章節 2: Slashed Hope

If there is one thing I've always feared in life, it wasn't death. It was that my life would be lived without being acknowledged.

-Decisions, decisions.

With only a set amount of money-- a small amount at that, he found himself stumped at the decision placed before him. His eyes darted between the two games, on one hand, he could get "Star Beach Saga II" (A dating sim, which he wanted more, but at the cost of looking like an absolute lump on society's back) or "Battle Heroes: The New Star" (No cute girls, but filled with action, the "less degenerate" route in his decision). It was truly an arduous battle fought between the two halves of his brain.

"Maybe so, but I can't lie to myself..." He muttered to himself, drawing the gaze of the other shoppers within the store.

The young man reached forward, grabbing the plastic case labeled "Star Beach Saga II", tucking it under his arm to prevent prying gazes. Even if he would never see these people again--people that he shared no history but a few glances with, he couldn't get over their potential judgments of him. He knew these were irrational thoughts, the result of his brain deciding to not function properly, yet it was never somehow he could triumph.

I wasn't always like this--unable to rationalize others' perception of me.

Being locked up in your room eighteen hours a day has that effect, I guess. If I'm not completely running from any interaction, then I'm being ensnared by the simplest compliments. Any feeding of my ego leads me to trust whatever it is that person is saying.

I'm a guilible, useless sack of trash. Yup, that's me.

As an eighteen-year-old NEET, someone without any prospects in life, he was actually doing well for himself in terms of looks. Due to his father's genes, he had a healthy head of messy, black wool that almost looked blue under the right lighting.

He only managed to inherit some of his father's height, standing just a bit over the average for his age group. What really did him favors were the traits he got from his mother's side--the sharp look in his hazel eyes he inherited gave him a sophisticated look.

"--by fire, blood, and light, the link between two worlds is formed."

The young man perked up at the words that met his eardrums, turning side to side to face whoever was talking to him--nothing. There was nobody even facing him, and none of them matched the feminine voice he had heard.

"The hell was that?"

He hesitantly brushed it off, taking the game he set his sights on and approaching the counter.

"--Ren Nakamura, face the true expression of your destiny and head its calling: Ars Nebula."

This time, hearing his name, he froze in place as the words became clear to him.

"Who's there--?"

Turning to confront whoever was messing with him, everything shifted into complete darkness. It was impossible to tell if it was his own sight that had been robbed, or if he was really consumed by an enigmatic void of nothingness.

"H...help…"

The words left his lips, slipping away into the void. Only a slight hum filled his eardrums as he stood in this complete darkness, before soon--his senses returned. Instead of the tile flooring of the convenience store, he now felt the presence of something slippery under his shoes. The heavy, hard to breathe air that came with the convenience was gone, now his lungs filled with air so natural that it felt as if he had never experienced breathing until this moment. Finally, the darkness dissipated, or rather--the natural scenery faded in, revealing bountiful fields of emerald grass.

"...Am I dreaming?"

It was nowhere even close to being recognizable compared to the scenery he knew of his hometown. The mountains obscured by the tint of the azure skies above, the plethora of illustrious trees, unpaved roads of dirt, wherever he was--he wasn't home. Confusion and fear had taken place in his mind at equal measure, leaving him stunned as all he could do was process the sight in front of him.

"This isn't a dream."

A voice answered the question he aimed at nobody. It was feminine, sounding around his age, although there was nothing particularly frightening about her voice, it was the perplexing situation that caused him to hesitate.

"Is something the matter? Did the summoning mess up and cause you to land on your head?"

It sounded like a joke, but the tone she spoke in rang opposite of that theory. Mustering up his courage with a deep inhale, he slowly turned around to meet the pragmatic speaker.

Seeing her was almost like confirmation he was dreaming. Ren had never seen a girl with hair that so closely resembled gold, glowing faintly under the light of the sun. It was mesmerizing, draped over her shoulders as the wind tugged on it subtly.

Even more so than her locks, her pale, smooth skin and glistening emerald irises gave her an air of elegance like he had never seen. However, beauty aside, his mind lingered to what she had said.

"--Wait, did you say "summoning", you said that right?"

"I did."

She answered his question the second it left his mouth, her gaze not leaving him for a moment. Two and two began to add up in his head: the mysterious setting that resembled something out of a fantasy, the entire shift in scenery, and the white robes she wore that looked like someone an RPG cosplayer would wear.

"Was I...summoned into another world by chance?"

In any other situation, he would be a mad man to ask this question, even still, it felt odd to ask something like that. A moment of silence stood between the two as her gaze continued to linger on him while the winds pelted against the evergreen.

Amidst this field, isolated in a tranquil, cut-off section of nature that was sealed by both the looming mountains and thick forest, he finally felt alive for the first time in years.

"You're perceptive--that's good."

Her quick, nonchalant answer made her response take a moment to process in his brain as the gears began to shift inside his head.

"Wait, is that a yes?"

"Yes."

Excitement bubbled up within Ren as his suspicions had been confirmed--it really was the "summoned into a fantasy world" cliche, and he was all for it.

"Let me guess: there is a great, evil "Demon King" who is threatening humanity, so I was summoned into this world, as the all-powerful, charming hero to save the world?"

Ren asked with a confident smile, giving the girl a wink as he placed one hand on his jutted-out hips, attempting his best at holding a heroic pose, but more so looking like he was attempting to dance like he was straight out of the disco era.

"...yeah--that's right, there is a demon king threatening the safety of this world, that's why I summoned you."

"I see, I see, as I predicted. So where are the demons at? I want to test out my main character abilities as soon as possible!"

"Urr...there are none."

"What?"

"I mean--the demon king, it's a prophecy! You were summoned into this world early so that you could prepare for his attack! So right now, there are no demons to fight."

It was the first time he had seen the otherwise stoic woman get a bit flustered as she scrambled her words in a fit. Though her reaction to his question seemed fishy, he was just too engrossed in the very concept of the world he found himself in.

"Ah, makes sense. So what's your name?"

He asked, giving her a smile he copied from the men in shojo manga.

"Adelaide."

"Well I'm Ren--Ren Nakamura, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance!"

Introducing himself, he somehow managed to manifest a smile from the girl--a rare feat for the recluse who hadn't spoken to a girl in years. At the very least, with the exchange of names, it seemed her prickly, deadpan attitude had lightened up.