“What is this?” Mitsuka asked, seeing the archaic looking tablet I brought up, it had a few buttons on it.

“It’s a tool to measure one’s ability, it can show your stats, your-”

“Hold on stats is a thing?” Mitsuka rudely cut in, I know he’s probably enthusiastic about such a thing but I think he’s being a bit rude there. I just stared at him disapprovingly as I continued.

“Your status and your personal growth rate can be shown here, just put your hand on it and switch the options around, one allow you to display what can be seen while others determined if you show the status page or the growth page, I-” I cut myself off as I push the buttons.

“Set it to growth and allow everyone to see, I believe that is the most important one since you will be learning and all that, it won’t include class or anything of the sorts, which includes your boost from otherworldly travel, as it distributes it’s boost evenly. Ran you go first, put your hand on there” I finished my explanation with Mitsuka looking a bit disappointed that he won’t go first, sucks to be him. Ran silently obliged and press her hand on the tablet, and numbers pop out

 

Growth Rate

HP: 10

MP: 20

Strength: 9

Magical Prowess: 17

Dexterity: 11

Agility: 9

Luck: 15

Vitality: 6

Magical Resistance: 17

 

Talents

Dark

Life

 

A bit… on the low side honestly. I mean my growth without any modifiers is in the 20s minimum, none of hers reach that except MP. Maybe I was the irregular one? Most likely.

“Um… what are talents?” Mitsuka asked. Honestly it should’ve been

“What you’re good at, the two Ran has is darkness and life, a bit of an unorthodox combination but life always has its use at least, dark is pretty niche, by the way in case you haven’t realized it yet these two are magical elements” I commented.

“So is it good?” Ran asked not sure of her worth. 

“Yeah it’s pretty alright, while the growth is about… I think it’s pretty good even if it's a little skewed. One thing for certain is that you’re a good magic user” I replied and she looked at me satisfied with her answer.

“Next up is Kioshi” I announced and he put his hand on the tablet.

 

Growth Rate

HP: 18

MP: 10

Strength: 18

Magical Prowess: 5

Dexterity: 18

Agility: 19

Luck: 14

Vitality: 19

Magical Resistance: 10

 

Talents

Polearms

Brawl

 

Overall it’s better and less skewed than what Ran has, but he sure isn’t a caster.

“A purely physical fighter, has to be expected really, and good at handling them lances and staff it seems” I commented, Ran looked at him with wonders like always. Mitsuka seems rather impatient while Yumi can already tell how this’ll go.

“Yumi you’re next” I said and she quickly get it over with.

 

Growth Rate

HP: 14

MP: 12

Strength: 14

Magical Prowess: 11

Dexterity: 21

Agility: 18

Luck: 16

Vitality: 11

Magical Resistance: 11

 

Talents

Bow

Gun

Fire

Wind

 

“On a more skilled side of things, have more talents than others and high dexterity growth to boot” I commented, and the last and maybe the least, Mitsuka, if this is a typical isekai novel he might be the one with the most growth and talent… but I’m not so sure.

“Mitsuka… do the thing” I asked, sounding a bit less than enthusiastic much to his silent chagrin. He still enthusiastically put his hand on the tablet however.

 

Growth Rate

HP: 15

MP: 11

Strength: 15

Magical Prowess: 10

Dexterity: 14

Agility: 14

Luck: 15

Vitality: 12

Magical Resistance: 12

 

Talents

Sword

 

“This is above average but… why is it so painfully average in its distribution? With only one talent even” I commented. Even Mitsuka looked disappointed in his own stats.

“By the way, what is your growth like?” Mitsuka asked… should I?

“Should I show you all? I mean… should I?” I asked in return.

“Why not?” Mitsuka replied while everyone looked slightly curious even if not to the same level as Mitsuka. They’re pressuring me, I mean it’s not the biggest of deals so revealing it shouldn’t be that big of a problem… I hope.

“...Fine” I reluctantly said as I put my hand on the tablet. The reactions are going to be priceless at least.

 

Growth Rate

HP: 24

MP: 28

Strength: 24

Magical Prowess: 26

Dexterity: 30

Agility: 30

Luck: 22

Vitality: 20

Magical Resistance: 25

 

Talents

Sword

Bow

Hidden Weapon

Gun

Fire

Cold

Wind

Lightning

Earth

Dark

Life

Space

Time

 

“W-What the hell?” Mitsuka reacted by stuttering to ask if what he saw was real. Everyone else’s eyes are wide open and look overall surprised.

“See why I don’t want to show you my growth? By the way I’ll check your levels…” I said, with them quietly nodding their heads. If I have to take a guess… Ran, Mitsuka, Yumi, and Kioshi from lowest to highest level.

[Appraisal:Level]

 

Name: Ryosaku Mitsuka

Level: 5

 

Name: Sukita Yumi

Level: 7

 

Name: Zataka Kioshi

Level: 10

 

Name: Kosami Ran

Level: 4

 

Yep, I was right. Now time to break the news.

“Wait, we have levels?” Mitsuka asked before I could announce my findings.

“Yes we do. In order of lowest to highest; Ran, Mitsuka, Yumi, and Kioshi” I replied to his question and announced the results. Of course this is not the end of the story, Kioshi and Ran look indifferent to what I said, while Yumi was smirking at Mitsuka for having the second lowest level among them.

“Is the difference big?” Mitsuka asked, he sure asked a lot of questions I was planning to answer anyway.

“No, since modern day people usually don’t do level up activities the difference isn’t that noticeable, Mitsuka and Ran are one level apart, Yumi is two levels higher than Mitsuka, while Kioshi is three level higher than Yumi” I explained and mentioned the difference in number.

“Can’t you just say all the levels out loud?” Yumi remarked, guess I could do that.

“Very well then, I guess I’ll just get straight to the point, Ran is level four, Mitsuka is level five, Yumi is level seven, Kioshi is level ten” I said in order, seeing them still staring at me waiting for me to say something else… I think I know what said thing is.

“As for mine… Five hundred and thirty two” I said while seeing their jaw drop, at least Mitsuka’s at any rate, his is more prominent than the rest. 

“I guess it’s alright to assume such a number is anything less than astronomical?” Kioshi asked for confirmation. He sure can point out the more clear points.

“Sure is, next to no human can get this high, really no one in our day and age can even get close to a hundred” I explained, it sounds like I’m bragging that much I know, but it should still be pointed out.

“How… strong are you really? How strong are those two we saw fighting?” Kioshi asked, certainly getting to important points straight away. I don't think people would be too impressed without some sort of figure they could compare with, still I’m not too sure of my own strength honesty, since I use my power to combat others of similar level, not exactly telling a whole lot aside from the casualties and collateral damages from the battle itself… which is…

“I could destroy a castle I guess” I off-handedly said much to their shock. Considering how absurd that is I should've expected such a reaction. Mitsuka and Ran are shaking in fear while Yumi and Kioshi just seem more cautious than anything else.

“You do mean a literal castle right?” Yumi asked for clarification due to the absurdity of my claim. I wonder if she's doubting me on some level due to the performance against the Demon Lord in that throne room, I doubt everyone managed to figure out that everyone involved didn't play all their cards, it was more of a duel than an actual battle to the death, even if it's an actual battle who would be crazy enough to use all of their power to destroy their surroundings anyway? It's better and just flat out common sense to concentrate that overwhelming power into your enemy to defeat or kill them, a controlled attack aiming at one person might not look too impressive but it isn't any weaker than the attack that could destroy the throne room in one attempt.

“Yeah. Perhaps you're doubting me since none of my attacks during that battle caused any severe collateral damage, but you have to remember I didn’t use those attacks to destroy the place, it's a controlled attack that was supposed to destroy one thing and one thing only. It’s no revelation that if one aims to destroy something, they shouldn’t do so through destroying something else, that’s just plain foolishness” I explained, I’m not really sure how much each of them know of basic fighting, but I might as well said that in case some of them have the wrong idea. Now there are still a lot of things to talk about, and no doubt the scheduling regarding their training will come sooner or later, I need to tell them things that are misconceptions before they fall into it.

“So, I supposed the plan is for us to train and then head back, is that correct?” Kioshi asked for confirmation, that’s an extremely simplified summary.

“More or less, I don’t think there’s any good in having us stay here longer than that, I’d rather not get too involved with other worlds. Especially since that Demon Lord or whatever is way stronger than I am, I can’t protect any of you if she decides to go all out” I said, grimacing the unfortunate truth of the matter, even with experiences under my belt and a few unique circumstances, I’m still a human, demons are naturally superior to humans, they became stronger faster and with better potential, this one particular demon is not like the last as I already noted to myself, she’s at least has twice the strength of the last, with finesse in battle that the last one lack. If that demon was a king, this is a god.

“So we’re essentially here just to study some more…” Mitsuka commented, sighing and looking disappointed.

“I get it that there’s no sense of grandeur in what I said we should do, but still those local to this world would try to push us around regardless, if you’re looking for trouble” I replied to his lack of enthusiasm. Speaking of the locals I wonder how they’re doing, what they’re planning and all that.

“Right, this isn’t a fictional story with cool stuff going on all the time, I get it” He responded in understanding, if still rubbing his temples somewhat stressed out by the situation. 

“Say, what about those fellows? Those who are transported with us?” Yumi asked, pointing out the other group that was unfortunate enough to be transported here without anyone knowledgeable on the subject or have experience in such a field. 

“Honestly speaking, I really don’t care, taking care of you four is already enough as is” I replied honestly. Last time I tried to take care of a lot of people I came to regret it, it didn’t go wrong or anything but still, it was a huge headache. Feels like a lot of people from our school get isekai’d, it doesn’t help that due to the summoning ritual able to pluck people from different times of the same place, it causes me great deal of confusion when I inquire on how they get there… they were also ‘summoned’ but from the future from when I… Ugh why am I even talking about this? Still it makes interacting with them in the original world before they were ‘summoned’ even though I already met them after they were ‘summoned’ all… my head hurts from thinking that out loud. 

“Are you okay there?” Mitsuka called out seeing me thinking to myself for quite a while.

“Yeah… it’s just that I feel like our school got the short end of the stick when it comes to otherworldly endeavors” I responded. Dealing with other world topics is a pain, it’s the biggest brain melt.

“What does that mean?” Mitsuka asked for a more detailed explanation.

“So first there was me who got summoned once, then classmates went missing about a week ago isn’t that right? That was also the case of summoning, then we five got summoned here, and then near graduation another group will also get summoned. Certainly a lot of summoning going on” I explained. 

“How did you know more summoning will happen in the future?” Kioshi asked.

“The first summoning and the last I know of all were done in the same place, I was summoned a little later in that world’s time, while this group that will be summoned… Arg! It’s so annoying to articulate, time doesn’t matter in summoning so I met our classmates who came from the future since both sides were summoned to the same world! Don’t ask anymore” Can’t believe this has turned into my head about to explode from the sheer stupidity of the circumstances that I wasn’t planning to allude to in the first place.

“I’ll just leave it at that then” Kioshi calmly stated. He sure is a nice guy, too bad he’s not smart enough to some people having a crush on him because of that.

…

“By the way Ran, you have barely said a single thing so far, what’s your opinion on the whole deal?” I asked seeing this girl just going with the flow, not looking too into it.

“...Do we have to kill anyone?” She quietly asked. Well isn’t that a heavy topic coming from the sweet girl people cared for.

“We don’t have to, but push comes to shove perhaps we have to at some point, at least I’ll do it for you all if you’re afraid of doing so, I already got blood on my hand as is” The world went silent as I mentioned those words. Even if it’s clear I have done some dirty work, the fact that I said it out loud must’ve unnerved my friends greatly, perhaps some of them were denying that I had done something so severe. Killing is very much not a light topic to swallow. 

“How many?” Yumi asked, sounding a bit interrogative, as if judging me. I haven’t considered this before but they might never see me in the same light again when I unraveled this whole thing. I got a bit detached from them due to my circumstances but still, if they treated me with disgust and fear I will certainly be hurt.

“...At least a town’s worth” I said, putting a chill down everyone’s spine as I said so coldly with the bluntness of a massive hammer smashing into their skulls. 

“...And do you feel any guilt?” Yumi asked further, looking at me attentively.

“It’s impossible to not feel any guilt killing fellow humans Yumi, but I can admit perhaps the weight of that guilt I possess is way lighter than it should be. I became somewhat desensitized with death, unlike you all who haven’t approached such a topic before, that’s my excuse” Their breaths are heavy with a sense of dread. It was like the gravity became stronger and air became heavier with more ugly truths of my actions coming out. 

Before Yumi could say any further, Mitsuka put his arm between us as if to interrupt our conversation. Seems he has something to say on the topic as well.

“Reita… Reiza… whatever your name is at this point, if we were to stand in your way, would you kill us?” Mitsuka asked, this will no doubt be the linchpin in what they’ll think of me going forward. It's all very frustrating to hear them saying such a thing to me, especially with his words making it seems like he see me as a stranger.

“No, after all there’s no need to kill you all, you’re all way too weak to pose any threat in the first place, and that is to assume I would try to do something that conflicts with the interest you all have in the first place. For crying out loud I’m not some megalomaniac monster, I don’t kill for fun, I don’t kill everything I see. You’re all my friend still, are you seriously doubting the friendship we have for the past year as meaningless in my eyes?” I said, feeling more agitated as I continue speaking, it’s true that I’m no saint, I’m a heretic, I’m willing to kill, I’m a vengeful person, but that doesn’t make me a monster. Now they’re looking at me with guilt in their eyes, and it seems I managed to persuade them in the end to not look at me as something terrible. I’m glad.

“S-Sorry” Yumi said with a sense of guilt oozing from her words. She’s always quite assertive, and here such behavior offended someone who she considered a friend. 

“Eh, I’m fine with it. Seriously you people, try not to escalate these topics, it’s sensitive and make us all go into conflict. Look, I forgive you all, I can see why you don’t approve of my past actions, but I don’t think that invalidates my actions toward you all, we are still friends, aren’t we? Cheer up! I’ll make sure you all go through this in one piece okay?” I said trying to sound casual and inviting. They all looked less guilty after that, lifting their head and seemed rather surprised by my forgiveness.

“You forgive us?” Ran asked, not fully believing what I said, despite the fact that she didn’t even say anything.

“Are we not friends? Can’t I forgive my friends?” I retorted, feeling like this is going nowhere.

“Of course you can!” Mitsuka said loudly trying to clear the tension up.

“There’s nothing wrong with forgiveness between friends” Kioshi said, trying to stay calm while sounding enthusiastic.

“Y-Yeah! Let’s all look past this shall we?” Yumia spoke up.

“Same here!” Ran said following the group. 

“Thanks, I’m relieved you all said so” I said with a friendly grin. I’m glad the conflict between us ceased in just a few lines.

“So… where do we go from here?” Mitsuka said to stir away from this. I make a gesture signaling them that I’m pondering on that topic. Let’s see… 

“Aside from the education you will have received from the people in this academy, I’ll also provide what I know, some shortcuts or things most aren’t aware of or didn’t mention. As for me I’ll try to look more into this world while you’re all in the protection of them” I said laying down some steps. This of course didn’t include more alarming topics like that knight of rose and the samurai looking fellow, and of course the Demon Lord herself. I need to look into them, if possible I might be able to convince them to not try anything funny with my friends, but that just has to be seen.

“Okay then. Anything else you would have us do?” Mitsuka asked on the behalf of the group.

“Try to learn more of this world before you say anything stupid” I jokingly said.

“Hey!” He playfully replied much to the amusement of others in the room. 

“Well I’ll notify you all on any updates to the plan, I unfortunately can’t be with you all the time. Everyone, go back to your room and stay put, take it slow and steady!” I said like I’m their commander.

“Yessir!” Mitsuka replied casually.

““Acknowledged”” Yumi and Kioshi said, sounding comically formal.

“Y-Yes!” Ran said, stuttering cutely.

They all went back to their designated room and left me all alone in this large room for one person. Leaving me alone with my thoughts and plan for the future.

Alright then Demon Lord, let’s see how this game you’ve set up will run, any oversight for me to exploit and progress I wonder...