I felt a weird sensation, like a gust of wind resounding throughout my body. When I opened my eyes the next moment, I saw a thick forest. The trees towered over a hundred meters tall and yet the sunlight still crept through inside. The forest floor was covered in lush greenery that made it hard to see clearly and walk. After searching for about a minute, I could confirm, that I was in the middle of a huge forest. 

"If we're following conventional isekai standards, our class was summoned to another world to fight the Demon Lord or something."

I have this habit of talking aloud to myself which I did often back in Japan too. I don't know why but it makes me feel at ease. Thoughts of this being another place on Earth were out of my mind. After all, magic was just performed in front of me and I read so many stories similar to the situation that it didn't make me doubt that this was another world at all. 

"Hm...shouldn't I have been summoned together with the class? I wonder where everyone is..."

I then began to worry about Rin and Katsumi. I feel that Katsumi would be fine since she's pretty adaptable and competent. Rin might be breaking down in tears right now though. I don't know their situation and I have my own set of problems as well. I'm stuck in the middle of a forest for no reason after all.

"Hm?"

Thundering footsteps shook the ground with slight tremors. I turned in the direction of the source. In the distance, I saw it, a monster.

"WHAT IS THAT?"

I lost my composure. In the first place, I'm just a kid from the peaceful nation of Japan. I've never been close to real danger nor did I have any ways to protect myself. In front of me was a monster that was 3 meters tall with dark slitted eyes. The head of a bull and the body of a man, a monster that I knew, a minotaur.

---

The minotaur approached me at a brisk pace. How did it find me? What does it want? Whatever the answer, it probably wasn't good. The minotaur's imposing presence made the air suffocatingly dense. While having trouble breathing I fell backward on my butt. I looked at the terrifying monster getting closer.

"Damn it! Move legs...MOVE."

I shakily stand back up again but I couldn't move any further than that.

"I-If I was transported to another world then I should have some powers right? [Status]."

I tried saying what you would normally say to see your own abilities in this sort of situation. It surprisingly worked.

A thin blue board of light appeared in my mind. This is my [Status], all written in Japanese.

"This is the only card I can play, [Overpowering Aura]!"

The minotaur, now only a few meters away, stopped its pursuit immediately. As if all of its functions ceased at once, the minotaur fell over. Its face was planted into the forest floor by its own weight. I was profusely sweating and so I wiped my forehead in relief.

You have obtained the title, [Overpowerer].

"Is it...dead?"

I looked around the body a bit, not daring to get closer. Its chest was still properly rising and falling so it was alive. I turned off [Overpowering Aura] by thinking it. It seems that skills are invoked by saying their name with the will to use it. If you want to turn it off then it will turn off. I began to relax a bit after somehow mysteriously surviving my first monster attack. I looked through my [Status] board again and focused on the unfamiliar terms. Additional information was showed. 

---

[Class/Job] - Your occupation. Depending on what it is, you can gain certain boosts.

[Level] - The culmination of EXP earned. It makes overall raw stats stronger.

[HP] - Hit/health points. Your life force quantified. When it reaches 0, you die.

[MP] - Magic power. Your mana pool. When it reaches 0, you may suffer from mana deficiency and/or faint. 

[Condition: Confused] - You are currently confused.

[Strength] - Your physical strength.

[Vitality] - The recovery rate of HP and MP.

[Speed] - Your physical speed.

[Mind/Intelligence] - Your intelligence and mental capacity. Affects usage of MP.

[Dexterity] - Your hand-eye coordination, reflexes, control, and balance. Affects usage of speed.

[Resistance] - Resistance to physical and special attacks. 

[Evasion] - Affected by dexterity and speed. Determines how well you can avoid incoming attacks.

[Accuracy] - Affected by dexterity. Determines how well you can throw or shoot projectiles.

[Stamina] - Your stamina or endurance. Affects all values. 

[Perception] - Your ability to perceive and detect.

[Luck] - Increases the probability of favorable outcomes. 

[Overall Rank] - Uses race, class/job, gender, level, and status values to determine the potential and/or the current ability of the individual. They are granted a rank befitting of their capacity. Can be changed based on growth.

[Skill] - The world acknowledging your ability to do something. There are many different types of skills and they're granted at the [Voice of the World]'s discretion. They are activated and canceled by the owner's will. Saying the name out loud or chanting beforehand may help when activating. If it doesn't use MP then it might have a cooldown period. 

[Magic Skill] - A skill that uses mana/MP for activation.

[Passive Skill] - A skill that is always active and doesn't need to be constantly activated. Most of all passive skills can be turned on or off at will.

[Inherent/Unique Skill] - A skill that one has had from birth due to a genetic mutation or passed down by their family. It could also be a special exception granted by the [Voice of the World]. Also, all otherworlders have unique skills. When passing between the space of two worlds, their bodies undergo an overflow of dimensional energy that can awaken strong powers. In this space, gods and spirits can also give their protections and blessings easily to those that catch their eye. These processes also increase their physical capability to be above average. Being overflowed with energy also builds up extra resistance to supernatural attacks. If an otherworlder's body or soul can't handle the energy intake, it will be vaporized to nil unless the means of transportation is secure. Those with the same inherent or unique skills are rare.

[Status] - The ability to see one's own [Status]. Details can be specified to a certain degree. 

[Common Human Tongue Comprehension] - The ability to comprehend speech and writing in Common Human Tongue. You can also speak and write as well. It may not fully translate certain dialects or accents. Common Human Tongue is the language used by most of all humans across the continent. 

[Japanese Comprehension] - Can speak and write Japanese. May not understand certain dialects or accents.

[Overpowering Aura] - Around you manifests a godly and monstrous aura that overpowers all who see it, stripping them down to the core of their being. It works better on those with high perception abilities. If mortal, they can choose to fear, submit, die, or fight and resist. The ability can be sensed from far away and will have less effect based on the distance.

[Protection] - The divine blessing of a god, a contract with a demon/spirit, the protection of a powerful being, etc. Similar to skills but there are slight nuances between the two.

[Title] - A title awarded by the [Voice of the World] for accomplishments. Titles can grant various effects.

[Person from Another World] - Title given to a person from another world. It increases the growth rate and makes it easier to increase skill levels and EXP levels. Skills are also obtained more easily. 

By looking at the ranking letters for the status values it said," It expresses the overall level of that value. The order goes, G-, G, G+, F-, F, F+, E-, E, E+, D-, D, D+, C-, C, C+, B-, B, B+, A-, A, A+, S-, S, and S+ from least to greatest. This is the same ranking system used for overall rank."

---

"Ah, I see. So when I used my unique skill against the minotaur he got scared and fainted...haha what a broken power. I guess it's like a cheat. Well, I just look overpowered on the outside but I really can't do anything. It seems that no mortal can remain unaffected though. Interesting, I guess I can use this to ward off monsters. Wait, it can be sensed from far away...if they feel my 'godly and monstrous aura' will people come for me?"

I was thinking hard about the applications and consequences of my ability. It's always good to sort things out early right? It's not like I had anything else to do either.

"This is bad. If my aura can be sensed easily by people far away then I'm just like a walking beacon that looks like a monster. I really don't want people coming to slay me. Alright let's not use this power for no--"

*rustle*

"Hm?"

A shadow leaped up from the bushes and aimed right for me. 

"Wai--[Overpowering Au--"

The shadow swerved around me the moment it was about crash into my chest. I swiftly looked behind me to follow it. 

"Another kind of monster? Where'd it go."

I looked around restlessly but it was as if the shadow disappeared into thin air. 

"Hahaha...interesting...INTERESTING!!!"

"Huh?"

I turned around again. This voice...is it in my head? No, it's coming from...my shadow!?

"Uh, hello?"

"Yo."

"Who are you?"

"Just a lowly demon that lurks in the shadows."

"Um, can you get out of my shadow?"

"I don't want to."

It's like talking to a child. Just as I was about to retort it said...

"You were the one with that powerful presence earlier right?"

I stayed quiet.

"Hahaha, that really surprised me. The spirits were shaking and the monsters began a stampede."

"Huh?"

That doesn't sound good.

"But, now that you're here in front of me, you don't seem that strong."

I know that it's true but I still felt kind of insulted. 

"So, what do you want?"

"How'd you do it?"

There's no way I'm going to tell the truth. Even if you're a demon that could kill me in a single breath, I won't. My only weapon right now is [Overpowering Aura], a power that lies and twists the will of man. Though if that lie is exposed, I'll be powerless. I'm still in the position of a mysterious being that can emit a powerful presence in the eyes of this demon. If I can just maintain the lie then I'll survive this.

"Well, you see I was just summoned to this world..."

"Hoho, so you're one of these otherworlders? Those that have unhuman-like powers."

"Yes, since I was just summoned I was having a hard time controlling it all and some leaked."

"Ahahaha, I see. If you're that powerful then why are you shaking in fear right now?"

I tensed up a bit upon hearing that.

"We're all liars. Some are just better than others. I'm pretty good at exposing trickery, I do my fair share of it as well. The way you breathe, eye movement, how you carry yourself, the vagueness of your words. Well, at least your better than the boring people who advocate their lies by wrapping them up into pretty presents called 'ideals.' The people who're idiotically honest and naive even when it only does them harm. That's a good thing to have, to tolerate a bit of deceit."

"Where are you going with this?"

"Hey, hey, how about we team up?"

"Team up?"

"Yeah, you and I will go on an adventure."

"Sorry, but I need to find my friends first."

"I thought you were just summoned no? Did you make friends in these few minutes of existing in this world?"

"No, they were summoned with me. At least I think so."

"Well, that's fine. We'll find your friends then. I'll help."

"Declined. Why should I have to bring a shady guy like you to them?"

"Shady? I won't deny that. How about you give me some time to show you that I'm useful huh? I won't leave your shadow anyways. Curse yourself for catching my eye human."

*sigh*

"I guess you're coming with me whether I consent or not."

"I'm glad you understand."

"Only understand, not accept got it?"

"Yep. Got it Haruko."

"Good, good...wait HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAME?"

"Ahahaha, it's a skill. [Appraisal]. It's pretty common for lots of jobs. Sometimes you need to identify stuff like materials and monsters after all. Depending on its level, it shows more information." 

"So you knew about me from the start?"

"Yep, all about your [Overpowering Aura]."

"So you were just messing with me? You wanted to see me struggling to think up of a reasonable excuse?"

"Ahaha, yup. You hit the mark."

"Never have I ever wished for someone to suffer as much as I have now."

"Hahaha, nice spirit. So anyway, there are some troublesome people coming over and I don't know if it would be the greatest thing if they were to meet you. See? I'm concerned about you so up your opinion of me got it?"

"You sing your own praises like it's nothing...so what kind of people exactly?"

"Some high-ranking spirits, demons, angels, dragons, a sage, and a goddess of war are all headed over here. The soonest they'll be here is in about half a minute I guess?"

"WHAT!? WHY'RE THEY COMING HERE!?"

---

"I guess your unique skill is a really interesting one. Everyone's rushing over to see what it is."

"That's not good at all! What am I supposed to do?"

"Well, to ensure they don't capture or kill you, I guess I can lend you some of my power."

"What can a 'lowly demon' do?"

"A lot more than you can imagine...now activate [Overpowering Aura]."

"What?"

"Just trust me! We're partners now right? I did tell you that some people were coming after all..."

"Alright, I got it...[Overpowering Aura]."

"Oh, yep I feel it, definitely scary."

"Just shut up and do it."

...Revoke meaning and overturn it

Force every lie inside out

Misplace your ideals and embrace hypocrisy

For you have been played like the fool that you are...

[Reversal]

I felt no change when it said those ominous words. At least on the outside.

You have obtained the title, [The One Who Doesn't Exist].

"Yep. Now I can't even sense you. Luckily, I'm in your hidden shadow so you can't run from me~"

"Huh? Wait what'd you do?"

"This is one of my unique magic skills called [Reversal]. As the name suggests, it can reverse and overturn pretty much anything as long as I have the sufficient magic power."

"Isn't that power a super cheat?"

"I don't know what this 'cheat' is but it isn't all that great. There are restrictions of course, mainly what can be reversed since the mana intake is absurd. One skill wouldn't hurt, even if it's a unique one like yours."

"Wait so you permanently reversed the effect of my skill?"

"No, it's not that easy to change skills and statuses. I'm just reversing it temporarily using magic."

"So if my skill [Overpowering Aura] has the power to emit a powerful presence, then if you reverse it then my presence becomes extremely thin to the point where people can't notice me? If no mortal could stand in the presence of [Overpowering Aura] without feeling overwhelmed, then using [Reversal] on it would make it so that no mortal could sense my waning presence at all."

"Exactly. Now you can just sit back and let the people looking for you leave."

"You're one hell of a 'lowly demon.'"

"Glad you understand."

"So, I'm interesting to you huh. Well anyway, thanks for the help...um..."

"Eris. The name's Eris."

"Thanks, Eris. Please take care of me from now on."

"Leave it to me."

I laid against a tree and waited for the incoming disasters to storm in. I didn't know this, but Eris used its power to suppress the [Voice of the World] and hide my status. The announcement in my head that I didn't see was...

You have obtained the [Divine Protection of the Trickster God Briar - Return].

You have obtained the title, [Apostle of the Trickster God Briar].

[Overpowerer] - Title given to one that overwhelms with power. You gain extra control over your abilities.

[The One That Doesn't Exist] - Title given to one that removes their traces of existence. When hiding, people are less likely to notice you.