"Nathan!"I hope that the genre though of this story is not horror. I mean, since I introduced myself it means that I am involved in the story. If it happens that I am not the protagonist, it means that I will be one of the person who will die. Now that I think about it, there is an abandoned building somewhere in this city. I regret introducing myself.
"Nathan!"Someone is calling me and I didn''t notice. So I responded,
"Huh?"That person is my teacher, he is... well nevermind his name. if I am really in a horror story, then introducing him is the prologue of him being involved in the story. It means that he will be a supporting character who is about to die later on, if I introduced him. I don''t want him to die just because I introduced him.
"Where is your career plan?" "Oh... Sorry, still undecided."This is my last year in highschool. Graduation is about 5 months away. We, as a students need to think about our future. While I decided to pursue a degree in college, I am still searching for the place where I excel the best, or at the very least, the career I found to be the most interesting. As the school ended, I decided to wander in the city this time instead of going back home. The online game I am playing is scheduled for maintenance up until late at night. I also don''t have a shift in my part-time job so this is a nice change of pace. If you are wondering why don''t I just make my part-time job as my career, I am still skeptical about a lot of things and besides, I still have time to think about it so there is no rush about that subject. I will cross the bridge when I get there. If I am living in a fantasy world similar to the games I played, my career would probably be adventurer. Well, based on games, hunting is the most common way of earning money. While I can take a career that involves exploring the world, I don''t like to do that in this world. Besides, it is not an option up until I have earned more money. So I may have already chosen my career by the time I earned money and decided to do that. It is already nighttime. I am on top of a hill filled with nothing but grass and 5 trees. As I lie down in the middle of the empty field, I noticed how exhausted I am. It seems as I''ve overworked myself this past few days. Although some of you might suggest that I should stop playing online games due to overwork and my money crisis, my defense is my younger sister is having rehabilitation on a foreign country. Online games is the only way for us to have a topic to keep the conversation going while having fun. While thinking of what should I do next, I didn''t notice that I fell asleep already. When I woke up, I discovered that I only slept for an hour. While feeling comfortable lying face up in the middle of this hill, I discovered how beautiful the night sky is. Especially how bright every star is. This spot is became my favorite spot when I discovered how beautiful the scenery here from morning until at night. I always admired the night sky whenever I am here, but of all the times that I am here, this night is incomparable. This night sky is the most beautiful night sky that I have ever seen in my entire life. I wish that I could bring my sister here with me so she could see it too. While admiring the sight, my vision suddenly started zooming into the space. I tried to move myself, but I can''t. I am panicking right now.
"..."I tried shouting for help, but I can''t move my mouth. I can''t even produce a voice. In short, I am totally helpless. I am now zooming through the space, passing by the stars that I was admiring moments ago. As much as I like to look around in order to take what happened to me positively, I can''t move my eyes. I can only look straight as if there is something that I need to go in this direction. ... When I passed by some stars that is glowing which is similar to the sun. I realized that, except me, everything is frozen, even light itself.
[Wake up...] "Huh?" [Hey, Wake up] "Who''s there?"I wake up and tried to look ar...
[Don''t do that you will never find me.]What? Who are you trying to disrupt my narration?
[I am Princess Eula Quartz Argent]A Princess huh? Now that I think about it, that beautiful girl with beautiful eyes also looks like a princess.
[That is because, I am really princess]If you say so... Wait, you are reading my mind right? Stop it, please. Give me some privacy.
[It is not really reading mind but sending thoughts.]Sending thoughts?
[Right now you are unconsciously sending me what you are currently thinking. But if you tried to control it, then you can choose whether you will send it to me or not.]Ok let me try.....Ok...Brain Switch....Focus...Not Send...No Brain Waves...
[Stop it. I can hear all of those clearly. Nothing is happening.]Well, how am I suppose to control it? I don''t want to send all of my thoughts everytime while you are having the comfort to think what you want to send your thoughts to me...thoughts huh....What if...at night...Wait, Oh no.
[Pervert.]Just... please tell me, otherwise you might hear from me non-stop. Don''t think. Don''t think... The,,,
[Stop!]Ok, just hurry, once I am having these thoughts, I can''t...
[Stop! I said Stop it!]Alrig...
[Listen to me! I want you to say something.]Hmm... Ok?
"Okay!" [Now, think of it as you are trying to say it to someone.]Again... Okay!
[That is how you send you''re thoughts to someone, the intention of wanting others to hear your thoughts is there. So, if you are thinking, you must think that you are thinking and having the intention of having the thoughts to yourself.]Think that I am thinking...Intent to myself...
(This time she''ll hear me?) [Looks like you succeeded.]Seriously? It is that simple? Wait...............Nope, no reaction
[You tried to think of something perverted again? Right?]What? How did she...
[You tried to see if I have a reaction. don''t worry I did not hear anything. It is obvious what you are trying to do.] (Are you sure?) [Trust me.] (Why should I trust you?) [Because we are connected.] (What do you mean?) [I believe earlier you are gazing at the sky right?] (Well, actually it is the stars. So?) [Oh! Do you like to gaze at the stars too?] (This night is the prettiest of all the times I have been here. So I based on what you said, you like doing that.) [Of course.] (So, what happened?) [I don''t know if it exists there, but we have a magic...]Magic? Seriously.
[...Called ''Lover''s Bond''] (Wait, a what now?) [''Lover''s Bond'']She said earlier that we have a connection. Does that mean...
[It is a magic that is activated through eye contact and it only works on living beings that have eyes and if the other party accepted the connection. It means that it involves non-human beings such as animals. Its purpose is that the both of those individual whom are connected are considered lovers. Normally, I use the magic while star gazing since I love the stars, but I never considered that this will happen.] (You said ''If the other accepted'' then how are we connected?) [Accepted is only the general term that we use. Remember that it is called ''Lover''s Bond''. It is because you, at the very least, liked gazing at the stars meaning liked what you saw that maybe the magic concluded it as sort of an acceptance. Something like that.] (So, what happens if we have this connection?) [Other than communication with our thoughts, we can also share our senses with each other. Meaning, I can see from your eyes, smell from your nose, hear from your ears, also control you if you wanted it. Of course, you can do the same to me.]Wait, does that mean I can live in that world? But I can only do that as a girl?
[Normally, I don''t want to have a connection with someone. But since we can live in the world we wanted, I don''t dislike this at all.] (What do you mean?) [When I peeked from your memory looks like you want to live in a world the same as the world I live in. I also notice that the world you live is where I wanted to live.] (Does that mean, it has like an adventurer''s guild or something like that where you take in quests such as subjugation or hunting and get rewards in return?) [Yes.]Finally. My dream is finally here. I am seriously the protagonist. Unless, the story starts in her perspective. Maybe, the story is only about her doing my daily life. I hope I take the center stage.
[We can do what we want in each other''s life. But remember that this connection is only for ten years.] (What do you mean?) [Think about it. We are both still young and we are about to figure out our profession. If you do make me an adventurer, what will happen if the connection is lost? Do you think I can continue what you do?] (Now that you mention it...)Let''s say she make me a genius in a certain field. By the time she is gone, I am no longer the genius everyone is looking for. Many experts might expect something from me, yet when I can do nothing. I will lose my job, bringing me again to the situation of finding new job. While it might be easier because of my achievement, my only knowledge will be filled with the information from her world. If only...
(How can we extend the connection?) [We need to have an eye contact again. But, do you think we can somehow do that again?]It is highly impossible. First the earth is revolving and rotating, that alone makes the spot for having an eye contact change every millionth of a second. Not to mention the uncountable asteroids that will be blocking the sight.
(Any other way?) [That is the only way?] (There is magic there right? Is there teleporting?) [There is, but you need to set up two magic circles on both locations.] (So, how hard can it be?) [First, magic circles can only be created using specific material. Second, a huge amount of mana is needed in order to activate and maintain the circle.] (Then, what are we waiting for?) [Setting up the magic circle is simple here in this side, but on your side, I need to determine which material can be used as a substitute for the circle. In terms of mana needed, your body cannot store mana. But I can send it directly to the circle with you as a medium. The problem is my mana is too weak.] (It is decided then, you study here peacefully while I go and make yourself stronger. Are you alright with that... Uhh...) [Princess Eula Quartz Argent. Yes, that is what I was also thinking about.] (Sorry I never introduced myself princess Eula...) [Eula is fine.] (Then, Eula, My name is Nathan Ytor, just call me Nathan.) [I know.] (I remembered that you peeked in my memory. Teach it to me too.) [Hehe... Later on.]This is how my adventure begins. Which means that this is the chapter one, thank you author for giving me this opportunity. (Author: Your welcome). Anyway, since this is the start of this chapter, let me introduce myself... (Author: You already did that, and this chapter has already ended. I''ll cut this line off.) Chapter 2: Princesss Pride
¡°No! My books!¡±Those scums! Of all the places they could target first. Why target the library? Those criminals do not even gain profit from destroying the library, this place is not even hostile to them.
¡°Look! It¡¯s princess Eula.¡±Oops. I made a mistake by shouting. It¡¯s not like they can catch me though. I¡¯ve been running away from everyone to escape my duties. I mean, even the captain can¡¯t catch me. But, their faces looks like they wanted to do something horrible to me. I am afraid. I have to run.
¡°Capture her!¡±What if I die? What do I have to do? No, I am not ready for this. I mean, there are still many things I want to do. Please someone help me. No, they are near me already. I do not want this.
¡°Aaaaahhh!¡±*Klang* What is that?
¡°Run!¡±Captain Ignis saved me by blocking the criminal¡¯s sword using his shield.
¡°Princess Eula. Run towards your grandfather¡¯s clock. There is a secret escape hatch inside it. Go now!¡±I already know, I accidentally discovered it when I am trying to find a place to hide from them to escape my duties. But, he is trying to fight at least nine criminals. There is no way he can win. I need to help him.
¡°No, I will help you defe¡¡± ¡°Believe me princess. I am the captain. You saw how I defeated several trained soldiers single-handedly right? Then it is easy for me to defeat this untrained criminals.¡±Right. If I am right those soldiers are among the top in that famous knight¡¯s school. But, I still wanted to help him.
¡°But, I want to help¡¡± ¡°Besides if you tried to escape. You can take and bring few unscathed books here. But if you helped me, more books will get damaged. Then you might lose better books.¡±What¡¯s with him? We are life-threatening situation. I am trying to help him. Yet he tries to make the books into his hostages to make me escape. I am a pretty rational person. I don¡¯t want him to suffer. It means that the most important thing to do is¡.
¡°Okay. Be careful Ignis.¡±I am pretty sure that what I did is right. Right? I mean, he shows concerns to the books. So clearly, if those books are destroyed, he will suffer. In other words, I am helping him by protecting these books in order for him to not suffer. It is not like I am selfishly abandoning him just to save these books. I believe that he can defeat them. Luckily, it looks like no one noticed me going in this passage. I have to run though. Despite the fact that Ignis announced the existence of this passage, there are a lot of decoy clocks. Unless they know the original clock, it will take too long to find this. I have to find another place to hide. This is the fourth time that criminals try to barge and tried to capture me. But this is the first time that I closely saw the criminals who were trying to capture me. I didn¡¯t think that they were scary when I saw them before from afar. Seeing it firsthand, it is scarier than the beast I was fighting years back, this was the first time that the fear paralyzed me. I need to steel my nerves in the future and never repeat that same mistake again. They are trying to capture me, but that is useless. If I am right, they will use me as a hostage against my father, the king, to perhaps make him surrender. I don¡¯t remember his appearance ever since he abandoned me when my mother died. I am not fit to be called a hostage since he do not care about me. I will be forever prisoner. Worst case scenario is they will kill me because I am useless. This is why I hate this world. The war takes too long to finish, I have to live my life in constant fear of someone trying to capture me. If only the world is at peace, then I can learn all the knowledge by reading all the books that existed without worries. I can try to stop the war, but what can I contribute to the millions of human here. I may possess a lot of information, but those information are useless here in this war. Finally, I am out of the passage. If I am right, there is a lake south of here. *gulp*
¡°Ahh¡¡±So Refreshing! I previously saw a map in the library which shows the land in this area. Now that the criminals have seen that there is always a guardian at my side whenever I am hiding. They won¡¯t suspect that the princess they wanted to catch is in a town devoid of those people. Well, I have to remove my disguise. I like my natural appearance more. I hate my cast efficiency. Dispel magic nearly depleted all of my mana. Looks like I can¡¯t fight for the mean time. I need to find a safe place to rest. It is starting to get dark. Seriously though, I haven¡¯t encountered any living being except harmless plants since I start walking in this road. I don¡¯t know if I am lucky because I didn¡¯t encounter any danger or unlucky because I see no help coming. The latter situation is very unlikely though. I don''t think I''ll be able to ask for help. In any case, I¡¯ve seen a village and I need to be careful. Should I go straight and say ¡®I am currently traveling towards Loncross. Is there any inn that I can stay for the night?¡¯ I don¡¯t know. If they are actually hostile, then this village will rob me of my belongings. Perhaps this could work ¡®I am in a need of a place to rest for the night. I just defeated a lot of monsters and by the time I realized it, it is already night, the town is very far for me to go back.¡¯ I don¡¯t really know. If they are actually friendly, then the village will refuse to help me because they found me arrogant. But if I try to explain, they won¡¯t listen. They will just run away from me. What Should I¡
¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Wah!¡±Oh no. There is a villager in front of me. She looks young and innocent. I hope that this person isn¡¯t actually a scout sent by the village because they have seen me from afar.
¡°Who are you?¡± ¡°Oh, Uh¡ I¡¯m Eu¡¡±Wait, I can¡¯t say I am Eula. Think fast Eula¡
¡°¡nice, Eunice an adventurer going to Loncross.¡±I remembered Ignis and used his name hurriedly. Eunice is a good name, for me at least.
¡°I am Mia. Welcome to our village. Our village has always encountered adventurers like you. Because of this, we have built an inn dedicated for adventurers who like to rest for the night. Unfortunately, while we can provide the room if you wish to do so, we can¡¯t provide any food as there is a shortage of monsters these days.¡± ¡°Do you know the reason for this? I was also surprised that I didn¡¯t encounter any monsters at all.¡± ¡°Oh. I thought you know since you are an adventurer. It is currently the respawn period.¡±Respawn period. The phenomenon where monsters is assumed to return to their lair and reproduce. It happens when the amount of a monster in a specific area is very few, but it only applies to the common variety.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. For example, if the number of rabbits in Loncross became very few, Loncross will enter the respawn period. Despite the fact that only rabbits is reduced, other monsters will also disappear and is believed to experience this phenomenon. But regarding the food, perhaps¡
¡°You can have this food. I don¡¯t really have any money to stay inside, but maybe I can sleep outside.¡±It is a preserved food which can be eaten cooked or not and it lasts for at least 90 days. I don¡¯t know how did they made this, but it is filling enough for three person. I have five of those in my inventory. Aside from that, I also have two more sets of clothes, three books, two water bags and five high rank coins. I lied by saying I have no money because I don¡¯t think the village even has the capability to exchange one high rank coins for 100 middle rank coins. I think the inns are usually around 20 to 40 low rank coins. Besides, I need to not attract unwanted attention.
¡°No, no. You are very welcome to stay inside the inn. But in exchange, maybe you can share your food to our family. Our food ran out three days ago. We haven¡¯t eaten since then.¡± ¡°Sure. I have more here. By the way, how long did the respawn period started?¡± ¡°Maybe around 20 days ago.¡±That is very long! Respawn period usually lasts for 5 to 15 days. It means it is very likely that monsters will respawn tomorrow.
¡°It is strange.¡±Well, no use thinking about it. I need to let them cook this. I don¡¯t have any experience in cooking anything at all so I have no choice but to let them handle that. ¡ Mia is a great cook. She manages to create a great dish using two of my preserved food. Of all the times that I have eaten it. This is the first time that its taste is comparable to the dishes served in the palace. I am so satisfied that I can¡¯t help but feel very relaxed when I lie down the bed. Let me open the windows first.
¡°Beautiful.¡±The stars tonight are very pretty. It always been but this is the best of all the times. This scenery is the only thing that makes me feel at peace. If only I can marry the stars perhaps I can also be at peace. That is why I decided to use the ¡®Lover¡¯s Bond¡¯ towards the stars. What!? Wait, did the magic actually activate? No way. I mean, sure I like that I am connected now to the stars but right now I am rising through the sky. So this is the space beyond the sky. It is beautiful. I am surprised to the fact that the world is this vast. It seems like an endless space. I don¡¯t even know why we are having war for territories if the world is very large. There are a lot of extremely huge rocks. ¡ ¡ So far. I am curious who did I connected to. I didn¡¯t imagine that this magic works even at this large of a distance. It only means that our primary connection will last longer, since the duration of the magic depends on how far both parties were and how they feel with each other. Right now, I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if it lasted for 1000 days. ¡
[Nathan, Wake up!]I can¡¯t believe that someone will collapse because of this. Maybe, he¡¯s too shocked to what happened. I mean, if you are living in a world where there is no magic and you are just innocently looking upwards, then suddenly you zoomed in to the space. Who would not be shocked if that happens?
[Wake up!] ¡°Huh?¡±Wait, what do I need to say? I didn¡¯t think of this beforehand.
[Hey, Wake up!]I know that he is already awake. But, I need time to know what to say. Hmm¡ Maybe direct to the point?
¡°Who¡¯s there?¡± (I wake up and tried to look ar¡) [Don¡¯t do that you will never find me.] (What? Who are you trying to disrupt my narration?)Narration huh. I¡¯ve seen that he always thinks that he is in a story. There are some times that when he is doing his narration, he doesn¡¯t even notice that he is thinking out loud. Now that I am hearing it first hand, it seems weird.
[I am Princess Eula Quartz Argent.] (A Princess huh? Now that I think about it, that beautiful girl with beautiful eyes also looks like a princess.) [That is because, I am really a princess.]¡ I am surprised. He can actually be better than me in using magic. Normally, people are having a hard time differentiating the sensation needed to send thoughts rather than thinking for oneself. While it took me around half a day to do it, which is considered to be an excellent feat, he only managed to did it in moments. I feel very confident that he can actually accomplish in making me stronger. Although I feel threatened when he had these disgusting thoughts, I trust him. Besides, he actually managed to think of the plan I was supposed to suggest. Perhaps this idea comes from the games that he played which pushed him to want to live in a world like ours.
(I remembered that you peeked in my memory. Teach it to me too.) [Hehe¡ Later on.]In any case, I am already exhausted. I will explain to him the plan tomorrow.
(Can I start hunting with your body now?) [No, I need to rest for the night here. We will start tomorrow.] (It is also night there huh. Alright.)Life as a student. I am excited to live in peace in this world. No one will be hunting me while having the luxury of learning a bunch of knowledge. Luckily, I threw away my pride as a princess long time ago. Otherwise, I might now accept this situation, or encounter this situation at all. I hope that he doesn¡¯t let myself killed. Otherwise, both of us will die.
(Right now, I am absolutely sure that I am a protagonist. Rather, we are the protagonist. Unless, this story that you are seeing right now is just a flashback. Maybe, this is the origin story on how the two worlds connected. Maybe, this is actually a sequel of a previous story and we are the lovers who¡¯ve been reincarnated on two different worlds and this is the story on how we are reunited. Maybe, a heroine¡¯s¡) [Shut up. I am trying to sleep.] (Sorry, I am walking towards home. I can¡¯t help but¡) [Yes, do your narration. I don¡¯t really care. But get to the point, finish it, and let me sleep. Okay?] (Alright. It¡¯s just that, since I am narrating, I can¡¯t help but¡) [I understand that. So like I said, finish you narration already.]It¡¯s true that I understand. If you are narrating, you¡¯re supposed to do it to someone. So, he naturally send out his thoughts.
(It looks like you always interrupt me whenever I say, ¡®I can¡¯t help but¡¯¡) [FINISH IT! Or SHUT UP!] (See. You did¡) [NATHAN!] (Alright. Alright. So, as I was saying, aside from the fact that I am immortal¡) [WHAT?] (Again? What¡¯s the matter this time?) [What do you mean you are immortal?] (I am the protagonist. Of course the author won¡¯t let me die.) [There are some stories that the protagonist died though.] (Look at the genre though. ¡®Lover¡¯s bond¡¯ means romance. I will adventure and make you stronger, so perhaps action. I am trying to make jokes, so comedy and not tragedy. I¡¯m absolutely confident that I won¡¯t die.) [I get it. Just don¡¯t be overconfident. You will never know if there is a plot twist.] (Oh yeah. I forgot about that.) [Just finish your narration already.] (Nah, I have just arrived at home. I am excited for tomorrow. So, good night.) [Have a pleasant sleep.]I shouldn¡¯t have interrupted him at that time. I am very curious what he was supposed to say in his narration. Well, never mind. I need to sleep. Chapter 3: New identity This is when the protagonist is supposed to think that everything that happened yesterday was just a dream. Then, I will think about how utterly impossible it is that I¡¯m linked to someone very far away. But I am the protagonist who is fully aware of what¡¯s truly happening in my surrounding, so I know that last night was true because I like it. Yeah, sure, I am excited. But interrupting someone from sleeping is something I don¡¯t want to do based on my experience as someone who works hard, I said in the previous chapter that I may have overworked. Unless the author doesn¡¯t include it and you don¡¯t know it, basically¡
[If you don¡¯t want to interrupt me from sleeping. Then, keep your thoughts to yourself.]I was thinking out loud.
(Did I wake you up?) [No, but can you look at the time?] (Sure.)So, measuring the time difference of our world.
(By the way, one day is 24 hours. One hour is 60 minutes. One minute is 60 seconds. One second is when the number changes. This is how we measure the time.) [So, it really is different. Anyway, after 5 seconds speak from one to twenty?] (Why?) [Just do it.]I waited for like 5 seconds.
(One, two, three¡ nineteen, twenty. There, finished, so why?) [What?] (I mean, what is the reason for me to do that?) [We speak different language.]I didn¡¯t think of that before.
(Translation magic?) [No, This is a magic is similar to translation magic, but the magic focuses on learning the user¡¯s intention rather than finding the right word that corresponds to the words of the statement. So even if you¡¯re bad at expressing, it really doesn¡¯t matter because the magic does the work itself.]Basically, translation magic is as bad as the translators found on the internet.
(Does this mean it is impossible to result to misunderstanding?) [Yes, nearly. It is a complicated magic, but just think that you conveyed the thoughts that you really wanted to convey. But, it¡¯s main disadvantage than translation magic is its inability to read and translate written symbols.]It means that I can only use it to communicate with other individuals. It is a problem if I want to read requests or missions coming from the guilds in the future.
(It is a very serious problem.)If I truly wanted to live in the other world. It means that I need to learn the language.
[Don¡¯t worry, I will translate the languages for you and you can use translation magic. All you need to do is teach me the common language there and I will do the rest.]English. It is my mother language so with the help of that magic, teaching it can be easier.
(Sure. Let¡¯s do it. By the way, what about earlier?) [About that, first thing I noticed is the difference of our number, especially the symbols used.] (What is the difference?) [It is very different. Due to the magic though, it is unnoticeable. At ten, you use two symbols. Perhaps the 1 and the 0. But our number ten uses only one symbol. It keeps that way until sixteen where we use two symbols. It is the combination of our 1 and 0.] (Hexadecimal huh. I can do that.)It brings back memories. The days when my parents are still alive and I am one of the persons who finishes games as fast as possible. I am exposed to it and along with some other stuff, I managed to discover something that put me on top of the rankings. It¡¯s been a long time so someone might have beaten my record already. Say Author, I suggest that instead of making it complicated for the viewers, convert every number here to what is the norm there. (Author: That is the plan, don¡¯t worry.)
(What is the second thing?) [The time per day is very similar. Both of us can be awake at the same time unless we travelled to another country far away. The only difference is how we measure time.]That world is also 24 hours and we have the same time zone huh. Viewers, it means that you can ignore this. Maybe for now. Author, I know you¡¯ll also convert the time to what is the norm there. (Author: Yes, I will do that.)
(What¡¯s the next thing?) [None, that was the last.] (So, how can we exchange bodies? I am so excited.) [You can mostly figure it out how to do it, so think about it.] (Huh?)Did she expect me to figure it out myself? I know that she knows that I am not familiar with magic. Wait, she said something strange yesterday even though she knew that. I¡¯ll ask her about it later.
[Just think about it. I believe that you can figure it out. Treat it as if you are facing an enemy and it used an unknown magic. You need to figure out how it works.]Makes sense.
(Challenge Accepted!) [Yes¡ A challenge.]What is that reaction? Never mind. Anyway, the magic ¡®Lover¡¯s Bond¡¯ shares senses with each other. All I¡¯ve managed to do is send thoughts by wanting it to happen. I wanted to exchange with her ever since I woke up, but nothing is happening. She already used the shared sense to see the time using my eyes. Now that I think about it, she can control me but she commanded me to look at it. It means that she does not want to control me yet, maybe. Wait, it means¡
(Why?) [What is it?] (Why do you not want to exchange bodies right now? I mean, you wanted to live here, right?)Well, if Eula is having the intent to exchange bodies. We should have exchanged already.
[Yes. But, I need to observe how you live your life first. You still have to prepare to go to school. I will do the listening and you¡¯ll translate it for me until I get the better understanding. We¡¯ll exchange place during your free time.]She really doesn¡¯t know or is she testing me?
[I can¡¯t play that game and it is a moment for you and your sister. So, we¡¯ll not exchange places during that time.]No, testing at this point is a nonsense. If she really does know that I have no school today, she could have wanted it in the first place.
(I have no school today. My part time job is one in the afternoon. My sister¡¯s schedule for playing with me is at night. It means that I am free, which means that we can do that.) [Hmm¡]That explains why she doesn¡¯t have the intention on doing it in the first place. But now that I¡¯ve clarified that we can do it now, the exchange is still not happening. I need to ask her.
(What now?) [Well, it may seem that you understand the concept, except you skipped some steps to do it.]Skipped steps¡ Other than having an intention, do I need to do something first? No, that is the only thing that I did. I need to do something. What is it though?
[Hurry up and figure it out already. It is very uncomfortable to see your messy room.] (It¡¯s just this way because I didn¡¯t fixed it when I arrived yesterday. Just stop peeking and don¡¯t worry about¡ Wait, ignore the thing that I have just said.)Okay, instead of wanting to exchange bodies. How about wanting to see from her eyes?Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
¡°Woah.¡±It feels very weird. I tried to look around, but I am just looking straight, not moving. There are times that it suddenly goes black for a moment which I assume is her just blinking.
(So, what¡¯s the princess doing here?)I can only see the ceiling, and it isn¡¯t grand as I expected.
[I am inside an inn. The town I am going is really far, so I need to stay here. Anyway, please continue. You know what to do.]Exchange¡ is not working yet. Maybe all of her senses. Perhaps I really need to feel her first before becoming her. It make sense though. It is like you need to know the feeling of the sports before you become an athlete, if that makes sense. I will feel all of her. Now that I feel all of her senses. What¡¯s next? I still can¡¯t exchange bodies with her.
[So, what do you feel?] (It is strange that I¡¯m like possessing two bodies but I can only control myself.)Because of that, the feeling is not very obvious or distinct. Like I know that something should feel missing. But I still possess my body so that feeling is subsided. Well, Author feel free to remove what¡¯s needed to be censored. I¡¯ll minimize it so don¡¯t worry. (Author: Thanks.)
[Get used to it sooner. It is better for us to have an awareness on both worlds.] (I understand.) [Anyway, ¡®Lover¡¯s bond¡¯ is really a combination of thought and sense magic.]Yes! It is my first magic lesson.
[Thought magic involves manipulating what we think. An example would be the translation magic. It manipulates our brain thinking that we can understand the language and produces the information necessary for it to be true.] (So, there might be a brainwashing magic. It sounds dangerous.) [Yes there is. But since it involves other individual, it is a Bi-Magic. We¡¯ll get back on it later. Anyway, Sense magic involves manipulating what we sense. An example would be long sight magic. It manipulates our vision in order to enhance the quality of the image which we can control whether to zoom in or not.] (Aren¡¯t you giving too much information to the viewers?) [Why are you obsessed into thinking that our lives is a story to be viewed by others?] (It¡¯s because I like to break the fourth wall. If not, be the one viewing beyond the fourth wall. It¡¯s very convenient that way. Once I know the teasers or spoilers, I may know the future. Manipulating time or space is too unfair or too overpowered you know.) [I don¡¯t know. It is unheard of.] (Well, I have some countermeasures if there are some. It is really troublesome though.) [Be that as it may, you already did a thought magic and a sense magic.] (Yeah, I am actually surprised that I still have mana.) [You don¡¯t have mana. ¡®Lover¡¯s Bond¡¯ is a magic that only needs mana at activation. All the magic you can use for the moment are the magic included in ¡®Lover¡¯s Bond¡¯. So all the magic you¡¯ve been using is just the ¡®Lover¡¯s bond¡¯¡]That explains it.
[Back to the topic, you only know how to cast a Mono-Magic or a magic that only involves the caster. Casting it requires the intention to do it. It is normally hard but you make it seems like it¡¯s easy.] (Really? Maybe because you are a great teacher.) [I don¡¯t think so. In any case, exchanging our bodies is a Bi-Magic or magic which involves another person. This time, there are Mono-Magic that needs to be casted before it can be activated¡]Which I fulfilled already, probably.
[¡In order to activate it, you must give permission to the other caster along with the intention. The permission is different per magic. The brainwash magic that you said earlier also needed permission to be brainwashed.] (Isn¡¯t that useless?) [Not really, it is sometimes used to a person who has a trauma. It is also used to change some criminals who doesn¡¯t want to receive death sentence. All the brainwashed criminals aren¡¯t allowed to wander the public so there is no danger that they will remember their past life.]The first case just shows that the person is a coward running away rather than facing it. The second case might seem okay on the surface, but it¡¯s still smells fishy. Still, it is still possible for them to remember so that is scary.
[So, what permission do you think this magic needed? I already gave my permission. If there¡¯s no problem, we¡¯ll swap automatically.]We are exchanging our bodies. Of course, the permission is probably like¡ I will let Eula control my body. ¡
[You did it! I¡¯ll clean your room first. It is heart breaking for me to live in this mess. You never really did a good job cleaning.]I am now controlling Eula¡¯s body. I noticed this indescribable feeling inside me which I think is the mana, or just a girl¡¯s thing. Her hands are smaller than mine for sure. I can¡¯t believe this hand ever existed. It is very beautiful. Her skin is very white and smooth¡ Ugh, my sense of balance is really off when I tried to walk. Maybe it is because of her height and ¡®that thing¡¯. But her golden hair is very long that it reaches her knees while standing straight.
[Feel free to explore my body. It will cause trouble in the future if you get embarrassed feeling my body. We¡¯ll just keep this for ourselves.] (Are you sure?) [We agreed that we want to live in each other life. Right? Then, there is no reason to restrict ourselves with having full control of each other¡¯s body. Although, tell me if you want to control my mana. I still need to teach you that.] (Okay. Is there mirror or something similar? I want to see myself.) [Let me think.]...
[For now let me control my eyes and my mana.] (So that indescribable feeling is really the mana.) [Now, see from my eyes and feel my mana.]I did it. The sensation of when she controls her mana is different when I am in control.
(What now?) [This time, I¡¯ll teach you to utilize mana in order to activate magic. You might notice that despite the fact that you and I controlled the same mana. The feeling is different.] (Yes, it¡¯s like a lot of wo¡) [WATER! RIGHT! LIKE THE FLOW OF WATER IS DIFFERENT!]She is afraid. Is there really a reason for her to be disgusted just by me saying worms?
(Yeah¡ Water¡ Right.) [I don¡¯t care about the insects. But, saying how it exists inside us is disgusting.] (You said it though. Besides, how did you assume that I will say it?) [I heard a lot of individual who described it as disgusting as that. Let¡¯s just forget about this matter.]Truly, that¡¯s how I would describe it to her. It is better shut my mouth on this one.
[In any case, I want you to first imitate my mana utilization.] (Sure.)So, she demonstrated to me this awesome feeling. That mana utilization is refreshing and complicated at the same time. I can¡¯t really describe it but by the time that she uses her eyes to activate some magic. I am surprised.
(THIRD PERSON VIEW! Isn¡¯t this too awesome? This is like I am playing a game except I am the controller.) [Don¡¯t get distracted. I am not finished showing you everything.]That third person view. She is showing me how to move the perspective from one place to another.
[If you¡¯ve noticed. Its only limitation is that the perspective cannot be far away from the caster and its focus can only be the caster.]It is true. Despite shifting the perspective up, down, left, right, backward and forward, the point of focus was always her body. It means that at third person view, she will never leave my sight.
[Having personally experienced my demonstration and with your sense. I believed you might¡¯ve grasped how to do it already.] (I don¡¯t know. You put so much trust in me.) [Well, take back its control and do what you have to do. Just don¡¯t leave the room yet. Never forget that I am always watching.] (Same to you.)This will be the first time I will control¡
(Say Eula, should I say that the mana is yours, mine, or ours?) [Mana is unique because of different things. One of these involves the personality of the caster. Basically, right now that mana is yours.] (Thanks.)As I was saying, this will be the first time I will control my own mana. My very own mana. I really can¡¯t believe it. I really have mana! MANA!
¡°Hahaha¡¡±Her voice is so cute. I can¡¯t deny that I am surely blushing.
[Nathan, I know that you are delighted at your situation. But please be quiet there and don¡¯t gather attention, otherwise you¡¯ll have to do it later.] (I understand.)Nathan, don¡¯t get distracted. Focus. *Inhale* *Exhale*
¡°Hehe¡¡±That breathing is very sexy though¡ NO! No! Nathan, put away those desires. Just start controlling your mana. *Inhale* *Exhale* First, I need to grasp how to really move my mana. ¡ It seems easy enough. It may be comparable on how babies tend to have a hard time walking at the beginning, but it becomes natural for them as time goes by. Except I am mature. I will start casting it once controlling my mana feels comfortably easy. ¡ It is starting to get easier. It might take a little longer for me to control it perfectly. But, it may be okay for now to cast that magic. ¡ I managed to cast that magic. Earlier, I actually focused on how did Eula used her magic to shift the perspective, so I just noticed her appearance. She is truly incredibly beautiful. I actually expected something more normal appearance than this even if she is a princess. Although I saw her appearance when we just connected, it happens so fast and I am confused that I only noticed her eyes. We really have the same color of eyes. I don¡¯t know if it is rare in her world, but in our world it is very rare. I am wearing a green robe, a red one piece dress, a knee high boots, 2 rings and a pair of earrings. I never checked the underwear. I don¡¯t have to. It might be troublesome to check for those. It is also troublesome to explain more specific details about what I am wearing. I am a guy. I am really Eula right now. My new identity. My new life. I have to keep Eula and her appearance safe until we meet.
(Eula, is what you¡¯re wearing okay for travelling?) [Of course, right now that is the most optimal clothing for a mage like me. I prepared myself to travel earlier while you are sleeping so you don¡¯t have to worry about any preparation to go out for the mean time.]This is the first time I am wearing a skirt. It is at least long enough for me to not overly conscious about it, but the feeling is really weird. *RAAWWRR!*
(Eula, did you hear that?) [Yes, if I am right, it is just a bear. Check the situation outside from the windows just to be sure. It might just being hunted by the villagers.] (Alright.)So, I opened the windows. It is made of wood like the rest of the inn. ¡ Yeah, I see from far away that the bear is hunted by several person.
[NATHAN! Run towards that place! Let me take control of my mana.] (What?) [DO IT! Ask questions later.]So, I started running towards there like she said. I feel like my body is lighter now. It is because she casted some magic to me.
(What is the problem?) [There are two bears. The other one is not an ordinary bear. If it comes, the village is done for.] (How dangerous is that bear anyway?) [Hmm¡]A battle already! Nice.
[You could say that it is twelve normal bears compressed into one. It can also use magic.]Oh come on. There might be a boss battle already. This will not end well. Chapter 4: Friends, Enemies I hope that the other bear is not more dangerous than an 13CCC monster.
(Eula, how can you say that those hunters can¡¯t defeat that dangerous bear?) [It¡¯s not that they can¡¯t defeat it. It is that the village will be destroyed in the process. Isn¡¯t that the same as losing or having the mission failed?]Besides some of them are probably hungry. Fighting it will be much harder. If only I¡¯ve considered that this will happen, then I should have used another preserved food for the hunters yesterday.
(I agree. Say Eula, will you also teach me those chanting that they do?) [No, spells are a weaker form of magic. While it is better as you don¡¯t have to utilize mana, it is very inefficient and chanting makes the casting take longer.] (I assume that they can¡¯t properly utilize mana.) [Maybe. It is likely that they can¡¯t concentrate on utilizing their mana while being engaged in battle. So, they heavily rely on chants.]Many things are wasted if spells are used instead of magic.
[But there are times that spells are more useful than magic. Just don¡¯t worry about it for now.] (I don¡¯t really get the difference between magic and spell, also the difference between spell and chant. But more importantly, what¡¯s the plan?) [Let me use my left eye.]If I am correct, then that dangerous bear should be around at this direction.
[The arrow should point around the location of that bear. We need to battle it as soon as possible. The bear is approaching the village fast.] (Tracking magic?) [No, I am the one controlling where the arrow points. It is more convenient than telling you the direction of the bear.] (How do we defeat it?) [You need to avoid getting hurt, while I will be attacking it using magic.]Right now, he is controlling my body and I am only controlling my mana. This means that I more room to concentrate in manipulating my mana.
[If you can learn the magic during the battle, then you can try defeating it by yourself.] (It depends. Saving the villagers is the priority this time.) [Well said.] (But can you create or conjure a tool? I want to use it to defend myself if necessary or attack it if I found an opening.)I see. He wants a weapon.
[I can. What type of weapon do you want?] (Can it be anything?) [It depends. But remember that large and complicated weapons use more mana. Do you even know how to use weapons?] (Maybe, but defending myself can be easy enough. Can it withstand the attack of the bear though?) [I can¡¯t say about stopping the attack completely, but I can guarantee it will weaken the force of it. It depends on how you use the weapon and how much mana I used to maintain it.] (Then, a long stick should be good enough.) [How long?] (About my body¡¯s height.)I did conjure the stick. But, I can¡¯t believe what I saw. The stick is taller than my body by a lot. I can¡¯t determine the difference because he is running towards the bear. But if I were to extend my hands upwards, then his height is as far as the middle of my forearm. To conserve my mana, I make the weapon disappear.
(You are truly small. How old are you?) [16 years old. Sorry if I am small, okay. I am still growing.] (I am seventeen. At least you are mature at your age.)This is the first time someone called me mature. I¡¯m so glad right now.
[Hehe¡ Thanks.] (Is that the bear?)I set aside my happy thoughts for now and focused on his point of view. I see a bear very far away.
[Yes, it is the origin.]Right now, Nathan is inside the forest and the bear is in the plains, running. He makes the right decision of ambushing it in the woods. While it is riskier, we can also use it to our advantage. The bear will arrive in about seven minutes.
[Be very careful. My lowest estimation about that bear is a 4DD rank. My highest estimation should be 10B rank.] (Uh¡ That is how you rank the monsters?) [Yes, Letter rank signifies how dangerous the abilities of a monster as a threat. Lowest letter rank is F, then FF, then FFF, then E and so on and so forth. By the way the highest is ZZZ rank.] (How many letters are there?) [Ten. Basically, thirty ranks.] (Ooohh! That''s a lot! Is that even necessary? You can reduce it to makes things easier.) [It is necessary. It makes the difficulty of the monster more distinguishable, thus it may prevent more losses during the mission.] (How about the number besides the letter?) [Number rank is how we classify the intelligence of the monster. It also has thirty ranks.] (So the IQ of the monster... Isn''t thirty too low?) [Not really, if you combine the number rank and the letter rank, then you get the real threat of the monster. Well, there is still the rarity ranking but the threat only increases under special circumstances which may not apply for now.] (Let me guess. Rarity rank also has thirty ranks.) [I don''t know, it is still being studied.] (That''s unsatisfying, so what about the rank of the bear that the hunters were fighting earlier?) [2EE Rank.] (How about the strongest monster you can beat?) [13CCC Rank. Don¡¯t be confident though, the bear is still very far so my estimation can be off a lot.]*Ding* *Dong*
[What is that?] (What is it?) [There is a noise here in your room.]*Ding* *Dong*
[I heard it again. Do you hear it?]*Di-Dong* *Di-Dong*
(That¡¯s the doorbell. Go in front of the entrance and peek through the glass in the door there.)A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.So, I did what he said and saw a boy and a girl. Looks like they noticed me.
[Nathan, I¡¯ll do the fighting. Let¡¯s swap back for now.] (No, I¡¯ll do the talking. You do what you want.) [No! I can¡¯t. They might get suspicious.] (They won¡¯t. Trust me. They will think that it is another of my behaviors. You can ignore them if you want. There are times that I do that.)
¡°****, Nathan¡± ¡°Wah!¡±I opened the door out of reflex. I know I heard Nathan¡¯s name.
(So, they called you. What do you want to say?) [I don¡¯t know. I really can¡¯t handle this so please. You handle this.] (Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll translate everything for you and I will do the talking. If it is something serious, then we¡¯ll swap. You just need to act like you always do.) [I will remember this.] (Come on. We will live in each other¡¯s life, so this can be a great start.)The girl on the left starts speaking.
¡°****¡±This is like the time when I don''t know how to use a translation magic. This time though, I can''t.
(So, the girl on the left said ¡°Why do you look flustered today?¡± How do you want to reply?) [Make up some excuse maybe.] (That may be a good thing to say, but what excuse will you say to her.) [I don¡¯t know. You don¡¯t even do anything that can be used as an excuse.] (You are bad at this.) [SHUT UP!]The boy on the right said something,
¡°****¡±Now what did he say?
(¡°Heeeey, you okay man?¡± says the boy.) [Who are these persons anyway?] (The girl is Michiru Suzuki. The boy is Jay Vee Alvarez.)They start speaking again. I can''t take this anymore, it''s too much.
¡°****¡± [Hey Nathan!]¡
¡°****¡± ¡°****¡± [Nathan?]Nathan became silent. What is going on?
¡°****¡±I spoke something, or Nathan has.
(Let¡¯s swap.)We did swap. His tone is very dark when he send those thoughts. I don''t know if I have to be relieved that I don''t need to talk anymore or be worried that something is going on.
[If you have time to spare, feel free to watch how I battle using my mana.] (Yeah, I know.) [I don¡¯t know what happened. But we are sharing each other lives now, so never forget I am always be watching.] (Thanks.)¡ Only one minute until the ambush. It looks like I will have a hard time. The bear can give me some trouble. But I am worried that the bear runs non-stop, it can mean that there is a monster chasing it. There is nothing on the sky which means the monster could be underground. I am worried about sensing no magic underground. There are three possible reasons: First, the monster is too powerful without magic that even a bear which can use magic runs for its life. Second, the monster is too intelligent to know how to conceal its mana. Third, I overestimated the bear to be powerful and instead just weaker than the monster. I hope it is not the second reason. Intelligence is more troublesome than dangerous in this scenario. Thirty seconds until the ambush. I stopped observing Nathan at this point and focus on the battle. I don¡¯t understand what is going on in his world right now. Except for the fact that I know that he grabbed a weapon. I don¡¯t know his circumstances, but all I can say for now is¡
[Nathan, take care.] (Be careful, Eula. I will try to help once I am finished here.) [I¡¯ll be waiting.] (I¡¯ll tell you what is going on at the right time. This is supposed to be a plot twist. I assumed that they will arrive much later in the story.) [Well, life is full of inconveniences, or just blame the author.] (I sure will.)I am glad he is lightened up.
[Talk to you later.] (Yeah, bye for now.)¡ I activated the traps. The first trap worked. The next two doesn¡¯t work. I can say right now that its number rank is at least 8. If only I can put pitfall traps, then it could probably work, but it is too risky in this situation. The bear have seen me. Let¡¯s test it using a ¡®blast¡¯ I charged beforehand. I can only use ten percent of my mana if I want to conceal myself. So, I can store 16 perfectly utilized ¡®bar¡¯ before doing an ambush. In this case, I managed to store 12. Three of those are already converted to ¡®blast¡¯. I fired a ¡®blast¡¯. The bear avoids it by jumping sideways. I fired another ¡®blast¡¯ in the middle of its jump. The bear use its paw to defend against the attack. I can only launch 3 ¡®blast¡¯ this time since some of my concentration are put towards charging more ¡®bar¡¯. It may be good launch another ¡®blast¡¯ but it is risky. If the bear uses a magic, I have no way to defend it. I can avoid it, but the bear could easily follow up by lunging at me. I may need to use ¡®touch blast¡¯ to defend against its magic. It is safer to prepare a huge amount of ¡®blast¡¯ and ¡®bar¡¯ then go all out. I braced myself to its attack. The bear lunges at me using both its claw to reach me. The bear is faster than the ordinary bear in the field. But for me, its speed can only be a joke. I am lucky it decided to not use magic, I can performed a counter-attack. I launched a ¡®blast¡¯ to the bear¡¯s face. It defends using its right paw, so I dodged to that direction. I used this opportunity to convert three ¡®bar¡¯ into ¡®blast¡¯. From 9 ¡®bar¡¯ and 3 ¡®blast¡¯, all ¡®blast¡¯ were used but I charged up 2 ¡®bar¡¯. When I finished converting 3 ¡®bar¡¯ to 3 ¡®blast¡¯, I charged another 3 ¡®bar¡¯, so I now have 11 ¡®blast¡¯ and ¡®3¡¯ bar. It means, I can gather 2 ¡®bar¡¯ safely if this continues. This is the limit of my concentration for now. Wait, the bear doesn¡¯t turn around to fight me. I forgot that it is being chased. No wonder it didn¡¯t even bother to stop or use magic, so I hurriedly run towards it. I stopped charging ¡®bar¡¯ and converted 2 ¡®bar¡¯ and 2 ¡®blast¡¯ to 3 ¡®touch blast¡¯. I have room to charge but I need to stop the bear¡¯s movement. It may retaliate using magic this time so I need to concentrate more. I only have 9 ¡®bar¡¯ remaining. Using my left foot, I activated ¡®touch blast¡¯ on the ground which gained me a lot of speed, but it is not enough to reach the bear. Using my right foot, I activated ¡®touch blast¡¯ again on the ground. It is enough to reach the bear so I pounced at it, but it noticed me. I expect it to use magic and it did launched a ¡®blast¡¯ at me. I used ¡®touch blast¡¯ to swat its ¡®blast¡¯ downwards and launched ¡®blast¡¯ to its front leg. It staggered a little bit. With no ¡®blast¡¯ or ¡®touch blast¡¯ to maintain. Mid-air, I fully concentrated on converting 4 ¡®bar¡¯ to ¡®reinforced touch blast¡¯. I am in a hurry so I accidentally wasted 1 ¡®bar¡¯ when converting. I only have 4 ¡¯bar¡¯ remaining. Looks like the bear also planned to launch another ¡®blast¡¯. But before it could launch it, I hit its back using ¡®reinforced touch blast¡¯ with my hand as I landed on it. That force, combined with me falling, stopped the bear in its tracks. I converted 1 ¡®bar¡¯ into ¡®pierce¡¯ and used it against the bear leading to its death.
(That fight with the bear is anti-climactic. I''m disappointed) [It is not over yet. How about you?] (Are you not watching me?) [No, I need to fully concentrate on this battle. There might be another monster.] (Good luck then. I am about to start here.) [I¡¯ll be waiting.]Still worried about the chaser, I left the bear as a bait trap and fully concentrated on charging more ¡®bar¡¯. I am now hiding besides a tree. ¡ *Rumble* I''m sure that it''s not my stomach. Here comes the monster. Is that a fin? Yes. It is a land shark. What is this monster doing here? It is approaching the bear fast. This battle, I have 47 ¡®bar¡¯. This may be enough so I stopped charging. Since I stopped charging, I have room to concentrate for more prepared magic. I converted 4 ¡®bar¡¯ into 4 ¡®blast¡¯. 1 ¡®bar¡¯ into ¡®touch blast¡¯. 1 ¡®bar¡¯ into ¡®pierce¡¯. I only have 41 ¡®bar¡¯ remaining. The land shark bit the dead bear, but before it even touched the bear. I succeeded on hitting it with ¡®piercing blast¡¯ at its right side. The ¡®piercing blast¡¯ is a combination of 1 ¡®blast¡¯ and 1 ¡®pierce¡¯. The land shark saw me. It is very huge that I can let it swallow me whole and kill it from the inside. I can¡¯t do it. It is disgusting. The land shark is now approaching me. It is actually slower than the bear. I doubt that this is its true ability. It opens its mouth as it gets closer. I launched a ¡®blast¡¯ at its opened mouth and another ¡®blast¡¯ slightly left where I aimed the previous ¡®blast¡¯. I braced myself to avoid its bite. ! It is a magic eater. It ate both of my ¡®blast¡¯. Looks like I can only hit it at its side or back. I can estimate that the land shark is around 3BB rank. *Rumble* No! There is another land shark. It is approaching me from my right. I have no choice but to dodge to my left. The land shark in front of me is also shifting its direction to the left. I used ¡®touch blast¡¯ with my foot to evade both of its attack. Instead of doing a counter attack. I only have enough time to convert 2 ¡®bar¡¯ into 2 ¡®touch blast¡¯ and 1 ¡¯bar¡¯ into ¡®touch pierce¡¯. I only have 38 ¡®bar¡¯, 1 ¡®blast¡¯, 2 ¡®touch blast¡¯, and 1 ¡®touch pierce¡¯. Are those land sharks a couple? I can only tell that there genders are different. But since its attacks are coordinated. Both its number rank is at least 7. This is too dangerous. The wounded land shark is the male. The other one is the female. I suppose.
(Well, I know that you are seeing this as a flash back later in the story. So, hi future viewers.) [SHUT UP!] (Sorry.)Right now, I may need to do that just to defeat it. I don¡¯t want to do that. Our connection is important¡ Both land sharks are in front of me. The male shark jumps from the ground to lunge at me. The female shark hides on the ground. How do they plan to pincer me? I stepped out of the way of its lunge but it suddenly turns its body. Its plan is to hit me with its tail fin. It is a success.
¡°Ugh!¡±I am thrown far and hit a tree. As expected from a BB Rank. *Rumble* ! I used the just created ¡®touch blast¡¯ to jump very far. As expected, the female shark suddenly appeared from the ground to bite me. It is very strong that it actually bit the tree like a soft bread. I hope it does not happen to me. I only have 37 ¡®bar¡¯, 1 ¡®blast¡¯, 2 ¡®touch blast¡¯, and 1 ¡®touch pierce¡¯. This situation, I can only fight with a draw until I ran out of mana. What should I do? So, the battle continued. Not one of us is able to heavily damage the other. The land shark even tried the same maneuver as before, but I am not surprised anymore. I am able to dodge its attack. I only have 3 ¡®bar¡¯, 1 ¡®touch blast¡¯, and 1 ¡®touch pierce¡¯. I don¡¯t have room to charge more ¡®bar¡¯. Once my ¡®bar¡¯ runs out. I will escape.
(Eula! Can we swap now? I am very excited.) [You finally arrived. I need to explain the situation first.] (Don¡¯t worry. I am running back home when I am watching the fight with the sharks.) [Well, let¡¯s swap now and let me use my mana.]We swapped. Right now, I don¡¯t have to worry about dodging so I can fully concentrate in utilizing my mana.
(That damage from that single hit is extremely painful.) [Well, both monsters is around 7BB rank. The male is even a magic eater. The female shark is not though.]I used one ¡®blast¡¯ at its mouth to test it and found out that it is not a magic eater.
(How did you know?) [I¡¯ll tell you later. The male is the one wounded though.] (So, what¡¯s the plan?) [There is the only one way in this situation.]I am sorry Nathan. Chapter 5: Sorry Nathan
[I am so sorry Nathan. It is the only way.] (Why?)It turns out that the land shark is too powerful. Our mana ran out before we could even finish it. She told me that it is necessary to cut our connection. At this point. She said it is the only way to survive.
(If we cooperate then we could still find a chance. There will be hope!) [Sorry Nathan, but it is a false hope. There is no chance, I know this world better than you, so I know that it is impossible. I don¡¯t want you to get hurt. I mean, this is originally my problem.] (Eula! Please.)*sob* *sob*
[Don¡¯t cry Nathan. I like your smile that I saw in your memory. Can you show it for me?]I tried my best to smile for her sake.
[Don¡¯t remove that smile. That is the most wonderful smile I have ever seen. I hope that you will never forget me. Please always remember that I love you.] (Eula, I love you too so don¡¯t do this! Don¡¯t give up!) (Eula!) (Eula!!!)She is gone. I tried to keep smiling. I know I tried, but doing that is the hardest thing I could ever do this time. I can¡¯t even think of doing it. I know that there is a storm right now, storm formed using all of these flowing tears. I am crying. I can¡¯t help it. The life I wanted for so long is gone. Besides, even though it is a short time. I know I wanted to protect her. Why did this happen? I am the protagonist. This is not a tragedy. This is a comedy. Surely our connection will be restored because of our feelings. Just like those on fairy tales. It is been a minute, an hour, a day. I am still waiting for her voice in my head. I miss the sensation of living in that world. The world that I believe to only exists in fiction. A fantasy world. Although I felt it for only a moment, I still remember the sensation of magic of her handling the mana. It is refreshing. It is very delicate. I miss her. This time I have a goal. I will study anything related to space and travel to her world even if it takes very long. Perhaps this is my actual story, the story of how I never give up for my huge goal that maybe even a generation will never come across as a reality. After 20 years, I succeeded in making an extremely expensive spaceship that travels very fast. But the problem is I don¡¯t know where she is. After another 30 years, I succeeded in making mana through hard work. Even after all this time, I never forgot my bond with Eula. Using the magic I found the place she is in. But it will take years to reach it. After another 10 years, I succeeded and I found Eula. Then we live happily ever after. *The End.* (Author: No it''s not.)
(You know. Something like that will happen if this story has a tragedy tag on it.) [Do you think that I am the type of person who gives up? What¡¯s with those lines? You will never make me say that even if I love you.] (Yeah, you are bad at that. So, are you finished preparing yet?) [I should have if someone is not distracting me with his bad stories.] (Hey, it is not bad.)After Eula told me her plan, she conjured a stick which I am using to stall for time. This will give her time to prepare her magic. She told me that since she does not have to worry about moving her own body, she could focus on manipulating her own mana. She explained to me that ¡®bar¡¯ is the base form of attack magic. She taught me several things: The ¡®blast¡¯ is a magic that delivers powerful force and explodes on impact. The ¡®pierce¡¯ is a magic which delivers less force than ¡®blast¡¯ but it penetrates. Those two magic are its normal form meaning it has no variants. Variants are types of modification that changes how the magic is supposed to behave. Example is the ¡®touch¡¯ variant. The ¡®touch¡¯ variant requires physical contact to activate the magic. It makes the magic more powerful. It can also be applied to a magic that already requires physical contact, but it is harder to utilize and it requires more mana. She said it has to do some rules, but she said it is not important for now and I agreed. Last thing is combining two magic. In this case, we will use the combination of ¡®blast¡¯ and ¡®pierce¡¯ which is ¡®piercing blast¡¯. The ¡®piercing blast¡¯ is a magic which delivers force like ¡®blast¡¯ and penetrates like ¡®pierce¡¯. But once it explodes, its residue can also pierce. The plan is¡ you¡¯ll see.
[I am already finished.]She charged a lot of ¡®bar¡¯ first. The reason is¡ you¡¯ll see.
(Nice! Let¡¯s do it.)Right now, the male shark is in front of me. The other one is hiding. I need to get in position first. The male shark jumped again from the ground. They didn¡¯t even learn that this attack will not work. I dodged this for like a hundred times already. But now that the preparations are finished already, I will do something different to get in position.
(¡®Blast¡¯ left hand! ¡®Blast¡¯ right foot!)She applied a ¡®touch blast¡¯ on my left hand and my right foot. Unfortunately, it is impossible to apply ¡®touch blast¡¯ to my ¡®mana stick¡¯. I approached the male shark. I throwed the ¡®mana stick¡¯ and¡
(What happened?!)The ¡®mana stick¡¯ disappeared.
[I forgot to tell you that it can¡¯t be thrown.]I have to improvise... She casted ¡®pierce¡¯ to where I am aiming. It is off to where I want her to aim it, but the shark dodged it the way I wanted it. I am surprised. It actually worked! The way I aimed, or she aimed her ¡®pierce¡¯ at least, is something which the male shark can obviously dodge, but it will be forced to dodge in a certain way that it is forced to show the ¡®piercing blast¡¯ wound that Eula caused earlier. Its intelligence is low enough for it to fall for this. I jumped at the male shark using ¡®touch blast¡¯ with my right foot while expecting the female shark to defend it. I will use the ¡®touch blast¡¯ from my left hand to move it out of the way. ¡ I know that it is smart enough to cooperate with each other, but did it not expect that I can counter it?
(Eula, Right hand!)Eula applied ¡®touch piercing blast¡¯ on my right hand. I have thrown an uppercut with my ¡®touch piercing blast¡¯ to the wound of the male shark. The female shark arrived and tries to hit me with its tail fin. I used ¡®touch blast¡¯ to block it. While I was blocking the female shark, Eula consecutively launched 5 ¡®pierce¡¯ at the male shark. Whenever Eula launched her magic, the place where the magic is launched can be any location of the body as long as there is no magic active on that place. This means she can¡¯t launch from her hands because it will have ¡®touch¡¯ variant magic for me to use. Before the female shark reached the ground, Eula fired ¡®reinforced blast¡¯ at the ground below the male shark which launches the shark upwards. The ¡®reinforced¡¯ is not a variant but a combination magic of the same magic. It means ¡®reinforced blast¡¯ is just the combination of two ¡®blast¡¯. We need to focus in defeating one of it first, but it will be easier if both shark are separated. That is why the plan for now is, Eula will keep the female shark at bay and keep providing me ¡®touch piercing blast¡¯ while I will continuously use uppercuts with ¡®touch piercing blast¡¯ to hit the male shark. I know you¡¯ve noticed already but I am commanding Eula to apply magic for me. This is to lessen the burden of her thinking what do magic do I need. So instead of her thinking what magic to apply where, I used the short call signs to inform what I think is needed quickly. Well you, as a viewer, don¡¯t need to know that since I am narrating what magic is applied to what part of me. But she can only apply ¡®touch¡¯ variant and that may be important. ¡ I hit it using uppercut for the seventeenth time. It is pretty huge and resilient that it can still fight back. I am impressed. *RAAWWRR!!*
(Is this it?) [Yes. Be careful.]Here comes the hard part. According to Eula, once the male land shark has accumulated a lot of damage, it will go berserk. Not only it will become stronger, it might use another ability. *GGRRAAWWRRR!!!*The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
(Eula, have you messed up?) [No, the last time I hit the female shark was like 10 seconds ago. This never occurred before.]Eula never expected that the female shark will also go berserk. I actually asked her ¡®Won¡¯t the female will go berserk?¡¯ She said that it is unheard of but it might be possible due to something weird that happened recently. She didn¡¯t specify what the weird is though.
(Let¡¯s just continue with the plan.)I previously proposed to kill it before it goes berserk or while it goes berserk. Eula said that it is too risky. A lot of new adventurers tried this and nearly all of them died. This is due to two reasons. First, the initial state of berserk which lasts 20 to 30 seconds are the most dangerous fight of the whole battle. The monster is incredibly strong at this state that it is incomparable to the normal state of berserk. Eula said that the initial berserk of an F rank monster is nearly as dangerous as a BB rank monster. That is a very huge gap.
(Here it goes! ¡®blast¡¯ feet! ¡®pierce¡¯ hands!)The reason I only used uppercut to hit it is for the shark to be in air when it goes berserk. If the land shark is on the ground, then all we could do is to dodge since the land shark is too powerful at this moment. Rather than escaping, we disabled its movement by trapping it mid-air. Eula will consecutively launch ¡®reinforced blast¡¯ to the male shark to keep it in the air, while I will handle the female shark this time. I braced for its attack. The female shark faced me and roars. It is very loud. *GGRROOOAAAAWWRRR~~!!!!!*
¡°I have a bad feeling about this.¡±There! I said it for the first time! It means that something bad is really going to happen. It is an unwritten rule for the protagonist to let the viewer know that the protagonist feels something bad. It suddenly lunges at me. The extremely loud roar is not stopping. It is very strong so defending against it is not an option. I have to avoid it. I used a ¡®touch blast¡¯ with my right foot to hop sideways to the right. At this point, it will twist its body to try and hit me with its tail fin. The problem is there are three ways that it can do it. I need to force it to move the way I want it. Otherwise, by the time I react to the shark¡¯s movement, it will be too late.
(¡®Blast¡¯ Right foot!)I used a ¡®touch pierce¡¯ with both of my hands to cut the side of the tree nearest to the female shark. It is enough that the tree is starting to fall but it isn¡¯t enough for my attack. I used a ¡®touch blast¡¯ with my left foot to send the tree falling faster. Although the female shark is very powerful right now. The tree is very huge and heavy that its only way to stop it is crunching it, avoiding it or ramming it. It can¡¯t possibly stop the tree from falling by ramming it. If it did, then it can use it to attack me, but then I have enough time to dodge. It buried itself underground. I am still waiting for the ¡®touch blast¡¯ to be applied. Eula is also busy keeping the male shark mid-air since it will be nearly impossible to win if they attacked at the same time at that state. So I climbed on top of the trunk of the tree I just cut off. *RUMBLE* The ¡®touch blast¡¯ has been applied. I use it to jump in the direction of the male shark.
(¡®Blast¡¯ All!)The female shark appeared from the ground below the trunk of the tree. As expected, it tried to eat me from below. It jumped upwards rather than stopping momentarily to change its direction. *GGRROOOAAWWRRR~!!!!!* What is that? The female shark has a lot of dirt in its mouth. Usually, it only opens its mouth once it surfaced to the ground. This time, its mouth is already open when it surfaced.
(¡®Mana stick¡¯!)I braced myself for its attack. If my reason for the shark¡¯s weird behaviour is correct, then its attack can¡¯t be blocked using ¡®touch blast¡¯ and I can only use ¡®mana stick¡¯ to defend its attack. I hope that the ¡®mana stick¡¯ gets conjured as soon as possible. The shark jumped very high at the sky. It is very high that even if you stacked 3 of the same female shark upright, the jump of the shark is higher than it. Once it reached the peak of its jump, it faces the ground, or possibly me. It closed its mouth like it is getting ready for something.
¡°COME!!¡±If a fire breath is producing a stream of fire using the mouth, then what will you call if it produces dirt instead of fire? A dirt breath? In any case, that attack will be used against me by the shark. Due to the nature of the attack being continuous, I can¡¯t use ¡®touch blast¡¯ which can only block a single impact. While ¡®pierce¡¯ can be an option, we are totally done for if Eula is distracted defending this attack by launching several ¡®pierce¡¯. The ¡®touch pierce¡¯ is also not an option since it is not wide enough to disrupt its attack; its reach is too near that I will still get hurt even if ¡®touch pierce¡¯ is wide enough. In simple terms, of all my possible choices of magic that I know to survive this attack. Using ¡®mana stick¡¯ will yield the best possible result. The last choice I have to make is what action to take. Should I do a front spin above me to block it using my ¡®mana stick¡¯ of me like I saw in the movies? This move is always portrayed as a move that always blocks or dissipates the projectiles of the enemy which is also used to defend against the fire breath of the dragon. I don¡¯t know if it works in real life though. I learned to do this since I found it cool, but I never used¡ I nearly said the plot twist that is supposed to be secret for now. Should I slash the breath using my ¡®mana stick¡¯ repeatedly to minimize its damage to me? This is also something that they did in the movies. When the dragon breathes fire, the protagonist will slash the fire creating a cool effects where the fire suddenly spreads out which then the protagonist survives and continues to battle the dragon. *GGRRROOOOOAAAAAAAWWW~~~~!!!!!!!* It really¡ breathe dirt? Should I really call this dirt breath? In any case, its force is powerful enough that the shark even experience recoil which makes it flew even higher into the sky. This is the second reason why monsters going berserk makes them a lot dangerous, they will use new another ability. The amount of new abilities depends on the monsters, but it is pretty rare to even encounter monster with two new abilities emerging. The spin¡ will not work realistically. I will feel the force of the breath at the axis or the center of my spin. It is the same as getting hit by doing nothing. The slash is my only choice. There is no situation like this before especially when¡ I nearly said the plot twist again. Anyway, I need to continuously slash since the breath is continuous.
¡°HAAAAAAAAA!!!¡±I jumped using ¡®touch blast¡¯ with both of my feet and done an overhead slash upwards slicing the breath but I think I am a moment late in executing the slash, because my hand felt the force of the breath moving downwards. I shouted there because according to what I¡¯ve seen from some stories, shouting makes the character stronger. I actually looked it up on the internet and it is actually true, but it is not as exaggerated as what I¡¯ve seen on the stories. Since the breath is much faster than me doing a slash, I need to slash it as high as possible to have more room to execute another slash. This is the reason I jumped. As I was falling, I am leaning my body, so when I reach the ground, I will be lying face up. I am able to execute another slash. There is no point in executing the slash at the right timing this time, because even if I try my fastest movement to execute a slash, it will still be late no matter what. Except my first slash, I am able to execute 4 slash on mid-air. When I reached the ground, I executed another slash. This time, I have no time to execute another slash. I steel myself for its breath attack. ¡ She casted a ¡®pierce¡¯ towards the breath. I nearly forgot about her. I noticed that the ¡®reinforced blast¡¯ that she is continuously launching to the male shark has weakened sharply. The male shark¡¯s position was very high so it didn¡¯t reached the ground, but it is falling slightly fast. Her ¡®pierce¡¯ allowed me to execute another two slash. The time I reach the apex of my jump and the time I hit the ground are the moments that I executed those slashes. I am lying on the ground again. I steel myself again.
¡°Haa¡ Haa¡ HAAAAA!!!¡±I am exhausted. Well, the fight has gone so long. This is like the first day of my first part-time job¡ Part-time¡ If I am correct, my work is only minutes away. Something like 59 minutes or around 15 minutes. The breath hit me.
¡°AAAAGGGHHH!!!¡±It hurts. It hurts very much like¡ ehm. All you need to know is that I suffer for a moment there. Hey Author, feel free remove how I described the pain, if you want to censor gore and stuff. (Author: I did.) Near the end of the breath, its force suddenly weakens. This means that the female shark entered the normal state of berserk. Oh no! It takes too long for me to notice that the shark is falling towards me. This is really bad. I only have ¡®touch blast¡¯ on both of my hands. I succeeded trying to get out of the way by using ¡®touch blast¡¯ at the ground with my left hand. I am lying face up so I can easily do that. I tried to get-up. ¡ It turned its body mid-air. It tries to squash me with its tail fin. I leaped forward and reached the ground to use another ¡®touch blast¡¯, this time with my right hand. *BOOOMMM!!!* I did not get hit by its tail but the shockwave that hit me thrown me very far and I crashed into the tree. Because of this, a lot of liquid are pouring out from me. What is the liquid, you ask? It is only sweat, right? Right? RIGHT?! It is up to your imagination what comes pouring or not, but this time I didn¡¯t say any gore stuff. My injuries is very bad. I hope that her appearance is not affected. Otherwise, I will feel guilty.
[Sorry Nathan. I should be the one feeling the injuries.] (Don¡¯t say that. My mind is strong enough to do this. Although, the one injured is still technically your body. I don¡¯t want you to feel this pain. Besides, this just shows how powerless I currently am in this world.) [But, still¡] (Let¡¯s finish this first.)¡
[Right.]I approached the weakened male shark. I nearly fell once as I approached due to my injuries. Once I am near enough, she casted a magic called ¡®bind¡¯. It, uh, binds things, I guess. She didn¡¯t give enough information about it besides it being long to cast. I pity the male shark for not being able to do a thing mid-air except endure barrage of ¡®reinforced blast¡¯. It looks like it has given up already. *ROAR!* The male shark will resist¡ *Roar~!* No, it looks like both sharks are talking?
[I am so sorry Nathan. This is the only way.] (Why?)These two lines we said. Why do I feel like I know this? Hmm¡ Hey viewers, have you seen this two lines that we just send to each other before? Maybe you can see it here or in the previous chapters or episodes? Either way, I feel d¨¦j¨¤ vu.
[What do you mean ¡®Why¡¯?] (Why are you saying sorry?) [Well, you want to be more powerful. Perhaps you want to acquire the land shark¡¯s ¡®catalyst¡¯, but I stopped you by saying that I wanted to not kill them.] (Yeah, I sure am. But our original goal is to extend the duration of the connection of the ¡®Lover¡¯s Bond¡¯. I don¡¯t even know methods to make myself powerful. Even if killing is the fastest way to be powerful, being powerful is not my primary goal and I don¡¯t like to waste life, especially if that life is colorful. What even is the ¡®catalyst¡¯?) [Ahh¡]¡
(Did you forget that I am not from your world?) [Uhh¡] (Never mind that. What happened here?) [Oh right. I communicated with the land sharks.] (Are you serious? What is with the ¡®bind¡¯ then?) [I am serious, I used the same magic we use that translate thoughts. I used the ¡®bind¡¯ to force them to listen to me.] (How did you threaten it?) [It is not important. The important thing right now is the thing I have learned from them.] (What is it?) [It regards to why it is here. It turns out that they are also suffer from hunger due to the recent phenomenon.] (What did you reply?) [We will help them.] (So, how will we do that?) [We will hunt monsters.] (I thought you don¡¯t like to kill?) [Yes, I don¡¯t like it.] (Why do you want to kill then?) [You don¡¯t disagree though, you told me ¡®I don¡¯t like wasting life¡¯] (Yeah, but I have my own definition of life. Which means if they don¡¯t have it, I have no worries killing it. It is like the creatures I killed in the games I play.) [We have nearly the same reason then.]¡
(What will we hunt?) [The 2EE rank bears that the hunters fought earlier.] (How many of them?) [Perhaps, around 200 of them.] (How about transportation?) [The land sharks will do the transport.]I can¡¯t think of another question.
(Well then, good luck on hunting.) [Do you not want to hunt this time?] (I have to do my part-time job there.) [Oh¡]We exchanged bodies and I am back in my own world while Eula gets to battle easy monsters. I am sure that it will not start right away since she has to recover from the injuries. Chapter 6: Neo-Terra I am so embarrassed right now. Why did I forgot that Nathan is not from our world?
(Eula.) [Yes?]¡
[What?!] (That is more like you.) [Why did you think that not being polite is not me?] (I guess I¡¯m just surprised with what you said.) [I can decide whether I will be polite or not. So, what were you saying?] (Can you apply me ¡®touch blast¡¯ here in my body? I don¡¯t want to be late.)I peeked from his eyes and he is running very fast.
[I can¡¯t do it. It needs a huge amount of mana to send mana to you.] (I guess you can¡¯t. You are exhausted from the battle just now.)The battle with two land shark consumed most of my mana. I used several ¡®touch blast¡¯, ¡®touch pierce¡¯, ¡®blast¡¯, ¡®pierce¡¯, and ¡®touch piercing blast¡¯. The most consuming is the repeated ¡®reinforced blast¡¯ to keep the male shark in the air. Not only have I had to aim precisely due to the male shark trying to eat some of it, I also wasted mana to gain more ¡®reinforced blast¡¯ faster. There is a point in the battle where I launched ¡®pierce¡¯ from Nathan to counter the female shark¡¯s breath. The male shark is high enough at that point so I can safely launch one. But when I launch one, the male shark falls a considerable amount. It is too risky to launch another ¡®pierce¡¯ at that point and focused on keeping the male shark in the air. Overall, my mana is nearly exhausted. I am taking a rest together with both the land sharks.
[Actually, if my mana is full, then I can send some mana but it is not enough to cast any magic at all.] (Our goal looks really hard. Well, we have ten years so it is not impossible.)I can¡¯t really do anything from now on except observe his life.
[Can you teach me your language while I am resting and you do your job?] (My job is actually pretty suitable for teaching you that stuff.) [I don¡¯t care. I want to learn the language.] (No, you will care about my job.) [I surely am concerned about your job. It is unfair that I don¡¯t get a glimpse of something in your world other than the things I saw in your memory, your room, and several places that you went while wearing weird clothes.] (You actually didn¡¯t saw what happened in my side?) [Yes. Why?] (I am correct that it is a plot twist in the future then. Hahahaha¡)Uhh¡
[Okay¡] (Alright, I will tell you what happened and if this is an actually a story, I believe that the author will cut this conversation here¡)
(At this point, the conversation will continue on the viewers.)I am not surprised. There are things that happened in the battle earlier which makes me doubt him, but it explains why he can do it.
[Do you think that the story might not be well written if there is a very obvious gap in the conversation?] (No, it actually shows that the author actually planned the whole story and by leaving this obvious gap, it shows that the something is not forced. For example, my sudden behaviour towards that thing. Your reaction to this thing. It adds this mystery behaviour that makes the viewer intrigued. So, they continue reading or watching. You should know that. You read books.)That seems relatable.
[If you want it to be this way, then it means I am more of a protagonist than you.] (I¡¯m listening.) [The two big events that happened so far involves us having a big battle. If nothing is happening on your side and the story is mostly at this place, then you are more of a companion of the protagonist.] (Good point. Well, we just started so, who knows?) [The author.] (That is a rhetorical question!) [Is it? I thought you¡¯ll like that.] (Yeah, I like what you said. I also like replying what I¡¯ve just said if someone said that to me.)I like to say ¡®Why don¡¯t you just become a writer?¡¯ But that might be insensitive.
(Here we are.)The entrance is made of glass and when he stepped in front of it. It suddenly opened. There is no magic here so I¡¯m somewhat curious on how it works. I¡¯ll know it sooner or later.
[Wow! Books! Ahaha!] (You¡¯re so cute.) [SHUT UP!] (I¡¯m only telling the truth though.) [I don¡¯t care.] (Fed up being complimented as a princess?) [You actually thought of that?]I¡¯m touched.
(Yeah, I imagine many princes wanting to marry you. You might even be avoiding parties.) [Yes, I am actually tired of hearing the same compliments. So you could say I hate hearing one. It still depends who says it though.] (Then it resulted to an unsocial princess.) [SHUT UP!] (Hahaha¡ Anyway, any guess what¡¯s my job is?) [I don¡¯t know!]I have an idea.
[Maybe, convince someone to not tell spoilers!] (Eula, what are you saying?) [Nothing, it¡¯s not like I care about what you said to yourself about you being the¡] (OK! I¡¯M SORRY! I GET IT! PLEASE STOP!)Nathan¡¯s reaction is beyond my expectation. Oh well.
[You are actually sticking to the idea of being a mystery to the viewers.] (It¡¯s fun to do it. I wonder when one of us will accidentally reveal it.) [Enough of that, I am more interested in this library.] (Try to guess what my job is. You had seen most my memories.) [It really doesn¡¯t have to do with the books.]No, I know that he handles books but what he actually does is still a mystery to me. I¡¯ve seen that he pulls some books here and there, but all he does is read.
(I thought that you can only see three days. How did you figure it out? I only read stories here and there these past few days and never really had a chance to do my job. So, how?)I can¡¯t believe that my random statement is actually true. If it doesn¡¯t involve books, then is there strange behaviours that he did? ¡ No, he is just attentively reading it. He says that he never really had a chance to do it. The biggest reason could be that he is waiting for something to happen or someone to come.
[I know, because you are lazy enough to not clean your room. You can¡¯t even have the ability to manage this delicate books.] (I can manage it. It¡¯s just not my job.) [No you can¡¯t. You didn¡¯t wipe the dust before returning the book, you didn¡¯t even know the proper way of handling the books so it wouldn¡¯t be damaged while you are reading it.] (¡Alright¡ You surely love books huh.) [Of course. Books are like the epitome of perseverance. Perseverance coming from the men and women who spend hundreds of hours in encoding the message to be conveyed in the book by repeatedly exhausting their own mana. They did their best to acquire the knowledge for the sake of the world.] (¡Yeah¡ Right¡ Well, I¡¯ll explain it if there¡¯s chance. As the only library here in Neo-Terra, and with the residents. Nearly no one goes here except during that research occasion.) [Now that we¡¯re talking about it, it feels weird that I am not seeing many people there in the library.] (Why is it weird for you? I mean, I haven''t seen much people in your world either.) [It¡¯s because most of them are in the front lines. This place is also deserted due to this place not suitable for living and is not a road to any place whatsoever. The monsters here are also unsuitable for income and training.]The monsters here are unbalanced. There are some monsters that you can defeat easier and you can still profit much larger than this. Wait¡ Why did the respawn period happen? Aside from food, there is no reason for someone to hunt the monsters here due to its inefficiency. It means that something or someone exhausted the monsters for the respawn period happen. If so, then why? Unless there is another reason that I am unaware of, this is the only possible explanation I could think of.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
(I actually thought that it is a great place for training. Well, we are unfamiliar to each other world so I guess I am wrong then.) [You are not exactly wrong though. But enough of my world, I don¡¯t know anything about yours.] (Neither do I.) [No, you do know something.] (What is it then?) [First is our ruling system. You know that the ¡®intent translator¡¯ finds words that corresponds to the words of the statement. You also know that I am a princess. Since you don¡¯t question my position as a princess means that there is an equivalent ruling system there that has a king, queen, prince and princess. You are aware how this place is being governed.] (That¡¯s only one thing though.) [Second, you confirmed from me that there is a place here that you can accept quests and receive rewards after you finished it. You are even excited in asking me that.] (You only confirmed. You didn¡¯t explained anything.) [It¡¯s because you explained it. The general idea at least. Well, you based it on the fantasy stories that you know which is pretty inaccurate. One basis of fantasy in your world involves magic which is the reality in this world. I will not be surprised if our basis of fantasy is real in your world.] (I¡¯m intrigued, that may be the case.)There¡¯s no harm in saying it. I am actually interested too.
[I don¡¯t know how to explain it. Vehicles that is powered by some sort of liquid. A tool that allows communication from one place to another without magic. Some fantasy stories even send pictures together with the sound, also no magic.] (Hahahaha¡! I KNEW IT!) [It actually exists?] (Yes, it exists here! That vehicle you said is a car. The tool can be equivalent to a lot of devices. I am poor so it¡¯s hard to show you one but there is one at home. You cleaned my house so you definitely saw that.) [No, there is this one room that is filled with unfamiliar things, but it felt clean enough so I didn¡¯t bother disturbing anything.]Now that I think about it. I saw something that is pretty similar to a thing that is described in a fantasy story.
(There is one here in the library. Let me show you.)He is hastily walking somewhere.
[So, that is how the entrance suddenly opened even if there¡¯s no magic there.] (Yeah. That is one of our technologies.) [Technologies¡ Interesting.]He is in front of one of technology he is talking about. Maybe.
(This is a computer.) [What does it do?] (This computer has the record of every books that is within this library. You can use this to search for a book and it shows the general location of that book within the library. You can also use this if you want to borrow a book and take it outside. In short, it will keep track of all the books in the library.) [That is pretty useful.] (This technology here is specially made in the library so you can only do this stuff. So, do you want to search for a book?) [Teach me the language first.] (I guess so.)He gets a book from one of the shelves. He starts teaching me their language.
[Why is no one visiting the library? This is a paradise of knowledge. Has everyone already read all of this?] (No, most of them are actually using internet these days.)Internet¡ If I recall from one of the fantasy story that I read.
[Is internet a thing which connects everyone in the entire world?] (Is that another fantasy story there? If it is, then yeah, you can say that internet connects everyone in the entire world.) [Yes.] (Really? I''m so amazed right now, anyway do you want to connect internet?) [No. Books are still my favorite.] (If you say so.)This might be a good time to ask that question.
[Nathan, what do you mean by your statement earlier ¡®¡with the residents¡¡¯?] (When did I say that?) [You said earlier ¡®¡as the only library here in Neo-Terra, and with the residents. Nearly no one goes here except during that research occasion.¡¯] (Even that! I am not surprised anymore.) [What do you mean by that?] (Your intelligence is very high. If you can remember and repeat our whole conversation, I will literally die here from shock.)¡ I can¡¯t tell him that I can actually do it.
(That silence! You actually remembered our whole conversation!)I can¡¯t lie because of the ¡®Lover¡¯s bond¡¯. What should I do?
(No wonder you can easily learn all of that stuff I taught. Wait, how come you forgot that I am not from that world?)It is embarrassing to hear that question.
[It¡¯s just... you know... I am focused in saving them... and I am thinking of you as a companion which means that my conclusion just comes naturally... So I didn¡¯t really think about that... The concept that there are people very far away is new, if you know what I mean. Enough of that though, answer my question.]My statement there is pretty messed up.
(Yeah, this place, ¡®Neo-Terra¡¯, is actually an artificial island country made in the middle of an ocean, more specifically, Pacific Ocean.)Their world can actually make something this big? I wonder. Between our worlds, which is more advanced than the other. Their technology or our magic.
(Neo-Terra is known from other countries to be built to isolate people like me. It is not far from the truth though. You know who I am.) [It makes sense. What is its purpose though? If it is built for people who doesn¡¯t know their place in the world, then I will accept that. But you said that ¡®Neo-Terra¡¯ is another country, it means that this place is powerful enough to be considered so.] (Actually each person has their own reason for staying here. When I said ¡®people like me¡¯, it means ¡®people who are special¡¯. Most person here wanted to escape the real world. Also, I know my place in this world.)I am wrong then.
[Okay. So, what¡¯s its purpose then?] (I don¡¯t know. I never really researched about it.) [How did you end up here then?] (¡®Neo-Terra¡¯ is built. I heard the news. It turns out I am qualified to be a resident. I researched the country, then I see an opportunity to acquire a job with high payment here. That job is high enough to cover the cost of my sister¡¯s treatment so I accepted it. It has been 3 years since I lived here.) [With your personality, the way you doubt its purpose must be¡]I don¡¯t know how to express it with words. All I can say is¡
[¡strange. No offense.] (It¡¯s fine. I know that.)He continued teaching me things.
[Do you want to hunt monsters? I can manage this if nothing is going on.] (Finally.) [About the land sharks. They will follow you until you finished hunting. So, avoid other persons. Well, it will be easy enough. Your nature is also effective there.] (It is?) [Yes, why do you think no one called for you when you suddenly ran outside? You even affected both shark¡¯s coordination.]Those were some things that I found weird. But now that he told me that, I reached some conclusion. Should I really go along with him in not thinking too much in order to not accidentally reveal Nathan''s mystery from my point of view? It doesn¡¯t affect my knowledge and this might be a good way to train myself to not accidentally spill the beans. It is decided then.
(Did you accidentally thought of the mystery you are supposed to keep to yourself? What if the viewers are reading or watching from your point of view?) [No, don¡¯t worry, I did not. This is a good way for me to train myself in keeping a secret better.] (Nice. So, can you teach me how to communicate with them?) [I can. But now is not a good time, just focus on the attack magic. I will communicate instead.] (You are studying¡ Never mind. This is one reason I hate geniuses.) [What did I do?] (Just forget about it.)What¡¯s his problem? We swapped. Now, I am in his body. I need to quickly study the basics here while keeping surveillance of Nathan while being aware of my surroundings. ¡ ¡ *Beeeeep!*
[Nathan!] (What is it this time?) [There is a sound here. It is like the one in your house but much louder and has lower pitch.] (Alright, I will teach you my job.) [Show it to me instead.] (Step one: en¡) [Nathan!] (Trust me. You will love this.)¡ I actually managed to do it. But¡
[I thought you said that this doesn¡¯t have to do with the books.] (It really doesn¡¯t have to do with the books.) [Yes it is. I will entertain them. I will ask them what they are looking for. I will provide the materials that they want. The material is mostly books. Even if they didn¡¯t choose book, in the end it still involves books.] (I didn¡¯t say that it didn¡¯t involve books though. I said it doesn¡¯t have to do with the books because it is alright if you didn¡¯t read the contents of the book.) [Isn¡¯t that fraud? What if the information they are looking for is not there?] (Come on. Is there a librarian who would remember every content of every books in his library? Besides it is not included in the job description to do that, so why bother?) [I know some people who qualifies that.] (Nothing is impossible so I think there¡¯s people out there. I even believe that you can remember everything here in a library within a week if you stayed here. You genius.) [I don¡¯t know. I am in a new world.] (Don¡¯t be humble and just admit it.)¡ ¡
[Nathan, are you finished yet?] (Nope, I still need to hunt four more bears. Why?) [I suppose that your job is finished here, based on your memories.] (What time is it?) [Five.] (Go home then, I need to play with my sister at six.)I go outside.
[Which direction should I go?] (You have my memories. You should know that.) [They are not my memories. So it is vague.] (There¡¯s no other choice then.)Nathan, continuously gives me directions until I reached the house. I entered his home by inserting a key inside the key hole then turning the knob of the door. By the time that he finished the last bear, he said¡
(Let¡¯s switch.)We switched. All I have to do now is wait for the land shark to return to acquire the dead bears.
[Is that the computer?] (Yeah.)I watched him as he did something. Suddenly, the glass in front suddenly produces light. The light formed text and images. I guess that this is the display then. He is doing things that I don¡¯t understand, but I figured out the two controllers he is using. One controls a white shape in the display while the other one has the letters of their world which is used to draw texts in the display. I don¡¯t understand the ¡®ctrl¡¯ ¡®alt¡¯ ¡®shift¡¯ and other symbols, but he sometimes press it in conjunction with the letters.
(She is my sister. Serena Ytor)The display right now has a box. The top of the box has a name on it which is I think is the name of his sister. There are sentences below which I assume is their conversation.
¡®Serena: Bro, u heard the news?¡¯ ¡®Nathan: No. Busy these days.¡¯ ¡®Serena: Remember the company that invested a lot of money for a top secret project?¡¯ ¡®Nathan: Yup. What¡¯s that?¡¯ ¡®Serena: Virtual reality. Hype! ^_^¡¯ ¡®Nathan: Oooooohhhhh!!!!¡¯The display suddenly showed another box. Nathan does a lot of things, then there is a lot of text which Nathan is reading intently. It has something to do with the ¡®Virtual Reality¡¯. I don¡¯t know why they are so excited. The display shows the conversation again.
¡®Serena: Let¡¯s buy those.¡¯ ¡®Serena: I am so excited meeting u in VR.¡¯ ¡®Serena: Bro?¡¯ ¡®Serena: ???¡¯ ¡®Nathan: Sry, looking at the article. The launch is next week.¡¯ ¡®Serena: Can you buy those?¡¯ ¡®Nathan: I¡¯ll work hard Sena. This will be amazing.¡¯ (Eula, we will be in a LOT of fun next week.) [¡Okay¡I don¡¯t really know what¡¯s going on. Do you really call you sister Sena instead of Serena?] (Yeah, it is how I show my fondness to her. She liked it so that¡¯s how I called her since.) [If you say so.] (Eula, you will be impressed once you see Virtual Reality.) [¡Okay¡I guess]¡ The two land sharks have arrived to gather the last of the hunted bears. They are coming back and forth while Nathan is hunting the bears all this time. I wonder how far they deliver the dead bear. They looked like not fatigued at all from doing all of that, as expected from a BB rank monster.
{Thank you Eula for helping us gather food for our home. We may not have catch one bear without your help. We do not have anything we think that is valuable to repay for your kindness, so we are in your debt. If you want something for us to do, then please ask us.} [Do you know the city to the north near the walls?] {Yes, we are familiar with it. We heard that you call that place Loncross. Do you want us to bring you there?} [Yes, but please avoid people from seeing us.]The male shark offers his back and I rode on top of it. I am positioned on the back of his fin so I have something to grab on if we go very fast. The female shark will be returning back to its home so my only companion now is the male shark. I am now going to Loncross and Nathan is playing games with his sister. Looks like nothing will happen for the rest of the day. Chapter 7: Death Caravan I need to earn a lot of money for my sister¡¯s VR headset. This is a good day to find a way to earn a lot of money in a short amount of time. ¡°It is impossible!¡± It truly is. I am a poor person for a long time. If there is a way to do this, I should¡¯ve done it a long time ago. [What is the problem?] (I need money.) [Does that regards the Virtual Reality I read last night?] (Yeah, I need to buy it for my sister.) [Your sister is very lucky to have such a loving brother.] (I get it. You are probably jealous of our relationship.) ¡ I probably made a grave mistake. (I am sorry for being insensitive.) [You don¡¯t have to say that. I am wondering though, I understand that this is a great place to earn money, but isn¡¯t it more reasonable if you are near your sister at least?] I asked myself this question a long time ago. I don¡¯t know if going to another place to help my sister will make Sena happy or not. If it she wanted me by her side at all times, then I can¡¯t guarantee that I can support Sena. This is such a dilemma. (If you are in my sister¡¯s place, then what do you want to do?) ¡ [I don¡¯t know anything about your sister so I can¡¯t say.] (Your personal opinion then.) ¡ ¡ [I¡¯ll get back to you on that.] Still, I need to think of a way to earn money fast. It is impossible for me. For me! Get it viewers, this time I have Eula so there must be a way. Hahaha¡ [Sorry to interrupt your moment, but I can hear you. What do you want from me?] I don¡¯t care anymore if I am thinking out loud or not. (I need money.) [Yes, you said that¡¯s your problem. So?] How should I explain this? (I already said that I am living here for 3 years.) [I know.] (As you can see, I am still poor.) [I can see that. Do you want to tell me, ¡®despite living here that long, you are still poor¡¯, or something like that?] (Exactly. The reason is not finding a good job that I can do while still paying a large sum of money.) [Okay, what now?] (I have a plan. First, you will find a good job here.) [Question, how am I supposed to find a good job? You can¡¯t even see one.] (Simple, just search for it. I can¡¯t find one because I am the one searching. If you are the one searching, you can pretty much find a better job than the one I am currently employed.) [That doesn¡¯t makes any sense.] (No, it does. You are much talented than me if you live in this world, so maybe you can find something. Besides you want to live here, so you need to do this sooner or later.) [I agree that I will be doing this later on, but I am still learning things.] (Don¡¯t worry, with your brain, you can almost do any sort of job. I mean you learn pretty fast so it is not impossible for you.) [I don¡¯t know. I am not confident that I will earn a lot of money though.] (Just try it, you might even find a job where you only need to stay here at home and be in front of the computer. I think you will like that.) [That is possible? Is that the reason why I don¡¯t see anyone there? That type of job seems pretty good.] (Maybe for some. I don¡¯t think anyone can do it or anyone does it. But if it¡¯s you, it might be a piece of cake.) Well, she is a genius. [Okay, I will agree for now. What¡¯s the next step?] Oh, right. (Second, I will try to acquire a starting capital if the job needs it.) [I don¡¯t know how you can do that, but okay. What if I don¡¯t need it then?] (I don¡¯t have anything to do then. If you can¡¯t find any good job, I know a way to acquire the money.) [Why don¡¯t you do that first rather than me finding a job?] (Someone owe me a favour and I can ask her for money to repay that favour. I prefer if she don¡¯t repay the favor, but she wanted to anyways. Either I keep trying to not let her repay me or she repays me by another favour. I don¡¯t want her to repay me any materials.) [I see that it¡¯s your least choice. That¡¯s so kind of you though.] (Thanks.) [One last question. What is that Virtual Reality you are talking about? Based on the name, reality might be represented as a non-abstract object or instance. I don¡¯t know.] Oh yeah, she comes from another world so she shouldn¡¯t know. (You see, Virtual Reality is¡) Uhh¡ (Wait, let me think for a second.) [Okay.] I didn¡¯t think that it will be hard to explain. ¡ I have an idea. (The ¡®Lover¡¯s Bond¡¯s translation automatically conveys the intention. Right? So, if I want to convey the explanation of the Virtual Reality even though I can¡¯t find the words to explain it, I still be able to explain it.) [Yes, but I can¡¯t guarantee that I will be able to understand it, because it is up for us to do so.] (Alright, let¡¯s see if I can explain it.) So, Virtual Reality. If I want to explain it, then¡ (Virtual reality is where you put yourself in the shoes of an avatar in a 3d world created by a computer. If it is combined with the internet, it allows communication like you are meeting with someone in real life.) Seriously, it actually works. I am surprised that I am actually able to say that. I mean, I didn¡¯t think of the words but the words come naturally. Does this mean that the reason we fully understand each other is actually due to ¡®Lover¡¯s bond¡¯? Hey author, isn¡¯t this too convenient? (Author: ¡) ¡ Why do I feel like the author didn¡¯t respond to me? Hey, Author! (Author: It¡¯s your imagination.) Maybe it is only my imagination. ¡ Or not, I mean the most of the imagination of the protagonist is always right. Like, ¡®There is someone following us?¡¯ or ¡®There is someone hiding there?¡¯ Hmm¡ (Author: Sometimes it is always not right though.) Yeah, there is a possibility that it is not right. (Author: Did you just hear me?) But since I think of that, it is actually the truth. But now that I think that it is perhaps the truth, then maybe it¡¯s not. Ahh!!! The paradox is real. (Author: *sigh*) [That is great. I think it¡¯s great that you can meet like in real life. But does it have to be next week? You can postpone it until you earned so much money.] I forgot to tell the why it needs to be next week. (Do you remember that I played last night?) [Yes, it doesn¡¯t make sense but I can see that you are playing with your sister although you are far away with each other.] (Yeah. So, that is an online game. We have a character that we control and we can explore the world inside the game we play.) [Okay. Both of you are having fun while communicating. What does it have to do with VR?] (The online game is a VR. Not only I can interact with my sister like in real life, we can also do a lot of stuff since it is a game. I can¡¯t give any example since this is the first VRMMO game that will exist here.) [What is a VRMMO?] (The MMO stands for Massive Multiplayer Online, it means that a lot of people are able to interact in the online game itself. The online game we play is considered to be a MMO which is why there are a lot of people.) [I get it. If I am right in reading the article you were reading last night, then you want to play as soon as it¡¯s launched?] (No, it is impossible. Yeah, it will be launched next week, but it is only the device needed to connect and play the actual game. Since the device will be limited and due to a huge amount of demand to this device, I will not be surprised if it¡¯s sold out the same day as its launch.) [That is pretty amazing.] (I know. That is why we need to get an order as soon as possible, which is next week. That¡¯s why we will have a lot of fun next week.) [I¡¯m not from there so I am excited, probably.] (So, enough of that. You go find a job here, I¡¯ll continue your adventure there.) We swapped. [Be careful going inside Loncross. That place is the boundary between our country and another country. You also know that I am hunted by other countries, but don¡¯t worry about my looks since no one knows my true appearance which is the appearance you¡¯ve seen already.] (How did you do it?) [Simple, I¡¯ve changed my appearance using magic. I¡¯ve been keeping that fake appearance exposed for more than 9 years so even someone who knows me don¡¯t know how I truly look.] (When did you became a genius?) She is doing that for 9 years. NINE YEARS! It means that she have already thought about using a disguise as her real appearance as a disguise to her real appearance. Any normal person will use a disguise to hide themselves but this genius uses her real appearance to hide herself. [No, I am not a genius. There are a lot of person who is greater than me.]If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. (I don¡¯t care if you are being humble or not. In my opinion, you¡¯re the best!) I said it on impulse. Whatever, it¡¯s what I really thought. ¡ [Thank you~~] I find the way she said her thanks to me cuter than the rest of her statements. ¡ Yeah, it feels different¡ and cuter than usual. (By the way, what happened to the male shark that¡¯s supposed to be with you?) [He already left by the time when we woke up this morning.] (So you camped out last night.) [Yes.] Last night, I slept earlier than Eula since they are currently travelling towards Loncross. I insisted that I will swap with her so she is the one sleeping earlier instead of me but she refused. So I can¡¯t do anything about it. (Is it strange for adventurers if you go inside Loncross at night?) [No. But it might attract a lot of attention especially if you don¡¯t have business in the place.] Although I know that it is probably for security purposes, since it is always like that in the fantasy novels I read. How the security works is skeptical for me due to lack of information about this world. (Why will it attract a lot of attention?) [First, night is more dangerous because it¡¯s dark that you are more likely to not notice danger lurking in the shadows.] (Yeah, I agree.) [If the security knows that I arrived at night especially with no more injuries, then either they will report that a strong adventurer has arrived or they will report that I am someone suspicious.] [If they reported that I am a strong adventurer, then I will be asked a lot of questions. If they report that I am suspicious, which is worse than the former, they will either stalk me or something worse than that.] (That is very troublesome indeed.) [Yes. Unless I have a reason, I need to arrive during the day.] (So, which direction is Loncross?) [Let me use my left eye.] I am seeing an arrow again pointing somewhere. (Is this the direction?) [Yes. So, while you are still far away from Loncross, how to use this thing?] She is referring to the computer. (Can you teach me how to do the magic you just did first?) [No, you might not learn it fast enough.] (Let me use my right hand then.) ¡ (This is the mouse and this is the keyboard.) (You use the mouse to control the arrow in the screen by dragging the mouse on the desk. That arrow is called cursor.) (You must point the cursor to the thing that you want to interact in the screen.) (There are many things that you can interact but let¡¯s interact with this.) I pointed the cursor on a browser. (This is a browser. There are many browsers but this is the one that I use.) (You use the browser to interact with the internet which you can use to gather information.) (Now that it is pointed, you can either do a left click or a right click.) (To open it, you must do a double left-click) ¡ (You can use right click to show more possible options to interact.) ¡ (You use the keyboard to input the words here in the search bar.) ¡ (Take your time to explore how to use the computer. Most users of the computer learn through experience. Even I experimented before I get used to it.) (I hope you get all of that.) [Yes. I will ask if I have some questions.] ¡ (Here we are, Loncross. Any information?) [Loncross is a large town. It is located within the boundary of two countries, Si?alta and Tuschekov.] (What country did we came from?) [Si?alta.] Okay then, this will be my first conversation with someone from this world¡Wait, I forgot about the language. (How can I talk to them?) [I already applied the translator. Just talk to them.] Here it goes. Wait, it will be better if they are the one who starts the conversation. ¡°Hey miss!¡± It seems that the guard is referring to me. So I approached the guard who called me. ¡°Yeah?¡± I forgot that I am a girl right now. My voice¡ is so gentle and cute. Hmm¡ Should I¡ ¡ Is he attracted to me or something? Well, I am charming right now. ¡°Uhh¡ Miss, where did you come from? Can you please show us your identification papers?¡± (Eula, do you have the identification papers he is talking about?) [No, I left it at home because it is not useful for me.] ¡°Sorry~ I don¡¯t have any identification papers you are talking about.¡± ¡°Why do you not have one?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I live very far away from here that they didn¡¯t make me the papers you are talking about.¡± [It¡¯s funny that because you are the one saying it. The lie detector didn¡¯t detect that you are lying.] (Wait, there is? You should¡¯ve told me that sooner. I am going to lie if he asked me where I lived.) [No, I mean our ¡®Lover¡¯s bond¡¯ lie detector. The lie detector magic requires permission from the person who will be detected.] ¡°Where do you live?¡± I don¡¯t really like lying, but I think it is okay if they misunderstand me while saying the truth. So, I need to¡ [Sorry. Let me say it for you.] (No need.) ¡°I live in the middle of an ocean. My family ended up in a tragedy a long time ago and now¡¡° *sob* ¡±¡I find myself in this place. ¡° *sob* ¡°Can you please not ask me anymore question? Because¡¡± *sob* ¡°I¡¡± *sob* ¡°I don¡¯t¡¡± *sob* ¡°Sorry, miss. You can stop now.¡± [Nathan¡ You¡] (What? All I¡¯ve said is true. I plan to say, ¡®I don¡¯t want to expose my true identity¡¯. Not saying it doesn¡¯t mean that I am lying though. The reason I am sobbing is to force them to stop me from saying it.) ¡°Why did you come here?¡± ¡°I want to be an adventurer.¡± ¡°A young adventurer eh. I respect your decision but please let me escort you to the town hall, you need to acquire identification papers for your adventures.¡± ¡°Thank you~~!¡± ¡°Ahahaha¡¡± This guy is totally into me. [Nathan, what are you doing?] (Practicing.) To act like a beautiful maiden. [I can¡¯t believe you. That is very embarrassing.] We entered the town. This town has a very good atmosphere. The nature and people are everywhere. The nature consists of many beautiful trees located on the edge of the town. The grass surrounding the trees are filled with different varieties of plants and flowers. It¡¯s most attractive point is the rolling ball of flower or plant. Those are everywhere. I saw a scene where the child of the family holds that ball of flowers or plants and when the mother has sprinkled water into it. It grows into a much more wonderful, delicate and beautiful flowers or plants. The plants or flowers is in the hands of the child for a few seconds until it is swept by the wind. Considering that they are not upset that it is swept, it means that it always happen that way. The people consists of merchants, soldier, adventurers, street performers, child, adult¡ All sort of people are here. They are giving this kind of vibe where you feel like you are at home relaxing. ¡°Beautiful isn¡¯t it? Loncross is known for its nature, people, and its trade. Nature is beautiful as you can see. People has good relation whether you came from Si?alta or Tuschekov. Trade because the products are acquired from both countries and some products here are unique because its materials came from both countries and their own town. You would not believe that there is war going on.¡± (There is a war?) [Yes.] We have arrived to the town hall. ¡°Sir! This person wanted to acquire identification papers.¡± ¡°Who is she?¡± ¡°She is¡¡± (Did you call yourself another name when you went into hiding?) [I lied to the villagers before, I said that my name is Eunice.] ¡°My name is Ytor. You can call me Eunice Ytor.¡± Again, I am not lying. It¡¯s true that my name is Ytor. I said that they can call me Eunice Ytor. I never said that it¡¯s my name though. ¡°I never heard that name before. Well then, follow me.¡± I followed the man who I suppose is the leader of the soldiers in this town. ¡°Nympha, someone here wants identification papers. I am in a hurry so I don¡¯t know the details. You go ask her.¡± ¡°Yes, be careful during the investigation.¡± He sprints outside. I wonder what¡¯s going on. ¡°Hello. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°My name is Ytor. You can call me Eunice Ytor.¡± ¡°So your name is Eunice Ytor. This is the first time I heard that name here. I am Nympha Plume. I am the mayor¡¯s assistant in this town. Why did you not have identification papers?¡± She asked me the same things that the soldier asked me. I answered the same and the sobbing works as well. ¡°An aspiring adventurer! Do you know what the job of an adventurer is?¡± (Eula, this is time for you to shine. What is the job of an adventurer?) [I read many books about it, but I see that it is subjective per person. I think she is testing you.] If it is my opinion, it is simple then. ¡°It is to go to an adventure and interact with different persons. The reason there are jobs is to make good relations in order to spread the way of helping others.¡± I hope that I said it right. ¡°Why do you want to be an adventurer?¡± ¡°It¡¯s because I want to be one.¡± ¡°I know, so why do you want to be one?¡± ¡°I want to go and adventure.¡± She is thinking about something. This is it. I will be able to determine the genre of my story based on this. ¡ Come on, she didn¡¯t comment to anything that I said. Anyway, she asked me further questions regarding my basic information. I don¡¯t have to lie about them and I requested Eula to answer some of the questions. ¡°Here is your identification papers. Never lose that papers since it normally requires a fee to get one. I let you not pay since I like you. Follow me.¡± I followed here. When we arrived outside, the soldier is still waiting. You didn¡¯t have to wait for me, all you need to do is escort me. She ordered that person to go back to his post. How unlucky for him to be unable to follow me around. ¡°Did you find any place to stay?¡± ¡°No. I will search for an inn later.¡± ¡°I recommend that you stay at the Babyfly Inn. Do you have any money?¡± (Eula, do you have money?) [Yes, but if you can say that you don¡¯t have. It is better.] ¡°I need to earn money first. I will visit the inn after I earned some. How much do I need to earn?¡± I dodged the question and I ask her immediately so she have one choice but to reply. ¡°It is usually 30 low rank coins but I recommended you so just earn 25 low rank coin.¡± ¡°Sorry if I don¡¯t know, but I don¡¯t know the currency.¡± ¡°There are 4 ranks of coins. Low, medium, high. You need 1000 low rank coins for 1 medium rank coin. 100 medium rank coins for 1 high rank coin. 10 high rank coins for 1 max rank coin.¡± ¡ [Why did you not asked me about that?] (This is to show that I am pretty clueless about this world.) We arrived in front of the adventurer¡¯s guild. ¡°This is the adventurer¡¯s guild.¡± We go inside. The layout of the inside is simple. As soon as you enter the building, you can see the reception in front of you. To the left is the board which I assume is where the requests are posted. To the right is several booths. Some booths serve foods, some booths I think do some services based on the name of the booth. Someone is running towards us. Here it is! My instincts are telling me that it involves a pretty urgent quest. Hmm¡ My reaction is totally a clich¨¦ in the other world genre. ¡°Nympha! Here it is again!¡± ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Death Caravan!¡± I have an idea so that my reaction will be unique than most of the stories that I have read. ¡°What is the Death Caravan?¡± Either I feign ignorance or I ask what it is. My idea can be done either way so it never matter. ¡°I¡¯ll go and assemble the meeting. Jane, take this and handle Eunice¡¯s registration.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Did they ignore me? Death Caravan is really a big of a deal. Nympha runs outside. Leaving me with Jane, and other extras with the possibility of an antagonist. You didn¡¯t expect that I will assume that the antagonist is already here in this vicinity. I only assumed it though, it is probably wrong. Jane reads the document that Nympha gave her. ¡°Eunice, please follow me.¡± I followed her. We passed the reception desk. We are in a long hallway. It is like the hallway you see in hotels where there¡¯s door in front of each other and the design of the hallway is very symmetrical. There is this weird feeling that something is asymmetrical. I don¡¯t know what that is. We stopped in front of the room labelled ¡®Test¡¯. So it means that it is the test room, or so I thought. What if the room is labelled wrong so someone will enter the wrong room? I wanted to do that if I will build my own house, unfortunately I am poor so I can¡¯t. We entered inside the ¡®Test¡¯ room. ¡°This is the ¡®Test¡¯ room¡± It is the truth then. I also considered this person as one of the antagonist so I am still suspicious. If it happens that the viewers like Jane, I am sorry about that. ¡°I know. This room is actually not the test room since there are no equipment here. The reason is you put that sign saying ¡®Test¡¯ and you repeat it again for me here so I would be convinced. The actual test is to notice that there¡¯s no actual test.¡± Of course, I am only kidding. How would they be able to rank me if they didn¡¯t test my skills? There are 30 ranks from FFF to ZZZ, so they need to be precise for the safety of the adventurers. [Why do I feel like you are kidding, Nathan?] (It is because I am actually kidding.) [I can¡¯t believe that you are so lucky.] (What did I do?) [You¡¯ll see.] Why am I lucky? I wonder¡ ¡°As expected from Eunice, no wonder Nympha expects a lot from you.¡± Uhh¡ Okay, what? ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything though.¡± ¡°Of course you do, you managed to know that there¡¯s no actual test before I could even say anything.¡± ¡°But I am only joking.¡± ¡°Eunice, don¡¯t be so humble. What happened is you passed with flying colors and that¡¯s that.¡± (Eula, did you also knew that?) [I had doubts ever since I saw the ¡®Test¡¯ room. It is the only room labelled so it is suspicious. When she said that it is the ¡®Test¡¯ room, and I saw what¡¯s inside that room. I am totally convinced.] It seems that I am very lucky then. ¡°Eunice, please follow me again.¡± I followed again. Now that Eula mention it, this is the only room that¡¯s labelled. Is this a taste that my story will also be a mystery? We are in front of a room. This time it has no label so maybe there¡¯s nothing wrong. ¡°Although you passed the test. We still need to rank you based on your power so that we can ensure that the mission will not overwhelm you and will not kill you.¡± ¡°What should I do?¡± ¡°There are many ways to show your power. How would you want to show your power?¡± Hmm¡ I don¡¯t want this kind of development. ¡°Showing my power here is pointless. I want to use it on the mission. Maybe the Death Caravan.¡± ¡°Sorry, but I need to rank you first before knowing whether you are qualified to take it or not.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care. If it involves someone getting hurt, then I will show my abilities there.¡± ¡°What if you are powerless to do that mission? It could cost your life.¡± ¡°No one is powerless. Even the weakest soldier can do something can for his army.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°If that soldier is not giving up, then that soldier shows that there is still hope. Everyone stronger than that soldier will realize that and they will keep fighting to not lose face against their weakest soldier.¡± I learned that from a certain game. I also used this psychological reason to motivate my team on one of the online games I played. Although we lost, we still manage to put up a good fight so I am not disappointed. I continued saying¡ ¡°Even if I failed that mission, possibly from dying, it will give hope for the persons stronger than me that they can achieve higher than what I did from that mission. So what is the Death Caravan?¡± I accidentally said it to Eula that one time, but I said that it impossible because the protagonist on a comedy, fantasy genre story never dies. I also believe that I am the protagonist in this story. Jane is silent as if she is thinking about what I said. ¡°Okay, follow me first.¡± ¡°Actually, what did we do here?¡± ¡°This is the room where we test the power of every individual. If you want to measure your power, then there are tools here to do that.¡± ¡°Oh¡¡± I regret saying what I¡¯ve said. I also wanted to measure my power. There¡¯s nothing I can do now, I can¡¯t take back my words. ¡°The room we are going now is where they meet in regards with the Death Caravan.¡± ¡°You said earlier¡ Uhh¡ Wait.¡± (Eula, what did Jane say to Nympha earlier?) [It is ¡®Here it is again¡¯.] (Thanks.) ¡°You said, ¡®Here it is again¡¯, which means that Death Caravan had existed previously.¡± ¡°Death Caravan is what we call to the 13th Caravan that goes here in Loncross after the harvest festival.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± ¡°There will be 13 attempts to kill a member of the Caravan. Ever since we started to notice it 4 years ago, we are trying our best to reduce the number of deaths.¡± ¡°How many person did you saved per Caravan?¡± ¡°It depends. The best outcome we did so far is nine saved person, the worst is three.¡± That is pretty sad. Now, I want to participate in saving the Death Caravan now. ¡°Unfortunately, the number of deaths is worse than this.¡± ¡°I understand, since you saved three person, ten person have died.¡± ¡°No, it is not like that.¡± Does she mean¡ ¡°Is there other persons who are not part of the caravan who died?¡± ¡°Yes. The adventurers who tried to save the persons of the caravan.¡± I have a very bad feeling about this. ¡°What is the total death count?¡± ¡°Ever since we started saving people, the number of deaths involved in this mission, is not less than 200.¡± ¡°That is worse than ignoring to save the persons in the caravan.¡± ¡°Yes, because of this, there are some meetings that suggested to ignore the caravan to lessen the death count.¡± ¡°I will totally participate in this madness!¡± We arrived in front of a door again. [Nathan, calm down.] (Eula, I am calm. I actually wanted to say something angrily once, I want to know how I would sound in your voice. ) [You always heard my voice though.] (It is still different if I heard it personally.) [Why are you saying that?] (I think that you know why I am saying it to you.) [Yes.] (Don¡¯t think too much about it though. I don¡¯t want you to misunderstand me.) [Just don¡¯t let yourself die. We¡¯ll die together if you messed up.] (I know. That¡¯s why I need this motivation.) Jane and I opened the room and find several person. As soon as I entered, I shouted¡ ¡°I will join this Death Caravan or whatever!¡± My Memory: First Fragment I am Colim Ent. I will put everything here that I can remember. I will put everything here that I must not forget. The fate and destiny lies on our conclusion. I want you to always remember. Never let ¡®THEM¡¯ know what we know. I know that I sacrificed my memory for something. I have this feeling that the memories will never disappear, but it is hidden. The memories inside me are very vague. I don¡¯t know who says what since the images that I saw and the voices that I hear are not synchronized. The memories that I put here are not in chronological order. I just put them as I remembered it. But, I did my best to organize this memories. The voices that I remember is not distinguishable. I can¡¯t determine who says what, that I don¡¯t even know if I am the one who said it. I will note if the voice can be distinguished.
| -Executing ''RP-Shift''¡¡- |
| -''RP-Shift'' Start. O = 0T- |
| -O = 3T- |
| -O = 5.3T- |
| -O = 5.8T- |
| -O = 6.3T- |
| -O = 6.7T- |
| -O = 7.1T- |
| -O = 7.7T- |
| -O = 8.2T- |
| -O = 8.5T- |
| -O = 9.2T- |
| -O = 9.4T- |
| -O = 9.9T- |
| -O = 16T, ¡®RP-shift¡¯ Status: ¡®finished¡¯- |
| -Ending Execution...- |
| -Creating ¡®Para-Log¡¯, 0%- |
| -Creating ¡®Para-Log¡¯, 100%- |
| -Returning¡- |
| -Shutdown!- |
| -Executing ¡®RP-Shift¡¯¡¡- |
| -¡®RP Shift¡¯ Start. O = 0T- |
| -O = 3T- |
| -O = 5.3T- |
| -O = 5.8T- |
| -O = 6.3T- |
| -O = 6.7T- |
| -O = 7.1T- |
| -O = 7.7T- |
| -O = 8.2T- |
| -O = 8.5T- |
| -O = 9.2T- |
| -O = 9.4T- |
| -O = 9.9T- |
| -O = 16T, ¡®RP-shift¡¯ Status: ¡®finished¡¯- |
| -Ending Execution¡- |
| -Creating ¡®Para-Log¡¯, 0%- |
| -Creating ¡®Para-Log¡¯, 100%- |
| -Returning¡- |
| -Shutdown!- |
¡®?!¡¯ ¡®It sounds ridiculous. I know.¡¯ ¡®?¡¯ ¡®Yes, I¡¯ll also regret this.¡¯ ¡®?!¡¯ ¡®It¡¯ll never happen anyway.¡¯---- After wearing the suit that Richard lent to me. I¡¯ve gone to the shuttle transit. He arrived on time huh. That¡¯s unusual.
¡°First of all, check your tickets closely. I can¡¯t believe that you had the guts to visit my classroom like that.¡± ¡°Hahaha! Well, I am an alumni. I have nothing to be afraid of.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re lucky that Sonja knows you, otherwise you might be facing an unnecessary trouble.¡±Around 30 minutes after we boarded the shuttle, I discovered that the criminal makes another appearance.
(What are those magic? Those are all new to me. You are making it hard for the viewers you know. You might get critic for dumping a lot of information.) [I¡¯ll explain all of this later. Don¡¯t be concerned about it for now. Besides, I am curious on what are you riding right now. Perhaps when you arrive at your destination I¡¯ll see more technologies that I find unfamiliar.]She is referring to the shuttle. Basically, one of the fastest public transportation in this planet. It is a Triangular shaped vehicle with a dome on the center. The shape is dumb and not cool, but I think it helps in one way or another. If I remember correctly, at its highest output it can circumnavigate the planet in an hour I believe. Well, they¡¯ll never do that since it might induce some accidents, but it happens very rarely. I never experienced it, but according to some, the experience is pretty horrible.
(Yeah, I guess if this is a story and the readers are similar to the people of my world, then they can easily relate to the technologies, but if the readers are similar to the people of your world, then the readers can easily relate to the magic. Maybe, they won¡¯t relate either way. Maybe they will relate either way.) [Again, this is our reality. It doesn¡¯t matter whether we are a fiction or not.]¡ While helping Eula navigate the forest, we¡¯ve arrived in another country. As usual, I¡¯ve never been to this country.
¡°Whooooo! Yeah! Here I come!¡±Here¡¯s Richard again, being more stoked than me even though he¡¯s been here before. Well, since he¡¯s going to meet her this night, I guess that¡¯s understandable. I said,
¡°Please, how many times did I tell you that it is better if you said that while you are about to exit!¡± ¡°Come on! It is better if you said it when you¡¯re already on the ground.¡± ¡°No! You must say it when you are about to do an action, i.e. about to exit. I told you to watch more movies to know what I was saying.¡± ¡°Why do you care? I prefer it that way.¡±And thus the discussion about it commenced again. I¡¯ll never get tired of it. *doo-doo-doo-doo-doooo~, doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doo-doooo~, doo-doo¡* It¡¯s his phone¡¯s ringtone ¡®Daruse - Danstorm¡¯. So classic yet so good.
¡°Hello.¡±I saw on his cellphone that it¡¯s Ahran Nadal, the younger sister of Richard¡¯s interest.
¡°We just got out of the shuttle. We¡¯ll pick you up in 15 minutes.¡±We always pick her up together with her friend slash manager Videl.
¡°Sure. Where is it though?¡±Aaand¡ I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on.
¡°Yeah, the intersection with the bakery, detective agency and the fast food restaurant.¡±This is my first time to this country, so I¡¯ve got no idea what place are they talking about.
¡°Yeah¡yeah¡ Gotcha. We¡¯ll be there in around 22 minutes I think.¡±It seems that we¡¯ll by making a detour. We¡¯ll see what happens.
¡°Alright, later Ahran.¡±He puts his phone into his pocket.
¡°Now where were we?¡±He wants to continue our stupid argument! Better than any topic I guess. ¡ When I saw his car, I immediately asked him,
¡°Is this the same car?¡± ¡°Yeah, why?¡±If you didn¡¯t ask him that question every time that you saw his car, then you wouldn¡¯t believe that all the different cars he drove is just the same car that is customized every single time. There¡¯s this one time that he fully changed his car into a jet plane. It doesn¡¯t make sense, he could just build it separately with the car. I am always saying that he is the one who changed it, but the one who actually did the modifications or the customizations of the car is actually Screwford. Richard just demands what type of customization he wants. I hate rich people wasting their money like this. We first went to a flower shop. Ahran must have forgotten to get or reserve some flowers or it¡¯s not delivered on time. Either way, whenever her sister needs a bunch of beautiful flowers; Ahran always helps her get some. Then, we head straight to the place they checked in. On the way to their place, I peeked at Eula¡¯s eyes and based on the map that she drew on her vision. She is about to arrive to the battle. It might be dumb to do this, but my instincts says that this has potential¡ to do something?
(WAIT!) [What?] (Take a hint, will you.) [What do you mean?] (They are the protagonists on their own story, it would be rude if we interrupted on the middle of their battle.) [There is a reason that I am called a backup, you idiot. Also, they are having a conversation not in the middle of the battle.] (I know. But when the battle started again, interrupt if I said so. This could be a very interesting development.) [Fine. Let me just correct you that I¡¯ll interrupt if we agreed on it, not if you said so.] (Yeah, that¡¯s a better way to put it.)Hmm¡ If they are the protagonist on their own story, then perhaps¡
(We¡¯re reduced to supporting characters. We¡¯re supposed to be the protagonists you know. Because of that, I have bad news.) [I don¡¯t really care, but what is the bad news?] (Since we are not the protagonists this time, then we are not immortal. Strangely enough, my instincts are telling me that we will die soon.)Yeah, too strange in fact.
[Setting your jokes around stories aside, I kind of agree on your instincts this time. I felt it too.]So, what does this all mean? I¡¯ll think about it later. I need to know what is happening over there.
(Eula, can you somehow listen to their conversation?) [I will be compromised if I do that.] (Yeah, let¡¯s just watch from here.)Richard said something quite interesting.
¡°By the way Nathan, I heard that the next country that we will be going is where your sister is hospitalized.¡± ¡°What? Seriously? That¡¯s a rumor isn¡¯t?¡± ¡°It may be a rumor, but as a professional journalist, most of my rumors are true.¡±Yeah, that¡¯s what makes him very annoying. Despite the fact that he is super dumb, he is very good at this. He have website where he posts every rumor and conspiracies he encountered. The serial killer conspiracy and his discovery that a huge company is , his pen name became very famous and the TV news even cover some of his rumors. There¡¯s only few people who knows that the person behind those rumors is Richard.
¡°Then Sena will be very happy about that.¡± ¡°Just because you¡¯re bringing your sister doesn¡¯t mean that you¡¯ll forget why I am bringing you in the first place.¡± ¡°I know, I know. You know I¡¯ll never fail this.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll see.¡±We arrived in front of a hotel, this must be the place that they¡¯ve checked in. We head straight to their room after Richard talked with the person in the reception desk. It is probably for security purposes. I peeked from Eula¡¯s eyes, and they are still talking. Those three probably knew each other. *Knock knock* The door opened and Ahran suddenly jumped out from the door and hugged Richard. Richard hugged her back.
¡°Long time no see Richard! I missed you.¡± ¡°I missed you too sweetheart.¡±Videl probably peeked from the peep hole and told Ahran that Richard is the person in front of the door. Ahran is blind so she will hesitate in hugging the person in front of her.
¡°I guess Nathan¡¯s also here with us tonight?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m right here.¡±Like she did with Richard, we also hugged with each other. That¡¯s how she usually greets her close friends so nothing weird about this.
¡°You¡¯re looking gorgeous today Ahran.¡± ¡°Heehee, thanks.¡±Ignoring those two, I talked to Videl.
¡°Videl, how¡¯s it going?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡± ¡°Still silent as ever huh. What¡¯s with the curly hair then?¡± ¡°Any problem?¡± ¡°Chill out, I was only asking.¡± ¡°I just decided it on a whim, I guess.¡±Richard suddenly shouted at us.
¡°Heey! You guys coming or what?¡±Looks like they are about to ride the elevator. Videl shouted back,
¡°One moment!¡±She locked the door and we followed them inside the elevator. Ahran said,
¡°Nathan, anything you want to share to us? You feel less gloomy this time.¡± ¡°What do you mean by that?¡± ¡°Nothing, just continue what you were doing if it makes you happy.¡±Richard interjects.
¡°Yeah, what have you done, ¡®Nathan¡¯?¡± ¡°You¡¯re just making me a suspicious or a creepy person.¡± ¡°Wait, you¡¯re not?¡± ¡°Funny, Richard.¡±Ahran giggled. The elevator door opened and we rode Richard¡¯s car. Richard and Videl is sitting in front of the car while Ahran and I are sitting on the back. I peeked from Eula¡¯s eyes.
(It looks like we are watching those dramatic battles where even though the odds are against the protagonists, they will still win.) [That outcome is stupid though. Is shouting even necessary?] (I agree about the outcome being stupid but I think it¡¯s satisfying. Regarding to shouting, according to some research, shouting will make someone slightly stronger. That is why I shouted when defending against the land shark you know.) [Your shout actually slightly slowed the attack of the land shark. Which is why I didn¡¯t found it to be unnecessary. If you say it makes someone stronger, then I¡¯ll take your word.]It did? Now that I think about it, you can fight a shout using a shout. It slightly still doesn¡¯t make sense but alright. I heard Ahran saying my name,
¡°Nathan, I believe you¡¯re only half a year away from graduation.¡± ¡°Yes, if I did good enough.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t put yourself down like that. I know you can do well.¡± ¡°Well, if you are planning to hide the fact that the four of you, including your sister, are trying to surprise me by showing up in my graduation. I am already expecting it so as a piece of advice, you should surpass my expectations.¡±Videl said,
¡°Don¡¯t include me, if there will be one then I¡¯m not going.¡± ¡°Trying to let my guard down, I see.¡± ¡°Whatever.¡±I know that she¡¯s not interested. I felt something on Eula¡¯s side. When I peeked from her eyes, I saw the weird magic.
(That ¡®piercing blast¡¯ is very strange.) [Yes, not only it is ¡®reinforced¡¯ it is also ¡®bound¡¯. ¡®Bound¡¯ is a very risky magic variant. It only means that you can reuse the same magic. In that person¡¯s case. He can reuse the ¡®reinforced piercing blast¡¯ over and over again.]Just like she described the magic, the ¡®piercing blast¡¯ just keeps coming back to the enemy. I feel like the enemy charges the magic so the enemy could cast it again. So it seems that the magic saves a lot of mana.
(What¡¯s the weakness then?) [It needs more mana to activate. While it is not weaker, you can¡¯t use its full power otherwise it will disintegrate. Disintegrating means you can¡¯t use the magic anymore. Basically, treat it like any other magic but destroy it as soon as possible.]So creating another magic with ¡®bound¡¯ is very wasteful. In other words, don¡¯t put a ¡®bound¡¯ to a magic that is weak and you¡¯ll only use several times. While talking to Eula, we arrived at the place.
¡°This place is huge! The theater inside should be pretty epic.¡±Richard stated,
¡°Yeah, good luck on helping the crew this time Nathan. The theatre this time should be much larger than the places you¡¯ve been before.¡± ¡°So, more money?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask me.¡±He is not responsible for paying me in helping set-up the theatre. So, he really shouldn¡¯t know. But I hope that I get more money this time. By the time that I need to help those four, I need to focus on doing that, so no multi-tasking at that point. I wonder how the author would write what I will going to do at this point. I mean, writing everything is totally confusing to the viewer. Well, author, good luck. (Author: On it.) I saw a man with a dragon tattoo on the right side of his face.
¡°Ahran! It¡¯s been a long time.¡± ¡°Shawn?¡±That dude with the tattoo is named Shawn. I don¡¯t recognize him. This must be first time we met. Richard said with a surprised expression,
¡°Yo, Shawn, The hell dude. You didn¡¯t show up the last 7 years man.¡± ¡°Yeah, you know. Workin¡¯ to improve my skill like a bad ass.¡± ¡°Anyway, Shawn. I really want to talk to you right now, but I need to do something. Oh! Lanaya is also here. I¡¯m sure she also wants to see you.¡± ¡°No worries. I already meet her earlier. The first thing she might tell you is how I¡¯m here earlier.¡± ¡°Well, of course that¡¯s we¡¯ll do! We missed you a lot since you¡¯ve been gone for a long time.¡±Looks like Videl and I are so out of place right now. I whispered to her ears,
¡°Hey, Vi-¡±She suddenly jumped away from me while blushing. This will be the first time that I¡¯ve tried whispering something to Videl and it looks like she doesn¡¯t like it. She walked to me and also whispered,
¡°What is it?¡±She flipped her hair and tucked it behind her ears. Showing the intent to listen to me. It¡¯s not like she does not like it, it¡¯s that she¡¯s surprised to what I did. I tried whispering again,
¡°Yeah, any idea who that guy is?¡±She whispered back.
¡°No idea, but it seems that he also belonged to their group.¡±She just stated the obvious. Ahran comes over and said,
¡°Yes, he¡¯s also a part of their group.¡±I forgot how sharp her ears is, being able to hear us this far even though we¡¯re whispering to each other. I watched Shawn as he left. Then we proceeded to meet Lanaya. After following Richard for quite some time, he waves at someone.
¡°Lanaya, here!¡± ¡°Sis?¡±Someone is walking towards here. She said excitedly
¡°Hi guys. You can¡¯t believe who did I just met!¡±Ahran runs forward and hugs her sister.
¡°Be careful Ahran, last thing I want to happen is see you falling.¡± ¡°Heehee. It¡¯s okay, sis¡¯ll catch me anyway.¡±Richard come over and informs to that person.
¡°Yeah, Shawn. Suddenly showing up like that. What did he say?¡± ¡°He just greets me. What about you?¡± ¡°Same, he¡¯s planning something again for sure. Also here¡¯s your props.¡± ¡°Again, thanks for helping me out on these.¡± ¡°No problem. We¡¯re expecting a good show out of these. So best of luck.¡± ¡°Sis, you can do this! I¡¯m looking forward to the performance.¡± ¡°Thanks Ahran, Richard.¡±Those three left the backstage, Richard waving back as he walked away, and me getting left behind. I ask Lanaya,
¡°I heard from Richard that the theater is much larger than before, so do I get more money because of this?¡± ¡°Ahaha¡ Richard told you that¡ ¡± ¡°So, it really affects my wage?¡± ¡°No, time you spent in working affects your wage, not the size of what you are working on. Regardless of that, the wage is higher so you¡¯ll earn more this time. Just don¡¯t forget to do what my request afterwards.¡±I gave her a smile and a thumbs up.
¡°So, where do I start?¡±¡ While helping the crew set up the theatre, I am watching a very cool fighting scene. Sophia and Gondarr versus whoever that is. This scene is so intense like the final fighting scene of those very good martial arts movies. I can feel their desperation to defeat him, the determination to win. The only difference between that and this is I¡¯m only watching from one angle and with no edits or replay cuts.
(I know you read a lot Eula.) [Yes, so?] (Those two might be able to pull this off. We don¡¯t know what happened prior this, but it might be what incited for those two to be this desperate in defeating them. In other words, they might be performing way better than earlier this time.) [I can see that. Why are you telling me this?] (Just saying that sometimes fiction can show something that might happen in real life.) [While I believe that they will be able to pull this off. The thing that they will be pulling off is making that guy serious.]Yeah, then either they are dead because they are just the supporting characters that helps foreshadow the future fight between the person who killed them and the main character, or they will survive but get defeated like how the main character gets defeated on the start of their story.
(Yeah, I bet that there will be a rematch in the future. If we didn¡¯t kill him of course.)Classic clich¨¦. Main character gets defeated then gets rematch in the future.
[You¡¯re suggesting that we won¡¯t be able to catch him or he will escape from prison.] (Yeah, those are the most likely scenario.)But the plot twist is that we are the reason that he escaped. It turns out that the villain is us all along. Hahaha¡ It would be funny if it really turns out that way.
[You¡¯re really infecting me with that reader¡¯s perspective.] (Oooohh, ¡®reader¡¯s persective¡¯, so that¡¯s what you call to my habit now.) [Not habit, it¡¯s more like a disease.] (Come on, you know it may help you.) [Okay, it MAY help me.]She looked at the battlefield and I saw that they are talking again. Hah, this always happen. This is why the villain never defeats the protagonist, he talks with the protagonist before finishing him off.
(Don¡¯t do this Eula.) [What are you talking about?] (Letting a conversation happen while the battle is in your favor.)She saw that the enemy is about to do something new.
(Told ya.)The enemy is surprisingly strong. I might let them battle longer, but that huge circle is making my instincts say that I need to stop it.
(This is a good time to join the battle.)She does something creative with the ¡®blast¡¯ but it failed. This gave me an idea though.
(Oooohhh¡ So close. Thanks for the idea though.)I really want to be in the battle. I need to hurry up and finish this.
(Give me 5 minutes. I will help you catch him.) [Right!]I am bringing more of my focus in finishing this stuff. Suddenly I feel a nausea the same time that Eula casted something. I heard that it is called ¡®devil¡¯s advocate¡¯ which sounds pretty bad. I want to ask her about it, but my brain hurts. I should ask about it later. While I think that I should refrain from asking since she is focused and that I will learned anyways. I am about to run to the bathroom because I am just wrapping things up, when suddenly, there is one magic that really gets my attention. A laser beam suddenly shoots out of the enemy¡¯s hand.
(So Coool! I bet it¡¯s called ¡®laser¡¯.) [No, it¡¯s called ¡®ray¡¯. It is a combination of ¡®blast¡¯, ¡®pierce¡¯, and ¡®force¡¯. You could also say that it is a combination of ¡®piercing blast¡¯ and ¡®force¡¯.]Not only that it is powerful, he also used it like a very long light sabre from that movie. By the time that I get back, that would be one of my highest priority. ¡ I just hid inside the bathroom to focus when I saw something bad, she already defeated the enemy.
(Eula! Come on!) [What are you so angry about?]Isn¡¯t it obvious? I don¡¯t get to fight.
(¡)Or that¡¯s what I like to say to her if it wasn¡¯t for the nausea.
[I¡¯m sure it¡¯s because you didn¡¯t get to fight?] (Yeah, I¡¯m just being ridiculous, please forget it.)This nausea must be a side-effect of the ¡®devil¡¯s advocate¡¯.
[Is there any problem?]Does she not notice it?
(What do you mean?) [Nothing.]She doesn¡¯t even notice that my head really hurts. She must be used to it already and she is testing me to get used to it so that I can also use the magic later on. If so, then bring it on. I¡¯ll tell her about this tomorrow, I hope that it is not a misunderstanding because I didn¡¯t ask. Well, time to get my money and find Lanaya. Lanaya said,
¡°Good job. Here¡¯s your ticket.¡± ¡°Yeah, thanks. Also, I heard something interesting from Richard.¡± ¡°Go on.¡± ¡°The next place that you¡¯ll be performing. I can bring Sena if it¡¯s really near.¡± ¡°Sena?¡± ¡°Serena, my sister.¡± ¡°Oh right, I didn¡¯t notice that! Of course you can watch with your sister.¡±That confirms it.
¡°Alright, see you in the after party. Do your best.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll show you.¡±I waved my hand and she waves back. I left the back stage then I start searching for my seat. I silently arrived to my seat and I see those three there. As much as I¡¯d like to join their conversation, I need to get used to these nausea. Well, Richard and Ahran is having a conversation while Videl is busy using her phone. Looks like Videl, who is just beside me, noticed my predicament since she asked,
¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m just exhausted from today¡¯s labor. The stage is much bigger this time you know.¡±Looks like Ahran noticed us,
¡°Don¡¯t push yourself Nathan.¡± ¡°Thanks for the reminder.¡±Yeah, but there¡¯s nothing I could do right now. I might try consulting Videl since she is a doctor, but I¡¯ll only do that if the nausea is more than I could handle. Videl said,
¡°Nathan, could you come with me for a second?¡± ¡°Yeah, sure.¡±I¡¯m 90% sure that she noticed it. I¡¯ll see what happens for now. We¡¯re now outside the theater hall and she looked at me in the eyes. She¡¯s not saying anything.
¡°What?¡± ¡°You¡¯re aware that your eyes is moving all over the place. Correct?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°It looks like you¡¯re having a head ache or something. Give me your arm.¡±This will be the first time that I will see her as a doctor. She, as a doctor, might be pretty good.
¡°Alright, fine, my head hurts, but it¡¯s something that I can handle. I¡¯ll have a check-up tomorrow so could we please drop it for now?¡± ¡°Just let me check some of your vitals. So give me your arm.¡± ¡°If you say so.¡±I extended my arms and let her do her thing. ¡
¡°Okay, finished. I¡¯ll be going to Neo-terra tomorrow around noon so don¡¯t bother searching for someone to check you out. I¡¯ll be doing that.¡±Well, she is a great physician so why not.
¡°Hmm? Why will you go there?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll see. Anyway, let¡¯s go back.¡±We¡¯ve gone back to our seat then when Ahran noticed us, she immediately asked,
¡°What happened?¡± ¡°I told him that I¡¯ll be going there.¡± ¡°Geez, you could¡¯ve told him that here you know.¡± ¡°Oh, it never occurred to me.¡± ¡°You two are acting weird.¡± ¡°Not really.¡±That¡¯s what she said. Moments later, the performance started. While Ahran can¡¯t watch the performance, she can at least appreciate the voices sung in the opera. It¡¯s very faint but I can hear Richard describing everything that is happening on stage to Ahran. He should be able to note the important details since he¡¯s somewhat a journalist. ¡ ¡ ¡ And, it¡¯s finished¡ On the after party, nothing interesting happened. I¡¯m quiet in one spot, as usual, minding my own business, not bothering anyone, well, except Eula when I let her try the ceviche. Anyway, I¡¯m just waiting for an opportunity to do what I¡¯m asked to do. ¡ There¡¯s this one interesting conversation. This person, who is a stranger to me, asked Ahran,
¡°Have you heard of the Eternity Unleashed?¡±Ahran, who is not aware of this game, answered,
¡°Huh? What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°It is a game, but instead of watching it play from a screen, you are inside the game itself.¡± ¡°Another crazy technology huh.¡± ¡°Right! And I heard that because of how it works. Well, it turns out even if you are blind, you can see inside the game.¡±Yeah, now that she said it, the console may work out that way. Lanaya interjects,
¡°Ahran can see?! I might consider buying it already.¡±Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.Ahran said,
¡°That sounds interesting. Richard, you know anything about that?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s not within my field.¡±This is getting interesting. Might as well join in, so I said,
¡°That¡¯s actually possible. Since it uploads the information to our brain, even someone who has any disability can live there like a very healthy person.¡±This stranger replied,
¡°I told ya. Hey, you¡¯re planning to join the first batch of players?¡± ¡°I considered that, but I am planning to let my sister join first before me.¡± ¡°What a lovely brother you are.¡±Richard replied,
¡°Don¡¯t be ridiculous Nathan, it was just announced few days ago. Where will you get all that money?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, anyway you¡¯re asking me the wrong question.¡± ¡°Hmm?¡±Ahran asked me,
¡°What do you mean?¡±Richard showed an expression where he seems to understand what I¡¯m saying.
¡°Someone will give you the console?¡± ¡°Yeah, that person wants me to be his son¡¯s guardian inside the game, but I kind of demanded him to buy another one for my sister. Now that I thought about our conversation again, I should have said, ¡®How about letting my sister be the guardian instead of me?¡¯. I¡¯m selfish, aren¡¯t I?¡±Lanaya said,
¡°Not selfish, more like demanding. You¡¯re caring for your sister as much as I do for my sister, so it¡¯s understandable.¡±Ahran, who¡¯s happy about what her sister said, reacted,
¡°Sis!¡± ¡°Come here, my cute Ahran.¡±The stranger said,
¡°I¡¯m very jealous to the both of you, I wish that I¡¯m not an only child.¡±Lanaya replied,
¡°Sorry Rebecca.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong. I still love being an only child you know.¡±Alright, I need to make a decision fast. Who do I need to force to take the initiative, Lanaya or Richard? Well, if I chose Richard, there is a possibility of hitting two birds with one stone. If I chose Lanaya, I still need to do something for Richard. The question now is how will I do it? If I chose Lanaya, I can make her easily convince Richard to play the game with Ahran and I hope she knows that she can¡¯t play it because she¡¯s busy and she might attract the mass inside the game, which would not make it fun. But after that, I still need to do something for Richard. If I chose Richard, his only reason for making Ahran to play the game is for her to see. He has no reason to play the game unless Lanaya will be playing the game, but Lanaya can¡¯t play the game. I might have helped Richard, but I still need to help Lanaya afterwards. In other words, the plan is to make Richard play the game with Ahran without Lanaya¡¯s help, to satisfy Lanaya¡¯s request ¡®to bring those two together¡¯ and to satisfy Richard¡¯s request ¡®to help him get Lanaya¡¯s affection for him¡¯. Back to the plan, I can see that by making Richard take the initiative in helping Ahran, I could satisfy his request. Then I will make Lanaya ask him to play with Ahran, which could satisfy Lanaya¡¯s request. But there is a significant flaw there, ¡®that person¡¯ will notice ¡®it¡¯. If that happens, then everything will be destroyed. I¡¯m glad that ¡®those two¡¯ are oblivious. Anyway, I need a reason for Richard to play with Ahran except Lanaya wanting him to play with Ahran. Hmm¡ The person, whom Lanaya called Rebecca, suddenly said,
¡°So, who among you are joining the game?¡±I replied,
¡°Well, I¡¯m still unde¨C¡°Oh no, we are talking about it again. I can see Lanaya making Ahran play the game so she can see. Ruining my plan in the process.
¡°¨Ccided, or more specifically, it depends on whether Richard here will help me acquire the console.¡±Richard replied,
¡°Why should I help you?¡± ¡°Well, yeah you don¡¯t have a reason to help me. But at least help my sister, because as her brother, I will be very happy about that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still helping you, you know.¡± ¡°At least we¡¯ll call it quits, I¡¯m also helping you, you know.¡±Then I said mischievously,
¡°If you know what I¡¯m saying.¡±It took him moments to realize,
¡°Ugh, fine. Ahran, Lanaya. I¡¯ll also acquire another two console for the both of you, especially Ahran, I¡¯m sure you miss the feeling of seeing something.Ahran said,
¡°Really? But I feel bad about it. I heard that it¡¯s expensive.¡±Thank you Ahran for being understanding to delay the conversation. I could think of a reason in the meanwhile¡ Wait¡ If Richard ended up not buying for them, I will not satisfy Richard request. As a last resort, I might have to influence him to do stuff without any specific reason. Ahran, who¡¯s concerned, said,
¡°Can you handle that Richard?¡± ¡°Why of course, if it¡¯s for you, then it¡¯s not something that I can¡¯t handle.¡±I said,
¡°Aww, you¡¯re so sweet Richard. Thanks for buying us the device.¡± ¡°Not you Nathan.¡±Ahran said,
¡°Heehee, if you insist. Thank you Richard.¡± ¡°You¡¯re very welcome you must¡¯ve wanted to see your sister again. I am happy that you¡¯re both happy you know.¡±Oooh, he just land a devastating blow to Ahran. Ahran hugs Richard afterwards. Lanaya said,
¡°Richard, I¡¯m very happy that you¡¯re doing this for us. But, you don¡¯t have to buy a console for me¡¡±I really need Richard¡¯s reason at this point. Before, she suggests Richard to play the game.
¡°¡I mean, I am a celebrity, I can easily attract the attention of many person especially that it¡¯s the first batch¡¡±Why her job needs to be a celebrity, if it¡¯s only any other job, then she could easily play with ease. Like Richard being a Journalist.
¡°¡I think I¡¯ll be joining the next batch as to avoid unwanted attention.¡±Huh¡ Wait¡ Of course¡ I hope that it works. Ahran replied,
¡°Is that so?¡±Ahran showed her disappointment, but she recovers immediately.
¡°I¡¯m sad that I can¡¯t see you as soon as possible, but I just have to be patient right?¡±But she¡¯s already a patient. The joke¡¯s getting old right now so I can¡¯t say it.
¡°That¡¯s my sister. I¡¯m actually scared about how will you react you know.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve got to be. Because now I¡¯m mad because you didn¡¯t trust me.¡± ¡°Ah! I¡¯m sorry Ahran.¡±We all laughed because of what Ahran did.
¡°Since you¡¯re my sister. Apology accepted.¡±The stranger¡ uh¡ Rebecca said,
¡°You adorable kittens. I also want to be your sister.¡±Lanaya said,
¡°Of course¡ It¡¯s not happening.¡± ¡°Heehee.¡±I faced Richard and said,
¡°So Richard, you should just keep that console to yourself. Then you¡¯ll be the one playing with Ahran instead of Lanaya. Considering the genre of the game, I think you¡¯re planning to get your scoops inside the game.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not my plan.¡±After a while, Richard continued talking,
¡°Well, that¡¯s not my plan until you said it. It might actually be a good idea.¡± ¡°Great, then have Ahran be together with you. Not only she can help you with your work, you can also help her recognize a lot of things. Knowing how you travel around the world, you should know a lot of things, even though you¡¯re dumb.¡± ¡°Yeah, fair point. Except the fact that I¡¯m dumb. So, Ahran, I assume that you heard our conversation.¡±Ahran said,
¡°Yes and I don¡¯t mind being together with you.¡±I¡¯m glad that I made a mistake in my sentence, I said ¡®then have Ahran be together with you¡¯ instead of ¡®then have Ahran come with you¡¯. Because of that I influenced her to say ¡®I don¡¯t mind being together with you.¡¯ instead of ¡®I don¡¯t mind coming with you.¡¯ Ahran just realized what she have said and Richard is being dumb as always. Lanaya is also delighted because of what Ahran said, but she seems to be disappointed in Richard¡¯s reaction. I said,
¡°So one last thing. How about you Videl?¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad that you didn¡¯t forget about me.¡± ¡°So, planning to play or not?¡± ¡°It is only a game and Ahran is able to see anyway, so I¡¯m not playing.¡± ¡°Then, Ahran and Richard are alone then. I¡¯m not coming because I¡¯ll also do my job.¡±Ahran blushingly said,
¡°We¡¯re alone huh.¡±Richard said,
¡°That¡¯s it then. Anyway¡¡±Rebecca interrupted and said,
¡°Hey, what about me?¡±I answered her,
¡°To be honest, aside from all of you, this must be the first time that I¡¯ve met you.¡± ¡°Guys, you didn¡¯t tell him about me?¡±Lanaya replied,
¡°We didn¡¯t tell you about Nathan either. So, how do you know him?¡± ¡°Irene always talks about him, a lot.¡±Irene, it¡¯s been so long since I heard that name huh.
¡°You know her Nathan?¡± ¡°What about it Lanaya?¡± ¡°I see what¡¯s going on.¡±She said it with a smirk on her face. I have an idea on what she¡¯s thinking about. But I¡¯m pretty sure she¡¯s misunderstanding something.
¡°Well, that means no more questions for you.¡± ¡°Hey, what about the game?¡± ¡°I guess there¡¯s still that. Ok then, will you not be joining the game?¡± ¡°Obviously no, I¡¯ll be not not joining you.¡±Basically, she¡¯s joining the game. Considering that she is confident and not confused in giving negative answers to negative questions, she¡¯s must be really close to Irene.
¡°How much did Irene... Scratch that. So them, me, other people, or solo? You get the point.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m kinda interested on how good of a gamer you are, so I¡¯m planning to join you instead.¡±I hope that she¡¯s not basing my gaming skills from my world record speed runs, which is just mastery of a single game. If so, then she¡¯s expecting a lot from me and I don¡¯t like it. She comes near me and whispered, very silently because of Ahran''s ears,
¡°Also, I don¡¯t want to interrupt those two.¡±I whispered back,
¡°Do you think that it¡¯s obvious?¡± ¡°Yeah, watching them makes me face palm every time you know.¡±Lanaya interrupted,
¡°You guys are getting along pretty quickly.¡± ¡°It just so happens that Rebecca and I agreed on one thing you know. So, Richard you were saying?¡± ¡°Uh, yeah. So, I¡¯ve decided to check out Gorge the other day.¡±Rebecca reacted first,
¡°Gorge?! As in that viral dog?¡± ¡°The one and only.¡± ¡°Please tell me you¡¯ve got some pictures.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m a journalist, so.¡± ¡°Sweet! Hey Lanaya, you seem clueless about it?¡± ¡°Yes, you got me curious.¡± ¡°Just come and look at the photo and you¡¯ll understand. You too Nathan, and Videl. I¡¯ll explain it to you Ahran.¡±Videl and I refused. I figured that I¡¯ll hear the details anyway when he explains it to Ahran. ¡ ¡ ¡ And it¡¯s about to happen.
¡°Okay guys, please stop drinking.¡± ¡°Come on Nathan, we¡¯re just getting started.¡± ¡°Yeah, starting to get drunk. Please don¡¯t make me drive again. Lanaya, please back me up here.¡± ¡°Nathan¡¯s right. You should stop drinking.¡±Richard is about to gulp another glass but he stopped because of Lanaya. I¡¯ve got a bad feeling about this.
¡°¡from the glass. We should get the bottle and drink from there.¡± ¡°Riiiight!¡± ¡°Oh come on! I hate you guys.¡±Rebecca said,
¡°Okay guys no more wine, enough is enough.¡±I¡¯m think that she¡¯s drunk. So that might not be the end of it.
¡°I¡¯ll support Lanaya, Nathan will support Richard and lead the way. Ahran and Videl please wait for us in the car.¡±I¡¯m sure that she drank the most out of the three. Unless¡
¡°That¡¯s a good way to hide the fact that you¡¯re not actually drinking wine.¡± ¡°So you noticed. Ahaha.¡±We made our way to the parking lot. While going there Lanaya is greeted multiple times and she can still provide a decent answer, although she¡¯s drunk, or is she?
¡°I¡¯ll drive to the hotel, and yes I¡¯m also staying in the same hotel as you guys.¡± ¡°This seems to be planned out huh.¡±Videl, Lanaya, Richard and I are sitting on the back of the car. Ahran and Rebecca are in the front.
¡°It actually is, Lanaya recently discovered that you¡¯ve been driving Richard¡¯s car every time he gets drunk. Even though you can drive, she is still worried because you have no license.¡± ¡°She should just stop Richard from getting drunk. But I guess that¡¯s not an option, or is it?¡± ¡°Hahaha. So have you heard of the other nine? ¡° ¡°Yeah, I met all of them except three during their reunion. I also met Shawn just recently.¡± ¡°So you¡¯re aware that they¡¯re the mi¨C You¡¯re in their reunion?! How did you even end up there?!¡± ¡°Haha¡ That¡¯s a secret. Here¡¯s a hint. I just met Richard, Lanaya, and Ahran that day. Also, Videl wasn¡¯t there.¡±Ahran suddenly started talking,
¡°Actually, he¡¡±I interrupted her,
¡°Ahran, please don¡¯t say it.¡± ¡°Hmm¡ Alright since you did that.¡±She¡¯s probably referring about making her play with Richard. But I¡¯ll play it like I have no idea.
¡°Did what?¡± ¡°Nothing.¡±Rebecca said,
¡°I can¡¯t believe it. Irene is totally right about you.¡±Having a slight to no idea of what she meant, I decided to keep my mouth shut. Ahran and Rebecca keep talking to each other until we arrived in the hotel. I carried Richard to our room and proceeded to sleep. ¡
¡°Hey Richard. I still need to go back to Neo-Terra.¡±I slapped his face. One, two, three, four five times. Should I just slap him with my full power? Nah last time I did that things went crazy. Should I just shout at him? Nah it will disturb the neighbours. Should I just splash some water to him? I have to find some container. Wait, actually. I walked to one of the walls and knocked at it. *knock* *knock* Great, it is sound proofed. Here goes nothing.
¡°WAKE! UP!¡±Oops, it looks like I also woke up Eula.
(Sorry that I wake you up. This guy will totally overslept because of the hangover that he needs someone to wake him up.) [Well, good luck.]Richard is now awake...barely awake.
¡°Huh? Whazzit?¡± ¡°I have to attend school you know.¡± ¡°Ohh yahhh~~¡ Ahhmm~¡ w¡¯l chhareful on thh whay the¡¯e~~¡ Haaa~~¡¡±He says that as he turned over his bed.
¡°You do know that we¡¯re in a different country do you?¡± ¡°Hmm¡ Uhmm¡¡± ¡°DON¡¯T GO BACK TO SLEEP!¡±*knock* *knock* Someone¡¯s at the door. Wait, am I disturbing someone? I hope not.
¡°Oh Ahran, it¡¯s you.¡± ¡°Yes, you¡¯re probably about to leave at this hour so I¡¯d like to say good bye.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯ll happening later on. Richard is still sleeping like a log.¡± ¡°Really? Let me help you then.¡± ¡°Sure. Hey what about Videl and Lanaya?¡± ¡°My sister¡¯s very tired so she is still sleeping. Videl just escorted me here.¡± ¡°Is that so?¡±I grabbed her hands and dragged her to where Richard is sleeping.
¡°He is in front of you sleeping right now.¡± ¡°Well then, Nathan you go and prepare yourself. I will handle this.¡± ¡°Alright, sure.¡±As much as I¡¯d like to watch those two by staying hidden due to my nature. I guess it is better to just let them be. ¡ I¡¯m good to go and Richard is in the midst of preparing himself. ¡°You¡¯re still alive huh.¡± ¡°What¡¯s that supposed to mean? Anyway, give me 5 more minutes.¡±
¡°Alright. Bye Ahran.¡± ¡°Be careful. Don¡¯t forget to bring me that.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯ll not forget about that. See ya.¡° ¡°See you soon.¡±I said,
¡°As much as I would like you two to stretch out a simple ¡®good bye¡¯ into a dramatic five minute scene. I¡¯d like to say ¡®RICHARD! HURRY UP!¡¯¡± ¡°I¡¯m coming!¡± ¡°Take care too Nathan.¡± ¡°You too, Ahran.¡±After Richard escorted Ahran back to her room, we immediately ran towards the elevator.
¡°I hope that you know where my sister lives.¡± ¡°Of course I do, I reminded you about the next performance yesterday remember.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m just asking. I will be so mad if I get to play first before my sister.¡±
¡°Here¡¯s your tickets. I still have business in this country. So, I¡¯m not coming back at Neo Terra.¡± ¡°Alright. Thanks for dropping me off.¡± ¡°See ya. One more thing, be careful when you get back at Neo Terra. I heard yesterday that there are another batch of students that will arrive this morning.¡± ¡°Another one of those maybe?¡± ¡°Yep, you know what I¡¯m talking about. Well, be careful going back.¡± ¡°Yeah, Sure. I¡¯m more worried about your hangover.¡± ¡°Nah, it will never come back again.¡± ¡°Actually, that''s the reason I''m worried.¡± "Hahaha! So rude."I waved back as he drive away. ¡
¡°Hey there, what¡¯s your business here?¡± ¡°Finally, you¡¯ve arrived. Why you were not here last night?¡± ¡°I have some business to attend in the other country. So, back to my question, what¡¯s your business here?¡± ¡°I want to register in this boarding house.¡± ¡°Is that so? First of all, I am sorry that you¡¯ve got to put up sleeping in our dining room for the night because I am not here last night to make you register.¡±That is very obvious, considering that I can see his luggage beside him.
¡°I don¡¯t mind. At least it is much peaceful sleeping in here.¡±I see someone coming upstairs. It¡¯s Vanessa,
¡°Nathan, where were you yesterday?! There¡¯s someone¡¡±She sees the student that I was just talking to.
¡°I¡¯m sorry that he¡¯s not here last night.¡± ¡°Like I said to him earlier, I don¡¯t mind at all.¡±I said,
¡°You heard him.¡± ¡°You¡¯re not even showing that you¡¯re sorry!¡±She cares too much about this situation.
¡°Anyway, give me your contact. I don¡¯t want you doing this again.¡±Well, having a contact with someone here helps when I¡¯m not around.
¡°Alright, but give me yours instead.¡±I grabbed my flip phone from my pockets and readied myself to input her contact. ¡
¡°Okay then, I¡¯ll prepare our breakfast while you¡¯re registering him.¡± ¡°Uhh¡ Sure.¡±She goes to the kitchen while I go upstairs and get the papers. He started to follow me so I said,
¡°You don¡¯t have to follow me. Just stay put.¡±¡ While he is filling up the form, I found out that his name is Hugo Dragovich. I actually saw him as the acting leader of the ¡®con party¡¯ the other day. The student who looked to my general direction which I think he felt Nana glaring at him. Hmm¡
¡°So, how do you know me?¡± ¡°Hmm? Well, you¡¯re the person who is tasked to handle this registration aren¡¯t ya?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t introduce myself, and I don¡¯t have any photos of me here. So how did you know it was me?¡± ¡°You asked my business here, remember? So I kind of figured it out.¡± ¡°Yeah, I asked you that. But your normal answer should be stating your business and not saying that I¡¯ve finally arrived and asking why am I not here last night? Those words are specifically directed to me you know.¡± ¡°I just assumed that it¡¯s actually you. Then I get my assurance when she confirms it by saying your name.¡± ¡°I see, so it¡¯s Devon who recommended to stay here huh.¡± ¡°What? No.¡± ¡°¡¡± ¡°¡¡± ¡°¡¡± ¡°How did you know?¡± ¡°I just assumed that it actually is. Then I get my assurance when you confirmed it by asking me that question.¡±We stayed silent after that.
(Let¡¯s switch.) [We¡¯ll do it by the time you¡¯ve arrived at school. I¡¯m in the middle of making your bike.] (Alright. That looks functional already though.) [It isn¡¯t. Some parts are still missing. ] (Anyway, about the ¡®Devil¡¯s advocate¡¯.) [Learn the basics first before asking me that.] (Well, I¡¯m just wondering if you noticed that I was experiencing nausea by the time you did that.) [That¡¯s interesting. Why did you not told me?] (Oh, so you weren¡¯t testing me? Hahaha, I thought you were doing that again.) [For future referece, I will be telling you if there will be any side effects, especially if I found it dangerous. But, I will be testing you if you can figure out how to overcome it.] (Alright then, bring it on.) [Setting that aside, we need to test if other ¡®advocate¡¯ magic also affects you or it is just the ¡®devil¡¯s advocate¡¯.]Another unknown magic and possibly complex stuff huh.
(Sure, let¡¯s do it after school then.)I¡¯ll be playing with my Sena later and it¡¯s not like the nausea will affect our conversation and my gameplay, unless something worse will happen.
¡°Hugo, we¡¯ll finish your registration later, just put your stuff inside one of the vacant rooms.¡± ¡°Okay.¡±I grabbed my phone and typed a message. I stood up and walked in front of the TV. I used the light of my phone to shine beneath the coffee table located underneath the hanging TV. After a few moments, I grabbed the camera beneath the coffee table and retyped the message on the phone. Well, I don¡¯t mind inviting a stalker into the boarding house, more people means more money. I wonder who is getting stalked. Well, I have to ask that person later. I hope that the stalker read my message. Anyway, I tried sending a message to Vanessa using my first number and¡ it didn¡¯t work. I tried using my second number¡ which obviously works because the first one didn¡¯t. This time, I called someone.
¡°Hey! Thanks for covering for my shift yesterday.¡± ¡°No problem, I¡¯m just paying some debt, that¡¯s all. Anyway, wanna go fishing tomorrow?¡± ¡°Nah, I already promised to play laser tag with my friends.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, I forgot that you¡¯ll be doing that. Just don¡¯t forget Sunday.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I haven¡¯t forget what the days are called. For example, today is Tuesday, tomorrow is Wednesday.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, What¡¯s the day before Sunday again? I really forget what the days are called, which is why I¡¯m reminding you.¡± ¡°This conversation is getting ridiculous.¡± ¡°I agree, seriously though. Don¡¯t forget the event on Sunday.¡±Vanessa suddenly shouted,
¡°Hey guys, food¡¯s ready!¡±Going back to the conversation on the phone, I replied,
¡°Of course.¡± ¡°In that case, see you on Sunday then.¡± ¡°Yeah, see ya.¡±The call ended and I head straight to the dining room. ¡
(I¡¯m at school now. Ready to switch?) [Yes.]After switching with Eula, the first thing that I see is the bike. It is a vehicle that has two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. Attached on top of the frame is a saddle where I would sit, below are two pedals which I will use the force of my feet to create a circular motion which will then turn both wheels and move the bike depending how fast the wheels turn. Why did I even bother explaining this? I feel that a lot of the viewers are not familiar to this.
(Hey, can I use it now?) [Yes.]I instantly grabbed the bike, kicked the ground and ride on it. I suddenly stopped.
(Can you do something about your very long hair?) [Let me use my arms.]She grabbed a... something underneath her¡
(Where did that ribbon come from?) [It is tied just below my chest and I made it so it can easily be grabbed from my armpit.] (Is that even necessary? I mean you could just¡Ugh¡ Never mind.) [Anyway, control your arms and keep the book inside my view.]
(I get that you girls want to take your time doing your stuff, but what hairstyle are you doing?) [It¡¯s a¡] (Don¡¯t say it.)I am so pathetic right now.
[It¡¯s done.]I took back the control of Eula¡¯s arms and I instantly grabbed the bike, again, kicked the ground, again, and ride on it, again.
¡°Woooohhh. Yeeeeeeaaaaaaaaaah!!!¡±THIS! IS! GREAT!
[So, what are your thoughts about the bike?] (Isn¡¯t it obvious? It¡¯s great!) [Yes, I can see that. I mean, does this bike have the same feeling as the bike you are riding in your world?] (So you want my criticism huh? Well, I¡¯ll try to go to different terrain and see if it¡¯s comfortable or not¡ Or if it is durable enough to survive the terrain.) [Okay, I¡¯ll be able to get some data while watching you, but the data coming from you really helps a lot.]So, I decided to go to the forest first. First thing I noticed in the bike is you can switch gears. I mean she really went all out in making this bike. I don¡¯t know if making a bike is easy or not, let alone making each individual parts, but I think you need a lot of precision when making the gears and the chains. Eula is a very great craftsman or an engineer. Now that I think about Eula¡¯s skill, she always drew a mini map using her magic. Yeah, ¡®DRAW¡¯. It¡¯s not like she can see from way above the skies and suddenly copied the view over there. She knows the location, remembers it, and draws it from scratch. If I provided her a paper and a lot of coloring materials, I bet that she can draw every map that she had seen. In short, she is great at making things. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she can make guns. Anyway, switching gears, in simpler terms, is a way to control speed much more efficiently than trying to control it by adjusting how we pedal, or use our feet to put force on the pedals. At lower gear, you can travel at fast speeds by pedalling fast with less force, but at higher gear, you can travel faster even though you are pedalling as fast as before but it requires more force to paddle. Basically, higher gear makes pedalling the bike more strenuous in exchange for faster speeds. Which brings to the point that this bike¡¯s highest gear is too¡ tight or hard, it requires too much force. It¡¯s basically bad to keep paddling this way as it might damage Eula¡¯s knees if it continued. While I¡¯m going there, I decided to do some stunts. Manual, lifting the back wheels off the ground while riding the bike, and an endo turn, lifts the front wheel in order to make extremely sharp turns by nearly going to a stop, which I executed smoothly. I managed to do a bunny hop, basically making the bike jump, and the bunny hop is totally unexpected since it went higher than the one I¡¯ve previously used, and I guess it¡¯s because of the suspension, the system of the bike to make riding in rough roads smoother, which has springs.
(Hey, I wonder if I could ¡®augment¡¯ the bike.) [Yes, you can do that, but that¡¯ll be for later.]After making several more stunts, I decided to travel as fast as I can.
(Can I use ¡®touch blast¡¯?) [To pedal the bike probably? Don¡¯t use magic yet until we finished the testing.] (If you say so.)Even though I¡¯m only at the second highest gear, I¡¯m already pretty fast. I¡¯m curious how fast the highest gear is. But I can¡¯t do it at this state. As I was riding the bike, I noticed that I am attracting a lot of attention. Without any perspective on how fast the vehicles in this world are, I can¡¯t say for sure if this speed is surprising or not, but I can say that it¡¯s attracting attention because it is a new type of vehicle. So, due to how fast I am, I¡¯m at the forest already. I¡¯ll go to the place where someone from the Death Caravan died then go back through the mountain path. Overall, it is a great experience.
(How is it?) [It is pretty great, aside the problems riding in a sandy or muddy environment, which you probably saw that I had a hard time since the bike might get stuck if I slowed down, but I think that is pretty normal. Also, I didn¡¯t get to test the highest gear because it might strain your body. Considering that it is your first time making a bike, I¡¯m totally impressed.] (That¡¯s why you¡¯re not reaching the theoretical max speed. Well, I¡¯ll cast the magic so you can pedal it more safely. Tell me when you¡¯re ready.) [Sure.]After descending from the mountain, I immediately accelerated as fast as possible. Hmm¡
(Eula, looks like you also need to adjust the wind. There¡¯s a lot of drag that it¡¯s too hard travel at very fast speed.) [On it.]Eula suddenly casted a magic which disperses wind in front of me. I still can breathe if you¡¯re wondering.
(Alright, I¡¯m going to switch to the highest gear in 3¡2¡1¡)I switched to the highest gear and Eula casted her magic at the same time. I am now pedalling as fast as I can.
(Eula, this is amazing!) [It is? I can actually add another gear but it looks like this is enough.] (Look at you boasting about your work.) [I¡¯m not. I only want to say that I can still make it even faster.] (We¡¯ll only need this really if we¡¯re in a hurry. Travelling like this is inefficient for now. Looks like I need to train your body first.)I slowed down, switched to lower gear, and Eula stopped casting her magic.
(Say, do you know how to ride one of these?) [I do know. You just need to pedal while balancing right?] (You are feeling my every move so I¡¯m pretty sure you can learn this as fast as I learned how to use magic.) [I¡¯m not sure. Let me try later.] (Be confident Eula, you learned how to make a not so simple bike so easily. I can¡¯t see why you can¡¯t learn an easier task like this.) [¡We¡¯ll see.]I stopped near Loncross and decided to learn the ¡®augment¡¯ magic there.
[Also, head inside Loncross, those two might be looking for us any time now.] (Nah, that¡¯ll happen later for sure.) [Why do you say so?] (It rained yesterday remember.) [Another one of your clich¨¦s maybe¡ Well, given what happened that time, it might actually be true.] (Right? Right?! Want me to say what do I think happened when they left? Spoilers alert though.) [It¡¯s not spoilers if you are deducing what will happen in the future though.] (I don¡¯t care, it¡¯s the same for me. So, want to hear it?) [No.] (Come on. I know that you like studying, but you can just search that stuff in the internet later on. Just use the time when you are getting distracted searching for random facts while you are supposedly searching for jobs.) [Ugh¡ But I¡¯m curious so¡] (Yeah, yeah, so wanna hear it now?) [Geez, fine!] (Nice! So, a little backstory, there are three assassin from some huge guild who decided to find the person who basically destroyed their yearly tradition. You know that already.) [Yes, I¡¯m confused why you wasted your time there.] (It¡¯s because I¡¯m telling a story here.) [I thought you¡¯ll only say what you think happened there.] (It¡¯s¡just listen. So, Sofia is running as far as possible, Gondarr is chasing her. Then it suddenly rained. Sofia, who¡¯s distracted by the words you say yesterday, noticed that it¡¯s raining. When she noticed it, she suddenly realized that she¡¯s lost in the forest. Knowing that, she goes underneath a tree to protect herself from the rain and in that moment, everything you have said to her will overwhelm her causing herself to wallow in despair. At least until someone who loves her and she¡¯s oblivious about it arrives and consoled her. Yep, I¡¯m talking about Gondarr.) [¡] (What?) [I¡¯m listening. That¡¯s more or less the story that I was expecting to hear.] (I thought you have some questions. Anyway, moving on. After their long talk, Sofia, who¡¯s obviously exhausted, sleeps, while Gondarr is probably having a great time watching her sleep, until it became night of course. Say, How about we tease them later on. That might be great. Hahaa¡.) [I hate you Nathan.] (Of course you do. So, either they will find a way to keep themselves safe and wait there until morning, find a safe place and stay there, or get out of the forest and go back to where they actually stay. We can eliminate the possibility that it¡¯s last one since it¡¯s obvious that they aren¡¯t here because if they do, then the first thing they¡¯ll do is go to us.) [¡] (Whatever they might do, they will have a hard time going out of the forest. My only concern is if they tried to find a safe place. That cabin might get involved and things will get confusing quickly. For example, who is the Sofia that you shouted yesterday? Is she the one we met in the cabin or the one we met in the cave? It¡¯ll affect whether or not Sofia will try to get inside the place or not.) [We just need to figure out if we¡¯ve gone through the forest or the mountain. Besides, there¡¯s a low chance that they will enter it because one of them might¡¯ve encountered it already.]She¡¯s right. If we met Sofia in the mountain, then Gondarr must¡¯ve been in the forest and there is a high chance that he already discovered the cabin.
(Good point. Well, by the time they see the cabin, they will decide to go back immediately because they aren¡¯t lost anymore. In the end, the only thing that they can do is sleep through the night and find a way out of the forest in the morning. But they are forced to not do that because¡)As I was telling the story to Eula, I see that something is going on inside Loncross.
(Tsk¡ You should¡¯ve taught me how to use ¡®augment¡¯ first.) [It¡¯s actually the same as casting any other magic except you have to do something first. You have to ¡®scan¡¯ what you¡¯re planning to ¡®augment¡¯. You¡¯ve seen it already when I used ¡®scan¡¯ on the blood before I ¡®integrate¡¯ it.] (Can you ¡®scan¡¯ the bike while riding it?) [I¡¯ve already did that earlier. So try applying a ¡®touch blast¡¯ to whatever part of the bike you want.]I¡¯ve converted 1 ¡®bar¡¯ to 1 ¡®touch blast¡¯ and tries to apply it on the bike.
(It doesn¡¯t work.) [Yes, now try applying the ¡®touch blast¡¯ and a ¡®bar¡¯.]I applied a ¡®touch blast¡¯ on the back wheel and it works this time.
(Basically, augmenting a magic costs more mana?) [It depends. There¡¯s a way to cut the cost, but that¡¯ll be for later.]*clang* *clang* *clang* *clang* *clang*
(What¡¯s that?) [They are trying to signal something.]I see that the gate in front of us is getting more crowded with people. They are preventing something to get out.
(Well, this is earlier than I anticipated, if it is what I think it is.) [¡] (What¡¯s up?) [Hold on, I¡¯m trying to remember something.] (Seriously? I thought you are able to remember everything instantaneously.) [I never said that. And just because I remembered a lot of things doesn¡¯t mean I can think very fast to check everything I remembered.] (I see, you are having a mental block. Just admit that you forgot what you¡¯re trying to remember. What it is exactly?) [It is the meaning of the signal just now, which I just remembered that it is used to indicate that a prisoner just got out.] (Aren¡¯t you just thinking the question then making the answer pop up in your brain?)Someone is firing magic towards the city. Looks like what she remembered is true.
[No, it doesn¡¯t work like that. I mean, aren¡¯t you remembering information based on what happened in our life? For example, it¡¯s not that you remember my name, it¡¯s that you remember yourself saying that name over and over again. That¡¯s why if you think of my name, you¡¯ll hear your voice instead of others.]She¡¯s got a point.
(So, how did you remember the meaning of the signal?) [I know that there¡¯s this one moment where I overhear Ignis and his subordinates talking about that stuff. So I recalled everything that I overheard. Thinking about it, I overheard a lot of things, including some information about ¡®fly die high¡¯.] (Pretty funny that someone who can remember everything just remembered something.) [Yes. It is funny.]She can store a lot of information in her brain. But there is a lot of information that she doesn¡¯t bother checking all of it. Whenever she wants to know something, she is able to check everything that she think is related. So¡ I¡¯m making things complicated because everyone can do this. She is just capable of not making the information go away. Basically, she can¡¯t forget things which is something I already said in the past! Sorry Author because I am thinking of something useless. Also, sorry viewers for wasting your time reading this paragraph just to inform something you already know, unless you didn¡¯t because you somehow skipped a chapter. If so, I¡¯ll do a recap here right now, so Author please bear with me. Starting from the beginning¡(Author: This goes on for eight long sentences. Sorry Nathan.) ¡
(Well, they are taking their time trying to get out.) [It won¡¯t be long. That person, Drevo, is about to summon his familiar. Do you want to summon ours too?] (Oooh! What is it?) [A land shark.] (Nice! I believe that it is the same land shark as before.) [No.] (So, a land shark that you met before we¡¯re even connected. Why didn¡¯t you summon that when we fight that land shark?) [I have no familiars yet when we met. In fact, I haven¡¯t seen the familiar yet. The contract is formed when we were sleeping last night.] (What? I¡¯m so confused.) [The land sharks wants to be my familiar. But, I can¡¯t take a familiar that does not have magic. So, they decided to make one of their kind that has magic my familiar instead. So, I gave them a contract.] (Considering that it happened late at night. There might be a drama that happened. Or the land sharks managed to make the sleeping land shark sign the contract.) [A drama? I don¡¯t know. But the sleeping land shark, Impossible.]A man riding a giant snake and another person suddenly appeared in front of the gate, sending all the guards flying outside Loncross. The person with the snake is Devon. I don¡¯t have an idea who the other one is. Anyway, since I¡¯m pissed that they made me wait this long. I¡¯ll give them a hard time since it is my nature, so I stared at them and smiled.
(I¡¯m controlling the magic this time.) [Go ahead.]I¡¯m the one who is controlling the magic ever since I tried to ¡®augment¡¯ the bike. I just want to know if Eula will let me do the fighting alone instead of her doing the magic again. Aside from the encounter with the bandits on the mountain or the forest, I haven¡¯t really fought against someone while I¡¯m in control of the magic. I rode the bike and reached my hand forward. Eula already made a lot of ¡®bar¡¯ before the fight in order for me to cast as efficient as possible. So, after converting two ¡®bar¡¯ into two ¡®blast¡¯. I launched it to both of them. The ¡®blast¡¯ kept going forward and they didn¡¯t even try to pay attention to it. I other words, it hit them.
¡°What?¡± ¡°The f*** is that?¡±They noticed me finally, so I shouted,
¡°Hi Guys~~~¡±Drevo replied,
¡°You¡ This gentleman was wondering where the three of you are. ''tis fascinating to see that you three plan to do an ambush.¡± ¡°I¡¯m alone you know.¡±I reached my hand forward again, and Drevo suddenly falls from the back of the snake and he throws several knives at me as he falls. As observed from the fight yesterday, his throwing skills are very accurate. Knowing this, it makes you wonder how did he missed his attack to me who isn''t even moving. The other guy shouted,
¡°What are you doing?!¡± ¡°She¡¡±I launched a ¡®blast¡¯ towards the other guy and it looks like that it will miss. He jumped towards the trajectory of the ¡®blast¡¯ and it hit him.
¡°Both of you are pretty funny.¡±The other guy shouted,
¡°Who in the world are you?!¡± ¡°I believe your partner-in-crime can answer that.¡±I can¡¯t hear them talking so I decided to go get closer by walking with my bike. Drevo said,
¡°Sorry, but yours truly can¡¯t answer question. I believe that the young lady I met yesterday is different from this scary lady today. A ¡®Lover¡¯s Bond¡¯ users perhaps?¡± ¡°Come on, really? Is my first impression to you both, a scary lady~?¡±I said as I smile, trying to look cute and beautiful as I can. Drevo replied,
¡°Sorry mademoiselle, you can¡¯t enchant me with your beauty.¡± ¡°It works to your partner though.¡± ¡°Ahahaha! He¡¯s just starting to get interested to girls so he can¡¯t help it.¡± ¡°SHUT UP! Anyway, get yer a** outta he¡¯e if ya wanna live.¡± ¡°Yeah right.¡±I casted the ¡®touch blast¡¯ while I was touching the back of the other guy¡¯s head. Drevo, suddenly turned his head and is surprised that I am there in front of them. He jumped backwards.
¡°When¡?¡±I used another ¡®touch blast¡¯ and jumped at him. Using his two knives, he did a slash with his right and a block on his left, followed by a stab with his left and a block on his right. I am not within his range so I just watched him¡ do his thing? I don¡¯t know why did he slashed and stabbed the air so I asked him.
¡°What¡are you doing?¡±After I asked that, he looks surprised.
¡°I see, you use illusions.¡± ¡°I did not though.¡±I tried to punch him with a ¡®touch blast¡¯ on my right fist which is blocked by his arm then used the recoil of that ¡®touch blast¡¯ to ride the bike. I immediately paddle to catch up to him. I started charging another ¡®touch blast¡¯ to my right hand.
[The power of the ¡®touch blast¡¯ is the same no matter how powerful that punch is¡]After two paddles, I raised my hands in the air and released the ¡®augment: touch blast¡¯ on the back wheel of this bike which starts the motion of a front spin of this bike. Basically, imagine a clock, let¡¯s say that the back of the bike is 3¡¯oclock and the front of the bike is 9¡¯oclock. Front spin is where the bike is spinning counter clock wise. There is also back spin which is the opposite of front spin.
[...So use ¡®touch forced blast¡¯ instead by combining ¡®force¡¯ and ¡®blast¡¯ and adding ¡®touch¡¯ variant to it. the power of the ''forced blast'' will be depended on how powerful the punch is. ] (Gotcha.)I started placing ¡®augment: touch reinforced forced blast¡¯ to the back wheel of the bike. Using the image of a clock that I exampled earlier, when I felt that the front wheel of the bike is on 6¡¯oclock. I know that I am in a position where my raised hands is pointing to my enemy, so I released the ¡®blast¡¯ on my left hand. I started placing another ¡®blast¡¯ to my left hand. Immediately after that, when I felt that the front wheel is about to hit 3¡¯oclock. I know that my raised hands are about to hit the ground. I braced for the activation of the ¡®blast¡¯. When it activated, it added an upward momentum in ready for my true blow to my enemy. I started placing another ¡®touch blast¡¯ to my right hand. Moments after the front wheel hit 12¡¯oclock, I readied myself to stand on the paddles of the bike. When the front wheel is about to hit 10¡¯oclock, I tried to jump from the paddles in a way that stops my spinning momentum while keeping my forward momentum, I am waiting to reach something from behind by flexing my arms over my shoulders. When the back wheel, yeah¡ BACK wheel instead of front wheel that I¡¯ve been repeating over and over again. Ehm¡ When the back wheel is between 12¡¯oclock and 1¡¯oclock, I grabbed the saddle of the bike and smashed the enemy using the back wheel of the bike with ¡®augment: touch reinforced blast¡¯. That¡¯s a lot of paragraph for one to two seconds of action and it does not include what Drevo did in this few moments. He only tried to block everything though so it¡¯ll only take this sentence to explain it, but it looks like that the smash of the bike to his head is too powerful that I broke his defense and sent him kissing the ground with his face. As I am trying to get a breather, I forgot the existence of the giant snake. I faced it and it¡¯s about to bite me already. The snake suddenly lifts its tail and it suddenly flashed, blinding me in the process. Knowing that it will bite me, all I have to do is reach my hand forward, and conjure a ¡®mana stick¡¯ vertically to stop this bite, which worked. Basically, unless I removed the ¡®mana stick¡¯ or the snake does a very powerful bite, the snake is in a dangerous situation. It tries to hit me with its tail, but I kept extending the stick, expecting the stick to pierce its mouth, and the snake suddenly *poof*. It¡¯s gone.
(What?) [It sensed that it is on a very dangerous situation, so it retreated with a reverse su-.]Suddenly I feel weak, when I looked on my feet. I see a fresh cut. I didn¡¯t notice that one of them threw a drugged weapon. I looked forward and I see them retreating in the distance. It looks like I¡¯m about to fade out. Anyway, I should sit and relax for a bit. I can¡¯t have Eula¡¯s body getting an injury because I fell from standing up.
(Eula, You.. al..righ.?) [Yes. I took¡control¡ magic. Looks ¡ leth.l poison¡Can¡¯t¡Remove¡ Need¡Help.]I somehow know that Eula isn¡¯t much affected by the poison for the mean time. But¡
¡°¡don¡¯t¡restore¡but¡h.pe.it.w.rks¡±There¡¯s this person in front of me I know that I saw this person before¡ Hmm¡ Yeah, not from the village, nor the town. I also didn¡¯t see them from the caravan. That¡She¡ the third person, Sofia¡¯s and Gondarr¡¯s other comrade. Yeah. It¡¯s¡ Iris. ...
¡°Not now!!!¡±I immediately woke up from the same place that I was taking a breather. I looked around, searching for Iris. She¡¯s not here.
[40 minutes.] (What?) [You¡¯re unconscious for about that long.] (How come you didn¡¯t get affected?) [I¡¯m in your body. Anyway, Iris¡] (Yeah, it¡¯s kinda blurry from my perspective but she helped us right?) [Yes, but the antidote not really the antidote for the poison itself.] (Tsk, so you mean¡) [We could still die. I tried creating an immunity for the poison, I also used her antidote to make one, but both doesn''t work to recover from the poison. Though there¡¯s still a lot of time to make an antidote using the poison of the snake, if we have it.]I grabbed my bike, and started pedalling as fast as I could.
(So, any ideas as to which way they went?) [I only know that it is either the mountain or the forest.]Ugh¡ This decision¡ I have a feeling that I know what is going to happen.
| -Executing ''RP-Shift''¡¡- |
| -''RP-Shift'' Start. O = 0T- |