Chapter 1: What do you mean I've been summoned?
"-sigh-, what a dull day..." I muttered, complaining in boredom. It was only third period but it felt like an eternity had passed. I passed a hand through my somewhat messy hair before looking at a friendly face. "Don't you think so?"
My best friend, Junpei Matsumoto looked at me with a bored look. "Seriously Sylon, do you think I'm having fun right now?" he returned, completely serious. Oh, and my name's Epsylon Satsumei. Yeah, my dad was in the American Air Force and decided that I should be named Epsylon.
I live in Japan with my mother on a daily basis, so I'm bilingual, a natural with both English and Japanese. My dad decided to take my mother's last name when they married for some weird reason, so I'm stuck with an English first name and Japanese last name…
"Are you? I mean, aren't you supposed to like chemistry?" I murmured while looking at him dubiously as I took mindless notes about our teacher's droning.
"Normally, I would. But this teacher is shitty and doesn't even try to make it any fun for us." he complained, and I admit that he was right. Our chemistry teacher is normally a beautiful woman with a kind personality. She makes every theme fun and is a very good teacher, but we don't know what happened to her but she suddenly disappeared a week ago. Our new chemistry teacher is an old guy that doesn't even cover up that he stares at girls in the class.
Finally, the bell rings and it's lunchtime.
"Do you want to go to the cafeteria or did your mom prepare a bento?" Junpei asked me while we were putting our things in our bags.
"My mom made a bento."
"Can you share some?" he asked with some measure of hope in his voice. I'm never going to admit that I enjoyed crushing that hope.
"Stop dreaming Junpei."
"Gah! Where's the comradeship? Huh?" he asked in an offended tone, I looked at him in the eyes and answered in a deadpan.
"It's my mom's cooking." and with that answer, he promptly deflated.
"Maaaaaan, you're so lucky. Your mom cooks so well." he pouted, before he grinned somewhat maliciously.
"No wonder you're a mom-co-gah!" before he could finish he took a punch to the gut.
"Stop saying nonsense. Let's go eat." I waited for him to take a new breath.
"Damn, that hurt. Did you put chakra in that punch or something?" he complained while rubbing his gut.
"Nah, you're just weak."
"Hey, not true!"
"It is. In an RPG, you would be lvl -1."
"So harsh! Are you sure you just wouldn't be level 50?"
We continued to complain while heading to the cafeteria so he could buy his lunch. I waited for him and when he had finished buying a sandwich, we headed to the roof.
"Maaan. I'm never going to say it enough, but you're so lucky that your mom cooks so well." he said while eyeing the katsudon my mom made. It really was delicious. I always thought that my mom should have become a cook. What I never said to Junpei is that my mom taught me everything she knew about cooking. I'm just below her in terms of skill.
"I know."
"I'm pretty sure in an RPG, your mom's cooking skill would be MAX++" Even though he said it as a joke, I couldn't help but agree.
"Yeah." I answered absentmindedly. I was thinking about what game I should play when going home when a shout from Junpei got me out of thinking.
"Woah!" he exclaimed, I turned to him in curiosity and he just pointed at my feet. "What's that?" under my feet was a glowing golden circle, it kind of resembled what I imagined was a magic circle.
"Is that a magic circle?" I asked in incredulity. Junpei was frowning, he didn't seem to like it.
"I don't know, but whether it is or not, you should get out of it." he advised and I nodded, we didn't know when it would activate and the effect it would have, so it was the wisest move. But there was a problem.
When I made a step, the glow from the circle intensified and the circle itself started turning with me as its center. I looked at Junpei and at that exact moment, I like to think that our expression of horror was perfectly identical. I stretched my hand towards him and he did the same, but I couldn't even utter his name before the glow became blinding. Suddenly, all I knew was white.
(Unknown white space)
The burning from the light slowly receded and I opened my eyes. I was in a sort of white space, standing on a sort of invisible platform. I silently pondered who could have teleported me here, and why.
"You are really smart, I see." a voice broke my pondering. I calmly turned around and I not been suspicious, my breath surely would have hitched. There stood a beautiful woman, with golden and seemingly glowing hair, her eyes were a wondrous shade of silver. Her face was flawless. She was in a beautiful blue and silver robe that reached her ankles. She was smiling. And that smile seemed to have multiple meanings at the same time. It was kind, patient, understanding. But it was also sad, sorrowful. It's at that time that I could also see the same emotions in her eyes, there was also eagerness.
I narrowed my eyes, that beauty isn't natural. What is she, I asked myself, because she surely isn't human.
"Like I said. Smart. You have sharp instincts" she said. I tilted my head to the side, confused before I realized. Mind reading. I narrowed my eyes again, but she just continued to smile.
"Exactly." and there it was again, mind reading.
"You seem to have a lot of questions to ask." she said, and I rolled my eyes in irritation. 'Obviously, I do.'
"Now, don't be rude." said the one who just took me from my world. 'Aren't you being the rude one here, you should be introducing yourself at the very least, especially since you already seem to know who I am.'
"I suppose you are right. As you deduced, I am not from your world. You can call me Rhéa." 'Rhéa, is it? What a coincidence that it looks like a feminization of the god of the Sun from Ancient Egypt.'
"Well, I am after all the Goddess of the Sun. Albeit from another world." she said as if it was obvious. 'And I believe you. Now, why am I here?'
"Don't be so hasty." she pouted. "Why do you just talk by telepathy?" she asked in a curious tone. I just shrugged. 'It's convenient and less of a hassle.'
"And you believed me awfully fast. You seem a little...naive?" my eyes twitched, how rude. 'You just haven't given me a reason to distrust you, yet.'
"Anyway, I'm going to go straight to the point. I need your help." I raised an eyebrow but otherwise said nothing.
"You see, your world is like a hub. The barrier between your world and other dimensions is especially weak, that's why you have a lot of manga and stories that take place in other worlds. The authors get glimpses of these worlds and get ideas for stories in it. My world is currently in danger, it has mana in it and it changed some animals in monsters, those monsters gained sentience and want to destroy humanity. The chief of those monsters was dubbed the Demon Lord by the Church in my world. Of course, humanity adapted too, and is able to use mana as well, to wield magic. Some humans were changed by the ambient mana in the air and became what is known as Beastmen. After millennia of wars between humans and monsters, it became a stalemate, but monsters are slowly becoming stronger and threaten to overwhelm humanity. The problem is that gods like me cannot directly interfere with mortal life in our worlds. We came up with the solution to summon people from your world. As you don't have an energy like mana in your world, you should be super-sensitive of its existence and even more capable of wielding it. Please help me. If you accept, I should be able to bestow upon you some things, abilities, to help you. But I can only do it as long as you are not inside my world's boundary."
I listened to her story attentively, and considered refusing at first. But I'm nothing if not bored to death, so I started thinking a lot before nodding my head. 'Sure, I'll help.'
With my answer, she sagged in relief "Thank you so much Epsylon." She smiled so brilliantly and happily that this time I couldn't help but blush a brilliant and glowing shade of red. When I calmed down, I looked at her expectantly.
"We should first assess your attributes. Now that you have access to mana, think 'Status'." My eyes widened before I thought 'Status'. A transparent panel appeared just before my retina.
Name: Epsylon Satsumei
Race: Human
Age: 17
LVL: 1
HP: 180/180
MP: 650/650
Strength: 15
Stamina: 15
Endurance: 12
Agility: 18
Magic Power: 25
Magic Resist: 20
State: Healthy, Surprised.
"In my world, everything alive with a minimum of intelligence has a 'Status'. You can also Access your 'Skills' and 'Titles'. Titles are more important than you think, because each Title has different passive and active bonuses on your stats." When hearing this, I immediately thought 'Titles', and another screen appeared.
Titles:
Currently active:
Transmigrated Hero:
The Title 'Transmigrated Hero' grants an active 30% damage boost against monsters and a protective aura is felt by any sentient that isn't a monster. This Title gives a passive boost of 10% in popularity towards Humans and Beastmen.
Otherworlder:
This title grants an active 30% boost towards learning to control magic and a passive 15% reduction of any magic cost. It grants the passive Skill 'Multilingual Comprehension'
Blessed by Rhéa: Goddess of the Sun, Light and Beauty
The Benediction of This particular Goddess grants an active 10% increase in all stats during the day and the Skill 'Healing Light'. It has no passive benefits.
Currently inactive: Highschool Student, The Analytic, Apprenti Master Chef, The Calm, The Storm, Perfect Gentleman
Seeing what I had, I dispersed the screens and couldn't help but look at Rhéa and smile. "You can only equip 3 Titles at a time, but the passive effects are constant."
"So, I told you that I would grant you abilities. Do you have some in mind?" It took me some time to answer that one, but in the end, I chose two abilities.
'A Skill that could be called 'Skill Creation', it should enable me to re-create attacks and Skills from other dimensions, like the Rasengan from Naruto.' I told her while grinning and sheepishly rubbing my neck. She just smiled understandingly and a ball of light appeared on her outstretched hand. It became multi-colored and went into my chest. A status window came up.
You have obtained the Skill 'Skill Creation'.
I clicked on the Skill, and another screen opened up in its place.
Skill Creation: Lvl 1
A Unique Active Skill given to you by the Goddess Rhéa. It makes you able to re-create what you thought were 'fictional' Skills with your magic. The percentage of success is 10%. The cost of the skill creation depends on the skill you want to create.
I decided to test this skill immediately by creating something that will be very useful. I concentrated on the skill I wanted and its uses before saying.
"Skill Creation" I immediately felt magic leaving my body rapidly, and just before I thought I wouldn't have any it stopped. Just before my retina, a window appeared.
Skill Successfully created!
Eagle Vision: Lvl 1
Your vision changes and you are able to distinguish between, friend, foe, neutral and objective. This skill costs 50 MP/s.
I was happy but I felt exhausted. I thought 'Status' and the window appeared.
Name: Epsylon Satsumei
Race: Human
Age: 17
LVL: 1
HP: 180/180
MP: 25/650
Strength: 15
Stamina: 15
Endurance: 12
Agility: 18
Magic Power: 25
Magic Resist: 20
State: Happy, Magical Exhaustion.
Only 25 MP? It seems that I shouldn't abuse Skill Creation. I looked towards Rhéa with a smile but it quickly vanished when I saw her. There seemed to be a dangerous aura around her and she managed to convey both anger and worry. I shivered unconsciously when she started talking, it seemed that she was furious.
"Are you an idiot…?" her voice was calm, too calm. And her face now had an angelic smile, but I felt as if she should be scowling. Another shiver travelled from my head to my toes.
"Don't use any Skill you earn so carelessly. If I gave you the ability to cause explosions of titanic proportions, would you use it on yourself?" I was so quick to shake my head I thought that I might have cracked my neck.
"Then don't you use dangerous abilities so carelessly, alright?" I nodded so fast I thought my head would start to fly. Just like that, the aura disappeared, the shivers stopped and her smile became a genuine angelic smile.
"Good!" She nodded satisfyingly while I gaped and sweated. What a dangerous woman. Another shiver travelled through my body.
"Now, do you have another ability you want?" She asked with her kind smile in place, but her eyes were narrowed and piercing. A shiver traveled through my body again, I should be very careful with what I ask.
"U-um… The ability to Shapeshift?" I phrased it as a question because I didn't want to anger her anymore, and no, my voice wasn't squeaky. She thought for a moment, her eyes still piercing, before nodding. Another multicolored ball slammed into my chest and another window opened.
You have obtained the Skill 'Shapeshift'.
Just like before, I touched the skill and its description appeared.
Shapeshift: Lvl MAX
This skill makes you able to alter your appearance at will. This includes going across species and genders. You become able to use the skills of your forms, but your stats stay the same. The mana cost depends on the changes done.
This skill was extremely useful. I immediately activated it and changed my hair and eye colors. Respectively, they went from dark brown and black to midnight blue and teal. After the change, I panted a little more before thinking 'Status' once again.
Name: Epsylon Satsumei
Race: Human (?)
Age: 17
LVL: 1
HP: 180/180
MP: 15/650
Strength: 15
Stamina: 15
Endurance: 12
Agility: 18
Magic Power: 25
Magic Resist: 20
State: Happy, Magical Exhaustion, Scared
When I read my State, I suddenly froze and a chill spread anew. I gulped and looked behind me. What I saw was frightening. Rhéa's hair was levitating threateningly, and a vicious aura was spreading from around her. In a huge contrast, she was showing a very calm and sweet smile. Her eyes were closed and I suddenly had the feeling that I should be grateful for that fact.
"Epsylon…?" her words were calm, and absolutely chilling. I was still frozen while looking at her in terror. I gulped and tentatively replied.
"Y-y-yes?" No, my voice was absolutely not squeaky.
"Did you already forget what I said about testing new abilities?" I was frightened by the malevolent aura around her, but I had the very slight suspicion that she might be enjoying frightening me.
"N-n-no…?" And with those words, I felt like I had sealed my fate as the pressure and the terrifying aura intensified.
"So, you are telling me that you deliberately ignored my words!?" Ah, and now a question which has no real answer. Yes and I'm doomed, No and I'm doomed.
"N-n-o! I mean yes! No!… I'm sorry..." I muttered with my head bowed. I waited for some tense seconds before I felt her embracing me in a hug. Warmth spread all over my body before she ended the embrace. She looked at me sternly.
"Don't do it again." Those words held a threat, a promise of untold pain and I couldn't stop the massive shudder that broke through my body. I nodded cautiously and that true and kind smile blossomed on her face again. My Status had not gone away yet and I noted a change.
Name: Epsylon Satsumei
Race: Human (?)
Age: 17
LVL: 1
HP: 180/180
MP: 650/650
Strength: 15
Stamina: 15
Endurance: 12
Agility: 18
Magic Power: 25
Magic Resist: 20
State: Happy, Terrified (Justified), Apprehensive
She had restored my MP, that was probably why I felt that warmth when she hugged me. I looked at her with a slight true smile.
"Anyway, It is time. Epsylon, are you ready to explore a whole new world?" I nodded in answer "Good, you will appear in an inn and will have to register in the Adventurer's Guild. I'm sending you to a little town called Elysia."
I thought a little bit before asking her something.
"Why is there a question mark next to my race in my status?" she looked surprised, before a knowing smile etched itself on her face.
"You are now a shapeshifter, you can become whatever you want. After all, you only need mana to transform yourself, not to maintain the transformation, so you can be whatever you wish to become." I nodded thoughtfully.
"Goodbye, Epsylon. I'll be watching you." she said, and before I had the time to react, I opened my eyes to a wooden ceiling.
(Roasted Boar Inn, Elysia, Atnos Kingdom)
I opened my eyes and sighed. "The start of a new life." The room was bare. There was a bed, a chair, and a table. On the table rested a rucksack and a longsword. Ah, so I won't be defenseless. Thank you Rhéa. I took a look inside the rucksack to find a small bag full of silver coins, several changes of clothes, my clothes. Should I find it weird that I wasn't wearing my school uniform?
Instead, I was wearing a white t-shirt under a grey trench coat that hung to my calves, black cargo pants and grey tennis shoes. And I had about 5 times that particular outfit. I took the longsword and strapped it to my back, I also took my rucksack before going down into the inn's hall, which looked like a pub's interior. I sat down at the bar's counter and asked a single question.
"Hello, would you mind telling me where I can find the adventurer's Guild?" the barman looked at me, before he smiled.
"Sure lad, when you get out of the inn, go left towards the market. When in the market, go towards the biggest street and follow it to the end, it will lead you straight to the Guild." he answered. I smiled widely before going out. When I went towards the market, I saw a beautiful girl on the road. She had shoulder-length golden hair and amethyst colored eyes. She was also wearing an exquisite robe that was probably made of silk. She was carrying a staff in her right hand.
I was so entranced by that girl that I immediately saw the burly guy chopping her in the neck. I activated 'Shapeshift', not caring for who could see me, and I created claws in my fingers. It hurt like hell, but I thought it worth it. I endured the pain and the moment my claws were formed I ran towards the alley she was dragged in.
There were three guys in there, the burly guy was smiling in a lecherous way and I really didn't like it. So I decided to interrupt their fun. I unsheathed my longsword tried getting their attention.
"Hey!" I shouted.
"Huh? Get lost!" The burly guy responded in an aggressive manner. It seemed that he had no patience, his face was ugly. At the time I had wondered if he had a birth defect.
"Hn! Bullying such a beauty. What kind of monsters are you?" was my reply, I made sure to leak all the contempt I had for people like him in my voice.
"You got a problem with it, shorty?" asked the second aggressor, a lithe man with a sick face.
"Well, yes. I do." I started running towards them while preparing a strike. Apparently I was fast because the big guy didn't have the time to take the sword at his waist before he lost his left arm. He cried in agony before fainting due to the pain.
"Man, what a wimp he was..." I muttered while kicking him once in the nads, he let out a pathetic groan. I looked towards the two other kidnappers and saw that one of them, the lithe one from earlier, had just ran out from the alley. The other one was pale, and looking at me in fear. He had a sword out. I used Eagle Vision for a second to see if he was still an enemy, but he was flickering from red to white. I guess I could let him go.
"You should go if you don't want to end up like him." I said blandly while motioning to the burly guy. "And take him with you." I had just finished talking when he dashed out of here, dragging the burly guy behind him. I snorted at the cowardice, shapeshifted back to normal and sheathed my sword before turning to look at the girl I just saved from those guys, only to see her eyes open and staring at me. Her gaze was so intense that I'm pretty sure I blushed a little.
"Hey there, you okay?" I asked while helping her up. She smiled in thanks and nodded.
"Yes, thanks to you." she said gratefully, I smiled while rubbing the back of my neck.
"Well, I saw them knocking you out so I couldn't just sit there, so I helped." I said truthfully. People like them are scum, who knows what they would have done to her. Her smile widened and she bowed to me in a thankful manner.
"Nonetheless, it is thanks to you that I am safe. What can I do to repay you?" she asked while smiling widely, her voice sweet.
"You don't ha-" I was going to say 'You don't have to repay me', but she seemed to know it and stopped me with a harsh glare.
"What can I do to repay you?" She asked again, but her voice was less sweet, it had some edge to it. It seemed like she wasn't going to budge on this matter. I don't know why but it felt like she had given me a second chance and it felt like I shouldn't lose it.
"W-well, you could follow me to the Adventurer's Guild? I'm going to register there. The name's Epsylon by the way." I asked with a sweatdrop, she really didn't have to repay me so I didn't know what to ask for. She continued smiling and nodded.
"Sure, I was going there anyway, and my name is Seki Iyashi, please call me Seki" She said, surprising me. What a coincidence. We started walking to the Guild and talked on the way.
"So, are you a mage?" I asked while we were walking, she nodded.
"Yes, I am. I'm able to do Fire and Healing magic." Wow, fire and healing? Those are good, I immediately let her know my opinion on it. She smiled at me, but shook her head.
"I'm just a novice for now, so my magic isn't that powerful yet. In fact, my healing is probably the strongest I have for the moment." She explained humbly with a smile, I noticed a sparkle in her eyes, it seemed that she enjoys talking about magic.
"Did you ever try lightning magic? It seems to me that it can be very versatile." I asked her. She nodded.
"I did try, but lightning is the most unpredictable of the elements, and one of the most powerful, so it is extremely taxing to use and even harder to control. The only time I tried, I almost killed someone without intending to and managed to knock myself out because of mana exhaustion." She explained while laughing sheepishly at the end. It seemed that we had arrived at the Guild while we were talking.
"We're here." she said as we approached. We entered and there was a lot of people sitting at tables, chatting. They had all sorts of weapons, from a Kusarigama to a Warhammer and Claymores. We went to the counter where a pretty woman with luscious black hair en vivid green eyes was writing on some type of paper. There was a thick stack of paper next to her.
"Excuse me, I would like to register as an adventurer." I called out. She lifted her head from her paperwork, and I think my breath hitched. She had sharp features and pointed ears, she was an Elf and a beauty. She smiled gently and nodded.
"Of course, please fill this form first." She said while handing out said form. It asked for my name, age, and race. I filled it out and gave it back to her, she inspected it before nodding and giving me a card.
"Place a drop of blood on this card please." I nodded and bit finger, letting a drop of blood fall on the card before the bite healed without even a mark, surprising me greatly. It was either a common occurrence or she just ignored it. The card flashed a blue light before becoming grey, writing appeared on it.
Name: Epsylon Satsumei
Age: 17
Race: Human (?)
Rank: Granite
"As an adventurer, there are different ranks. It goes from Granite, Topaz, Amethyst, Ruby, Alexandrite, Emerald, White Opal and finally Diamond. The more quests you finish, the more you advance in the rankings. You advance faster depending on the rank of the mission." The Elf stated, She had appeared surprised at my race before smiling. "This card serves as identification and is recognized in most kingdoms." I thanked her before Yuna asked the same thing. She filled the form, received the card, dropped some blood on it and the writing appeared.
Name: Seki Iyashi
Age: 16
Race: Human
Rank: Granite
"So, what are you going to do now?" I asked Seki after we received our cards. We sat down at an empty table and ordered something to drink.
"Now? I want to improve my magic and control. I want to become stronger." she answered, and there seemed to be a fiery determination in her eyes. I wondered what drives her to be stronger. But I waited for her to tell me instead of asking outright.
"Is that so? Well, do you mind if I tag along with you? We could become a party." She seemed surprised at the offer, before a smile illuminated her face.
"Really? You want to create a party with me?" She asked, surprise and delight coloring her voice. I nodded with a grin.
"Yeah! We could be a great team, you are a mage and I can be on the frontlines. What's even better is that you can heal me if I get injured. Of course, I want to party up with you." I replied, grinning widely at her. She beamed at me and thanked me again. While drinking, I decided to do something important, I decided to tell her about who I am and what are my powers.
A/N: So, that's another start to a story. It really is just a draft because I still have to think up a map of the world and everything that comes with it. Hope you enjoy it, and just like every 'story' posted in here, it is up for adoption if you think you can do better, as long as I'm credited for the idea and OC's that are taken from it.