I need a new Main Quest on my road to redemption!

I follow shortly behind the man named Shiro. We walk past huge buildings, taller than even the castle of Lord Tenebrae. The architecture is unlike anything I've seen before. It almost feels like I've been whisked away to a new world. Ha! No, that can't be; there's no such magic that would be able to do that.

Shiro seems to be leading me into a forest. A foolish mistake, don't you know that a forest would be a favourable terrain for a Griffin? 
Wait... For a Griffin? I put my hands to my hair.

"Gah! I keep forgetting! I've been transformed into a human! This is torture..." I start monologuing internally.
I can't let him see my moments of existential crisis. I quickly gather myself and continue walking into the forest with Shiro.

The forest keeps getting darker and darker, as we progress further in. It becomes hard to see what’s in front of me.

“Watch your step, Mr Griffin~” I hear from the direction of Shiro. I can only barely make out his silhouette.

“I told you, it’s Griffin A! Griffin A!” I yell after him.
Suddenly I come to a dead stop as his two bright eyes, which are somehow still shining in this darkness, stare right at me. Even as a general, who’s seen many battles, I was a little intimidated by his gaze.

“Griffin A… That’s not a particularly common human name, wouldn’t you say?” He slowly asks me.
“You’ll need a proper last name if you want to go around as a human.”

Though I am inclined to agree that Griffin A is not a human name, I don’t want to let him win.
“As if Griffin A was my full name!” I spit back at him.
“My name. It’s short for Griffin A… tori…” I try my hardest to think of a suiting name. Was that really the best I could come up with? Griffin Atori?

Shiro backs up a bit and starts giggling smugly.
“Griffin Atori? Oh my~, you made it so obvious. You just took the second part of my surname.” He says with a slightly condescending voice.
I clench my fists as I feel myself getting annoyed with him. That’s definitely not why I chose that name!

“Very well then, Mr Atori, we are nearly there.”
We walk until we reach a clearing, in which stands a large cherry blossom, with lanterns hanging from its branches. The pink leaves of the tree formed a roof over the open area and made it rain down cherry blossom petals. Next to the tree stands a small, temple-like building, presumably the house Shiro was talking about. In contrast to the rest of the forest, this place gives a bright and warm feeling.

“Sakura trees usually only bloom for a short time in spring, but not this one… this one is different,” Shiro explains as he gently places his hand on the tree.
His usually collected and smooth voice had a sombre tone to it when talking about it.
I want to walk up to the tree and touch it as well, but without looking at me, Shiro snares at me.

"Do not graze this tree." His voice, though still calm, sounded somehow angry, or maybe slightly panicking? He and the tree must be connected in some way. This is a weakness I can exploit. If only I could note this down somewhere. For now, I will make a mental note until I acquire a notebook of sorts.

New Side Quest: Acquire a Notebook.

We headed into Shiro's home, where he gave me proper clothes and let me wash myself. I stare into his mirror as I look at my face and body. 
"I really am a human, huh?" I sigh and put on the rest of my clothes.

I join Shiro at a table, where he seems to have made tea for us. I pick up my cup and sniff it. I seem to have retained my keen sense of smell, even in this human form. Nothing suspicious.

"What's wrong, Mr Atori? You don't think I would poison you, do you?" He says with that annoying smirk on his face again. I can feel the tension as we both take sips of our tea. We stare at each other for a moment, but then I decide to cut through the silence.

"Where are we?" That's the first question that came to my mind since I have never been anywhere near here. 
"I wonder what you could mean by that~ My house? The city? Perhaps the country? Either way, we are on earth." Shiro replies, taking another sip of his tea.
Earth? So my suspicions were correct. I have really been sent to another world! This is bad...

"I wonder why you seem so bothered by this fact. Most people on earth have been here their whole life." He looks deeply into my eyes as he talks to me. 
I explain to Shiro what happened before I got here. Surprisingly, he doesn't seem shocked. I can't get a good read on him at all. I wonder if I could...

"Insight!" I think loudly to myself.
Suddenly, Shiro's stats pop up next to his head. It worked!

HP: 246/246
ATK: 121
DEF: 121
MAG: 229
M. DEF: 211
SPD: 148

However, the way to use the full effects of insight is to defeat someone in battle. That way the strengths, weaknesses and bio of the defeated foe will also be available to me.
It seems Shiro has high magic potential but no known spells. That means he was not the one to transform me.

"Since you're in a brand new world..." Shiro suddenly says, catching me off guard, "You will probably not have a place to sleep." 
I snap out of my concentration and now focus on what Shiro is trying to suggest.
"Why don't you stay here? Until you find a way to turn yourself back?" Shiro asks, with a concerning smile on his face.

I have no reason to trust this man I only met a few hours ago. In fact, something about him has felt off since I met him. Not only that, the way he talks makes me think he's up to something. That knows more than he is letting on. With that in mind, my only logical answer would be...

"Sure, I'll stay with you," I say, looking directly into his eyes. "I'll stay, but you have to tell me everything you know about this world and help me on my quest to transform myself back."
Shiro stares back into my eyes.
"There are two things in it for you, but none for me? That wouldn't be fair now, would it?" He starts playing with a lock of his long white hair.
"How about, you owe me? I'll get back to you when I need something." He slowly and dramatically asks. I nod reluctantly.
Shiro silently extends his arm to me, not breaking eye contact for a second.
"It's a deal then~"
I slowly reach for his hand and shake it.

New Main Quest: Transform back.

The following morning Shiro wakes me up around six am.
"Why'd you wake me up so early?! I was having a good dream!" I yell at him after throwing my pillow, which he effortlessly dodged.

"Since you took on the form of a human teen and live in my care now, it would only be right if I sent you to school, don't you think?" He replies calmly.
"Eh? School? Where's that? Never heard of that place. I thought I was living with you?"
Wait. I only got here yesterday, of course, I wouldn't know where School is.

"School is a place where you can learn... additional information about this world. Different from the things that I will teach you, of course." Shiro explains.
New information would be good on my quest to transform myself back, but he should really tell me things like this before doing them!

"Very well then," I answer, "I will go to this school. Where will I find it?" 
"Kurotori!" Shiro calls out. Barely a moment later, a small black bird flies through an open window and lands on Shiro's finger.
"It's dangerous to go alone through this forest. Kurotori will guide you through it, and to the school as well."

I look at the bird, whose eyes are just as white and shining as Shiro's. Though I may be partly related to birds, this thing looks a little pathetic. I wonder...
"Insight!" I think again.
Not only Shiro's stats are shown this time, but also those of Kurotori.

HP: 60/60
ATK: 85
DEF: 42
MAG: 85
M. DEF: 42
SPD: 91

The only significant thing about it is its speed, which is honestly not that much to write home about, to begin with. It shouldn't be a problem in battle.

"Before you go, you should eat breakfast and change into your uniform. I've already discussed your arrival with the school." Shiro adds. Uniform? What weird place will I be going to?
I nod and let Kurotori guide me to the school.

Now standing here, looking at it, this school place is bigger than I expected. Kurotori has already flown off, back to the forest, before I can set my first steps through the gate.
The interior of the building feels somehow even bigger than the outside. It's full of little humans talking and walking back and forth. Wait, I'm the same height as them. Who am I calling little?

There's a surprising lack of books to be seen here. I figured this place would be like a library. 
I walk around for a bit, not knowing where to go. You could've given me some instructions, Shiro.
I come across a big, burly kid standing against the wall with a few other kids. It would probably be good to ask someone where to go for the information. I don't see how asking a big and intimidating person who is angrily staring at me could be a bad idea.

"What are you looking at, huh?!" The person growls at me, cracking his fist.
It looks like he is about to attack. Wait...
Oh no. He must be a battler! Now that I've stepped in his line of sight, he'll initiate a battle with me! No time for insight, I must make the first move!
I quickly jump back and assume a battle pose.

He looks very physically defensive, so magic will take him out quickly.
"This will do! Gust Storm!" I yell out as I spread my arms to gather the wind.
"I won't give you a chance to attack me!" I clap my hands together as hard as I can. The sound echoes throughout the hallway, but from my hand comes... nothing?

Dang, I must be low on mana. I look over to see the two kids, next to the burly kid, looking confused and the burly kid himself angrier than before.
If he's not doing an attack, he must've used his turn to defend. Luckily my Vigorous Claw ignores defence boosts!

I charge towards the burly guy readying my hand.
"If that didn't work, then how about this! Vigorous Claw!" I yell out. Wait, claw?
Before I have time to think about it, I dig my fingers into the burly guy's arm. The guy does not seem fazed by it in the slightest.
I look up to his face and see one of the veins in his head nearly bursting with anger.

"Dumb move, haircut." He says as he launches his fist into my stomach.
I get sent flying through the hallway, straight into the metal boxes lining the wall. I groan as I feel my back stuck in one of them. How did he manage to perfectly hit me into just one?

"Ouch. You alright there, new kid?" A cute voice to my right says.
I look over and see a girl standing there. Her gaze completely fixated on some sort of device, making strange yet familiar noises.

With difficulty, I push myself out of the metal box. I pat some rubble off myself. Ouch! I reach for my back. That's going to be sore for a while.
The girl finally looked up from her device, showing some concern for me, even though she doesn't even know me.

"Getting into a fight on your first day is not a great way to become popular, you know?" She says while laughing sheepishly.
"Like I care about popularity! As the general of the first Griffin squad, I can never back down from a battle!" I tell her loudly.

"(G-general?)  Y-yeah, I don't really care for popularity either. It's kinda unfair, though. The popular kids get to do everything they want around here." She pushes a button at the top of her device and stores it in her backpack. 
"Class is about to start, can you walk? Are you ok?" She asks, looking concerned at me through her big round glasses.

"I just got punched in the gut, was sent flying and landed with my back stuck in this metal box," I say as I cough up some blood. "On top of that, I seem to be bleeding internally. Of course, I am just fine!"

"What?! Internal bleeding is serious! But for some reason, it does seem like you are completely fine..." She replied, studying my body.
"Either way, what was that you said about the popular kids? They can do everything?" I stare at her intensely. With this information, maybe I could...

"Uh... yes. It seems like there's barely any repercussion for them at all. It's dumb." She sighs.
"Everything... So if I become the most popular, I'd be able to transform myself back!" my brilliance really knows no bounds.
"Wait, that's not-"
"It's decided then! I will become the most popular person in this school!" I yell out, my words echoing throughout the hallway.

Updated Main Quest: Become The Most Popular In School.

“You’re one of those weird ones, aren’t you?” She sighs as she puts her hand to her forehead.
"Thank you, glasses girl." I shake her hand and start walking off towards my new quest.

"It's Aoi Hanata. Also, the classroom is the other way, you know?" she calls after me, in vain.
No time to listen to extras. I'm already headed down the road to redemption.