In the year 1802 of the Solarian Calendar, an apocalyptic event destroyed the Ethrixual Alliance: The Demonic Invasion.
The portal initially appeared as the size of a small home, but it grew. Over three days, the portal grew as large as a castle. From the castle came the Demon King and his army. The term "Demons" encompassed a large range of creatures, each categorized by their power of devastation,
• Beast
• Dread
• Tyrant
• Annihilator
• Hellish
• Ruin
• Abyssal
• Empyrean
• Primordial
Upon the army of demons being unleashed, the Ethrixual Alliance panicked. The demon king, a colossus threat, controlled a terrifying tide of monstrous forms. His army poured forth, beasts with claws made quick work of ordinary people. Dreads, their forms ever-changing and terrifying, ensured chaos and fear among the army, lowering their morale. The Tyrants destroyed everything in sight. Annihilators unleashed waves of dark energy magic, reducing the alliance's armies to dust. The hellish burnt everything in sight. Ruins corrupted the natural creatures, turning them to their side. Abyssals easily dealt with any elite soldier who dared to challenge them. And at the heart of it all, the Demon King, an Empyrean with unimaginable power, watched. He watched. He knew it was his complete victory. The utter annihilation of the people in the alliance was undeniable. Their once-proud civilization was destroyed due to the demonic invasion and turned into the homeland of the demons in merely three months.
News of this devastating invasion spread like a wildfire. The remaining five kingdoms, recognizing the importance and impending doom of the threat, immediately started preparations. For ten years, the five remaining kingdoms managed to hold out and survive the demonic army. However, the situation slowly turned for the worse. The former Beasts evolved into Dread or Tyrant-level threats. The Demon King remained undefeated, along with the countless deaths of skilled swordsmen and mages. The five kingdoms desperately needed a solution to the war.
During the conflict, Archmage Devon, a brilliant mind, created a summoning spell. Its purpose: to summon heroes from another world who were blessed by the gods to aid humanity in its struggle. The first summoning took place in 1812 of the Solarian Calendar, within the Augustus Kingdom. The spell required an incredible 64 hours to complete, involving 76 high-mages, 18 priests, and a Saintess from the Holy Kingdom. It was a desperate gamble to take away such valuable combat resources from the front lines, but it succeeded. 24 individuals from Earth, coming with extremely powerful magical abilities, were summoned into this world.
[Augustus Kingdom 1812]
In the grand throneroom of August Palace, an enormous castle constructed with magically fortified stone and lined with a nearly impossible amount of gold, a vibrant blue magic circle could be seen.
At the centre [It sounded cool, okay?] of the circle, a small stone pedestal could be seen holding a light-blue orb that glowed with an intense light. The circle was surrounded by the panting mages, priests, and the exhausted Saintess. They were visibly overworked and tired. Some of them had even collapsed from exhaustion.
Then, with a blinding flash of white light, the summoned heroes began to appear one by one. The summoning had worked!
The combined efforts of the five kingdoms had paid off. These heroes, who were all blessed by the gods, were believed to have the power required to defeat the Empyrean Demon King.
Dusty rubbed his temple, trying to ease the throbbing migraine that was caused by the intense transmigration. His fellow classmates were struggling to even stay awake. Only five, including himself, managed to stay conscious. He quickly recalled the angel's warning about the demon among them.
He looked at the faces around him, trying to see if the previous Dusty had any hint of who they might be.
He drew a blank.
How was he expected to defend himself when he didn't even know the names of his classmates?
The situation looked dire from any perspective you looked at. It was obvious that he had changed before the transmigration and that he was more open than before. The previous dusty had no friends, nor did he speak outwardly about his thoughts like he had to the angel.
To put it in understandable terms, Dusty was fucked.
The few who didn't fall back asleep were Mark, Alistair, Abigail, Connor, and, of course, Dusty.
Suddenly, the migraine subsided, and the faint ringing in his ears went away. Murmurs filled the rooms, hushed whispers at best. He looked above them to see a large array of nobles looking down at them. There were a multitude of people; merchants, nobles, and even some commoners came. It was mostly the elites who were watching. Eventually, his gaze landed on the five large thrones, each occupied by figures wearing crowns, the supposed rulers of the land.
As the remaining few of his classmates finally awoke, a booming announcement rang throughout the room.
"Greetings, heroes. I am the Emperor of the Augustus Kingdom. We have summoned you all to aid us in defeating the Demon King and his army. Each of you should have been granted a magical ability. The orb in the centre of all of you will reveal your powers and their corresponding rankings. Form a line for your assessment."
They didn't have to be told twice.
Without hesitation, the heroes formed a line. Dusty decided to go last, hoping to gather more information about those ahead of him.
Unfortunately, the crystal only revealed the ability to the actual user. They were expected to declare it truthfully out loud.
He was confused by the sudden honor system with people whom they had essentially just kidnapped.
This was until he realized that they expected a power demonstration.
He saw a list of the power rankings to the right of the crystal.
• Initiate
• Intermediate
• Arcane
• Expert
• Master
• Ethereal
• Grandmaster
• Cataclysm
• Oblivion
Each ranking seemed to match up with the level of the demons.
Dusty found this coincidence odd, but everyone else seemed to chalk it up to divine intervention.
One by one, his classmates went through.
"Hero Number 1; Ability: Sword Aura, Ranking: Expert"
Claps filled the room in a matter of seconds. He didn't understand what was so special about the Expert ability. After all, it was a lot lower than what the demon king was.
The king raised a hand, and the room fell silent.
"My apologies," he slowly began, his voice still extremely loud, "I have neglected to inform you earlier that heroes possess the unique ability to have their skills evolve over time. This oversight is entirely my fault, and I understand any feelings of anger you harbor towards me."
Dusty found this to be a contrast to his father, Volnos. He was known for his arrogance and his kill-or-be-killed rule. He never admitted fault, let alone taking responsibility for his actions. The strong were right and the weak were wrong under his rule.
More applause erupted from the crowd, as if the king had just said something groundbreaking. While the apology held little importance, the information was somewhat groundbreaking in a sense. An Expert hero might struggle against higher-level demons, but one that could evolve? That was an entirely different story.
Dusty had a small grin on his face as his excitement surged through him. He was finally experiencing the joy and freedom of being a human! He could even potentially gain unimaginable power along with the life of a nobility who didn't sleep on a stone mattress!
The announcer continued, calling the heroes up one by one. [It's a good phrase, okay?]
"Hero Number 8; Ability: Phantom Blade, Ranking: Master"
"Hero Number 14; Ability: Magical Barrier, Ranking: Arcane"
"Hero Number 20; Ability: Chain Lightning, Ranking: Expert"
Finally, it was almost his turn. Alistair stood in front of Dusty, talking frantically about how he wanted to get a powerful ability.
So far, the highest-ranking ability had been Ethereal, belonging to Mark.
Alistair slowly placed his hand over the orb, slowly approached the announcer, and whispered something. The announcer's face, clearly in shock, began to hesitate, visibly shaken by what Alistair had said.
When the nobles heard the announcement, a collective gasp swept through the room. Without a second thought, a standing ovation erupted, the sound vibrating throughout the throne room. Even the king had a slight smile on his face.
"Hero Number 23; Ability: Holy Sword, Ranking: Grandmaster!"
His classmates were stunned. The average had been Arcane or Expert for most people. Dusty's grin widened. This kid, who had vowed to protect them all, had received such an incredible ability? Life was going to be sweet! Dusty didn't even have to lift a finger; just being associated with Alistair made him an instant celebrity!
"Hero Number 24, please step forward and state your ability."
Dusty placed his hand on the top of the orb. Suddenly, a small blue screen filled his consciousness. Like the status windows he remembered from the human world, magna? Or was it maang? He couldn't exactly remember.
— — — — — — —
Name: Dusty
Race: Human (Demon)
Innate Abilities: Ultra Regeneration [Master], Heat Resistance [Expert], Physical Enhancement [Expert], Magic Proficiency [Grandmaster]
Unique Abilities: Reality Manipulation [Arcane], Fire Manipulation [Master], Appraisal [Intermediate]
— — — — — — —
The information flooded into his mind. Then, a smile spread across his face. This was incredible! Not only had he retained his demonic abilities, which he thought he had lost, but he had also gained three unique abilities!
He remembered the angel's words that humans typically only received one unique ability that was extremely powerful. He was shocked to have three, one of which was at Master rank!
One question remained in his mind. He wanted to know if the heroes' ability to evolve skills not only applied to unique abilities, but also to the innate ones. If so, he could potentially have Oblivion-ranked Magic Proficiency at the same time Alistair had Oblivion-ranked Holy Sword.
"Hero Number 24, what ability did you receive?"
The question snapped Dusty back to the reality of the situation.
"Ah, sorry," regaining his composure, "I received Fire Manipulation at the master rank."
"Very well. Go ahead and demonstrate your ability." The announcer quickly scribbled on his notepad.
Dusty turned to his right and saw another small training dummy being moved in. It had to be replaced after every few heroes since it was only magically enchanted to withstand Expert-level attacks.
Dusty raised his right hand, channelled his mana from his heart to his palm, and a fireball appeared. It slowly grew larger, and once it reached the size of a small room, it shot towards the target at lightning speed.
The dummy was engulfed in flames, a few apathetic claps could be heard from the crowd. While his "only" ability was impressive, it simply paled in comparison to the ability of the Grandmaster caliber.
He quickly took his place among his classmates.
Everyone's attention returned to the king, eagerly awaiting his next words.
"Thank you all for your demonstrations," the king's voice echoed throughout the hall. His gaze slowly turned towards Alistair as he said, "I have great expectations for each of you. I believe with your strength, no, our strength. We can prevail! We will live to see the times of peace, times when children will no longer know pain and suffering! Times when people can laugh, cry, and know joy!"
His short speech was met with applause and cheers from everyone in the crowd of nobles.
Finally, the ceremony was over. The king raised his hand for silence.
The excitement faded instantly, his commanding presence overwhelming, "Take them to their rooms for the night. Tomorrow, you will begin training."