章節 2: The First Village
Part 1
Player Name: Kaga Michio
Character Information & Equipment:
Class: Villager, Lv1
Weapon: Durandal
Accessory: Ring of Determination
It took me a while to realize that I was laying in a haystack. Why was I laying
there and why in the haystack of all possible things I don't know and to be
honest, I don't care. The most important thing right now is that I was
apparently in some kind of barn or shed, hence the haystack. Last time I
checked there was no barns or places that sold hay in Tokyo, so I have to
think what the presence of all that hay around me means.
Commence the solo brainstorming session!
Okay, first things first, recollection of everything that I was doing yesterday.
Most of the time I was bitching about how much dick Life has managed to
stuff inside me up until now (just my typical day) and then I happened upon
that sketchy post which led me to an even sketchier net game which I decided
to check out in order to detach myself from all the shit I've been dealing with
lately. Then I proceeded to create an account and my character (which took
ages by the way, thanks to that needles clickfest with stats) and when I was
finally about to start, I lost consciousness after reading that warning which
appeared on my screen. Next thing I remember was waking up here, in this
haystack.
So yeah, there you have it. In conclusion, I am just like that one who became
a meme on the internet recently, I know nothing. Could it be that was
somehow trans…
.............................................…
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................
OH FUCK NO! THIS BETTER NOT BE AN ISEKAI STORY OR
ELSE…!!!
Or else what?
Okay, all right, let's calm down and think about it rationally for a second.
Instead of being transported into another world, it is more probable that I am
inside some kind of virtual reality. Otherwise, why would I have to deal with
all of that game related stuff in the first place? No way, something like that
should be impossible with the current level of technology in our world. And
how would that even work when all I did was basically a character creation
process like in any other game? So what? Is it more like, I don't know, a
dream? A very realistic lucid dream?
[Bruuuuuoooooo!] [Wah!]
At that time I heard the sound that I wasn't able to hear before, probably
because I got too lost in my own thoughts. It wasn't anything that sounded
hostile, but it did give me quite the scare. Something is here in that shed with
me. Maybe I'll be able to see it if I just squint my eyes and concentrate.
Huh? What is that?
When I focused my gaze on the direction the noise was coming from, an
information window was displayed directly in my mind, telling me that the
source of the noise was apparently just an ordinary horse. When I got up on
my feet and approached, the info turned out to be true, there really was a
horse in one of the boxes near the entrance to the barn. Judging by the
thickness of its legs it's not a Thoroughbred, but just a normal horse. Not that
I could tell the difference even if I had both types in front of me, I'm just a
normal guy, not a friggin horse-breeding expert.
As for the hut itself, it was probably the same size as your typical studio
apartment, which is to say, quite spacious. Completely different to the
apartment where I was living with my old man up to this point, which was
approximately the size of 6×4 tatami mats. But enough talking about my dull,
uninteresting past, I have more pressing matters to attend to right now, like
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looking around and assessing my surroundings. The inside of the shed was
pretty dim, but from the spaces between the boards of the wooden walls and
scarcely placed wooden windows I could see that the sky outside was still
tinged with a slight shade of red. The question is, does that mean the night is
about to fall, or maybe the dawn is breaking to greet the new day? Other than
me there are no people around. As I already said, the windows are the most
basic wooden ones, without any glass or shutters.
The minutes passed and the horse eventually grew quiet, presumably drifting
off to sleep. While we're still on the topic of that horse, I wonder if the
information that were displayed in my mind were the result of the Identify
skill.
Identify.
That was one of the skills that I picked up during the character creation
process, that much I can remember. Well, now is as good of an opportunity as
ever, so why not take that ability for a test drive? Thinking like that, I looked
at myself and said the word [Identify] out loud, and sure enough, another
information window popped right up. Let's see here… Kaga Michio, male,
17 years old, Villager Lv1… ohhhhh, so I guess this is my status then? Kaga
Michio is my name, but… how does the game know that? I mean, that was
not the name that I chose for my character when I was filling out the
registration form yesterday! After all, even an unsociable loser like me knows
the bare minimum of the net games etiquette that states that you should never
use your real-life name while making a character in game! So how is it
possible that my character's name is the same as my real name? Has my
computer been hacked by some kinda super hacker who messed up with my
game account as a sick joke?!
Perplexed, I examined my whole body, but I wasn't feeling any kind of
discomfort anywhere, and everything I touched felt super real, as if it were
made of real flesh instead of a bunch of 1's and 0's. I even have the same
jersey I was wearing for an entire day yesterday, complete with food and
sweat stains! Yup, no matter how I look at it, it is my body. Wow, to be able
to reproduce every single detail of the player's looks and wardrobe, that is
some seriously sick VR technology.
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Since I was home all day yesterday I was also barefoot, feeling the hard
ground with every inch of the soles of my feet. As for the temperature, the air
around me is neither hot nor cold. I'm fine with having no shoes as long as
I'll stay inside of here, but a lack of shoes might be a serious problem once
I'll have to venture outside. Thankfully, looking around the shed for a while I
managed to find something that upon closer inspection with my Identify skill
turned out to be a pair of simple sandals. Since I don't have any socks on my
feet then I might as well wear them. After all, it's certainly better than having
no shoes at all. They were pretty primitive in their design, with strings that
were supposed to be tied around the ankles to prevent them from falling off.
As it turned out, I still had to tie them up manually instead of just poking
them with my finger with a motion imitating clicking. When I used Identify
on my body again after everything was said and done, some new information
appeared.
Kaga Michio, male, 17 years old, Villager Lv1, Thief Lv1, Equipment:
Sandals
Uhm… that the name of that second job makes me feel like a bandit, and I
probably am one for taking somebody else's possessions without asking them
for permission first, but oh well, at least I've got a second job mere minutes
into the game. By the way, my jersey does not seem to be classified as
equipment. Is it because it was brought here from outside of the game? The
only thing listed under the equipment tab are those sandals I have stolen. And
speaking of equipping, I should have some Bonus Equipment on me right
now.
Next to the haystack where I have woken up I found a room which contained
a sword. Using Identify on it revealed that it was the Holy Sword Durandal
and it came with a crapload of various skills, among which were the ones
such as Attack Power x9 and Damage Absorption 25%, HP Absorption and
MP Absorption. So this is what it means to have a Bonus Weapon 6, huh?
Also, next to the sword I found a curious ring. I'm going to Identify it either
way, but I wonder if it's going to give better benefits than Durandal? It says
that it's a Ring of Determination. Those are some good items to start the
game with.
I put on the ring and equip the sword. This further confirms my suspicion that
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this is indeed a game, since my actions have been confirmed in the character
status screen. Once again, I'm amazed how detailed this virtual reality is.
Fixing my Durandal so that it would be attached to my belt just like the
katanas worn by the samurai, my preparations were now complete.
Being fully equipped for the road that lies ahead of me, I decided to leave the
stable and take my first step into this new, unknown world that was waiting
for me outside. What am I going to find out there? I don't know, but maybe it
won't be as bad as I initially thought, minus being labeled as a Sandals thief.
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Part 2
The first thing I saw after I left the barn was the early morning scenery of a
peaceful country village. The buildings consisted mostly of one storied
wooden houses surrounded with vegetable gardens. The eastern side of the
village consisted of vast open fields, while the northern part housed a large
forest. It looks like the villagers begin their daily activities fairly early,
because even though the sun had just risen over the horizon, some of them
were already up and about, walking down the simple, stone-paved road.
I don't know if I should hide from them or not, but just to be on the safe side
I've chosen to hide behind the barn for now. There are still too many things
that I don't know that being cautious sounded like the best possible course of
action for now. After all, I don't know who these people are and if they are
friendly to outsiders or not, and there's also a matter of me stealing (although
by accident) those sandals from inside the barn. I don't know about you, but
for me the prospect of having my hand cut off as a punishment for theft was
not a welcoming one. So in order to avoid attracting unnecessary attention to
myself I decided to wait and observe the villagers form the shadows and use
Identify on the couple which happened to pass by the barn on their way to the
fields. It told me that both of them had only a first name without any last
names, didn't have any Jobs except for [Villager] and were both at Lv1. In
other words, they were your typical, run-of-the-mill NPCs (Non-Player
Characters).
While we're at it, I am also at Lv1. Sooner or later I'll have to do something
about it.
I decide to enter the forest from the side of the barn and observe the village
from there. That way I'll be able to continue my investigation of the
surroundings without having to worry about getting caught by anyone.
The village itself was actually quite large, stretching way into the southwest
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direction. The total number of houses in the whole thing should be around
thirty to forty. The village's very center was the place where most of the twoand three-story houses were located. Squinting my eyes to see better, I used
Identify on the people who were currently coming out of them. Just like
before, they had only one name and one Job listed, but not all of them were
labeled simply as [Villagers]. Among all the people were a total of five
[Farmers]. I don't know what made them different from the regular villagedwellers, maybe the fact that they were more effective at cultivating the land?
Man it sure as hell would be swell if there actually was some kind of tutorial
here that would explain all of the basics to me, but I guess that is too much to
ask for, huh? For now I guess I'll just have to make do with Identify alone.
Now to continue my monitoring.
The person with the highest level was a Lv25 older-looking dude. Should I
try talking to him, or perhaps settle my sights on someone with a lower level,
just in case that things could really go south? Let's see now… I spy with my
little identifying eye that the person who was 8 levels below the one with
Lv25 was actually the village's chief who's apparently 69 years old. Heh, 69,
such a neato number.
In addition to him there was also someone with Lv6 who appeared to be a
merchant, but it was hard to tell if he was a traveling one or the owner of the
village's general store. Either way, he must be one of the more financially
stable members of the community here since he walked out of one of the few
three-story buildings in the neighborhood.
I wanted to investigate some more, but unfortunately any further attempts ad
doing as such have been interrupted by a pair of high-pitched voices echoing
through the calm, early morning air. They belonged to two people who left
the village perimeter some while ago and now they were running back with
all their strength, literally screaming their throats out. Unfortunately for me
they were both too far away for me to hear what exactly was going on in
here, but I found out soon enough.
One by one, the villagers rushed back into their homes, only to emerge back
with weapons, mainly swords and spears, in hand. Don't tell me….
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Don't tell me someone actually saw me and they were preparing to lynch me!
Are you fucking serious?! For a measly crime of stealing a pair of used
sandals that are not even all that comfortable to begin with?!
At least that's what I had initially thought, but thankfully that does not seem
to be the case this time, since the villagers weren't converging on my
location, running towards the east instead. Hiding behind the trees, I quietly
follow after them to what all the commotion was about.
After around two minute of walking, I finally saw it. A large cloud of dust
approaching the village from the eastern road, followed by intimidating
shouts and the rumbling of hooves against the beaten ground.
It was a bandit raid. It wasn't just my assumption based on my knowledge of
the tropes from games set in medieval times and audio clues, oh no. I took
my time to scan them with Identify, and even though they were still so far
away from me that they looked like nothing more but the grains of rice, it
showed me that each and every one of them had [Bandit] listed as his Job.
Man, the reach of that skill is seriously OP.
Also, thanks to that I was finally able to grasp the situation I found myself in.
All the signs pointed towards only one possible conclusion:
This is a [Tutorial Quest: Bandit Raid!] On a side note, this is not a name that
I have come up with on the fly. The information window that just appeared
before my eyes literally called it like that.
Since this is a tutorial quest, I should be able to complete it without any
major difficulties, since the levels of the Bandits are generally quite low,
single digit ones. Even if I myself am only at Lv1, there is no way in hell that
I could lose an introductory battle like that! Not when I also have a Holy
Sword Durandal on my side! (TL Note: Ever heard of Dark Souls, you
scrub?)
The Bandit's equipment consisted primarily of Copper Swords, the same as
the ones possessed by the villagers and simple Leather Armors. A high-end
weapon like Durandal should eat them for breakfast in no time.
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All the villagers stopped just some distance away from the barn I was initially
hiding behind and took assumed their positions, waiting for the Bandits to
approach them. I look towards them once more to confirm their numbers.
Most of the villagers were present, including the Lv25 village's head. What
are the chances of them besting a group of bloodthirsty cutthroats? If you say
[not very high] then I'm afraid I have to agree with you, especially after
taking Identifying the Bandits and their Leader form up close.
Bandit Leader Hugo
Male, 38 years old
Job: Bandit,
Equipment: Iron Sword, Bandit Bandana, Iron Armor, Leather Shoes
Yeah, no doubts about it. The guy in the middle must be their Leader. His
level is exceptionally high and his equipment looks to be more luxurious
when compared to the rest of the band around him, who wore the standard
stuff. Level-wise, the Leader was at 19 and someone who looked like his
right hand was at 11 respectively, and the rest of them were single digit ones.
Could this be because this is the first event in the game? Well, no use
thinking about it now. For now, let's just adopt the following mindset:
everything is going to be all right as long as I'll be careful enough not to get
hit by any of the Leader's attacks.
The moment the Bandits finally reached the village, a fierce battle
commenced, and the best way I can describe it was: chaotic. Unintelligible
shouts and screams filled the air as both Bandits and villagers were slashing
away at each other with their swords and it quickly turned into a situation
where I couldn't clearly tell one side apart from the other. All I knew was that
the battle itself was slowly moving towards me in the forest, so if I timed my
actions right, I could probably jump out and land a few surprise attacks here
and there.
Both of the sides were pretty even, one not being able to overwhelm the other
to claim the decisive victory even though the fight itself was going for a
while now, developing a clear standstill. The same was true for the bandits
Leader and the village chief, but because the chief's level was higher than
that of the Bandit Leader, it's only a matter of time before he comes out on
top. However…
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One of the horse-riding Bandits came between the two Leaders, distracting
the chief and enabling the Bandit Leader to perform a thrusting attack which
made his sword penetrate deep into the chief's body.
What was that technique?! It looked like the Leader stabbed the chief through
the gaps between the elements of his armor, but could something like that
really be pulled off by a thug like him? I heard that such a technique really
existed and was utilized mainly by the master swordsman fighting against
armored opponents to strike at their vital points, but only a selected few
managed to master completely master it.
Wounding the chief like that, the Bandit Leader totally has him on his mercy,
looking down on him and grinning in a very unsettling way. But now that his
eyes are focused on him and no one else, maybe that was the opportunity I
was waiting for?
I feel that now would be a good chance for me to sneak behind him unnoticed
and stab him through the heart with my Durandal. Something is telling me
that an attack like that would deal a considerable amount of damage, possibly
even killing him on the spot.
I slowly remove the Durandal from its sheath on my waist and squeeze its
handle with both my hands. It is much heavier than a wooden sword I was so
used to carrying, but not to a degree where I couldn't swing it around since
my muscles have been thoroughly trained through years of Kendo practice.
Also, I keep telling myself in my head that since it is a first in-game event,
there is no way for me to die in it.
I have to do it. I have to go. It's either now, or never.
So I take a deep breath…
…and I dash out of the forest straight into the heat of battle!
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Part 3
I can no longer hear the surrounding sounds. I don't know who screams what
anymore. I simply run straight ahead with the intention of attacking the
Bandit Leader.
One of the bandits noticed me as I was on my way and jumped at me to stop
me, so I had no choice but to slash him twice before he would do the same to
me. I think his level is Lv2. As he was falling onto the ground I didn't even
pay him any attention, I just raised Durandal up and resumed my advance. I
simply continued to run while striking down those who would stand in my
way, and after I jumped over the bodies of some fallen Bandits I've finally
found myself next to their leader, who had still failed to notice me due to the
commotion from the battles around him. I tightened my grip on the sword's
handle, and with my feet planted firmly in the ground I performed a spinning
slash aimed at the Bandit Leader's neck. When he realized what was going
on, it was already too late for him to do anything. Durandal struck him dead
in the neck, cleaving it as if it was made of butter and sending his head flying
high into the air before it finally fell at his feet. The expression on his face
was that of utter shock and disbelief. But that was not important to me now.
The important thing was the blood that gushed out of the place where the
decapitated head was just moments ago, and let me tell you, it was like a
fountain…. Oh wow… o-oh, shit… oh fuck why is it not stopping already?!
Why does it keep on splashing around?!
No! Michio, stop acting like a bitch-ass pussy and get a grip already! You
don't have the luxury of standing around admiring the gory details! There are
still Bandits around who are in desperate need of a beating!
I did just like I said and engaged the other enemies. They were all felled by a
single blow of my Holy Sword. With each swing another bloody fountain
was created, sending scarlet droplets into the air, culling down the enemy's
numbers.
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Once all of the small fries were finely chopped like the pieces of logwood,
my attention turned to the second strongest Bandit, the one who looked like
their Leader's right hand. Together with a couple more of his goons he was
attacking a group of villagers who formed a defensive formation around their
chief, who somehow managed to get back on his feet after that critical attack
between the pieces of his armor. When I approached them, one of them
screamed something to the others while pointing towards me. The second-incommand also looked at me and also started screaming, after which he and
all of his remaining men began to run with their tails tucked between their
legs. Looks like my little sneak attack also managed to inflict some sick
psychological damage as well.
Now that they have turned their backs on me, this is another perfect chance. I
started to chase after them, slaughtering anyone who's back had the
misfortune of bumping into Durandal's pointy end, until I happened upon the
third strongest man among the entire group of bandits, the one who was
Lv11. Without saying anything he just assumed a fighting stance and charged
at me, slashing at me from left to right and right to left in an attempt to
overwhelm me with a barrage of blows. I managed to block some of them,
but the rest I was forced to dodge by rolling backwards and to the sides like a
mad acrobat. This opponent is wearing better armor than the rest of the
Bandits, so I won't be able to defeat him by just swinging my sword around
randomly. I grabbed Durandal's handle with both of my hands again and also
assumed my stance. If there's one thing I learned from my kendo lessons, it is
that when you are fighting against an armored opponent, your moves are all
that's important.
He tried to slash me from above, so I quickly sidestepped and slashed him on
the wrist, wounding it severely. Durandal is truly strong, being able to inflict
such wounds with such a shallow cut. However, the Bandit ignored the blood
dripping from his wrist and attacked me again. I prepared myself to block and
counter it, but it turned out that he was just feinting that attack. His real aim
was to swing his bleeding hand at me so that the blood from the wound
splash into my eyes, momentarily blinding me. Of course, he used that
chance to get away.
Right now, all of the bandits were in full retreat mode, running for their lives
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like the little bitches they were. So I guess the likes of them are only tough
when they are absolutely sure of their advantage. What a bunch of losers.
Before they completely retreated, I finished off as many of them as I could.
None of them posed a threat to me now, not when they were exposing their
backs to me as they were trying to get away. Eventually only a handful of
them managed to flee, but I still managed to earn quite a lot of experience
points in the end, so I think that it was all worth the trouble.
「Fuuu~~」
Breathing a sigh of relief after the battle was over, I just sat down right where
I stood. Even if this is only a game, all that moving around was still pretty
tiring, just like in real life, so I need a moment to calm myself down from all
that battle high. Little by little, the sound of the surroundings are flowing into
my ears again as I look around the battlefield to get the grasp of the situation.
As one might have expected, the whole field is littered with corpses, mostly
the bandit ones, and the pools of spilt blood. Not a pretty sight at all, I can tell
you that. And by the looks of it, the bodies of the dead are not going to
disappear immediately. What an unnecessary bit of realism. I wonder if it's
something that the beta testers overlooked. Then again, do VR games even
have beta testers to being with? Or maybe I am doing the testing right now?
If that is indeed the case, then maybe I should file a complaint to the
developers.
As I was contemplating what should be the contents of my complaint, the
village chief approached me.
「I don't know what to say, oh brave stranger.」
I glanced at him when he finished talking. Even though the language setting
was that Brahim or whatever, the first word was totally incomprehensible to
me, but with every next word I could understand what he was saying more
clearly.
「Oh, forgive my rudeness. Tell me, do you speak Brahim, stranger?」
「I know it to some extent.」
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I replied to him.
「Ohh, and you speak it so fluently even though you're not looking like a
local. Are you perhaps an Adventurer?」
「Perhaps」 my ass! It should be obvious at first glance!
「Well, I guess you could say that.」
I politely confirmed his suspicions. After all, I don't want to make him my
enemy by being unnecessarily rude or secretive. If possible, I want to build
friendly relations with them because who knows, maybe I'll be able to benefit
from it quite a bit?
「Thank you for saving our village from those filthy brigands. You have our
undying gratitude, young Adventurer.」
「No need to thank me. I just did what everyone else would do if they were
placed in such a situation.」
I tried to brush it off as if it were the most natural thing to do. Also,
something about this whole situation seemed awfully fishy to me. For
someone of his age and level, the village chief appeared to be almost too
humble to me. Why would he use such a polite tone and words when talking
to a Lv1 brat like me? Okay, I get that I probably saved his life and all, but
even for something like that it seems to be a little too much.
「Please, allow me to reward you for your bravery and selflessness. Is there
anything I can do for you?」
「Hmm, let me think… oh, then, if it isn't too much trouble, I don't have any
place to stay, so maybe you could do something about that?」
Although it is a game, the fatigue I felt was very much real. For virtual reality
that's quite an achievement. Other than that, I simply didn't want to stay here
on this battlefield anymore than it was absolutely necessary. I wanted to leave
it as fast as possible.
「Come stay at my house then. My name is Somala and I'm the chief of this
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village.」
Identify told me the same. His Job was really listed as Village Chief.
「My name is Kaga Michio. Pleased to meet you and thank you for your kind
offer.」
「XXX father! XXXXXXXXXXXXX〆.」
I couldn't understand most of the conversation between the village chief and
the villagers, even though I could understand the chief himself quickly. Just
what is going on in this game?
「Are there many people here who can speak Brahim?」
「That would be just me and the village trader.」
「Is that so?」
「I must say, you're quite amazing, Michio-sama. You're able to speak
Brahim even though you're so young!」
Is that really something so amazing? And by the way, Brahim is not
Japanese. Far from it, actually, it is a language that sounds like everything but
Japanese. But for some bizarre reason I was able to understand those who
also knew how to speak it. As for everyone else, even if they spoke to me, I
couldn't understand a single word they were saying. Looks like I will only be
able to hold a conversation with the village chief and that other person.
Looking at the chief, I have to say that he didn't look like someone who's a
Lv25, and a former Adventurer at that. I mean, Village Chief was the only
Job he had listed, so maybe in this game your status changes in real-time
depending on the choices you make and the actions you take?
While we're at it, let's have another look at my own status.
Kaga Michio, Male, 17 years old
Jobs: Villager Lv2 Thief: Lv2
Equipment: Holy Sword Durandal, Ring of Determination, Sandals
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Sweet, looks like the levels of my jobs went up as a result of that battle
earlier. Well since it was as fierce as it was then what did you expect? My
only gripe would be that after killing so many Bandits I only managed to gain
a single level in each of my jobs. Looks like grinding levels is going to be a
serious pain in the ass.
By the time I finished the inspection of my status we had already arrived at
the Chief's house.
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Part 4
「 X X X X X X X X X X X X X.」
「X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.」
「You must be tired after the battle, Michio-sama. I'll have my wife prepare a
bath of hot water for you, so until it is ready please make yourself at home.」
「All right. Thank you, and sorry for the trouble.」
The Chief had a little exchange with his wife which I totally couldn't
understand, and then he urged me to come inside with him.
The entire thing was a two-story building build in western style. Based on
what I have seen up until now, it looks like the civilization in this game is not
all that advanced. My guess is that technologically they should be at the level
of our Middle Ages at best? I mean, I haven't seen anyone using a gun so far,
but I didn't see anyone using a bow either, so I guess the exact specifics will
have to be determined later.
From the entrance alone it became apparent that inside this house was much
bigger than it looked from the outside. Immediately upon entering, I was
guided to a small side-room and told to sit down.
「Please wait here while we will get everything ready.」
「Okay, I'll be sure to do just that.」
「Now, if you'll excuse me…」
It was a simple room with almost no furniture in it, probably serving as some
kind of a storeroom, so before the Chief left me there to wait he handed me a
wooden board so that I could sit on it. Well, I was hoping to at least get
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myself a chair, but that is fine as well. Everything is better than freezing my
ass off on the cold hard ground.
「Phew…..」
I sighed without even realizing it. Well, as far as the first times in games go,
this was certainly an intense one, but I think now that we have reached our
「Rest Period」 after successfully completing the tutorial event would be a
great time to call it a day and log out.
.... Wait, how do you do that again? Maybe there is a button, or a prompt
somewhere within my field of vision... nope, no good. Then maybe I have
to move my hand or fingers in a specific motion, like in that one famous
VRMMO… nah, that was not it either…
.... Huh?
But no, seriously now, how the fuck do I log out of this goddamn game?! No,
no no no no no no no, don't tell me I can't log out!?
I was beginning to panic. Thinking about it, I really didn't know how am I
supposed to log out of this game. There was nothing about it before or after
the character creation process, and certainly no information windows with
that crucial details appeared when the game started. But then… how am I
supposed to go back to reality?
「Log Out!」
I shouted, but nothing happened. No forced pause, no time stopping around
me, nothing. The game's world just continued onward.
「Log Off! End! Stop! System! Options! Main Menu! Save & Quit!」
Still nothing.
「Main Menu! Menu! Exit to the Main Menu! Exit Options! Window! Open
Window! Menu Window! Exit Window! Memory! Save! Quit! Save & Quit!
Quit Without Saving!」
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I tried saying every combination possible that came to my mind, and still
nothing happened. At this rate, I will really be unable to return to reality from
this fucking shit game!
But…. Can I really call this a game at this point? Because all of my senses
were telling me that everything around me was 100% real. There was no
room for doubts. This couldn't have been a mere dream or some cheap
fabrication, not with that level of attention to every little detail.
And anyway, if this really is a virtual reality that is practically
indistinguishable from the real world, then how is this possible that
something like that hasn't been covered by the media?! I mean, can you
imagine?! That would make this game the very first to offer a full virtual
reality experience!
….. No. As awesome as that would be, it's just not possible. After all, I didn't
use any VR gear to start playing. All I did was opening a browser, clicking on
a link and finishing the character creation process. That's something even a
trained monkey could pull off.
And yet here I am. In a world that is clearly not real, but it looks, smells and
feels like real.
For all I know, this might be the real world, and the life I was living up until
now was nothing more than a cruel simulation. But then… why would I think
that this was a game? My Identify Skill came to my mind. A tool that allowed
me to view myself as if I was watching from a third person perspective and
all the information about me, something like that was possible only in games.
However, as I finished inspecting every part of my body, I finally noticed it.
All the blood that my jersey was stained with.
If it was a game, something like that would never have happened. And it
wouldn't have that nauseating smell! Blood would have just fly into the air
and fall to the ground where it would have simply disappeared after a while
or turned into a myriad of pixels and evaporated.
So which is it? A game world, or a real world? Where am I? What Is going
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on here?! I guess it doesn't really matter all that much. Without a way to log
out of it, what difference does it really make? If I am stuck here without any
option to bail out, then it means that this has become my new reality.
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WARNING!
IF YOU CHOSE TO CONTINUE BEYOND THIS POINT, YOU WILL
LIVE YOUR LIFE IN A DIFFERENT WORLD, NEVER TO
COMEBACK TO THE WORLD YOU WILL BE LEAVING BEHIND.
KNOWING THIS, DO YOU STILL WISH TO CONTINUE?
That was the last memory of my own world that I had. That ominous message
which appeared at the end of the character creation process. It was way too
dubious to be part of the actual game, and admittedly I was pretty tilted at
that time so I kinda neglected it and clicked yes without really thinking it
through.
That's why I can be entirely sure this is a game world or not. If this is the
game world just like it was described on the main site, then the warning given
at the end could certainly be true.
「Please excuse me.」
While I was thinking so hard on it, the village Chief came to me together
with a woman who looked like she might have been his wife. She was
carrying a large wooden bowl filled with water and a towel in her hands.
「Aa, aaah.」
「Michio-sama, please use this hot water and towel to cleanse yourself off the
battle's filth.」
His wife placed the bowl in front of me and handed me the towel, or to be
more precise, a piece of cloth that was supposed to be the towel.
「My wife also prepared a change of clothes for you. What you are wearing
right now is dirty, so let us wash it for you.」
「Thank you, and sorry for the trouble.」
And a change of clothes was placed in front of me.
At first I thought that that woman might be the village Chief's servant, but by
using Identify I confirmed that she was indeed his wife at the age of sixty-six.
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Completing the task she was given, she left the room together with her
husband.
When I was finally left alone again, I took off my clothes and wiped myself
with the ragged cloth-towel. Looking at my jersey, it was completely littered
with red stains. The blood of all the Bandits I have killed, and it didn't look
like it was going to disappear anytime soon without a thorough wash. Well,
what did you expect, Michio? This is apparently not a game, so of course it
won't disappear.
Not a game huh? Because sure, real life allows you to Identify other people
after looking at them and carry up to six weapons. Yeah, right.
FINAL WARNING!
KNOWING THE RISK, DO YOU STILL WISH TO CONTINUE
ANYWAY?
Okay, okay, I admit, this really is another world that is just like the game I
was supposed to play. Also, I admit that I tried to run away from reality and
look away from the facts I should have easily acknowledged. And what is the
most common way of escaping reality in video games?
Murdering the shit out of everyone who comes your way.
If this is really a game, then I just killed a number of game characters, even
though they were mere Bandits. But if it's not a game, then the ones I have
killed were actual people. What I did earlier, my heroic charge forward
coupled with slicing the Bandits into fine pieces, would simply be called a
brutal murder if this was the real world. So for the safety of my own mind, I
want to think that this world is a game, even though it might as well be
nothing more than wishful thinking.
...…
.................
「.........…..」
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I can't. I just can't ignore what I did earlier. I have to accept it. This is reality,
and I just committed a murder. I killed people. I took and ended people's
lives, thinking they were just some mobs from a game! That's horrible!
Utterly unforgivable.
But all in all unavoidable, the more I think about it.
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Part 5
Yeah, that's right. I shouldn't allow something like that to bother me at all! In
a medieval setting events like that are an everyday occurrence, so there's no
sense in getting depressed over them if it was just a first from many more that
will probably come my way. If I won't be able to at least do that, then I
probably won't be able to go on living in this world.
I take a deep breath and make my decision.
From now on, this is my reality. A place where I'll have to live from today
onward, and in order to live, I will definitely have to get my hands dirty, so I
cannot be afraid of doing it. Do whatever it takes for me to survive. And
speaking of surviving, there actually is a way for me to confirm my
suspicions of this world being a game.
The Character Reset option.
What came to my mind was the Character Reset screen. As if I was sitting in
front of a computer screen, I was able to see the images of how all of my stats
would look if I decided to reset my character and all of his skills. As
expected, resetting all of the stat points and Bonus Skills would be not very
effective, because contrary to the character creation process a reset cannot be
performed over and over again on one character page until you would
achieve a desired result, and all of the changes would be apparently applied
in-world without logging me out, so there goes my hope of bypassing the
rules set by the system to no-way-fag my way out of this predicament.
So according to the system warning I have received at the end of the
character creation process I have made a decision to permanently leave Japan
and begin my life anew in another world. But here's the thing: it wasn't
exactly my conscious, thoroughly thought-out decision, but rather one made
while being tilted and annoyed that I couldn't begin playing already and just
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smashing the okay icon with my mouse. Had I known it was going to end like
that, I would have never clicked that blasted OK button and just moved on
with my life, probably to find myself a new game to play, preferably the one
that would be less sketchy then this one.
Anyway, currently I had 1 Bonus Point left to use for some reason. I should
have used up all of the ones I had, but maybe I overlooked this one? Ah,
whatever. I guess I should just drop the whole resetting thing and leave my
character as it is, at least for the time being and change into the clothes the
village Chief prepared for me.
But really now, is the way back to the real Japan closed for me forever? If
that warning was for real, then I guess that was really it for me. I can't go
back and that's final. And oddly enough, that might end up working
surprisingly well for me, since I was contemplating whether or not I should
kill myself in the first place. Back in Japan, nothing is really waiting for me
to return. Not the school where I had no friends nor my abusive shit-of-afather.
Thinking about it, what was keeping me alive there anyway? Was it the need
to see the next issue of all the mangas I was reading or the taste of the meat
buns from the bakery that was near where I lived? Because if so, then I have
to say: Kaga Michio, those were some legitimately crappy reason for
continuing to put up with the dicking that Life was handling to you.
Will I really live in this world? Can I do it? The clothes the Chief presented
me with were too large for me and didn't fit me at all. They were rough and
itchy and not comfortable at all, just like that ragged towel I had to wipe
myself with. I guess another thing I will have to say goodbye to will be the
soft and comfortable Japanese clothing I was wearing my whole life. Ehh, it's
fine, it's fine. Just another compromise I will have to get used to. Besides, if
all of the villagers were wearing them then that has to mean they are not as
bad as they look. I just have to stop being so nitpicky about everything and
thank him for letting me borrow his clothes. I tried to use Identify on them,
but apparently normal clothing was not considered an item by the game's
systems. I have to make sure to remember that there is such a distinction, but
for now there are more important things I have to focus my attention on.
For the time being I guess I should remove Durandal from the items I have
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equipped on me. It is a great sword. An amazing sword. A very powerful
sword. I fully realized that during that earlier fight.
Which is exactly why it can become the target of thieves or other bandits. If
this is a game, then it probably won't get stolen, because it should be safe in
the space of my personal inventory, but it'll be an entirely different story if
this is not a game. For now it is my only weapon, so if I lose it I will be in
such a deep shit that I don't even want to imagine it. I think that the best
course of action in regards to that will be to sleep with one eye open, just in
case someone tried to pull a sneaky on me with their sticky fingers.
In regards to that, I am curious about the sandals I am wearing right now,
because technically they are someone's property which I have unlawfully
appropriated upon my awakening in this world. So if somebody else's
sandals can become mine when stolen, then the same can probably be applied
to my Durandal. So just like in real life, stealing can go both ways here,
except for the fact that if I get my Durandal stolen for me it will be equivalent
to losing 63 of my Bonus Points which I've spent to get it, and if there's one
thing I can consider to be my ally in this strange, unfamiliar world, that
would be Bonus Points, without a doubt. Those 99 points I have received at
the beginning helped me out tremendously in gaining a good head-start, so I
absolutely have to make sure I will treasure every single one of them I can
get from now on.
Another thing that I have to be wary of is the possibility that those who might
want to steal Durandal from me might do it the easiest way possible: by
killing me, its owner in order to obtain it, which brings us to the next issue:
how is death treated in this world? When I die, will I just be revived in the
nearest church or cathedral with a little less gold in my pocket and lowered
experience value, or is death treated here the same way as it was in my world,
something final that cannot be undone by any means? In any case, I shouldn't
be going around with my holy sword on full display like that all the time if I
want to avoid trouble. Worst case scenario, I will simply use the reset option
to get rid of it. If I won't be able to use it anymore, no one else will!
But wait, will I even be able to just delete it after it will be stolen from me?
Okay, time for a little test.
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I tried resetting my character in such a way that it didn't have Durandal, that
is by not putting enough Bonus Points in the Bonus Weapons category. As a
result, the Ring of Determination which I was wearing on my finger got
removed. So it's just like I suspected, huh? Looks like if Durandal is indeed
stolen from me, both the stat bonuses it was giving me and Bonus Points
required to obtain it will be wasted.
After performing another reset to get Durandal back, I just stood with it for a
while, contemplating my options here. For now I removed Bonus Weapon 6
from my skill list, making Durandal disappear.
Okay, now that that's done maybe I should twiddle with the Jobs settings for
a bit. I imagined my character status screen in my head and moved to the list
of Jobs I had available. Currently there were 3 of them.
Villager Lv2
Thief Lv2
Hero Lv1
That third one, Hero was not present when I awakened, so I'm guessing it
must have unlocked after the battle with the Bandits? I wonder if it's maybe
because the Chief saw me as a hero after I helped him? All right, let's
examine that new class of mine a little bit closer, shall we?
Hero Lv1
Class Effect: Heroic Bravery – Raises the value of each statistic by 10
points
Class Skill: Overwhelm
Looks like a pretty good Job to me, definitely efficient in terms of stat
bonuses it provides. As for the acquisition… since I obtained the Thief Job
by stealing a pair of sandals, then I truly must have acquired the Hero Job
after defeating those Bandits. Will I have to level this job up by performing
other heroic deeds? And I wonder if the stat boosts are going to keep
increasing with class levels? Because even at Lv1 it's waaaaay better than
those of the other two, but I guess that was to be expected from a class
reserved exclusively for heroes. As for the other two, the Villager Job grants
only a slight boost to the STR stat and does not grant any additional skills to
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go along with it, so in my book it's literally the thrashiest of all Jobs. The
Thief Job was somewhat better than the Villager, except for the fact that
instead of a slight STR increase it offered a boost to AGI stat, but it also had
no skills associated with it. In conclusion, those two starting classes suck so
much ass that it's actually unbelievable how bad they are.
All right, that settles it, I'll perform the character reset again since I managed
to acquire that third Job. This time maybe I'll try to build myself around it
and put all the remaining Bonus Points into the experience-based skills.
Yeah, that sounds like a good plan.
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Part 6
Kaga Michio: Human Male 17 years old
Jobs: Villager Lv2 Thief Lv2 Hero Lv1 Equipment: Sandals
After completing the character I reset, I used Identify on myself. I now had
three Jobs.
But wait a minute, shouldn't Hero be the first one? I tried switching Hero
with Villager, but it did nothing. So what, you trying to tell me that only
Villager and Thief can be set as the first Job? Why is that?! Eh, this sucks
major ass, but no helping it I guess. Let's just set Hero as the second Job and
Thief as the third one, which has apparently advanced to Lv2.
「I'm sorry to bother you, Michio-sama, but may I have a moment of your
time?」
The Village Chief came to see me again.
「Sure, I don't mind. What do you need?」
I don't know about you, but to me the Chief's attitude started to feel a little
bit too humble, almost as if he tried too hard to kiss my ass. I know he
probably feels extremely grateful to me for saving his life, but that's going
too far, even by my standards. I know that with Durandal's power I was able
to cut those bandits down like grass in the garden, but that doesn't make me
almighty or anything like that. If he thinks that from now on my presence
here is going to be everything they will need to keep other bandits away from
attacking the village, then I hate to break it to him but he's sorely mistaken.
No matter what, the village needs to stay vigilant. Then again, maybe that is
exactly why he is like that to me. Maybe he thinks that by getting on my good
side, he will be able to convince me to become the village's protector?
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Ugh, this is shaping up to be even more annoying than I had initially
anticipated. I wonder if there's anything I can do to avoid having to deal with
such a major headache?
「The breakfast will be served later, but first I would like you to join me
outside. We have gathered all of the bandit's equipment that was left after
you disposed of them and I would be honored if you could inspect it with me
and the other villagers.」
「All right, I'll do it.」
Now this is getting interesting. Inspection? What for? Are we going to
distribute the leftover bandit gear between ourselves? Because if so, then I
should have the right to claim the equipment of every Bandit that I have
personally slain as my own. If I'm lucky, maybe some of them had some
good stuff on them that I could use, but if not, I'll just allow the villagers to
have it. Maybe they'll be able to sell it for a good price, which would in turn
score me some brownie points with them.
「Then please, follow me.」
「Sure, but is it really okay for me to claim part of the gear as my own?」
But just to be on the safe side, I decided to ask the Chief about it.
「Of course. By the right of taking, the equipment of every man you defeated
is yours for the taking, Michio-sama!」
「Good.」
So I was right and he just confirmed my suspicions. I also managed to learn
about one of the laws governing this world: essentially, belongings of every
person you kill are yours. I think it checks out with the setting, unless those
are the medieval times with added law enforcement and judiciary systems
like those in the present day Japan.
「This time my fellow villagers managed to defeat two of the Bandits.
Therefore I'll have to oversee the process of distributing their belongings
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between them to ensure that everyone will get his equal share and… I hope I
won't overstep my boundaries, Michio-sama, but if it so happened that none
of your share of equipment would be to your liking, would you please
consider sharing it with us?」
Wow, all those villagers managed to defeat only two Bandits? This is so
laughable that it's not even funny. Then again, I have to keep in mind that
they fought against them armed with nothing more than simple weapons and
farming tools, while I was slashing away at them with a fricking Holy Sword.
「I understand your situation. If it's going to help you, I don't mind sharing
some of my spoils.」
Until I learn all of this world's customs properly my best course of action
would be to follow any of the suggestions I am given, as long as they are not
too absurd, of course. I know technically I was the reason they managed to
keep their homes and families safe, but hogging all the spoils of war to
myself would be a total dick move. Think of the long term consequences
here. With their current weaponry, they barely managed to defeat two of the
Bandits while my Durandal did the rest for them. But when I will leave this
village to move forward with my new life, there will be no one who they will
be able to rely on but themselves and for that, the are going to need
everything they can get their hands on.
「Thank you! On behalf of all the villagers, thank you from the bottom of my
heart!」
Man, I am really not used to people thanking me for anything.
「Don't worry about it, I just did what anyone else would do if they were in
my place.」
I somehow managed to squeeze that lame line out of my throat. Okay, on to
the next point of business. Since my Identify is a Bonus Skill I don't think
someone like the Chief is going to have something similar to, so maybe I'll
make myself useful by helping them sort the things that might be genuinely
useful from the ordinary pieces of junk. On a completely unrelated side
note…
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The villagers seem to be taking me for someone who's Level is above 30.
During that earlier battle, the Villagers and the bandits were all more or less
the same level, which was about 25, although some of the Bandits were
obviously higher than that, considering the overall Kills/Deaths ratio of both
sides. So considering that I myself am at first levels in all of my Jobs, it will
be no exaggeration to say that my Holy Sword Durandal has basically hardcarried me throughout my first battle. That is just how OP of a weapon it is.
We went to the outskirts of the village where the battle with the bandits took
place. Their equipment was placed on the ground there, waiting for us,
guarded by one of the villagers. Could this be this Lv6 merchant, the one who
could speak the Brahim language?
「This fine man here is Pitzker, the only merchant in our village.」
「The name's Pitzker, just like the Chief said. Young man, Allow me to
express my deepest gratitude for saving our village from those brigands
earlier.」
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「Michio. I haven't done anything special, so please stop exaggerating.」
「As you wish. This here is the Bandit's equipment that we managed to
salvage.」
Taking a closer look, I saw all the Leather Armors, shoes and weapons
carried by the Bandits that we have slain.
「Ahh, yes, thank you. Let us rejoice and praise the young hero who defeated
most of the Bandits by himself! Now, these items here…」
「I don't care.」
I am not interested in the part of the items that belongs to the two villagers.
All I care about is my part of the loot.
「Michio-sama, do you have enough space?」
「Space?」
Fuck, this is the terminology I know nothing about! What about having
enough space?!
「Oh, I beg your pardon, have I spelled something wrong in Brahim? Allow
me to rephrase then. Do you have enough inventory space for all the items
you are eligible to?」
「Hmm, you're right. It might not be enough for so many items.」
I don't understand. Isn't the space in the inventory I already have enough?
「Really? Isn't Michio-sama an Adventurer?」
「Well, something along those lines.」
Does this world have some kinda special definition of who Adventurers are?
Come on Michio, whatever you do now, just don't let them know that you
have no clue what they are talking about. Keep your mask of deception on
and don't let it fall off no matter what.
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「Well, then you should be able to access your Item Box. Isn't that how you
equipped that wonderful sword of yours which you used to get rid of those
Bandits?」
Chief offered me a helping hand. So is that what an Item Box is? It would be
hellishly sweet if that was actually the case.
Come to think of it, when I performed a character reset, my Durandal was
unequipped off me. So based on what the Chief was telling me, it must have
gone somewhere.
「Item Box, open. Item Space, open. Inventory, open. Tool Bag, open.」
I tried using spoken commands again, but just like last time I tried it, big fat
nothing happened. Am I doing something wrong here? Or is the spelling
different? Anyway, the conclusion for now is that I do not know how to open
an Item Box. And to add to the list of my problems (which was growing
rapidly), both the Village Chief and the merchant were giving me suspicious
looks.
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Part 7
Look, I know I must be looking suspicious as fuck right now, okay? I realize
that and those looks of yours hurt me more than a thousand actual verbal
insults would!
Painful! This is just too painful! It's like I am forced to relive the trauma of
my chuunibyou years all over again! N-No, be silent, oh the forbidden power
that dwelleth inside of my left hand! Even though you feel anger at those
insignificant peasants making fun of your host, you mustn't unleash thine
wrath upon this unworthy plain of existence if the equilibrium is to stay
unharmed….. FUCK! I did it again! My dark history! The shameful past I
was trying so hard to put behind me! It's all coming back to me!
「Well? How is it, Michio-sama? Can you do it?」
「I would if I could, but unfortunately it looks like my inventory space is
completely filled up.」
That was obviously a lie, but at the current moment I couldn't come up with
anything better, to explain what happened to my Durandal, so I just have to
hope that it's going to sound believable enough for them to lay off of me.
And while we're at it, where did that goddamn sword go anyway?!
「Oh, then that is truly unfortunate. Tell me, Michio-sama, have you ever
been to the city of Veil?」
「Hm? No, can't say that I did.」
「Actually, I will be heading there tomorrow at dawn to do my merchant
business. If it's alright with you, I could carry all of your equipment there on
my wagon. The city of Veil has many shops that specialize in weapons and
armor for Adventurers so it could be easily sold there without any problems.」
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The merchant offers. To be honest I was expecting him to buy all that crap
off of me right away, but it looks like things won't be that simple.
Nevertheless, if he's so graciously offering to do this for me then I should
probably take him up on his kind offer.
「Thank you very much. If you could do that for me, I would be much
obliged.」
It's a good thing that you don't have to use any complicated menus to hand
your possessions over to other people.
「Marvelous. With that said, here is your Intelligence Card from the Bandits.」
The merchant presented me with a notepad sized card.
「Intelligence… Card?」
I ask back at him, unsure of that that thing actually was.
「It is a proof that you have defeated all those Bandits that dropped out of the
body of their leader after the fight. With a group as large as they were, some
of them are surely bound to be notorious wanted criminals, so if you present
it at the headquarters of the Knights of Vale Order, I'm sure you'll be eligible
to a handsome reward.」
「Is that… so?」
At first that Intelligence Card term sounded like more trouble than it was
worth, but now that the merchant guy explained it to me in detail, the whole
matter became quite easy to understand. This is a world with a medieval
setting where bandit attacks are commonplace, so it would stand to reason
that some of them gathered quite a lot of infamy to their name, resulting in
sending wanted posters with their faces all over the kingdom. So this little
card is the proof that the deed has been done that everybody seems to be
aware of, huh? And I might get some dough out of it? Well, count me in!
Of course, after being killed, the same Bandits won't come back to life again,
right? Right, of course. If this is the real world, then it must be like that. Only
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one life per person, no redos or respawns allowed.
Even though I more or less understood the principles behind the Intelligence
Cards and how they worked, it was still a hefty amount of information
dumped upon me all at once, so I couldn't help it but to feel a little bit
overwhelmed. I examined the Card one more time just to be sure that I didn't
miss anything important and then I proceeded with the inspection of my share
of the Bandit's equipment.
Most of it consisted of Copper and Bronze Swords, but my eyes were
immediately drawn towards an Iron Sword. It looked to be at least one rank
above the rest of the common trash, making it a rare weapon. Well shit. I
actually don't want it to be rare. The rarer the item, the bigger the chance that
someone is going to target me to steal it.
Looking at all the swords with Identify, there was one thing that caught me as
strange.
One of the better looking Bronze Swords had an empty window. The rest of
the Copper Swords didn't have any windows at all.
「Is everything all right, Michio-sama? Has something caught your
attention?」
The merchant asked me as I was examining the Bronze Sword in my hand.
Durandal also had windows like that, but they were filled with various skills.
So could it be that this empty window is actually a skill slot?
「This seems to be a good weapon, better than the rest of similar ones.」
「Oh, so you were able to figure that out? For someone who is not a
Merchant, you seem to have quite a good eye.」
However, there is a small problem. I don't know how to acquire and equip
skills.
「Skill. Skill Slot. Grant Skill. Assign Skill.」
I mumbled to myself again and again nothing happened and nothing changed,
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as expected. Ah well, not like I hoped for it to go any different than all those
other times when I tried to use spoken commands only to end up severely
disappointed. For now I should just finish appraising and maybe consider
another character reset to see if anything can actually be done about that.
「If you are wondering about the skill slots, then allow me to explain. They
can be created by the blacksmiths when they fuse them from the
corresponding Skill Crystals. Does the sword you're holding have any skills
assigned to it?」
「No, I don't see anything like that. The slot is empty.」
「That is unfortunate, but nothing to fret about.」
So it looks like I'm going to need those Skill Crystals in order to add skills to
the weapons and I will only be able to do so at a blacksmith, or perhaps I'll
be able to do it myself if I obtain the Blacksmith Job.
「All in all, this isn't a bad sword, so I think I might do just that.」
「Michio-sama, are you able to tell if a weapon has a skill attached to it or
not?」
The Village Chief inquired.
「Generally, yeah. I think you may call it, 「An Adventurer's Intuition」.
Since Identify id a Bonus Skill, very few people should possess it, so I think
it would be wise of me not to mention that I have an ability like that.
「If that is the case, then can I trouble you with looking at the rest of them
with your discerning eyes? It would make our lives that much easier if we
could pick the best ones possible for the purpose of defending ourselves and
selling the ones that we won't need.」
「I guess I can do that, but don't blame me if there'll be something that I
won't be able to understand.」
「You have my eternal gratitude, Michio-sama. Well then, let's get to it right
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away.」
And I followed after the Village Chief to inspect the rest of the weaponry.
Looking through all of them took me some time, but when I was finally done
I could tell with absolute certainty that no other weapon aside from the ones
that were assigned to me had any skills or skill slots on them. It was the same
for all the armor and a bandana that were found among the things Bandits
dropped when they died.
Huh? A bandana? Was that the one worn by the Bandit Leader? I must've
missed it in the heat of battle.
… Or maybe not. Thinking about it now, it doesn't have to be a part of
Bandit Leader's equipment at all!
Just now, all the finer details began coming back to me. Such a Bandana was
not worn by the Bandit Leader, but by some of the common ones which were
named Bandana Bandits. Just a common piece of cloth worn by the most
common of small fries. It totally makes sense. If a Bandit wears a Bandana,
he Becomes a Bandana Bandit, otherwise he would be a simple Bandit with
no distinguishing features whatsoever. See? Completely logical… not!
This is a world of a game, so there must be some kinda hidden gimmick to it.
So, my dear, Bandana, what are you, exactly?
「What is this Bandana right here?」
「I think it is the common one worn by Bandits.」
But contrary to my expectations, the merchant didn't impart any useful
knowledge to me.
「Huh? What is it doing here. If memory serves me correctly, none of the
Bandits wore something like that.」
The Village Chief said something truly outrageous. None of them wore it?!
But… but that would mean that my own memory lied to me… or did it,
really? Maybe there really weren't any Bandana Bandits in the group that
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attacked the village and it was just a trick of my mind which was quite high
on adrenaline at the moment it all transpired? But that would mean that
someone has deliberately placed it here. Or that it was simply a rare drop and
I was just lucky enough to get it during the very first tutorial battle.
It's funny, isn't it?
Back when I was still living in Japan (it feels weird to phrase it like that when
you consider the fact that I left it literally a few hours ago, but whatever).
Throughout my old life I was mostly a loser who used to cry himself to sleep
every night, I didn't like to stand out and get into fights. But this world is not
modern Japan. In this world, if you underestimate even the smallest of
threats, you might pay for it with your life. I am the perfect example of that. I
don't know how I came here but I did, and using my cheat-like weapon I
have ended the lives of many people who probably didn't expect they'd die
today, thus saving the village and its inhabitants from what would probably
be a morbid end (even though saving the village wasn't my intention in the
slightest, but telling them that would be too much of an arrow to my own
knee, so I'm just not going to do that.)
Anyway, I think I'm getting off topic too much, so let me get back to it
before things get any weirder than they already are.
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Part 8
Village Chief looks intently at the Bandana and his brows frown as if he was
trying to remember something with all his mental capability.
「I might be wrong… but I think that was indeed what the leader of the
Bandits was wearing.」
「Oh, really now?」
The merchant's face got distorted with surprise.
「X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X?」
「X X X X X, X X X X X X X X X X!」
Judging by his innocent reaction just now, it couldn't have been the
merchant. Either that, or he is a very good actor who has no trouble with
masking his real emotions, which I highly doubt. Same goes for the Village
Chief. He wouldn't have made that remark if he was the one who replaced
the item.
「That's impossible. Allow me to check right away!」
He shouts and then quickly leaves.
I wonder what will happen now? Can the (supposedly) stolen equipment
really be found that easily? Also, currently I am only a Lv2 Villager, so if at
all possible, I would like to avoid being in the center of everyone's attention
as much as possible. If by any chance this develops into a more serious
situation involving the entire village, it might be possible for them to find out
that I have actually stolen the sandals I am wearing right now and
automatically connect the Bandana switching with me. If the whole village
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attacked me at once for that, there's no way I'd be able to win against all of
them.
Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned it after all? Was I too hasty with that?
With that said, even if I did steal those sandals, the best course of action for
now would be to keep quiet and see how the situation is going to develop.
At the very least, maybe I should have my Durandal ready?
As I stood there, contemplating what I should do now, a woman carrying
three swords appeared. Could those belong to former adventurers?
「Want me to appraise those as well?」
I ask the merchant.
「If you would be so kind.」
「Okay, let's see what we're dealing with here.」
「X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.」
「X X X X X.」
Urged by the merchant's unintelligible words, the woman presented me with
the swords. According to the Identify window, her name was Tirihi, 31 years
old. Perhaps she was a widow after some Adventurer?
She was fairly well built and had long, braided blonde hair, typical for the
women hailing from the countryside of eastern Europe. From the perspective
of someone like me, a high schooler who didn't even hit adulthood yet, she
was old enough to be considered an auntie, in the positive meaning of the
word. To be honest, the more I actually looked at her, the more certain parts
of me became twitchy & itchy. Normally widows and married women are not
in my strike zone, but I felt like I could make an exception just for her. After
all, I am the hero who saved this village, so maybe with a little help from
gentle persuasion she'd be willing to keep me company for tonight… yeah,
right, as if that would happen.
Let's behave ourselves for the time being and shake off any inappropriate
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thoughts. I hold the sword in my hands and look at it inquisitively. The
weapon I am holding now is a one handed sword called Flame Rapier. From
the looks and the description of its skill, it is a thrusting weapon which deals
fire damage instead of regular physical damage.
「This is a pretty good sword.」
「X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.」
「Mrs. Tirihi says she is grateful for your humble words, Michio-sama.」
Next I grasped the sword firmly with both my hands and swung it a few times
while exclaiming:
「Fire Sword!」
Nothing happened, nothing changed. The rapier's blade wasn't coated with
fire or anything. It remained all the same no matter how many times I
repeated my swinging motion. *Sigh* Am I actually insane? 'Cause I already
know it's not going to work and yet here I am, trying the same thing again. If
that isn't madness then I don't know what is.
「...…..」
「...........」
Tirihi-san and the merchant are looking at me with those suspicious eyes
again.
There it is, another broken death flag!
But just as I was about to fall into depression, a mysterious spell formula
appeared in my head. Should I recite it? Something was telling that doing so
will actually activate the skill laying dormant within the weapon, so I think it
is at least worth a try. Well, here goes.
「Answer the burning will of my heart and manifest thyself! Flame Sword!」
I shouted the spell and swung the rapier from above my head. After a brief,
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0.5 seconds delay a trail of fire followed the trajectory of the slash I have
performed.
Oh wow. This. Is. Awesome!
「Haaa….!」
Tirihi-san also looked quite surprised at that sudden spectacle. Uh, lady, why
are you so surprised? This is your late husband's sword, right? Have you
never seen him doing something like that… no. If she knew the sword could
do something like that, then she wouldn't bother with bringing it to me to
appraise it.
Then the Village Chief appeared at the edge of my field of vision, talking to
the other villagers, who probably saw me using that skill just now, because
they were pointing their fingers at me and talking rather excitedly, which
sends my mind into an alarmed state, so I tried to observe them without
making it too obvious that I'm staring at them. What if they found out about
my crime of sandal theft?! What happens to a thief once he's caught? Am I
going to be made an example of and be flogged in front of the entire village?
Or have my hand cut off?! Or perhaps they'll throw me into a tar-filled kettle
and feather me to simultaneously punish me and make me into a
laughingstock? That would certainly be a good demonstration of what
happens to those who dare to break the law, haha, hahahahahaha.
No Michio, you mustn't think like that all the time! I know that my outcast
mentality is probably at fault here, but can you really blame me for constantly
doubting anyone and everyone around me? All my life I've been shown time
and time again that others only want to hurt me, that's why I began to
distance myself from them in the first place. But this strange new world is
not, at least in theory, like the modern day Japan I chose to leave behind. No
one knows me here, so you shouldn't assume that they'll treat you like a
dirtbag as well. It might be difficult… heck, it certainly will be difficult, but
maybe I should try to have a little more faith in people. Besides, even if I did
steal those sandals from that barn, there's no concrete evidence pointing to
me being the culprit, and they certainly weren't labeled with anybody's
name, so even if I show them to the entire village I should still be in the clear.
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「X X X X X X X X X X X! X X X, X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X!」
「X X X X. X X X, X X X X X X X X X.」
Next to me, Merchant and Tirihi-san also discussed something that I was still
unable to understand. The only thing that I was absolutely sure of, was the
fact that after using that skill my body suddenly became quite weary and
heavy. Even so, the fatigue I felt right now was not a physical, but rather a
mental one which made me feel extremely tired, losing the will to do
anything that required any kind of effort on my part. As a result, the rapier in
my hands was getting heavier and heavier with each consecutive attempt at
swinging it. Going by the standards of the classical RPG games, skills must
have some kinda cost to using them, like MP or something along those lines
and I probably expended too much of it. But I guess that was to be expected.
After all, I currently have only Lv2 at the most basic of the basic Jobs, so it
would stand to reason that my ability to use skills and spells would be greatly
hindered by having abysmally low stats. And while we are on the topic of
stats, I used Identify on myself to check my status and sure enough, right
under the red HP bar and above the green Stamina bar was a blue bar labeled
MP, which was depleted by approximately 75%. Ouch. As I thought. Until I
gained some more levels, no skill spamming for me I guess.
「So, what would you like to do with that weapon, Michio-sama?」
「Meaning?」
「For what price would you like to sell it?」
The merchant asks. Oh, that's right. Since I'm the one appraising it, I guess it
falls to me to decide what to do with it?
To sell or not to sell, that is the question. What should I do? Decisions,
decisions, decisions.
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Part 9
「I… I don't know, really. I am not well versed in how the market works, so I
don't know what the best decision would be here. Heck, I don't even know
this sword's usual market price.」
「So you have no intention of selling it then?」
「As I told you, I don't know the exact market price so I can't make such a
decision carelessly. I think the best thing we could do right now is to go to
the Weapon Shop in the city and ask someone there to tell us the actual price
of this thing, otherwise we might just end up throwing a valuable item away
at a dirt-cheap price.」
Not to mention that I don't even know what kind of currency they are using
here.
「X X X X X? X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X?」
「X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.」
Teirihi-san and the merchant have a short conversation again after which she
bows her head to me. Wouldn't it be nice if that was the sign of her readiness
to service me tonight? Man, that would be totally awesome! Unfortunately
that kind of thing is probably not going to happen. But it's nice to keep
dreaming, right?
I handed the rapier over to Teirihi-san and took another sword from her,
which turned out to be a one-handed Scimitar with two empty skill slots. All
in all, it looked like another solid weapon.
「This one doesn't have any skills but seems like a fine piece of work
overall.」
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「Supposedly it was very cherished by its previous owner, an Adventurer who
sadly perished in the heat of battle.」
This time he didn't ask me how I knew it had two skill slots free, meaning he
must've bought my story about it being an Adventurer's intuition.
「It think it will also be good to show this to someone who's in the know
before we decide what to do with it.」
I handed the Scimitar over to Teirihi-san and she bows her head down to me
again. The last item was a simple dagger without any decorations whatsoever.
It doesn't look like something that would sell for much money.
「This is just a plain dagger. Not bad as a weapon but there's no way it can be
sold for any significant amount.」
Well buddy, back to Teirihi-san you go.
「X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.」
When the merchant relayed what I just said to her, her eyes instantly turned
red and wet with tears. Uh-oh, I might have made a huge oopsie.
Nevertheless, she endured the urge to cry and went back home with the
weapon in tow. Perhaps she remembered her late husband and wanted to be
alone for a while. That was a shattered flag if I ever saw one. Nevertheless, I
will be waiting for you tonight, Teirihi-san. My doors will always be open for
you.
Now that Teirihi-san went away, the Village Chief approached us together
with several other men.
「My humblest apologies, Michio-sama, but this man right here was the one
responsible for replacing the Bandana.」
The man who was being dragged along behind him had his hands cuffed in a
set of wooden handcuffs. *Sarcastically* So he's the one who tried to take
that which did not belong to him without permission. Deplorable, truly
deplorable. I renounce that man the most scornfully!
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「This is the correct item he was trying to hide.」
The Village Chief urged another man to come forward and hand me the
Bandana. I used Identify on it to confirm its authenticity.
Bandit's Bandana. No skill slots or skills.
「This is the item in question indeed. There is no doubt.」
「Now, as for the punishment this man is going to be subjected to…」
The Chief says after we finished the Bandit's Bandana inspection. I wanted to
ask about that, but he beat me to the punch. How thoughtful of him. This was
something that I was very eager to hear. I have to know if the criminals are
handed over to some higher authorities or will the villagers take care of him
themselves.
「For the crime he has committed against you, he's going to be tried and
judged in accordance with the village's rules. Do you have any objections to
that decision?」
This is going to be perfect. As a man who's skilled at reading the mood, there
is only one thing for me to say in this situation.
「Of course. Do what you think is best.」
「Of course. We will do just that.」
Huh? What's that? Was that a glimpse of disappointment I saw in the Chief's
eyes? Did I say something wrong?
「X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.」
「X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X.」
The Chief spoke to the criminal.
The criminal nods and holds his bound hands in front of me.
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「Flow of the Water Spirit, breath of the Wind Spirit, unite and reveal the
hidden truth. Intelligence Card, open.」
When the Chief finished the chant, a card popped out of the criminal's left
hand.
Oooooh! What was that! That was so cool! It's just like the Intelligence
Cards that were left by the Bandits that were given to me. The Village Chief
took it and murmured something I wasn't quite able to hear, and the
additional information appeared on the Card.
「What did you do?」
「I added new information to this man's Intelligence Card. The information
that from this day forward he will be your slave and he shall remain a slave
unless he is released from his slave duty or bought back.」
「Ah, okay, cool I get it.」
I don't get it at all. What exactly did you do and how does that even work?!
For the time being, what I do get is that Intelligence Cards are items that
contain every important information about a person, that's why it can serve to
identify the Bandits who were slain by me so that I could claim the reward
for them.
「Allow me to explain further. The rules of our village state that if the
villagers commit a crime such as stealing they are to be sold as a slave where
half of the money obtained that way goes to the family who sold the criminal
and the other half is given to the victim as compensation.. Of course, it will
be the same in your case.」
So they have a slave system established here. Not good.
The situation was now clear to me. If they ever find out about my crime, I
will end up just like that guy in the wooden handcuffs. Mu freedom would be
taken from me and that's something I absolutely cannot allow!
「I'll gladly take you up on that offer, but I'll have you know that I don't hold
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it against him for what he did. No hard feelings.」
「That might be true, but it doesn't change the fact that one of our own has
wronged you.」
「What matters most is that the person responsible was caught. You don't
have to apologize for anything, Chief.」
「You're too kind to me, Michio-sama. It's good to know that there are still
people like you in the world.」
「Thank you very much. I think we can now conclude the weapon
inspection.」
「Then let us go back to my house. The breakfast should be ready now.」
「Thank you for having me.」
I was grateful that we could change the subject to something more pleasant.
I have made up my mind.
I'm getting the fuck out of this place as soon as possible
每周推薦票狀態
-- 推薦票
榜單 
-- 推薦票