Chapter 1 - The very beginning

Morning had arrived, and sunlight streamed into the room—a room that wasn’t exactly tidy, as is typical for a teenager’s space. It was 9:00 a.m., and the sun was at just the right angle to rouse the person sleeping in the bed: Luke Skydiver, a teenage boy with a deep passion for computer games and reading—especially fantasy, which he absolutely loves. It’s summer vacation, so school is the last thing on his mind; he rarely leaves the house, and when he does, he’s usually back before long. He is exactly 16 years old and spends most of his time either gaming or reading. As the morning begins, he opens his eyes and mutters,

- "Hmm... what time is it? Nine o'clock? Alright, time to get up." He heads downstairs to the dining room, where his mother calls out, "Oh, look who’s joined us! Come on over to the table—breakfast is ready." There were cheese toasties—his favorite—so he sat down, began to eat, and said, - "Delicious, Mom... thank you so much!" Just then, his younger sister appeared, gave him a hug, and exclaimed, "Big brother! You’re up! Are we going to play on the console today? Please?" Luke returned the hug and replied,

- "Hehe! Of course, sis! You bet we’re playing!" And Mom says to him, "Luke... could you go to the store today? We’re out of milk." Luke replies, "Oh, geez... yeah, sure, I can." After breakfast, he stands up and says, "Alright, sis... finish up whatever you’re doing, then come find me so we can play." His sister beams and says, - "Yay! I’ll be right there!" Luke heads to his room, fires up his computer, and starts playing—working on his Minecraft world and, of course, diving into the MMORPG he loves so much, playing as a Mage—a place where he truly feels at home. Just then, his sister walks into the room and asks, - "Big brother! Are we playing?" Luke turns away from the computer and says, - "Sure! Why not!" He closes the game, shuts down the computer, gets up from his desk, and walks over to his sister. He pats her on the head and says, "Come on, let’s play!" He turns on the console, and they get fully immersed in their game. Suddenly, Mom enters the room and says, "Luke... you’ll have to pause—you need to go get that milk now." With a hint of annoyance, Luke says, "Seriously, Mom? Right now?... Ugh... alright." He stands up, pats his sister, and says, - "We have to stop for now... but I promise we’ll play more when I get back." He smiles, heads out, leaves the house, and starts walking toward the store. On the way, he spots a truck—and suddenly, a little girl runs out into the road…

Luke runs in a panic, shielding her with his own body, but the truck misses him—swerving past instead. However, the driver, in a state of shock and having lost control of the vehicle, crashes into a utility pole, and the truck bursts into flames. Without a second thought, Luke rushes toward the wreckage and pulls out an unconscious man. Realizing the man’s young daughter is also inside, he immediately pulls her out as well—just before the vehicle explodes. That is… the last thing he hears. Then, Luke sees nothing but darkness. Suddenly, in this vast, empty, dark void, a message appears before his eyes:
- “Dear Luke Skydiver, you have just lost your life in a successful attempt to save three complete strangers. It was an incredibly noble act; therefore, today, your dream of living in a fantasy world shall be granted. And because your deed was truly heroic, you will not become a mere peasant or a lowly goblin, but a powerful being—one whose strength is unparalleled and practically limitless.”
Luke then feels himself falling. Out of the darkness, a horizon begins to emerge. He lands, rubs his eyes in astonishment, looks around, and stands up. He finds himself in a forest—but something is off. There is a very strange energy in the air; the atmosphere itself feels different. He recalls the message, then notices something fluttering nearby—it looks like a butterfly, but upon closer inspection, he realizes it’s a fairy… a real fairy. Luke smiles and says, - “Holy… crap! I’m… I’m in a fantasy world—just like in all those…”..from the stories I’ve read! I’ve been transported to another world—an Isekai!” Suddenly, a goblin lunged at him, hissing. Driven by a surge of adrenaline, Luke kicked the creature square in the face. To his shock, blood sprayed, and the force of the blow tore the goblin’s head clean off its shoulders, sending it soaring through the air and land in rock nearby making a huge hole in rock. As blood gushed from the headless torso, the body collapsed. Stunned, Luke fought back the urge to vomit and stammered, “Holy shit! ...What the hell is going on?! Wait a minute... am I... am I some kind of overpowered Isekai protagonist?!” He mused, - “Superhuman strength, huh... I wonder what else I’ve gained.” Looking around, he beheld mountains—some even floating—and magnificent waterfalls, along with flying creatures that were clearly no birds. He began to walk about, a smile spreading across his face. “In fantasy worlds like this, magic usually relies on mana,” he thought. He reached out, visualized fire, and tried to sense the energy within himself. Without a single incantation, a pure, red-orange flame erupted from his palm. Overjoyed, Luke shouted, “Holy crap! I’ve got advanced magic abilities! No spells, no artifacts, nothing at all... I just conjured fire! Pure fire!” And then, right in front of him, appears a caravan with three men and a human-cat hybrid—a beautiful girl with feline features, she had yellow eyes and long, brown hair and of course cat ears. Luke blushes and says, "But... she... she’s beautiful." Suddenly, one of the men shoves her to the ground. Luke realizes immediately: this cat-girl has been abducted by slave traders. He rushes forward and shouts, "Hey! Hands off! Leave her alone, or you’ll have to deal with me!" The thugs look at each other and burst into laughter. One of them sneers, "You?! That’s a good one! What’s some fucking brat like you going to do to me?! Heh!" Luke smiles, extends his hand, conjures fire from his palm, and says—

"Me? I’m capable of quite a lot!" he declares, unleashing a blast of fire straight at the bandit—not enough to incinerate him, but enough to inflict severe burns and send him flying backward. The bandit slams into a tree, and the other two flee. Luke, utilizing his superhuman physical prowess and incredible speed, instantly appears in front of one of them. A light shove sends the man hurtling backward, where he strikes his head against a rock. Luke then rushes toward the third bandit, striking him with a powerful gust of wind that leaves the attacker wounded. "Whoa! Wind magic, too?! Wow!" Luke exclaims. He glances at the cat-girl, blushes again, and asks, "Are you... are you alright?" The cat-girl, blushing intensely, replies, "N-no... I mean, no, I’m not hurt! Thank you... hero." She adds, "W-what... what is your name, my lord?" Luke chuckles, strikes a heroic pose—fist raised high, legs planted firmly apart—and announces in a booming voice, "My name is Luke Skydiver! I am a new hero, and I intend to make this world a better place! I’ve just saved you! Now, I have a small request... could you tell me... what is your name?" The cat-girl blushes even more deeply and says, "Well... thank you... thank you so much. My name is Mia—just Mia—from the Copper Foot clan. Our clan lives on the wild steppes, just like all the other free beast-kin clans." Luke then asks:
- "How many of these free clans are left?" Mia grows sadder; her human-cat paws begin to clench in sorrow, and she says, - "Not many... the aristocracy and the kings... they are vile and depraved. They commission slave traders to kidnap us from the forests if we wander too far from our steppes, and they pay a fortune for us... Can you guess, Luke, what happens to those who are taken? Lifelong servitude and sexual exploitation—that’s just the daily reality." Listening to this, Luke replies, - "Damn... I’m so sorry... that’s... that’s horrific. They aren’t human—they’re monsters. I possess great power, and I promise you... I will never let anything like that happen to you." Mia blushes even more deeply, throws herself at Luke, hugs him, and exclaims, - "Meow! My lord! My master! I pledge my loyalty to you for the rest of my life!"
Luke blushes intensely and stammers, "Uh... w-well... thank you."
Just then, a goblin emerges from behind some bushes. Luke looks at it and raises his hand; massive flames erupt, completely incinerating the goblin. "You see, Mia?" Luke says. "With me by your side, you’re in no danger." Mia snuggles even closer to him and chirps, "Nyan! Master Luke is so amazing!" Luke smiles, a deep blush spreading across his face, and says, - "Well... um... thank you." And so, Luke begins to traverse a beautiful forest, accompanied by Mia—a cat-girl who has pledged her eternal devotion to him. The forest is stunning; in the distance, mountains levitate high above the ground, with crystal-clear waterfalls cascading down to form rivers below. It is a mixed forest, appearing much like those in the ordinary world—save for the fact that here, fairies and imps are everywhere, and goblins could spring out from anywhere at any moment. But for our Luke, that’s no trouble at all; no goblin could survive a close encounter with him. As the pair makes their way through the woods, Mia blushes every time her arm brushes against his. Suddenly, a village appears before them—still some distance away, but clearly visible.

A village—finally, a destination to head toward. And where there’s a village, there’s a good chance a town lies nearby. So, Luke and Mia set off for the village, which was called Veareel. As they crossed the meadow near the settlement, the village drew closer until, eventually, they found themselves standing before its gate. There were no patrols—it was only a small village, likely containing nothing of any real value. Luke continued forward, with Mia by his side, gazing at him with rapt, wide-eyed adoration. Suddenly, he spotted three thugs accosting a poor villager. One of them snarled, "What kind of crap is this?! We wanted cash—what are you trying to pull, handing us these worthless brown coppers?" The villager stammered, "I’m sorry… I’m barely scraping by… I truly don’t have anything else—" He couldn't finish his sentence; one of the thugs struck him in the gut, knocking him to the ground with a single blow. The villager gasped, "Oh!… Please, stop!" Nearby, a group of knights—evidently on their way to the city—witnessed the scene. One of them remarked, "Stupid peasant… the idiot shouldn't have been wandering around there. He’s got no one to blame but himself." Luke looked at Mia, his expression one of utter disbelief, and asked, "They… they aren't going to do anything?" Mia says with disgust, "No... they won't do anything... they won't lift a finger for something they won't get paid for. That’s what 'knights in shining armor' are really like."
Luke retorts, "No! I... I won't stand for this! I didn't end up here with such great power just to watch something like this happen and do nothing!"
He rushes forward, his left hand igniting with magical fire, and hurls a fireball straight at the bandit. The bandit cries out, "What?! A mage?! How?! Why... why are you protecting some peasant?! The King... the King won't pay you for this!"
Luke snaps back, "I couldn't care less if I get paid or not! What matters is that I’m the only one actually using my abilities the way they should be used!" Raising his hand, he channels wind magic, striking the other two bandits with a powerful gust; they are sent flying backward, slamming into the trunks of the trees.
Mia watches the scene, then looks at Luke. Tears of emotion well up in her eyes—for the first time in her life, she sees someone with such immense magical power using it in a truly altruistic way. For the first time, she sees someone she actually *wants* to be by the side of—not someone she’s forced to be with, but someone she can truly call a hero. Luke approaches the villager and says, "Take it easy, everything is fine now... your wounds... I’ll try to do something about them."
He reaches out his hand and casts a spell—"Healing"—but nothing happens; there is no light, no surge of power. Luke asks, "How is that possible?" The villager replies, "You are a powerful mage, but... it seems you do not possess healing magic." Luke says, "Fair enough, but... I can at least try to soothe the pain until the medic arrives." He extends his hand, focusing his thoughts and his internal magical energy—Mana—on the element of water. He employs water magic, manifesting it as ice, and creates tiny, fine ice particles. "Is that better, sir?" he asks.
The villager responds, "Better... it hardly hurts at all." He then asks, "Who are you, young man?"
Luke replies, "Me? ...No one in particular... just a boy with some powers. But... if you’d like, you can call me something else... For I am the great…"

"A hero! Or at least, that’s what I intend to become... and once I do, you can call me... uh... Luke the Hero!"
Mia replies, "Not anyone special? ...Really? After everything you’ve done, you still claim you’re 'not anyone special'?"
To herself, Mia thinks, - "He is... truly incredible. He saved a man’s life even though he didn’t have to—and knew he’d get nothing in return. That’s just... extraordinary."
Luke says,
- "Alright... Mia, let’s wait for the medic; they should be here any moment."
Just then, a young woman with brown hair and green eyes, wearing a brown robe, approaches and asks, "Sir... who are you? You don’t look like... a local."
Luke glances down at his own body—clad in an orange Adidas tracksuit—and says,
- "Well... uh... I’m a sorcerer from a very distant land. Back home, this kind of attire is perfectly normal. And hey, no need to call me 'sir'—we look like we’re about the same age, don’t we?" He adds to himself, "I can’t exactly tell her I’m from another world; I’m pretty sure that’s not considered 'normal' even in a fantasy realm."
Luke continues, "So... I’m a sorcerer from far away. I just dealt with those bandits and helped this kind gentleman here."
The villager chimes in, - "A Mage... calling a simple villager 'sir'? Who’s ever heard of such a thing? Thank you, thank you so much... you’ve saved my life. I’m so grateful... and while I know I don’t have much to offer you, well..." The villager holds out his hand, offering five copper "Merlins"—the local currency—and says,

- "Please... it’s not much, but... please, take it." Suddenly, Luke is struck by a memory from many years ago.

Young Luke sits on a sofa, reading a Spider-Man comic book. He smiles as he reads, feeling a spark ignite within him—a deep, inner desire to become a hero, a powerful hero who saves people. He glances at a poster for a fantasy novel he’s been reading, which features a mighty protagonist, and whispers to himself, "Yes... when I grow up... I want to be just like them! One day, I’ll become a hero—a great hero!" Returning to the present, Luke stands before the villager and smiles. "No... please, keep the money. You need it more than I do." He gently closes the villager’s hand over the copper coins. Meanwhile, a young woman—a healer—is tending to the villager’s wounds; a bright light emanates from her hands as she thinks to herself, "Who... who is this boy? He looks so completely ordinary, yet he possesses such immense magical power... and he’s helping without asking for anything in return? This isn't like any Knight or Mage I’ve ever met... who is he?" Luke turns to the healer, smiles, and says, "Where are my manners? My name is Luke—Luke Skydiver! I’m a young, newly minted Mage—I’m sixteen years old—and I’m not just a Mage; I’m a hero!" And the doctor says, - “L…...Luke Skydiver……...Mage and hero……..” while thinking to herself, “He…..didn’t take any money…...that’s unthinkable when it comes to……..the King’s Knights or Mages.” Then, with a smile, she says aloud,

- “Nice to meet you, Luke…….I’m Sara…..Sara Healton, and I’m the Healer here.”