《Panzerkai'd》 Chapter 0: Prologue Chapter 0: Prologue Two opponents positioned themselves opposite of each other. A lone figure. An army. There is cavalry charging in a green field, knights of the olden days of chivalry and romantic conquest. With imposing shiny metal armor and long lances pointed straight at the figure riding a strange metal beast. The sound of the horses¡¯ hooves trampling the dirt beneath them, accompanied by the war cries of veteran cavalrymen. They had no chance. In one instance, the beast mowed all of them down, spewing hot metal towards its foes. The sound of gunfire ripping through the battlefield. Bodies of horses and men crumpling over the battlefield as hot lead embedded itself in them. The army stopped unable to comprehend what had just transpired, taking a moment to figure out what had just happened. ¡®Perfect.¡¯ The figure thought to himself. One moment is all that was needed for the figure, He pulled out a crude flare gun from its holster, firing it into the air. Suddenly, men from the rear started dropping like flies. Hidden from sight, guerrilla sharpshooters pick off the enemy one by one. Panic started to consume the men, breaking ranks and causing major disarray. The figure smirked to himself and climbed down the turret revealing a boy seventeen years of age, with green hair. He taps the shoulder of his driver, and gives his order. ¡°Advance!¡±
It was the second year of senior high school, Hasegawa Kazuki was a regular Japanese high-schooler, well as normal as you can get with green hair and brown eyes. Wearing his school blazer, black shoes and pants he sprints into the school building. Running through hallway as it was almost class time. It was one of the rare times that Hasegawa has ever been in this situation, being quite a punctual student ¡®Crap!¡¯ He thinks to himself, looking down at the watch on his wrist. Seeing the minute hand slowly approaching eight o¡¯clock. Climbing up a flight of stairs and running around a corner. Finally, he reaches the hallway his classroom is located in, dashing in a mad sprint like he¡¯s never done before, Hasegawa barely clocked, managing to reach the classroom and slam the door open. All eyes suddenly fall on Hasegawa. ¡®That¡¯s to be expected isn¡¯t it, slamming the door that loud¡¯. Hasegawa decides to just quietly enter the room and go to his seat in the second to the last row next to the windows. Sitting down he sees his teacher Ms. Nakajima Nanae just shaking her head. She is a pretty beloved teacher who has quite an airhead reputation, but when she gets serious, she¡¯s pretty scary. ¡°That was a close call, make sure not to do it again Hasegawa-kun.¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am!¡± All in all, the lessons were pretty boring, with Hasegawa barely being able to finish the period without dozing off. His eyes wandered around the classroom noticing some people listening while others not so much. ¡®It¡¯s a pretty slow day¡­¡¯ He thinks to himself. The bell rings as the final morning period finishes and lunch starts, as Hasegawa pull out his bento box, courtesy of his little sister, Mafuyu Hasegawa.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. He opens the bento preparing to delight himself with this nutritious meal until. ¡°Nice save there Hasegawa-kun.¡± ¡®Oh no.¡¯ A hand grabs his shoulder, turning him around to face Ryuu Arata, the class representative and winner of the best male student popularity contest in the school twice. ¡°U-Uh thanks I guess?¡± ¡°You know you run pretty fast. You should join the football club, if not why not the track and field club.¡± ¡®I know that Ryuu-san is popular, and that, but why does he keep talking to me.¡¯ ¡°I¡¯m flattered but no thanks. I''d rather read light novels or history books than do that.¡± He sits in the last chair right next to the window with his bishounen characteristics with flowing blonde hair, blue eyes and perfect white teeth. Resembling those classic heroes from those old anime ¡®How does he keep his hair flowing like that, it¡¯s very unnatural for a full Japanese person to have those features. Well I suppose I¡¯m not one to talk, with how many times I¡¯ve told people that my green hair is natural.¡¯¡¯ Even though being seatmates since the start of the schoolyear, Hasegawa still hasn¡¯t gotten used to Ryuu-san¡¯s constant pestering of him. ¡®It¡¯s like my head¡¯s gonna explode, he should know by now I don¡¯t like talking to him.¡¯ ¡°You know Hasegawa-kun, staying inside all the time, that''s a bad habit. You should stretch your legs out every now and then.¡± Ryuu smiles at him. After what felt like an eternity to Hasegawa, Ryuu finally removes his hand from his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ll try to remember that.¡± ¡®Since when was having a hobby bad?¡¯ The sound of footsteps approaches both boys. ¡°Arata-kun. Can I have a word with you?¡± A person calls out to him, Akemi Akari the female class rep and approaches them. ¡®First name basis¡­¡¯ Her red hair complimenting her sharp black eyes, the ideal figure of the student body, smart and beautiful. The bright and cheerful kind of person, exactly like her name. She and Ryuu have known each other since childhood, and the two are pretty close. ¡°What do you want Akemi-chan?¡± Ryuu asked. ¡°You were absent for the last meeting! quite frankly I¡¯m a bit concerned about your class representative position Ryuu-kun.¡± ¡°Sorry¡­ I got caught up in football practice.¡± ¡°You may be good at sports Arata-kun but your grades are also starting to fall.¡± She continues. ¡°Why don¡¯t you ask Hasegawa-kun to tutor you, especially in mathematics¡± ¡°But I still have practice.¡± She points at Ryuu. ¡°You are going to join me for lunch.¡± ¡°Akemi-chan can you repeat that again?¡± ¡°I said that you will join me for lunch. I-It¡¯s just for me to keep an eye on you.¡± Akari slightly blushes, she looks away hoping that the people in the room would fail to notice her blush. ¡®Oh, this won¡¯t end well.¡¯ Hasegawa shivers, feeling an ominous aura right next to both of the lovebirds even he could feel the deadly glares of all the males in this classroom. It was directed straight at Ryuu. The mental image of your idol asking somebody else out, was too much for the members of the Akari-san fan club. Even if it¡¯s just for lunch. ¡°Sure!¡± And with that the atmosphere in the room contrasts drastically, there is a clear boundary that separates the room in half. Between the blinding white light of the power couple and the dark and gloom of the other students. The tension in the room was pretty high, this lasted for a solid minute. . . . Suddenly circles of light appeared underneath their feet. Bathing the whole room in white light. ¡°What is this!¡± Hasegawa shouted. He frantically looks around and sees the other students panic. ¡°What¡¯s happening!¡± a girl shouted ¡°The fuck is this!¡± another student shouted. ¡°Everyone, calm down! This might just be a prank or something. There might be something wrong with the lightbulbs¡± Ms. Nakajima tries to calm them down. Unreadable symbols appear on the circles, moving and rotating inside it, slowly it expands outwards, from the base of the foot to around an arm¡¯s length. Hasegawa looks down, observing the magic circle. Then from a white light it starts to change into a scarlet red, he looks around comparing his circle to others. The only red circle is his, everybody else has a pure white color instead. That was his last thought before the blinding white light overcame the entire classroom, leaving no one in sight.
Feeling himself land on a hard surface with an audible thud, Hasegawa picks himself up looking around to see dazed classmates appearing from apparent nothingness emerging from a white light. His eyes started scouring around the room they were in, white marble walls with extravagant carvings and large columns. The floor was plated with gold and granite with a large summoning circle engraved in the gold. Ms. Nakajima as usual, the diligent type decided to do a head count, with apparently everyone being present. Suddenly a voice rings throughout the room. ¡°Your Majesty! the summoning was a success!¡± A person calls out to a person wearing regal clothes. An old man with greying hair and a long beard sits on a throne, wearing a crown and outfitted with purple robes, he stands and extends his arms into a welcoming pose. He walks towards them and says one line. ¡°Greetings heroes! The blessed warriors of Nuarin, God of Light.¡± ¡®This isn¡¯t Japan. That¡¯s for sure.¡¯ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Chapter 1: The World of Ethymus Chapter 1: The World of Ethymus The students clump together finding safety in numbers, scared and dazed from being transported into another world. ¡°Heroes! I welcome you into our world!¡± The old man exclaimed. ¡°Guys get behind me!¡± Ms. Nakajima puts herself between the students and the unknown man, trying to shield them from him. Hasegawa looks at the old man in front of them. ¡®He seems to be the one in charge here¡­¡¯ He remarks. Looking around once more he notices an audience made of rich and influential looking individuals, watching them from above in a balcony of sorts. It seems like he was the only one who noticed. Hasegawa walks up to his teacher. ¡°Nakajima-sensei, there¡¯s more people observing us.¡± He points towards the balcony¡¯s location. With the observers looking a bit surprised. ¡°Where? Hasegawa-kun, I don¡¯t see any balcony.¡± ¡°But sensei, it¡¯s right there. Can¡¯t you see it.¡± ¡°No, I can¡¯t¡­ Wha¡ª Ryuu-kun! What are you doing!¡± She screams. Ryuu walks past Ms. Nakajima in front of the group. Suddenly royal guards appear out of nowhere, surrounding Ryuu who visibly doesn¡¯t flinch. Pointing their spears at him without any regards to whom they¡¯re pointing at. ¡°Stand down!¡± The king orders and the royal guards comply, slowly withdrawing and returning back into their original position into the shadows.. ¡°Who are you? What do you want from us?!¡± ¡°Stay calm hero, I do not mean any of you harm. My name is King Rouland Redgreeves I am the ruler of the Kingdom of Estusia.¡± The king speaks in a wise and booming tone. ¡°Okay then King Rouland¡­ What do you want from us? And what do you mean by hero?¡± The King explains their situation. ¡°All of you were summoned by the Church of Nuarin under my order, to help the fight of vanquishing the demon threat that threatens the world. You have been chosen specifically by Nuarin the holy as his fabled warriors. All of you have been given abilities by our goddess making all of you our saviors!¡± ¡®Really? Demons exist here?¡¯ Hasegawa remarked to no one but himself. A realization finally hits everyone. How do they return home? ¡°Hey guys¡­ how do we return?¡± one girl speaks out. ¡°Shhhh, be silent don¡¯t interrupt the scene.¡± A random classmate interrupts her. The king continues. ¡°What is your name boy?¡± ¡°Ryuu Arata, given name Arata family name Ryuu. You can call me Ryuu.¡± ¡°Well then Hero Ryuu, come here.¡± Ryuu walks towards the king slowly, he walks up the altar and meets King Rouland face to face, their eyes connect with each other, then the king suddenly does something unexpected. King Rouland prostrates himself in front of Ryuu. The unseen balcony that Hasegawa observed earlier removed it¡¯s cloaking spell finally becoming visible to the untrained eye, surprising the other students who weren¡¯t able to notice it. Revealing a wide range of individuals shouting in surprise, mouths agape. Their confusion was audible, the beloved king of Estusia, bowing before a man they have never met. ¡°Your highness!¡± Shouts a surprised bishop. ¡°Your majesty! what are you doing?!¡± One of the nobles shouts. ¡°Silence!¡± King Rouland orders and the room immediately falls silent. He looks up at Ryuu from the floor. ¡°Please! save our kingdom!¡± The king pleads. ¡°If we fail to stop the demons from invading into our lands, everybody in this kingdom will be in danger. Men, women and children will be slaughtered without remorse in barbaric ways. The demon plague would consume this world.¡± tears freely flow from his face. The students moved by this display, move closer to the king and Ryuu. They then separate Ryuu from the king for a moment.
After quite some time Ryuu-returns to the still weeping king. ¡°We all agreed to help you guys.¡± Ryuu suddenly answers surprising the king and the observers. ¡°You will?¡± King Rouland wipes the tears from his face. ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°Nuarin her grace! I thank you heroes!¡± ¡°No problem your Highness-¡± ¡°I¡¯m kinda sorry about interrupting this moment.¡± Hasegawa cuts into the conversation. ¡°Ah yes Hero?...¡± ¡°You can call me Hasegawa, anyways King Rouland can I ask you a question¡± Hasegawa kneels before the king. ¡°No need to do that Hero Hasegawa, what is it do you want to ask?¡± ¡°How do we return home.¡± At this question King Rouland visibly pales.This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Ahh¡­ ehh¡­ uhm.¡± ¡°Do you know or do you not?¡± Hasegawa demands. ¡°The spell that we used to summon you here was a one-time use spell from our ancestors. It is said that the demons have a copy spell in their continent.¡± ¡°So, we have to beat the demons first.¡± ¡°Indeed.¡± A rumbling sound is heard around the summoning room. ¡°What was that?¡± Hasegawa turns his head towards the origin of the noise and sees Akari holding her stomach with an embarrassed expression on her face. ¡®Oh yeah, we weren¡¯t able to have lunch.¡¯ Suddenly her right hand springs upwards, with her having an unreadable expression on her face. ¡°Uhhmm¡­ Do you have any food around here?¡± She asks sheepishly. ¡°Of course! heroes We have prepared a banquet for you!¡± King Rouland answers. ¡°My eldest daughter Princess Abigail shall show you towards the dining hall.¡± He ushers in a beautiful Blonde girl with dazzling purple eyes wearing a white royal dress. ¡°Hello heroes my name is Abigail Redgreeves. The king¡¯s firstborn and eldest daughter.¡± She takes a courtly bow. ¡°If you would all follow me, I shall show you all where the dining hall is.¡± She said in a fine courtly manner. ¡°Uwaaah! She¡¯s so beautiful!¡± ¡°Look at her hair!¡± ¡°I shall be your knight, fair maiden!¡± ¡°Hello my name is Ryuu Arata nice to meet you¡­ Princess Abigail.¡± He smiles at her. She blushes. ¡®You never stop do you?¡¯ ¡°N-Nice to meet you Hero Arata.¡± Bingo. ¡°Princess you don¡¯t have to be so formal, you can call me whatever you want.¡± ¡°Okay then¡­R-Ryuu.¡± Again, Hasegawa can feel the killer intent from some of his classmates. The princess then showed them the way around the castle. The castle is pretty big in and of itself, with many portraits and paintings scattered throughout the hallways. There were many statues littered here and there, apparently some of those statues were hidden golem guards. Conversations like this occurred along the way. ¡°Wait do cat-girls and elves exist?¡± ¡°Does this mean that we became legit heroes that are going to save the world, I¡¯m not dreaming right?¡± ¡°Ryuu-san was pretty cool earlier, wasn¡¯t he?¡± ¡®Demons. I wonder what do they look like.¡¯ Hasegawa thought to himself. They finally reach the dining hall. The dining hall is an entire table filled to the brim with food, the table is large enough to seat around twenty to thirty people. Everybody scrambled around the table finding seats. With everybody forming into their own sections of friends. The king and the other nobles arrived not much later, then the king gave us his blessings to eat the food on the table, praying to Nuarin for the food. Most of the seats ended up being occupied, with Hasegawa ending up sitting right next to the class delinquent, Akimasa Takezawa. The seat right next to his was unoccupied due to the other students being afraid of what He would do to them. ¡°Why are you sitting right next to me?¡± Takezawa asked. ¡°Ehh, you looked lonely.¡± ¡°What was that you bastard? ¡° ¡°Nothing. This was just the last free seat.¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re not such a bad guy as I thought Takezawa.¡± ¡°What did you think I was huh?!¡± ¡°A violent sack of meat? It¡¯s kinda because of the fist fight with that teacher from last year.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t remind me of that.¡± ¡°Although, it was kinda funny when you round-housed the trashcan into him¡± He laughs. ¡°I won didn¡¯t I¡± ¡°Yeah yeah.¡± ¡°Ya know yer¡¯ not such a pussy like I thought.¡± ¡°Nice dialect you got there.¡± ¡°Yeah I know, it slips out sometimes.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s not like this banquet going to eat itself. Let¡¯s finish eating.¡±
After they had our long-postponed lunch since the summoning, Hasegawa and others were all led to a field right next to the castle. Armed knights appeared in a marching formation, with a knight captain riding an ivory white horse. He was a middle-aged battle hardened general, his hair slightly greying and with a body shaped like a barrel, heavy and buff. Disembarking from the horse with speed skill that reflects how many times he must¡¯ve done it before. ¡°Hello heroes. My name is Captain Grant Cobalt.¡± his voice booming and energetic. The students couldn¡¯t help but look at him in awe. ¡°Woah it¡¯s a real knight!¡± ¡°He looks ultra-powerful!¡± Captain Grant points his thumb towards his chest. ¡°I have been assigned by the king to help train you in the art of combat and magic.¡± Captain Grant continues. ¡°As you all have been informed, everyone has been granted powers by our Goddess Nuarin, and as such I will tailor your training to compensate for that. One¡¯s traits are important as you all will be segregated into different job classes according to your specialty. If one is good at light magic then that one will become a paladin like myself or a priest depending on various circumstances.¡± At this the students seem excited; Hasegawa ponders to himself what kind of powers he must¡¯ve been given. ¡°Now We have arranged the kingdom¡¯s best ability appraisers to find out strengths and weaknesses, does anyone want to go first.¡± Six said appraisers started to prepare for the ritual. ¡°I would like to!¡± Everybody looks at Akari-san. ¡°Well then missy step right up here.¡± He points at the magic circle one of the appraisers drew on the ground. Akari-san enters the circle as the appraisers start to chant their magic spell thing. ¡°Nuarin! we call upon thee to shine your light through us and show us knowledge¡± Their eyes glowed a yellow hue. ¡°Facultatem Revelare!¡± The entire circle burst into a yellow light. Characters appeared from thin air, then slowly but surely the light from the circle slowly faded away but the characters still remained floating. ¡°Amazing!¡± One of the appraisers said. ¡°She has the same capability as a mage master in terms of mana capacity. Just at level one!¡± ¡°She has an elemental affinity leaning towards fire.¡± ¡°Nice little miss¡± Captain Grant commented ¡°You¡¯ll make a nice inferno-mancer, a mage that specializes in fire type abilities.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Akari-san asked ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± ¡°Well then who¡¯s up next?¡± Multiple hands raised up including Hasegawa, who doesn¡¯t want to find out if you can shoot electrical bolts from your hands or wield flaming swords or something like that. ¡°How about you boy?¡± He points at Ryuu. ¡°I would be honored¡± And thus they did the ritual to him too. The results are to be expected. ¡°Nuarin! we call upon thee to shine your light through us and show us knowledge¡± ¡°Facultatem Revelare!¡± The same glow occurred and the same thing happened. Characters floating around Ryuu. ¡°Captain this is impossible! He excels in all areas! With the capacity to learn them tenfold!¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡°Captain he also exhibits proficiency in all elemental attributes!¡± ¡°That much potential¡­¡± He looks at Ryuu-san, ¡°Is this the face of an actual hero granted with Nuarin¡¯s blessings?¡± ¡°Is it really that good?¡± Ryuu-san asks. ¡°It¡¯s excellent with those skills you can be a master Paladin.¡± Captain Grant answered him. Then it started again. ¡°Look how cool Ryuu-sama is!¡± ¡°Ryuu-sama!¡± ¡°Ryuu-sama!¡± ¡°Ryuu-sama!¡± The fan club started chanting. ¡°Okay enough of that!¡± Captain Grant continues ¡°Next person!¡± and again hands were raised. This went on for a full thirty minutes with multiple people having multiple specializations. Takezawa-san being a boxer type and so on and so forth. Then finally it was Hasegawa. ¡°Nuarin! we call upon thee to shine your light through us and show us knowledge¡± ¡®¡¯Facultatem Revelare!¡¯ The glow started, but¡­ instead of a yellow light, mine became red, no characters appeared. ¡°Uh sir? Captain Grant¡­. we can¡¯t read him.¡± ¡°Impossible!¡± ¡°Maybe the reading was wrong?¡± ¡°Are you saying that our beloved Goddess, is wrong¡± ¡°But that has never happened before.¡± ¡°What? Is there something wrong?¡± Hasegawa asked the people in charge. ¡°Uh¡­ kid you see we can¡¯t read your abilities.¡± Captain Grant replied an uncertain tone could be felt from his reply. ¡°And?¡± Hasegawa could feel something different was at play here, like why was he the only one able to see pass through the cloaking spell of the balcony earlier? ¡°I¡¯m sorry kid without proof we have no choice to label you as a peasant, a normal civilian for now, the ones with the lowest rating of potential.¡± ¡°What do you mean by ¡®lowest rating of potential¡¯? There¡¯s more to it isn¡¯t there?¡± ¡°It means for the ability to increase your physical, mental, or spiritual attributes and it means that you won¡¯t be able to join us in battles until we are able to read your ability. I do want to help you kid, I really do. But I am a paladin and knight foremost, and I won¡¯t send a probably helpless kid into battle.¡± ¡°Maybe earlier was just a fluke, you don¡¯t know what happened.¡± Hasegawa frantically replies, this would mean he would just be a bystander if the demons would overpower his classmates, and hewouldn¡¯t be able to do anything. ¡°I-I¡¯m sorry kid life¡¯s just not fair, plus our Goddess is never wrong.¡± Grant¡¯s voice becomes solemn. ¡°I see¡­.¡± Hasegawa slowly moves away from the circle; he mutters the last part in a soft voice and just returns to his now silent classmates. With some of them snickering lightly. Chapter 2: First Steps Chapter 2: First Steps It was early in the morning in the Kingdom of Estusia, a great and dominant human power in the continent of Arcenaga. Its wide fertile lands and medieval structures ripped its image straight from a fantasy book. Tall spires and buildings litter across the landscape concentrating into a walled city protected by knights and mages alike, from attacks and sieges. As the sun is rising in the horizon, light shines through a window of a castle. Slowly illuminating a room filled with books and study materials on a desk in the corner of the room. The light stirring up the occupant of the room, waking him up. ¡°W-What time is it¡­¡± Hasegawa groggily mumbles as he wakes up from his bed, scratching his green haired head. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you wake me up mo-¡± He stops as his eyes finally open fully and he sees the room. Obviously, it was far from normal with crystals and books pertaining to alchemy and bladesmith. It was around a month since they have been summoned. ¡°Oh yeah¡­ I¡¯m no longer in Japan.¡± He sighs dejectedly. He approaches the cabinet and grabs one of the available clothing attires given to him by the ruler of this land. A white shirt, brown pants, leather shoes and leather gloves. He picks up a book titled ¡°Investment and Return: The Secret to Crystal Mining¡± and reads it. A lot of time passes before a maid knocks on his door. ¡°Hero Hasegawa, breakfast has been available thirty minutes ago, your fellow heroes must¡¯ve finished by now.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be right there.¡± he replies on the other side of the door He leaves the room making sure it¡¯s locked and walks towards the direction of the dining hall, hearing the happy banter and good vibes radiating from behind the two large wooden doors. ¡®Another day huh¡­¡¯ Hasegawa takes a deep breath and he opens the doors seeing his classmates and teacher all getting along together, mingling with the other world citizens. All heads look at him as the dining hall banter slowly quieted into nothingness. Hasegawa tries to ignore the varying looks they¡¯re giving him, but ultimately, he fails, seeing the look of pity and sympathy, while simultaneously receiving jeering looks from a minority of classmates. ¡°Where you going peasant?¡± one of the nobles laughed at him. ¡°Getting some food.¡± Hasegawa said as he picked up a full plate of food, walking slowly back to the doors. His teacher Ms. Nakajima wasn¡¯t there right now as she was having a meeting with King Rouland about the treatment her students. Akari and Ryuu already left for the training grounds. ¡°Hey don¡¯t you walk away from me!¡± The noble from earlier shouted, picking up a fork and flinging it at Hasegawa, but it doesn¡¯t reach its intended target as a fist punches it out of the air. ¡°What took you so long?¡± Hasegawa asked? ¡°Sorry about that, I just got back.¡± Takezawa Akimasa replied, the former school delinquent now Boxer-type fighter class, and one of the handful of people Hasegawa Kazuki can trust in this world right now. ¡°So, are you going back to your room Hasegawa?¡± ¡°Yeah, I kinda have a goal set in mind.¡± ¡°Hasegawa. You shouldn¡¯t allow yourself to be taunted like that by those bastards.¡± ¡°They are nobles Takezawa, I can¡¯t lay a hand on them and neither can you. Don¡¯t do anything stupid¡± Hasegawa said to his friend. ¡°I know, I know.¡± ¡°Hey¡­ if you can¡¯t find me in this place one day what will you do?¡± ¡°Well, from what I¡¯ve known ¡®bout you fer the last month. I probably wouldn¡¯t be worried. I mean we¡¯ve been practice fighting around once a day¡± Takezawa continued ¡°If you¡¯re gone then it¡¯s probably by your choice anyways and I won¡¯t stop you.¡± ¡®Even though he looks like a dumb brute, he¡¯s actually pretty perceptive huh?¡¯ Hasegawa thought to himself. ¡°Well don¡¯t forget about our training spar later, you were the one who asked me to teach you the basics.¡± Takezawa explained. ¡°Yeah yeah. In the back of the training grounds before dinner, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it.¡± With that Takezawa and Hasegawa reached the latter¡¯s room and parted ways. ¡°See yah later.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± The door closes behind Hasegawa. Once again, he is in his room alone, sitting down he looks at his registration crystal, a quartz looking device that registers the user¡¯s information in itself. Allowing it to essentially act as an ID. He sighs as he sits down looking at the registered class. Peasant. After having many appraisal schedules, even the kingdom¡¯s top appraisers couldn¡¯t determine if he had special abilities. His aura, or mana that radiates from his body is tiny in comparison to his classmates and even teacher. In this world one¡¯s function and role in society is not chosen by the individual but instead, it is appointed upon them by ability appraisers from a young age. Essentially segregating the people. Yes, people can choose for what job to apply to, but employers would almost always hire those most suited for work. Eventually creating a culture based on ability prowess. Segregating jobs called classes eventually emerged, with those on the weaker side being relegated to field work.If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Hasegawa was by far the least gifted person in all of the students, gifted only with the skill of language translation, allowing him to communicate with other languages as a result of the summoning. Hasegawa picks up another book. ¡°The story of Humrar¡± it tells of the legendary hero, Humrar the Wolf, and how with his great military genius was able to repel the invaders from his homeland. Homeland Home ¡®I have to leave this place. I have no special class. There¡¯s nothing here for me but pain. I need to get back home. My parents and sister must be worried where I went.¡¯ ¡®I have studied enough about this world, apparently there is another human kingdom at least 40 kilometers from here. The trade city of Grapafeuse, the Library of Umis is located there.¡¯ ¡®It is said to contain a thousand books, at least something must be there right?¡¯ He looks into the mirror, he already decided what to do. He clenches his fist. If he can¡¯t help the others on their adventures, then this would be the start of his.
¡°King Rouland, May I request something.¡± Hasegawa asked the king, currently they were in front of the king¡¯s throne room at the center of the castle, instead of their last face to face in the summoning room. ¡°Yes, Hero Hasegawa.¡± The king asked him. Although the king replied in a straight forward tone, he surely didn¡¯t expect such a sudden audience with one of the heroes. ¡°Your majesty, may I be given permission to leave the Kingdom of Estusia.¡± ¡°Wha-What?! Hero Hasegawa, why would you make a request like that?¡± The king sputtered in his seat. ¡°King Rouland, just call me Hasegawa. Drop the hero part, you already know of my situation. I can¡¯t do anything here being classified with a class like peasant, if I travel to Grapafeuse then I might be able to find a way home without fighting demons.¡± ¡°¡­¡± ¡°King Rouland, you don¡¯t need to support me or anything. I just need to leave this kingdom. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t notice the looks of disappointment that I get from the high-ranking officials here.¡± Hasegawa pleaded. ¡°¡­ Have you told anyone about this, this choice of yours?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Why is that so?¡± The king asked. ¡°I¡¯m ashamed sir, it would seem that I am running away from the fight?¡± ¡°They will eventually know that you left right?¡± The king told him. ¡°I know, but don¡¯t tell them where I¡¯m headed. You can just tell them that I left after I pass the border. If you tell them now it might interfere with their training.¡± he reasoned. ¡°I see your logic Hasegawa. Alright¡­ I¡¯ll make my attendants secretly issue you a royal traveler¡¯s pass instead, that way you¡¯ll have no limitations where you can go. On one condition.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Hasegawa asked, intrigues on what could possibly be the condition. ¡°I¡¯ll ask you to send a letter to the castle at least once a month. It also will keep your teacher Ms. Nakajima off my back about letting you leave the kingdom, at least for a while.¡± ¡®Sheesh, so even the king of this country is afraid of her.¡¯ He thinks to himself. ¡°Thank you, sir¡­¡± ¡°May our goddess Nuarin bless you on your journey.¡± The king stands up from his throne, and pats Hasegawa on the back. ¡°It¡¯s going to be a long and hard one.¡± King Rouland tells him.
¡°So, this is it I guess.¡± Hasegawa said to himself. He is standing right outside of the main gate, having passed the kingdom¡¯s border walls. Officially he is no longer under the jurisdiction and protection of the Kingdom of Estusia. As of now he is formally on his own. Now wearing a green coat over his white shirt, with a bag slung over his shoulder and a dagger on his belt for protection. He would have to find the nearest merchant guild to find a carriage that would take him to Grapafeuse. His hand tightly holding his registration crystal, its importance in this world is paramount, as it cannot be copied and forged. It containing the unique mana designation of its owner, even Hasegawa could use one with his tiny mana capacity. A reliable tool for a traveler. ¡®This is where everything would start.¡¯ ¡°Let¡¯s do this!¡± Hasegawa shouted as he embarks on his own journey.
¡°He did what?!¡± Ms. Nakajima shouted. The entire training field was in an uproar after the messenger the king has dispatched had told them of what had happened. That Hasegawa had left the kingdom for unknown circumstances. ¡°Hasegawa-kun ran away!¡± ¡°I knew he just didn¡¯t have it in him!¡± ¡°Why did he leave?¡± The students clamored and discussed why did one of their classmates left. Effectively postponing the training session. Captain Grant didn¡¯t seem at all surprised, having assumed that the lack of having a proper class must¡¯ve destroyed the boy. ¡°We have got to get him back!¡± Akari-san shouted, having been dressed in simple and light leather armor for now, holding a staff. During the past month the students, with the exception of Hasegawa have been training their ability to unleash their full potential, in the vaguest of sense The knights and mages having been assigned to tutor the heroes to increase their combat effectiveness. Under their tutelage the students¡¯ abilities have grown exponentially with their physical and mana capacity being increased. With each student given one specialization teacher, to help them into developing what class will they take. ¡°I support Akemi-chan! It¡¯s too dangerous for a peasant-class like Hasegawa to venture out.¡± Ryuu Arata joins in the clamor, being clad in leather armor, but with extra weight attached to train him for heavy armor. Being chosen for paladin-class and under the special teacher of Captain Grant Cobalt himself. ¡°The king has ordered us to not pursue him, and he probably would¡¯ve disappeared by now. Nobody knows where he is.¡± The messenger contested. ¡°No way.¡± ¡°So, he¡¯s really gone.¡± In the background amongst the crowd of people, Takezawa was thinking to himself. ¡®So that¡¯s what he meant by that, He even forgot about the spar.¡¯ Takezawa sighs to himself and walks in front of everybody, as he makes a bold gesture. ¡°The fuck! are you worried ¡®bout huh?!¡± He shouted at everyone present, whilst doing the classic slouch and hands in the pocket pose that is a trademark of every delinquent. ¡°Takezawa-kun language!¡± Ms. Nakajima scolded him. ¡°Takezawa-kun what do you mean?¡± a girl with pigtails and pink dyed hair questioned Takezawa, Maki Yoshino. An accurate archer. ¡°You guys don¡¯t have to be worried ¡®bout him. Hasegawa may look average but that guy can take one hell of a beating.¡± Takezawa explained. ¡°And how do you know about that?¡± Akari asked him. ¡°Simple class rep. I was the one dishing out the beating. We hold sparring sessions in secret so he CAN defend himself, I have almost never met another guy like him.¡± ¡°So, you guys can rest easy, he won¡¯t die like a pussy.¡± He confidently told everybody.
¡°Are you saying that the king let that useless bastard go?¡± In a secluded meeting room, a shady nobleman by the name of Viscount Caullas Silvercharge asked the other member of the room as he sat on his desk. ¡°It would seem so. Nice room by the way, enchanted with high-level anti-eavesdropping charms.¡± An unnamed man answered, leaning on the wall next to the doorway. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t call him useless Caullas. He did seem that he was able to notice the balcony in the summoning room through the spell.¡± The man continued. ¡°And? Why did you come here?¡± Caullas asked the man. ¡°It¡¯s time for you to repay that favor ¡®Viscount¡¯ I want you to kill him.¡± ¡°Why would you request that my friend?¡± Viscount Caullas replied as he straightened his suit¡¯s collar and cuffs. ¡°It¡¯s just a matter of this kingdom¡¯s security. I mean what if he awakens his abilities later on and uses it against the kingdom.¡± The man walks up towards the viscount. ¡°I want the truth not the excuse.¡± Caullas demanded. ¡°I can¡¯t exactly disclose the information to you Caullas. It is a personal affair, and right now I just need you to hunt and dispose of the boy. The king is losing power and favor over the groups of interest, anyways so it is not a problem.¡± ¡°Very well, I¡¯ll send my elite guards to track him.¡± ¡°Are they secure?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they only and only respond to me. I made sure of that.¡± Viscount Caullas said as he picked up his pen and started to write on some paper, with the writing slowly disappearing into nothingness on the sheet. ¡°They¡¯ll be able to read this later, Lyx.¡± Viscount Caullas spat out the man¡¯s name. ¡°Very well.¡± The man named Lyx exited the room and left without a trace. Viscount Caullas the places the seemingly blank paper in a special envelope on his desk, as he chants the spell. ¡°Secretum Momentanea.¡± The envelope starts to rise and collapses into itself until there was nothing left. The viscount seemingly calm without any remorse for what would happen.
Chapter 3: Mans Armor Chapter 3: Man¡¯s Armor The Dusk Merchant Guild was situated outside of Estusia¡¯s border, located in a large brick building with an oddly slanted roof next to the inter-kingdom highway. The inside of the guild contains a lot of exotic items, ranging from water dragon skulls to magic tomes. It also attracts many adventurous people. Not in the sense of swords and shields, but investors and shrewd business owners who want to learn the next trends to either start a business or keep it afloat.
¡°Yes sir! These seeds are a good business option. Summer is approaching fast and with it comes drought. But these seeds are no normal seeds, they are a high-quality, heat resistant variant from down south.¡± A cat-girl with blonde hair, clothed in guild regulated brown uniform responds to a possible buyer over the counter. ¡°Are you sure Ms. Lydia?¡± Said buyer asked. Seemingly unsure of her pitch. ¡°Indeed, I am sure of it.¡± She assures the man. ¡°Hmm¡­ Well since you have never led me astray before, I¡¯ll buy one no¡­ two sacks of these so-called wonder seeds.¡± ¡°Good purchase Mr. Fanner that¡¯s around twelve silver marks, it¡¯s good doing business with you.¡± Lydia writes down his purchase ¡°Let Amon lead you to the seeds outside.¡± pointing to a guild worker. She asks for his name and signature, using the end of his registration crystal as a kind of pen, Mr. Fanner marks the page with his mana. Lydia tips her plumed guild hat at Mr. Fanner as he exits the guild with Amon. ¡®Mr. Fanner is a good guy. Maybe I should give him a loyalty bonus when he comes back hehe¡­¡¯
The bell on the doorway rings as a person with familiar green hair enters the guild. ¡®Haven¡¯t seen him before, he seems new around here.¡¯ Lydia thought to herself, getting closer to the desk in front of her. ¡°Welcome sir! I am Lydia this guild¡¯s attendant. Welcome to the Dusk Merchant Guild! What would you like to inquire?¡± Lydia introduces herself. ¡°Do you provide carriage transports to Grapafeuse miss?¡± Hasegawa asked. He walks toward the guild¡¯s counter. ¡°Just call me Lydia, and yes we do! For cargo or people? For how many? Sir¡­¡± Lydia asks the boy. ¡°Please call me Hasegawa, Lydia. It¡¯s for a passenger, just one. me.¡± He pointed at himself. ¡°Hmmm¡­ there¡¯s a slot in a scheduled departure this lunch, would you be able to wait for this long Hasegawa¡± Lydia grabs her paper and pen, waiting for Hasegawa¡¯s response. ¡°This afternoon?... no problem.¡± ¡°That would be around twenty silver marks.¡± ¡°Here.¡± He pulls out a coin pouch from his satchel bag containing gold marks that were given to him by the king for him to use in his journey. Lydia¡¯s ears twerk up, surprised after seeing the inside of the satchel He gives her one gold mark. ¡®Wow, that¡¯s a lot who is this kid? Nobody just carries a pouch full of gold marks around.¡¯ She takes the gold mark and gives him eighty silver marks. ¡°Well then, just write your name and sign here with your registration crystal.¡± She points to the lower right corner of the piece of paper. The crystal leaving a green mark on the paper, specific to Hasegawa¡¯s aura. ¡°Here¡¯s a copy of the order,¡± Lydia hands him a document ¡°just show this to the carriage driver later.¡± ¡°Thanks!¡± ¡°Hey Hasegawa, you are you new around here?¡± She asks him. ¡°Uhmm¡­ yeah.¡± He nervously replied. ¡°I¡¯m not supposed to ask you this with customer privacy and all but, why are you going to Grapafeuse.¡± ¡®I can¡¯t tell her I¡¯m a summoned hero. nobody¡¯s supposed to know I¡¯m here¡¯ ¡°O-Oh, I¡¯m a scholar. I¡¯m there to learn portal transportation¡± ¡®That¡¯s not really a lie isn¡¯t it?¡¯ Hasegawa thought to himself. ¡°Really? That¡¯s impressive.¡± Lydia goes around the counter getting closer to him. She inspects him from the head to the tip of his boots sniffing him. Specifically, the scent of his aura. ¡®There¡¯s something unique with his aura, there are no attributes.¡¯ Lydia noted to herself as she sniffs him with her superior sense of smell. ¡°Enough about me, what about you Lydia?¡± Hasegawa asks her. ¡°Are you hitting on me?¡± She teases him, purring ever so slightly. ¡°Wha-What no!¡± Hasegawa stutteringly replied back, blushing profusely. ¡°Hahaha, I¡¯m joking. I¡¯m just joking, I¡¯m not interested in younger people¡± Lydia laughs uncontrollably. Her now visible tail wiggling in the air as she steps back from him. ¡°Not, funny.¡± Hasegawa replied annoyed. ¡°About me huh? My name is Lydia I¡¯m beastman and I work here that¡¯s all.¡± She grins at him. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve met someone interesting though.¡± ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°That¡¯s all, kid if you¡¯re traveling around here here¡¯s some tips.¡± ¡°What?¡± ¡°First, don¡¯t tell too much about yourself to strangers, you¡¯re lucky that this place is respectable.¡± She counts. ¡°Second, don¡¯t go off showing that pouch of yours.¡± ¡°Third, beastmen have aura detecting senses so don¡¯t let one inspect you if you¡¯re doing something non-scholarly. You understand?¡± Lydia finishes. ¡°Ok, I understand.¡± Hasegawa reaffirms Lydia. ¡°Good.¡± The pair continued to talk for hours until the carriage finally arrived at the Dusk Merchant Guild. The two of them saying their parting goodbyes to each other. ¡°It was nice meeting you, come back again if you¡¯re in the area.¡± Lydia said her goodbyes. ¡°I will. Goodbye Lydia!¡± Hasegawa boards the carriage already filled with passengers, waving goodbye to the friendly guild attendant. Finally heading on to his journey, as he gives the document to the driver.
The clip clop of the horses¡¯ hooves signified the long journey taking place. The carriage was drawn by two sturdy horses, the carriage itself was pretty spacious with enough room for four to five people. That said, the carriage wasn¡¯t empty with four other passengers. They were wearing tailored suits and carrying large instrument suitcases. The suitcases taking most of the leg space. Further preventing any sense of comfort for the summoned boy. ¡°Hey kid!¡± One of the passengers right next called out Hasegawa. ¡°You haven¡¯t said anything since you first boarded. You ok? you look pretty stressed out.¡±If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Oh¡­ sorry. It¡¯s just that I didn¡¯t expect this to be cramped.¡± He answered truthfully. ¡°Sorry ¡®bout that. Is this your first time traveling?¡± ¡°Not really it¡¯s just the first time I rode in a carriage.¡± ¡°Really? What¡¯s your name kid?¡± The passenger asked. ¡°My name is Ha-¡± ¡°First, don¡¯t tell too much about yourself to strangers, you¡¯re lucky that this place is respectable.¡± He remembered what Lydia had told him earlier. ¡°Ha-?¡± The passenger was confused at the sudden pause. ¡®Medieval name that starts with Ha¡­ Hal? Wait I got it!¡¯ ¡°It¡¯s Halberd?¡± ¡°Wait you mean the weapon?¡± The passenger exclaimed in surprise. ¡°Uhm. No, its uh¡­ Halbert, with spelled with a t. That¡¯s it.¡± ¡°Ahhh ok, my name¡¯s Baz.¡± The passenger known as Baz told Hasegawa. Baz then proceeds to name the others in his group. ¡°That¡¯s Eleanor. She plays the flute¡± ¡°That¡¯s Trevor, he plays the violin.¡± ¡°Finally, that¡¯s Sophia. The one holding a flower.¡± Baz finishes. ¡°As you can see from our clothing and equipment, we¡¯re musicians playing for a concert in Grapafeuse two days from now.¡± Baz grabs his lute. ¡°You should see our performance, our music-based abilities are going to stun everyone in the audience.¡± ¡°Sure, once I finish my business.¡± Hasegawa writes the event down on some paper. ¡°So, did you hear about the summoning of the heroes?¡± Eleanor buts into their conversation. Upon hearing this Hasegawa takes in a big gulp, not liking where this conversation is going. ¡°They did it around a month ago right?¡± Baz answers. ¡°Yeah, apparently they¡¯re very strong.¡± Eleanor continues. ¡°It¡¯s thanks to that news that my family can finally sleep without the worries of demons invading us. Isn¡¯t that right Halbert?¡± Baz nudges Hasegawa on the shoulder. ¡°Hehe, yeah¡­¡± ¡°What? are you not excited? The heroes are finally here!¡± ¡°He probably heard of that story about one hero running away Baz.¡± Eleanor assumed. ¡°You mean that rumor? Do you actually believe that stuff? That hero isn¡¯t running away, he¡¯s probably just fighting early you know¡­ Hey Halbert what do you think about that?¡± Baz countered. ¡°I don¡¯t really know what to think, when did that rumor start?¡± Hasegawa inquired. ¡°Dunno. Trevor probably knows-¡± Baz is interrupted by none other than, ¡°Sophia knows! Sophia knows!¡± Sophia interjects. ¡°Sophia knows that the rumor Sophia heard came from one of the castle guards that said that he saw thirty heroes getting summoned and only twenty-nine were presented to the public last time.¡± She explains. ¡®I was too embarrassed to join the ceremony. What was I supposed to do? Tell them I¡¯m useless?¡¯ ¡°That makes sense.¡± ¡°Does that answer your question Halbe-¡± The carriage driver opens the front window with a loud thud. Grabbing the attention of each and every one of the passengers. ¡°There¡¯s a blockade up front.¡± The driver tells them. Everybody looks outside and there it is, a blockade made of twenty-five knights stop the carriage from advancing further along its route. The knights slowly move forward, walking towards them. ¡°Never seen any guards this far from any kingdom.¡± The driver remarks. ¡°There¡¯s probably just some road robbers in the area.¡± ¡°Relax I¡¯ll take care of this.¡± The carriage driver said as he dropped down from his seat. Approaching the knights he starts.
¡°Hello there!¡± No reply. ¡°Good sirs, we are heading for Grapafeuse, is there a problem with this route?¡± No reply ¡°Is there anything in the area? Bears, monsters, robber-¡± The driver never got to finish his sentence as the leading knight impales the man with the tip of his sword. Pulling it out in a swift fashion letting the body fall on the floor. ¡°What the fuck!¡± Hasegawa shouted. The knights start to run towards the carriage drawing out their weapons. ¡°Everybody out the carriage!¡± Hasegawa pushes the carriage door open and jumps out of the carriage, Baz and others follow all grabbing their luggage. Hasegawa pulls out the dagger from his belt. His arms all shaky as this is his first true combat experience, a trial of fire, with the enemy being humans not demons. ¡°Halbert get down!¡± Baz orders Hasegawa as he plays a musical note in his lute, the instrument glowing. ¡°Harmoniae Vis!¡± it sends a gust of wind pushing back the knights if only for a moment. ¡°Sophia behind you!¡± Eleanor shouts as an arrow crashes into the back of Sophia¡¯s chest breaking her spinal cord and impaling her heart, effectively killing her. ¡°NOO! Y-You damn bastards! I¡¯ll kill you!¡± Trevor screamed, charging at the closest knight he could find, pulling out his violin and bow, he plays a piece pouring his heart out. ¡°Melodiam Ad Iram!¡± Invisible blades cut up the knight into pieces, with Trevor¡¯s wrath fully realized. He plays another piece and chants the same spell slicing the leg off another knight, the lump bleeding profusely but the knight doesn¡¯t scream out in pain or even flinch. Instead grappling Trevor down to the ground with him. Trevor struggles but the knight is able to climb on top of him and smashes his face with the pommel of his sword, his skull caving in, killing Trevor. The knights all face and surround the remaining three survivors Baz, Eleanor and Hasegawa. All three back to back with each other. ¡°We need to force an opening!¡± Hasegawa shouted parrying with great difficulty a sword strike using his dagger. The unbelievable weight of the impact rattling his entire body. ¡®If it wasn¡¯t for those sparring sessions with Takezawa-kun I¡¯d be dead by now.¡¯ Hasegawa thought to himself having managed to fend the knight off with the help of Eleanor. ¡°I have a plan! Everybody get behind me!¡± Baz ordered and Eleanor and Hasegawa followed him. Baz chants. ¡°I am the bard, I am the jester, I am the troubadour. Music encompasses my very being! Magnitudine Parem Octo!¡± A loud explosion comes out from the lute, obliterating the knights directly in front of them in a blinding flash accompanied cacophony of sounds. ¡°Quick! let¡¯s run for it.¡± Eleanor grabs Baz¡¯s hand who looks pale and with a flow of blood trickling from his nose, his body weak from using the card up his sleeve. Hasegawa helps her shouldering Baz on his other shoulder. Before being able to, another arrow flies through the air. Hitting Eleanor in the back of her knee. She falls to the ground. ¡°Eleanor!¡± Both Baz and Hasegawa shouted. ¡°Get away from here!¡± Eleanor screamed at them, signaling them to run away, just as a knight chops her body in half. ¡°Damn it all!¡± Baz shouted as he pushed himself away from Hasegawa, his knees weak and wobbly ¡°Halbert run into the forest I¡¯ll slow them down!¡± ¡°I can¡¯t leave you here!¡± Hasegawa cried out, tears flowing from his eyes. ¡°Yes you can! Now go before they kill both of us!¡± Wiping the tears from his eyes Hasegawa bursts into a full sprint into the forest, turning to look back one more time to see Baz, fending off three knights but ultimately losing the struggle and his life. The man having been impaled onto a tree with a spear. With blood smeared all over his face. The knights then look directly at Hasegawa having apparently sensed where he is, they then also start sprinting with a speed not possible with all that armor on them. ¡°Shit!¡± Hasegawa runs and runs, dodging low hanging tree branches and climbing over large rock. Doing the best he can to put some distance between him and his pursuers. But wherever he goes the knights are still able follow him. Climbing up a small hill Hasegawa then turns sharply to the right, hoping to throw them off only to slip in the mud of the side of the hill, and falling into a cavity in the ground, knocking him out.
¡°W-Where¡­ am I?¡± He groggily thinks to himself, ¡°Am I dead?¡± He shifts his body around, feeling a cold hard surface surrounding him. ¡°I can¡¯t see in here.¡± Hasegawa starts touching around him hoping to see if there¡¯s anything that¡¯s useful. ¡®Am I going to die here?¡¯ That¡¯s when it happened. His bruised left-hand brushes over something, it felt like a screw, moving his hands around more, the felt something along the lines of buttons and levers. Finally, a crystalline shaped object was directly to his right. ¡®What is this thing?¡¯ He grabs it. The object starts to glow. Illuminating the dark chamber with a pulsating scarlet red light. He can finally see the interior of the place. It¡¯s slightly spacious with various levers and metal supports protruding from the main hull. ¡°Is this¡­ a tank?¡± His mind races. ¡°How can there be a tank here?¡± The crystal object from earlier starts to disappear into thin air. ¡°No, no, no!¡± Hasegawa stumbles in the vehicle trying to stop the only source of light from disappearing. That¡¯s when he saw it, a green glow emanating from his torn up and muddy satchel. His registration crystal. Placing the registration crystal into the vacant space left by the red crystal. This time the tank pulsates a vibrant green and the registration crystal glows a bright green for a split second before returning back to normal. ¡°What the... The registration crystal it updated?¡± The registration crystal no longer says his class to be a lowly ¡°Peasant¡± but instead. ¡°Tank Commander? It says here, weapon: PzKpfW. I Ausf. A.¡± A realization occurs in Hasegawa. ¡°Is THIS my ability?¡± Turning on the engine with the keys of the tank. Hasegawa grabs the levers and tries to move the tank, at first the engines roared and nothing happened, but slowly and surely the tank crawled itself from its earthly grave slowly dragging its hulking mass. He then shuts down the engine. ¡°The knights are still out there; I need a plan.¡±
¡°The child has not been eliminated, he cannot have run away that far, find him.¡± The captain of the elite knights spoke to his men two hours after the attack on the carriage, as they tracked Hasegawa¡¯s location onto the hill where his aura¡¯s trail mysteriously vanished. The knights scour the area nonstop for a few minutes, that¡¯s when they spotted the large excavated patch of rock and dirt. ¡°Sir. I might be able to sniff him out.¡± A dog beastman knight approaches the spot, his nose sniffing out traces of aura in the air, his body follows his nose moving closer and closer onto a side of the hill overlooking them, that¡¯s when he noticed. There were two metal barrels pointed straight at him and the other knights. ¡°Bingo Motherfucker.¡± Hasegawa grinned to himself. The two machineguns let out a large hailstorm of piping hot lead onto the unsuspecting knights, hitting each and every one of them. The bullets gouging into their bodies and breaking, impaling and obliterating every one of the knights including the beastman. The hot lead passing through one end and lodging itself onto another surface, brains and limbs blowing out in a graphic manner. Finally, the machine guns run out of ammo. Hasegawa maneuvers the tank out of its hiding area. Stopping it before the carnage he made. Opening the commander¡¯s cupola, he looks at the gruesome sight. He spits on the body of one of the dead knights. ¡°That was for Trevor. Eleanor. Sophia, the carriage driver and Baz.¡± He spat out. Suddenly, his vision becomes blurry as another scarlet light takes over him and the Panzer I. Flashing brightly before suddenly disappearing leaving nothing left behind. Chapter 4: The Village in the Trees Chapter 4: The Village in the Trees ¡°Wake up.¡± An unknown voice cuts through the pure white silence. The environment is blank, no definite features. It goes on and on, never seeming to end. A calm ambience can be felt in the ethereal horizon, the ground not solid, but a liquid. Instead of being opaque it is reflective, fluid and mirror-like, the sky and the ground one and the same. There is something, not nothing, not everything, but at least something. A person lying on his back, his clothes submerged in the liquid, but dry. ¡°Wake up.¡± It repeats again, firmness in its voice. ¡°Wake up. Hero.¡± The voice commanded. ¡°Huaaah!¡± A gasp is heard from Hasegawa. His body jerking straight up from its position. The surface sloshing around due to his movements. ¡°¡­Where am I?¡± He asks to himself. ¡°In my domain.¡± The voice answered. Obviously not answering a reply Hasegawa stumbles for his weapon, the dagger, unsheathing it and swings it towards the origin of the voice. To see nobody there. ¡°Behind you child.¡± Turning around to meet the culprit face to face. Hasegawa sees a regally dressed man. Wearing a red suit accompanied by black highlights, white hair and ethereal glowing skin, the face staring back at him. ¡°How was the nap?¡± The being asked. ¡°Who are you?! Answer me!¡± Hasegawa clutches his dagger in one hand tightly around the waist, the other hand poised in a defensive position. ¡°Qhyrros, I¡¯m a god. The one who summoned you here.¡± The entity answered. ¡°Well then Qhyrros, what do you mean by summoned me here? What is here?!¡± Hasegawa points out his surroundings. ¡°I grabbed you from your plane of existence and placed you in mine.¡± Qhyrros smiles. ¡°Just like how I took you from your world.¡± he continued. Disappearing from Hasegawa¡¯s line of sight. ¡°Took me from my world? Are you saying you brought me to this shithole! Also didn¡¯t Nuarin bring me here?!¡± Hasegawa angrily replied to thin air. ¡®This man doesn¡¯t make any sense¡­ well he isn¡¯t a man per say isn¡¯t he.¡¯ His mind rambled. ¡°Do not be angered by me, I am not your enemy. While it is true that Nuarin summon your class, she didn¡¯t want to summon you.¡± Qhyrros appeared to his left, straightening his tie. ¡°It is by my choice that you are in this other world.¡± ¡°If you are a god and it¡¯s true your fault that you brought me here then why didn¡¯t you help me! Why did you not give me any special abilities in this world?!¡± ¡°Child, it¡¯s okay to be irrational, as long as you have the right person.¡± Hasegawa scoffs at that. ¡°Baz.¡± ¡°Eleanor.¡± ¡°Sophia.¡± ¡°Trevor.¡± ¡°Hero stop.¡± Qhyrros ordered. ¡°Those names belong to nice people that shouldn¡¯t have died. All because they acquainted themselves with me. Somebody without any ability, someone so useless!¡± His eyes poured out tears. ¡°And more people will die if you won¡¯t act. Whether those death were or weren¡¯t in vain, it¡¯s all up to you to make it so.¡± Qhyrros pulls out a handkerchief out of mid-air and gives it to him. ¡°Do you understand?¡± Silence. The boy in front of him starts to shake in anger, only for it to subside. ¡°I understand.¡± Hasegawa replies through his teeth. ¡°Good, and don¡¯t use that stupid pseudonym.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°Halbert sounds stupid. About special abilities and all that class nonsense, I did give you one with a little freebie.¡± ¡°What the tank?¡± ¡°I knew choosing you was the best choice. Sharp minds are important for leaders.¡± Qhyrros praises Hasegawa with a bit of sarcasm. ¡°Leaders? What do you mean?¡± ¡°Hasegawa Kazuki, there is a reason why I summoned you here. You are to prepare this world for warfare by any means necessary.¡± ¡°Warfare? Prepare? You¡¯re not giving me any answers here.¡± Hasegawa quipped. ¡°You¡¯ll know your purpose in time. For now, this is all I can say. Master your weapon and hone your skills.¡± Qhyrros approaches Hasegawa. His palm glowing. His eyes a shade of scarlet red. ¡°Hey wait!¡± Qhyrros places his hand on Hasegawa¡¯s chest as another blinding light takes over them.
¡°Mystery man! Wake up!¡± another unknown voice calls out. This time though it sounds very feminine. ¡°Hey wake up!¡± The unknown voice walks away for a minute before returning. Splash. Hasegawa picks himself off the ground at lightning speed. He obviously wasn¡¯t expecting that kind of surprise. ¡°Okay! Okay! I¡¯m Awake!¡± Hasegawa looks through the wet locks of his hair to see a tall elven beauty looking back at him. Her long blonde hair an obvious contrast to the white linen dress she was wearing, her feet barefoot. Holding a wooden bucket still dripping with water, she busts out into a smile and laughs. ¡°Haha. You look so funny mystery man.¡± ¡°An elf.¡± ¡°What. Haven¡¯t seen one before mystery man?¡± ¡°Can you stop calling me mystery man. I have a name you know.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your mysterious name then mystery man?¡± She asked. ¡®Well I guess there¡¯s no more pseudonyms for me.¡¯ ¡°Hasegawa.¡± ¡°What kind of name is Hasegawa?¡± She tilts her head in confusion. ¡°A cool one that¡¯s for sure.¡± He replied. Hasegawa checks his satchel for any ¡®lost items¡¯ making sure that she didn¡¯t do anything inappropriate with his belongings, before slinging it back on his shoulder. ¡°I found you in this metal carriage you were riding in, knocked out for a good while.¡± She points at the tank. The tank looking a bit disfigured and crunched up probably due to the teleportation. She taps her hand on the side of the hull. The tank resonating for a moment. ¡°Oh, by the way my name is Myr.¡± She answered. ¡°Follow me.¡± She hands him a wool towel. Which he takes gratefully, using it to pat himself dry, he follows her. Leaving the tank behind.The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°So Myr what is this place?¡± ¡°This is the never-ending forest.¡± She says nonchalantly. ¡°Oh, is that so?¡± He answers slightly perturbed. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen a nice human before.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°Well humans in helmets and big armor used to take things from us, so we had to fight back.¡± ¡°Fight back?¡± ¡°Why are you such a dummy?¡± She laughs. She continues ¡°Fight as in battles, A long time ago there was a human army and we had to fight back.¡± ¡°I suppose what happened wasn¡¯t very nice.¡± He remarked. ¡°Not really, we lost a lot of good people that day. Including my mother.¡± ¡°Oh, I¡¯m sorry. My condolences, if it helps, I know what it feels to lose nice people too.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, three hundred years is a long time to be so mopey about it. I was young when she died.¡± ¡®Three hundred years? How old is she?¡¯ ¡°Once again, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°I said it¡¯s okay¡± She fumes. ¡°So Myr, how exactly did you find me?¡± ¡°I was just running around as usual, that¡¯s when it happened. I saw a flash of light and I went to follow it.¡± ¡®That must¡¯ve been Qhyrros. That sadistic bastard.¡¯ ¡°That¡¯s when I found you in your metal carriage all bloodied up. But it¡¯s all okay now! I healed you up.¡± She motions the entirety of his body. ¡°Myr. Where am I?¡± He asks her, hanging the towel around his neck. Myr not answering the question. They followed a dirt path into a forest of tall and large trees, with Hasegawa struggling to keep up with her. This continued on for a while until they stopped at a large clearing in the forest. ¡°We¡¯re finally here!¡± She tells him. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡®Maybe I followed the wrong elf.¡¯ He doubts her. ¡°We¡¯re in my village Dummy! Look up!¡± She grabs the sides of his head and turns him towards the tree canopy. Finally, he sees it. Myra lets go of his head. ¡°Welcome to Wyst Fylola!¡± An interconnected network of treehouses and wooden bridges scattered amongst the leaves. Vibrant colors scattered in the landscape as lights ranging from red, green and blue scatter throughout the canopy. Elves scattered along in groups. It was a sight and beauty to behold. ¡°Amazing¡­¡± Hasegawa breathes out. ¡°Hey everybody, look! Myr returned!¡± One elf boy cried out. ¡°Hey Myr!¡± ¡°People look it¡¯s Myr!¡± ¡°Is that a human?¡± One elf points out. ¡°It is! Quick! Sound the alarm!¡± An elf quickly jumps down from the tree tops and lands on his two feet. Wearing what seems to be heavy armor he pulls out two short broadswords. ¡°Human you have trespassed elven territory prepare to die!¡± He shouts. The elf charges at Hasegawa. His swords poised to take his life he was about a meter away from Hasegawa¡¯s throat when Myr places herself between them. ¡°Uncle Gaspar I order you to stop!¡± The blades stop around an inch from her neck. ¡°Myr?! Why would you do that!¡± Gaspar removes the blades around her neck. ¡°You were about to kill him.¡± ¡°We don¡¯t protect the enemy! Myr, as my duty of commander I want you to move aside.¡± ¡°No.¡± She refuses ¡°Myr.¡± Gaspar looks more and more frustrated. ¡°No.¡± Myr refuses again. ¡°Myr.¡± ¡°Uncle why do the elven warriors attack outsiders?¡± ¡°Have you forgotten child?! They attacked us first.¡± Gaspar tries to move around her. Which she blocks him again. ¡°Uncle Gaspar, I want you to bring me and Halbert to the council. To father.¡± She pleads him. ¡°That¡¯s what mother would¡¯ve wanted.¡± She says in a solemn voice. ¡°¡­Damnit, why do you look so much like her. Fine, but that human must be cuffed.¡± Gaspar moves a step back, producing a rope from one of his pockets. ¡°Is that okay Hasegawa?¡± Myr questions Hasegawa. ¡°It¡¯s not like I have a choice, do I?¡± He responds placing his hands out as Gaspar ties him up. ¡°Okay. Both of you follow me.¡± Gaspar orders them.
In a large wooden room at the tallest tree in the forest. There stands, thirteen elven leaders and one chieftain ready to give out judgement to the two of them. The elders are known for being walking, talking beings of wisdom and knowledge. Amongst them is one Strynhld the chief of the elven village of Wyst Fylola. ¡°The chief will question the defendant.¡± One elder states. Strynhld starts. ¡°Human. Why are you in this area?¡± ¡°My name is Hasegawa, frankly I don¡¯t even know where this place is, Myr brought me here sir, Chieftain may I ask you something?¡± ¡°Yes human?¡± Anger seethes through Strynhld¡¯s voice ¡°How far am I from Grapafeuse?¡± ¡°Hahaha are you joking human?¡± Strynhld laughs at him. ¡°Hehehe¡­ is it a joking matter?¡± Hasegawa nervously laughs with him. ¡°Since you obviously don¡¯t know what I am talking about, let¡¯s get this straight. Grapafeuse is in the continent of Arcenaga right?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Well there is an ocean separating Grapafeuse and here. You are currently in the southern continent of Rallosa.¡± ¡°What?!¡± ¡®Qhyrros why did you put me here?!¡¯ ¡°So, I ask you again human. Why are you here?¡± Strynhld stands up from his seat. ¡°Answer truthfully or perish.¡± Gulp. ¡®Ah shit.¡¯ ¡°Well chieftain I didn¡¯t intend to come here, as I said before Myr brought me here. ¡°Is this true my daughter?¡± Strynhld asks Myr. ¡®Daughter? So this is her father. He seems pretty interesting.¡¯ ¡°Yes father. I found him in a weird metal carriage without horses.¡± ¡°Without horses? Metal carriages? Daughter I don¡¯t believe you. Humans don¡¯t come here unless it is a raid.¡± Strynhld approaches Hasegawa pulling out a short sword from his seat. ¡°But father please.¡± Myr grabs her father¡¯s hand. Looking at him straight in the eyes. ¡°Mother wouldn¡¯t want this.¡± ¡°Daughter, your mother isn¡¯t here anymore. It has been one hundred and nine thousand five hundred and seventy-five days since she died, she was the most perfect woman I have ever met and humans took her away from me when they attacked this village. I count every day she has not been at my side.¡± ¡°I know father but-¡± ¡°Silence!¡± he shouts at her, his eyes reflecting the soul of a man who has lost someone important. At this Myr visibly shakes. ¡°Elders! I demand a trial by combat!¡± Strynhld points the tip of his sword towards the elders. At this display and the chance to take revenge against humans the elders agreed. ¡°What!¡± Hasegawa exclaimed.
¡°Sorry about this.¡± Myr told Hasegawa, currently they were in one of the preparation huts. Hasegawa straightens out a leather chest piece, the only equipment the elves gave to him. ¡°It¡¯s fine¡­ hey Myr. Can you leave me alone for now?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± At that Myr walks out the door. Hasegawa hits his fist onto the table in front of him. ¡®Shit. Shit. Shit. I did not expect this to happen. Fuck. What can I do, I can¡¯t run away that¡¯s for sure, the elves are faster and know this place more than me.¡¯ ¡®The only option is to fight against Chief Strynhld which is Myr¡¯s father. Oh god Qhyrros screwed me over.¡¯ He complains. ¡®The only weapon that I have is the dagger, I could probably dodge the first blow due to my training with Takezawa-kun, but after that I¡¯m dead.¡¯ ¡°There maybe something in the bag that might at least help.¡± He rummages around his bag, before shaking its contents onto the table. That¡¯s when he noticed something. ¡®An envelope? I don¡¯t remember something like this before.¡¯ ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± He reads the writing on top of it. - ¡®Hello hero, I forgot to give you something, just open the envelope. It might be useful for when you¡¯re in a pickle.¡¯- Signed Qhyrros Hasegawa opens the envelope and out falls a heavy metal object. ¡®Is this a Luger P08? Did that god just give me a gun?!¡¯ Hasegawa starts laughing. ¡°This might help?! Of course this would help it¡¯s a gun.¡± He checks the gun and magazine for ammo, finding out there was only one round in the chamber. ¡®Really man¡­¡¯ ¡®At least it¡¯s better than nothing.¡¯ ¡°I might actually win with this thing.¡± At that a plan formulates in his head.
¡°The trial by combat will now start, between the defendant, Hasegawa the human,¡± at that boos come from the crowd ¡°versus our great Chief Strynhld.¡± Cheers erupt at the mere mention of his name. ¡°This fight would end at one¡¯s dishonor or death.¡± The two combatants enter the room. Strynhld wearing the best bronze armor they had. The gloss of the metal shining and noticeable, his two short swords glinting in the sun. Whilst Hasegawa only had the leather chest piece and his clothes from before. His green coat covering his belt and dagger. ¡°The combatants are allowed to bring two weapons of choice that they want. The combatants are allowed to hide their weapon.¡± ¡®That rule was probably in place for their penchant of dual wielding and bows.¡¯ Hasegawa commented. ¡®It¡¯s a good thing that it goes well in my favor.¡¯ He smirks to himself, his gun stored away in one of the back pockets in his belt. ¡®I only have one shot. I need to make this count.¡¯ ¡°Are you ready Hasegawa the human?!¡± Strynhld ¡°As ready as you are!¡± One of the elders drop a leaf from the canopy. Ten. The leaf slowly falls through the air. Nine. The two fighters tighten in their place opposite of each other. Eight. Strynhld¡¯s blades take position aiming for Hasegawa¡¯s vitals. Seven. ¡°Hey chief?¡± Hasegawa chats. Six. ¡°What?!¡± The chief answers irritated that his prey would talk before the battle. Five. ¡°Can I ask you a question?¡± Four. ¡°Is it about your last words? What is it?¡± Strynhld taunts him. Three. ¡°Is ruthlessness a skill?¡± Hasegawa questions with a straight face. Two. ¡°What kind of question is that?!¡± Strynhld is caught off guard by the stupidity of his question. One. The leaf touches the ground in the arena. It all happened in a blur. Hasegawa runs towards the Chief trying to slash him with the dagger in his hand, in one swipe he almost injures the chief. But the elven chief with his great speed manages to evade the attack. Stumbling back, he regains his footing. Anger pouring out of his body at being tricked by the question. Strynhld starts his offensive running towards his opponent, swinging one of his blades, which was blocked by Hasegawa¡¯s dagger. ¡°Die!¡± Strynhld shouted as his other blade came crashing down on Hasegawa¡¯s head killing him. But that¡¯s not what happened. Instead his blade only met air as Hasegawa rolled backward, his training with Takezawa activating his muscle memory. His coat flailing in the air as it revealed the item contained in his pocket. The Luger P08. He fires the weapon towards the ground. The bullet hits the chief¡¯s foot, almost immediately immobilizing him. The chief falls to the ground. ¡°Arghhhh!¡± Strynhld cries out in pain. His foot bleeding profusely. Hasegawa walks towards the chief kicking away the chief¡¯s dual weapons before aiming the gun at Strynhld¡¯s forehead. ¡°Please don¡¯t kill me!¡± The chief cries out. ¡°Too late.¡± Click. The gun toggle pops up. The gun doesn¡¯t go off. There was no more ammunition. The chieftain¡¯s head was still in one piece. ¡°Dishonored.¡± Hasegawa walks away. The crowd entirely silent including Myr. He won this battle, but winning the people over wouldn¡¯t occur overnight. That¡¯s why he needs to keep fighting. So that bloodshed will occur for the right cause. Chapter 5: Training Chapter 5: Training Near the kingdom of Estusia is a forest that serves as a training ground for fledgling knights and mages, as of now it is being used by the heroes in their training. Their mission is to subjugate a large monster nest. ¡°Hey watch out!¡± Ryuu shouts as he bisects an awfully large ant into two, his sword slicing it with ease. ¡°I know!¡± His classmate, Heizo Jun, replied. Using his large battle axe to deflect incoming poison spit from another giant ant before swinging his weapon down on another. Unbeknownst to him however another monster was able to sneak up behind him in the heat of the battle. A black spider around the size of a large dog pounces towards him, its fangs readying to strike. It was about to get him, until a glowing arrow whizzes past Jun¡¯s head, stopping the spider¡¯s sneak attack by embedding itself into the spider before exploding inside the arachnid. ¡°One down.¡± Maki Yoshino said to herself. Her bow being the origin of that arrow¡¯s trajectory. ¡°Yoshino! Wha¡­ What was that?!¡± Jun said in surprise. ¡°Sorry Jun! It was that new spell that I learned!¡± She said smiling while looking apologetically. Just as she said that, an infernal blaze separated the students from the monsters. ¡°From my soul is a burning desire! Copiosum Ignem Erupit!¡± Akari casted five fireballs and sent them towards some large centipedes, hitting their mark true, setting them ablaze. The students are slowly pushing the arthropods back into their nest, their overwhelming might is too much for the monsters. ¡°Take this!¡± Takezawa shouted as he crushed another ant with his large gauntlets, regaining his footing as he punched another one into the air with a satisfying smack. ¡°I hate bugs.¡± He commented. ¡°Nice work Takezawa-kun!¡± Ryuu complimented him in the midst of the battle. ¡°Should you really be doing that right now?!¡± He replied. ¡°Its fine I got it all sorted out.¡± Ryuu said. His sword started glowing a pure bright white, his golden hair floating around as his eyes turned into a shade of gold. ¡°Clear out a line my great sword. Ferrum Aeternam!¡± His glowing sword extended two meters in front of him using his magic. He swung his sword proceeding to then cleave out an entire row of varying arthropods without difficulty. ¡°Woah!¡± ¡°That¡¯s our Ryuu-sama for you.¡± ¡°Amazing!¡± Came the varying reply of the students. ¡°Tch¡­ Showoff.¡± Takezawa muttered under his breath. ¡°Ok kids let¡¯s wrap it up! In five minutes, everybody should have his or her items packed up along with your loot.¡± Captain Grant ordered as he surveyed the area for any stragglers, smiting them with his own great sword. ¡°Looks like they¡¯re progressing a lot Grant.¡± A person riding a horse came up behind him. Captain grant turns around towards the person. ¡°Oh! Viscount Caullas! I didn¡¯t expect you to be here.¡± Captain Grant kneeled before the man. ¡°Grant. You don¡¯t need to do that.¡± ¡°Sorry Viscount, force of habit.¡± He stood back up, patting himself down. ¡°They seem to be in good hands. Even though they still make rookie mistakes.¡± Caullas pointed at the students. ¡°Powerful as they are, children will always be na?ve. I¡¯m training them for their own good, a mistake can cost them their lives. They need to understand that.¡± ¡°Indeed, that is true. Well expect me to come more often, I have taken a liking to some of them. Who knows, maybe I¡¯ll personally tutor them.¡± Caullas hides a smirk from Grant. ¡°That would be of great help sir. I haven¡¯t seen you fight in a while; the nobles aren¡¯t nobles for nothing¡± ¡°It¡¯s been a long time; I am feeling a bit rusty.¡± Caullas creates a small projection of a crow on his hand, amazingly without needing to chant. ¡°Nonsense! a great wizard like you can never be rusty.¡± Captain Grant assures him. ¡°Well, maybe that is true. I¡¯ll proceed to go now.¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± Grant saluted as Caullas walked back to his horse. The students finally defeat the last of the arthropods and they manage to seal up the nest. ¡°That was certainly easier than last time.¡± One student remarked. ¡°I know right! We couldn¡¯t even penetrate some of their armor, now it¡¯s like a breeze¡± ¡°Haaaah¡­ That was tiring.¡± Takezawa said to himself as he drank some water from a leather container. Wiping the sweat from his face. ¡°Damn it Akari-san. Don¡¯t just use that fire ability of yours whenever you want, it was freaking hot in there.¡± He said towards her. ¡°Hehe sorry.¡± She replied. ¡°Man¡­ I wonder what Hasegawa¡¯s doing?¡± Takezawa pondered.
¡°I won¡­ So why am I in prison?!¡± Hasegawa shouted in his cellar, after winning the trial by combat and leaving the arena, he was quickly captured by elven guards and brought here without mercy. He still sports the bruise on his left eye he got during his capture. ¡°Damn you elves and your pride!¡± He shouted again. It has been a week since the duel and he was getting impatient. A guard hits the cellar¡¯s bars with his gauntlet. ¡°Shut up! There¡¯s a visitor for you human.¡± A person walks down the stairs. ¡°Hello Hasegawa.¡± Myr said as she approached the cell. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you.¡± He grumbly said. ¡°How¡¯s your dad? Can he walk?¡± ¡°He¡¯s ok, still shocked that a mere human was able to make him concede defeat. Father¡¯s just resting, elves after all are masters of magic healing, although his healing is relatively slow.¡± She pulls out a key and opens the cellar door. ¡°The council calls for you.¡± She said. ¡°For what?¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°I don¡¯t know, rest be assured. I don¡¯t think that anyone¡¯s challenging you soon.¡± She smiles. ¡°Why do you keep laughing or smiling Myr? This is no laughing matter.¡± He asks her, stepping out of the cell. With limited food and water, Hasegawa looks slightly emaciated. ¡°¡­It¡¯s all I have left.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°Nothing. Let¡¯s go.¡±
Once again Hasegawa is in front of the council, this time the entire room as absolutely quiet, no one wants to incur the wrath of the one that took down their chief. ¡°So, who wants to judge me seriously now?¡± Anger seething through his voice Taken aback at this sudden violent intent one of the elders speak up ¡°We do not intend to harm you Hasegawa¡± Surprisingly the elder used his real name rather than human. ¡°If that¡¯s true then why did you put me in prison, huh?¡± He demanded. Gaspar slightly irritated at the informal tone Hasegawa used against one of the elders, replied. ¡°Stop using that tone in front of our great elders, human.¡± ¡°Then answer my question.¡± Between the two of them, the elf commander and the human, sparks of fury flash between the two of them, as Gaspar faces Hasegawa. ¡°There have been reports of another human raid on our village from our spies. The high council thought that you might be able to help.¡± ¡°Wha-What right do they have to force me to stay?¡± ¡°This is your sentence for unlawfully disabling our leader.¡± Gaspar said with a straight face, although his resolve is slightly trembling. ¡°U-Unlawful? That¡¯s bullshit! It was a fair and straight duel.¡± He argued back. ¡°And our leader is bed-ridden for probably a few weeks! Your mysterious weapon is affecting our healing magic. When first raid in god knows for how long, is bound to happen in around two weeks.¡± ¡®Affects healing magic? So, this isn¡¯t a normal gun?¡¯ ¡°It¡¯s his fault anyways.¡± Hasegawa quipped. ¡°I know that my brother in law isn¡¯t the best fighter, but he is the pillar of this village. What we need is morale.¡± ¡°So what?¡± ¡°All I¡¯m saying is that, you help us, we let you go. The one who defeated our chief is now helping us repel the invaders, isn¡¯t that good enough to reassure the people?¡± Hasegawa sighed ¡°Fine I¡¯ll help. But on one condition.¡± ¡°Give me thirty elf soldiers to train, and the best metal workers and alchemists you have.¡± ¡°What are you going to do with them?¡± Gaspar questioned him. ¡°Do you want me to help or not? I¡¯ll teach them what I know.¡± ¡°Fine, don¡¯t think of running away human.¡± ¡®I really hate this place now.¡¯ ¡°It seems that everything is sorted out now.¡± One of the elders remarked. ¡°We accept Hasegawa¡¯s condition, prepare human, you will start training the soldiers two days from now. Give him one of the spare huts.¡± Another elder ordered. ¡°So, this is my hut?¡± Hasegawa points at a worn-down house at the outskirts of the village, it was currently nighttime. The hut itself was quite large with multiple rooms but the age can clearly be seen with the holes and rotten wood scattered about. ¡°It¡¯s not that bad.¡± Myr tries to assure him. ¡°Why does animosity against humans by elves have to be so strong¡± He complained. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry about that, I¡¯m working hard to return the elves back to their peaceful ways.¡± Myr said. ¡°Yeah, good luck with that.¡± Hasegawa said off-handedly. ¡°I¡¯m going to go now. Good night.¡± Myr said as she closes the door. ¡®At least I have somewhere to stay now that isn¡¯t a cell.¡¯ He thought to himself. Placing his stuff on a table, he sits on a chair inspecting the Luger. ¡®I need someone to work with this. Explaining the concept of firearms is easy but the process of making one is hard enough.¡¯ ¡®Since the encounter with Qhyrros I¡¯ve been having visions in my sleep. Blueprints and stuff flash in my dreams.¡¯ That was when he heard something in the other room in the hut. A fizzing sound of some sorts. Standing back up he slowly walks towards the door the sounds are coming from. Looking through a small hole through the door he sees a small enchanting circle with raw materials placed around its circumference. An elf is walking around inspecting the items. His white lab gown covered in blue liquid. ¡°Let¡¯s hope this works.¡± The elf said to himself. Adjusting his glasses. Hasegawa keeps watching when the elf¡¯s ears perk up. That was when the elf looked straight at him through the hole. Alarmed by this Hasegawa stumbles backwards, just in time for him to miss the door when the elf opened it. ¡°Oh look, it¡¯s you. The human known as Hasegawa.¡± The elf helps him up. ¡°Who are you? How do you know me?¡± Hasegawa asked. ¡°I¡¯m Erlen. It¡¯s pretty easy to guess who you are. Being the only human here with the recent events and all.¡± Erlen ¡°What are you doing here?¡± ¡°I live here.¡± ¡°Live here? This place looks abandoned!¡± Hasegawa remarked. ¡°I know, I know.¡± The Erlen sighed, scratching the black hair on his head. ¡°I¡¯m not really good at cleaning. Maybe that¡¯s why I was sent to the outskirts and probably my projects were a nuisance.¡± ¡°What were you doing there?¡± He points at Erlen¡¯s materials. ¡°Oh, it was my next transfusion project.¡± The elf simply stated. ¡°By any chance are you an alchemist?¡± Hasegawa guessed. The evidence pointing out one job. ¡°Yes. I am an alchemist, thank you very much for noticing, but I have to get going. I need to finish the circle.¡± Erlen then walks back to his room. ¡°Wait!¡± Hasegawa stops him. He turns around to see Hasegawa holding a mysterious black object in his hand. ¡°Is that?¡± Erlen looks at the strange object his eyes widening, remembering the news of a human being able to incapacitate the chief in an instance using a never before seen weapon. ¡°Yeah it is.¡± Hasegawa smirked; he got his attention. ¡°This is the weapon that defeated your chief, and right now, I need to make more of these.¡± He said. ¡°You¡¯ve piqued my interest. But you do know that I can¡¯t simply just make duplicates. With the law of equal exchange and all.¡± Erlen sighed. ¡°I know, but you do know the concept of gunpowder and guns, right?¡± Hasegawa asked ¡°No, but I like the sound of it.¡± Erlen¡¯s ears stand up again, his mind craving for new knowledge. Adjusting his glasses again, Erlen inspects the weapon closely. ¡°Wanna be partners, I need an alchemist for the job, you help me and you get to make one of these things. Also do you know where we can get some metal?¡± Hasegawa places his hand out in a handshake. ¡°Pshh. Metal? It¡¯s easy to get it if you know where to look. I accept your deal partner.¡± Erlen accepts it, as he started to explain the concept to his new business partner.
¡°I have gathered all of you here today to work under the human known as Hasegawa!¡± Gaspar commanded this ragtag bunch of soldiers and artisans in the field right outside the forest. Gesturing towards Hasegawa who started his introduction. ¡°Hey everyone! I¡¯m pretty sure nobody doesn¡¯t know of me. Afterall I¡¯m the one who gave your chief such an embarrassing defeat.¡± He boasted. Getting the ire of the elven soldiers. ¡°BOOO!¡± One footman said. ¡°Cheater!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t think you can just say that!¡± Myr interjected. ¡°Guys! Guys! Calm down!¡± She pleaded. The sight of the chief¡¯s daughter protecting the human increased their hatred for him more, but they decided to shut up. ¡°Anyways, before being rudely interrupted. I will be training you to use this.¡± Hasegawa signals Erlen to come out with the prototype they made. It was a long-barreled breech loading rifle. Erlen looking pretty happy that he managed to help in creating the new weapon. He happily starts. ¡°This is what is known as a gun.¡± He shows off the rifle. ¡°It basically shoots out small metal pieces using an explosion, these are known as bullets.¡± He pulls out a crude bullet from his pocket. ¡°At an alarmingly fast rate.¡± Erlen finishes. ¡°Myr, can you get the special object?¡± ¡°Sure thing.¡± Myr said as she went towards the forest. ¡°Why would we need to use that If we have arrows and magic?¡± One elf soldier pointed out, trying to make Hasegawa look bad. But Hasegawa prepared for questions like this. ¡°A gun is faster than a spell caster and packs a lot more punch than your simple arrow.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t believe that.¡± An elf mage stands his ground. ¡°I challenge you and that weapon to a speed cast.¡± ¡°A speed cast?¡± Hasegawa asked, he has never heard of this before. ¡°Two mages challenge each other who can hit the target first. I¡¯ll be using my fastest spell and you will use that ugly weapon of yours.¡± ¡°Fine.¡±
Hasegawa and the elf stand side by side to each other, with two wooden targets placed around six metes in front of them. ¡°Mages! ready your chants¡± Myr shouted. Hasegawa opened the chamber at the end of the rifle¡¯s barrel, placing the bullet in. ¡®I hope this doesn¡¯t explode in my hands.¡¯ He shakenly thought to himself. The mage starts readying his mana, his aura glowing, surrounding his body. ¡°Three!¡± ¡°Two!¡± ¡°One!¡± ¡°Zero!¡± AS Myr said the word zero the mage starts to chant his spell. ¡°Strike thr-¡± Before the mage could even finish a loud boom and crack is heard, Hasegawa pressed the trigger starting a chemical reaction that propelled the bullet, hitting the target. ¡°Hmm. Seems like the barrel¡¯s a bit curved¡­¡± The bullet having missed the center by five centimeters. ¡°Wha-! How!¡± The mage stands there, stupefied at the speed and power. Once again Hasegawa turns towards the soldiers, who all have their mouths open. ¡°This will now be the weapon of choice for all of you.¡± Happy at startling the soldiers. Hasegawa looks at Gaspar¡¯s surprised face then back to the soldiers. ¡°From now on, you will all be known as Attack Infantry One!¡± He said, standing proud and tall. ¡°I will tailor make you into disciplined soldiers in my image!¡± A loud grumbling sound is heard. Scraping metal and ratchets clunking together. A metal beast appearing from the horizon. ¡°This will be the start of a new era for us all!¡± Hasegawa shouted. The Panzer one arrives at the field, attracting many onlookers. It stops right in front of the fleeing soldiers. The driver¡¯s hatch opens as Myr emerges from the vehicle. ¡°It was fun riding this! Haha!¡± Myr said. ¡°Looks like you picked up fast in two days.¡± Hasegawa commented. ¡°Elves! Training will not be easy. I repeat! Training will not be easy.¡± ¡®Or at least I won¡¯t make it easy. Hahaha¡¯ Chapter 6: Attack Infantry One Chapter 6: Attack Infantry One It was a sunny day in the jungle around Wyst Fylola. The birds are singing their songs high above the trees. The streams around the forbidden forest are playing their melody to nature¡¯s animals. The elves were up to their natural lifestyles in their tree houses, albeit with caution since the news of a new human raid was still on their mind. Around the same time however, Hasegawa is currently in the midst of training his batch of soldiers. Using some basic scribbles and doodles on paper that he made as an illustration of the new method that he is teaching. ¡°This technique of fighting is known as volley fire!¡± He points at one of the drawings with a stick, making a circling motion. The elf soldiers that were made to sit in front of him looked at the drawing with interest. ¡°It uses one or more rows of riflemen to provide a steady rate of fire.¡± He picks up the gun that he and Erlen made, opening the lock at the breech of the gun, he slides the covering of the chamber open and loads a cartridge. ¡°The average reloading process should normally take about three to five seconds, depending on the user.¡± He said as he closes the chamber, aiming the gun towards a target and firing it ¡®Hehe.¡¯ ¡°However, in that span of three to five seconds, the rifleman is extremely vulnerable. That¡¯s when the line of comrades behind you fire, giving you time to reload.¡± Another shot rings out, the soldiers where it came from, finally spotting Myr holding another gun with smoke still coming from the barrel. ¡°That¡¯s the basic premise of volley fire.¡± Hasegawa finishes the lecture. Placing the weapon down, he strolls over to a cart filled with more guns. The final product of the alchemists and metal workers given to him by the council, the otherworld rifle mark 1, or the OR-1. ¡°Everyone! Line up to get one!¡± He orders.
¡°What is Father doing lately?¡± Myr asks her uncle Gaspar while the two of them were walking up to the chief¡¯s recovery room. ¡°Well he¡¯s doing fine, stull sulking I suppose.¡± He sweats. The village right now is preparing, a ditch is being dug around the village¡¯s perimeter by a handful of soldiers, while the others are sharpening stakes. ¡°I see¡­¡± ¡°Myr. Why do you stand around with that human?¡± Her uncle asks her, his voice straight and stoic. ¡°He just seems interesting; it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen a human. Let alone a nice one.¡± ¡°There is no such thing as a nice human.¡± Gaspar tells his niece, Myr simply shakes her head at that. ¡°Uncle, Hasegawa isn¡¯t a bad person. If he was, he would¡¯ve killed us by now.¡± ¡°Maybe the human is just biding for the right time.¡± ¡°Maybe not?¡± She told him. ¡°I¡¯ll judge him during the battle, that¡¯s when the true character of a person comes out.¡± They arrive at where Strynhld¡¯s staying, Gaspar pats Myr on the head. ¡°Go in. He¡¯s waiting for you.¡± ¡°Thank you, uncle.¡± Myr opens the door and enters. Strynhld is sitting on a chair on the balcony. His foot no longer bandaged. ¡°¡­¡± ¡°Father.¡± ¡°I see you have visited Myr.¡± He turns the chair around, bags under his eyes are clearly defined.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. ¡°I thought the village healers told you to rest.¡± ¡°They did, but my mind and body just wouldn¡¯t follow.¡± Strynhld stands up putting his weight on the uninjured foot. ¡°They managed to patch up the wound, but that doesn¡¯t erase the pain.¡± He continues. ¡°Well at least you aren¡¯t dead.¡± She jokingly tells him. ¡°I see you haven¡¯t let go of that joking personality.¡± He shuffles towards his daughter. ¡°Like your¡­ mother.¡± He sighs. ¡°I know.¡± Myr said. ¡°Come here.¡± He gestures her to come closer. She follows, walking towards him. He hugs her. ¡°I hurt you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine father.¡± She tells him, hugging him back.
¡°Ready!¡± Hasegawa shouts. The thirty elves grip their OR-1s tightly. ¡°Aim!¡± The first line consisting of ten men point their gun at the targets, the sights lining up towards the bullseye. ¡°Fire!¡± Hasegawa swings his arm down signaling the attack. The first row fires their volley hitting the targets. Bending on one knee, they crouch while reloading. The row behind them moves forward aiming their guns. ¡°Fire!¡± Again, another volley of shots fire, the guns still smoking as they crouch and reload again. ¡°Fire!¡± The third row moves forward, repeating the movements, sending another hail of metal towards their intended targets. ¡°Enough!¡± The fire drill stops, the targets were ripped to utter shreds, with the bullets embedded in the trees behind the targets. The elves cheered; they had never seen such rapid destruction before. ¡°That was amazing!¡± ¡°Whooo!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± ¡®The more I think about it, the more that the elves seem to like dominating in fights.¡¯ Hasegawa internally told himself. ¡®They seem more warlike than what I expected. Those manga that I read lied to me.¡¯ ¡°Everybody! Let¡¯s take a break.¡± The elven soldiers scattered around at that. Some standing idly about while others went to their families. Hasegawa walks towards Erlen standing in a transmutation circle. At the center is a container full of gunpowder ¡°How is the new concoction?¡± He asks Erlen. ¡°It¡¯s coming fine. There¡¯s not as much smoke as you requested.¡± Erlen told him. ¡°Move back Hasegawa.¡± Erlen pushes his glasses back up. His aura glowing for a bit. ¡°The inner truth! Kambyo Objectalis!¡± The gunpowder glows brightly, levitating before it settles back down again. ¡°Here, check it.¡± Erlen lights up a torch, handing it over to Hasegawa who gingerly receives the flaming hot stick from him. Hasegawa places the lit part of the torch on the pile of newly transmuted gunpowder. The pile instantly burning right up, a bright flash but not as much smoke. ¡°Why did you ask for less smoke?¡± Erlen asks the boy right beside him. ¡°There¡¯s less smoke that obscures the vision of the rifleman.¡± Hasegawa says nonchalantly. ¡°Hmm¡­ I see, so, how¡¯s life going?¡± Erlen asks him randomly. Not expecting the question, Hasegawa stumbles for an answer. ¡°Uh¡­It¡¯s been fine. The elves still have a lingering hate for me but not as much now.¡± Hasegawa pulls out the Luger P08 from a newly added holster on his belt. ¡°Also, the soldiers don¡¯t seem to hate you as much now anymore.¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably because I¡¯ve earned their respect¡­ By training that into their skulls.¡± Hasegawa sighs, the soldiers have been hesitant ever since he was placed as their leader. Only now has the tension eased up. Mostly due to the discipline from the rigorous training exercise he put them through. The training itself wasn¡¯t really useful to a bunch of veteran elf soldiers but they took it to heart anyway. ¡°How are you going to work with the other elves using your Attack Infantry One? I mean this new style of fighting is like putting bowmen at the front of the entire army.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find out Erlen.¡± ¡°Okay.¡±
¡°Looks like the turret ring¡¯s a bit damaged. Bring me a bunch of iron¡± Hasegawa told an elf metal worker, as he inspects the Panzer I. It has been a while since Myr brought the tank to the village, the elves were skeptical at first that this was the secret weapon they were going to use, but after demonstrating the tank. The doubts were consequently stopped. The elf metal worker returned with four iron ingots in a sack, giving it to Hasegawa as he shoves the iron ingots into his registration crystal still left in the tank. The iron just warps through the crystal as it glows bright. ¡°It¡¯s going to take around two hours for that to repair itself.¡± Since checking up on the tank, Hasegawa learned that the tank can repair itself albeit slowly, and that the engine seems to run on his mana. He silently thanked Qhyrros for giving him such an overpowered weapon. ¡°The tank overall seems fine.¡± He tells Myr through the intercom who was in the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Take it slow right?¡± she replied. ¡°Just don¡¯t abuse it.¡± He sweated. The tank moves forward, slowly gaining speed as the tracks dig into the ground. Myr slowly picks up the speed of the tank making a lap around the village before stopping in front of the elves under her uncle¡¯s command. ¡°Hi Uncle Gaspar!¡± She waves at him, emerging from the driver¡¯s hatch. Hasegawa internally laughs at the sight of Gaspar with his mouth open wide. ¡°Myr let¡¯s go back towards the field. You¡¯ve messed around enough for the day.¡± ¡°Mou¡­ You¡¯re no fun.¡± She pouts at him through the intercom. ¡°I know, I know.¡± Chapter 7: The Calm Before the Storm Chapter 7: The Calm Before the Storm ¡°Sir! Slow down, sir!¡± A knight page runs through the crowd of soldiers, struggling with a sack. ¡°Reginald! Catch up boy! Or else you won¡¯t be able to join on in the attack against those monsters.¡± A gruff knight shouts back, not bothering to look behind him. ¡°But sir! Your chest piece is too heavy to carry!¡± Reginald complains. The knight slows down to a standstill. He sighs. ¡°Reginald, why are you here? For what training?¡± He questions the young lad. ¡°I¡¯m here to become an unparalleled force on the battlefield. To become a knight.¡± Confidence can be heard in his tone. ¡°Well does a knight complain about the weight of his armor? Hmm?¡± The knight questions him, Reginald stops in his place. ¡°Reginald¡­ LISTEN to me very carefully. Your parents chose ME. Ivan the Skull-breaker as your guide to knighthood. Your father asked me personally if I could take you in.¡± Ivan stares down Reginald as he continues his lecture. ¡°So I did. took you in. Taught you the basics. Tolerated your complaints but what do I get in return? A knight that can¡¯t carry the weight of his armor. That piece of metal you¡¯re holding right now is what¡¯s going to be between your flesh, and a blade, and you¡¯re supposed to fight while wearing it for hours.¡± ¡°Sorry sir. I stepped out of my bounds¡± Reginald dejectedly answers. ¡°It¡¯s fine, as long as you understand where and what you went wrong with. You¡¯re still young and na?ve.¡± Ivan cheerfully ruffles Reginald¡¯s hair. ¡°Now hurry up, we have a caravan to catch.¡± Reginald lights up at this. ¡°Yes sir!¡±
¡°Myr! Slow down!¡± Hasegawa panics through the radio. ¡°No!¡± The elf woman floors the gas pedal as the tanks goes downhill. Myr masterfully dodges the obstacles in front of her. ¡®I still don¡¯t how she hasn¡¯t managed to detract i-it!¡¯ The entire joyride finally ends when Myr stops at the training fields. The commander¡¯s cupola swings open and out comes a carsick-no tanksick Hasegawa, his body hanging over the metal ridge of the cupola as he empties what he had before on the tank¡¯s side armor. ¡°Are you all right?¡± Myr asks him, while exiting from the driver¡¯s hatch. Climbing on top of the tank to walk over to him. ¡°No! I¡¯m not!¡± He shouted as another round of stomach content exits from his body. ¡°Hehe sorry.¡± She pats his head. ¡°Be careful next time.¡± He wipes his mouth ¡°You might break the tank.¡± ¡°Uhm hey will you come with me to the village?¡± She asks him, tugging on the sleeve of his shirt with a pleading face. ¡°O-Okay. What for?¡± Hasegawa slowly stands up from his position, his legs a little wobbly. ¡°There¡¯s a place I need to go to.¡± ¡°Really? where?¡± ¡°It¡¯s my mother¡¯s wedding anniversary.¡± ¡°All right.¡±
The two walk towards a small clearing at the center of the forbidden forest. As Myr and Hasegawa approach the grave of Myr¡¯s mother, two figures can clearly be seen already there. ¡°Hello Myr and... You.¡± ¡°Hello to you too Strynhld.¡± Hasegawa said to the recovered man. ¡°Tch. When greet someone with a greater rank and class than you, you greet them with respect.¡±Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°No. Wanna fight again?¡± ¡°Now now. Please don¡¯t get too heated up.¡± Myr breaks up the possible confrontation. ¡°Myr¡¯s right, stop acting childish brother.¡± Gaspar joins in. ¡°Fine.¡± The four approach a single tombstone covered in vines, the stone itself cracked and dilapidated. Still, the place is serene, it¡¯s as if nothing ever disturbed the area for centuries. ¡°Hello mother.¡± ¡°Hello dear.¡± Both Strynhld and Myr kneel at the foot of the tombstone. Gaspar and Hasegawa decided to stay behind at the bottom of the hill. ¡°She was really precious to all of you, wasn¡¯t she?¡± Hasegawa solemnly started a conversation. ¡°Yes, she was.¡± Gaspar stated ¡°She was the light of the village, always cheerful and she was taken away from us by your kind.¡± Aggression flows out from his words. ¡°What did you say Gaspar?¡± Hasegawa asked, incredulous at the sudden ill intent. ¡°You heard me. I¡¯ll never forget the violence and loss that your kind has brought upon us.¡± ¡°What is up with you? Blaming me for a crime that I didn¡¯t commit?¡± Hasegawa confronts Gaspar. ¡°We elves have a saying ¡°Forget nothing.¡± In our lifespans of centuries, we cannot forget what aggression you humans have transpired against us elves.¡± ¡°I also have a saying from where I come from too. The saying goes like this Fuck off! What do you know about me?! Huhh?¡± He argues back. ¡°Enough to know that your time around Myr is influencing her for the worse.¡± Gaspar looms over Hasegawa. ¡°Like what?¡± ¡°Making her control that awful metal beast. Why did you choose her in the first place?¡± ¡°Her driving the tank?! Is that why you¡¯re taking this out on me?¡± ¡°Humans have ripped our family apart before; under my watch I won¡¯t let it happen ever again.¡± The veteran elf warrior sighs as he steps back down. ¡°I will not fight in her mother¡¯s presence.¡± He looks over to Myr and Strynhld still praying. ¡°Choose your actions wisely Hasegawa.¡± ¡°Oh, I already have. You don¡¯t need to treat Myr as a kid, she¡¯s more grown up than guys are.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s see if what you¡¯re saying is true. I¡¯ll see you later, seeing them like this just rubs me the wrong way¡± Gaspar treks up the hill and joins in on the prayer. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure you¡¯re not the only elf that I rub the wrong way.¡± ¡®Asshole¡¯ A few minutes later the elf family walked back down the hill to rejoin Hasegawa. Gaspar walked past him giving him a menacing look which he also gave in return. Later Strynhld walks past him but not before putting a hand on his shoulder and whispering something to him. ¡°Meet me at the bar on the left side of the village. We have important matters to discuss.¡± Finally, Myr walks side by side with him. ¡°What did father ask you?¡± ¡°Frankly I don¡¯t know either.¡±
The bar was lively with singers and musical instruments playing in the background, special biofluorescent flowers with varying colors were planted in and around the establishment. As Hasegawa entered the bar he was immediately directed by the bartender to an isolated room at the end of the bar. There he was, the chief of the elves sitting down on a bar stool surrounded by glasses of various types of alcohol. ¡°So, you actually came. I thought you would run away.¡± Strynhld taunted Hasegawa as he sipped on a glass of wine. ¡°Heh. I do seem to remember you pleading for your life once. At my own feet nonetheless. ¡°Really? I don¡¯t remember.¡± ¡°Yeah. Did that bullet wound injure your brain too? Also running away is not in my vocabulary, rather it¡¯s called tactical retreat.¡± He sits down on the stool right next to Strynhld. Picking up a glass he slowly sips one, suddenly spitting the contents out. ¡°Plegh! What in the fuck was that?¡± Wiping his mouth for the second time today ¡°Death-berry wine, extracted from an extremely poisonous berry that can kill an elf in an instant. It takes roughly a thousand years for the potency of the poison to degrade. It¡¯s an elven tradition and courtesy.¡± ¡°You elves are fucking crazy. Anyways stop with the pleasantries, why did you ask me to come here.¡± ¡°I have a request to make.¡± ¡°How many drinks have you had?¡± ¡°Too much.¡± ¡°So, the big bad elf boss is asking for a favor what could it be?¡± Hasegawa mockingly replied. The chief picks up another glass of wine. ¡°After the human raid on our village, if we win or not, after everything, I want you to leave and take everything with you.¡± ¡°Yeah I was already planning to do that. I¡¯ll pack up my stuff and just go with the tank.¡± ¡°No. I meant everything.¡± ¡°Sorry I don¡¯t understand, is this another elf thing?¡± ¡°I suppose you can say that,¡± Strynhld looks at Hasegawa seriously ¡°by everything I meant everything. Your human ideas and everything else. It poses a problem to me.¡± He points at him. ¡°What? Because it deviates from tradition?¡± ¡°Wha-How?!¡± Strynhld is startled at this. ¡°The traditions that are unjust to those who aren¡¯t elf kind. The traditions that have kept you elves relatively primitive to us humans.¡± ¡°Your kind isn¡¯t high and mighty. Not to me at least.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need to be a psychic to know that. It¡¯s plastered all over your face. All your anxieties and worries.¡± A grin is forming on Hasegawa. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure everything is taken care for, it¡¯s all going to be fine Strynhld. You don¡¯t need to worry about chiefly duties anymore.¡± He picks up another glass of Death-berry wine ¡°If you really think that way, then there¡¯s probably no use in changing that view.¡± and he pours it on the floor. ¡°Your traditions are a poison.¡± ¡°I am the cure.¡± He smugly antagonizes Strynhld. Strynhld stands up, enraged at the human who decided to insult his culture. ¡°If you talk so big, how about you and me go man to elf.¡± He raises his fists, the alcohol clouding his judgement. Laughter comes out from his opponent. ¡°Oh, this is all so easy. I don¡¯t need to fight you to prove that I¡¯m right.¡± Just as a fight was about to break out, a messenger busts through the door shouting the news. ¡°The humans have been spotted at the northern mountains! It¡¯s only a day till they arrive at the outskirts of our village!¡± She panicked. The music stops and the people start exiting the bar with haste. ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll have to end this talk here Strynhld. I look forward to seeing you again after the battle.¡± Chapter 8: The Battle Part A. Chapter *: The Battle Part A. The human army marches in formation towards their intended goal, the elf village of Wyst Fylola. The sound of footsteps of the knights, mages and horses combining together to make cacophony of intimidation. ¡°Everyone keep moving! We have to reach Mor¡¯s Point by nightfall or else we won¡¯t catch those long-eared bastards by surprise!¡± A soldier at the front of the ranks start to command the others. Earning their ire. ¡°Easy for you to say! You¡¯re on a horse.¡± ¡°Shut up or else I¡¯ll have you arrested for treason.¡± The man on the horse rubs his moustache, with a narcissist look on his face. ¡°Damn bastard¡­¡± The soldier who complained earlier muttered under his breath. ¡°What did I hear?¡± ¡°Nothing, oh Grand General Jacolius, The Slayer of Dragons and Demons.¡± ¡°That¡¯s right. Indeed! I am Grand General Jacolius, The Slayer of Dragons and Demons.¡± While this was happening, unbeknownst to them two pairs of eyes were spying on them using a so-called human technology known as binoculars. ¡°We have to warn captain Hasegawa¡±
¡°Jacolius! Long-time no see!¡± Ivan comes up to Jacolius. ¡°Oh, if it isn¡¯t Ivan. Still just a captain I see. What happened to my rival?¡± The man, brazen in his statement. ¡°I was never really one for promotions. I see you¡¯ve made good for yourself.¡± ¡°It was easy, someone of my caliber? Of course, I would rise up fast.¡± Jacolius boasted. ¡°I see you got yourself a page.¡± ¡°Reginald? Oh, he¡¯s a good lad. Quite a handful though.¡± ¡°I knew kids were trouble. I guess I¡¯ll have to prepare for another battlefield soon.¡± Jacolius sits down on a crate, the veteran soldier starts to sigh. ¡°Oh? You and Edith are expecting?¡± ¡°Yeah, for about six months now.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great! You better come back alive to her though.¡± ¡°Hah? Me die? Preposterous.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t talk like that. They say that pride is the downfall of man.¡± Ivan punches his rival¡¯s armor-plated shoulder. ¡°Come now let¡¯s go plan in the strategic tent.¡± ¡°Everyone get in line! Use the smaller shields, there won¡¯t be any heavy cavalry in this place.¡± Ivan commands his small band of soldiers of around thirty men. It was now early in the morning and day was about to break, the plan would now commence. There are seven mages in this group, ten swordsmen, two scouts, five bowmen and six axe men. Their mission, to infiltrate and set fire to the forest in order to flush out the elves. ¡°Remember, this should be quick and easy. In and out. No one of needs to die ok?¡± ¡°Whatever you ask us to do captain we¡¯ll do it.¡± One of the knights salute him. ¡°Well let¡¯s go in.¡±
¡°Are the spearmen ready?¡± Jacolius asks Reginald who is holding his registration crystal. ¡°More or less Grand General Jacolius, The Slayer of Dragons and Demons. Although¡­¡± ¡°Although?¡± This piqued his interest. Ivan did say that Reginald¡¯s job was a scouting type. He didn¡¯t say to what extent though. ¡°The forest seems a little too quiet doesn¡¯t it.¡± Reginald pointed out. Indeed. It has been around two hours since Ivan and his group entered the forest and nothing seemed to be set ablaze yet. It was quite alarming that the only sound that can be heard apart from the ruffling and shuffling of the soldiers in the ranks before him is the sound of birds chirping. ¡°You¡¯re¡­¡± ¡°¡­right.¡± Maybe there was something to Reginald¡¯s statement. This didn¡¯t sound too good to the general. ¡°Order the men to fallback slightly.¡± ¡°But sir! They¡¯re just elves.¡± ¡°Just elves? They¡¯re not just elves. They¡¯re the enemy, you¡¯re not supposed to underestimate the enemy.¡± ¡®This old man.¡¯ Reginald thought to himself. A few minutes later captain rides up to them, dismounting from his horse. ¡°Jacolius. Why are you requesting the troops to fallback?¡± ¡°Something not right here. I know it.¡± That¡¯s when the final piece is completes itself to fulfill his doubt. The sun is starting to rise, its rays creeping upon the camp. ¡°That¡¯s it. Ivan was supposed to comeback before sunrise, having fulfilled his duty.¡± His nerves getting the better of him. He turns to the captain.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°Go to the mage unit, get twenty inferno-mancers tell them to light up the place.¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± The captain rides off just as another one arrives. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Sir we found some strange tracks in the fields to the left of our army, it looks like there¡¯s two nagas in the area. They seem to follow each other side by side all the way.¡± The scouting captain informs them. ¡°I don¡¯t seem to remember it being mating season for these beasts.¡± Jacolius offhandedly comments. ¡°Maybe all the elves were eaten?¡± Reginald gives his opinion. ¡°I highly doubt it.¡± Then Jacolius steels his resolve. ¡°Here men listen up.¡±
The army divides itself into three long sections, one facing the forest center. Another one facing the left of the field, and the third one staying back as rearguard and support. A separate light cavalry unit is placed on the right of the entire unit. The formation looking like an arrowhead. ¡°Halt! Inferno-mancers ready on my command!¡± ¡°Cast your spells!¡± ¡°Oh, Nuarin goddess of light and justice. Please set upon thine enemies thy blaze of glory.¡± All of them shouted, an exceptionally large magic circle appears right above them as their robes start to float and flutter about. ¡°Ka-Layo Haphtus Scholas!¡± They casted the dreaded flame of the scholar Haphtus. A large fireball looms over the army, its heat increasing as is its magnitude. Suddenly it launches itself towards the trees crashing and burning a large chunk of it, scorching the earth. ¡°Let¡¯s see if they get lured out by that. Pride always gets the better of them.¡± Reginald lamented, the cinders still floating in the air. The trees around the blast site started to rustle, shake and tremble. ¡°Everybody get ready!¡± At that the soldiers tightened themselves. An entire elf militia burst out from the trees at full force, their speed greatly outmatches a normal human. Around a 200 elves charge at the enemy. Blades ready to smite the invaders. The soldiers reciprocated this by hailing a storm of arrows into the elves. The arrows hit some targets but were only effective at slowing down the charge. Bracing for impact, the militia rams into the first section of around 500 soldiers, the soldiers and elves clash. Blade meeting blade. Blade meeting shield. Blade meeting flesh. The first casualties occur. An elf warrior falls here while a human soldier gets impaled. Blood waters the field on that day. The archers providing support with indirect fire into the back of the elves, only being countered by elf archers with their longbows. ¡°Quick! send the cavalry!¡± Jacolius ordered. The light cavalry swerves around the army reaching the rearguard of the elves. Knights on horseback slashing and stabbing their victims, ripping off limbs and cutting of heads. The cavalry was only repelled when elf mages casted their spells. ¡°Sweep our opponents away! Fluvial Munson!¡± ¡°Crush them under the weight! Petram Moh!¡± Horses and men were crushed and swept away by rocks and water; at the same time a barrier was erected. The elves started to shout for a retreat as they ran back into the forest. ¡°Quick follow them!¡± a small group of soldiers started to chase after the fleeing elves. Seeing this Jacolius ordered ¡°No! Don¡¯t chase after them!¡± but this fell onto deaf ears. Hot on their trail they almost caught the elves, but it was a fatal mistake. ¡°WE got you kno- HUaagh--¡± They fell into pit traps lined with spikes. ¡°Damn it! where¡¯s Hasegawa and his merry band of misfits?!¡± Gaspar shouted. They were tending to their wounded, the healers frantically running around without rest jumping from one patient to another. ¡°They almost got us surrounded with in a forest fire. But it¡¯s a good thing that their plan was foiled and they were captured.¡± Erlen arrived at the scene. The smell of explosives surrounding his clothes. ¡°Do you know where Hasegawa went?¡± Gaspar asked the alchemist. ¡°No, he left earlier. Didn¡¯t even bother to tell me where they were going.¡± ¡°I fucking knew it. He ran off.¡± ¡°Probably.¡± Their ears start twitching. Picking up small vibrations in the air and feeling mana disturbances in the trees. ¡°Shit they¡¯re coming!¡± Gaspar shouted. Picking up his swords he stands out in the crowd. ¡°Fall back to the first defensive lines!¡±
¡°We¡¯re almost there.¡± Jacolius remarked seeing a large trench dugout around six meters deep and ten meters wide. The other side covered in large spikes and rocks. Constantly they were being harassed by bowmen who would take potshots every now and then. ¡°Make bridges!¡± He ordered. Minutes later makeshift but sturdy plank bridges were made. They were rough on the outside but it was the best they could work with. Shield-men were the first to cross tanking the majority of the arrows fired at them. Using their shields, they used one of the shield-men only skills. ¡°The best offence is defense, Aurus Stryk!¡± A gold force sweeps and clears the obstacles in front of them in one fell swoop. As they started to charge in, that¡¯s when they decided to strike. A small object with a fuse, around the size of a can goes above the heads of one of the shield-men. His eyes widen in realization and fear of what was to happen. It promptly explodes. Ripping him to shreds. Shield-men were strong against conventional weapons in this alternate world, but only if the attack is actually received by the shield. ¡°They¡¯ve got bombs!¡± ¡°Get away from the bridges.¡± Another bomb was thrown onto the bridge collapsing the entire framework. It falls into the dugout alongside the people on top of it. Some were injured in the fall, but it wasn¡¯t the cause of their demise. Rather it was the small lump of metal going at extremely high speeds into their vital organs. Attack Infantry One decided to counterattack. Under Hasegawa¡¯s tutelage they became a mediocre fighting force in his home world, but in this place, their power was unrivaled in lethality and speed even though they were only trained for about two weeks. ¡°James no!¡± One mage shouted as his friend was hit in the sternum by a bullet. ¡°What kind of sorcery is this?!¡± A captain questioned no one but himself, his eyes delirious, seeing his men die as if an angel of death was just sweeping through the ranks. ¡°General! Something surrounded us!¡± A captain from the rear suddenly appeared. His appearance was murky, red and bruised. Clutching his arm as if he were impaled. ¡°A large creature with a menacing roar wearing metal arrived. It casted chantless magic at rapid succession.¡± ¡°Many of us were killed. Many were also injured.¡± ¡°What?!¡± Jacolius grew more terrified, first men at the front line falling limp as if Nuarin herself had her angels smite them. Now there was something else that managed to mangle the rearguards. ¡®Edith¡­ I don¡¯t think I¡¯m coming home.¡¯ ¡°We need to assume that the elves are trying to surround us. I need the majority of the army to rush towards the right fields. Assuming that the beast is behind us, those naga tracks are on the left and the elves- you know what I mean.¡± He continues. ¡°I need a group of 110 volunteers to stay behind to try to stall them.¡± His heart beats faster. It¡¯s been a long time since the slayer of dragons and demons have tasted defeat before. That was just a sparring match now this- this is the real deal. ¡°Bring me Jormunlied.¡± A secured crate is brought out before him, kicking the lock open, it reveals the slayer in his name. Jormunlied, a beast of a greatsword, the hilt is around a meter long, with the blade being two meters in length and half a meter in width. It has a nice and beautiful curved edge used for cleaving opponents in half. He grips it in two hands with ease. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time.¡±
¡°Haaa!¡± He easily slices the advancing elves, ripping them in half. An hour has passed already since he and his group of volunteers separated from the main army to stall a crushing defeat. ¡°DIE!¡± Slamming Jormunlied into a tree, he fells the tree onto the pathway before him, blocking the attack. ¡°Quick run for the plains!¡± They dashed, they don¡¯t know how much time has passed, but as the trees start to clear and the fields were laid before them, he saw it. The Panzerkampfwagen I Ausfurum A. with its guns still smoking.