Shiroe walked against the flow of traffic in the long corridors of the Academy, staring down at the worn, cracked floors. The buildings - all of them - were relics of an ancient past, known as the "Age of the Gods." He knew all of the history behind them. He had read all the books, memorized their pages. The memories of their distinct smells and sounds were not distant from his mind.

After all, they were his only friends.

It was probably because of his Enchanter class. In this world, there were twelve different "Classes," which pretty much were an Adventurer's fighting specialty; usually, one's Class was chosen by one's parents during birth. The Enchanter class belonged to the Mage-type classes, which focused on casting magical spells; and of the three Mage-type classes, his had the least amount of power or defense. They had low HP as well, so many people didn't want to be teamed up with someone like him. Although he had protested that his skills would be useful in a team, most people just laughed at that notion and ignored his words.

Shiroe was fast approaching his fifteenth birthday. By the week after your fifteenth birthday, you were expected to have found a team to work with - if not a guild already - and be on your way out of the Academy. In all honesty, Shiroe expected himself to have been out of the Academy at least a year ago. He was a naturally fast learner and the amount he had learned here had exceeded the amount knowledge that most other students picked up by around threefold. Staying with those books all the time was probably one of the reasons why.

He wasn't on a team because of this burdensome Enchanter class of his. Most people in this Academy were something more … useful, like a Guardian or an Assassin or a Cleric. In fact, even among the staff, there were only three or so Enchanters out of over two hundred personnel. Of all his years here, Shiroe had only met one of them.

His parents, for who-knew-what-reason, picked this class for him, as was standard of all families. They went on an adventuring trip around three years later, and never returned. Although he never knew why, Shiroe always suspected that they had abandoned him - after all, Adventurers like them were immortal, always resurrecting at designated revival points.

For this reason, Shiroe wasn't really afraid of wandering outside the safe zone of the Academy into the forest below, although he knew that he was most likely going to end up back in the Academy's Cathedral, with mocking voices surrounding him, like it usually was. The thought of it alone made him feel dejected, but he was less likely to get harassed by other students and would have time to formulate battle strategies when he was outside. Battle strategies that he'd never get to use, because he'd never find a party to team up with. His Half-Alv race only made things worse, since time had not worn away the fear some of the other races had of the Alvs. The Alvs themselves had been practically hunted to extinction through warfare, but some of their magical technology still remained. To this day, Half-Alvs themselves were rare, and were almost universally discriminated against, with some pockets of refuge created either by other Half-Alvs or by those who really couldn't care less.

Well, if worst comes to worst, I could always join a Production Guild, right? Shiroe thought, downcast by his bad luck. But really, I want to experience battles first-hand, not just in dusty old books hidden in the alcoves of the Academy Libraries …

It was dark outside, so Shiroe summoned a Magic Light to accompany him. Scratch the earlier part about books being his only friends, Magic Lights served that role, too. These small magical creatures, for some reason, seemed to have some sentience. They could change their color, their expressions, and move their spherical bodies around as if they reflected or responded to their caster's emotions. In a sad sort of way, they were the only things that sympathized with him. Even the Enchanter teacher wasn't sympathetic to his plight; after all, she had simply joined a craftsmanship guild and tailored all day. She didn't understand his need to explore and learn. Then again, nobody else did, since they just said, "You should've had a better class."

As if he could change that.

Feeling like he had been bitter enough for the day, Shiroe sat down by a small brook, where the steady rushing of water allowed him to think clearly. However, he had only started reviewing his notes when he heard the soft crackling and crunching of branches and twigs behind him.

Monsters.

As he was taught in the Academy, Shiroe instantly pulled out his staff from his inventory, equipping it in preparation for the attack. From the sounds, there were multiple opponents, but they were small and low-leveled. However, even at his significantly higher level, it would still take an Enchanter a while to defeat them. It really was a class designed for parties, but nobody considered it useful for anything.

"Nightmare Sphere!" A purple ball of light shot from Shiroe's hand, blasting into the Briar Weasels in front of him. The first step of his plan was to reduce their movement speed, which would provide him with more time to attack.

"Mind Shock!" Step two: deal more wide-area attacks so that he had less HP to pick off with single-target spells. Mind Shock was a skill that had a relatively long cooldown, though, so he had to be cautious with this one. There were only around four of them, though, so hopefully he could deal with them worse for wear.

Now, it was time to start picking them off, hoping that the debuff would last long enough to slow them down and the cooldowns of his skills would count down fast enough. "Pulse Bullet!" As expected, it wasn't particularly effective, but it was something. Out of the corner of his eye, then, he noticed one of the Weasels recovering from the debuff and heading his way at full speed. Not good.

As it closed in on him, Shiroe panicked slightly. "Brain Vice!" It was one of the Enchanter's strongest spells. It succeeded in killing to Weasel, after all. It also succeeded in drawing in a lot of Hate towards him. Hate determined how much attention from enemies you would attract. Those with higher amounts of Hate would have more attacks focused on them. At this moment, Shiroe was the only one around with a high amount of Hate, which meant that surrounding enemies would be attracted to him in the bad kind of way.

At least a dozen more Briar Weasels popped out of the bushes, snarling at him wickedly. Well, this sure will be a story to tell when I revive at the Cathedral, Shiroe thought sarcastically to himself. He couldn't use his Speed buffs on himself, too, so he was a sitting duck.

Just as resolved to resign himself to his fate, a loud rustling noise was heard behind him as a figure rushed in front of him. A feminine voice cried out "Whirlwind!", knocking back the Briar Weasels around them. "Woohoo! Now that's what ya'd call a pinch, isn't it?" A young lady around his age, donning a white martial arts-like outfit with white trim and a paddy hat, stood in front of him. Her attack had succeeded in drawing aggro away from him and towards herself, but the Briar Weasels were still there.

"Um, they're still coming-"

"Then we beat them, duh!" Before Shiroe could add his input, she dashed towards the monsters, drawing her twin swords, a signature move of Swashbucklers. Thinking quickly, Shiroe thought of their strengths and weaknesses. One of the three Weapon-based Classes, Swashbucklers specialized in using dual swords, and had the most HP and DEF among them. Although they dealt less damage per hit than Assassins, they made up for it with their combos and debuffs. Against large groups, they had a large number of counters that made Swashbucklers an ideal class against mobs.

"Haste!" The girl glowed with an aura from his spell that increased her action speed, allowing her to attack faster. As the Briar Weasels charged towards her, Shiroe didn't want to waste this moment. "Astral Bind!" His spell created thorns that wound around the monsters, binding them in place and leaving them defenseless to the girl's attack.

"Ha ha, that's what I'm talking about!" She suddenly became a blur, dashing straight in front of her targets. "End of Act!" Although her swords didn't actually touch any of her targets, the slashes created a wide attack that hit all of them, dealing Instant Death to them. They were lucky that the Briar Weasels were only level 24, because a larger level gap between her and them meant that she had a higher chance of instantly killing them with End of Act.

"Now, that was a good one, wasn't it?" The beautiful girl standing before Shiroe asked with a jovial laugh as she turned her head to look at him. "I don't usually see Enchanters walking out alone, but then again, I don't think you usually see lost Swashbucklers in - where are we?"

"U-uh, this is the Academy of Urumiya," was all Shiroe could stammer out. Quickly, he looked at the girl's status screen. Kanami, Female, Human, level 68 Swashbuckler, no guild. From her question, she probably wasn't around the area, and he didn't recognize her anyways.

"Hmm … Urumiya, huh … well, I've got no clue where that is!" Despite admitting that she was wholly lost, she didn't seem perturbed in the slightest. "After all, that's the fun in adventuring, right? It doesn't matter if someone's been here before or discovered it already, since as long as it makes you happy, it's okay, right? Hey, hey, what party are you in?"

In front of this talkative, willful person, Shiroe was at a loss for words. Most girls around his age just avoided him, saying things like "He's a good-for-nothing shut-in," "All he knows is junk information," "He's such a loner," and such idle talk. It was the first time any female figure had talked to him in such a carefree and relaxed way, so he was in a bit of shock.

"Hey hey, now, don't become a clam! You're in a guild, right? Lemme see … Shiroe … Half-Alv Enchanter … level 43. So you're around fifteen right, about to make your way in the world! Say, you didn't tell me what your party is!"

"Well … I don't really … have one, you see." Shiroe, wondering how she didn't notice that he wasn't in any guild based off of his profile, hesitated to talk more, thinking that this intriguing lady would turn away in disgust over his lack of any friends or even partners.

Instead of rejecting him, though, she looked somewhat enthused over that fact. "As in nobody's tried recruiting you?!" She must not have gotten the notice that Enchanters weren't the most exactly … well-liked class out there.

"Um … of course … not?"

Kanami eyed him suspiciously. "You know the strengths of your class, right? Party play? The kind where you don't do things all on your own?"

"Yes, but even when I tell them, they just laugh at me and say that I'm worthless."

"Then why haven't you left?"

That was unthinkable. If she knew his class' strengths (which was a rare sight in and of itself), then she definitely should know its weaknesses. He wouldn't be able to brave the open world by himself, and there was no guarantee that any group he met would be a benevolent one. Thieves and bandits, along with monsters, prowled the areas outside of safe zones. He - and any fresh graduate of the Academy, really - was easy pickings for them, which was why they were required to form parties or join a Production guild.

"Well, it's just-"

She leaned in uncomfortably close to him, bending her taller stature so that she was staring down at him in his eyes. "You were gonna say that it's just too much of a bother, huh? Well, lemme tell you somethin'," she scoffed, backing off and turning her head towards the starlit sky, "You're never gonna get anywhere with that sorta attitude."

Shiroe had no words because it was true. He would never attempt to leave this place without a group because he had deemed it impossible. It was what the books said. His class was not suited for such exploration. All the experiences he had gathered in his fifteen years of life pointed to that fact as well, along with the reactions from others. From the age of ten, he had already decided that the probability that he would find a party to join was a mere 6%. Contrived, perhaps, but it was really what he felt. As a result, he barely even tried entering a party or finding someone else to journey with.

"We're Adventurers, aren't we?" Kanami's question brought him out of his thoughts. "We're not like the Landers, who cultivate and stay in one place to make villages and raise livestock. There's a common dream that's within us, and that's to have fun exploring, isn't it?"

The rustling leaves and shouting voices were drowned out of Shiroe's mind while listening to her. He became aware of it when they grew closer, as did she, and they both turned towards the source of the noise.

"Oi, Naotsuguuuu~! 'S'that you?" She called out carelessly again. Shiroe hoped nobody else was around, because if anyone from the Academy saw him with a girl, they'd immediately start making assumptions.

"Kanami, stop wandering off on your own! Trying to find you whenever you get lost is an annoying festival!" A gray-haired Guardian, who seemed to be the Naotsugu she had called out to, pushed a low-hanging branch out of his way with a look of annoyance. Upon spotting Shiroe, his expression changed to that of interest. "Hm? Who's this here? Were you on another recruiting festival?"

"Recruiting …? Nah, I just figured I could ask him where I was, and he was in a pinch, so I decided it'd be fine to ask. Figures, I have no clue where we are!" Shiroe felt remarkably overjoyed that Kanami decided that she could just use him for information. "Besides," she continued, "He's an Enchanter! If he joins us, RamMutton'll feel less lonely!"

Naotsugu eyed Kanami warily. "Did you ask him if he's part of a party, first?" Shiroe felt relieved that he, at least, was thinking normally. "Oh! And does he know any cute girls? We can bond over a panties festival!"

Scratch that, this man didn't think normally at all.

"U-um, I can speak for myself, first." Shiroe tried speaking up, but his voice faltered and he stammered his words. However, Naotsugu and Kanami (somehow) heard him, although the two looked at each other some sort of mutual thought before turning to him.

"Hey, Roe-Roe!" - Kanami had given him a ridiculous nickname already …? - "If you're going to say something, say it with confidence! Nobody'll listen to you if you sound so pathetically weak! People don't want to get told what to do or get help from someone they think isn't as cool as they are, so don't act wimpy about what you wanna say! You got it?"

Shiroe was at a loss for words, both unable to rise up to the task and reeling from his new, childish nickname. "Uh, did you just … call me Roe-Roe?"

"Hmph. Not exactly the kind of response I was hoping for, but yes. You're Roe-Roe! Ain't it a cute name, Nao?"

Before Naotsugu could comment any further, two more people barged through the thick bushes. One was a beautiful, bespeckled lady around Kanami's age donning a maid-like outfit. The other was a white-haired Elf with black belts wound around his arms and legs. A quick glance revealed the lady to be Indicus, a Sorceress, and the other to be CalmHDale, a Druid.

"My mistress, please, do not run off like that again!" Practically throwing herself at Kanami, Indicus spoke in such a melodramatic way that Shiroe thought that she was acting, but the shared sighs of Naotsugu and Calm. spoke that it was too common an occurrence to be acting. She suddenly whipped around, jabbing a long, slender index finger into Naotsugu's breastplate. "And you, Naotsugu! Stop separating from the group! This is what, the fiftieth time you've wandered off yourself to find Kanami!"

Naotsugu raised his hands defensively. "Hey, isn't that unfair to say, Kuina? I'm a Pathfinder, so it's my job to search out things. I even left a really obvious trail for you and Dale to follow!" From that statement, Shiroe determined that was Naotsugu's Subclass - one's occupation that each person could choose for themselves, unlike their Class - which allowed him to find monsters (and Kanami) more easily and would increase the number of drops a monster would leave after defeating it.

Although Kuina seemed unconvinced by Naotsugu's defense, she turned away with a huff and eyed Shiroe menacingly. He flinched from her glare, which seemed to appease her somewhat, as she turned back to Kanami.

"What are we doing to do with this wimp, my lady?" Alright, she's going on my list of Girls Who Think They're All That, Shiroe thought to himself.

Kanami propped one leg on a nearby rock and thrusted her arm towards Shiroe dramatically, a grin smeared on her face. "We're gonna take him with us, of course. Roe-Roe! Tell me where your base is!"

Shiroe could tell that this would be the start of an … interesting adventure.

Author's Notes: RamMutton, Kuina, and CalmHDale were members of the Debauchery Tea Party in canon. Most characters featured in this story will be ones that were created by the author, Touno Mamare, in his notes, and aren't seen in the story proper. The skills used by Shiroe and Kanami are from Mamare's Log Horizon Guide; translation by people on the .me wiki or by me.

You can read the story on Google Docs (which is where I write it) at goo. gl/tbU3QH (remove the space). ((FF needs to make up its mind on whether to allow URLs or not.))