“Are you fucking kidding me!?”
One night. In just one night, the road was paved all over by cobblestone. I quickly got on my knee and tried to dig away at the ground, but it just served to bruise my fingers.
“Shit—! Right, calm down. Let’s think about this.”
I could probably get the money out by buying a pickaxe or something. In fact, I was now grateful for Big Beth for giving me a whole week to prepare the money.
“Guess it’s back to the old-fashioned way….”
—-
Being in another world meant adapting to another culture; even if it meant changing one’s name.
That was what Ken did. Who was once a normal salary man now went under the name of “Kyle.” That was also what Ken’s two colleagues did: They changed their names to Maple and Sirius.
“Remember, guys. We don’t know how this world reacts to Otherworlders, so don’t act strange.”
Both Sirius and Maple nodded. “Of course, Kyle-san. You still have your Escape Stone, right?”
“Yes. We should be able to get out safely if things get dangerous….”
And so, they entered the building aptly named “Adventurer’s Guild” and got to the reception table.
The receptionist there took one glance at them and sighed. “Otherworlders?”
Kyle sweated. He gulped the lump in his throat and stuttered, “W-What? O-Of course not!”
“It’s not good to lie, you know? You have nothing to fear, we don’t treat Otherworlders any differently here.”
“Is that so?” Kyle heaved a sigh of relief. “Then, we’d like to take a Quest.”
“Please do!”
The receptionist put several pieces of paper on the table. They detailed from easy Quests like finding lost pets to impossible ones like finding a rare magical artifact.
Ken’s group decided on the middle of the bunch.
“Acquire five Shadow Bunny’s hides. We’ll take it.”
“Are you sure, Otherworlders? Although the bunnies are weak, they’re only found deep within the forest. You won’t be able to get in and out safely without knowing the way.”
“Hmmm….”
Just as Ken was about to consider, he felt something tugging at his pants. He looked down and saw a child no more than twelve years old looking up at him. His hair was as black—but not black like the normal Japanese. Instead, it was a beautiful blue-ish black. Coupled with his deep violet eyes, it was clear that this was a native of this world.
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“Mister,” the child spoke. “I know a secret way into the forest. It’s safe.”
Ken, though happy that he found a guide, still shook his head. “It’s dangerous out there. You should go home.”
“But mister, I can be useful!” He rolled his left sleeve up and revealed a black tattoo of two snakes coiling around a staff. “See this, right? I’m blessed, right? I can heal.”
Now this was an offer Ken couldn’t refuse.
***
Did I get them?
Looks like I did.
Scamming fresh Otherworlders was always easy. They knew almost nothing about this world and would almost fall for anything.
For example, tattoos didn’t give people power here. But apparently, the Otherworlders didn’t know that so they would assume that mine gave me healing powers. And I didn’t even have a tattoo! It was just some scribbling I did with a piece of charcoal.
And for another example….
“How much?”
“Two-hundred Silvers.”
They had no sense of money.
Heh, I had already bribed the receptionist there for this month, so she wouldn’t do anything and just let these dumb Otherworlders get scammed out of their money.
“Here you go.” The guy handed me the exact amount I asked. “Is it alright if we start our Quest now?”
“Of course!”
—
I wasn’t exactly lying when I said that I knew a secret path deep into the forest. After all, I knew of an abandoned path that smugglers used to take.
“Let’s g—”
One step into the dirt trail and we were teleported straight into the depths of the forest.
H-Huh? Who the fuck enhanced the road?
I tried not to let my confusion show. We were definitely in the deep forest; no doubt about that. I looked around but saw no path leading out.
Meanwhile, the Otherworlders were still clueless. They were in awe at their surroundings.
“Now we’re really in a fantasy world!”
“Ahhhnhh~!”
A moan suddenly came from beyond the tree line. While everyone else was fidgeting around and blushing, I froze in shock and shouted.
“Run!”
But the idiots didn’t listen. They just stood there like bats stunned by light and made themselves the perfect target for a dangerous monster.
The bush rustled, and a bear lunged out. Its maw full of teeth opened wide as illicit sounds emitted from it.
“Ahhhh~!”
2-star Monster, Moaning Bear.
I dashed toward Kyle and pulled him away just in time. We tumbled on the ground for a bit before Kyle took control and stood up again.
“Thanks!”
“Don’t talk! Just kill that thing!”
Kyle nodded. He tensed his muscles and disappeared on the spot, leaving behind only a small crater on where he was.
His figure appeared again right above the bear.
“Haaaah!”
With a scream, Kyle dug his sword into its skull. Blood flowed out and a bit splashed onto Maple’s clothes, making her squeal in fright even though she must’ve gone through the Tutorial.
But the only one who took the brunt of the splashing blood, Kyle, didn’t care. Probably only survival was on his mind. He rode the struggling bear as it moaned and thrashed around until it grew silent and dropped dead.
Kyle stabbed the monster one more time just to make sure. He breathed a sigh of relief and looked at me and nodded.
“Nova-san, it’s your time to shine.”
“Right away….”
The potions I brought with me were so diluted that it really didn’t do anything much. But the Otherworlders were more than satisfied seeing minor scratches heal in seconds that they didn’t really question anything.
And it seemed that these ones were the same.
Just as I was about to stand up, something in the bushes screeched. It was so loud that I felt my eardrums bleeding.
I turned around and—