Luck is Not On Our Side.

“I gotta say, this is not the warm reception I was expecting.” Hiro said to Akane, as knights surrounded him with fancy swords pointed at them, one of which was dangerously close to his neck. The portly king glared at him, the tension of the situation palpable. Just what did Hiro do to upset such an important looking figure? To figure this out, we must go back to an earlier point in our story…

“My name is Chiaki Hiro. I hope we can get along.” Hiro introduced himself simply, figuring he didn’t need to put much effort into his high school debut given he was relatively unknown in middle school. He didn’t need to worry about his social life either, so something short and polite is perfect. Without waiting for the polite clapping, he sat in his assigned seat, not really caring about who sat near him.

He’d like to say the rest of the day was uneventful, but immediately after sitting down he was greeted by his seat neighbour, a boy with bleached hair and a friendly smile.

“Hello! So you’re the new transfer student huh? As your seatmate, I’ll be in your care.” He slightly bowed, such a formal introduction, it almost made Hiro uncomfortable.

“L-likewise.” A very simple reply. He felt like nothing more needed to be said than that, but he wasn’t so antisocial as to give him the stink eye or anything. Thankfully he seemed to understand and return to whatever work was being done right now.

The rest of the day after that was uneventful. He was successful in standing out as much as he did in middle school, and thus was not called out to by students or teachers, and he did the bare minimum with his schoolwork.

Throughout the week this plan was a success, and he was looking forward to seeing how average his grades would look at the end of the month when the bulletin showing the current class rankings gets posted.

As he entered his home, he got a call on his phone. He smiled when he saw the caller I.D. and recognized the call came from his only friend, and childhood friend, Hana Akane. His smile dropped when he heard her voice though.

“H-Hiro, sorry, I won’t be able to make the trip there today- cough” She coughed hoarsely, pushing her phone away and pulling it back to her ear. “Sorry s-sorry, it seems I caught a cold somehow. I’ll let you know when I’m- cough …feeling better.” She immediately hung up after that, leaving Hiro to run a hand through his black hair. He was hoping he’d have someone else in his empty home for the first time in a while, since she last visited, and he couldn’t easily make it all the way to her house.

Glancing at his phone’s clock, he furrowed his eyebrows and nodded, locking the door behind him and making his way to the convenience store to get a sports drink and medicine to help Akane. He knew well where her house was, but he did worry a little about how long it would take to get there, nurse Akane a little, and return home, but it was imperative he got there.

“My my, why if it isn’t Chiaki!” Akane’s mom greeted him with a surprised look. Clearly he didn’t visit her home much given the current distance between their houses, though this once was not the case.

“Sorry for coming without notice, but I heard from Akane that she came down with a cold, so I got her something to help.” He lifted the plastic bag.

“Oh! That’s so sweet of you, would you like to come in? She’d certainly be grateful if you handed it to her yourself.” She said with a wink, as she stepped aside to allow him in. He nodded and stepped inside, taking his shoes off and knocking on the door to her room.

“Come in.” Came after a brief pause. Akane gasped in surprise when she saw Hiro walking in, but immediately started coughing when she gasped.

“Pardon the intrusion.” He said, retrieving the sports drink from the bag and placing it on the table next to her bed.

“I-I wasn’t expecting you to come here, I was just being polite when I called you.” She explained, partially hiding under her sheets in mild embarrassment at being seen like that.

“I’m just… paying you back for the last time you nursed me to health when I got a cold.” He said while rubbing the back of his neck. She quietly giggled and gratefully took the sports drink, taking a quick swig of it and smiling.

“...Thank you.” She said, taking the small bottle of medicine from his hand and setting it aside. She laid back down in bed, while Hiro left her room and awkwardly stood in the hallway for a moment. Now that his job was done, he wasn’t quite sure if he should stay and visit for a while longer or return home. He’d get his answer when he checked his phone to see the time though, as it read 7:21 PM. It was almost half an hour past dinner, so he figured he’d visit a fast food restaurant on the way home to get something to go.

Before leaving, he once more knocked on Akane’s door, and heard the signal. He entered and noticed that she had a bit more energy, which made him sigh with relief.

“You’re looking better already, just take it easy and rest though.” He reminded her, which made her frown.

“Hey, I know how to handle a cold Mr. Worrywart.” She said playfully.

Before he could make a response, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head and recoiled, holding his head in his hands. He glanced at Akane to see that she had a similar reaction, which greatly confused him. To make matters worse, the objects around the room began to float slightly, and the room itself glowed brilliantly as a pattern emerged on the floor, raising his confusion even further, which in turn made his head hurt more. The circle on the floor enveloped the entirety of the room, but ended at the walls, so whatever was happening would affect only him and Akane. He had no idea what it was for, but the answer would come soon as he and Akane both passed out simultaneously.

When Hiro came to, he noticed Akane was still out of it and rushed to her side, noticing she was still breathing and sighing in relief. Wait, where were they? Everything was completely white except for the blue sky filled with clouds.

One of the clouds moved. It moved very fast despite the fact clouds move slowly normally, however it wasn’t a cloud, but a thin old man with a huge head of white hair and a white beard that long extended past his body. He raised an eyebrow when he noticed the two of them, and shrunk his body to their size and approached them with a much livelier energy than an old man would normally have.

“Hey, who are you calling an old man?” He said angrily. Did he just read my thoughts?

“...Putting that astute observation aside, you and your friend must be rather confused. Don’t worry, you haven’t died, you were just summoned (rather recklessly might I add) to another world, and I’m the guy that handles this procedure.” He explained smoothly, as if this happened often.

“Actually, it’s an infrequent occurrence, but you should be more concerned with other things in my opinion.” He noticed there was a distinct lack of urgency on Hiro’s face, which was peculiar.

“Nnngh, what happened…?” Akane stirred, rubbing her head and sitting up. Her vision was still blurred, but she immediately noticed something was wrong. Really wrong. She rubbed her eyes and frantically looked around, before relaxing when she saw Hiro. She was about to speak up when she noticed the old man glancing her way.

“U-um, what’s going on?” Akane asked, standing up next to Hiro before noticing she had suddenly regained her former energy at some point during unconsciousness.

“Ugh, I was hoping you would be out of it long enough for your friend here to explain it to you, so I’ll give you the short of it: you’re being summoned to another world.” He said plainly and flatly. Her eyes widened with surprise, which morphed into distress.

“W-wait what? But… But I didn’t even get to say goodbye to anyone I knew, my friends, my family…” Her voice trailed off when she felt Hiro take her hand and smile at her.

“Hey, you have one familiar face with you at least, besides, I’m sure this god-like person would be able to send us back home when our mission or whatever is complete.” He tried to reassure her, which worked somewhat as she returned the smile, but it quickly turned into a frown.

“Couldn’t you be a little more worried? You haven’t even said anything to your parents today, have you?” She hit the bullseye with that question, which she could easily tell from his grimace.

“You know I’m not the one to initiate the conversation when it comes to my parents.” To anyone else this would be an easy excuse to see as truth, but Akane is not “anyone else”, which was made apparent when she saw through his excuse completely.

“You’re like that for everyone but me.” She said with a deadpan voice and frown, which made him chuckle.

“Alright alright, enough flirting, you’re taking up too much time here, I’ll have to give you a skill and occupation randomly now!” The god closed his eyes tight and pulled a wheel that appeared out of thin air.

“Oh no, we’re not like that.” The two said simultaneously, which surprised the god.

“Heh heh, if you say so…” He chuckled knowingly.

The wheel stopped spinning now, landing on “Cleric” and “God’s Watchful Protection” for Akane. Then god spun on a different wheel rapidly, and it immediately stopped.

“‘The Quiet One’, and ‘Master of None’...” Hiro read aloud. Huh? What does that mean?

“Sorry, no time to answer questions! Just know that you can always appraise yourself and check your status by chanting “Status”. Farewell brave souls.” The god explained hastily, before they were enveloped in light once more.

“W-wait, how do we get ho-” Hiro’s voice cut off as they disappeared into a burst of light particles.

“...Right, forgot to explain that part. Oh well, I’ll see them again when they pray in a church… Probably.” He chuckled to himself, before expanding to his previous, true size and returning to observing events occurring in his domain.

Strangely, the rest of the process of jumping to another world wasn’t very painful, he imagined it would be worse than the headache prior to it starting, but his head was oddly clear and calm. Akane seemed to be experiencing the same moment of confusion, but now there was something else to be confused about: their new location.

They appeared to be in a throne room, with a row of knights lined up on either side and a short, chubby king sitting in the throne and munching on the roasted leg of a bird.

“Welcome brave heroes, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for heeding my call and answering with your presence! Now, what is the name by which you two are referred?” He inquired, tossing away the chicken leg (which was caught by a nearby knight) and standing up.

Hiro stepped up first. “My name is Chiaki Hiro, last name and first name.”

Next up was Akane. “And my name is Hana Akane”

“Hiro, a fitting name for our hero, and Akane, I’m sure you have an Occupation or Skill worthy of standing next to the hero!” The king said expectantly. At his signal, the court mage chanted "Status" and appraised the two of them, starting with Akane.

“Your Occupation is… Cleric…” The king raised his eyebrow, and the court mage continued. “As for your skill, it’s ‘God’s Watchful Protection’!” Suddenly the king smiled.

“Oh splendid! With our kind god watching over, you’ll certainly be successful in your mission! Now, how about Hiro?” The court mage nodded and appraised him too.

“Let’s see here… Huh?” The court mage blinked, and then shook his head and reread the appraisal. “This is rather odd. Your Occupation is one I have never seen before in my 58 years of living.”

“Well? What is it?” The king urged, which made the court mage furrow his thick grey eyebrows.

“It’s ‘The Quiet One’, your highness…” He said, not knowing what would happen from here on.

“My word, that is odd. What about his skill?” Hiro grimaced a bit, he had a feeling this would not end well.

“Of course, my liege. It’s…” The court mage grew silent.

“Hey, we don’t have all day you know? On with it already!” The king said impatiently.

“‘Master of None’” At these words, the king immediately snapped his fingers and the knights surrounded the two, the ones in front of him pointing their swords at him.

“Keh, there’s no use for a so-called “Hero” whose potential will always be below-par. Knights, take him away-” He was cut off when the court mage re-evaluated Akane’s appraisal once more and actually read the description of the Skill.

“Your highness, I suggest both of them be taken away, “God’s Watchful Protection” is nothing more than him simply observing, and not protecting.”

“Unacceptable! How could we summon two duds?! Get them out of my sight…” The king sat back on his throne and rubbed his temples, upset by the outcome of the incredibly costly summon.

“W-wait, what’s going to happen to us?!” Hiro asked. The king ignored his question as the knights swiftly picked them both up and tossed them not just outside of the castle, but the entire capital city outright.

One of the knights lagged behind and turned back to them.

“I apologize greatly for the inconvenience, but you truly do not understand the worthlessness of your skill and the severity of the situation. Try not to die.” The knight turned back and sprinted back to the other knights.

Hiro and Akane both fell silent. What now?

“...You remember what the god said, right Hiro? About checking our status? Maybe we should review our Occupation and Skill before anything else.” Akane suggested. They both chanted "Status” and went over the plate that appeared before them.

—
CHIAKI HIRO
Race: Human
Level: 1 / ?
Max MP: Very Low
—
Occupation: “The Quiet One” ***
Description Unknown.
—
Skill: Master of None
A versatile Skill that allows the user to perform the
unique tasks of almost all Occupations, but the max
potential of said Occupation is greatly lowered.
(The original Occupation is unaffected.)
—

“Uh, my Occupation lacks a description… What about you, Akane?” Hiro was skeptical of the usefulness of his Occupation, but his Skill sounds like it could be alright depending on how awful the limit of the maximum potential is. The words of the king and the knight did not inspire confidence, however.

—
HANA AKANE
Race: Human
Level: 1 / 100
Max MP: High
—
Occupation: Cleric
The user is proficient in healing spells and
divine magic, and can perform the roles of
combat and support with ease.
—
Skill: God’s Watchful Protection
The user is monitored and protected by god.
However, interference is currently not permitted
until recognition of a holy figure is gained.
—

“Wow, apparently my Occupation lets me use divine magic and healing spells, it even says I’m great at both combat and support!” Hiro took a peek at her status plate, and read the description of the Skill.

“Jeez, we don’t even get god’s protection yet?” Hiro said to himself.

“Your Occupation is a total mystery too… How the heck do we figure it out? And what do the 3 stars mean?” Akane asked the big questions while peeking at his status plate too, but Hiro had just as good an idea as she did. He supposed it would come to him naturally at some point, but he would not be pleased if it happened during mortal peril or something.

“I thought this world would be more RPG-like, there are even levels, but the MP is so unspecific, the lack of stats doesn’t help.” Hiro's observation was keen, but there was likely a reason stats were invisible to them.

Before the two could set out without a destination, Akane suddenly gasped. 

“Oh my gosh, I just noticed how dreary our clothes look, did that god do this?” She was glad she wasn’t left in her pyjamas, but she would have preferred it if her outfit had more colour than brown. She looked like a medieval commoner. Hiro wasn’t any different, he certainly didn’t have that classic RPG hero appearance.

“We can probably obtain better outfits, and maybe even weapons, if we can get the money, and if I know my RPGs, our best bet is to register at an adventurer’s guild.” With the plan now figured out, it had been set in motion as they walked along the dirt road and wandered in the hopes of running into a town before monsters or bandits ran into them.