Three hero

Today is a beautiful day, and this year's spring season is warm and lovely, with cherry blossoms blooming everywhere.

"Akira, good morning!"

"Good morning, Yuki."

"You seem very excited today, what's going on?"

"Hahaha, today our exam results will be announced! I can't wait to see the results!"

"You don't need to be so excited, you're going to have the highest score in our class."

"Well, I lack confidence."

"Don't worry, I'm sure you can do it."

Her name is Yuki, she's my childhood friend. She's an extremely active girl who always has a positive outlook, while I'm just an ordinary high school student excelling only in academics.

"Oh, Akira, what about the girl from yesterday?"

"What do you mean?"

"Come on, you don't have to pretend. Yesterday, a girl confessed her feelings to you, right?"

"Well, you could say that."

"So, how did it go? Did you accept her?"

"No, I reject her."

"Again? Huh... that's a shame. Your good looks, high grades, and your kind personality – it's a waste if you keep rejecting all the girls who want to be your girlfriend."

Yuki is right; I always reject the confessions of girls who want to be my girlfriend.

"So, what's your reason?"

"I just don't like them."

My real reason is her. I've liked her since we were kids, but for some reason, Yuki has a hard time realizing my feelings, and I find it difficult to confess to her.

"A classic reason, Akira."

"Yeah, it doesn't matter. Besides, I don't need a girlfriend. I have you, my cute childhood friend."

"Praising me right now won't change anything, you know?"

"Hahahaha."

We end up laughing together and continue our journey to school.

***

Upon arriving at school, I immediately ran to the announcement board to check for my name.

"Look, Akira! Your name is at the top again!"

"You're right!"

"Congratulations, Akira!"

We both feel excited I've secured the top rank once again, and Yui's ranking has improved.

"You guys are so noisy, can you please be quiet?"

There's a taller male student in our class named Rei. He's my rival in school exams, and he always seems irritated when he sees me because I consistently rank first, leaving him in second place.

"Once again, Akira, you're first. It's so frustrating."

"Calm down, Rei. You'll have to study harder for the next exams!"

As I try to encourage him, he coldly pushes my hand away.

"Don't comfort me or touch me."

He walks away, and all the students he passes seem afraid of him.

"He's so strange, Akira. Why does he have to act that way? It's just a matter of grades, I only get average scores and a middle-ranking position."

"Don't compare him to you, Yuki. I'm sure he has his reasons."

"Okay, then, let's go to class, Akira."

"Sure."

***

During class, I pay full attention to the blackboard and the teacher's explanations. Rei is also serious, using the same study methods as me, but he always pushes himself harder. Meanwhile, Yuki is busy playing with her writing tools and even falls asleep casually.

While we're focused, a strange, glowing circle suddenly appears beneath my feet. As I panic, I notice that Rei and Yuki also have glowing circles beneath them. The whole class goes into a frenzy seeing the three of us with something strange happening. I try to run towards Yuki to save her, but my legs won't move. At the same time, the light becomes brighter, blinding me.

When I finally manage to open my eyes, I see many people dressed strangely in front of me, wearing medieval-style clothes. Among them, there's one person who stands out, wearing a crown, and he's approaching me.

"Welcome, heroes. We're delighted that you've answered our call."

"Wait, heroes?"

At that moment, I looked behind me and saw Yuki and Rei standing there.

"Yuki!"

"Akira!"

Yuki runs toward me, hugging me tightly, her body trembling.

"Akira, what's happening?"

Rei also comes closer.

"I don't know, Rei. But it seems like we're in a strange place."

"Ahem, my apologies, heroes. Could you please listen to my explanation first?"

Rei and I face the man who looks like a king, while Yuki still hides her face in my embrace.

"Who are you? Why are we here?"

"I apologize, we have summoned heroes to help us fight the Demon King."

Rei seems slightly irritated.

"Demon King? Heroes? Don't joke around, there's no such thing in our world!"

"Heroes, you are not in your world, you are in ours now."

"Don't lie old hang!"

I quickly take my phone out of my pocket and check it, I'm shocked to find no signal or internet connection.

"Wait, Rei. What he's saying is true. There's no signal or internet connection here. Even the small compass I brought isn't working, the needle keeps spinning. In other words, we're not on Earth."

"What?! Damn it! Send us back to our world!"

"I'm sorry, heroes, but we can't do that. You must help us defeat the Demon King, who will soon rise again. Please, help us. After you defeat the Demon King, we promise to return you to your world."

I raise my head calmly and stare at the mysterious man with determination.

"Alright, but you better not break your promise."

"I, Alexander Dragonlord, the 20th King of the Dragonlord Kingdom, swear to return you to your original world after you defeat the Demon King."

As I suspected, he's a king.

"Very well, we're ready to help. But in our world, we're just ordinary humans with no special abilities. How can you be sure we can help you fight this creature called Demon King?"

"The summoning spell for heroes has never been wrong, anyone successfully summoned with this spell is undoubtedly a hero. We perform this ritual every 50 years because the Demon King always resurrects after being defeated, and it always happens every 50 years."

"Alright, I believe you. So, how can we defeat him when we have no combat experience?"

The king smiles.

"Every summoned hero is unique, they possess extraordinary levels of power and magic. If you lack experience, we'll provide training until you can fight on your own."

"Thank you, that's very helpful."

The king smiles again.

"If that's settled, can you heroes show us your power levels?"

The three of us are puzzled as we don't know what to do.

"Ah, my apologies. To display your power levels, simply say 'Status open.'"

Rei quickly tries it first.

"Status open!"

Everyone in the room is astonished by Rei's power level. His level is 99, all of his stats are at their maximum, and he even has a unique skill called Swordmaster.

"Incredible! You have extraordinary power, sir hero!"

"I can't believe this, it's so strange."

"Alright, the other two heroes, please try to open your status."

Yuki and I try to open our statuses simultaneously. When the transparent screen appears, Yuki's level is the same as Rei's level. All her stats are at their maximum, and she has a unique skill called Holy Heal.

"Amazing, Miss Hero, you possess incredible healing power. You'll save many lives and be a savior to your friends."

As I look at the transparent screen displaying my power level, I'm shocked by the numbers. 

"What's going on?! Level -999, Strength -999, Mana -999, Agility -999, Defense -999, unique skill Illusion. All the numbers are in the negative."

The king's expression turns extremely serious after seeing my power level.

"Regrettably, it seems that one of your heroes has a flaw in their powers. Your level is far below zero, you are very weak."

He says this while looking directly at me, and all the soldiers in the room move closer, pointing their swords at me. Rei and Yuki are panicking and trying to save me, but they are restrained by other soldiers.

"I'm sorry, sir hero... Akira, but we have to eliminate you. The appearance of a hero weaker than a child is a disgrace to the Dragonlord Kingdom, so today, you will die."

Strange, at a moment like this, I should be panicking, but for some reason, everything seems surprisingly normal.

"King Alexander Dragonlord, I don't mind if I have to die, but at least take care of and train my two friends until they can survive and become the strongest in this world."

"NO, Akira! Don't die!"

"Hey, Akira! You can't give up like this! You're my rival, you have to stay alive! I don't want to win against you like this!"

I smile at both of them.

"Promise me that you'll train hard and become stronger. After you defeat the Demon King, you have to go back. Do you understand? I'm asking you to do this for me."

Without giving me a chance to say anything, the king orders his soldiers to cut my throat. My friends, who are witnessing this horrifying sight, burst into tears and are devastated by my death.

***

"Thinking about it again, I might have gone too far. I made my two friends witness my death. Well, at least my friends are safe with that strange king. Alright, it's time to go on an adventure and make my power level even more negative."

I faked my death using my unique Illusion skill, making everyone in the room see fake memories of them killing me. It turns out this unique skill isn't too bad, I'll be using it more often.

"But that king was so cruel, easily killing me just because my power level was -999. Well, I've decided... I'll become stronger and take revenge on that foolish king."

Perhaps... 

***

"I will join the Demon King's forces."