"Lastly, Hayato Shiranami. This will be your room."
General Draven's voice echoed through the dim hallway as he pushed open the heavy wooden door. The hinges creaked, revealing the room beyond.
The others had already been escorted to their quarters—laughing, chatting, some even admiring the lavish decorations in their new accommodations and my room was the last to be shown.
I stepped inside.
It wasn't awful… but it wasn't good either. Plain stone brick walls, a single small window barely letting in any light, and a stiff-looking bed with thin sheets. No furnitures, no warmth, just functionality. It was more of a holding cell than a bedroom.
I forced a smile. "Thanks."
"There is a paper on your bed, in there the insturction on how to open your Scaleforge is written." Draven then bowed as he takes his leave. The door closed behind him with a dull thud, the lock clicking almost too loudly.
I let out a quiet breath and sat on the edge of the bed, my eyes scanning the room.
Why was I the only one placed on a different floor? The others were all together on the upper level where the sunlight poured in and the halls bustled with servants. But me? They took me two staircases down and through a side corridor that no one else seemed to use.
"Not that it matters... I just hope that the bed is at least comfy..."
I went closer to my bed and on top of my ragged blanket that seemed to be sewn badly is the piece of paper that General Draven mentioned. Grabbing it I scanned the entire paper, it was written in English which I was surprised about.
"Now that I think about it... If this is another world then why are they speaking English?" My suspicion grew, though everyone already adapted to this worlds standard without question, I still find things suspicious. "When I first heard them speak English, I already decided not to trust them but I though they were using some sort of magic to make it so we understand what they were saying..."
I read through the paper slowly as I absorb every bits of information. "Putting aside the activtion of the Scaleforge, this is written in perfect English... From grammar to punctuations..."
When Rahl showed us the Scaleforge I fully believe that they were using magic on us to make them understand us, though it was just a hypothesis without evidence... Though after I read this, my suspicion returned.
"I wonder is there's history between this world and ours..."
I closed my eyes slowly and took a deep breath, according to the instructions to activate the Scaleforge I need to have a clear mind and say. "By the name of Equessia and in defiance to Malrakar, by the judgement of the scale, I bare my soul to where light and darkness meets."
Silence fell.
Then.
The air shifted. The silence deepened — not empty, but expectant, as though the world itself had taken a breath.
Then, I heard her.
"Scaleforge recognized."
Her voice was neither loud nor soft, like the turning of time.
"Duality confirmed. Sin and Virtue threads intertwined."
She spoke like one who had witnessed the birth and fall of empires, yet addressed me as if I alone existed.
"The Scale turns. Judgement begins"
Just as I thought it was about to end, the mysterious voice spoke once more. This time it was not robotic or seemed to be read by a script, this time I felt a hint of sorrow, I felt a hint of someone apologizing...
"Beast Tamer Hayato Shiranami, the scales finds no tilt. Unclaimed by Sin. Uncrowned by Virtue. You are balance incarnate. Equilibrium-Born."
Light and shadow spiraled around me, not blinding or burning, but dancing.
Testing.
Weighing.
A scale shimmered into existence before me, both sides empty, trembling, equal and then… gone.
And in its place, something ignited deep in my chest. Not warmth. Not cold. Something heavier. Realer.
I opened my eyes with a sharp breath, like I'd broken through the surface of a deep, dark sea.
Sweat clung to my skin. My heart beat punded like a ringing time bomb in. My legs felt unsteady, like I'd just walked through a storm no one else could see.
And then… A tear slipped down my cheek.
As my vision clears, I saw it in front of me. Though this time the Scaleforge appearing in front of me is not as big as the one Rahl showed a while ago, instead it is the same size as my head.
"So this is my Scaleforge..." I grasped my chest tightly, still shocked from what happened. "Is that normal when activating the Scaleforge?"
Before I tried to observe my Scaleforge it immediately disappeared, then a hologram of Rahl appeared in front of me where my Scaleforge used to be.
"If you have recieved this message then it means that you have successfully activated your Scaleforge, I congratulate you..." The hologram of Rahl bowed. "You may be wondering and curious about how to use your newly acquired power, but for now take a rest and we will begin tomorrow."
The hologram closes, it was just me and my empty ragged room that they gave me.
I jumped on my bed; face first on the hard and uncomfortable pillow. My body and mind is very tired after what happened today, even a part of me hopes that this is all nothing but a bad dream.
"If this is a dream... When I wake up I will spend more time with my family from now on..." I muttered as my eyes closed slowly and my vision fades.
*** *** ***
The moment I opened my eyes, I could already tell I had slept longer than I should have. The sunlight was flooding through the pathetically small window in my dungeon-like room tucked somewhere deep within the castle.
I stretched out slowly, a dull ache in my back from the stiff mattress. As I sat up, something caught my eye near the door.
A piece of paper, slightly crumpled, lay on the cold stone floor.
Someone must've slipped it under while I was asleep.
I scanned the note and it appears that it was written by Aoi. I read, still dazed. "Hayato, if you are reading this note please meet us in the library located just one floor above ours. Please take your time if you are tired, we will be waiting for you here patiently. —Aoi."
"I better go, they are probably waiting for me for a while now..." I immediately rushed to where the library is located.
It took me a couple of minutes to go to there, the castle was insanely huge! It felt like I ran an entire marathon just to go to a library.
As I went inside I saw Rahl discussing something in front of a blackboard, besides Rahl the only people with him here in the library are Aoi, Haruki, Miyu, and Izumi. Looking at them, it felt like how it was back in our own world in which the five of us are the one usually together in our own circle.
"Hey guys, I am sorry if I was late... I can't believe I slept like a log..."
"Oh... Hero Hayato, don't worry... The King and I decided that all of yuou should wake up in your own discreet. After all, being transported here must've been tiring and it might also take days to activate your Scaleforge."
I sat beside Aoi who looks happy and excited about what Rahl is teaching. Haruki is being bashful by looking like he did not care about me entering and instead focused on taking notes, whereas the destructive duo...
"Ohhh Hayato! Come, tell us your class!" Miyu excitedly shouted as she stood up on the table.
Izami was beside Miyu, but instead she was sitting while holding what appears to be a guitar that looks out of this world. It was white and has gold markings on it, not only that but the strings appears to not look like steel threads but instead it is made of blue light and she was strumming it with a massive smile on her face— not caring that we are in a library.
"Before I say, where are the others? Base on what Rahl said, don't tell me that only the five of us have activated our Scaleforge"
"Everyone managed to successfuly activate their Scaleforge" Aoi replied looking at Rahl. "When we went to the throne room and announced what class we got, Rahl took the four of us and decided to take you too."
Rahl coughed. "To add what Hero Aoi is saying, since there are 15 of you we decided to split you into three groups. Of course, for how the group is distributed is via what class you got."
"For your information, my class is a Strategist." Haruki chimed in wirth a smug look in his face.
"You can already tell what my class is base on what I am holding." Izami spoke as she strum her guitar. "If not, then my class is a Bard."
"While I am an inventor!" Miyu shouted in joy, still standing on the table.
"I see... What about you Aoi?"
"I'm a druid... I'm actually glad to recieve a class that I like." Aoi replied happily.
A druid..? Those are mages that controls plants I believe, it is really fitting for Aoi since she is basically an expert when it comes to plants. As for the others... Haruki as a strategist is fitting too, with how he can calculate fast he can use that as an advantage, Izumi as a bard is a no-brainer since she is already a musician back at our world... As for Miyu, I guess she is the most creative among us— fitting for an inventor...
"To finish what I was about to say..." Rahl said as he take a cough again. "I took the four because those classes they recieve are suited for support and you were the only one who did not appear so I took you in instead. General Draven is the one leading the group that has strong fighter classes that consist of Hero Lukas, Elodie, Riku, Hinata, and Hikari."
"As for Mizuki's group, they are lead by the Prince!" Miyu shouted. "You would've liked Prince Julius if you met him Hayato, he looks charming and cool!"
"I'm happy that the five of us are together, even in a another world." Aoi happily replied.
Aoi is right, though I can fit in with the others if I went to their group, logically speaking sticking to a group we are more comfortable and familiar with is much better. I was about to suggest this if they decided to group us up, but I guess fate has taken its course...
Miyu dropped down on the table and grabbed my collar, shaking me excitedly. "Don't keep us waiting, show us your Scaleforge!"
"Show? How do you even do that?"
"To show your Scaleforge, just simply say it name like you are calling a friend." Rahl replied looking curious at what my Scaleforge contains.
I sighed and closed my eyes. "Show yourself, Scaleforge!"
My hand shone and in front of me appeared a Scaleforge that is about the same size at my head, Rahl immediatly looked at my Scaleforge as if he was waiting for it a long time.
"A Beast Tamer?! Not only that but the value of your Scaleforge is 0!" Rahl was shocked when he looked at my Scaleforge.
"A Beast Tamer?! That sounds cool!" Miyu shouted in excitement with stars shining on her eyes. "But why is your virtue 0?"
"What do you mean? Isn't that normal?" I asked worriedly.
"When someone activates their Scaleforge they start with a Virtue!" Rahl shouted, still shocked of what he has seen. "I can understand if the digit is 1 since there are record of it happening, but a 0 as a digit is not possible! Not only that, but you have Beast Tamer as a class which is practically useless!"
"0? Useless? Wait can you explain, what do you mean getting a 0 is impossible and Beast Tamer is a weak class?!"
Listening to what Rahl has explained, he said that a Scaleforge is already has a set of digit of how much Virtue you have since it also adds up the ones you've commit before you have activated it. So theoretically, getting a 0 means that you have not done anything good in life.
But there's a problem with mine, the digit of my Sin is also 0. According to the scriptures explantion about the Scaleforge, Sin cannot appear if you have Virtue— another thing written is that only humans are born with a Scaleforge that has a digit set on their Virtue and only demons are born with a Scaleforge with a digit staring on the Sin side of the scale.
Meaning in a hypothetical situation if I have 1 digit as my Virtue and I commited a Sin then that 1 digit will move toward to the Sin's digit. making my Sin having 1/100 in total and my Virture as 0/100.
Which is why Rahl's reaction to my Scaleforge is not normal, since by concept the Scaleforge have already stored a digit in my Virtue since I am human, but it is 0. Which is abnormal, because a human with a Scaleforge gets stronger and learn more power the higher their virtue is.
"Then I am insanely weak!" I cried as I facepalm myself on the table. "Then what about being a Beast Tamer? Why is that weak if I can tame beings like dragons and such?"
"As Heroes we do not want any of you to sin, it is basd enough already that your Virtue is 0 and it is more bad if your sin increases!"
"How does taming a dragon or such connect to me obtaining a sin?!"
"Taming beasts that can bring harm to humans is counted as a sin Hayato, so your only choice to obtain Virtuer is to tame domesticated or harmless animals such as dogs, cows, or sparrows. If we sent you in a mission, the best thing you can do is evacuate the livestocks"
"Then I am only useful in saving livestocks!"
Though I love the idea of me easily getting closer to animals... Still! I still want to help my friends whenever they are in danger! What a terrible day to start of!