The Awakening

James Francis Wright believed himself to be a completely and utterly average individual.

From the dark hair reaching his neck, to the bright but at the same time dead hazel eyes and the slightly gaunt cheeks. All made so by the all-nighters he had to pull to sustain an average grade in a subject he'd chosen for college thinking it'd be easy.

Hell the only thing that stood out was a small scar on his left cheek, thanks to certain youthful indiscretions, and his somewhat athletic form, thanks to a young idiot who dreamed too big when it came to football.

So yes, all in all, painfully average.

The sort you could find anywhere if you were willing to look hard enough.

Yes...

Average...

With nothing interesting about him...

How was it then that he was in the middle of a plain with nothing but strange trees and grass all around?! Surrounded by a convoy of hardcore crusader cosplayers that responded to each question with a punch to the gut or face and curses?!

He'd studied, fucked off to some party hosted by a dude that peaked in high school, gotten piss drunk and passed out, all the while shouting about how the world was unfair. Was he hallucinating or something? No... James had done that before after his mum forced him to wear a shirt that had way too tight a collar and threatened to smack his ass if he complained. This shit was way too real.

"Damn, that was some good beer... No, wait..."

"Shut up!"

"Some magical beer."

The gentle breeze softly caressing his skin was a welcome change, he liked the sight of nature, tall grass and birds chirping overhead. Hell, James didn't even mind the cold metal chains sinking into his skin, "That's strange." It was like his body wasn't even registering the pain that should've been there.

"Er, gentlemen..." He turned to his captors for the umpteenth time and smiled politely, holding up his bound hands, "While I'm always down for some kinky action, I'm afraid my tastes differ drastically from yours."

"If you don't shut up, you'll be responsible for what comes next, heathen!" The cosplayer barked back, his brow furrowed and veins bulging out on his shiny bald head. He threateningly held a hand over the hilt of the sword tied to his waist.

James drew in a sharp breath at his actions and his captor released a sigh, thankful for his silence only to regret his action the next moment, "Heathen? Come now, you're the one who has a student all chained up. If anything, I should be the one judging you."

"You were found sleeping with a monster! Halfbred scum!"

The student gasped at his words, "If you mean that literally..." James looked down, his expression masked by his hair. His captors were foolish enough to think that he was ashamed and regretted his indiscretion, "DAMN, good going me!" He showed a toothy grin that shined past the dirt and grime on his face, momentarily numbing the trained professional knights.

But well, did that mean he'd missed the whole waking up in another world part while drunk? Come to think of it, he did remember coaxing a suspiciously well dressed individual with too developed a vocabulary for a college party into a drink.

James shrugged, "Live in the moment I say!"

"What? Is that meant to excuse the situation you were found in?" A much calmer feminine voice asked monotonously. James whipped his head around to come face to face with an astoundingly beautiful but mechanically stoic asian woman with short black hair wearing a dull metal chest plate and a half sleeved white coat that went down to her armoured knees.

This contrasted with the rest who wore bland crusader-like 'costumes' without the religious symbols of course, complete with capes that could be used to conceal their affiliation should the need arise.

"Are you the boss? I gotta say, this little troupe is a little inconsistent..." He gestured to the other knights with his head, "Those guys are clearly European, why the hell is their leader an Asian? A Jap? Are you those types that go around shouting Japanese after watching anime... I like the 'Nothing matters' vibe tho."

Disgust was apparent on his face.

For a fraction of a second the woman's expression faltered, and she clenched the hand she had around her sword. James noted she didn't carry a shield and broadsword like the rest, but a thin tool that could barely be called one.

That was all he got to note before she jammed the hilt of her 'sword' into his guts making him involuntarily wince and jerk upright... Only to realise he didn't feel the blow the next second, "Hahahahaha! A plastic toy, damn. You got me. What's next, you gonna twiddle that around and shout out justice?"

The woman in question quickly jumped back, fast enough to be a blur and appeared on a thicker branch of a nearby tree.

"What's wrong? Hinata-sama?" One of the knights asked the woman, confused.

"Oh... shit."

It was then that James actually realised his situation. His earlier joke about being in a different world had been correct. Why? Well cause people don't just disappear from one spot and appear in another. That or it was one of those conspiracies come true and he'd been kidnapped and put into a VR that there was nowhere near enough technological development to implement.

"Get ready for combat! Mages to the back. Those with swords, form an encirclement. Don't take your eyes off him!" The woman shouted out orders, "I do 

That realisation brought up another question, why hadn't he felt the blow?

"I... Did I really miss the powers part cause I was drunk?"

Curiously, he raised his hands and jerked them, whistling when the chains around them popped and snapped off like cheap plastic. The knights immediately drew their swords and held them out, readying themselves for imminent combat.

James heaved a sigh, and facepalmed. He then proceeded to forget his turmoil and tilt his head in confusion at the protrusion he could feel above his right eye. He grabbed it with his hand and when he realised he couldn't grab it whole, traced it with his index finger eventually reaching the top.

"It's pointy and long... Sounds like my di-... Do I have a dick on my forehead?!"

"What is wrong with you?! It's a horn! Actually, how did you not know that?" One of the overly responsive knights managed to confuse himself.

"No shit it's a horn, do you want an award for that intellectual deduction? A Nobel Peace prize?"

"But... But, you were the one wh-"

"Dunno what you're talking about." James shrugged shamelessly, "Ah I wish someone would just explain this shit..."

'Affirmed, Unique Skill Realist will temporarily assume control under effects of sub-skill Persona.' A cold, mechanical voice echoed in his head and James lost control over his own body.

'Great, my power can just take control whenever it wants.'

"Negative, Realist possesses no ego. There is no 'it'."

Suddenly, the air around him shifted and the disarmingly harmless expression on his face changed into one devoid of any and all emotion. The hazel eye under his horn changed into a golden colour and scanned it's surroundings, eventually settling on the commander, Hinata.

"He has a skill." She whispered under her breath, tightly clenching her sword.

"Individual possesses multiple skills. Threat confirmed. Plotting optimal course of action..." James was currently surrounded by enemies, in an unfamiliar land, with multiple unfamiliar flora and fauna and no technology in sight. Civilization going by his captors was at the level of the Dark Ages.

Stoically, 'James' moved his head to look at a thin looking knight and bum rushed him, tossing him through the air like an empty ball before disappearing into the nearby forest.

"That's just what I was planning to do-"

'...Eventually.' The strange power finished his words for him, and his control returned. James didn't stop however and accepted it's decision to put as much distance between himself and the cosplaying weirdos/otherworldly knights as possible as soon as possible.

"I swear I can feel it's disappointed for some reason."

He could've goaded them into saying a bunch of shit that would've helped with the lay of the land.

If he looked back, he'd notice that no one was following him anyway.

Well, the knights were but they were so outpaced that it seemed like a 90 year old heart patient trying to catch up to Usain Bolt. Their commander only stared at the retreating Otherworlder's back in curiosity.

This was the only time that a young Hinata Sakauguchi would let the eccentric visitor from her own world go on account of him clearly having no idea where he was... She'd have helped him like her teacher helped if he just stuck around.

=

There we go.

So, from what's in this chapter. He has one unique skill levels below Great Sage in terms of being able to answer him, it seems to just plot the best course of action while disregarding how 'people' work, based solely on logic. He may have more. Also that he's not human and has a horn, wonder what that means.

What he actually did while drunk is something I plan to reveal as part of next chapter.

The Hinata Sakauguchi he encountered isn't the high ranked leader that took a nation to war, it's the same person. Just way back in the time line, when she wasn't as rigid as she is when meeting Rimuru but the one who just ran away from her teacher and joined up with the Western Church Knights.

If you didn't watch the anime or read the WN or LN, don't mind it. I'll explain it all as it comes up. The explanation for the upper chapter is in the next chapter I'll post.