The Hero Arrives

"O great hero from another world, heed our call! Deliver to us our salvation, and become the blade to burn away the darkness!"

Light shot forth from the arcane circle, bathing the ceremonial chamber in a pale light. It was finally over. A wave of relief washed over me, but it wasn’t over yet. My legs buckled, and I stumbled back on the floor. My hoarse throat was desperate for relief, but I couldn’t do anything but keep my eyes peeled on the pillar of light. Years of research and countless sleepless nights were all hinging on this moment.

I readjusted my glasses as a silhouette began to form within the circle. An amorphous black mass that shifted and squirmed, before solidifying into a human form. The mage next to me raised my arm up in celebration.

“W-we did it! We actually did it!” The guy cheered. There was all sorts of celebrating, hugging, and tears of joy going all around the circle. Even though I should’ve been just as excited, I just felt utterly exhausted. Soon as all this is over, I’ll be heading off to bed. Might break a record for how many hours I can sleep.

The light slowly faded, until all that remained was a solitary figure kneeling on the floor.

It was a girl. Looked maybe my age, maybe a bit younger. A long mess of blonde hair, streaked with black marks fell onto the floor around her. She wore colorful and gaudy layers of wool and cloth, and a skirt much shorter than anything I'd ever seen anyone wear. Not really who I’d expect from a hero summoning ritual, but looks can be deceiving.

At the very least, she was wearing clothes. There were a ton of initial concerns about accidentally summoning a demon, which is ridiculous if they bothered to read my thesis, but also more valid concerns about summoning something non-humanoid, or lacking in intelligence. As expected, those concerns were unwarranted.

The girl stood up on unsteady legs, wobbling to her feet. She dusted off her clothes, and stared dumbfounded and the people around her. Couldn't blame her, really.

"Is this what the afterlife looks like?" She finally muttered, after a few pinches to the cheeks.

Good, I could understand what she said. That was a last minute addition to the ritual, after we realized there was no guarantee whoever we summoned would speak our language.

The Minister stood up from his lofty seat with his ornate cane, overlooking the rest of us. His eyebrow twitched in surprise when he saw the girl, but he quickly adjusted his suit and recomposed himself as he began his speech. That’s a professional for you.

“We welcome you, great hero from another world!” His voice echoed throughout the room. Making speeches was his expertise, after all. Half convinced me he was genuine.

“Our world is in dire peril. Attacked by demonic forces at all sides, only this kingdom remains as the last bastion of humanity. We beseech of you, o mighty hero, become our sword and shield, and lead us to a brighter future!” He continued the speech, laying on platitudes about how much of a blessing her arrival was, and how pitiful and weak our country was.

Before I realized it I was gripping my fists in a tight ball. It was enough to make my skin crawl. But that was how the Minister of Magicks, Deus operated. Always having a perfect speech ready, even for projects he’d completely written off as useless drivel.

Finally, the speech was over, and everyone here stared expectantly at the hero, awaiting a response.

She looked around the room, staring from mage to mage, to the minister, and then… to me. She smiled as our eyes locked, and a strange feeling overcame me. I blinked, and the feeling went away, and she was back to staring up at the minister.

“Well, I don’t really get it, but it sounds like you need my help. I’ve never been called a hero before, but I’ll try my best!” She struck some cutesy looking pose, her hand forming the shape of what looked to be a pair of scissors half-covering her face. Was it some sort of custom from her world?

The minister cleared his throat. “I- well, I take it that you accept your role? Then we welcome you, hero.” He bowed, and the rest of the mages followed. I joined in reluctantly, keeping my eyes on the hero. She was taking everything in stride much more than I expected. Maybe she was used to being summoned. If so, then all the better for us. A legendary hero. having saved countless worlds, now arrives in ours to do the same…

My eyes were starting to droop. I shook away the daydream and forced myself awake. The lack of sleep was really getting to me.

The hero stared confused as we all bowed, before scrambling to bow back. “So, uh, what exactly am I supposed to do?” She asked after everyone had stood back up.

“Well, I’d imagine you must be tired after your journey. We will have a room prepared for you to rest your weary body. But in the meantime-” The minister stared right at me. I had a bad feeling about this. “Grand Summoner Aster, could you accompany the hero to the appraising chamber?”

Dammit. I knew he’d pile more work onto me. “Of course.” I say through gritted teeth. Before he could shove more trouble onto me, I made my way to the magic circle and reached out my hand towards the hero.

“I shall be your guide for today. Please, follow me.” It took what little energy I had left to act polite and not completely exhausted, but it’s not like I could really hide the bags under my eyes.

“Oh. Right, well okay!” She said with a cheer, jumping forward to cling to my arm. “Lead the way!” She wrapped her arms around mine, as her entire body leaned tight against me.

Huh?

She was way too close! I turned away, my face burning red. Something soft was pressing against my arm. That would be her…

I shook my head. The lack of sleep was getting to me. Excise all bad thoughts from my head. She was a hero. A hero. Nothing else.

Some of the other mages were staring daggers at me. Dammit, it’s not like I wanted to be in this situation. I quickly excused myself, and dragged the hero out of the room.

As soon as we left the stiflingly hot chamber, I breathed a sigh of relief, before turning to the issue at hand. “Listen… Could you please not cling onto me?”

She gave me a funny look, as if she was completely oblivious to what she was doing. Was she mocking me? No, a great hero would never do that. But that must mean she really was that clueless.

“Oh, sorry!” She finally got the picture and let go with a bashful smile. Finally free from that accursed grip, I took her hand properly and led her down the pristine, royal halls. The corridors were empty, illuminated by mana powered chandeliers. No one else was around, save for the occasional maid. I had a lot of respect for their professionalism. None of them even batted an eye at us.

“Aster, right? I never properly introduced myself. The vibes were kinda weird back there, y’know. Way too awkward. ‘Specially that minister guy. Def someone I don’t wanna mess with. So I couldn’t really get much words in. But now it’s just the two of us!” She exclaimed, talking much more than I’d expected. She sure got comfortable fast. All I could do was nod along.

“Anyways, the name’s Noel! I’m 17 years old. My hobbies are reading manga and fashion! My favorite food is french toast, especially with lots of chocolate drizzled on top, and my pet peeves are clothes that tear too easily and dogs who bark at me when I try to pet them! What else... Oh, I'm an Aries, I've never ridden on a train before, and my dream is to one day open my own cat cafe! And, uh, my three sizes are-”

“Wait, wait, wait! Stop!” I was content to just listen but she started to say some really weird stuff! “I don’t think that’s something you should tell a person you just met!”

She stuck her tongue out. “Well, you weren’t replying, so I thought you wanted me to keep going. Besides,” She continued, latching onto my arm once more. “We’ve been walking and talking together, haven’t we? I’d say that makes you my friend!”

She really did believe what she was saying. I sighed. Try as I might, I really couldn’t get mad at her. Too tired I guess. Or maybe I really was just that easy. “Still, that doesn’t mean you have to talk about that sort of stuff. Here, let me formally introduce myself.”

I stepped in front of her, mustering my remaining energy into a practiced bow. “Grand Summoner Aster Bright, Royal Mage of the Kingdom of Fieran, at your service.”

She let out a little chuckle. I adjusted my glasses and turned my back to her, walking further down the halls.

“Wait, wait, don’t give me the cold shoulder. It’s just that, all that formality stuff really doesn’t fit you!” She ran up to catch up.

“Yeah, yeah, I get that all the time. People always think I’m trying too hard to act older than I am.”

“Oh.” She looked a bit down when she said that, but quickly stepped back next to me. “Well, if that’s how you want to act, then don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”

That was her way of giving me a pep talk, I suppose. It was ridiculous. I was the one who brought the mood down, yet here she was trying to cheer me up.

“Ah! You finally smiled!”

“Oh. I guess I am.” I chuckled. It’s been a while, hasn’t it. I was so busy focusing on finishing the ritual that I never thought about what would happen next.

______

Soooo… Where exactly are we going, anyways?”

“Well, right now we’re inside the Royal Academy of Magic. I’ll be taking you to the appraising chamber, where you’ll get your magical aptitude tested.”

“Oh! So this is what the inside of a school looks like!” She excitedly takes in the scenery much more than before. “I’ve never been to one before.”

“Well, not quite. The classrooms would be the next building over. This is where all the independent research is conducted.” I gesture to the doors on each side of the hall, most having a ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign hung around their doorknobs. “Most of the students are either on break or holed up in their labs, so there’s not really anyone around.”

“Huh. And what about this, uh, appraisal stuff? What do I have to do?”

“Oh don’t worry, you don’t need to do anything.” I pause, stopping in front of a poorly lit stairwell. “Alright, we’re here.”

The stairs led down to a hefty stone door, one embedded with crimson gemstones. Apparently designed to keep magical energy from leaking, as to keep measurements ‘pure’, whatever that meant. I made my way down into the relative darkness and grimaced. Slowly, I pushed the door open as the stone grinded against the floor before finally opening.

“Well. Come right in.” The chamber was pitch black, save for the reddish glow of the gemstones. A stone lectern stood in the center of the room, a round crystal ball inlaid on top of it.

Noel cautiously stepped inside. I couldn’t blame her. This wasn’t the kind of place you’d want to be lurking, especially alone. As soon as she entered, I closed the door shut behind her.

“Sorry about this. Apparently keeping it dark like this helps make the measurements more accurate.”

“O-oh, no problem. This is nothing, really.” She was smiling, but the edges of her mouth twitched nervously.

“Unfortunately, this next step might sting a little.” I took out a golden needle, specifically made for this occasion. “For this to work, you need to drip a drop of blood onto the crystal ball.”

“Alright…” She stretched out her index finger, turning away so she wouldn’t see me poke it. “J-just tell me when.”

“Okay. On the count of three then.” I exhaled, preparing myself as I lined her hand over the orb. “One… Two…” In a practiced motion, I jabbed the needle into her finger.

“Ow! I told you to let me know first!” She yelped, turning to pout at me. Or at least, I think it was a pout.

I shrugged. “It’s supposed to hurt less when you aren’t expecting it.”

Crimson dripped from her finger. The droplets fell, splashing onto the orb below. The red splotch seemed to almost be absorbed by the crystal, as it glowed an ominous red. And then-

Nothing. The crystal ball remained clear.

“Jeez, you should at least think about how I feel! All this time walking, and you forgot to mention the whole finger pricking thing?” She kept saying words, but I wasn’t listening anymore. This wasn’t supposed to happen. It couldn’t happen.

“Could you… place your hands on the orb, please?” My words were barely a whisper. She stopped talking and stared puzzled at me, before nodding. She breathed a deep breath and placed her palms atop the crystal ball.

Nothing happened.

“Ugh, it feels so cold.” She complained. That wasn’t right. It’s supposed to be warm to the touch. People with enough mana even complained of burns after touching it.

This was impossible. Everyone had some trace of mana within them. Even some random street urchin would elicit some faint glow. Never in recorded history has the appraisal ever end up like this.

“Umm, hello?” She was waving her hand in front of my face. I stumbled back, staring at the so-called hero in front of me. “What does this mean? Did I pass?”

She was completely and utterly magicless.