Dragon's Wrath: The Cursed Returnee

Ethan sighed while he was changing his clothes. His family refused to tell him about what they were talking about. He didn't like surprises, after all. To make things worse, since there was no uniform and the summoned heroes' school wasn't like the others, Ethan wanted to go using his most comfy sweatshirt, pants, and sneakers. In fact, that set could be considered his pajamas, but in the end, Hannah forced him to wear some clothes that he had never seen before. However, weirdly, they fit in him completely fine.

"I don't remember having those," Ethan said.

"I bought them for this occasion," Hannah explained proudly. "When you disappeared, we didn't know what happened, but soon after that, I was summoned as a hero too. So, once I returned, I bought this set for the occasion since I knew you were fighting in another world."

"Well, thanks for believing that I would return," Ethan said. "Still, I feel weird wearing these… I will stand out too much. That being said, I think Dad would look really cool in this."

In the past, Ethan knew that he wouldn't become a handsome man, but at the very least, he wanted to become as cool as his father. However, now that he was wearing a set of clothes that would make his father even cooler, he couldn't help but feel weird. The black sneakers were fine. Ethan liked them blue and black, after all. However, the jeans, the white shirt, and the brown jacket were just too… old fashioned. It looked like something the protagonist of the movie of the last century would wear.

"The first impression is the key," Hannah smiled. "So, you should appear at the school with a bang. You are at that age, so it is time to find yourself a girlfriend."

"It looks like you still are at that age, despite being married…" Ethan sighed. "Let's hope those won't cause me too many problems."

Ethan also didn't need a backpack, books, pens, or anything the like. He just needed to go to school like that. It felt like he was going to a shopping instead of school. It was a bit too late for that, but Ethan only now noticed that he wasn't going to study anything there.

Suddenly, his wristwatch began to shine. It was weird since nothing had been shown on the screen since yesterday, but now that Ethan could see a message.

You have been registered in the Summoned Heroes School. Welcome, Ethan Harrison. You have been accepted in the F class, and your seat is the number 49. Do you wish to go to school now? Y/N

"It looks like there are more heroes in this country than I thought," Ethan frowned. "I imagined that F is also my rank. Am I right?"

"Yep, as you know, Natalia came to appraise your powers," Hannah said. "But since you don't have much mana residing in your body, you will have to start from the very bottom. If you don't reach the A rank in one year, we will have one very long talk."

"As usual, you are so competitive, even when you are not directly involved," Ethan sighed.

"You can use the wristwatch as a credit card everywhere," Hannah said. "You can find pretty much everything in the school, but don't try to spend your salary on useless things."

"Now, I don't know if you have faith in me or not," Ethan shrugged. "Well, then. I'm off."

Ethan was engulfed by a pillar of light, and in the next moment, he saw himself in a completely different place. In front of him, he saw the biggest building that he had ever seen. It was like two kilometers tall and five hundred meters wide. Not to mention, it was completely white, as if it had been made by an unknown material. The tower had several floors, obviously, but their sizes varied quite a bit. Some were bigger than the others. At least, that was what Ethan imagined while seeing from that distance.

"I guess knowledge isn't the only thing humans are obtaining from other worlds," Ethan nodded to himself. "I'm pretty sure that isn't a material one can make with magic alone."

Ethan looked around and saw himself in the middle of the plaza. Some kids around his age were suddenly appearing just like him while others were sitting on some benches talking with their friends, while others were walking toward the tower. There were many trees around all directions, but aside from the plaza and the tower, Ethan saw some other buildings that looked like stadiums. There were three of them. Each building was located in a certain direction, but all of them were connected through the plaza. The tower was in the north. Suddenly, Ethan's wristwatch began to shine again.

"What know…" Ethan sighed.

Please, head to the lobby of the Instruction tower to meet with your main instructor.

"Instruction tower? Really?" Ethan laughed. "Well, I guess it would be a hassle to find the directions of everything on my own. In any case, if this were a manga, some asshole would bump in me by behind and then start a fight."

Ethan turned around, and only kids around his age ignored him. That was good. That being said, those kids sure looked fashionable. Maybe Ethan's standards changed a little since he spent eleven months in a fantasy world. Putting such useless thoughts aside, Ethan could feel a lot of mana in them.

Not only that, some of them were even carrying artifacts with them. Rings, amulets. Ethan could even see some weapons here and there. Their sizes had been adapted with magic, though.

"I might cause some problems if someone accidentally touches me," Ethan muttered. "I have to be careful since revealing too much about my powers won't do me any good, even by accident."

Ethan had to walk for a little while to reach the tower. Even though the school was located in Washington, D.C, he didn't see the city from his position. Maybe they were in a space isolated by magic, or they weren't that close to the city itself.

"I thought that the school was built here because it is close to the white house, but I guess I was wrong," Ethan muttered. "Maybe there is some other reason, and I'm just being too paranoid. One year in a warzone can mess with your head, after all."