As I stood in the crowded hallway, surrounded by my peers in their caps and gowns, I couldn't help but sigh. If it weren't for the mandatory graduation ceremony, I would've taken my diploma and left without a second thought.
After all, I had no family to make proud of, no parents cheering in the audience, no siblings waving from the bleachers. No real friends, either. Just me, my name on a piece of paper, and the hollow satisfaction of graduating high school.
A professor ushered us into single file, and we marched toward the gymnasium. The air buzzed some of my classmates grinned, others fidgeted, a few whispered excitedly. I just kept walking, hands in my pockets, counting the minutes until this was over.
As I took my assigned seat, I glanced around. The gym was packed parents, siblings, teachers, all here to witness this shit. For most, this was a milestone. For me? Just another box checked before I could finally leave this place behind.
One by one, names were called. Applause echoed as students crossed the stage, shook hands, and took their diplomas. I barely paid attention until….
"Bartholomew Bromwick."
That was me.
I stood, walked forward, and accepted the stiff envelope. A smattering of polite claps followed some from teachers, a few from classmates who barely knew me.
Back in my seat, I tuned out the rest of the ceremony.
The last student returned to their seat. A sudden, blinding light erupted.
"The fuck…?" I blurted, loud enough that heads turned.
But no one had time to react.
The entire graduating class every last one of us was engulfed in an eerie blue glow. My skin tingled, my vision blurred, and for a split second, I saw panic in the eyes of those around me.
Leaving behind only stunned silence, empty chairs, and a gymnasium full of terrified screams.
-later-
All of us were teleported appearing it would look like a large room. In front of us stood a group of men draped in white cloaks, some holding large, ornate golden staffs. They were looking at us with expressions I didn't recognize, but I knew I didn't like them.
A wave of uncomfortable silence washed over us, quickly broken by a rising tide of panic. The unease I felt was shared by my former classmates, and soon the chamber erupted into chaos. One hundred and fifty barely-adults started shouting at the cloaked men, demanding answers.
"What is this?"
"Where are we?"
"How do we get home?"
One of the white-cloaked figures stepped forward, his voice cutting through the din without effort. "All your questions shall be answered by the king. We should now escort you to him."
As most of us turned toward the source of the voice, we saw him. A mountain of a man, probably seven feet tall, with short black hair and eyes like chips of obsidian. He was, to put it plainly, one ugly motherfucker.
"And who are you supposed to be?" a familiar, annoying voice rang out. I didn't even need to look to know it was John Bonnabitch, the football star of our school and a world-class prick. "And why the hell are we here?"
For once, I was in complete agreement with him.
"You have been summoned by the will of our King. He has brought you from your world to this one. It is he who will answer your questions, not I."
"Summoned?"
"Another world?"
"You can't just kidnap us!"
The giant's patience, if he had any, was clearly thin. He took a single, ground-shaking step forward, and the crowd instinctively shrank back.
"The escort will proceed now," he stated, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Resistance is… unwise."
The men in white cloaks tightened their grip on their golden staffs.
As the white-cloaked figures began to herd us toward a massive set of arched double doors, I fell into step at the back of the group, my mind racing. We have just been fucking isekai sent to a fantasy world. Honestly I hoped it would be like those Chinese novels or isekai anime and not like western media like Narnia.
As we finally managed to enter the massive throne room, I look around in amazement, looking at the large fantasy room around us being a large amount of men wearing medieval armor.
But my eyes locked in front of us as I saw three thrones in front of us. In the middle and the most imposing throne a large man was sitting on it. The man was handsome with long blonde hair reaching to his large shoulders. The man was incredibly handsome with blue eyes and an attractive face and with a slight facial hair. The man was wearing very expensive looking clothes that showed his muscular build and his forehead was covered by his simple golden ring.
The two women sitting on his left and right were two very attractive women, the oldest one had long black hair and blue eyes her hair was also extremely long. She has a voluptuous figure the woman carrying a pair of breast so big he had to blink multiple times to see if he was hallucinating. The woman was wearing a very modest red dress, the cupboard her humble chest clearly being a very expensive looking dress.
The last woman look to be the youngest between the three like the older man, she had blonde hair and blue eyes, but she also had a voluptuous figure but her figure couldn't compare to the older woman but she was still one of the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life.
As the man saw us he got up from his throat. The large, motherfucker that was escorting us start walking and went in front of us.
"This is the man who decided to summon you to this world the King of Argonia. King Vaegar of the house kardragon the third true king of the West and western Islands".
King Vaegar simply look at us and Scott. "Have you informed of the gifts they were given by entering this world" king Vaegar ask, the ugly motherfucker who I still don't know the name of but fuck it.
"No your majesty, my apologies I shall fix it"
The giant turned back to us, his ugly features set in a grim line. He explained that upon our summoning, the "Heavens" had bestowed upon us a gift known as the System. He gave terse instructions on how to access it: to focus inward and will a status screen to appear. Following his guidance, a translucent blue screen materialized in my mind's eye.
Name: Bartholomew Bromwick
Age: 18
Class: none
Strength: E
Constitution: E
Dexterity: E
Intelligence: D
Wisdom: F
Charisma: D+
Luck: C
Not only that but he teaches us how to use our system only three functions status, mission, inventory.
Some ask about classes only to be told that that would be explained to them tomorrow. This brought anger from his classmates before king Vaegar released a purple aura covering his body.
"You shall be returned to your world, after you have finished the task for which you were summoned. That is the reason you are here. For now, you will be escorted to your sleeping quarters. The explanations will continue in the morning."
With that we were escorted out and we entered another large building this one with a bunch of small beds for each one of us.
I was one of the first ones to find a good spot, cleaning a bed letting the idiot fight with the guard as I immediately fell asleep.
-Later-
"Up! All of you! The king's was so generous that he wanted to wake you guys up with a warm breakfast you have one hour," boomed a voice I recognized the ugly giant from yesterday. His name, I'd learned from the muttered complaints of others, was Captain Vorlag.
The "food" was a slab of dense, brown bread and a wooden cup of watery gruel that tasted like shit. I ate it without complaint. On the streets before the state finally stuck me in a group home, I'd eaten worse. Around me, my classmates whined and pushed their food away.
After the "meal," Captain Vorlag and his white-cloaked acolytes herded us out of the barracks and across a wide, cobblestone courtyard. We entered a vast training yard, a square of hard-packed earth surrounded by weapon racks and straw dummies.
A new man stood waiting for us. He was lean and wiry, with a network of scars covering his forearms and a face that looked like it had been used to stop a few too many doors. He wore practical leather armor, not ornate robes or plate mail.
"Listen up, Summoned!" his voice cracked through the morning air like a whip, silencing the last of the grumblers. "I am Sergeant Karl. My job is to ensure you don't die in the first five minutes of your new lives."
"The System is a reflection of your soul, your actions, and your potential. To awaken a Class, you must perform actions aligned with it. Show an aptitude for combat, and a warrior path may open. Demonstrate a keen mind for patterns and logic, and you might find the Scholar's route. There are hundreds, but they all require effort."
A wave of murmuring passed through the crowd. "How are we supposed to do anything without a class?" someone shouted.
"You start at the beginning. Like everyone else. Today, you choose your first tool." He gestured to two large carts that had been wheeled into the yard. One was piled with simple, unadorned swords blunt-edged trainers, by the look of them. The other was stacked with wooden staves, each topped with a small, dull crystal.
"The path of the blade, or the path of the staff. Choose one. This choice is not binding for your future Class, but it will define your initial training. Choose wisely".
A frantic energy seized the group. The football players and jocks, John leading the pack, immediately surged toward the sword cart. Others, the quieter, more bookish types I recognized from the library, hesitantly approached the staves.
I hung back, watching the chaos. A sword meant getting up close and personal. It meant relying on Strength and Constitution, my two lowest stats. A pathetic E rank. I'd be pulverized.
The staff, then. It was linked to magic, surely. That would rely on Intelligence, my highest stat at a whopping D+ rank. Still pathetic, but less so than an E. It was the logical choice.
As the crowd thinned, I walked toward the staff cart. I picked one up. It was lighter than I expected, the wood smooth and cool in my hands. The crystal at the top glinted dully in the light.
So, I thought, hefting the staff, let's get to work.