It was sudden, the summoning. One minute I was staring angrily at the person I have a crush on, and the next, everyone in my classroom is sitting awkwardly on a cold, marble floor.
It was also quiet. Scarily quiet, I'd say. But I'm not one to be scared of a little silence.
I quickly take in our surroundings before I do anything rash, but before I can do much of anything, a booming voice silences all.
"Welcome, travelers, to my palace. I have need of you rather soon, so let's get something straight first. You were summoned here to 'kill' the Demon King. You shall do nothing else, and once you have done so, you will be sent home with no memory of your travels. Before any of you say something rash, let it be known that I am a benevolent king, in that I am letting you sit in a rather unrefined way. Actually, I'd say I'm rather courteous as well, since I'm even allowing you to sit, and not bow or kneel in my presence."
By then, we'd all collected ourselves enough to just stand still in terror. The so-called king sitting on the throne above us continued, apparently benevolent enough to let us stand still and not 'kneel in his presence'.
"Now, I'd like for all of you to open up your [Status]s and tell me what you see so we can document it."
At that last sentence, almost everyone in my class looked up at him excitedly, with some not comprehending exactly what he was saying. To give you some background info, we were all classmates in the Game Development major in university. So, given this info, you should also infer that many played lots of games in their free time, and they knew what a [Status] was. I also knew what it was, but I only took that class because my crush was in it as well.
Some people chose to say "[Status]" out loud, while others stayed quiet. I was part of the quiet group. I just simply recited the word in my mind, and, lo and behold, a [Status] screen showed up in front of me. It was a transparent black screen with bright red writing on it.
I wasn't so naive to take my eyes off of the self-proclaimed king, in case he chose to do something underhanded while we were all distracted. And I was right to be wary. He had a creepy smile adorning his face as he whispered something to the person closest to him.
I tried to overhear what they said, but all that came back was some distorted sentences.
<The Demon kid. Kill her. Leave her in Demon territory. The Holy boy. Indoctrinate him. The rest. Leave alone. Don't bother unless necessary.>
I look back at my classmates, who are all still absorbed in their [Status] screens. They don't seem to doubt the so-called king at all, or maybe they do and just have their attention elsewhere currently.
I peek back at the presumed king, who is… staring at us curiously? Yeah, he seems suspicious. I shouldn't take my eye off of him. And he said something about sharing our [Status] screens? Yep, definitely evil. Because who in their right mind would share something so personal? Assuming I have the right idea about what a [Status] screen is.
In the meantime, while I look for any indication of the king's evilness, I think I'll take a look at the [Status] screen everyone seems so enamoured with. Like, seriously, why is everyone staring into space and moving their hand around awkwardly? Why can't they just not touch it? Or is it touch-screen only? Also, they should really be more aware of their surroundings or they'll get taken advantage of pretty quickly (and easily).
This is my... (fourth?) novel? I think? Well, either way, I think over 600 words is great for a first chapter! (considering 500 words is my average...)
So, how do you like it so far? Do you like the main character? What do you think of the king? Is he indeed self-appointed as the MC likes to think? Or is he the actual king of a country? And what do you think of the premise? Is it good? Interesting? I won't ask if it's unique, since I know it's not... But do you think I should do a little more world-building? Or do you hate it as much as I do?
We get to see the main character's [Status] next chapter! So tell me what you think of it then! I'll take in all suggestions and modify it! (Because it CAN be modified)
Anyway, I think that's all for now, so see you next chapter!
Bye~!