Fujou High was known for its many clicks of delinquents, from the Band of Fourteen Devils and numerous other Delinquent Gangs. Even the Student Council president was renowned for being merciless for those that opposed her. Rumour said she buried people behind the gym up to their necks… although it could never be officially proven that it was her that did so, the buried ones never came clean about who had done such a thing. To traumatised by the event to speak up.
Numerous clubs littered the high school also, culture clubs, sports clubs you name it, the school was just your typical generic highschool in all sense of the word. Despite the rising tide of delinquent gangs and rather extreme competitions held on school grounds between some of the students for no apparent reason. Teenagers enjoying their youth, making lasting relationships and moving their way up through their education for their future endeavours.
"I really don't want to put up with them today." Kenji Kazuma, one of Fujou high's more recent delinquent Heads. Leader of the not so renowned Kazuma Gang, with members such as Long Mountain Nagayama and Little Foot Yokoshima. A trio of delinquents… as the fourth member, Ataru Kawahara, only being the self entitled Chief of Operations for the so called gang.
Currently Kenji was standing outside of one of the many club rooms of the school, it's title being the 'Game Creation Club (Provisional)'. For several long… long months, Kenji had been the unfortunate soul to be dragged into such a club. How the esteemed leader of the Kazuma gang got roped into such a club was a story all on it's own.
But this was his club now, having aided at the FuF festival. And as much as he hated to admit it they did save his ass that one time from the band of Fourteen Devils. Then there was that whole tournament with Roka's hood that he still can't remember how exactly he got roped into. And most recently the whole thing that just went down with the Former Student Council and the Phone Tag game.
You couldn't tell him he didn't have a proactive social life. The worst thing was… he was getting used to the antics of his club members. Didn't mean he wanted to deal with their crap all the time.
The door to the clubroom slammed open and a pissed off Chitose stood before him.
"Are you just going to whinge and whine to yourself in your self pity party out here or are you coming in!?" Kenji glared at her as she turned and headed back inside forcing Kenji's hand, he had missed his opportunity to escape.
"Yo! Kazama!" The ever cheerful Sakura greeted him as he placed his bag down on a bench off to the side of the room.
"Kenji! Kenji! Look!" Roka was already beside him tugging on his blue blazer, Kenji reluctantly glanced over to Roka's current item of chaos that was sitting on the table and for a moment, Kenji took note of what it actually was. It was some kind of glass, no maybe it was crystal, skull.
"Ah…"
"Ōsawa-sensei left it here, apparently she and the other teachers bet on our match with Tama and won it from Konekone-sensei." Sakura explained as Kenji eyed the skull on the table. "She said it would make for a good table ornament."
"That thing's creepy as hell!" Kenji shouted. "Why the hell did she leave it here!? Better yet why the hell was she betting on our match with Tama!?"
"What do you think it is?" Roka questioned poking at it. "Or more so what it was, I don't think I've seen a skull like this before."
"The fact you've seen a skull at all is more than a little disturbing!" Kenji added. "And that thing is clearly glowing! It's freaky, get rid of it!"
"But it suits the decor very nicely." Roka told him. "It'd throw the whole room off if we got rid of it now." She continued to protest.
"The room was fine before it got here!" He shouted, the others ignored his outbursts and gathered around the table where the skull was located. For the time being Kenji was basically just hoping that the skull wouldn't lead to them doing something stupid. It was from Konekone-sensei so it shouldn't be bad, but that otherworldly glow… it was odd and made him nervous.
… Kenji …
The teen blinked at the voice that seemed to echo in his ear, it sounded as if someone had been standing right next to him whispering his name but nobody else in the room had spoken. Just what the hell… taking one glance in the room, even checking behind the bookcase just to make sure Shiō wasn't doing anything creepy or perverted. Just where had the voice came from?
Just as he asked himself that very same question, he got a feeling in his gut and as he turned, the current center of attention of the club sat atop the table. The Crystal skull started to glow even more so than what it had been.
"Whoa!" Sakura clapped happily thinking it was some kind of gimmick as Chitose and Roka watched on. Then in a burst of light, spreading out across the entire club room was several glyphs in a large circle. But this time, it wasn't from the skull that the magic circle originated from, it was from beneath Kenji himself.
"Hey! Stop trying to outclass the crystal skull! You're beneath it!" Chitose shouted at him.
"Like I'm doing this ya dirt freak!" Kenji shouted, despite trying to get out of it, it followed him wherever he went and the light creating the glyphs only seemed to glow brighter as it raised, beginning to spin around the teen.
"Ok you can stop now Kenji, you win." Roka said, starting to take the strange event seriously.
"Like I said, I'm not doing this!" Kenji growled, something was happening, the circle was activating and whatever the hell it was going to do, it was going to happen soon. Roka glanced at Chitose and Sakura, both who were standing on either side of her and both gave her the nod of approval, the three leapt into the light circle surprising Kenji as all three grabbed onto him forcing him off his feet and onto… grass?
"Oof!" Chitose landed on him first, followed by Sakura and finally Roka. The three dog-piling onto him before he could even register the grass beneath him. His head felt like it was spinning and the added weight of three girls atop of him wasn't doing him any favors in the breathing department.
"G-Get off-hmph!" Chitose's foot landed on his face and there was no way that the grind of her heel into his cheek was accidental. Sakura and Roka had managed to already get to their feet while Chitose stood above him, foot currently planted on Kenji's cheek forcing his head sideways.
"Take some consideration foot freak, now is not the time to be slobbering over my shoe." Chitose added while removing her foot as Kenji groaned on the ground.
"What happened?" Sakura asked the obvious question as she, Roka and Chitose looked around their surrounding area. Kenji grunted as he sat up rubbing his cheek only to feel a soft wind breeze past him causing him to get to his feet and like his fellow club members, look around in shock.
The clear blue sky was definitely the one that they were familiar with spotted with white clouds. The real source of their sudden shock and awe was the 360 degree view that surrounded them. As far as the eye can reach, the lush greenery of the prairie stretches to the unknown mountain ranges on the horizon.
The four stood looking out over the new scenery in wonder, the sudden change from their club room to this had put them into shock. That was until Chitose, turned to Kenji who glanced side long at her before Chitose went to punch him, however Kenji was expecting it and grabbed her fist only for her to bring her other one up.
"Let me punch you!" She shouted throwing her other fist, Kenji grabbing it just in time now having both her fists in her grip.
"Like hell! What the hell are you doing!?" Kenji shouted back at her.
"I figured punching you would wake us up." Chitose shrugged as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"I get the sentiment I really do. But you're supposed to pinch, not punch and it's meant to be yourself!" Kenji roared.
"What do you think I'm some kind of pervert that's into pain play, why would I pinch myself." The two continued to argue with one another as Roka and Sakura stood off to the side, no longer watching the duo fight for whatever reason that the two seemed to do.
"So Roka, what do you think?" Sakura questioned looking down at the petite blonde who was her elder, the girl had a look of intrigued curiosity in her eye.
"Well, if I were a betting gal. If this was some kind of game…"
"Which it isn't!
"Oh shut up you!"
"... I'd say, we've been summoned to another world." Roka nodded to her own hypothesis.
"Yeah, my thoughts too." Sakura added. "Although…" Both glanced over to where Chitose and Kenji were now seated in the grass, slightly out of breath. Their fighting over for the time being. "The summoning came for Kenji right, that's what that light circle was about?"
"Agreed." Roka nodded. "We can only presume from here, with our knowledge of the vast expanse of the Isekai genre, that Kenji Kazma is the hero that this world desperately needs." Kenji looked up at the two still standing.
"Where are you two staring at?" He questioned with an annoyed expression on his face. However something caught all their attention, the heavy steps that were approaching. The four turned to their origin only to gawk at the massive form of the horned horse creature that stood before them.
The creature easily stood the height of two men, it's dark purple fur seemingly reflecting the light of the sun. The horn atop it's head was pitch black as a moonless night and it's sharp fangs were noticeable out of it's maw. It had the crimson red eyes of a monster. Most noticeable about the creature were the flames spewing from its mouth.
Kenji and Chitose were quickly on their feet as the horned creature scratched at the ground with its front hoof. It's intent was clear.
"What is that thing?" Chitose questioned, but there was no answer from her club mates. The creature had stunned them into silence. The creature stamped it's front hoof and snorted loudly. For a few moments, nobody moved. But that changed all in a matter of moments.
They physically could see the horse creature's muscle shift as its front legs bowed pushing its power into it's hind legs. It's speed was faster than any normal horse, it went from 0-60 almost instantaneously.
"Get down!" Kenji grabbed Sakura who was closest to him pulling her out of the way he caught a glimpse of Chitose tackling Roka to the grass before the horse leapt over where they had been standing momentarily. It's massive weight hit the ground and it felt like the earth trembled beneath them.
Sakura and Kenji rolled several meters away, before they got to their feet. Sakura still somewhat shaken looked around and spotted Roka and Chitose on their feet already running towards them. She was surprised when Kenji's blue blazer hit the ground, leaving him in his white uniform.
"Run." Kenji stated shocking Sakura. "You're a good runner right. Put that to good use." Kenji told her as he didn't look back. "Go! Now! Dodging that first attack was a fluke, there's no other way! I'll be the decoy and lead it away." The horse creature's momentum couldn't stop so it was quite a distance from them now, trotting as it turned around to face them once more.
"We won't abandon you Kazama!" Roka called out to him.
"Roka." Chitose began placing a hand on the blonde's shoulder. Roka looked up at Chitose with a wide eyed expression, there was a look of guilt on Chitose's face but it was clear in the taller girls eyes, she was afraid.
This was reality, something the members of the Game Club Provisional didn't often deal with. Running them down was a Monster, the likes of which none of them had ever seen and they were just high school students. No Magic Powers, no skill sets to let them deal with the foe in front of them. The fear in Chitose's eyes was natural. It reminded Roka of when they were kids.
"We can't just abandon Kazama-senpai." Sakura said, but the fear in her stance was evident too. If Kenji hadn't pushed her out of the way, she would have been too scared to even move. Roka looked between Chitose and Sakura, not sure on what she was supposed to do here. Why had Kazama been summoned here? Why was any of this even happening? There had to be something she could do.
"Why the hell are you still here, run already!" Kazuma growled noticing the three hadn't bailed yet. But his words seemed to have gotten them going as he heard them turn and begin to flee. However the horse creature also noticed and stamped it's foot seemingly irritated as its snort was getting rougher.
Deciding now was as good a time as any to stand up and be a man, Kenji dashed forward towards the horse. The fear turned into adrenaline as he charged, spotting a rock on the ground he picked it up as he passed, beginning to curve out he saw his opportunity.
"Eat this you bastard!" He skidded to a stop and took as good a pitching aim as he did and threw the rock as hard as he possibly could. The throw was probably the best he had ever done, if he ever made it back he might consider joining a baseball team or something. But despite the throw itself, the rock struck the horse in it's muscular neck, before falling uselessly to the ground. It was totally ineffective against such a monster.
The crimson eyes of the monstrous creature turned to Kenji, the teen feeling completely hopeless in the face of the creature. He was just a powerless kid in the face of this monster.
"At least those three nutcases got away." Kenji sighed as he stood tall before the monstrous horse that towered above him. However he spotted movement in his peripheral vision causing him to turn to see. Roka stood there arms waving in a weird way… the same way… she wasn't actually going to try it was she? That stupid ass…
"FIRE ARCHER!" Roka cried out and unexpectedly to Kazama, and no doubt Roka herself along with Chitose and Sakura a ball of fire shot forth straight towards the horse monster. To Roka, it had just been a hopeful act if only to distract the monster from Kenji, but to actually summon magic and use it as an attack? No she hadn't expected that.
It collided with the monster causing it to let out a howl of pain as it was engulfed in flames. But even then, it still wasn't enough it seemed. The flames soon dissipated and the monster's attention was no longer focused on Kenji. It was on the one that had attacked, Roka. But it seems Chitose and Sakura had gained something from Roka's display of sudden 'fire' power.
"Ouji Stalagmite Crusher!" Chitose called out her attack, where she had once coined the name as a kick, this time she stomped atop of the ground causing the ground to shake underfoot as the horse charged at Roka before stalagmites rose up from the earth in pointed spears crossing paths with the horse monster skewering it atop them. Sakura was up next.
"Ouji Narcissus Dance!" With the now halted monster, it was easy to pick off as numerous blades of water shot forth with every slash of Sakura's arms. The horse creature howled as the water blades sliced into it.
Kenji could only watch as the three continued their onslaught of Fire, Earth and Water. Just what the hell was going on? Sure he knew they had a self explained affinity for each element, but now they were actually throwing out magic spells like it was nothing? The orange haired teen slumped down into the grass as the spells continued on until finally the monster lay defeated skewered on pikes of dirt, both burnt and wet.
"Don't worry Princess Pinch." Chitose called over to him, the familiar glint back in her eye no longer scared for her life. "You're safe now." Kenji didn't even have the energy to retort right now.
"Chitose! Did you see~! I used Fire Archer! I was just like Mason!" Roka exclaimed happily as she waved her arms up and down while bouncing around in excitement. Despite the fact that they had just about been monster food, it seemed that they still had an unlimited supply of energy.
"Whoa, no way." Kenji craned his neck at the new voice that reached him. Several people had appeared and were staring shocked at the defeated monster. It was the classic group one might fight in an adventure tail the tall brawny swordsman, duked out in armour. The handsome archer with a bow slung over his shoulder and the petite magic user with a staff in hand.
"What are we in some kind of adventure manga or something?" Kenji questioned, the three not having yet noticed the teen sitting a few meters away from them.
"They really defeated the Horse Monster? I thought you said that they were running for their lives?" The brawny swordsman spoke to the archer.
"That's what I saw when I reported it." The archer replied, casting his gaze around, before it finally landed on Kazama. The teen dusted himself off as he raised to his feet, the adventure type trio heading towards him as Chitose, Roka and Sakura came up to him also.
"Well done in the decoy Kazama, it allowed us to awaken our powers in a passion filled situation." Roka applauded.
"There was nothing passion filled about that nightmare!" Kazama shouted.
"Hey! Roka put her heart and soul into that Fire Archer spell to save your sorry ass! Be grateful!" The two butted heads as Roka and Sakura turned to the newcomers.
"I see there was no need for us to be concerned for your safety." The archer spoke with a smile.
"You handled yourselves well." The swordsman spoke with a grin before approaching Kazama and slapping him on the back causing him to stumble forward a few steps due to the man's strength. "A real heroic thing you did back there." The man laughed.
"Just who are you guys?" Sakura asked the most obvious question.
"We're Adventurers." The archer spoke before placing his hand on his chest and bowing his head slightly. "I'm Raquelta. The big baldy is Balda. The short one is Mejila, despite her size she's twenty five." It seemed the smooth spoken archer seemingly put insults in with his introductions which gained the ire of his comrades.
"It seems like you were coming to save us." Chitose stated. "A bit late weren't you?" She asked while folding her arms.
"Would you quit it! They were going to put their necks on the line facing that thing!" Kenji growled at her. "Just show some thanks."
"It is much appreciated for the thought you gave us." Roka was the one to bow to them. "Until I fired off that spell, I had no idea if I'd be able too or not and if not you would have been the one to save Kazama. Please, ask us anything and it's yours." Chitose and Sakura both followed in suit and bowed beside the club president as Kenji stood off the side awkwardly scratching the back of his neck.
"Please it's no problem." Raquelta began. "The three of us, we want to become Adventurer's that have the power to help others."
"Is there truly nothing we can give you to offer our gratitude?" Roka asked, believing that the debt had not been repaid.
"Well there is one thing." Mejila spoke up, sharing a glance with her comrades.
"All they wanted was the horses obsidian horn?" Kenji mentally questioned as he sat around the campfire, Balda having all invited them to camp with them for the night. "It's probably valuable, an item drop or something similar? They said they were adventures, maybe monster items are sold or something." It was like some game or manga.
Since their initial meeting they had been relatively polite with one another, introducing themselves and getting along as they sat up camp. The large man, Balda was tasked with retrieving the Obsidian horn. Surprisingly to Kenji, despite everything his club mates had thrown at it, the horn was still in perfect shape.
He was still trying to come to terms with it himself. All three of them had used magic, there was no other way to describe it other than that. Whatever that magic circle was that brought them here, had it messed with their physiology somehow? He was sure as hell sure that before today, despite their fondness for certain elements they had never used magic before.
Luckily enough, there would be saviors had let the matter on where they came from, who exactly they were, be. They had originally started asking questions but seeing the reluctance of the teens to answer, they hadn't tried to pry anymore which Kenji was honestly grateful for. He still didn't know how to explain the situation yet and rather not have to lie.
"So you lot are adventurers." Chitose spoke up, Roka and Sakura were talking to Mejila about magic, trying to get whatever they could out of her while also examining her magic staff, if they had their phones with them Kenji didn't doubt they'd be taking selfies with it. Chitose on the other hand seemingly had something she wanted to discuss.
"That's right." Raquelta nodded with a smile.
"No doubt, that's a sure fire way to make money here?" Chitose questioned, Kenji had to give the Pres credit. She was already on top of their living situation. Right now, if they truly were in another world which the four believing that they were considering the circumstances of that afternoon, they were dead broke.
The three adventures shared a glance with one another, seemingly understanding.
"I take it that the four of you don't have jobs?" Raquelta asked. "Do you have any money?"
"Right now we're pretty pathetic." Chitose acknowledged.
"Well if that's the case, there certainly are a lot of jobs to choose from." Raquelta began. "Merchant, Craftsman, Scholar, Engineer, being hired as a Sales Commissioner, a Chef or a Farmer. However, those professions require some level of skill. Not to mention that in small towns, there would already be people with those professions so recruitment is rare. If you need money quickly, the means for that are limited."
"But there is one job that anyone can do." Balda interrupted with a grin. "It's also got its benefits in the payout too."
"Becoming adventurers." Both Kenji and Chitose stated, the two understanding to a degree what could be expected of them in this kind of profession. It's not like the four other world teens were unfamiliar with the whole Isekai'd shtick. But right now, they needed to live in order to find a way back home.
