Chapter 2: Takatsuki Makoto is left behind
“Hey there, Takatsuki-kun, you are up.”
While I was spaced out thinking, someone spoke to me.
A refreshing handsome man, who had two beauties at his sides, was right in front of me..
Well, they are my classmates.
Sakurai Ryosuke.
A central figure of the class and was the ace of the soccer club.
A honest to word normie.
“Sakurai-kun, huh. Yeah, thankfully.”
“That’s a relief. I heard that you didn’t seem to be waking up, so I was worried.” (Sakurai)
“Aah, thanks for the worry.”
I honestly am not good at dealing with him.
He is the complete opposite of someone like me.
“Have you heard about your Stats and Skills?” (Sakurai)
“Well, yeah.”
I easily told him about my own skills.
He also told me his.
Sakurai-kun has the Light Hero skill.
The two girls behind him have Sage and Holy Knight.
They all hit jackpots.
“By the way, want to join our party?” (Sakurai)
“Huh?”
What’s this all of a sudden?
“Eeh, Takatsuki-kun?”, the one who said this was Kawamoto Eris-san.
“Takatsuki-kun has a different party, right?”, the other girl, Yokoyama Saki-san.
Both of them are beauties.
“Actually, I am going to be leaving tomorrow. A variety of people have been inviting me.” (Sakurai)
“Tomorrow? Isn’t that too soon?”
Weren’t we all supposed to be learning here?
“Ryosuke is the Light Hero, so he doesn’t need to train.”
“He has been recommended as a candidate for the knight captain of the Sun Country.”
Kawamoto-san and Yokoyama-san were saying this with ecstatic expressions.
“How about you come together with us, Takatsuki-kun?” (Sakurai)
An invitation to his party, huh…
“There’s unknown people all around, so I think it would be better if we help each other out.” (Sakurai)
Sakurai says this with an innocent expression.
“Hmm.”
I ponder.
It doesn’t sound bad.
No, wait. Even if I were to go with them, the current me would only manage to be a luggage carrier.
At worst, a gofer.
Sakurai-kun seems to be a good guy, so he wouldn’t do that, but the beauties at both of his sides were looking at me and telling me with their eyes: ((Refuse already)).
“Thanks for the invitation, but I will be learning here for a while.”
“I see, that’s a shame. It can’t be helped.” (Sakurai)
He said this in disappointment.
“If Takatsuki-kun says so, it can’t be helped. Ah, right, how about having you teach him swordsmanship, Saki-chan? Stay here for a while.”
Kawamoto-san says something weird.
“Then, wouldn’t it be better for you to teach him magic, Eri-chan?”
Yokoyama-san immediately shoots back.
“What, don’t go saying stupid things.”
“Right back at you.”
““Fufufufu.””
Kawamoto-san and Yokoyama-san at a glance may look like they get along, but it seems like they have a pretty thorny relationship.
The man, who is the most likely reason for this, doesn’t seem to notice the strange atmosphere though.
“Then, if you ever change your mind, feel free to tell me, okay?” (Sakurai)
He leaves as eloquently as he came.
Kawamoto-san and Yokoyama-san didn’t say anything.
Ah, the two girls glared at me for a moment.
I think I heard them click their tongues.
Cat fights are scary.
Sakurai-kun, you might get stabbed in the back someday.
I’m a bit worried.
◇◇
“Hey there, Takatsuki.”
After a while, another group speaks to me.
“I heard you have the weakest element, Water Magic?”
“Moreover, elementary grade? Fufu!”
“No, even worse are his stats. He seriously is a commoner.”
A flashy guy that is friends with Kitayama, Okada; and a gyaru named Kawakita-san.
There’s also Kitayama.
These 3 are usually together at school too.
When all three gather, they look like a group of yankees.
In other words, people I am not good at dealing with.
“Hey hey, what profession will you be taking?”
Okada says with a grin.
“I still haven’t decided. What about you, Okada-kun?”
“Me? I will be a warrior! I am gonna butcher monsters with my [Great Sword: Superior Grade]!”
“I have the [Grand Mage] skill. I can use Fire, Water, Wood, and Earth at High Grade! Isn’t that impressive?”
I didn’t ask you, Kawakita-san, is what I was thinking, but I at least give her a: “Wow, that’s impressive”.
So they are just here to brag.
“That’s nice, you all have skills you can use immediately. I am a Dragon Knight, so I apparently have to begin by catching a flying dragon. What a pain.”
Kitayama says this, but he seems to be having fun.
“You also have [Spear User: High Grade] and [Heavenly Speed]! You have it nice!”
“Hey, if you catch a dragon, let me ride it, okay?”
“Yeah, leave it to me.”
“Oi oi, don’t go seducing my woman.”
“I am not!”
Okada and Kawakita-san were going out, huh.
I didn’t know.
In the end, they asked me practically nothing, and it ended with them just bragging.
◇◇
1 month since coming to this world.
⅓ of my classmates have been scouted by higher-ups of some country.
The ones who disappeared immediately were people who had super powerful skills like the Light Hero.
It seems like when it comes to scouting, the fast one wins. A variety of people were coming and going.
Listening to the talks of those people, we began seeing the state of the continent.
The continent we are in is called the West Continent, and there’s 6 countries in it.
Summarizing it…
The Sun Country, Highland: the leading power of the continent. Has the most national power, with their population, military force, and financial affairs at the top ranks.
The Fire Country, Great Keith: Half of their country is deserts. Their martial arts is popular, and there’s a lot of beastkin and mercenaries.
The Water Country, Rozes: The country we are currently in. Their touristic industry is flourishing. Also, the power of the church is high.
The Wood Country, Spring Log: Most of the country is forests. The power of the elves is strong. There’s beastkin, too.
The Commercial Country, Camelot: Casinos and money lending is prosperous.
The Earth Country, Karilan: an underground country. The power of the dwarves is strong. Metal business is prosperous.
Something like that. The relationship between the 6 countries is decently good.
At the very least there’s no wars.
There was also a country called Lafilogue a long time ago that has fallen.
My classmates dispersed to different countries depending on the conditions of the scouts.
There were no scouts for me.
Haah.
I am currently taking a class for magic.
There’s not a single classmate from my previous world.
I am together with children in elementary school level.
“Takatsuki-san just came to this world. Everyone, get along with him, okay?”
““““Yees.””””
The children say this in chorus.
One high school student within the elementary school students.
Honestly speaking, it is embarrassing.
“Now then, today we will be learning about elements. This world has 7 elements, and all of them have their ups and downs.”
The old lady teacher writes down the explanation on the blackboard.
Sun: Controls things like light, lightning, and wind.
Moon: Controls things like darkness, and death.
Fire: Controls things like flames, and heat.
Water: Controls things like water, ice, mist.
Wood: Controls things like animals, and poison.
Gold: Controls things like luck, and destiny.
Earth: Controls things like earth, stone, and metals.
“The 7 elements have their respective Goddesses. Aside from the Moon, the 6 elements are widely worshipped around the continent. As you may already know, Moon rules over darkness and death. You must not worship it, okay?”
“““Okaaay.”””
“When using whichever magic, you will require mana. When using a strong spell, you will require a lot of mana, and because of that, you need to raise your level…”
The lesson continued.
First, I should work hard in learning.
◇◇
3 months since coming to this world.
“Takki-dono, take care.” (Fujiwara)
“Yeah, you as well, Fuji-yan.”
Fuji-yan has been scouted.
It wasn’t an adventurer party, but a merchant company.
It seems like he formed a connection with a merchant that came to the Water Temple.
Fuji-yan really has a good head on his shoulders.
“I plan on working at Makkaren which is the closest city to the Water Temple. If you ever go there, please give me a call.” (Fujiwara)
“Got it. If I go there, I will look for you.”
“Then, please do your best in your training.” (Fujiwara)
“Yeah, good luck to you too.”
Fuji-yan and I exchange a tight handshake and separated.
I didn’t have many friends to begin with, but with Fuji-yan gone, my chances to speak with my classmates were practically gone.
More than half of the beginning members have left.
I am a bit lonely now.
“Makoto-niichan, have you gotten better at water magic?”
Lately, a boy I began getting along with after talking about my previous world has been my only talking partner.
It seems he is the third son of a noble somewhere.
“[Water Ball].”
When I say this, a water ball the size of a softball was on top of my palm.
The process of magic is: Generate → Control.
And the process to activate Water Ball is: Water Generation → Water Control (Forming the shape of a ball).
The strength of the water generation depends on the mana of the user.
The control of the water depends on the proficiency of the magic.
My mana is elementary level, so it is astoundingly weak.
It takes my all to create a small water ball like this.
Fortunately, proficiency increases the more you use magic, so I am using magic everyday.
“Wow! You can do that much in just 3 months?! It took me 2 years. [Fireball]!”
A ball of fire the size of a basketball appears on the top of his palm.
Big.
It is around 5 times the size of mine.
I feel like crying.
The boy has [Fire Magic: Intermediate], [Swordsman: Intermediate]. He says all the time that he is going to become a magic swordsman.
I want to become a magic swordsman too…
Because I don’t have warrior skills, I cannot take jobs that are related to the warrior classes.
I have no choice but to work hard in being a mage.
“Makoto-niichan, let’s work hard!”
“Yeah”, I nod weakly.
◇◇
Half a year has passed since coming to this world.
Almost no scouts are coming to the temple now.
The remaining classmates counting me have to begin thinking about what they should do themselves.
Or so I say, but they are people that have skills like [Swordsman: High] and [Mage: High], so there’s not much to be depressed about.
Aside from me.
Currently, I have begun to train in skills other than mage, like traveller and thief.
I was able to learn this thanks to my skill [RPG Player].
The skills of the traveller are [Dismantle], [Cooking], [Emergency Treatment], and [Tinder]. There’s a lot of skills that serve for journeys.
The thief skills are [Detection], [Trap Disable], [Evasion], and [Escape]. Its trait is that most skills are useful for detecting danger beforehand, and running away from the enemy.
They are necessary for someone like me who plans on acting solo.
◇◇
9 months have passed since coming to this world.
The remaining classmates are 3 including me.
There are no chances for us to meet.
I have been pouring all my time into training and the library.
It is to learn the language of this world.
If I can read the letters, I can read books.
I have no knowledge about this world.
The history of this world, the races, monsters, geography, diseases, etc.
I have to leave this place in 3 months.
I want to increase my knowledge of this world as much as possible.
I have investigated a bit about the history of this world.
The name of the era in this world is the Salvation Era.
Currently, it is the year 1001 of the Salvation Era.
The year 0 of the Salvation Era was when the Savior Abel defeated the Great Demon Lord.
Savior Abel.
According to history, it was a hero that held the two skills Light Hero and Lightning Hero.
A walking cheat.
The Savior Abel is the founder king of the strongest kingdom of the continent, Highland.
Defeating the demon lord and creating a country.
The classic hero.
The comrades of the Savior Abel created their respective countries. Like the Fire Country and the Water Country.
I managed to learn about the history of that time in detail thanks to the books of the library.
But the history before the year 0 is fragmented.
When the Great Demon Lord was present it was apparently a dark period where the continent was in his control.
Thanks to the Savior, we are in this era now.
◇◇
1 year has passed since coming to this world.
There’s no classmates anymore.
I am now the last one of the 1-A class.