Chapter 1

When was the last time they called his name? When was the last time anyone called his actual name? His uncle called him Kakashi, he remembered that. He also remembered his family name. But… What was the name his parents gave him? Akito? Kito? His memory was fuzzy.

He let out a sigh.

It had been eight years since he last saw his parents. All that was left of them was their memories, the times they had together during his childhood. Even then, those memories had begun fading away. It wouldn’t be long until he forgot them completely.

Who says we ever wanted you?

You’re a cursed child.

If my brother hadn’t died, this pain in the ass wouldn’t be my responsibility.

Stop playing games so much! You useless kid!

The memory of his favorite game controller, the last gift from his parents, smashing against the floor caused him to shudder. The cold of the winter season didn’t help him, either. The cold pierced his thin clothes, drilling into his bones. He shivered and sneezed. The people in the park glanced his way, before looking away immediately after.

I’m not going to last long here… he thought. His limbs felt heavy, refusing to move. He felt a wet sensation on his head. Looking up, he saw small white particles falling from the heavens.

“Ah…”

They looked stunning. They floated down to the ground and melted, their appearance lasting just a few seconds. He lost his desire to move, staring up at the skies. At the darkness that stretched beyond, going farther and farther, stretching to the ends of the universe.

“I wish…”

•••

Once he woke up, he found himself underneath unfamiliar sights. The trees that occupied the park near the city outskirts weren't as dense, and the weather felt hot, not a common feeling in winter. There were no benches, either, nor was there anyone there. He clearly remembered sitting on a bench, yet now he lay on the grass. The grass didn’t feel cold, nor did it have the white color of snow. Something was off.

He stood up and looked around. Birds chirped in the distance. It felt calm, but that calmness didn’t last for long. A loud boom pierced the skies, sending a group of birds flying into the air. Something about that sound felt dangerous, but he had no bearing. There was no road he could follow, nor any landmark that suggested human civilization.

With no other option, he made his way toward the source of that voice. The voice grew louder. Strong vibrations rippled underneath his feet, shaking his balance. He reached out and grabbed a tree branch, keeping himself in place. Voices seeped through the forests. It wasn’t a language he had studied before, but he understood the meaning behind their words.

“Neila, watch where you’re throwing those things!”

“So- Sorry!”

“Astill, I need magic support!”

“You want to get nuked, idiot? Get out of there!”

He took a peek. Surrounded by trees was an empty space. Chunks of trees were thrown around, parts of the ground had been burned, and there were craters everywhere. At the center was a white dragon surrounded by three girls. The girl on the left had short pink hair and red eyes. She wore a dress with a jacket covering the top. She ran around, her hands reaching into that jacket and pulling out an orange tube with a fuse on one end.

She flicked her fingers, a small fire appeared on her fingertips. The fire traveled down the fuse. She quickly threw it into the sky, straight at the dragon. The white dragon deflected those incoming tubes with its wings and tail. Some of them were sent flying into the sky, exploding mid-air. Some exploded right before it could deflect them, exploding right in front of it.

It let out a loud screech, its black eyes burning with bloodlust. Before it could attack, the girl on the right sent her fist straight into its head. She had long, yellow hair tied in twin tails, her green eyes fixed on her target. She wore thin gray clothes, revealing some skin. A style common in fiction, but it doesn’t make any sense in real life. The lack of armor didn’t stop her from rushing straight at her target. She pummeled it with strikes. The dragon swung its tail, but she managed to dodge it.

Using this opening, the girl in the center raised her magic staff. She had shoulder-length black hair tied in a ponytail, her blue eyes reflecting the yellowish shine of the diamond at the end of the staff. Her black coat fluttered in the wind, thanks to the force generated from the concentration of energy. The dragon noticed her and aimed its mouth straight at her, but before it could attack, an explosive tube was sent rolling in front of its mouth, exploding there. Dust flew into the sky, blocking its view.

Sparks appeared from the diamond in the middle girl’s staff, and a red beam flew straight at the dragon’s head. The dragon let out a loud screech, forcing everyone to cover their ears. The attack kicked up a lot of dust, far more than the explosive did. It forced everyone to pause.

“... Crap,” the middle girl cursed after realizing the dragon was still moving. Realizing it wasn’t going to get anywhere by attacking them one by one, it flapped its wings and flew to the skies, away from the girls’ attacks.

“Syorin, what should we do?” The girl on the left asked.

“You’re asking the wrong person, Neila!” the girl at the center shouted.

“I’m not that dumb, Astill! Although, yeah, I have no idea what to do…” the girl on the right side said. The dragon realized something and attacked. It dove down, heading straight for the girl in the center. Its speed was frightening. It closed the large distance within seconds, much like a speeding car.

The girl on the right must have realized its intentions, and ran as fast as she could to the girl on the center. The girl on the left tried throwing explosives, but she was too slow. The dragon flew through the barrage. The girl in the center prepared a defensive stance, but that would mean nothing if she were hit.

The dragon was simply too fast.

“Damnit!” She glared at the incoming dragon, but her glare wasn’t enough to stop it.

His body moved instinctively. He reached into his right pants pocket. He reached out for something, something he didn't even know, and pressed a button. All of a sudden, everything stopped.

“Syorin! Speed Tackle, target Astill,” he shouted.

“What- eehh!” She moved with incredible speed, tackling the girl called Astill and sending her to the ground.

“Ouch!” Astill screamed in pain, but the dragon flew right across them. Unfortunately, the tackle caused Astill to flinch. The paralysis status was inflicted on her, moving her turn down to after the girl named Neila and taking a small cut out of her Health Points (HP).

The dragon flew away, but before it could go far, it got stuck floating there, facing away from the group.

He let out a gasp and looked down at the device in his hands. It was a dark blue video game controller, the same one his parents had gifted him, the one that his uncle had destroyed. He didn’t bring it with him when he left the house, he didn’t even know where his uncle threw it. He just knew that it was gone. There should be no way it could reappear in his hands.

Is this a dream…?

“What’s going on?” Neila asked.

“Syorin get off me!” Astill shouted.

“I can’t move! Well, other than my head for some reason.”

Everyone looked confused. He approached them, and to his surprise, a box containing their names, HP, and Mana Points (MP) was listed next to them. The pink-haired girl was called Neila Revemore. The girl with black hair was called Astill Erelight, while the girl with yellow hair was called Syorin Alie.

Focusing his attention on those boxes brought up more statistics, including the spells or moves they commonly used. Those things weren’t the only information that appeared in his vision. On the left side were some boxes with small pictures of each of the girls, along with the dragon. The dragon occupied the last box, after Astill. On the top was Neila, and her box was located slightly to the right of the other boxes. On the right side, there were several texts that looked similar to some kind of menu commonly found in video games.

“... Wait, is that… What are you doing here?” Syorin shouted, bringing attention to him.

“Are you trying to die!?” Astill yelled.

“Boy, get out of here!” Neila said, but he ignored all of them.

The dragon, meanwhile, had its own box. Its skin was categorized as heavy armor, with light-element magic protection on it.

“Neila, throw your explosives at its wing roots!”

“How do you know my naaameee!” Neila shouted while throwing. The explosives traced an arc and landed right on target, promptly exploding and sending the dragon down to the ground and inflicting it with paralysis. It didn't take a lot of the dragon's HP, though.

“Astill, begin charging Void!”

Astill pushed Syorin off and rose to her feet.

“Who are you!?” she shouted while raising her hand, bringing her staff to the sky. A sinister kind of magic began converging on the diamond.

“You can use that!?” Syorin asked in surprise.

“Syorin! Deep Punch, dragon! Neila, follow up with explosives!”

Syorin leaped straight at the dragon. The dragon tried to move, but she was too quick. She struck the dragon on its back, then jumped back. It took a small chunk of the dragon’s HP, larger compared to the explosives. Once she was far enough, two explosives landed where she struck and exploded, kicking dust and dirt into the sky.

He did a quick check. Syorin's punches counted as a heavy attack, and heavy attacks are strong against heavy armor. Meanwhile, Neila's explosives counted as a light attack, which struggled against heavy armor.

“Astill, go!”

Black circles appeared in front of the diamond, and an intense beam shot straight through them. The dragon’s HP bar went into red, but the battle wasn't over.

It turned around and flew forward, ready to chomp Astill. Astill was let go of the powers holding her. She dodged to the side, barely missing the dragon's claws.

“Astill, flamethrower!”

Astill jumped back, putting distance between herself and the dragon. She aimed her staff forward, the diamond glowing red. A streak of flames struck at the dragon's back. The dragon flew to the sky in an attempt to escape, but Astill's magic chased after it, hitting its back. Thanks to the magic protection, it didn't take much damage.

So, fire magic is weak to light armor?

The dragon was now flying far outside of both Syorin’s and Neila's range, frozen high up in the sky.

They can't attack… but can they use support magic?

“Syorin, Defense Boost Group, Astill and Neila!”

“Okay?” Despite her confusion, she did the spell regardless. She chanted, and the defense for the other two went up. He didn't have a reason for doing that, other than not wanting to waste Syorin's turn. A quick look into her many, many list of moves didn't tell him anything, and considering the girls’ stares, he didn't exactly have a lot of time to check it out.

“Neila, explosive,” he said, and Neila threw her explosive high into the sky. The dragon turned around, unaware of the incoming explosive, and dove straight at it. It exploded before it could reach them. The smoke that appeared blocked its line of vision, giving Astill, its target, extra space to dodge.

The dragon crashed into the dirt.

“Astill, flamethrower.”

A second gush of flames appeared from her magic staff, striking the dragon and reducing its HP to zero.

“We… did it?”