Beast Monarch: Rise Of The Worthless Hero

In the heart of York City's bustling crossing, 17-year-old Wade hurried through the sea of people scurrying around the pedestrian lanes. He hurried to the public restroom near the subway station, carrying his satchel and wearing his uniform. Once inside the restroom, he quickly found an empty stall and locked himself in. "Thank goodness," Wade sighed, sinking his bottom on the toilet seat. "I nearly soiled myself out there." He reached into his blazer pocket and pulled out his phone. Tapping his phone awake, he opened his i********: and began mindlessly swiping his thumb through memes, posts and photos of his classmates. Suddenly, a bright magic circle appeared around him on the floor. Wade froze in shock. "What the hell is this?!" The sigils and symbols on the magic circle began glowing brighter and brighter until their light engulfed Wade completely. In an instant, Wade found himself still sitting on the toilet, but he wasn't in the restroom anymore. He was in the center of a grand royal courtroom with marble pillars stretched high above him, and a golden chandelier sparkling brightly like the sun. He was surrounded by nobles and knights who whispered among themselves while staring at him. At the front of the room were court mages and a King and Queen who gazed down at him in silence. Wade blinked twice just to be sure he wasn't hallucinating. "Huh? Hold on! I was just in the restroom a second ago, and now I'm... what is this place?" The king leaned forward and cleared his throat. "Summoned Hero, welcome to the Kingdom of Caelmont. My name is King Godfrey III." * * * * Wade's face flushed a deep red as he jumped to his feet and pulled up his pants and belts awkwardly. "W-wait a minute," Wade said, waving his hands in the air. "This is so embarrassing. What's the big deal?" The king replied in his deep voice. "Forgive me, summoned Hero. We never meant to interrupt your... private hour." Wade groaned as he fastened his belt. "You could have at least waited until I was done." King Godfrey cleared his throat awkwardly. "Understood. It won't happen again. We were desperate to summon you. The situation is urgent." Wade glanced around him, his eyes widening in realization. "I don't believe it. I've been summoned to another world. This feels like one of those Isekai novels I've come across on Light Novel." The king exchanged glances with his queen before turning back to Wade. "We don't fully understand what you mean, but yes, you have been summoned as the hero of our world." Wade's mind began racing. "A Hero? I'm just a regular high school student. I know nothing about saving the world or fighting monsters." King Godfrey rose to his feet and spread his arms. "Every summoned Hero activates his stats. If you concentrate hard enough, you'll notice a floating screen which only you can see." No sooner had Godfrey completed his sentence than a system appeared before Wade's face. "Wow, you're right," Wade exclaimed, his eyes widening with excitement. "This is my system." King Godfrey continued, his eyebrows narrowing. "Our world is on the brink of destruction, Hero. Eris, the goddess of chaos and discord, in her pursuit of disrupting peace, opened a rift to Tartarus, her realm of chaos." "Tartarus?" Wade muttered. King Godfrey went on. "Creatures known as the Devourers emerge from the rift and attack our lands. The Devourers are immune to conventional magic. They are far beyond what our armies can handle." Wade's eyes widened. "Hold the phone. You're telling me this goddess unleash these monsters on you guys just for the thrill of it?" "Precisely," King Godfrey nodded. "The Devourers' invasion takes place during the Blood Moon Cycle. We constructed Riftstone Beacons—magical obelisks placed throughout the kingdom to warn us of the next invasion." King Godfrey paused as he stared gravely at Wade. "Regrettably for us, the next blood moon cycle will take place fourteen days from now. We cannot contain the Devourers attacks when that happens. That is why we have summoned you, Hero." Wade swallowed. "Are you seriously expecting me to battle all those creatures on my own? I don't know any combat skills. The only things I can do are play baseball and video games." King Godfrey added, "For centuries, we have performed an ancient ritual once every hundred years to summon a Hero from another world. Only these heros possess the power to fight the Devourers and defeat Eris ultimately." Wade shook his head in response. "No, no. Let's go back a little bit. This is a literal goddess we're talking about, capable of creating chaos. You don't really expect me to stop everything on my own in just fourteen days, do you?" "Certainly not," King Godfrey smiled. "You will be provided with your own party, along with resources and funding. Besides, your system grants you a unique skill which would enable you to defeat the Devourers." Wade hesitated for a long time, his mind struggling to process all he had learned so far. As far as Wade could remember, he hadn't done anything extraordinary with his life. Before now, he had a choice to either prepare for college or drop out of school to pursue a career as an online game streamer. This was a big opportunity for him to do something meaningful with his life. "I guess I'll give it a try," Wade said, a steely resolve flashing in his eyes. "I'm not sure how much help I can offer, but I'll do my best to save this world." King Godfrey faced the queen. She nodded quietly, giving her approval. "Great Hero, tell us your name," King Godfrey said. "Wade," he replied. "I'm seventeen years old." "Well, Sir Wade, it is an honour to have you with us," King Godfrey said, gesturing toward the court mages standing nearby. "The court mages would take it from here." One of the mages, an elderly man with a long silver beard, stepped forward. He held a small orb-shaped device in his hands. "This is a Mana reader, used to measure the magical potential of the summoned heroes. In the past, heroes with high mana levels were known to be the strongest." Wade who was familiar with his fantasy games stepped closer. "So... All I need to do is place my hand over it like this." Wade reached out, holding his palm just above the device. The mana reader sprang to life causing the nobles and knights to lean forward in anticipation. Wade's mind raced with excitement at the thought of possessing a high mana and overpowered magic abilities. Suddenly, the Mana reader's light began to dim into a dull gray colour. Then it gave off a faint hum before going completely silent. "Uh..." Wade blinked twice. "Is that supposed to happen?" The elder mage frowned, peering closely at the device. "The mana device has determined your mana level to be..." He paused gravely for a short time. "Zero."