from the artifact, meeting my eyes.

  The room fills with a buzz, with whispers from the nobles, warriors, and mages who are close enough to see my status.

  "You are…" Rosa continues. "Level 1."

  "That's…" I remove my hand. "Unfortunate."

  Chapter 2

  "Bwahahaha!" Curtis laughs loud enough to drown out all the commotion. "Did you hear that!? Level 1, she said! Level 1!"

  I turn to see the class bully pointing at me, laughing hysterically.

  Despite my efforts, my eyebrow twitches as his laughter echoes through this large room filled with important looking people.

  "Be quiet, Curtis." Mitsuki gives him a glare.

  "Why?" He says between laughs. "Always acting so high and mighty, then getting left in the dust! How's that not funny?"

  "There's a difference between confidence and arrogance. Or weren't you paying attention in English class?"

  "Hah! Who cares what some stuffy teacher has to say. All I know is I'm level 40, and Lezard's level 1! Hahaha!"

  "Curtis, you–"

  "That's quite enough," Isaac says. "It's rude to argue in front of our new companions. And if it's our level that determines the hierarchy, then need I remind you who's the only level 50 here?"

  Curtis eyes Isaac, looking like he just swallowed a lemon whole. But the petty bully doesn't push the issue, having painted himself into a corner with his own remarks.

  From a quick inspection of the nobles and soldiers in the room, I see that they approve of Isaac's punctual and levelheaded response. Especially Rosa, who's been speaking to us in their stead this entire time.

  "It seems we'll be needing to focus on cooperation before anything else," Rosa says. "But worry not, we have already devised a training routine for the hero. We need only to adjust it to include the other 12–sorry, other 13 heroes."

  Hey, don't accidentally forget that I'm a hero, too…

  All eyes fall on me once again. It's obvious that they already see Isaac as the real hero among us. Not only is he the only level 50, but he has two Heroic Skills while everyone else has just one.

  On the flip side, their gazes tell me that I'm not even in the same category as the rest of the heroes. They'd probably be happy if I just decided to stay here while the others went off to save the world.

  Unfortunately for them, I don't have such plans.

  "I may have gotten a bad deal here," I say. "But I'm sure everything will work out in the end."

  "Yes." Rosa nods. "If we play our hands properly, you should be able to catch up to the others quickly. Though the lack of a Heroic Skill may become a problem."

  You sure do speak your mind without hesitation, as usual.

  "About this disaster," I say. "Care to explain what's going on?"

  Even though I’m asking Rosa, it's an important looking man who answers in her stead.

  "Those spiritkin are trying to destroy this world using their foul magic. If we don't put a stop to them, all of us will perish."

  "You don't know that, Duke Bartholomew," Rosa says. "There's no evidence that the spiritkin are the ones–"

  "You still believe the words of that so-called hero? Isn't it obvious that he failed because he refused to accept the fact that the spiritkin are the ones who created the mist?"

  Rosa winces. "I don't know why he failed, but there's one thing I'm absolutely sure of. He tried his best to save this world, so I won't sit idle while you disparage his name."

  "No matter," Duke Bartholomew says. "We have a whole squad of heroes at our disposal now. There's no way we'll fail this time."

  We? Why are you talking like you'll be doing the fighting, Bart?

  Rosa turns back to us. "Before sending them to battle, we need to assess their fighting capabilities. Please, follow me to the training grounds."

  She steps forward, my classmates making room for her to pass through our group. She continues on, stopping at the door on the far end.

  Isaac's the first to follow, breaking the stagnant atmosphere.

  It seems the rest of the class has already accepted him as the de facto leader as well, since it's only after Isaac starts moving that the others follow.

  Man, what a pain…

  It's a short trip through the castle before we reach the training grounds. The room is more than big enough for all 14 of us, even letting us spread out to give room to train without fear of bumping shoulders.

  Rosa looks at the parchment where they recorded our stats. "The most effective way to judge each of you will be to pair up and duel. That will give us a chance to see what everyone is capable of."

  "D-duel?" Nina looks nervous. "I've never fought before, and I don't think I'd be very good at it…"

  "Worry not. From your status, it appears you specialize in defensive magic, meaning you can be judged by the effectiveness of your barriers, rather than your overall combat potential."

  "As for your partner…" Her eyes settle on me.

  I take a step forward, ignoring the snicker coming from Curtis. "Sure, sounds like fun."

  "You're quite relaxed, all things considered."

  "I've always been the kinda guy that takes things in stride, and I don't intend to change just because I'm playing on hard mode."

  Rosa's eyes widen for a brief second, then return to normal. "I suppose it's only natural that those summoned from the same world as him would use his strange terminology."

  "The previous hero?"

  "Yes. He was also from Earth, just like all of you."

  "Ah, well video games are really popular these days, so I'm not surprised to hear he made the same references."

  Rosa nods. "Regardless, I believe this to be a good chance for both of you. With so many heroes, we can afford to have some specialize, like Nina with her defensive magic. And since you lack all forms of power, she should quickly realize just what she's capable of now that she's been chosen as a hero."

  "So I'm a glorified practice dummy, huh…"

  "That's … not quite what I meant." Rosa eyes the smirk on my face. "Could it be that you're actually quite the prankster, Lezard?"

  "Me? I'd never dream of being such a rascal."

  She looks unconvinced. "In any case, let's begin the training. Since the people of your world can't use magic naturally, we can use this opportunity to showcase what your new powers can do. For that reason, we'll have the others watch before starting their own training."

  "Eh?" Nina looks around. "But I don't know how to do something like use magic. And I was never good with crowds…"

  "It'll be fine," I reassure her. "I'm sure it'll come naturally to you once you try casting. And as for the crowd part … well, just do your best."

  "Couldn't you at least tell me not to worry?" Nina gives me a little pout.

  "Worrying isn't always a bad thing. It means you're aware of the consequences of failure, so as long as you have your worries under control, it can be quite beneficial, actually."

  "You don't look the least bit worried, though…"

  "Ahahaha…"

  "Don't just laugh!" Her pout returns.

  With a shrug, I turn from Nina and walk to a nearby stand where a small arsenal of training weapons is lined up.

  Now that I've gotten her to loosen up a bit, we can start the training session.

  But she might freeze if I come at her swinging one of these deadly looking weapons. Even if their edges are blunted, there's still a primal fear when a metal sword is coming toward you.

  My eyes scan the rack, disregarding the swords, spears, and axes leaning haphazardly against the wooden frame.

  For a split second, my gaze stops on a particular weapon. It's strange that they'd even have one here, as it's quite out of place among the more traditional weapons that it stands beside.

  Why is that one here? Could it be…

  I turn to Rosa and see her simply eyeing me with an unreadable expression.

  Hmm. It'd be best if I didn't touch that particular weapon, no matter how much I want to.

  I turn back to the rack, ignoring the scythe that caught my attention. Finally, when my eyes reach the far end of the weapon stand, I find what I'm looking for.

  "Oh, this is perfect." I pull a wooden sword from the rack. "Something like this can barely leave a bruise."

  "Erm…" Nina makes a nervous sound.

  "Don't worry." I give the sword a few practice swings. "Your magic will protect you."

  She watches anxiously as I walk to the center of the arena. "Why do you always sound so confident? Aren't you worried, especially since…"

  "Since I'm level 1? Yeah, I'm going to be honest, that is a bit worrisome. But there's nothing I can do about it right now, so I'll just have to focus on getting stronger when I have the opportunity."

  Nina shakes her head. "You always were the weird one…"

  "How rude. I'm not weird, I'm just eccentric."

  "That's the same thing!"

  "Ahahaha…"

  Finally, with the urging of Rosa, Nina steps out of the group and toward the center of the ring. She's not in a hurry. Or rather, she's purposely trying to delay the inevitable.

  But time creeps ever forward, and before Nina knows it, she's standing just a few paces from me, eyeing the wooden sword in my hand.

  "Please go easy on me, Lezard…"

  "Hey, I'm the level 1 here. Shouldn't I be saying that to you?"

  "Maybe, but I really don't understand this whole level thing. I was never into things like video games. Does it really matter that much?"

  "That's why we're having this match, to show everyone just what kind of strength all of you have now. We're not on Earth anymore, so you'll have to get used to how things work in this world."

  Nina gives me a perplexed look. "It sounds like you already have this all figured out."

  "Eh? No way, I just got summoned, didn't I? I'm just making educated guesses based on what I've seen."

  "I guess that makes sense…"

  "Anyway, you need to learn how to cast your magic." I look to Rosa. "Can you give her the short version?"

  "Raise your hand toward your opponent, Nina." Our instructor gives her a demonstration. "And focus on the energy flowing through your arm."

  "Energy?" Nina raises her hand toward me.

  "It's flowing from your core, down your arm, and into your hand. It's only by directing the energy that you will be able to use magic. Furthermore…"

  The class and I listen on as Rosa explains the basics of spellcasting.

  Despite being level 1, I can clearly feel that same energy flowing inside me. The only problem is that mine is so weak, I doubt I can call forth a spell strong enough to be considered useful, either offensively or defensively.

  Though there are less direct methods of spellcasting that may come in handy for me.

  As Rosa continues to explain, I raise my hand toward Nina. She's got hers pointed at me, as well. But despite being many times my strength thanks to her high level, she still looks at my raised arm with a tinge of fear.

  "Time to see what I'm capable of," I say before Rose even finishes her explanation. "[Water Gun]!"

  My mana reacts to my desire, bursting forth from my palm. The water emerges, just like I imagined, and…

  "Gahahahaha!" A certain school bully can't contain his laughter. "Water gun!? More like water faucet! Hahahah!"

  The stream of water–if it can even be called a stream–trickles out from my open palm, flying less than an arm's length through the air before gravity drags it to the ground.

  "Hmm." I watch as a small puddle forms on the arena floor. "Looks like I'll never go thirsty again."

  Rosa stops her explanation and watches in silence as my [Water Gun] comes to an end.

  "I suppose that's to be expected for a level 1," she says. "I'm surprised you even managed to cast the spell, to be honest."

  "It's thanks to your detailed explanation."

  "I wasn't even finished, though? No, let's just move on. I believe all of you should understand by now, correct?"

  "Yeah."

  "No."

  Nina and I speak at the same time. The only problem is that we give entirely different answers.

  "Just imagine what effect you want," I say to Nina. "In your case, a magical barrier that blocks spells should be right up your alley."

  "Um, okay…" She closes her eyes. "Err … [Barrier]!"

  A translucent wall appears between us, coloring Nina in a subtle shade of blue.

  "I did it!?"

  "Why do you sound so surprised?"

  "W-well, I didn't think anything would actually appear…"

  I walk up to her [Barrier] and reach my hand out toward her defensive spell. It passes straight through, without even an ounce of resistance.

  "Hey!" Nina watches me bypass her magic with ease. "Why is it useless!?"

  "It's not useless. Here, let me show you."

  I step back just a bit, my open palm pointing right at Nina's [Barrier]. "Water fau–I mean, [Water Gun]!"

  The trickle of water bursts from my hand, hitting the [Barrier] with the force of a summer breeze. Unlike my hands, the magical water is met with resistance as it hits her defensive spell, splashing against the translucent barrier and sending droplets of water around the impact zone.

  But not a single one of those drops makes it through.

  "It's working?" Nina watches the water splash against her [Barrier].

  "Yep. And if you want a spell that can block physical attacks, all you have to do is imagine it as you cast."

  "I see…"

  "Anyway." I bring up my wooden sword. "Ready?"

  "No. No, I'm not."

  "That's…" I hold my weapon in a battle-ready grip. "...Unfortunate."

  I kick the ground, covering the distance between us in a breath.

  "Eek!" Nina backs away, nearly falling on her rear.

  My wooden sword flies out, heading straight toward her body.

  Nina's caught completely off-guard, meaning no spell appears to block my attack. Despite that, I don’t relent, and the edge of my wooden sword hits her in the upper arm, just below her shoulder.

  "Owww–huh?" Nina looks at my sword, which still presses against her bare skin. "Oh, you held back…"

  "Yeah, I did. But not as much as you think. If it were the you on Earth, you'd probably have a welt in a few minutes."

  "What? But I barely felt anything."

  "Well, I'm level 1 and you're level 30. It'd be weird if I could hurt you so easily, right?"

  "No, that doesn't sound weird at all…"

  I remove my sword, bringing it back to my side. "That's just how it is in this world. You can't rely on your sense of physics from Earth, not when there are things like levels and stats that determine a person's strength."

  "Oh, I see…" Nina looks to her unmarred arm. "I think?"

  "You'll get used to it." I turn to Rosa. "But I think that works as a demonstration, doesn't it?"

  "It does. In fact, I couldn't have asked for a better explanation, both verbally and physically." She narrows her eyes just a bit. "You're quite capable when it comes to adjusting to your new world, aren't you?"

  "In terms of fantasy settings, this one seems pretty standard, so I don't think it's strange at all. Besides, I'm not the only one who figured out how to cast magic even before we arrived at this arena."

  Rosa traces my eyes, her gaze falling on two students.

  It's not obvious anymore, but I didn't miss the moment Mitsuki used body enhancement magic on herself, increasing her physical abilities.

  As for the other, it's Isaac. Even now, he carries a small piece of stone in his hand, using it to test his magic. When he realizes that he's been found out, he openly reveals what he's learned.

  Isaac holds out his hand, palm up. The stone sitting in it begins to rise, stopping a finger's length above his hand. It hovers there, as if held up by some unseen force.

  "I see." Rosa nods in satisfaction. "It seems our heroes are even more capable than I imagined."

  With the demonstrations complete, Rosa pairs all of us up based on our strengths and compatibility.

  Now, the real training begins.

  Man, this sucks. I want to be a high level, too…