Chapter 19: The fundamentals

Corey strode down the Capital's main avenue arrogantly, humming along the way. He did not expect much from the meeting with Prime Minister Stringer. After all, all the previous summons coming from the Kingdom was only for trivial matters. Yet, this time, it was completely different. Just by promising to lend a bit of his strength, he was granted a large sum of money and a batch of fertile land. This reward, or rather, prospect of reward, would increase his already large fortune by at least 25%. It was undeniable that the menace that was a Primal Dragon sounded a bit scary, even for a hero like him. But his deal was not to confront the dragon, it was just to help contain it within its seal. He had planned everything, since even if by some small chance the dragon ever broke the seal, it was not his job to confront that freak of a monster. It would be left to the Six heroes instead. He had spent years living in Esthar so he was fully beware who he could and could not fight against.

Fifteen years ago, when he and his lackeys first got transported to this new world, it was as if he was a newborn infant in a man's body: he knew nothing about Esthar, not its geography, not its nation states, heck, he did not even know how to utilize his "hero" power, which he allegedly received from the Ennead . There he stayed, at an abandoned cottage next to a small lake. With the thick forest enveloping the surrounding, even if he wanted to leave the cottage, it would be almost impossible. Every night, he and his men cowarded, covered their ears from the howling and grumbling of the beasts and monsters lurking in the darkness. As morning came, the beast and monsters seemed to disburse, yet they came back every single night, haunting the group. Strangely, they ventured no farther than the edge of the forest. By some strange power, any creatures that tried to invade Corey's space soon writhed in pain and hurried back into the dense rows of trees surrounding the place. By the third day, as food supply in the cottage ran low, Corey cursed the so-called Ennead to have placed him in such a god forbidden location. He began to doubt their words. 'Maybe this is just a practical joke?' one of his lackey suggested but they all knew what happened was neither a joke nor a dream. They were now in a strange world, a world where two moons, one red and one blue, have replaced the familiar white celestial object they knew back on Earth. A world filled with monsters and deformed beasts, wandering around their cottage. On the fourth day, when their hopes have faded and arguments have erupted within the group on what would be the best course of action, Corey's face suddenly brightened up as he noticed a group of people emerging from the forest. The group was led by a muscular, handsome man with a large sabre on his hand. Next to him was a beautiful pink-haired girl, holding a long white staff while dressed in a JRPG priestess class. Two other women were walking behind them, one with a large breast while the other flat chest. They were not as beautiful as the staff wielding woman, but for sure they're quite pretty.

「Corey-sama?」The man asked as he hurriedly ran in front of Corey and knelt down.

「Yes?」He hesitantly answered. 「And you are?」

「My name is Haden . This is Ariel .」He introduced himself, then the priestess. 「And these are Floria and Estel . We have come here, as per instruction of the Ennead, to pick up and welcome you to the world of Esthar! 」

「What? Really???」Correy's face brightened up, but soon his relief turned into anger. Hitting Haden's head, the former young master of the Wesley family scolded. 「What took you so long? Do you know how many days have it been since we got here? Our food is almost out too!」

「I'm so sorry for the delay!」answered Haden 「Our party was not in the vicinity. When Ariel got the message from Lady Freya , we tried our best to arrive here in a timely manner...」

「Stop with your excuse!」Again, Corey hit the adventurer, to the annoyance of both Floria and Estel. 「Just a little longer and we would have left here! What would you do if we had left, huh?」

「I'm sorry, Corey sama...」Haden lowered his head even further.

「Please Corey sama!」Ariel, who Corey later learned, was Haden's fiance, begged. 「We really tried to come here as fast as we could. I'm really sorry for the delay. I promise we will serve as your retainers dutifully and make it up to you. 」

「... Is that so?」Dark thought clouded Corey's mind as he took a good look at the priestess. 「Fine. I forgive you this one time. But what should we do now?」

「Corey sama!」answered Haden. 「We will take you back to a city on the other side of this forest. There, we can get you and your followers here all the equipment you need. Since you got transported here and are unfamiliar with this world, I'll make sure to explain everything you need to know and about your role as the newest hero.」

「Hmm… Sounds like a plan!」

And so, the group left the cottage behind and Corey's life as a hero of Esthar began. Under Haden's guidance, Corey quickly learned everything about this world. He was not just another dumb rich kid back on earth; in fact, being the only son of a craft CEO and a powerful Senator, Corey possessed all their intellegence and craftiness. Since Haden's first instruction, it only took the young man less than a week to master all of his skills. This world, Corey realized, functioned as an RPG world, in which an individual's power consisted of three main determinants. First of all, every single person living in Esthar belongs to a certain「Job Class」. Each 「Job Class」possessed certain sets of 「Skill」, which can be unlocked as they grew stronger. However, the 「Class」system was not as rigid as it sounded since individuals from one 「Class」can learn skills from the other 「Class」, depending on their affinity. One example would be how a 「Warrior」class can learn skills from a 「Monk」 or 「Grappler」class due to their affinity to close combat; however, it would be extremely difficult for them to learn skill sets of a 「Mage」class or 「Alchemist」class. How many classes were there, no one knew for sure, but common classes have been further categorized into four different categories: Physical Combatgroup, Caster group, Ranger group, and Special group. On top of 「Job Class」, there were 「Racial Class」since many races lived in this world, each race possessed their unique skill set on top of the skill set acquired from 「Job Class」. For Corey, his 「Job Class 」would be called Hero, while his 「Racial Class」 would be Human, which was the most versatile [Racial Class] . The only other 「Racial Class」that rivaled Human would be Hybrid, a special case of 「Racial Class」. On top of normal skill sets, there was something Haden called 「Arte」, sorts of unique skills that were not as common as normal skills. Only high tier individuals could possess「Arte」. 'What determined someone as high tier?' was the first question that Corey asked. Apparently, in this world, there was a ranking scale that adventurers and governments have been using since time immemorial: It classified power into 6 levels: S, A, B, C, D, and F; A high tier individual would be anyone who acquired rank A or higher. Heroes, though, would naturally possess at least one 「Arte」, as it was the gift of 'Seed of Heroes.' There were a few, though, Haden stressed, could acquire something called 「Ultimate Arte」. These are unrivaled skills, with power that could level nations. According to Haden, only 6 known Heroes were confirmed to have 「Ultimate Arte」. Corey was hoping he would, somehow, possess such power but he was disappointed to find out that was not the case.

The second determinant that defined one's power besides 'skill' was 「Magic」. Every person in Esthar could use Magic, as long as they knew the spell and had enough Mana to channel and materialize it. However, just in ancient times back on Earth, when written words symbolized power and those who learned reading and writing would inevitably rule over the illiterates, people who were blessed with the knowledge of spells and runecrafts tried their best to monopolize it. Learning a new spell was invaluable, especially for adventurers, who had to deal with unimaginable perils and knowing a spell or two would undeniably come in handy. Haden himself only knew of three spells, all of which he tried his best to teach Corey. Despite being a sort of prodigy, Corey was incredibly bad at mastering spells and magic. Even with his best effort, the new hero could only utilize one spell to proficient, the other two though, were hit or miss. That was the nature of spells and another reason why magic was not as widespread as they should even though everyone had the capacity to perform a spell: it was incredibly difficult to master one. Magic utilized by people belong to Magic Casters classes, though, was different. They were loved by nature and spirits, so they were able to materialize the natural 「 Flow of Magics」 into physical spells, without consuming any of their Mana. Usually, the magic casted by the Casters were much more efficient and powerful compared to those spells used by non-Casters. Even though they represented less than a fifth of the general population, some of the most powerful individuals in Esthar, Haden argued, in fact belonged to this Caster group.

The third, and also the last manifestation of power in this world would be 「 Haki 」. Haden did not know what the term meant, nor since when did people start calling it Haki, but it was the most widespread and easiest power to use. Some people may only possess one meager skill, with no talent in mastering magic and spell, but they had to have a certain amount of Haki and control over it. Haki, essentially, was the life force of a person. High tier individuals and Heroes always have an incredible amount of Haki, in which they could imbue in their attacks. They could transfer their own Haki into inanimate objects, such as their weapons, to reinforce them when fighting their opponents. The utilization of Haki was not only in fighting, though. Since it was literally the life force of a person, everytime a person concentrated on their work, they used some of their Haki: from cooking, singing, sculpting… Haki was ubiquitous, whether the users were aware of it or not.

From the basics of combat to common knowledge about Esthar's geography and political climates, Corey mastered everything Haden could teach him in merely half a year. Learning a new language would probably take the hero a bit longer; however, strangely, both him and his lackeys were able to read, write, and speak in the Estharian Language the moment he got transported here. He reckoned it had to do with the Ennead, but he did not bother figuring out why. By the end of his first year, he had made a name for himself: Corey the Hero. He liked the sound of that… and the power and prestige that it brought him. Haden and Ariel had delayed their wedding to wholeheartedly help the new hero, just as commanded by Lady Freya, one of the Ennead. Despite Corey's attitude, they were ecstatic when they saw the once unnamed hero that they helped just a year ago was now renowned throughout the world. Yet, little that they knew, that very moment they accepted the command from the Ennead, their lives and their destiny have forever changed. For Corey has been laying his perverted eyes on Ariel and the other two girls in Haden's party ever since their first meeting, and the one year time they spent together had not calmed his lust for them one bit. On the contrary, it was amplified. The pious Ariel, bowing and obeying his every command, has fueled the perversion in Corey. Now that Haden and his group's usefulness has ran its course, it was time Corey enacted his fantasy…