The grand hall was suffocatingly silent, save for the frantic, panicked breathing of twenty high school students. Above us, suspended in a halo of ethereal light, the entity looked down.
She was exactly what a human brain would hallucinate if asked to picture divinity. She wore a pure white outfit accented with immaculate gold armor that clung to her perfectly proportioned figure. Her long, flowing hair was a brilliant platinum blonde, woven with literal strands of shimmering gold that seemed to float in zero gravity. But it was her eyes that demanded absolute submission—two pools of molten gold that held immense power, yet utterly lacked warmth.
"Welcome, children of another world," her voice echoed, ringing directly inside our skulls rather than traveling through the air. "I am Kamiya, the Observer of the Cascadia World."
The classroom erupted.
"Where are we?!"
"Let us go back! I have cram school!"
"Is this a dream? It has to be a dream!"
While the rest of the Vanguard and the Enablers lost their minds, I remained perfectly still in the back of the group. I let my dull eyes sweep the room. Across the marble floor, Tatsuya Minato had his hands stuffed into his oversized hoodie. He wasn't panicking either. His gray eyes darted around, analyzing the architecture. Like me, Tatsuya was a gamer; he understood the fundamental rules of the board we had just been placed on.
I felt a strange, bubbling sensation in my chest. An Isekai. It was actually happening. I was going to experience a fantasy adventure. No more part-time jobs. No more eating stale convenience store bread alone in a cramped dorm. My boring life was over.
"Everyone, calm down!"
A commanding voice cut through the hysteria. Hiroto Kiya, the Class Leader, stepped to the front of the group. He pushed his rectangular glasses up his nose, his navy-blue hair immaculate despite the dimensional travel. "Panic will not solve anything! If this being brought us here, she must have a reason. We need to listen first and assess the situation!"
It was sickeningly cliché, but it worked. The students, desperate for the familiar hierarchy of Class 1-A, rallied behind Hiroto's leadership and quieted down.
Goddess Kamiya’s golden eyes curved into an impressed, benevolent smile. "A wise leader. Yes, you were summoned for a grand purpose. The world of Cascadia is on the brink of ruin, plagued by the armies of the Demon Lord. I have brought you here to act as Cascadia's Heroes. To eliminate the darkness, and to use your otherworldly knowledge to help humanity advance."
With a wave of her pale hand, she summoned a massive, translucent blue interface that hovered in the air.
"To aid you in your survival and growth, Cascadia operates on a System," Kamiya explained, her voice like a soothing melody. "The System is governed by Ranks. Listen closely."
Rank E (Levels 1–20): Novices, ordinary militia, and basic frontier settlers.
Rank D (Levels 21–50): Seasoned mercenaries, town guards, and capable frontier hunters.
Rank C (Levels 51–90): Local champions, elite knights, and dangerous wilderness monsters.
Rank B (Levels 100–150): Calamity-class entities. Walking disasters capable of destroying small armies.
Rank A & S (Levels 150–300+): Continental legends, high-level demon generals, the Church's greatest Heroes, and my direct angels.
"There are whispered legends of Rank SS and SSS," Kamiya mused, "but no mortal has ever achieved them. As for myself? I am the Observer. My existence is beyond the System's calculations."
She raised her arms, and the ceiling of the temple began to glow. "Normal humans of Cascadia begin at Level 1, Rank E. But you are my Chosen. You shall start at Rank B, instantly surpassing level 100. Step forward and receive my blessing."
The students, their fear now replaced by intoxicating arrogance and awe, stepped forward.
One by one, they were bathed in a column of divine light. Hiroto Kiya received his blessing, his body radiating a powerful blue aura before he vanished into thin air, teleported to the world below. Maki, Kento, Airi—the Vanguard—all glowed with immense elemental power and disappeared.
Even Tatsuya Minato, the quiet gamer, received a blessing. He smirked slightly as a dark grey aura enveloped him, and he vanished. Finally, Shiori Asano stepped up. Her soft dark hair fluttered, the lavender underlayer flashing brilliantly in the holy light. She cast one final, hesitant glance back at me before the magic swallowed her.
Then, there was only me.
I stood in the center of the vast, empty marble hall. The grand, benevolent warmth of the temple suddenly felt freezing cold.
A small blue window popped up directly in front of my retinas.
[STATUS]
Name: Kyouya Kusanagi
Level: 1 | Rank: E
HP: 10 | SP: 10 | MP: 10
STR: 10 | AGI: 10
INT: ∞
Skills: - [Night Vision] (Level C)
[Hidden] (Level ∞)
Level 1? Rank E? I analyzed the board. The stats were absolute garbage, comparable to a weak peasant. But that intelligence stat... Infinity? It was being masked by my [Hidden] skill, shielding the true depths of my cognitive processing from the Goddess's network.
The atmosphere in the room violently snapped.
I looked up. Goddess Kamiya was no longer glowing with a benevolent halo. Her beautiful face had twisted into a grotesque, terrifying sneer. The divine mask had fallen, revealing the arrogant, calculating tyrant beneath.
"How repulsive," Kamiya spat, her voice dripping with venom. She floated closer, her golden eyes glaring down at me as if I were a cockroach that had crawled onto her pristine altar. "Level 1. Rank E. Your physical stats are less than a goblin's."
She waved her hand, aggressively swiping at the air as if trying to clear a bad smell. "And this intelligence reading? 'Infinity'? Ha! A pathetic System glitch caused by your overwhelming inferiority. You are a defective anomaly. The magic circle must have accidentally scooped up a piece of trash along with the actual Heroes."
I stood silently, my ahoge swaying slightly in the cold draft of the temple.
Kamiya’s brow twitched. Her scary, mocking smile faltered into genuine annoyance. "Why aren't you crying? Why aren't you begging for a crumb of my power? You are nothing! You are a mistake!"
My mind raced, cold and detached. Ah. I see. "Why... why... why..." I muttered, my voice low, staring at the polished marble floor.
"What was that, worm?" Kamiya hissed.
"Why is it always the same?" I asked, lifting my head. My dull, lifeless eyes locked onto her burning golden ones.
First, it was my parents. They looked at my quiet demeanor, my lack of conventional enthusiasm, and labeled me 'useless.' They threw me away like a broken toy. I had survived on my own. I had forged my own path in a gray, boring world. I had looked forward to this summoning. I just wanted to experience a fantasy adventure manga. I wanted to see ships and magic, to explore a world that actually mattered.
But no. Even in a new universe, the authority figures were exactly the same. Arrogant. Blind. Despicable.
Kamiya threw her head back and laughed—a shrill, manic sound that echoed off the pillars. "Because you are useless! You have no value to my Cascadia! Go die in the dark, useless anomaly!"
She snapped her fingers.
The marble floor beneath my feet vanished. There was no divine light this time. Just a sudden, violent plunge into absolute, suffocating blackness.
As the wind roared in my ears and the freezing darkness swallowed me, my dull Earth persona finally shattered. I felt the System override my physical form. My messy black hair lengthened, vibrant streaks of dark violet bleeding into the strands. My eyes, once lifeless and black, ignited into brilliant, glowing rings of amethyst.
You ruined my adventure, Kamiya, I thought, the cold logic of my infinite intelligence weaving together a singular, terrifying goal. So I will take your world, destroy it, and burn your pantheon to the ground.
Location: The Eastern Continent, Meridiana - Frontierra Nation
Far above the abyss, the sun shone brightly on the northern reaches of the Eastern Continent.
Inside the grand, stained-glass cathedral of the Frontierra Nation, Shiori Asano and five other students (three males, two females) blinked against the morning light. They were immediately surrounded by high-ranking clergy members and knights clad in polished steel.
"Welcome, Holy Heroes!" a beautiful Saintess proclaimed, bowing deeply before Shiori. "The Frontierra Nation has awaited your arrival. Please, lend us your strength to protect our borders from the demonic scourge!"
Shiori looked around the majestic cathedral, her heart pounding. But as she gripped her new magical staff, her eyes lingered on the shadows of the pillars, subconsciously searching for a boy with an ahoge who wasn't there.
Location: The Eastern Continent, Meridiana - The Sunderland
In the harsh, industrial south of the same continent, thick black smoke billowed from factory chimneys.
Hiroto Kiya and his five male friends stood in the courtyard of a massive military fortress in The Sunderland. They were greeted not by priests, but by stern, battle-hardened military commanders armed with early matchlock muskets infused with fire magic.
"You are the Goddess's Vanguard?" a scarred General barked, looking at Hiroto's glowing blue aura. "Good. We have a war to win, and industries to protect. Follow me, boys."
Hiroto pushed up his glasses, a confident, heroic smile crossing his face. "We won't let you down, General."
Location: The Western Continent, Cresthaven - Vaeloria Kingdom
On the opposite side of the world, separated by a massive, treacherous ocean, the Vaeloria Kingdom sat entirely landlocked, surrounded by immense mountain ranges.
Here, in a traditional, highly religious medieval castle, Tatsuya Minato and seven other students materialized. The air was thick with the smell of incense and traditional holy magic. The king of Vaeloria himself descended from his throne to welcome the eight heroes who would supposedly secure the Western Continent's absolute supremacy.
Tatsuya simply pulled his headphones over his ears, his grey eyes scanning the medieval knights. Too traditional, he thought. This zone is going to be a grind.
Location: The Outland - Unmapped Territory
But the world of Cascadia held secrets the Goddess’s map did not show.
In the exact center of the treacherous ocean, hidden by perpetual magical storms and deadly currents, lay an island known only in forbidden texts as The Outland. It was the most dangerous place on the planet.
Deep beneath the jagged black rocks of the island lay an ancient, multi-layered dungeon. And at the very bottom, in the deepest, darkest throne room where no holy light had ever reached, a creature sat in silence.
She sat upon a massive throne carved from obsidian, one pale, slender leg casually draped over the other. The room was pitch black, obscuring her features, but the sheer, suffocating density of her mana made the air vibrate.
Suddenly, her head tilted.
In the darkness of her face, two eyes snapped open. One glowed a piercing, brilliant violet. The other burned a deep, blood red.
She felt it. A tear in the spatial fabric of her dungeon. Someone—or something—had just been dropped directly into the upper layers of her abyss.
A low, echoing chuckle slipped from her hidden lips, the sound laced with centuries of boredom instantly vanishing.
"Well, well..." a sultry, dangerous voice echoed through the dark throne room. "It seems a new toy has fallen into my web. How wonderfully exciting."
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