Chapter 6

Waking up after sleeping on the comfortable tatami bed was the best.

When I woke up, I didn't know if the girls hadn't slept well on the unfamiliar straw beds or if they had cried over this situation, but their eyes were swollen.

Especially, Ishikawa had dark circles under her eyes, which looked terrible.

"Good morning, did you sleep well?"

"Not at all. How about you?"

"I slept well."

"Of course, guys are so insensitive. How can you sleep well on such a bed?"

"Your beds had sheets, so they were better than mine, right?"

"Yeah, but I've never slept on such a bad bed before, so I couldn't sleep at all. And we couldn't even take a bath. It was the worst."

"If we go into dungeons, we won't be able to come back here, so we won't be able to take baths, and we'll have to sleep on stone floors. I think it's better to get used to it."

"Do we have to sleep in such places? Ah, no! No! I want to go back to Japan as soon as possible!"

I swallowed the words I was about to say, "We can never go back to Japan."

After having the same meager breakfast as last night, we went to the cathedral of the grand temple.

They said that today we would start training in the dungeon and receive equipment.

Many students had already gathered in the cathedral.

But the atmosphere was clearly different from before.

After one night, a hierarchy based on ranks had formed.

It was like a cruel school caste system.

"Attitude's too big for a C-rank, isn't it?" "Hey, hey! Don't fight!" "You're C-rank, right?" "Can't you listen to what I, a B-rank, say?" "C-rank? So lame! Don't come near me, you low-rank!"

There were small conflicts here and there related to ranks.

"The atmosphere is bad."

"Yeah. The atmosphere is different from our usual class. We're D-rank, so we'll definitely be picked on."

"We should stay quiet and small in the corner."

"Yeah, that's right."

While we were huddled in the corner, two male students came over and started picking on me. They were B-rank.

"Hahaha! Lame! Takayama, you're the lowest E-rank in this class, right? How pathetic! It's impossible for a summoned hero to be E-rank. Lame!"

The one picking on me was Sumida.

His friend, Arakawa, was with him.

They were a well-known pair of losers in the other world.

They were near the bottom of the school caste system.

Now that they had made it into the higher ranks, they were picking on everyone without restraint.

I checked their statuses.

First, I looked at Arakawa, who was attached to Sumida like a goldfish's poop.

> Name: Arakawa Koutarou

> Gender: Male

> Job: Warrior

>

> Level: 1

> HP: 8/8 (E)

> MP: 64/64 (B)

>

> STR: 4 (E)

> VIT: 128 (A)

> INT: 32 (B)

> LUK: 128 (A)

>

> Unique Skill: [High-Speed Chanting] Level 1

> Skill: [Poison Resistance] Level 1 [Interpretation] Level 5

Ah, this guy is hopeless.

He's even worse than D-rank.

It's fatal that his HP and STR are low for a warrior.

And having a skill like High-Speed Chanting, which is more suitable for a mage, is meaningless for a warrior.

He looks more suited to be a mage.

Usually, you get skills that match your job, but it's a mystery how this happened.

It will be quite tough for him to reach Level 30, where he can change jobs.

It's clear that he was given B-rank because he had two A-growth skills, even though his stats weren't properly balanced.

Well, let's check the other one.

> Name: Sumida Keiba

> Gender: Male

> Job: Dancer

>

> Level: 1

> HP: 64/64 (B)

> MP: 64/64 (B)

>

> STR: 32 (B)

> VIT: 32 (B)

> INT: 32 (B)

> LUK: 32 (B)

>

> Unique Skill: None

> Skill: [Diving] Level 1 [Fire Resistance] Level 1 [Water Resistance] Level 1 [Interpretation] Level 5

This one has B-growth across the board, which is almost too perfect.

His stats are all B, which is good, but the skills are lacking.

Most importantly, not having a unique skill is a big problem for a summoned hero.

He's one of those rare cases of a hopeless kid without a unique skill.

If he can't get a unique skill during leveling up, his hero life is over.

Also, his skills are all defensive, with nothing directly related to combat, which is quite awkward.

Fire resistance and water resistance, are they planning to take a hot bath?

He's going to have a tough time too.

Ishikawa confronted the two who were picking on me.

It's brave of her to stand up to two guys.

"You guys, stop it! Takayama isn't E-rank by choice!"

Sorry.

I am E-rank by choice.

Wait, Ishikawa, you have some good points.

Even though she had been putting me down in the group, she's standing up for me?

Maybe she's not so bad after all.

"Besides, what? You were the ones who were ignored by everyone and huddled in the corner of the classroom, but now you're acting all high and mighty in another world and picking on others? You're the worst guys!"

"What the hell, you bitch! You're D-rank, yet you're standing up to me, a B-rank? I've always been annoyed by your attitude, treating me like I'm nothing."

Sumida suddenly lunged at Ishikawa.

And he aimed for her face.

No matter how angry you are, you shouldn't hit a girl.

I stopped his fist before it could hit Ishikawa's face.

"What the hell, Takayama! Are you going to fight?"

"If you lay a hand on a girl, I won't hold back."

"You're E-rank, yet you're being so cocky! Do you think an E-rank can beat a B-rank?"

"Want to try?"

I applied a little more force and squeezed his wrist lightly.

There was a nasty crack.

Oh no!

I put a little too much force into it in my anger!

This is definitely broken.

Then Sumida let out a scream that sounded like he was about to die.

His wrist was either dislocated or broken, and his hand was dangling.

I must have applied a little too much force when I grabbed his wrist.

Sumida was rolling around on the floor, holding his broken arm.

The class president, Yoshida, and another class president, Tanaka, came over when they heard the commotion.

From their necklaces, it seemed they were both A-rank.

Good for Yoshida, getting the same rank as her crush, Tanaka.

Yoshida, with her class president demeanor, checked the situation.

"What are you doing!? What's going on?"

"Takayama isn't to blame. Sumida was about to hit me, and Takayama helped me."

"Is that so?"

Yoshida confirmed Ishikawa's words with a third-party witness, Nagano.

Nagano, who was suddenly asked by Yoshida, answered nervously.

It was cute how she trembled like a small animal.

"Yes, that's right."

"You shouldn't hit girls!"

"I'm sorry. I'll talk to Sumida."

Arakawa desperately apologized to Yoshida.

He should be apologizing to Ishikawa, but I kept quiet to avoid making things worse.

"Arakawa! The priest will heal Sumida with magic, so help carry him!"

"Okay."

Yoshida, along with Tanaka and Arakawa, carried Sumida, who was writhing on the floor like a cockroach sprayed with insecticide, to the priest.

After the commotion died down, Ishikawa said softly.

"Thank you for helping me."

"No, thank you. You stood up for me, so you're not as bad as I thought."

"Well, we're in the same group, and I wanted to thank you for the snacks you gave me yesterday. You're not so bad either."

"Are you falling for me?"

"Wh-What are you saying! There's no way! You idiot!"

Ishikawa, blushing, lightly hit my head.

As we sat huddled in the corner, Ishikawa's and Kōkawa's friends started to gather and talk.

Apparently, the rooms and meals for A-rank and B-rank were quite luxurious.

The meager meals were only for D-rank.

A-rank had a luxurious full-course meal they had never seen before, B-rank had a buffet-like meal like in a hotel, and C-rank had a set meal.

Hearing this, Ishikawa was in tears.

"I'm so hungry."

Kōkawa had managed to get a promise from B-rank students to give her their leftover food.

She's surprisingly resourceful for a little girl.

"We're really not expected to do much, are we?"

"It's so sad."

"Actually, we're not expected to be useful, so that's why we're treated this way."

Hearing this, I started to think, maybe I should try a little harder and show these guys up.