Hero?

Jacov showed a disappointed expression when he saw my status, but I didn't care. He also seemed to furrow his brow.
At least I could conclude what had happened. No matter how you looked at it, I had extremely poor status. Or more precisely, I had no status at all.
I went back to thinking, what would happen going forward? Considering I couldn't return to my world, how could I live here?
In this condition, it was clear that I wouldn't be useful if I fought against someone like the [Demon Lord]. Forget the [Demon Lord], I probably wouldn't even win against wild beasts in the forest.
"What kind of class did you get, Ren?"
I was startled when someone asked me that, even though I knew the question was meant to mock me. When I glanced toward where the voice came from, I saw a very familiar and annoying face.
A man with straight brown hair and eyes the same color as his hair, with that face that always looked arrogant and incredibly stupid—he was Shinji.
"I'm too amazing for this artifact to read my status."
"Hahaha... how long are you going to keep acting tough, huh?!"
"Until you disappear from my sight."
"Just watch! I'll make you shut up with my status."
"Since when could you be better than me?"
His face looked very annoyed when he heard my statement. For some reason, I always felt happy when I saw him annoyed and showing that stupid face of his.
Then, when I returned to my place, Shinji immediately walked toward the artifact, while I just stood in my place watching what he would get.
A few moments later, I saw something very surprising. The face of the man named Jacov looked annoyed and he didn't hide his disgust at all. His face even looked worse than when he saw my status.
Shinji immediately walked back to his place with a face that looked very annoyed. Hahaha... it seemed he was very frustrated. From his face alone, I could tell that he had no status just like me.
When he wanted to pass by me, I immediately mocked him with a wide smile on my face. I didn't know how my face looked at that moment, maybe it looked disgusting, but I didn't care. The important thing was that I felt satisfied seeing his frustrated face.
"Ren, are you okay?"
I turned toward the source of that gentle and soothing voice. I found a beautiful woman with long, beautiful brown hair, snow-white skin, a soft fragrance coming when she approached me—she was one of the three most beautiful female students at school, Yuki.
Wait, did she see my strange face earlier? Well, I didn't care anyway.
"Yes, I'm fine."
"From now on, what will happen to us?"
"I don't know, why are you asking me?"
"Ah... you're right, sorry for saying something strange."
I didn't want to be cold or anything like that, but I had a special bond with her. Because of that, I always wanted to avoid contact with her. But she always chased after me and kept trying to talk to me, and because of that, I sometimes got into a lot of trouble.
"You don't need to care about useless people like that! I'm a [Fighter]! Even that damn man was surprised to see my class."
That was Saruwatari who interfered in our conversation, and this was also one of the problems I meant. Saruwatari was actually interested in Yuki's beauty, and I thought he was too confident and had bad intentions toward her. Although there were actually many other men like that lurking around her.
"Bu-But... Ren is my friend."
"Friend? You don't need to be friends with useless people like him. Now we're in a world where the strong will survive."
Since when did the setting become like that? It seemed he misunderstood the meaning of that old man's words. Well, but what Saruwatari said wasn't entirely wrong. Because no matter what, you had no guarantee of being able to stay alive in this world after fighting the [Demon Lord].
No, you might die long before you could fight that [Demon Lord].
However, it seemed Yuki didn't really like Saruwatari. So, Yuki laughed nervously and immediately pushed Saruwatari away. I knew the reason why Yuki didn't really like him.
However, Saruwatari's stupid brain didn't work well and never considered Yuki's feelings to respect her.
Moreover, it seemed they still hadn't realized or maybe they still didn't understand what would happen to them next.
Yes, they would be separated and forced to fight.
I felt sorry for people who would be separated from their friends, best friends, siblings, and maybe even their lovers.
Fortunately, I didn't have too close relationships with these people. So, I didn't really care about what would happen to them later. But I regretted a little that I couldn't meet my parents again. I hadn't had the chance to thank them both for taking care of me since I was little.
Then, I was also a little worried about them.
Especially after losing Yui, everything was almost chaotic.
But I had something I needed to think about first. I had to think about what would happen to me after this. Moreover, I didn't have status like the others. So, I would definitely get a lot of problems in this world.
While I was lost in my own thoughts, suddenly something rolled toward me.
Oh...
"What are you doing? Is this floor so comfortable that you want to sleep there?" I asked that 'something'.
By the way, that something was Shinji.
I didn't know why he suddenly fell toward me, but one thing was certain, his angry expression was really funny.
"Bastard! You're all the same! I'll definitely kill you all!"
Was that curse directed at me? Or was it directed at...
"Look at yourself right now, Shinji. You're really pathetic."
I followed the source of that voice and found a male student with blonde hair, wearing an earring in his pierced ear.
If I wasn't mistaken, that boy was a student from class 3-B.
His name was...
"How dare you... how dare you... Kiriharaaaa!" Shinji screamed while getting up from his position.
Yes, that was his name.
Kirihara. Kirihara Sougo.
I didn't need to explain it at length. Kirihara was the same type of character as Shinji, but even though they were similar, they also often fought each other.
Beside Kirihara were also two other followers whose names I didn't know.
Wasn't this really similar to Shinji?
But the difference was, currently Shinji's two followers... or maybe loyal dogs weren't beside him.
"How pathetic. It seems our positions are different this time, Shinji. You're not one of the chosen ones. Moreover, you've been abandoned by those two friends of yours. You're really pathetic."
Shinji's face turned red like a chili.
"Get out of my way!" Shinji screamed while pushing me.
Even though I was behind him earlier and wasn't blocking his path at all.
Was he that frustrated?

"Are you okay, Ren?" asked Yuki who was beside me.

"Yeah."

"Hiroto! Tanaka! What are you doing?! Beat up those bastards!"
However, those two people still didn't move. They just stayed silent and stared at their own feet.
"Oi, oi, come on. Don't scream and whine like that. It makes you look even weaker and more pathetic. Hahahaha...!!"
Kirihara and his two followers laughed loudly. Meanwhile, on the other side, not a single student stopped them, everyone just became spectators or observers, just like me.
Including the people from this world. Both the knights, the people on the second floor, and even Jacov, didn't take any action at all.
Instead, they continued with the status examination without being disturbed, as if there was no problem at all.
It seemed they really didn't care about Shinji.
No, more precisely, about people who had no status.
After hearing the mockery from Kirihara, Shinji immediately ran charging toward Kirihara.
Shinji roared like a mad dog whose tail had just been stepped on. Honestly, his expression made me want to vomit.
He ran, his fist swinging awkwardly toward Kirihara. A pathetic sight, I admit. I almost laughed. What did he expect? Kirihara clearly had status, while Shinji? Zero. An ordinary human with foolish courage.
Kirihara just smirked, an annoying thin smirk. I didn't understand why, but he didn't even bother to raise his hand.
Was he that confident or did he really want to show off that he didn't need more effort to deal with trash like Shinji?
When Shinji's punch was about to hit his face, suddenly—damn, what was that? A thick red aura appeared, enveloping Kirihara's body. I didn't know what kind of magic that was, but clearly, it wasn't something you could do with magic tricks.
Kirihara's hand moved so fast, he caught Shinji's wrist. As if Shinji was just a child's toy.
I heard Kirihara hiss something, "Trash without status like you, wanting to fight a [Reaver] like me? Hah, dream on!"
Then, that crazy thing happened. Shinji suddenly jerked, his face immediately turned pale like a corpse. He coughed hard, as if his lungs were being pulled out. Blood? Wow, even without a direct punch, Kirihara managed to make Shinji bleed from the corner of his mouth. Amazing.
Was he sucking his soul or something? Honestly, I didn't care.
Seeing Shinji collapsed and shivering like that, there was a bit of satisfaction inside me. He deserved it.
The people around me? They didn't even look. They were busy observing the virtual screens in front of them, although I couldn't see them myself, but at least I could still conclude what they were doing.
Shinji who was gasping on the floor? Just unnecessary visual disturbance. I understood them. Why waste time dealing with a loser without status? They were like dirty puddles on the street, not worth a glance.

However, it seemed like the person next to me didn't think so.

Yuki gripped my hand tightly, and I could feel it trembling.

Even so, Yuki still tried to act strong. Or rather, she was probably confused. Someone with such a strong sense of justice, but unable to do anything at a time like this.

It truly felt like mental torture.

Speaking of justice, I glanced at Nakamura, who was surrounded by beautiful girls. Not just from my class, but from other classes as well, even from the first and second years.

Nakamura looked like he wanted to say something, but he couldn't. Meanwhile, the beautiful girls hid behind him. Some were genuinely scared, while others seemed to be feigning fear and simply seeking attention.

It seemed like what Shinji and Kirihara were doing had become a spectacle that attracted everyone's attention.

Kirihara looked at Shinji for a moment, then with disgust waved his hand, as if cleaning an invisible stain.
He walked, stepping toward Shinji who was still lying like a stepped-on cockroach. This world was indeed brutal. And the saddest thing was, I was already used to it. Sometimes, I even enjoyed it.
"Finally! Hero! A Hero has appeared!" shouted an old man's voice full of enthusiasm, and I was quite sure that was Jacov's voice.
Hero?