CH 179.1

Chapter 179.1: Hayama Relight

My name is Hayama Relight.

Yes, it isn’t 「Ritsuki」, it’s 「Relight」. It sounds like some sort of slang for a bright DQN name, but now, what would you say when you know that the owner of that name was a mob instead of a handsome and refreshing dude?

That’s why don’t be fooled by my name. It had already been decided since ancient times that the value in men lay in their heart(personality), specs(abilities), and look(face).

So which of those three categories do I belong to?

First was the face, you might say that I belong to the handsome side. I mean, even I am almost scared shitless of my face when I look at my own reflection in the mirror. Unfortunately, no girl has ever seen it.

Moreover, I didn’t want to depend on this face of mine alone. I do my hair every morning and apply a little bit of perfume. This should be enough to make me look manly, right?

Next, my high specs were pretty much given. I mean, it was given the moment I passed the test to enter that famous private high school, Shiramine High… Eh? Just barely passing as spare? Well, it’s only because I was under weather on the day of the entrance test.

Moreover, men aren’t all about being smart, physical strength and reflex are pretty important too. And my forte was, in fact, the sports.

It might sound cocky, but I was the undisputed ace of the basketball club. I was a regular, starting member for three years straight during the middle school era. That’s why after I got accepted into Shiromine High which was famous both in literal and sports activities, I… failed to become a regular starting member from my first year since the level of the other members was quite high too…

Cough, I mean, the inside was far more important. Yes, it’s the heart(personality).

I mean, look at those perfect supermans, blockheads such as Souma Yuuto, or that self-absorbed Tendou Ryuuichi, just look at their personalities.

But I am different! I am not popular among the girls like Souma, I shall let the girls realize that I’m a much better person inside. That’s why I―― have been bidding my time, I wonder when a girl in our class would notice me?

Well, I shall wait, I’m not an impatient person. My springtime of youth has only just begun. The school festival is just around the corner. I, the member of the basketball club shall become the undisputed king during the winter ball game. And thus, I shall increase my appeal for the fated moment when a girl realizes my charm and tries to approach me.

Yes, my rosy springtime of youth has only just begun―― or so I thought.

「Fu*k… I’m screwed…」

No matter how you looked at it, I was right inside the forest.

It all began when the chime signaling the start of homeroom rang, we were suddenly sent into another world. When the classroom crumbled down, all of us fell into bottomless darkness, I was the last one left as I clung to the cabinet in which we kept the cleaning tools but… I finally reached my limit and fell into the darkness.

This must be a dream. Yes, and I would find myself sleeping on my desk when I woke up.

Or so I thought, I was in the forest when I woke up.

Seriously, where in the world am I?!

「Another world of magic… you must be kidding me…」

Since the incident truly came out of nowhere, I almost ignored the content of the mysterious broadcast, but the content was indeed something along that way.

What a shocking setting. I mean, it was something that you used to trick children nowadays, but seeing that I had ended up in the forest after falling from the crumbling classroom, my views differed.

「Wha-Wha-Wha-What should I do…」

I was dumbfounded for a while after that.

Even when I was skimming across my surroundings, I didn’t see any familiar trees.

「Like hell I can survive this sudden survival mode… I’m just a member of the basketball club, outdoor living is impossible.」

I was an expert on barbeque thanks to my experience in outdoor camping though. And in this forest, I should take popular survival routes such as drinking muddy water and eating a snake or a frog.

Cr*p, I’m really screwed now. At this rate, I would die without being able to do anything.

「Aah, wa-wait a minute, come to think of it—」

I was struck by a flash of inspiration, I really am a genius after all!

「They say that I can use magic, right!」

I hurriedly rummaged through my bag and took out my note in which I had drawn the magic circle reluctantly since everyone did the same. The announcement did say that this would allow me to use magic.

「I don’t believe in occultism but… Please help me, God.」

I was a member of the Zen Sect, but the teaching didn’t stop us from asking for God’s help. Oh God, I beg You, please grant me super awesome magic that allows me to overturn the battle situation! Somehow, it feels like when I pulled ten times gacha. PLEASE, GIVE ME SSR!!

Vocation, 『Spiritualist』.

『Tiny Spirit Manipulation』：They’re still extremely small and young. But don’t forget that they’re really close to you. Now, listen carefully to everyone’s voice.

『Spirit Summoning Formation』：They’ll come when you call them. Your heart is tied to them no matter how far apart you are.

『Spirit Language Comprehension・Basic』：It’s just a little bit, but you can talk to them. Put your guts and call them up. Your feeling will reach them.

「…?」

What in the hell was this poem-like explanation?

Hey, what do you think about those explanations? Wait a minute, I, I’m like a total noob in magic, how do you expect me to understand that wacky flavoured text?

I mean, we’re talking about spirit here. They’re not something that I could see or hear.

And yet, the text’s flavour told me to “listen carefully”!

「O-Okay, calm down, this isn’t the time to get flustered… oh right, summoning, let’s try summoning.」

Let’s try to summon a spirit first. And then, let’s try to talk to them, OK? I’m sure that they would come along with an absurdly brilliant light effect when I summon them.

「Okay, let’s do this… come, SPIRIT!」

Unfortunately, nothing happened.

「Come! COMETH O SPIRIT!」

Unfortunately, nothing happened.

「COME, COMETH! I BEG YOu, PLEASE COME SPIRIT-SAN!」

And yet, nothing happened,

「Please, I don’t care whoever it is, please come spirit-sama…」

AND ABSOLUTELY NOTHING HAPPENED!

「E-Eh… what’s the meaning of this? Did I just get tricked?」

When nothing happened at all, I started to suspect that things such as magic or spirit were just the product of fantasy.

But well, I guess it’s going to be troublesome if those really existed. Though I should’ve gained the power of magic, my vocation as a spiritualist reduced that power to nothing more than BS.

「Th-This must be a mistake right… one more time, let me reroll…」

But the magic note that had been used once didn’t react at all no matter how desperate my wail.

「DAMMIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!」

I, who had reached the limit of my patience due to that unreasonable situation, tore the note that didn’t react at all in a fit of anger. THAT FUC*KING USELESS PAPER SHOULD JUST REINCARNATE INTO TOILET PAPER IN ITS NEXT LIFE!!

「What should I do now, all of my abilities look like fraud no matter how you look at them!」

I lamented my luck again as I let the wind scatter the note that had been reduced to pieces, leaving only emptiness in my heart. Thus, the blood that rose to my head calmed down at once.

「What should I do noooooooow……」

I became more and more anxious. I knew that I would be in deep shit if I kept staying in this dangerous forest, but I really had no idea about what I should do or what I could do right now.

Currently, I only had that useless vocation called spiritualist, and a bag filled with books. In short, I had nothing at all.

「Rather, where are the other guys… am I the only one who has strayed from the group…」

If memory served me right, this place should be the dungeon. But no matter how you looked at it, I was clearly inside a forest, it wasn’t a ruin or a cave like a dungeon that appeared in the game.

Everyone who got their vocation should’ve started their fun dungeon capture like the one in RPG game by now. Leaving me alone by myself, that’s it, not that I could blame them for this.

Maybe I could only rely on myself from now on.

I became more and more anxious as I thought of such depressing possibilities. I mean, like hell I could survive in this place by myself!

「Oh right, let’s call for help!」

I got another flash of inspiration. I took out the smartphone in my pocket with a swift movement rivaling that of a gunman’s.

「Out-Outside of service area…」

Only to get a hard slap from bitter reality, namely outside of the service area. But I guess such an outcome was possible if this place was isekai.

「Alone… I, am alone…」

What was this sadness, was this what the only kid who couldn’t connect to SNS felt? I mean, not being able to connect to the internet alone was enough to make me feel a sense of isolation.

And this wasn’t figuratively speaking, I was literally all alone. No one was going to come to save me. I rather cut my wrist and die than experience this nightmare-level game.

「Urgh…」

I couldn’t stop crying after experiencing this sense of helplessness and despair.

If someone asked, “Aren’t you too unsightly for a man?” I would shut their mouth and let them experience this despair. I was definitely not crying like a girl!

「Uuh… what should I do now… At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before I die…」

And then, right at that moment, when I cried like a brat…

The thicket beside me swayed.

「Wh-Who’s there!? Oi, save me please, I’m here~!」

I raised my face and shouted toward the thicket.

I absolutely wouldn’t feel embarrassed even if they found me crying in this place. There’s another person right there, I wasn’t alone. I couldn’t help but feel that it was the only ray of hope.

And then, the one who appeared from the thicket as if answering my hopeful wail…

「Pugugu, guaa」

Was a bear who raised a somewhat idiotic-sounding roar.

「I-Is that… a bear?」

When talking about a huge beast whose body was covered in light brown fur and was taller than a human when it stood on its two feet, the first thing that came to mind was a bear. And yet, this strange bear had long, bunny-like ears, and strangely enough, its face resembled that of a plushie rather than a real-life bear.

But rather than the adorable, teddy bear type, it had an awfully cheeky look on its face.

「Uhm, are you by chance, wearing a bear-like costume?」

「PUGAA!」

When I asked whether there was someone inside this cartoon-like bear, it replied with a snappy roar.

When it opened its mouth, I noticed that the inside of its mouth was too real for a costume, I realized that the one before me was a real-life bear-like species.

Upon a closer look, I realized that its claws and fangs looked really sharp, and its fur looked very real and fluffy.

Though it looked like a cartoon character, there was no doubt that it was a real-life bear. In addition, humans can’t win against bears.

At least, I wasn’t courageous enough to repel it by punching its nose like a certain old man from the movie.

「A-A-Abababa…」

I absolutely stuttered.

I mean who would’ve expected that I would end up calling a bear from another world when I called out to the thicket? I should’ve raised my vigilance.

But I had to do something about this situation rather than condemning my own stupidity.

At least, running away without looking back was impossible at this point.

Bears could run even faster than humans, but running aside, my feet had already been rattling non-stop since a while ago. Forget about feet, my body refused to move.

「PUGUU, PUGAGA!」

「HIIII!?」