Chapter 2: A New World

"So, another world, huh?" Ryan heaved a sigh as he looked at the others, "Suisei is going to kill me."

"Relax," Edhas said in an effort to ease Ryan's worries, "It's not like she can find her way into another dimension without help."

'You're not helping, Edhas,' Ryan replied with a disgruntled tone.

"Hey, since this is like an isekai story, do you think we're going to have status menus and levels and things like that?" Arias asked.

"It doesn't seem unreasonable," Ryan pointed out. He used to be a huge fan of the isekai genre until he reached the age of reason.

"Sorry for the wait!" The door then burst open to reveal Momiji, "It seems that Ryan Shade was summoned by a third party. Our goddess Kohiko-sama has put a lot of faith in you."

"Of course that's the case," Ryan muttered under his breath.

"Anyways, the goddess will keep in contact with you throughout your journey," Momoji started to drone as if she was reciting from a manual or a book, "I will now teach you how to get in contact with her."

Ryan looked at Reta to see if he would react. Reta's expression was stone cold.

"Man, that kid reminds me of myself when I was 15," Edhas said.

'What were you like back then?' Ryan asked casually.

"Edgy and quiet."

'Alright, I won't ask,' Ryan resisted the urge to sigh out loud.

"To connect with the goddess, you need to focus within yourself. You'll feel as if a rope is connected to your head. Imagine yourself tugging on the rope and that will establish your connection," Momiji explained.

"Alright, let's get this over with," Ryan muttered to himself. He closed his eyes and concentrated. He instantly felt someone trying to telepathically link to him. With a shrug, he decided to accept it.

"Yo!" The familiar voice of a certain goddess filled Ryan's head.

'Don't fucking "yo" me!' A tick mark appeared on Ryan's head as he shouted in his head, 'You hit me with a fucking truck!'

"I did what I needed to do!" Matsuri replied.

'Why did you have to get me involved?!' Ryan asked in a loud voice.

"My kouhai's world was taken over by a demon lord! You're the only one who could help!" Matusri's voice started to break. Ryan's expression softened. He knew that Matsuri was genuinely trying her best to help. He temporarily cut the link with Matsuri.

'What do you think we should do?' Ryan asked Edhas.

"Well, it's your body. I'll follow you wherever you go," Edhas pointed out, "Well, it's not like I don't know your answer anyways."

'You know me too well,' Ryan sighed before he reestablished the link with Matsuri.

'We'll help you,' Ryan finally decided.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Matusri sounded elated, "Now, I've transferred the knowledge of the Status and Appraisal spell into your head. I can only grant you a rank B appraisal right now, but Edhas can work on ranking it up."

'What about my status screen? Wouldn't it be problematic if people knew my full strength?' Ryan asked.

"Don't worry. I linked your status screen to the level you are currently at, so it will only show how strong you are with your limiter," Matsuri said.

"Your limiter is pretty strong," Edhas pointed out as Matsuri explained, "You don't even have a tenth of your power showing right now."

'Thanks, guys,' Ryan said before he opened his eyes. It was time to see what this status screen was all about,

"Status," Ryan commanded. A small, white screen opened before him.

Name: Ryan Shade Level: 62

Class: Legendary Gunslinger

Title: Void Slayer

HP: 58350/58350 MP: 43156/43156

ATK: 356 (+50) DEF: 332 (+50)

SPD: 246 (+50) INT: 167 (+50)

LCK: 0 (+50)

"Oh, a title! I didn't expect that," Matsuri sounded very excited, "Tap on it. I want to see what it is!"

'Didn't you see the screen before you sent it to me?' Ryan asked.

"I sent the knowledge of the spell to you, not the screen itself," Matsuri informed Ryan.

'I see,' Ryan nodded inquisitively before tapping the title.

Void Slayer:

By slaying the physical embodiment of the void, you have become the savior of the universe.

(+50 to all stats and resist to all darkness magic)

"That's really good! I wonder if the limiter is also limiting your titles," Matsuri said thoughtfully,

'I thought you would know this kind of thing,' Ryan looked upwards as if he were thinking about something.

"Hey, it's Kohiko's system, not mine," Matsuri instantly went to defend herself.

'Well, I'm going to go back to focusing on the people in front of me,' Ryan said.

"Alright! While you do that, I'm going to find a way to break the news to Suisei without getting killed," Matsuri replied.

'Good luck with that,' Ryan felt genuine pity for the goddess.

"Anyways, what level are all of you?" Ryan then looked up to the other four heroes, who were also looking at their screens, "It seems that I didn't start at level 1."

"Ah, neither did I," Yukimi said with a hint of excitement, "I'm actually level 16!"

"I'm level 23," Arias said.

"Huh, I'm level 36," Kamiisa looked a little shocked at the revelation, "That was higher than I expected."

"54," Reta said. Ryan looked at him to see if the boy would say anything else, but that only resulted in a glare.

"Well, I'm level 62, but I guess that's to be expected," Ryan said simply.

"54?! 62?!" Momiji's eyes bulged, "I can't believe it! I need to inform the king immediately! The guards will show you to your quarters."

With a hasty bow, Momiji ran out of the room, only to be replaced by five guards.

"Welcome, heroes," What seemed to be the leader of the guards addressed the small group, "Follow us. We will now show you where you will be staying until you start your journey."

With nothing else to do and nowhere else to go, the heroes followed the guards out of the room.

-

"Your highness!" The doors of the throne room burst as Momiji frantically ran in before kneeling, "I have news!"

King Alastaria straightened up on his throne as Momiji spoke. He knew that Momiji was always a little bit eccentric, but he was excited to learn about the heroes she had summoned. The war against the demon lord and his forces had taken a large toll on the kingdom and his mental health as a result.

"You may speak," Alastaria's tired yet commanding voice rang throughout the room.

"The heroes have been summoned successfully. Along with the four heroes that Kohiko-sama selected, Matsuri-sama has gracefully lent us her champion," Momiji reported.

"A champion of the light," Alastaria muttered to himself. It has been five hundred years since the goddess of light sent a champion to aid the kingdom. The Legend of the Hooded Sage is a bedtime story still told to the children of the kingdom.

"That is refreshing news," Alastaria nodded in approval.

"That's not all!" Momiji looked up at the king with a shine in her eyes, "Not one, but two of the heroes exceed level 50 already!"

"I see," The king let a small smile show. That meant that two of the heroes already surpassed the level of the first demon general without even needing to be trained.

"The goddess has truly blessed us," Alastaria looked up at the ceiling. Perhaps there was hope for this dying kingdom after all.

-

Suisei let out an exasperated sigh as she walked down the alleyway leading to KFP. To say that she was angry would be the understatement of the century. Date night was supposed to be three hours ago and Ryan was nowhere to be seen. Naturally, the first place Suisei would look was his place of employment.

"Oh, Suisei!" As soon as she crossed the threshold, Suisei came face to face with Kiara, who was closing up the restaurant, "How did your date go?"

"Ryan never showed up," Suisei said with an agitated tone, "I thought he was with you."

"Huh that's weird. Ryan seemed to be pretty eager to get back home for date night," Kiara put a finger on her chin.

"Well, if you don't know where he is, where could he be?" Suisei asked.

"I think I have an answer to that," The two turned to see Shade walking up to the duo, "Matsuri asked me to stop by here so I can explain the situation."

"What situation?" Suisei immediately tensed up, "Did you two do something to Ryan?"

"Well, yes and no," Shade rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, "You see, Ryan's currently in another world."

Kiara and Suisei looked at each other before looking back at Shade. Suisei then summoned her mythril axe and pointed it at the man, "You have a lot of explaining to do."