Finally, the dizziness stopped. I can't see anything… Wait, where did I leave off? Oh, right, I started feeling sick during the break. Probably no one reacted in time, and I must have crashed hard onto the floor. Well, no big deal - I'll just lie down for a bit at the nurse's office…
Zetto's vision slowly cleared.
"Huh?" the boy exclaimed loudly in surprise. He wasn't at the nurse's office, but right in the center of the throne room, together with the rest of his classmates. Their group of fourteen was surrounded by a crowd of mages in purple-and-gold robes. The carpet in the middle of the hall, the crests, and the flags hanging on the walls were all the same color. Along the sides of the room, just under the walls, stood two rows of knights; near the entrance, at a safe distance, curious nobles were watching. By the king - a short, stocky man with a long, gray beard and hair - stood his personal guard: two men and two women, all clad in full golden armor.
"Shut your mouth, idiot. Show some respect," a voice came from the left. Zetto glared sideways with hatred. Hiroki - the muscular redhead and one of Zetto's bullies - stood before him, grinning mockingly. "Better move to the back, where you belong, freak". The rest of the classmates burst out laughing.
Fear flickered in Zetto's pupils. He didn't want to provoke conflicts; he preferred to avoid direct confrontation. Humbly, he slipped back into the crowd, moving to the very end.
Just like always, I'm alone. Better disappear from here as fast as possible and stay out of their way. As long as I can hide somewhere, anywhere, where none of them can find me.
"Greetings, brave, young warriors," the king said, rising from the throne. "I'm glad I summoned you here without unnecessary complications. My kingdom, Atoria, needs you. For ten years we have struggled with a very difficult situation. Besides the war with the Demon Kingdom, we suffer from internal rebellions, and…"
"And that's supposed to be our problem? If you can't manage the country, why should we fix it for you?" one of the students spoke up uninvited. It was Ren - a rather handsome boy with big blue eyes and almost six feet tall. At the crown of his head, dark roots showed through a storm of long blond hair.
Oh, here comes Hiroki's lackey. He never could keep his mouth shut. I always hated his arrogance, thought Zetto.
"You bastard, how dare you!" one of the king's guards shouted, drawing his blade. However, the king gestured for him to hold back. The knight sheathed his sword again. "If you weren't a hero, I would have sliced you into pieces long ago."
"No need to get so worked up," interrupted one of the king's attendants. "This guy's a small fry, he has blue eyes."
"Excuse me?" Ren snapped indignantly.
"Ahem," the king cleared his throat, trying to calm both sides. "There's nothing left but to clarify this matter. When you were summoned to another world, your eye color might have changed, which indicates your hero rank. If your eyes remained brown, blue, or green, you are regular heroes. You have a better starting point than most beings in this world, but you will have to work twice, maybe even three times as hard as those with higher ranks."
When the king finished this part of the speech, Ren hissed in dissatisfaction, making a threatening face. Hiroki pulled out his phone from his pocket, which didn't actually work but served briefly as a handy mirror. Hiroki had golden eyes. The big guy laughed loudly, then put the phone away.
"What's so funny?" Ren asked.
"Nothing, weakling," came the mocking grin from Hiroki.
"I'll wipe that stupid smirk off your face yet. You think that getting a better rank means you can boss people around?"
"What, no?"
"Guys, calm down," stepped in the class president, Yua. She was a short brunette with pale skin. Her eyes were purple.
Oh, Yua. The perfect lady, she knows exactly when to intervene. Good thing she can at least keep those two idiots in check; otherwise, they would have torn our class apart long ago. Too bad she always turned a blind eye when they bullied me.
Zetto, with an emotionless expression, almost blending into the background, watched his peers from a distance, withdrawn and lost in his own thoughts.
"Continuing," the king resumed, "if your eyes changed to gold or purple, it means you have received the status of an Extraordinary Hero. This is equivalent to immense natural talent. Thanks to the blessing of the heavens, you are destined to level up faster. Moreover, each of you possesses a special ability that other heroes do not have. You are also capable of learning extremely advanced spells, which will require some effort, but I believe in your exceptional potential. The last type is… I wonder if I should even mention it," the king sighed thoughtfully.
"They should know, Your Majesty," whispered one of the guards in golden armor into his ear.
"The last eye color is red, the status of the Messenger. This is an incredibly rare rank, occurring once every several hundred, or maybe even a few thousand years. Messengers begin with power beyond that of others, since only the gods can surpass them. Whether they possess defensive or offensive abilities, they are a national treasure, our ace up the sleeve. I'm sorry to say this, but I doubt that any of you..."
"There is one," said a soldier standing by the wall. "A skinny boy with long white hair," he added, pointing toward Zetto.
Zetto glanced to the side, thinking someone else was standing next to him.
"Me?!" he asked, unable to believe it.
The entire hall turned toward him.
And there go my plans to hide somewhere, he thought bitterly.
"No way, stop joking! I can't believe such a loser got the Messenger! This has to be a fraud, you're definitely cheating!" Hiro started yelling, but Yua tried to calm him down again. Ren looked at Zetto with disdain.
"I wish I were, but I'm not such a scumbag like you," Zetto whispered under his breath.
"Huh? What was that you muttered?"
"I wish I were, but I'm not such a scumbag like you," he repeated loudly and clearly.
I always wanted to tell him that. It feels amazing to stop fearing bastard like him.
"So, you're all talk?" Hiro yanked himself away from Yua and Ren, who were gripping his arms tightly to keep him from breaking free.
"You're exaggerating a bit, Hiro. I understand you're pissed off..." Yua tried to reason with him.
"Shut up!" he said, turning to her, then threw a punch at Zetto.
The guards in golden armor were already moving to intervene when suddenly a green barrier surrounded Zetto. Hiro's hand turned blue from the impact, all the bones in his fingers were shattered. Hiro howled in pain.
"This spell..." the king pondered. "Boy with white hair, could you check your class and level? Just use a simple spell: Status."
"I don't care about his status, heal Hiro!" Ren shouted.
One of the golden guards, who rushed forward to stop the reckless redhead but was outpaced by Zetto's spell, replied as she returned to her post:
"I could at most finish him off for such a nasty attitude, but unfortunately, that would be too great a loss for us."
"Fuck! That hurts!" Hiro kept shouting.
"Status!" said Zetto.
A small green window appeared before him. It read:
Name: Zetto Hanamura
Status: Messenger
Class: Healer
Level: 687
Special Skill: Intuition
(All available spells of the Healer class are known. They require no incantation; Intuition allows casting spells by thought or intention.)
"Can you read your status, Messenger?" asked the King. "Sorry, I didn't ask your name."
"I'm Zetto. Wait, so you can't see it?"
"No. Status is an individual matter, unless you summon it with the intention of showing it to someone."
Hmm… I'd rather they not find out about my special skill. Maybe I'll make something up on the spot, something that's partly true.
"Please, don't keep us waiting," the King said.
"Hey, fossil! Tell your lackeys to heal my friend," Ren regretted those words immediately. One of the golden guards pressed his sword against Ren's throat.
"Insult the king again, and I won't be so restrained. A regular hero is a loss that can be made up later" he said with hatred in his voice.
"In your line of work, injuries are unavoidable," the King shrugged. "We have court healers; his hand will recover within a few minutes, or at most an hour. Now, let me attend to more important matters. I'm all ears, Zetto."
Looks like I've got it. Hopefully this half-lie will work.
"Status: Messenger. Class: Healer. Level: 687."
"687?" voices of surprise, disbelief, and fear rose from the crowd. "Even the greatest healers in history never surpassed level 500!"
Unfazed, Zetto continued,
"Special Skill: Healer's Wisdom. Most of the Healer class spells have already been learned."
"If you're a healer, then heal him, you idiot! You did this to him!" Ren shouted at the top of his lungs.
Phew, I think they bought it. Now it's time for a little bit of a show.
Zetto sneered.
"Why would I?" he asked, casting a pointed look at the rest of the class.
"Zetto," the King resumed, "with such amazing abilities, we will be unstoppable. Combined with the strength of the other heroes, we will quickly conquer the Demon Kingdom".
" No way I'm teaming up with those guys," Zetto said harshly. "No friends of mine. They don't matter to me; I don't give a damn".
"You shouldn't behave like that, Zetto," Yua stepped forward and stood before him. "This is about more than personal grudges. We should work together to save this country and its people, to become stronger togethe-"
"Don't make me laugh," he said coldly, eyes full of anger. "Miss Perfect couldn't even react when a man was being abused right before her eyes."
"I-I had other things on my mind! Besides, you're a guy, you should be able to defend yourself and -"
"Shut up."
"What?" she asked, surprised.
"How could he speak to the class president like that?" one of the girls from the group asked.
"She always stood up for us and was kind. Turns out that Zetto has been trash from the start." another one responded.
"Shut up. But fine. I'll try to be nice this last time."
Zetto tried to approach Hiro, while Ren was helping him bear the pain. He reached out his hand towards Hiro, but Hiro spat in his face.
"I don't need your pity, dog."
Zetto didn't react. He wiped Hiro's spit away, then, with a malicious smirk, looked him straight in the eyes and said,
"You know I could make things worse for you if you don't show me some respect."
Then he turned away from the redhead and started laughing.
" Damn. I'd love to kick his ass, but if I try, my hand will probably end up like Hiro's". Ren hissed through clenched teeth.
"King, is that it? Mind if I take off and leave these worthless losers under your noble care?"
"I will show you worthless losers" Hiro snapped, lunging for a fight again. He reflexively tried to move his broken fist but doubled over in pain, so much for that plan.
"If that's your wish, we can't stop you. But before you leave, we have something prepared. A dozen or so volunteers have come forward to help the new heroes on their journey. If you're in a hurry, I'll call them here, and you can pick someone first."
"Sir," a guard in golden armor whispered into king's ear, "we have plenty of soldiers here. One healer shouldn't be able to -"
"No. Even if this Messenger isn't friendly to us, it's better to have him on our side than make an enemy of him. Let him do as he pleases," the king replied quietly. "Volunteers, show yourselves!" he called out. "Among the heroes who have arrived is the Messenger. One of you shall have the honor to fight by his side."
The massive iron doors, richly decorated with floral ornaments, swung open. Fourteen more people entered the hall, of various races, classes, ages, and genders. The volunteers gathered in a small space between the heroes and the king.
First to introduce himself was a man over two meters tall, seemingly in his early forties. He was heavily muscled with scars on his face.
"Marittus, Crusher, level 140. My fighting style and perfected skills combine the resilience of a tank with the relentless assault of a warrior…"
Next was a young woman wearing a black mage's hat. She had long blue hair, glasses, and a robe with a slit up the thigh.
"Luciia, Mage, level 120. I specialize in Night Magic, which offers both offensive spells and camouflage…"
Zetto listened to all the introductions with a stone-cold expression, until it was finally the fourteenth person's turn.
"Hey, Marittus! Heeeey! Move over, I won't have room to introduce myself! Can you even hear me?"
"Oh, sorry. You're so small I almost didn't notice you."
"Ugh, I hope my chances aren't totally ruined…"
"No one's going to pick you anyway, you're too pathetic," called Kirrius, a bald rogue at level 94, who was the eleventh in line.
Stepping into the center was a petite, frail zombie maid, her thin figure almost threadlike and her skin pale with a faint grayish tint. She had medium-length straight brown hair and large green eyes.
"I-I'm Alice. A level one maidservant. I'm a zombie because… because I died very young, from a lung disease. I was the closest friend of the tragically deceased princess and her favorite handmaiden. While the princess was still alive, a necromancer was hired to resurrect me, but soon after she, she…", her voice broke, and a few tears fell to the floor. "I'm sorry. Undead can't level up or learn new skills, but I can be useful in many other ways. I'm great at sewing and cooking, I know the whole country and can find good, cheap, and delicious food at markets…"
Several volunteers, as well as some heroes, snickered.
"I… umm… that's all" she added resignedly.
"Do you need time to think, Zetto?" the King asked.
"Damn, he'll probably take the best one, that lucky bastard," Hiro said. Thanks to the combined power of several healers present, Hiro's hand was already healed by the time Zetto was listening to the volunteers' presentations. "That Crusher guy would come in handy."
"I prefer Luciia," Ren replied with a dumb grin. "Did you see her curves? Makes you want her to cast a spell on you, hehehe."
"Shut up, idiot. Try using your brain, not just the lower half."
"No, I've already decided," the Messenger answered calmly.
Everyone fell silent. His classmates froze in anticipation, worried that Zetto would take the best for himself. The healer looked toward a certain person.
How long have you been alone? How long have they laughed at you and treated you like a punching bag? Probably just like me, you suffer in solitude. I can't bear to watch it.
"I choose Alice," he declared firmly.
"Hahaha, what an idiot!" Hiro shouted. "Hey, Ren, looks like you're not the only one with something wrong upstairs!"
Alice, downcast and staring at the floor, didn't even hear Zetto. She was convinced no one would choose her. The girl next to her, Kerin, a level 15 rogue, nudged her with an elbow, pulling her out of her thoughts.
"Huh?"
"The Messenger picked you. You should be happy," she explained with undisguised jealousy in her voice.
"Mhm," Alice answered, still somewhere else. She raised her eyes and only when she saw Zetto smiling at her did she realize what had just happened. "Wait, me? Eeeeh?!"