Chapter 32 - Remembrance of the Great Sage
The Seronian Royal Academy was located in Revel, the nation’s capital city and largest human settlement.
After having been admitted to said academy, all Summoned Heroes subsequently gained permission to venture around the capital more or less as they pleased―and although they weren’t allowed to leave the city without good cause, it was very refreshing to be able to live somewhat normally for the first time in a while.
As everyone parted to explore the city individually, the first destination for many of them was none other than the Adventurer’s Guild; a place where one could make money and gain status through completing requests.
Needless to say, the same went for the party led by S-grade Hero, Ryan Kashiko.
“Everywhere I go, I see his face...”
“Huh? The hell’re you on about?”
Turning his head, Ryan saw Nicholas gazing at something pinned on the wall of the guild’s newsletter bulletin. “Oh. S’that the bounty poster?”
On it, a familiar name was written.
☩―☩―☩―☩―☩―☩―☩―☩―☩
《 BOUNTY REQUEST 》
- - - WANTED ALIVE - - -
- - NAME : Jae Kang - -
- - RACE : Human / Demon - -
- - REWARD : 100 White-Gold Royals - -
- - REQUESTED BY : Seronia Royal Family - -
☩―☩―☩―☩―☩―☩―☩―☩―☩
There was no face on it; not even a sketch like one might ordinarily expect.
Just a name, race, and reward.
Kaitlyn murmured while staring at the request. “...He is still out there... Right?” Because Kaitlyn wasn’t so suited towards infiltration and sneaking around, she only heard the details of what had happened through the claims of the other two, as well as the theories of some other classmates.
“Well, I already checked the guards’ records of people passing through the city gates and there was nothing, so either he snuck around the city unnoticed, or he never came here at all.”
"Would the guards even bother to record the movement of a criminal in their logbook? If he tried to pass through, wouldn't they just arrest him?"
"Maybe, but don't you think they would be required to keep a register of criminals who pass through? Even if they get immediately arrested, they would need proof that they entered in the first place."
“I suppose so. It’s probably the latter, then.”
“Right. I mean, if it were me, I would be fine even if I stuck around here for a while because of my stealth, but yeah, if I didn’t have anything like that, then I definitely wouldn’t bother loitering anywhere like the capital city; it's way too risky.”
“For sure. But then, where would he have gone? Plaentic is huge without any major settlements, isn’t it? And, no matter which way he goes, it’s going to be dangerous.”
Since Jae had exited the palace from its eastern side, he couldn’t go west. Continuing eastwards would only bring him to Askal, the Demonic Continent; north led to nothing but more perilous forests and the cold tundra; and heading south would graze slightly through Demon territory before reaching a volcano called the Charred Mountain.
In short, trouble lurked in every which way, and Jae, caring not for which direction was safest to escape to, wouldn’t naturally become subject to such danger.
That was what Nicholas and Kaitlyn assumed, anyway.
“You hit your head or somethin’? Why’d he be in trouble if he went east?”
Ryan believed differently, however. Casting a sideways glance at the two as they looked at him dumbfoundedly, he explained his train of thought.
“We ain’t never met a Demon. All we’ve learnt s’that they’re good at magic ‘n have horns. So, why’re you assumin’ they’d be dangerous? Huh? What, you racist or somethin’?”
Of course, they were not meaning to be prejudiced; the two quickly admitted that they might have been swept away by the nation’s seemingly overwhelming disdain for demonkind.
Wrapping up the topic awkwardly like that, they swept it under the rug and moved on from the bounty poster.
It was time to carry out their first request as official adventurers, after all.
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For the Summoned Heroes, becoming an adventurer was an extremely attractive deal.
They weren’t normally allowed to exit the city gates, but if they gave proof of going out on behalf of completing a request, then they had permission for temporary leave.
For that reason, as well as the fact it had good potential for raking in cash, gaining status, and was unparalleled at raising their skills and levels, it didn’t take long for almost every student to sign up.
Those whose talents lay in other areas than combat joined more suitable places such as the Alchemist Guild, Magician’s Guild, or the Smithing Guild.
No matter the case, they all still had to attend the Royal Academy, though, and because of that, frustration mounted.
“It’s absolute bs. The fact we still have to go to school even in this situation. Seriously...”
“Man, tell me about it. But, you know what’s even worse? We have another expedition at the end of the month to prepare for, and apparently, it’s limited to those who meet the Level requirement.”
“Oh, yeah, about that; it’s gonna be super difficult this time. I’ve heard rumours that it’s being classed as an optional exam because of how unfair it is.”
“Damn. Well, I don’t mind so long as it’s more interesting than the wolves from last month. Using fire magic made that way too easy, and the exp wasn’t even that good.”
“You should try hunting some harder monsters.”
“Bro, what harder monsters? All the good hunting requests are being snatched up by the hundreds of other adventurers; not to mention monsters, it’s tough to even find a boar out there.”
“Then maybe just look to raise your rank? I’ve heard of a few Hero parties that have already reached E-rank, and they don’t look like they’re having nearly as much trouble.”
“I know who you’re talking about, but that’s different; they each have Chris and Ryan in their parties, so it ain’t fair. Even if their guild ranks are low, their ability is real.”
“So, are you saying your ability isn’t up to snuff? Are you gonna do something other than sit and complain? Well, maybe they’ll let you leech off of them if you ask politely. Ah, maybe not Ryan, but I’m sure Chris would allow it.”
“My god, shut up. Class is starting soon, so I’m going.”
“Alright. I’ve got an alchemy request to do, so I’ll see you later.”
Ultimately, the Summoned Heroes were quickly adapting to their changed lives.
After all, whether they had thoughts of returning home or otherwise, they had no choice but to.
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Fwoooaaaar-!
“......”
Wearing a blank expression on his face, Ryan watched what was once an intimidating monster now writhing around on the ground under a scorching pillar of blue flames; the whimpering wild wolf slowed down in its restricted movement as it cried and, eventually, died without the chance to resist.
The wolf that was snarling at him just a minute ago had its life extinguished along with the flames, bringing a heap of experience points.
You have levelled up
“Fuckin’ finally.”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
He was now Level 25, meaning his goal had been completed; turning his head, he found a panting Nicholas collapsed on the ground and a sweating Kaitlyn wiping her brow, each beside the fresh carcass of an equally large wolf.
At that moment, a strange notification appeared.
You have reached a Title-related milestone
“Hm?”
You have unlocked some memories of the Great Sage
Immediately, his head throbbed.
“Kugh...!”
Falling to his knees, he clutched his head, but it was no use―an unfamiliar scene flashed in his mind.
[Other dimensions?]
The fuck...?
His mouth opened on its own and a voice like that of a lively old man came out.
[Hohoh...]
God, fuck... Is this that old bastard’s doing?
It didn’t take a genius to realise that what he was seeing was most likely the Great Sage’s memories from his perspective.
Glancing around the surroundings, Ryan spotted myriad devices, none of which he had any clue the identity nor purpose of; all he could instinctively tell was that they were created with magical engineering―perhaps relics―and that he was in an unknown place.
[In this world, there was no one to fit my criteria, but perhaps, out of all the countless others...]
Would the Great Sage finally be able to find a worthy disciple? Although he never spoke the words explicitly, Ryan had the feeling he knew what the old man was looking for.
And then, he witnessed something incredible.
In the blink of an eye, the vision accelerated like a timelapse.
...!?
Avosa, the Great Sage.
For tens, dozens, hundreds of years, he searched.
Gradually filtering the search for exactly what he needed.
From only looking for worlds with magic energy to including worlds without.
From including worlds without humanoid lifeforms to only looking for worlds with.
He began to lose hope, thinking there might truly exist not a single person who met the conditions he had set.
Until, eventually.
He found Earth.
[Oh, this is...! Wonderful!]
He found the perfect person to take as a disciple, but that was only the beginning.
[I suppose the time has finally come for the next step.]
Until then, the Sage had only been observing the various worlds and dimensions.
But now, he had to cross the ‘communication barrier’ of the two.
Ryan speechlessly watched every minute action of the Great Sage, unable to comprehend what he was doing; nonetheless, he could tell immediately that it was something incredible.
[This should do it. Then, my disciple―welcome.]
All of a sudden, the memories abruptly cut off with the Sage’s voice, and the headache likewise ceased like an illusion.
“...The fuck...”
Muttering profanities under his breath, Ryan slowly got up off the ground. Fortunately, it didn’t seem like the other two had seen anything as they were too busy resting.
Dumbfounded, he raised his head and belatedly noticed a final notification waiting for him―
You have acquired the Unique Skill: 「Dimensional Contact」
“......”
―A notification that a new skill had been acquired.
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Nicholas and Kaitlyn widened their eyes and repeated simultaneously.
““Dimensional Contact?””
“What, you both deaf now?”
Nicholas shrugged. “Hey man, we’re just making sure we heard correctly. Didn’t you say dimensional magic was amazing?”
“I said no one knows if it even exists or not, dumbass.”
“Well, you got the skill, so we know for a fact it exists, right?”
“Do you listen to yourself talk? It’s a skill, not magic.”
“Come on, it’s basically the same thing.”
“Oh yeah? I can show you the difference right bloody now if you’d like.”
Before things escalated too far, Kaitlyn stepped in. “Alright, that’s enough, you two. Ryan, have you tried the new skill out yet?”
“No. I was gonna ask if either of you knew anyone I should contact.”
“Oh, so are we gonna contact people from Earth?!” Nicholas exclaimed.
Ryan looked at him like an idiot and retorted. “Have you seriously got brain damage? What else we gonna do, talk to someone from fuckin’ Venus?”
“Hey...”
Ignoring them, Kaitlyn asked. “Does it even let you choose something like that?”
“If it didn’t, I wouldn't ask you to pick someone.”
Needless to say, with Ryan’s blunt response, their plan was already set from the beginning. Well, even if it wasn’t possible to know the details of the skill before he used it, Ryan would still get the opinions of the others anyway, even if it were just to broaden his scope of thought.
From what he was aware, Dimensional Contact could be used to send a message to one person from Earth. The number of messages able to be sent was unknown, but since the skill was acquired at Level 10, they presumed it to be at least that many.
However, no matter if it was a single message or unlimited messages; so long as they didn’t know for sure, they had to act under the assumption that they had only one shot.
“So? I dunno if we can change the recipient after we choose one, but even if we could, I’m gonna move forward with the intention of not doin’ that. If we get a limited number of messages, changin’ whoever we send them to halfway through would be a waste.”
Of course, simply sending messages to someone on Earth didn’t really sound that useful, at least to the three of them present; whilst some of the other Heroes in the class might’ve thought to contact their families and let them know they were okay, Ryan would never permit such a wasteful use of his skill.
In any case, even though that’s all it was, the fact Ryan received the skill brought with it unspoken implications. Nicholas failed to understand until after the others explained, but Kaitlyn realised immediately.
The first step for the Sage was finding the other dimension, Earth, but Ryan didn’t have to do that since that’s where he came from in the first place.
So, if the second step was contacting the other dimension, and he acquired a skill to let him do just that...
Then what the next step would entail was clear.
“Who would be most useful to bring over?”
Just like what the Kingdom of Seronia had done to them, they would kidnap someone from Earth. Although, could it really be called kidnapping if the kidnapped were aware it was going to happen in advance?
Assuming the three would only be able to transport one person, who could they bring that would be the most useful to them―that’s the question they needed to answer.
“Um, all Otherworlders who get transported come with something special, right? Even if they weren’t summoned as a ‘hero’ like we were. Is there no way to tell beforehand what kind of Unique Skill, class, or title they might have?”
“Prolly not, though it’d be a fuckin’ relief.”
“I see... It’s tough.”
“Not really? No matter what cheats they bring with ‘em, I’ll make do, and anyways, if we’re choosin’ someone with a useful personality, what does it matter? We’re plenty strong ourselves, n’ we already got fucktons of utility, what with Nico's stealth n’ my magic.”
“Oh, you have a point. But, what do you mean by ‘useful personality’?”
“Well, y’know; hard-workin’, honest―somethin’ like that.”
“Isn’t that a bit dehumani-- No, never mind. Anyway, I can think of quite a few people who I’d like to bring over, even if it was just to see them again, but...” The end of her sentence trailing off, Kaitlyn’s expression abruptly hardened as she closed her mouth.
No matter who it is, to forcefully bring them into this world would be...
She recalled all the confusion and tension she felt when waking up in this strange place for the first time; the thought that she might have to end up subjecting a friend to the same thing was horrifying.
“......”
Grit.
“Eh? Whatever. Think about what kinda person would be useful to us, and come up with people y'know who fit the bill. Nico, whaddabout you?”
“Huh? Oh. Well, my sister--”
“Rejected.”
“Wait, what? That was quick.”
"Don’t take it personally. Or do? Anyway, I just don’t want another person from your family in this group.”
“Wow! That’s a new low.”
“Truth hurts, pal. Come up with someone else.”
As Nicholas heaved a sigh and Ryan folded his arms, the two suddenly heard a light sound to the side.
Thud.
““...?””
Turning their heads in sync, they saw a resolved Kaitlyn, who had just dropped a small notepad on the floor between them.
There, one person’s name was written.
Ryan glanced at it briefly before looking back at her and asking. “This your pick?”
“......”
“Hm? Who is it? Oh...? I feel like I’ve heard this name somewhere recently... Wait, isn’t that strange...?”
Following Nicholas’ mutter, Kaitlyn stated.
“...I think she is the ‘most useful’ person we could choose, at least in the current situation. If you know who she is, Ryan, then I’m sure you can figure out why.”
“Huh? Why? Is she someone special? Is that why I’ve heard the name recently? How do both of you know and I don't?”
Whether it was intentional or otherwise, they both seemingly took no notice of the questioning of Nicholas.
“Kait, you two close?”
“...I’ve known her for about 18 months now. That’s--”
--why I didn’t want to consider her as an option. But, with the current circumstances, I really can’t think of anyone else.
“Haaa... Then, ain’t it great? Since you two’re all buddy-buddy like that, she ain’t gonna resist persuasion so much. An', if we ever get into trouble with that guy...”
“Oh, come on. Who the hell are you talking about?? Stop speaking so cryptically.”
Fed up with Nicholas’ whining, Ryan furtively rolled his eyes before pointing to the notepad on the floor. “‘Amelia Rannuel’; it’s Jae’s bird.”
“Huh??? A jay is a bird.”
“You f... Tsk. Not a real bird, obviously, fuckin' dunce. Romantics. Ain’t that right?”
“Haa. Yes...”
“Ohhh... Ohh!” Nicholas cried in satisfaction, having finally pieced together the puzzle in his mind.
Someone with a decent personality, and a high usefulness in the fact they were the girlfriend of Jae, who could be considered a potential future threat since he was being hunted by the entire nation of Seronia.
Amelia Rannuel.
They had successfully identified the most suitable and useful person to transmigrate over, at least whom they could think of right now.
Now, all that was left was to make first contact.