Call 'Status'

'Please check your status windows,' a clear voice rang out through the space.

A blue screen flashed amongst the darkness.

Status: Commoner (???)

---

3 hours earlier:

Ethan Oswald sat on the steps leading to the basketball hall. The hall itself was surprisingly empty of the presence of people and the corresponding noise created.

The reason for this was the huge ceremony happening in the auditorium; the graduation ceremony. Students of all years had been invited to congratulate the ones graduating but Ethan had no interest in this.

The first reason being he himself was 17 and just a first year student. The second was he was currently wallowing in sadness and hatred. His girlfriend of 3 years had not only broken up with him over money but had also been cheating on him with the school's 'voted-most-popular' student.

Ethan wasn't exactly what you'd call poor. Despite being an orphan, he'd been adopted by a relatively decent family. His father was a white collar worker at a decent post, while his mother owned a small time business. Ethan often helped her with it when he wasn't working part-time.

With that amount of income, he could easily sustain his basic necessities and even indulge in spending on games and consoles every now and then. Yet his girlfriend, Kelsey Williams, had dumped him, labelling him as 'poor' to curry favor from the school jock James Wilson who was the heir to the biggest investor in the entertainment industry.

Just as Ethan was brooding over the incident, a large golden patterned circle covering the entire area of the school appeared in the sky. Instantly, Ethan felt like he was being sucked in by something over his head. Before he could notice the golden circle, his surroundings whirled in his vision and he lost consciousness.

'Where am I?' thought Ethan as he woke up.

Darkness surrounded him for as far as he could see. He himself felt weightless and stumbled when he tried to walk. As he did so, he noticed a soft white glow emanating from his body.

'Did I die?' he mused. However he quickly discarded that idea after pinching himself and feeling that his body was physically present. Adjusting to the weightlessness, he walked ahead in no particular direction.

Just as he'd walked a few steps, a white flash of light appeared ahead, accompanied by a melodious voice.

'Welcome Earthlings,' said a translucent grey spirit emerging from the now disappearing flash of light. 'Earthlings?' Ethan looked to the side. Standing there were 3 figures which looked oddly familiar.

'Earthlings, you have been summoned by the Kingdom of Slunait.' continued the grey spirit. 'Since it's a summon by the kingdom, no transit fees would be charged. I will now send you the basic information of this world.'

Without waiting for affirmation, 4 orbs of light appeared in the darkness and each sped towards the 4 people faster than the eye could see.

Ethan didn't even have the time to panic before the orb passed through his forehead. All of a sudden, images flooded his mind.

The world from the light orb was a world where magic was present. It had both, humans and beasts. As one could expect, both factions raged war over resources such as territory and grain.

However the Kingdom of Slunait expected that it would lose if a war happened in the near future due to rumors of a powerful beast king and so used an ancient item passed down from generations to summon people to fight for him.

Legend dictated that summoned beings from another world would have immense power. The Kingdom of Slunait was betting on this very fact when summoning them.

As the images faded, the voice instructed them again. 'Earthlings, each of you have been given a gift. It will help you in the world and outline your abilities. To use it, please say Status.'

'Status,' Ethan called out softly.

A blue screen flashed amongst the darkness.

Name: Ethan Oswald

Job: Commoner (???)

Level: 0

MP: (???)

STR: 10

AGI: 11

VIT: 10

DEX: 15

INT: 12

Ethan frowned as he wondered how these stats ranked against the average person. His job concerned him the most; wasn't it supposed to be hero or summoned being by default as he was summoned? Also what was with those question marks?

Before he could ask anything, a flash of light blinded him and dizziness overcame him.

---

In the palace hall of the Kingdom of Slunait, a large golden patterned circle floated down to the ground. The space warped and 4 people appeared before the circle vanished.

'Welcome to the Kingdom of Slunait!' an overbearing voice rang out. Ethan slowly opened his eyes, taking in his surroundings. The owner of the voice was a middle aged man with thin squarish eyebrows and a thin lipped mouth. Behind him were several men in expensive official looking robes. The room itself was guarded by guards posted at the walls.

'Where am I now?' an annoyingly familiar voice asked. Looking to his right, Ethan saw James standing there. James seemed to notice him too and after a brief look of surprise, his lips curled into a sneer. Holding his hand was the owner of the voice, Kelsey. She too joined in sneering upon seeing him, mumbling under her breath. Seeing this, Ethan managed to make out that they had been teleported together or met in the darkness before.

A loud cough grabbed their attention. 'Ahem. Welcome to my Kingdom once again. I'm Saykut Slunait, the King of Slunait. As you might be knowing as summons, the ruthless bloodthirsty beasts may wage war in the following years. We have summoned you here to help protect humanity from this upcoming danger.'

As the king finished explaining, James stepped forward and expressed their intention to help. Ethan frowned at this. He hadn't agreed to help and he wasn't happy with how James was making a decision for everyone. Unfortunately, before he could object, the king who had been waiting for affirmation brought out a crystal ball.

'This is the highest grade magical item which will help assess your abilities. While summoned people are rumored to be able to see their own abilities, no one else can see it. Therefore, I request you to touch it one by one.'

Saying so, he passed the artifact to James. A soft white glow emitted and a ton of information was displayed.

Name: James Wilson

Job: Hero

Level: 1

MP: 50

STR: 50

AGI: 50

VIT: 50

DEX: 50

INT: 50

Ethan frowned at the obvious differences their status showed. Apart from James having all equal base stats, his level was also 1. He wondered why this was.

The rest of the hall was in amazed chaos. 'A hero! We have a hero!' they whispered delightedly. Understanding his stats were pretty good, he smirked and passed the artifact to Kelsey.

Kelsey's stats created a similar uproar as her job was a Holy Priest. It was a class which unleashed spells after reciting prayers. Smiling in satisfaction, she walked to stand proudly beside James.

A short girl with a fluffy bob-cut and dyed hair darted out next. With a shock, Ethan realized it was Lenne Mork, his classmate till junior high. While he didn't know her well, his impression of her portrayed her as a kind and clever girl with similar moral values as him. He watched as her job was revealed as a mage but what shocked him was her MP was attributed as 100 points!

Was this because of the mage job or were jobs chosen based on abilities? Ethan had a feeling it wasn't the latter... after all how could an arrogant b*stard get the hero job.

Finally it was his turn. Steeling himself for the inevitable, he placed his hand on the crystal.