Level. 1 Whisper, Chant, Prayer, Awaken

"Awaken."

- Volume 1

'level. 1: Whisper, Chant, Prayer, Awaken (ささやき、詠唱、祈り、目覚めよ, Sasayaki, Eishō, Inori, Mezame yo; A Whisper, an Aria, a Prayer, an Awakening) is the first volume of the Hai to Gensō no Grimgar' light novel series. It was first published on June 25, 2013.

Synopsis
'This isn't a fantasy, nor is it a legend. A life-size adventure by the acclaimed author Ao Jūmonji!'

Why are we doing this...?

When Haruhiro came to he was in the darkness. Not knowing why was he here or where "here" even was. With him were others who also remembered little more than their own names. What they found when they came out of the underground was a world that was "just like a game." In order to survive Haruhiro forms a party with others in the same situation as him learns skills and takes his first steps forward into the world of Grimgar as a trainee volunteer soldier.

Not knowing what awaits him... This is a tale of adventure born from the ashes.

Prologue
Waking up to the hard ground with a sore butt and back, Haruhiro realized he was in a cave with only dimly lit candles as a source of light. His memories or mind seemed to have slipped into ever knowing about his previous memories (before waking up in the cave), as he couldn't even remember his family or friends. He wasn't the only one in the cave as he heard several another people questioning their sudden appearance in the cave. The distinctive sound of a silver haired boy―Haruhiro saw through the candle light―decided to be the first to lead out, who was Manato. The other voices that Haruhiro could hear, agreed to follow. He was the last to follow, questioning deeply of why he was in the place and what he was trying to remember.

Walking for what seemed like countless of minutes, the group finally reached a lamp, which was brighter than the candles. They came to an end where a gate stood. Haruhiro noted Manato to have a "teenage gangster" style of clothing as well as him. Upon opening the gate, they found stairs which they climbed and awaiting them again was another gate. This time the gate was closed and Manato had to scream for the gate to open, which the "gaudy girl" - who was Yume - and the "messy hair" - who was Ranta - shouted the same. The gates opened and appeared in front of them was a man covered in armor and a sword strapped to his waist. There were no lights, apart from the candles, and the setting was different to what Haruhiro was used to. He questioned the "time and age" of the world they were in.

Being led out to the outside and not knowing the time, he found himself in a city full of towers and hills. Haruhiro then took in the people with him, which were 12 people (four girls and eight boys), including him, Manato, Ranta and Yume. A boy with silky hair and a slender figure had been the one to note that the place looked like a city whereas another boy, who was skinny with black framed glasses, said it was a castle. When the "Shy Petite Girl" - Shihoru -  asked where they were, no one responded since they didn't know. Since no one was sure where they were, a boy in a jersey who Haruhiro said was "Happy-Go-Lucky" suggested to talk to the guard with the armor. However, once they tried to find him, the armored guard was gone and the setting was changing, becoming narrower. People began to panic and during this, he noticed the accent of a girl with long hair that was tied in twin braids.

Through the commotion, a loud voice coming from a girl was heard. Haruhiro searched the girl and found that it didn't belong to Yume, Shihoru, "Twin-Braided Girl" and a girl who was no taller than 4'9". The voice definitely did not come from them. The talking girl then appeared with a country-girl fashioned clothing. She introduced herself as Hiyomu and presented Grimgar to them, announcing that she would be their guide. Her presentation and voice, however, annoyed a guy with a "Buzz Cut" hairstyle. Then the sky started to dawn, which Haruhiro had noticed. She then began to guide them.

The first part of their tour, Ranta noticed gravestones with flowers. Many shuddered. As they kept on walking, Haruhiro caught a glance at the sky, which gave him a shock. He saw a crimson moon in the sky. Everyone stopped to stare at the moon too, even Moguzo, a large but seemingly mild-mannered boy. Haruhiro wasn't really sure, just felt that the moon was extraordinary to the one he had supposedly seen before.