Makoto, a high school boy with a track record of bad luck, thought his days couldn't get any worse. He was wrong. Summoned to another world by the mischievous Moon God, Suomi, Makoto found himself bound by a contract to become a hero, a destiny thrust upon him by his otherworldly parents.
But unlike the typical isekai protagonist, blessed with chiseled jaws and rippling muscles, Makoto had… well, let’s just say he wasn't exactly poster boy material.
Summoned before the dazzling Goddess of the new world, Makoto braced himself for a grand adventure. Instead, he was greeted with a look of utter revulsion. “Too ugly,” she declared, tossing his dreams of heroism into the abyss alongside his dignity.
"I've already found a more suitable hero. You're surplus to requirements, my unfortunate friend."
Dumped at the edge of the world with only the power to understand every language except human (a cruel joke, considering his current predicament), Makoto found himself plummeting into a desolate wasteland. Despair threatened to consume him as he wandered for days, until a desperate cry for help pierced the silence.
Rushing towards the sound, Makoto encountered a pig-like creature named Emma, besieged by a monstrous two-headed beast.
In a surge of adrenaline, Makoto leapt to her rescue, his dormant power erupting in a flurry of shocking strength. Beheading the monster with a single blow, he left Emma trembling in fear, more terrified of her savior than her attacker.
"It's alright," he reassured her, surprised by the unfamiliar language flowing from his lips. "I'm a nice guy, I promise."
Emma, astonished that a human understood her, revealed the dire situation plaguing her village: a suffocating fog, the wrath of the deity Shin.
She was on her way to offer herself as a sacrifice, a desperate attempt to lift the fog and save her people. But Makoto, determined to defy his ill-fated destiny, resolved to find another solution.
His archery skills, honed in the quiet afternoons of his old life, proved useful. Transforming fire into a bow and arrow, he obliterated the entrance to Shin's mountain lair. A swirling red mist descended, and from it emerged Shin - a magnificent, terrifying dragon.
Dodging her furious attacks with an almost preternatural awareness, Makoto unleashed a barrage of fireballs.
Shin, reeling from his power, saw something more than just a hero in his memories – she saw glimpses of another world, a world that sparked a burning curiosity.
"Become my companion," she offered, her voice echoing with both power and a strange vulnerability. "We can learn from each other. Benefit from each other."
Hesitant at first, Makoto eventually agreed. The contract, intended to be balanced, was overwhelmed by his burgeoning power. Shin transformed into a human, her appearance a testament to his dominance.
She revealed a demi-plane, a lush and fertile land hidden behind mist gates, a testament to Makoto's influence.
The fog that plagued Emma's village, it turned out, was not Shin's doing at all, just a misunderstanding perpetuated by opportunistic bandits. With the fog cleared and the villagers safe, a new task arose: building a city within Shin's demi-plane, a haven for those seeking refuge and a testament to Makoto's growing power.
He wasn't alone in this endeavor.
A cursed spider monster, captivated by his strength, became his second servant, taking on a human form just like Shin. And a dwarf named Beon, rescued from the spider's clutches, pledged his people's loyalty in exchange for safety within the demi-plane.
But challenges persisted. Makoto's potent mana, radiating from him like an invisible beacon, frightened the humans of the outside world. He had to learn their language, the one language denied to him by the Goddess’s cruel whim, and find a way to suppress his power.
He adopted the guise of a merchant’s son, donning a mask and a cloak, a hollow echo of the hero he was supposed to be.
As Makoto built his city, his power grew. His companions, Shin (now known as Tomo) and the spider girl Mio, bickered over his attention, their loyalty tinged with a jealousy that threatened to tear them apart. Yet, they were fiercely protective of him, battling those who dared to underestimate their ugly, awkward master.
But the world outside the demi-plane continued to intrude.
Makoto stumbled upon a conspiracy within the adventurer’s guild, a scheme orchestrated by a shadowy organization seeking to manipulate the goddess’s influence. He encountered other heroes, summoned from his own world, their destinies intertwined with his.
He learned about his parents, their noble origins, their forced exile from their homeland. He found himself drawn to those in need, saving a young girl named Ren from a life of servitude, rescuing her sister Toa from the clutches of the corrupt adventurers.
Toa, with her familiar features, ignited a pang of longing in Makoto, a reminder of the ordinary life he left behind.
Torn between his desire for a quiet life and the responsibility that came with his power, Makoto stood at a crossroads. The goddess, watching him from afar, waited for him to make his choice. Would he embrace the hero's mantle, or would he forge his own path, a path paved with the trust of his companions and the strength he never knew he possessed?
The answer, it seemed, lay hidden in the swirling mists of the demi-plane, a land reflecting his own evolving heart.
The ugly duckling, it seemed, was finally finding his wings.
