'Strange...'
From the moment Ryuji arrived in this new world, he couldn't help but feel comfortable, as if he belonged there. However, his mind became clearer as he gazed around, taking in the surroundings, when he noticed a woman...
Ba-Dump!
The moment he saw the woman with blonde hair and fluffy ears with a chain around her neck he couldn't help but feel drawn to her.
A dull ache in his chest throbbed as if seeking her out.
'Why do I feel this way... and who is that woman who makes me feel this way?'
The chains made him doubtful, but there were several maids with the same chains, but hers were thicker, and because of the painful desire to speak with her, to know her that grew with each moment, he listened to the king's speech confused him.
He wondered if this might be some kind of magic.
Did the beautiful fox use her charm, or maybe he was just attracted to her beauty?
'She's cute, but... are those fox ears real?'
"Heroes, you must forgive me but we received a prophecy of destruction and danger, and this woman is related to that prophecy."
The king pointed to the maid with whom Ryuji obsessed over.
"Because of our prophecy, the number of your arrival was foretold in the stars. But, like those warnings, an extra person has been summoned again, this time."
One student wearing glasses raised her hand and asked while still shaking from being warned about asking to return home.
"How was an extra person summoned?"
With a wide smile, the king nodded and gestured towards the fox. "An omen of disaster, one that has brought chaos and danger to this kingdom. The calamity star chose this woman and the calamity star always comes in pairs. A male and female."
'Hmmm... seems like some heavy folk lore.'
Despite understanding the handsome king well, another male stepped forward instead with a handlebar moustache and a slightly dark aura.
Ryuji didn't like this guy's eyes—they looked at his classmates like garbage.
He seemed to be a mage, looking at his long staff and robes.
"Marduk, reveal the other half of calamity."
"Yes, your highness."
The old man started to chant quietly, and with each word he spoke in a strange language, each of the students stood on a small circle of strange glowing runes.
The king then turned to the students with a warm smile.
"Do not worry, this is just to determine which person was mentioned in our prophesies. To avoid calamity, we must pair the male and female and treat them well."
He didn't tell the entire story, but enough to help calm the students.
"But, what if something goes wrong?" A beautiful blonde with sharp blue eyes asked.
This girl was Erika Tendo.
"Young lady, forgive us but we must first confirm everything. Only then can I tell you but I swear on my name. Avandar Grigor the second king of this land, to not harm you."
While the king spoke, Marduk's body shone with a dull grey light as he spread his hands and summoned an orb into the middle of the throne room, which crackled with energy.
'I wonder what that does...' Ryuji thought to himself, noticing the fox maid staring at him.
"Arubelam Nazureth Veridu Revalla!"
The old man with curled whiskers spread his arms and began speaking.
When his chanting ended, a vast golden light enveloped the entire class, shimmering like stars sinking from the heavens.
'What a strange language...'
The light flowed down in various shades of golden light, wrapping the class; maybe it signified their potential, but only two people glowed with a dull, crimson light.
Ryuji and the fox maid.
Ba-Dump!
Suddenly, once again, his heart throbbed, pounding against his ribs as he struggled to remove his gaze from hers.
'Why did she look so happy...'
He couldn't understand her dreamy eyes and blushing cheeks...
'Maybe she feels the same as me right now?'
Ryuji touched his neck, feeling a rapid pulse.
'Does this light mean something good?'
Once the lights started to fade, the King and other nobles all gazed at Ryuji, but what confused him further was their gaze lacked hostility. Despite being called a calamity or omen of danger, they seemed delighted to see him.
'Strange... what does it mean?'
"Marduk, good work."
The king gazed at the students, his smile a little strange.
At least Ryuji noticed how forced it seemed when looking at the other students.
It made him feel unsettled.
"Casella, please prepare to guide the heroes to their rooms and explain their current situation before preparing a meal. As for the calamity... it will be decided later."
"Arubelam Nazureth Veridu Revalla!"
The chant of Marduk caused the light to fade, and he stepped back.
Ryuji couldn't understand what had happened, nor the strange feeling in his chest. A dull ache that only stopped when he looked at the strange woman with fox ears. He wanted to free her from those heavy chains.
'What's happening to me?'
He knew the king was speaking, but all Ryuji could focus on was the woman who seemed the same as she gazed back at him with a faint smile.
Ryuji could vaguely feel her fear, worry, and hope.
However, suddenly, there was a disturbance with the rest of the class.
Once Marduk left, the strange feeling of pressure and weight on everyone's shoulders vanished, creating a sudden sense of strength or power.
"Wow!? I suddenly feel so powerful!" shouted the handsome-looking kid at the centre of the room.
"Haruki, your whole body is glowing like the Christmas festival!"
'The handsome guy with the agile movements is Haruki. I wonder if he plays sports. His movements are smooth.'
"Erika... don't make fun of me! I have a strange panel in my eye that says I'm a holy knight. Is this some kind of nerdy game or VR?"
Ryuji remained silent and clenched his fists.
He tried to remember the popular people in his class and their jobs or classes.
The King's voice resounded through the castle once again.
"Forgive me, heroes—we would like to grant you a welcome to our kingdom and hope that you would treat this land as your home, even if its only temporarily."
Many people felt scared and probably wanted to go home, but speaking now would be foolish.
However, the king's gaze faltered when looking at Ryuji—a strange sense of sorrow and pity appeared for a moment before he snapped his eyes at the fox, with a flicker of disgust and anger replacing it, which caused Ryuji to become irritated.
"Your name, Ryuji was it? I hope that you will be open to learning more about our kingdom and understand the significance of the calamity star and the prophecies that follow it."
Ryuji could have used this for anything, though he knew that there was only one thing on his mind right now.
Thus, he waited for the king to finish.
"The red star is a powerful blessing—a sign of a new king. However, in the 5000 years, this kingdom has existed, this star has only signified a new ruler of demons... and their first spouse."
"Because of this fate, I will grant you one request."
Instantly, Ryuji's eyes looked towards the chained maid, and he couldn't help but feel the king and his men planned this to change Ryuji's mind.
He adjusted himself and cleared his throat; he asked with a calm voice while pointing at the fox girl wearing a thick chain around her neck.
"Release her, that is all that I ask you."
The King's lips curled into a vile smirk before whispering into Ryuji's ear. "Can you tell me your class and attributes, hero?" His voice didn't feel angry or like some tyrant but like the old people Ryuji often trained at his mother's gym.
The king seemed to worry about Ryuji's silence and continued, "To find out your class, just focus your thoughts and receive the word Status in your head. Or so the heroes of the past said."
'I should probably be honest... and hide anything strange.'
There was no reason to hide it or cause stupid trouble by being arrogant or edgy.
Ryuji felt the king conned him, because the eyes of the king became amused and dropped all hostility towards him. The king could have forced the guards around the room to hold him down and torture him until he disclosed his attributes and class, anyway.
'Since he came to me with goodwill. I will return it.'
"Understood."
'I hope that it's not something overly trash or irritating.'
With a calm thought, Ryuji's mind became clear and then suddenly, small blue runes formed to make words wrapped around each other as it revealed his status.
'Status'
Name: Ryuji Vincenzo
Class: Berserker: Lv.1
Rank: C
[Attributes]
Strength: 10
Agility: 4
Stamina: 6
Grit: 12
Intellect: 6
Average Human Per Attribute: 5
[Talent]
Yakuza Scion: Defeated monsters and friendly Demi-humans can give the host a racial tattoo that He can equip for various benefits.
0/1 Equipped
***
"King Avandar, do I need to tell you anything besides my level and attributes?"
"No, talents are unique to the heroes and extremely well trained. They are your lifesaving abilities. Keep them safe, Hero Ryuji."
'This damn sneaky old man! I feel like he ripped me off.'
Ryuji didn't understand why he felt this way; it was instinctual, but because he had managed to save the maid, his chest became calm, and her fear and worry vanished.
Everything soon became a blur.
The king saw various other people before turning to his knight, and then he whispered something in that knight's ear, causing Ryuji to frown.
'I need to keep on guard.'
In most novels, it turned out that the big enemy was the king and the kingdom mostly turned out to be the villains.
'Well, they want us to fight... I need to make allies.'
He then turned to the rest of his class, who were a little busy with their current glee and worries, but he felt that the first time had failed and tried to make up for it.
"I would like to introduce myself again."
"Ahem... Ryuji Vincenzo. Nice to meet you all, and I hope we can work together in the future!"
His classmates became silent before some of them smiled and greeted him.
However, most of them just ignored him, probably thinking he was bad news because of the red light from earlier.
Ryuji turned around after speaking with a few students and saw the king with a pleasant smile, waving towards him and the students.
It felt a little eerie.
"Good, you are a talent that can help the kingdom. C-Rank Hero, Ryuji Vincenzo. I will be watching."
The king's words didn't seem empty, but Ryuji couldn't react well because the situation was so fast and sudden that all he wanted to do was return to somewhere private and think.
But Ryuji was more focused on the maid in the corner who looked at him warmly.
'Well, I've always got along with older people and animals better.'
Ryuji thought while looking over at the handsome and popular guy at the centre of the class, with many girls flocking around them.
'He seems to be someone popular, like the centre of the class?'
Finally, it was the primary group's turn.
The first person to show his attributes was the one Ryuji watched. His name was Haruki Tanaka from the murmurs. He seemed like someone Ryuji wanted to make friends with someday, and when listing his attributes and class, everyone in the class made noise.
"Greetings, King. I am Haruki Tanaka, Rank - A Hero and a Level Ten Holy Knight."
'How cool... a holy knight sounds so awesome.'
The maid, now free from her chains, moved closer to Ryuji and stood beside him like a faithful maid.
Haruki glared at Ryuji, who was patting the soft golden hair of the female fox. T
"My Strength is 15, and my other attributes are 12."
However, the king and the princess didn't seem too impressed, but they still smiled towards and congratulated him.
Ryuji wondered if those were bad attributes for a level ten holy knight.
***
After everyone had introduced their class and skills, the king summoned several maids and knights who would guide everyone to their private rooms, and after the heroes settled in, they would receive training and information.
'Now then... what should I do from here?'
Ryuji's escorts treated him well and gave him a quite large room with a spare bathroom and several outfits that would fit him perfectly.
He didn't have a maid like the other students, but he knew this was likely because of the fox girl. Not only that, but his room was far away from the other heroes, which caused him to worry.
They also gave him an axe and a cheap outfit because of his class.
'However, where did that fox go? Wasn't she meant to be my maid?'
Ryuji felt the excitement of a class trip because of his mother and father's random vacations.
So, there wasn't much time for him to join them in the past. Because he travelled a lot in his earlier years, this led to a strange mix of introverted and extroverted tendencies.
"Hmmm?"
Suddenly, as the torch lights flickered, there was a knock at the dark maple door and bare feet tapping outside.
'Who could be knocking at this time?'
Ryuji thought, putting on a thin towel still wet from the bath and opening the door.