We headed to the marketplace on the same day Princess Luna became our new instructor alongside brother Al. And Isak, my only friend(who’s alive), looked around in excitement. I mean… I’m excited as well!
We’d also received a map from brother Al. If we ever got lost, we’d just have to look into the sky to see the Magic Archives. Like… that thing is like… 500 meters tall, kinda hard to miss!
“Yoo! Aska, look at this!” Isak said, excitingly pointing at a massive sword.
“Oh, gee,” I uttered, “That thing is massive… oof, expensive too….”
“Haha, you don’t say~,” Isak replied with a grin.
And… the clerk who saw us giggled and whispered something to her colleague…. Somehow… I feel as if they misunderstood something.
Oh well…
“Oh, by the way, I’ve been meaning to ask,” Isak suddenly spoke.
“Hm? About?”
“...Well, y’know…” Isak said, but… he seemed somewhat frustrated as he scratched his head. “Don’t you feel frustrated? Don’t you miss home?”
…..
…I do, but… I guess from everyone's point of view, I’m rather carefree… well, I try not to think too deeply about things, and… well, that keeps me sane for the time being.
“I do, but… you’ve probably read it too, so… we can’t get back to our world,” I expressed in a somewhat low voice.
“...We got here, and there’s probably a way back… though, very unlikely….” Isak sulked as his shoulders slumped.
“...Well, yeah, we’re just high school students… so… it’s unrealistic that we’d be able to find a way back.”
“.....”
I feel bad for Isak and the others. Compared to them, I still have Julia with me, a fa—someone I’ve known since a kid, like family.
Isak sighed and slapped his face, going ‘alright!’ to then brightly grinning at me. “Sorry for the heavy topic. Let’s go look around more, shall we?”
“...Sure,” I replied as I softly smiled.
— :::: —
A little while later, as Isak and I walked around, I realised there are many different races here, dwarfs, elves, beastkins, y’know? The game classics.
Well… there are more I can’t name, and well… I am in another world…
“Hey, Aska,” Isak called.
“Yeah?”
“Do you wanna dungeon dive with me?” he asked.
I mean… we’re in a labyrinth city, and… many of us already plan to have that as a job. Is he asking to team up? Damn… he beat me to it.
“Damn, dude, you beat me to it, huh?”
Isak tilted his head, “I did?”
“Like, yeah! I planned to ask you! Who to better dungeon dive with other than my bestie!?” I said, putting my arms on him as I carefully grinned.
“Hee~ hehehe,” Isak grinningly giggled, putting his arms around me as well.
…damn this dude has nice muscles… wait, what am I thinking!?
“Alrighty, bud! Let’s look for useful gear!”
— :::: —
To the onlookers, the idiot duo looked like a young couple, naive and unknowing of the labyrinths looming dangers. But… many people like them aspire to become great explorers. Wanting to become the first one to conquer it, find the truth and have their names written in history.
— :::: —
…Oh, yeah… if we talk about partying, is it okay for me to pry about his skillsets? I mean… no one said a thing about their skills and stuff, only affinity, so… I wonder if it's considered a breach of privacy…?
As I pondered that while sipping the iced tea we’d got earlier, Isak jumped in front of me.
“What up, man?” he said, looking concerned, “You seem a little out of it.”
‘Slurp’
“A… umm, you know? I was wondering what kind of skills you possess. I do know you can materialise a black magma-like Divine Sword, but… other than that… I… was wondering if I’d breach your privacy by asking what other skills you possess.” I honestly conveyed my thoughts.
I mean… Isak is a pretty open-minded person, and despite his ‘bad-boy looks’, he’s smart and quick-witted. So I’d assume someone like him knew what to say and what not. Heck… even I haven't told anyone about my skills except for my attribute. From the looks of it, brother Al didn’t bother asking any of us either. So… I can only assume it’s something others aren’t supposed to be privy to.
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“Hmm,” Isak hummed, “I don’t mind telling you,” he replied and grinned, “Anyways, we’re gonna be the best duo ever! Fire and water, let’s goo!” he enthusiastically stated.
…that’s right, Isak has an affinity for fire magic and earth magic. I mean, it’s suiting since he’s a redhead….
“Hey~, Aska, did you think of anything rude just now?~” he queried.
“...No,” I softly replied, glazing away and slurping my tea again.
“Hmpf,” he pouts, “You definitely thought it was suiting since I was a redhead or whatever,” he said, crossing his arms while glaring at me. “Well, no surprise your attribute is water,” he later said. “You’re calm and open-minded, even in this absurd situation.”
…More like coping, but okay….
I winked, putting my hands together with the cut in between in a cute way, and apologised, “Sorry~.”
“....” which resulted in a deadpan look from Isak.
I-I swear! It works, a-at least, it did use to work on him!
“Tch,” Isak clicked his tongue, “I can’t look at girls the same way after meeting you! Buzz off, man!”
Ehehe~ is that sooo~!?
“Tehe~he~he”
“Tch… tehe my ass!” he clicked his tongue and complained. “I swear I’ll find a cute girlfriend one day! And she’ll top your looks!”
‘Kyaa~’
Aww~ he’s just flattering me at this point!
‘crack—’
HJEEELLL! Why am I happy about that!? I wanna be handsome like this redhead, toooo, y’know!?
Anyways, as we had some dumb fun with random nonsense, we moved to a cafe, and Isak laid his skills bare.
| Name: Isak Norrberg
Race: Human
Skills: Solid-liquid Equilibrium, Overload, Cheer Resilience
Passive skills: Furnace Core
Unique skills: Elcret’s Edge
Attributes: Fire, Earth |
….huh?
What the hell!? This guy screams protagonist! Also… human!? More like dragon!!!!
“Holy shit man… your insane….” I commented, really impressed by this guy's skills.
He grinned, “Really, you think so?” he replied.
…hey, are you mocking me…? What the hell are his skills? Furnace core? Passive skill? It sounds cool af. What do I get? Cool-freaking-beauty!
“Do you know what these actually do?” I inquired.
Isak glanced out the window and seemed to be in deep thought as he hummed.
“Hmm, well, Solid-liquid Equilibrium, no idea, but from the sound of it, I think it's supposed to help me to find the right equilibrium when creating solid or liquid. And… as for the others, overload is increasing my strength in general, like… a lot in magic and strength?” he asked, tilting his head. “Anyways, I get fatigued from using it. 3 minutes and I'm done. Cheer resilience, I suppose it’s as it sounds.”
“Wow! Aren’t you sound…? Like a berserker!?” I asked with excitement.
“Ahaha! Yeah? Don’t worry, I’ll protect you~, my petite teal princess~, ” he teasingly said with a wide grin.
…….
“...Oh~, shut up!” I exclaimed, “Hmpf!” and pouted. “But seriously though, I think our party will be off balance… since I’m rather weak in comparison to you. At least that’s how it looks….” I sadly articulated my thoughts.
“Hmm, you worry too much. Besides, you have the most control over magic and have the most mana out of any of us. That’s not measurable now, is it?” Isak nonchalantly said. “I mean, you have a skill called Eye of Concept, right? That’s, like, suuuper useful. Also… can you like… y’know? Use it to peek?”
‘Slurp’
….hearing that, I covered my body and made a grimace that screamed, ‘Kyaa~this guy’s a pervert!’
“Oh! C’mon, don't look at me like that! I’m a guy! Of course, I’m curious!”
…His points are valid…..
“Well, I can’t, sure I can see through some stuff, but since most things radiate mana, I can’t see through most things. Clothes included, ya know? And well… since magic and all that is prevalent in this world, you’d assume they have ‘creep-counter-measures.’”
“Heeeh~ that’s boring—juust kidding, I’m actually glad that’s the case, but—”
“I just used it on you,” I replied and grinned. “Well, I already figured without trying it out,” I nonchalantly said with a shrug.
“......Cool,” Isak replied. “Beauty.”
“........”
OH! FUCK OFF, MAN!
“Say, if I leave you alone, will guys try and… ‘pick you up?’”
“...........”
Most likely….
— :::: —
With that, Isak and I did an experiment and the result…. Yeah, guys tried to pick me up…. Like… a whole bunch of them…..
Seriously? What the hell are we doing!?