Chapter 1: The Moment Is Here

In the simple hallway of a school, a young man could be found walking, and on his face not only a frown but eyes embedded with deep tiredness could be found, as each of his steps carried a weight being just his body.

Those sluggish movements together with his messy hair, rugged clothes, and crocked posture showed a rather unsightly image.

However, it did not end there, as the people around noticed this state, and not only that, they seemed to have words for him beyond his current state, as whispers and comments began to circulate.

"Just look at him, he's such a weirdo... Why didn't the school expel him yet, he's clearly not a person who deserves anything good."

"I don't know, honestly I can't believe it... I mean if it's true they would have already arrested him, right?"

"He's a real monster… like one of those guys who's not right in the head, he shouldn't be here with us, it's so creepy."

"Yeah, I can't even relax anymore since I don't know if some crazy guy will just attack me in school, great…"

"I mean… I don't know, It's probably just a rumor, right?"

"It's not! I have a friend whose sister's best friend, has a cousin who's boyfriendʼs younger brother was there when it happened. The police took him."

"That doesn't mean anything… I don't think we can know for sure until someone gets arrested."

"I'll stay away from that creep regardless."

The talking did not stop and as he continued to walk, the boy heard more and more from various different people, more and more of the same.

This caused his breathing to accelerate as he began to hold his chest and more and more voices could be heard.

"It was your fault…"

"You're clearly a monster…"

"Someone like you didn't deserve to be born."

"I guess this is why the death penalty ever existed."

Their words became closer as he found himself completely surrounded by these people, like shadows growing bigger the longer he heard them, saying more and more, and his breathing only got worse as he found himself not having a breath.

"This is the only way a creature like you should end."

"You're not even human anymore, so you shouldn't have rights…"

"This is what you get for what you did…"

"I don't understand why I ever believed in you… You're even this quick to find new happiness after what you did, truly disgusting. You know you don't deserve that." One last shadow was the biggest of completely towering over him.

"I failed… I was a coward… I didn't want to… It was my fault… I don't deserve this…" The boy said to himself as tears began to accumulate in his eyes.

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"It… It was my fault… I don't deserve this…" Alaric let out as he was shaking in his dream.

"… Young man… Are you ok?" The man with him inside the royal carriage shook him, to wake him up.

"Aaahhh!…. *Huff* *Huff* *Huff*…" Alaric out of reflex pulled out his weapon and turned it into a sword that almost stabbed the man who woke him up, leaving a cut wound on the man's cheek.

"It… It…. IT…. Is a go- g- Good! Thing you are awake!" The man was trembling in fear after almost getting killed by such a simple gesture.

"I'm very sorry!" Alaric had an awkward smile as he recalled his formless weapon and stiffened not knowing what to say after what he almost did.

"He he he he... This is but a scratch, not a big deal at all!" The man forced a wide smile as he laughed but his tears did not allow him to be convincing.

"No, allow me." Alaric put his hand on the man's cheek and then chanted. "Water Heal(Minor)."

A water sphere appeared and engulfed the wound on the man's face, then began glowing green making it heal, as some blood came out as the small wound began closing.

"Th… Thank you!… I heard you were immensely talented but this is incredible! For a 14-year-old boy to use water healing in such a precise manner! You truly are as prodigious as the rumors say, your master must have been truly someone amazing!" The man was mesmerized and began praising the boy completely blown away by his ability.

"I'm self-taught." Alaric replied casually.

"Hahahahahahaha! That's a great one, you also have a sense of humor. You are bound to be popular in the capital. Many mages prefer to keep to themselves so, I understand." The man didn't even stop to consider the possibility of what Alaric said being true, after all, it was simply too absurd to ever be possible.

"Yeah…. Haha…" Alaric didn't want to bother trying to convince the man of something he knew would not be accepted.

(But what was that dream?…. I don't remember anything like that, but it felt so vivid like I had seen those faces and heard those words before… It must have been just a nightmare… Yeah…) Alaric concluded as he shook off the thought of a bad dream.

Eventually, the carriage reached the Mormial Kingdom's capital.

"Welcome to the capital city of Raphtal! The Den Of Heroes!" The man enthusiastically announced.

In front of them stood a large city with big tall walls and one of four main entrance gates with a near-matching size.

Standing there were the various knights and soldiers working as gate guards, and watchers for the city. All of them wearing bronze armor and equipment.

The gate in front of them was the southern gate, slowly approaching as they got closer.

"So the stories about the local heroes of the capital are true?" Alaric asked as the carriage went through the main gate.

"Yes! Due to the influence of the great hero of Raphtal, Sir BunBun! The city has been mostly full of adventurers, soldiers, and knights with heroic spirits." The man expressed with a wide smile.

They passed the area of the outer layer also known as the common layer before the second wall. The place where most inhabitants could be found and the biggest layer.

The guards on that wall were all wearing iron armor and equipment.

While the carriage was going through, a man passed by and grabbed a sack from another man's hand before running off, escaping rather easily.

"You were saying…" Alaric looked at this happening a bit confused.

"Hahaha… he will surely be caught…" The man replied.

A similar scene would be found 3 more times before they passed the second wall and entered the commerce layer, where most of the shops, and markets could be found, and the second-largest layer, right before the third wall.

The guards on that wall were all wearing silver armor and equipment.

"I thought you guys had local heroes." Alaric pointed out.

"It's just complicated lately. After most of the 12 commanders were sent off to lead expeditions against the forces of Yovit and The Dark Lord, most of the heroes volunteered to go with them, so crime rose significantly, as the knight's circles are also understaffed because of this conflict." The man explained with a weak smile.

"That's unfortunate…" Alaric nodded.

The trip from there continued to be undisturbed aside from the noise the merchants made trying to promote their products.

"Come and buy shine rune lamps! Light up your house without the need for fire for days on end!"

"Buy Naga poison here!"

"No! Go for the better Boitatá poison here!"

"Have you ever wanted to slice a boulder in two without any effort? Well, here at a very cheap price of 75 bronze coins! A bronze sword!"

"Bronze?! Real adventurers use Iron swords like the ones here! 1 silver for a sword! Never seen have such low prices been!"

"Get your two bronze magic rings here! Choosing from a varied array of effects!"

"Moon Silver and Sun Gold ore! Both available for you! Only the rarest for you!"

Many voices could be heard, as they continued to enter the noble layer, after the third wall. As expected, it had the most luxurious homes and structures altogether with a much more refined look than all that came before.

"How quiet..." Alaric noted that it was very silent in comparison to the last layer.

"Yes, this area tends to be… Anyway, we'll soon reach the palace." The man said.

Soon they did, as the carriage stopped in front of the fourth and last wall, the one surrounding the palace and its immediate surrounding area, also known as the royal layer.

"We are finally here young Alaric, please allow us to go inside." The man left the carriage.

The boy followed him and as they approached the gate, they were stopped by the royal guards who wore gold armor and equipment as opposed to the ones from before.

(Why are they wearing gold?… isn't that super impractical?) Alaric wondered as he thought of his knowledge of gold in relation to his old reality, and the universe where Earth resided.

Before he could worry about that anymore though, a notification from his system came up.

[Warning! Warning! Master! Two awakened Hoarders have been detected in the palace's vicinity]

(What?!… So some people already awakened their superpowers?… I still have to work for that… damn it, I hope they aren't too much trouble… Two of them at once nonetheless…) Alaric smiled awkwardly upon receiving such a warning from the system.

"Oh, look at that, you're finally back. So that's the prodigy kid from a small town? He looks pretty scary for a kid. How old are ya son?" One of the guards greeted the man and by extension Alaric, when he saw them.

"… 14…" Alaric forced a smile as he could never get used to being treated this way despite being a kid outside.

"Hahaha! That's really impressive, he might actually do something great." The guards all began laughing.

"He's pretty amazing actually, he healed my cheek from a cut with water magic. He's no joke." The man decided to add seeing their behavior.

"Damn, that's cute. In a few years back years, he might be able to heal a real injury. Hahaha!" The guards continued to laugh it off.

Their comments, jokes, and conversation went on for a bit as if they were ignoring the presence of Alaric and the man guiding him.

(These are the royal guards? Really?) Alaric rolled his eyes at the display.

"Anyway, just let us through..." The man finally brought up after being there unable to stop them for a while.

"Wait up, you'll have to stay here until the Barone- I mean, Baron, the Baron gets here. Since the kid comes from his territory, he'll have to be there, and all that noble stuff. It doesn't matter, just be patient." The guard explained with a sigh and an expression filled with disinterest.

(Oh… that could have been a bit annoying.) Alaric tensed up for a second but then sighed in relief.

"The Baron? Do you mean Baro-" The man was about to ask when the gates opened.

"I present to you the young master of the Baron family of Regali! Luscious Regali!" A brown-haired woman with dark skin, pointy ears, and yellow eyes in a maid outfit introduced the young man next to her.

"I am the great son of the baron and it is your pleasure to meet me-…. It's you! It's him! Get him away from me! Kill this barbaric monster!" The young man immediately hid behind the maid woman.

However, Alaric was not the most surprised to meet the guy he vowed to kill, the young master of the Regali family, no, what surprised him the most was the woman next to him, someone he had not seen in years.

"Sylvia?" Alaric was confused to see the woman right before him.

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-Mormial Kingdom; Raphtal City; Royal Palace; Throne Room-

In a large room, adorned with various expensive-looking paintings, vases, a few sculptures, and a contrast between the colors blue and golden, among other things, there were several individuals, most of which wore their armor or robes, waiting as they stood with the posture one would expect from a soldier.

That was not all, as three other individuals different from those standing in wait, could be found in the room, and those were none other than the King, the Queen, and the royal adviser.

High-end figures of the kingdom, most wouldn't dare disrespect in their wildest dreams, and all three of them, waiting for what was to come, with the type of posture that their status would call for.

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-Mormial Royal Palace; Underground Area; Summoning Room-

While the Royals were stuck waiting in the throne room, the cause of it, was the hero summoning, a powerful ritual performed in order to summon heroes from another world.

As a last resort used when the world finds itself in peril and lacks naturally born heroes. That same ritual was just performed by the princess of the Mormial Kingdom.

At that moment, like many other places, all of them used a cosmic event to their advantage, performing such a ceremony the correct way. From the Dark Celestial Empire all the way to the Mormial Kingdom, Mirth would never be the same after this mass summoning of heroes from another world.

Soon in the summing room of the Mormial Royal Palace's underground area, 4 people, appeared in the middle of a summoning circle.

Brought to this world by forces they did not know much less understand, the four of them could only look around in confusion as they took in the new scenery and tried to make sense of it.

There were two boys and two girls all looking to be in their late teens older than the current Alaric. Except for one of the girls who looked younger than the rest.

The first guy had orange hair, styled similar to a lion's mane with fierce yellow eyes and a tanned skin tone. In terms of physique, he was quite muscular but nothing like a bodybuilder. He was 1,90m(6'2ft) tall and was wearing a blue shirt with black pants.

"Would you look at this... Quite the fancy place if you ask me... Didn't expect them to choose the premium dungeon when I got kidnapped, but I guess life has all kinds of turns. Those criminals really went all out…" The orange-haired young man, was the first one to react to his surroundings with a weak smile as he looked around curiously.

To the side, the second guy had black hair and eyes, with a tired maybe bored look on his face. His physique was average with not much muscle or fat. Finally, he was wearing an open black jacket with a white T-shirt inside, while on his legs black jeans and black shoes with white soles. Quite shorter than the last one, he was standing at 1,80m(5'9ft).

"How... Appropriate it is, that I would end up in a place like this… Am I truly alive or is this hell?… Wait, where are the wrinkles on my hands?!" The black-haired young man commented with a confused expression and voice, but in contrast to that he had an actual smile on his face.

After the two, there was the girl, who had green hair styled into curtain bangs with a bun on the back and orange eyes, looking to be one of the calmest out of the four.

Her physique wasn't too out there, she was slim with a bit of muscle. As for her outfit, she was wearing a long-sleeved white cropped top with yellow baggy pants that stopped a little best below her knees, and yellow shoes with white soles. As for height, she was 1,72cm(5'6ft).

"... Why am I here? I should be burning in hell or in the embrace of the abyss… I didn't want to be here anymore… Why?!" As soon as she took notice of her surroundings and heard the other two, the green-haired young woman found herself crying.

Right next to her, there was the second girl who had red hair styled as dreads in twin tails with front bangs, and her eyes were different as the left one was red and the right one was red with a snowflake-like white symbol at the center of it.

When it came to their physique, she was slim and had no noticeable muscles. In terms of outfit, she was wearing a white old-fashioned blouse with long leather black gloves covering the rest of her arms, while on the bottom side, she had a blue high waist rise mini skirt with web black stockings and black closed high heels.

All that couldn't distract from her long sharp ears or the fact that she was the shortest standing at 145cm(4'9ft) of height.

"He got what he deserved… that little monster… Where am I? Why am I here?… I should be gone… I'm so short now… and my wrinkles…" The red-haired girl crouched and began lightly poking her own cheek as she thought.

Next to her, there was a black blob clinging onto her like a child to a mother, and there was something about it that also got her attention.

"It's you, little monster… isn't it? That disgusting aura of yours, I could see it anywhere… it seems you became the disgusting little critter you deserved to be, so I'll forgive you like a good mother." The red-haired girl picked up the black blob looking at it with a sadistic smile.

The black blob began moving slowly in the red-haired girl's hands as if to affirm her words.

The four of them were very disoriented and lost on what to do at all, questioning the very realness of the events taking place at all.

"Just what is that thing?... It's disgusting… so this has to hell, right?" The green-haired asked as she saw the black blob move on its own, making her back away slowly from the weird moving substance.

"It looks like that slime thing kids like to play with... My daughter was obsessed with making more of it at some point... but then again, they are actually pretty good stress relievers if you have nothing better to do." The orange-haired young man interjected upon noticing the black blob.

"Slime looks nothing like that disgusting thing!" The green-haired girl replied with a frown.

"Well... While I'm of a similar opinion since it's just moving... It looks more like a slime, as in the RPG monster... Assumptions aside, kid what's that thing? Some new toy?" The black-haired young man looked at the red-haired girl as he asked the question.

"I'm not a child, and he's not a toy. He's my little monster, my second son." The red-haired girl replied as she moved forward and lifted the black blob from the ground to her hold.

"Don't touch it! That thing looks dangerous." The green-haired young lady warned seeing how carefreely this girl who looked about 11-12, was just interacting with this weird thing.

"I have… had two sons... What even was my name? Leopold… I'm Leopold!" Leopold rubbed his forehead as he thought about the situation.

"Leopold… Leopold… That's my dad… Is that really your name?" The black-haired young man got a bit closer as he questioned, his head all fuzzy from this whole experience.

"Of course, I am… wait… Fritz?" Leopold narrowed his eyes as he looked at the black-haired young man, thinking and trying to recall.

"Dad?!… What?! How?! Why are you so young?… your hair… even your skin… what is going on??" Fritz could only question everything.

"I don't know… my memory is all fuzzy… I remember talking to women who claimed to be Gods, but anything before that feels like a fever dream." Leopold was just as if not more confused.

"Yeah! I remember now, that! The two Goddesses talked about reincarnation! We were supposed to die! But instead reincarnated as summoned heroes! Just like in isekai stories!" Fritz's memories got clearer.

"Yeah… that... I think…" Leopold was still as confused.

As they were talking, the green-haired young woman walked up to the big metal door that was the only exit to the room in sight, only to confirm that it was in fact locked, and it didn't look like it could be forcefully opened any more than the walls.

"Great! I'm stuck here with this damned family again! Somehow!" The green-haired young woman walked to a wall and sat there covering her face.

"Heather?…" Fritz asked, sighing at the expected locked door.

"Shut up, doofus, leave me alone!" The green-haired young lady responded with a middle finger to boot.

"Yup, it's her alright…" Fritz nodded with a sigh.

As no one, said anymore, Fritz continued. "So… if we are all here… that means… Mom?"

2 meters, the moment Fritz, got close enough, the red-haired girl, got one hand off the black blob, and almost in an instant, put her hand under her skirt which confused everyone, but before anyone had time to make their own assumptions, she pulled out a Musket from under her skirt and pointed it at Fritz's face.

The musket wasn't normal and had a round crystal sphere, where one would typically reload.

The shock at this turn of events was unanimous, as the others all froze in place, unsure of what to make of the situation.

The most logical answer was that it was a toy, but even if that was the case, where was she keeping it all this time? There was nowhere she could have kept it outside of their view, so how?

That doubt alone was enough to confuse and stop them in their tracks as the line between what is real and isn't is getting a bit blurry, and only being drugged could explain this, but who would be the first to test that theory?

None of them wanted to be the test subject afraid of that small percentage of probability that says this is real, and they could be shot.

"Mom? If that's you, calm down… it's me, Fritz! Your first son!" Fritz with both his hands up, couldn't help but smile awkwardly at having a gun pointed at him.

Right as this was happening, the metal big door began opening, four armored individuals came in followed by a young woman in an expensive-looking antique dress.

Before anyone inside the room said anything, one of the armored individuals looked at Black blob, and immediately charged at him with a sword in hand.

This obviously caught the attention of the red-haired girl, as she began to instead look at the armored person charging at her.

Seeing this as an opening, Fritz tried to tackle the red-haired girl not thinking too deeply about the decision, and more so acting on instinct, since the gun was still pointed at him.

In a demonstration of finesse, the red-haired girl evaded Fritz with ease, before shooting at the armored person with her musket.

"8th Degree shot." The red-haired girl announced.

The shot was loud and most closed their eyes as an involuntary reaction, and then opened them to find the armored person, completely frozen in place with actual ice, like a more gruesome version of what those fancy ice sculptures would look like.

"... I almost froze to death... That's both terrifying and exhilarating..." Fritz commented making everyone come to realize that this just actually happened.

Chapter end