What the Fluff is going on?

In front of me danced a girl with flowing pink hair. She was much shorter than me, though that was all I could make out before everything, including her, blurred.

I opened my eyes. I found myself staring up at a dark stone ceiling. Wooden beams arched overhead, dimly illuminated by the flickering lamps. The last thing I remembered was being in class. I looked around and saw the rest of my class were likewise just waking up. As more roused, they began to ask questions.

“Where are we?”

“Weren’t we just in class?”

“Is this some sort of TV show?”

“Everyone, please stay calm. I’m sure everything will be alright, I will look after you all.”

The authoritative voice echoed around the room, and everyone fell silent. The voice belonged to our homeroom teacher, Miss Reiden.

Miss Reiden, a relatively young teacher, had a distinctive bob cut and caramel-brown hair. She was popular amongst the students. Her height and youthful appearance meant she sometimes blended in with students, which perhaps made them feel more comfortable opening up to her.

Although her presence here helped somewhat, tension still lingered.

I felt something brush against my hand and quickly stared down at the small creature. It was a round, pink, fluffy ball, shaking timidly with its eyes closed. I had never seen a creature like this before.

As we locked gazes, it slowly stopped shaking, spread its wings, and flew up, nestling itself within my school blazer. I felt the slight warmth of its body brush against my chest. At the very least, the creature didn’t seem threatening.

I didn’t have time to try and study the strange creature before the wooden door opened and an old man entered. He was carrying a long wooden staff and had a white beard that was so long I couldn't help but think it must have been a pain to maintain. Although I wouldn’t know as I couldn’t even grow stubble, let alone a full beard.

“Brave heroes, I welcome you to the Kingdom of Luminoria. I am Elder Rudolf, it is an honour to meet you all.”

He bowed.

“Where are we?”

“You are in Luminoria… I just said that. Hoho~” the man laughed while stroking his beard.

The whole class stared blankly at the man. It seemed he had a few screws loose.

I think we were all waiting to see who would speak up first. This, in turn, created an uncomfortable amount of silence, as none of us wanted to be that person. Miss Reiden decided to take charge and break the tension.

“Elder Rudolf, you mentioned we were in a place called Luminoria. Where exactly is that? Why are we here? How did we get here?”

The man stroked his beard several times as if he were pondering something. Finally, he stopped. For the first time, he opened one of his eyes slightly, as if it were narrowly focused on us, like a hawk.

“The Kingdom of Luminoria is one of the three major kingdoms in the land of Solstria. We used ancient magic to summon you from beyond.”

“Why did you do that?” She continued to reason. I would have thought ‘how?’ would have made more sense to ask. Perhaps others shared the same thoughts as me, though nobody said anything. It seemed everybody was happy to leave Miss Reiden in charge.

“You see, we are on the brink of extinction at the hands of the demon lord’s army. Our millennia-long war has taken its toll. That’s why we summoned you. We need heroes to defeat the demon lord.”

He bowed his head.

Silence fell once more as everyone tried to process Elder Rudolf's words. Then, out of nowhere, a voice reverberated around the room.

“You expect us to believe that?”

The voice of protest belonged to Takamaki Kaguya. Kaguya was the most popular girl in the class. She seemed to get along with everyone, even the outcasts. Well, except for me. I don’t think we exchanged more than a few words here and there.

I couldn't tell if she was a genuine people pleaser or a master manipulator. Either way, I had no connection to her.

Her comments seemed to inspire some of the other students to voice their questions.

“Is there a way home?”

“I’m afraid I do not know. There was no spell or records of reverse summoning. But if there are any records or information on it, it would be found in the library of the demon lord.”

That was awfully convenient.

“I’m sorry, but as the adult here, I can’t let my students do anything that will put them in danger.”

Miss Reiden put her foot down.

“I understand your concern, I honestly do. But you must defeat the demon lord. There is no safety anywhere in the world until you defeat him.”

It looked like Miss Reiden was about to protest further, but a hand extended in front of her as another individual finally spoke up. Honestly, I was surprised it took him this long to make his move. Perhaps he was listening and taking it all in during this time.

“We will hear you out.”

Although most of my class members were somewhat forgettable, Ryūzaki Kenji stood out. He was essentially the centre of the male students in the class. He had a bit of a hero complex, always possessing a noble sense of self. Suffice it to say, he was pretty much the opposite of me.

“This is a lot to take in. How about starting with explaining what the deal is with the voice in our head and this screen?”

He pointed directly in front of him, although there was nothing there. I did hear a voice before blacking out, but something about a screen. That was completely new to me.

“Ah, you mean The System.”

“Yes! What’s the deal with it?”

“It is the truth of the land. It enables you to grow stronger, use mana and unique skills.”

Huh? What’s the deal with all that? Why is everyone else talking about screens and everything? There are no screens.

I chose not to say anything.

“So can anyone see our stats on our window?” Kaguya asked, her face was a rosy red.

“Of course not. Only you will be able to see your own screen.”

She let out a sigh of relief.

“Someone with a skill or item might see your stats, but otherwise, they're only observable by you.”

The heavy wooden door suddenly clunked open, and a few more robed elders entered. One carefully carried a crystal ball; another followed, bringing a pedestal, onto which the orb bearer then placed it.

“If you would all, one at a time, place your hand on this orb, it will reveal your stats and skills.”

“What if we don’t want to share the stats and skills?”

“Is there a reason in particular?” Elder Rudolf asked.

“My dignity as a maiden.”

“What dignity?”

Kaguya didn’t respond to him with words, but rather with an elbow to the stomach.

“Well, I understand there may be some things you do not wish to share, but please, reveal your abilities as it is important so we know how to best equip and assist you in your fight against the Demon Lord.”

Murmurs spread as it became clear everyone was hesitating. Kenji walked forward and placed his hand on the orb. It glowed a golden colour.

“Oh my God.” Rudolf cried in shock.

A white text appeared on the face of the orb.

Unique Skill: Ancient Dragon Bloodline. Has all the powers of an Ancient Dragon.

“What an incredible skill. You have the makings to be a hero amongst heroes.” Rudolf praised him, and Kenji visibly flushed with embarrassment.

After he was done, several other students came forward. The orb glowed several different colours, but none were as impressive as the golden colour Kenji produced.

After some time and prodding from other class members, Kaguya reluctantly approached the orb. She placed her hand on it, and it became a hazy, almost smoky purple.

Seduction. Can charm those who have less willpower than the user.

No wonder she didn’t want to share.

One of the boys made a whistling sound. Kaguya shot him an angry look, and his eyes instantly glossed over.

Kenji walked over to Kaguya, placing his hand on her shoulder.

“Kaguya, I know he shouldn’t have done that, but to use your skill on him. Don’t you think that was a little bit too far?”

“Sorry,” she apologised, and the glazed-eyed boy returned to normal, looking somewhat confused.

Finally, after everyone else had their skills assessed, it was my turn. I slowly approached the orb and placed my hand on it.

Unlike every other class member, the orb didn't glow a colour. It remained opaque, save for a single line of ominous red text.

Error. Cannot detect input source. The System has detected an error. The System doesn’t make errors. Strange. The System does not like this. Error.

▪──── X ────▪

End of chapter 1