Pass

In an insignificant village that's far away from big cities and towns, there lives an eighteen-year-old boy who was taking an afternoon nap under the shade of a big tree atop a hill. A place where he'd always go for its cool breeze and scenic view that made him feel away from his nonexistent responsibilities.
This boy has no special feature or whatsoever, no talent nor skill, he's an ordinary villager that you can find anywhere. Unless his legendary laziness counts as a talent, then he has one.
Anyway, as this boy was enjoying his "well-deserved" nap from doing absolutely nothing since the start of the day, he was approached by a group of five people. Four were men, wearing full-body iron armor and swords on their waist--the knights of the kingdom where this village is located.
One of them seemed to be a seasoned knight, his face was fearless and scary, one that could make a child cry if he ever looked into their eyes. He also seems to be the leader of the four. His skill more than backs up his fearsome looks. His name is Yulya.
The other two also seemed to have been in service for a long time. Though not as long as the first one, they are both skilled with both sword and magic. Although they are twins, the elements they acquired are the complete opposite of each other. Ghia has a water element and Jhia has the fire element. This might also be the reason why they fight most of the time.
And the last knight with them is a newbie. He's Marco. He had just joined the knight service for two months now. This is also his first time being an escort as he's mostly on guard duties. Although he's hopeless with magic, his sword, bow, and spear skills more than make up for it.
And the last person was a woman, a priest wearing a white robe and a blue stole with golden motifs on it. She was holding a white staff with a magic crystal on its end that was taller than her.
Her golden hair gently swayed as a breeze passed by. Her light blue eyes held the image of a boy listlessly laying on the ground, snoring without a care in the world.

What a carefree boy, she thought.

Gently, she crouched down and attempted to wake the slumbering sloth in front of her. With her sweet and tender voice, she started what she never knew was a fool's errand.
"Wake up, Felra Gestia. Your calling has been made," she said, gently shaking the boy's shoulder.
The boy's only response was a loud snore.
The sight made the twins snicker a bit. Marco seemed a bit worried, while the captain just sighed.
This greatly irritated the priest, but she remained composed and calm as she tried a second time. But this time, she shook his shoulder a little stronger than earlier.
But the boy was still enjoying himself in the dreamland.
The priest remained calm as she tried for the third.... fourth... and fifth time.
"That does it!" She quickly stood up, her patience ran out. She held her white staff up in the air with her right hand, preparing a lighting to strike and forcefully wake the boy up.
"And there goes her patience. And she was doing a good job of keeping it together earlier," Yulya sighed.
"Uh-oh..." The twins said in unison. Knowing what will happen next.
Meanwhile, Marco is just confused about their reactions.
Shortly, a small cloud hovered over the tree and got darker and darker each passing second.
This made the four knights sweat as they hurriedly kept their distance from the priest. Marco was dragged by Yulya away from the scene. No matter how strong they think they are, they are no match against the priest they are supposed to be "guarding".
This lightning, of course, wouldn't kill the boy in front of her. No, she has great control of her magic. She would only hurt him enough to burn his clothes and fry his hair a little. She's so talented that she has precise control of her magic and the damage it would cause.
Her history of becoming a priest was simple. The pope found her fighting four adventurers in one of the towns he visited. He saw a potential in her, especially in her proficiency of using light magic that is used to cast holy magic, and took her in.
Her piety to their god runs deep. And along with her talent with magic—especially holy magic—she was carefully and dutifully trained to be assigned as a priest once she reached the appropriate age.
And now, the boy in front of her will now receive her wrath in the form of lightning from above.
But as she was about to carry out her punishment, the boy slowly opened his eyes.
"...Mmhhmm...?" He slowly rubbed his eyes as he sat up.
The priest quickly cancelled her magic and removed the dark cloud above them. She then promptly returned to her gentle self. And the knights took notice of this and hurriedly returned to her side.
And with a solemn voice, she spoke about the Hero's changing fate.
"Felra Gestia. Your calling has been made. Come to me and I'll guide you to be the Hero you were destined to be."
The boy listlessly turned his head to them.
"Pass…” He answered with no hesitation. Not hiding his disinterest and drowsiness.
This reply shocked the priest and knights.
Many people aspired to be a hero. Be it the kids, man, woman, and even the elderly wishes for it. Although none of the knights voiced it, they are all hoping to be a hero. So this reply of the boy made them stand in their place in shock.
Every human has a certain heroism in them. That, she knew, was true for the knights behind her and for herself too.
The priest knew for sure that this boy was the same and that he would be delighted by the very idea that he was a chosen one. She was so sure that everything would go all according to her script.
But instead, it had been derailed and was met with an answer that no one of them expected.
The shock was so great that all she could say was...
"Sorry...?"
The boy ignored the confused priest and knights by themselves and went back to take another "well-earned" nap, facing his back towards them.
The priest, seeing the act, felt like something inside her had snapped.
Yulya's spine shivered for some reason.
"Captain?" Marco noticed this.
Once again, she raised her staff and a small fire at the tip appeared. It gradually grew bigger and hotter.
The sight made the knights run in a hurry, the clanking of their armors was loud. But not loud enough to wake up the boy.
Once they were in the distance they deemed safe. Yulya ordered Ghia to make a thick ice wall to cover all of them. He also added a barrier on top of it.
The fire's size was no joke. It went from the size of a pebble to a fist size to the size of a ball and to the size of a boulder that is two meters in diameter.
If they had stayed in there even for a couple of seconds longer, their armor would have melted. But Yulya had already experienced the priest's wrath before, so he of all people, knew what she's capable of.
The heat eventually reached the boy who was about to dive into dreamland. He looked back and saw what he thought was the sun. The leaves are turning into ashes and the trunks are turning into charcoal then to white ashes.
Sweat ran down on his face as he hurriedly got up.
"Y-You...! What the hell are you doing all of a sudden!?"
The priest offered no reply. She just put on a beautiful smile for him. It was such a pretty smile that it would've made the boy's heart skip a beat if it weren't for the ominous aura she was leaking and the massive fireball that she had conjured.
She then raised her staff much higher—and immediately threw the fireball at him.
"You crazy lady!!"
For someone as lazy as him, he sure spared no effort in running out of danger.
This fireball, of course, wouldn't kill him. Despite the priest's anger, she still has a bit of sanity to know that she has to adjust the damage it would cause to humans. She is that powerful.
Although it might burn his clothes and all of his hair, that's none of the priest's concern as long as he's still alive.
But that is under the assumption that the boy has protection.
"L-Lady Nava! The Hero doesn't have any protection yet...!"
Jhia shouted behind the ice wall.
This made the priest snap back and calm down. And as the fireball was about to hit the screaming sloth, it suddenly vanished without a trace at the snap of her fingers.
This made the knights let out a sigh of relief as they immediately dispelled the ice wall and barrier.
"Oh, my! Pardon me, Hero. I must have lost my composure back there." She ‘apologized’, slightly bowing her head at him
"You b***h! I thought I was gonna die!" The boy screamed, something so uncharacteristic of him.
He heard her call him Hero but that's the least of his concerns at the moment.
"My! I would never do such a thing. But now that you are fully awake. You would be willing to hear me out now, right?" Her lips were smiling but her eyes were not.
"Why would I..."
"Hmm?"
"Hiee...!" He shrieked. He had seen plenty of smiles but this was the scariest of them all.
The boy doesn't really want to. He feels that he has no reason to either.
But still, hearing her out would beat being burned to death, he thought.
And so, as reluctant as he was, he replied, "Okay, okay..."
And thus, the priest was now genuinely smiling. "Great!"
She then waved her wand and restored the tree that was damaged to its former glory. One could even say that it was much more alive than before. There's even a fruit hanging on it—one that is native to their world.
The sight left the boy in awe and shock, unable to believe what he had just witnessed.
Seriously!? He shouted... or so what he wanted to do, but just kept it a thought instead cause he already feels tired.
And from god knows where it all came from, the knights had already prepared a table with two chairs under the tree. There was also refreshment and cookies and bread on the table.
And there, the two of them sat face to face and started their one sided discussion.
Thus, the fate of the boy who would later be known as the "Sloth Hero" started moving.
Reluctantly.