Chapter 1: The Forgotten One

  Rain fell in a lazy drizzle across the grey sky, the kind of spring afternoon where everything felt muted—as if the world itself had grown weary. Victor leaned against a window of Classroom 3-B, his breath forming a faint mist against the cold glass. He wasn’t watching anything in particular. Maybe the puddles. Maybe the people passing by with umbrellas. Or maybe he was just trying to feel something real, something different from the daily numbness that crept through his bones.

  His classmates laughed behind him, clustered in familiar groups, each clique like a small universe of its own. Victor wasn’t part of any. He sat in the second-last row, alone, as always. Not bullied, not hated—just invisible.

  He was average. His grades were decent but unremarkable. He wasn’t athletic. He wasn’t charming. He wasn’t even the “weird loner” with a dark past people whispered about. He was just… Victor. And that was perhaps the worst part. Because even if people hate you, at least they see you.

  Victor always had a knack for fantasy where his life would be full of adventure,full of excitement.He read a lot mangas,webcomics,novels.It always excite him thinking about knights,kings or even mages.He remembered the novel he read yesterday Glory of Thanes,it really was good.He is still in the thought.

  He started to live alone when he turned twelve.His parents divorced,neither is father nor his mother wanted to stay with him.They sends money to his bank account.He used to live with a uncle but few years ago he died in a car accident.

  Meanwhile,the bell rang, but no one moved. That was strange. Victor turned from the window, confused, and saw the teacher frozen mid-sentence, her lips parted but unmoving. A shiver ran down his spine.

  The light dimmed. No—not dimmed. It shifted. It turned golden, thick and unnatural, like syrup pouring from the ceiling. Victor’s classmates gasped as lines of intricate patterns burned themselves into the air, glowing like runes from some fantasy novel.

  “What’s going on?!” someone screamed.

  The classroom shook. The walls cracked like thin ice, and the floor beneath them shimmered, warping into a pool of golden light.

  Victor stumbled backward. “A dream,” he whispered. “I’m dreaming.”He suddenly couldn’t fell the ground beneath his legs.It seemed like he is in a lift going down but don’t know where.

  But then the pain hit—a splitting, skull-tearing pressure behind his eyes. He screamed. Others did too. The world inverted, reality folding like paper. There was a sound like rushing wind and cracking bone. And then—nothing.

  Silence.

  Victor opened his eyes to the scent of incense and burning herbs. He lay on a marble floor etched with glowing sigils, surrounded by twenty or so of his classmates. The space was enormous—an ancient hall of towering stone columns and stained-glass windows depicting heroes in battle. Hooded figures stood in a circle around them, chanting in a tongue he couldn’t recognize.

  “The summoning is complete,” a voice echoed.They didn’t moved neither flinched just like robots.They are now waiting for next order.Few of them collapsed but they didn’t care.

  Victor struggled to sit up. His heart thudded like a drum. His classmates were all here. Yuki, the class rep, was already standing, her eyes scanning the room like she was born for this. The twin athletes, Ren and Hideo, helped others up. Even shy little Mari was here, clutching her bag like it was her only anchor.

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  And him? Victor lay there, dizzy and disoriented. Of course.

  A man in regal armor stepped forward. His face was lined, but his posture was strong—a general, perhaps. Behind him stood a row of knights in jet-black armor, their visors down.

  “Brave ones from another world,” the man boomed. “We welcome you to the Ephesus Empire. Our world faces a grave threat—a demonic plague that spreads chaos and despair. You have been summoned by the Grand Ritual of Heroes to save us.”

  Murmurs rippled through the group. Was this real? Was it all a trick? But the pain—the runes—the world. It all felt too vivid to be fake.

  “System initialization complete,” a voice chimed in Victor’s mind. He gasped.

  A translucent screen appeared before him:

  Name: Victor Gray

  Origin: Earth (Sector 7-C)

  Class: ???

  Rank: B

  Affinity: Earth

  Title: None

  Whispers filled the hall as others received their own screens.

  “S-Rank! I got S-Rank!” shouted Kaoru, the track team captain. He stood tall, face glowing with pride.

  “A-Rank! Oh my god, me too!”

  “C-Rank…? Wait, is that bad?”

  Victor’s screen didn’t vanish. It just stayed there. Cold. Plain. B-Rank.

  He looked around. A group of officials in ornate robes approached, led by a woman with silver eyes and a golden staff.

  “We will now assign you to your respective territories and training academies,” she declared. “S and A Ranks will be escorted to the Royal Academy of Virtus. B and below will be sent to neighbor kingdoms to gain experience.I wish everyone Good Luck. ”

  Victor’s heart dropped.

  He raised a hand slowly. “Wait, I don’t understand. Are we being separated?”

  The woman didn’t even glance at him. Her gaze swept past like he didn’t exist.

  One by one, names were called. Kaoru, Yuki, Hideo, Ren—all S or A Ranks, all cheered and admired. They were given gifts, armor, and escorts. They stood with pride, some already calling themselves heroes.

  When Victor’s name was finally called, it was barely audible.

  “Victor Gray. Rank B. Transfer to Eodias Kingdom.”

  No applause. No welcome.

  A single knight stepped forward, beckoning him silently. His armor bore no emblem.His face is rugged proving he has gone through countless battles.

  Victor swallowed hard and walked toward him.

  One of his classmates—Naomi—whispered, “I didn’t even know he was in our class.”

  That hurt more than he expected.

  The journey to Eodias was quiet. No fanfare. Just Victor and the knight in a plain carriage through dark forests and winding roads. The skies here always seemed dimmer.

  Victor stared at his interface, trying to will more information into it.

  “Status,” he said.

  Another screen appeared:

  HP: 110

  MP: 130

  Strength: 9

  Agility: 10

  Magic: 14

  Intelligence: 16

  Luck: 3

  Skills: [Earth Tomb] [???]

  Titles: [None]

  Nothing special. Nothing heroic.

  The knight spoke at last. “You are not the first to be summoned. Nor will you be the last.”

  Victor glanced at him. “Is that supposed to make me feel better?Anyway where we are going?Is that place full of battle!”

  The knight didn’t answer.

  When they arrived at Eodias, Victor expected a village. Maybe a humble school. Instead, he found himself standing before a crumbling fortress. Soldiers in battered armor patrolled the grounds. The air smelled of sweat, blood, and desperation.

  “This is the Training Grounds,” the knight said. “You will remain here until you are deemed Skilled.”

  Victor opened his mouth to protest, but the knight was already walking away.

  He was led to a small room with a straw bed and a wooden chest. No windows.

  That night, as he lay staring at the stone ceiling, Victor clenched his fists.

  They summoned him. Took him from his world. Separated him. Judged him. And now they cast him aside because he wasn’t “special” enough?

  A small voice In his heart whispered:

  This is not the end.

  Something would change. Something had to.

  Because even a forgotten one can rise.

  And when he did, the world would remember his name.