Prologue

​Even if someone were to ask me why I ended up in this situation, I could only respond with a shrug: "No clue, man." After all, I don't understand any of what has happened myself.

​But instead of dragging on with explanations, I’d better show you how it all began.

                            ​※ ※ ※ ※

​"Shit... Ah, I’m seriously exhausted. My legs won't even move anymore."

​The boy known as Luis muttered as he leaned against the wall of an abandoned building, panting heavily. His body trembled from the exertion, and a cold sweat covered his forehead. The reason? Simple, yet hellish.

​"I managed to escape those thugs by pure luck... At least they didn't have weapons; that would’ve been a total disaster."

​Just a few hours earlier, Luis had been mugged by a trio of low-life delinquents. It wasn't just an attempt—they took every bit of cash he had on him. In a burst of stupidity—or desperation—he decided to run. And, against all odds, it worked. If they had been armed, the story would have ended in a much more tragic way.

​"But god dammit! They stole the ten bucks I had and my phone."

​Luis was not in a good mood, and who would be? They had snatched his money and his only means of communication. He hated this situation with every fiber of his being.

​"And all because I'm only thirteen. They were three seventeen-year-old guys; that’s just unfair, man."

​He kept complaining, and with good reason. Three against one, and they were older and stronger. Although Luis wasn't a weakling—he had some muscle and an almost athletic build for his age—he was still just a kid. He wasn't a professional fighter or an Olympic athlete; just a boy slightly taller and stronger than the average of his peers. But against older teenagers, there wasn't much he could do.

​"Now, how do I tell my parents I got robbed? Not to mention telling my older siblings."

​He whispered to himself. If he told his parents, they would worry excessively and want to call the police to catch those bastards. But his brother... he was on another level. He’d call his friends, track down the thieves, and give them an unforgettable beating—or worse. And his older sister... she was a demon incarnate when someone messed with her family. She could go to unimaginable extremes to protect her siblings.

​Luis didn't want to escalate things to that point. He’d think of an excuse on the way home.

​‘Better think about it while I move. Let's keep walking.’

​He composed himself as best as he could, though the fatigue still weighed heavy in his bones. He was sure he could make it. He looked up at the night sky, where the stars sparkled like jewels embedded in a mantle of darkness, and the silver moon dimly lit the deserted streets.

​‘Seriously, what am I going to do...?’

​He thought, gripping his backpack tightly. It contained his notebooks and schoolbooks—the only things the thieves hadn't been able to take from him. He had been heading home from school when it all happened, but that seemed irrelevant now.

​As he looked down, a blinding light suddenly erupted, piercing his eyes like a burning bolt.

​"Agh!"

​He screamed, squeezing his eyelids shut as a stabbing pain shot through his head.

​"What the hell is happening now?!"

​He wondered, confused and terrified. Eternal minutes passed until his eyes adjusted to the luminous intensity and he could open them again.

​But when he did...

​"What... is... this?"

​He stammered in a state of shock, his mind unable to process the scene. The deathly silence of the night had been replaced by a deafening hustle and bustle: voices, laughter, the hurried footsteps of a crowd passing right in front of him.

​Everything had changed. The darkness had transformed into a radiant day, with a blazing sun and a blue sky dotted with fluffy clouds. The air smelled different—of exotic spices, campfire smoke, and something... magical.

​"It wasn't night a second ago…."

​Luis still couldn't take it in. His overwhelmed brain rejected reality as if it were a fever dream.

​"I don't understand..."

​He muttered, observing the surroundings with absolute incredulity. His mind was a whirlwind of confusion, fear, and a strange excitement.

​And that was how Luis, an ordinary boy with nothing special about him... was summoned to another world.