"Ahh, man... Before I die, I really wanted to lose my virginity..."
The boy grumbled while gazing at the sunlit grasslands and forest in the afternoon.
He was a slightly petite boy for someone in his late teens, with somewhat sharp eyes.
He wore a combat uniform designed for martial artists, resembling a karate or judo gi but in forest camouflage colors of green and brown instead of white.
A black belt was fastened around his waist, and he wore black high-top sneaker-style boots.
"If I knew things would turn out like this, I should’ve gone to a brothel and gotten rid of my virginity sooner."
As he complained, the boy fiddled with his slightly wavy short black hair. His sun-tanned skin tone was natural.
"You don’t have to be so pessimistic..."
A tall, slender boy nearby replied to the smaller one. He was a fair-skinned boy with long black hair tied at the nape of his neck.
The tall boy wore khaki trousers and a knee-length jacket covered in numerous pockets.
"It’s not like we’re definitely going to die."
"Nah, we’re totally gonna die," the smaller boy shot back, continuing, "Aquila’s so short on fighting power right now that they’re even dragging trainee adventurers like us into the defense battle."
Aquila was the name of the fortified city behind them, protected by towering gray concrete walls. It was a relatively small autonomous city of about 50,000 people on the Northern Continent.
"Adventurer" was the name of a profession in this world — people who risked their lives fighting monsters that attacked humans.
Due to the nature of the job, powerful combat ability was practically mandatory for adventurers.
"There’s no way we’re surviving against a monster brigade in this situation."
Just as the smaller boy said, the situation was desperate. A "brigade" referred to a large horde of monsters numbering between 2,000 and 5,000.
Normally, Aquila had over 500 combat personnel — full-fledged adventurers. That would usually be enough to handle a brigade.
But this was a special situation. Most of the regular adventurers were away on external missions. Fewer than 100 full-fledged adventurers remained in the city — far too few to face a brigade.
When an autonomous city faced a monster attack, resident adventurers had an obligation to participate in the city’s defense. The Adventurers Guild (the professional association that existed in most cities) would organize them.
Normally, the reward was good enough that willing adventurers could handle most attacks. Reluctant adventurers were rarely forced to join.
However, this time, the majority of regular adventurers were away, and Aquila was hit with an unusually large-scale assault. That was why even trainees like these two boys, who weren’t full adventurers yet, had been drafted into the defense battle.
The boys were standing in front of the northern wall of Aquila. Beyond the over-20-meter-high wall stretched grasslands, and further ahead lay a vast forest stretching beyond the horizon.
It was spring. Both the forest and plains were lush green. White, cotton-like clouds floated across the sky, but the strong afternoon sun shone brightly over Aquila and the surrounding area with little obstruction.
The distance from the wall to the forest was about 300 meters. Roughly fifty adventurers had gathered in front of the wall.
Their clothing and equipment varied, but the most common outfit was a jacket and trousers combination — the standard combat attire in this world.
When people simply said "combat uniform," they usually meant this combination. Adventurers were broadly divided into two main types: martial artists and mages. Their preferred combat clothing tended to differ.
Martial artists valued mobility and compatibility with weapons. The smaller boy’s martial arts uniform, designed for weaponless fighting, was specialized for maximum mobility.
Mages often preferred clothing with as many pockets as possible, even if it reduced mobility. They prioritized carrying many items needed for magic.
As a result, pocket-heavy combat uniforms were popular among mages, and many wore longer jackets that allowed for more pockets.
"You’re so lucky, Yuri. You’re not a virgin. Even if you die, you won’t have as many regrets as me," the smaller boy said, looking up enviously at the tall boy named Yuri — Shido Yuri.
"If things get dangerous, you can be my shield and die first, since you’re not a virgin."
"Don’t say such unreasonable things!" Yuri replied with an exasperated look.
"Besides, I’m still a virgin too, just like you, Kazu!"
The smaller boy — Kazui (called Kazu) — glared suspiciously at Yuri.
"Liar! You’re popular with girls... and you had girlfriends back in Japan! Four of them!"
As Kazui said, Yuri was the type who attracted women. He had neat, handsome features. Because of his long black hair tied in a ponytail, he was sometimes mistaken for a tall girl, and he was even popular with some men.
The reason he said "back in Japan" was because both Yuri and Kazui were originally from Japan — a country in another world.
Half a year ago, Kazui and Yuri had been transported from their home world of Japan to this world due to some mysterious large-scale accident.