Kazuya was barred from crossing a strange stone bridge. He needed to pay toll. Several merchants were camped on both sides of it, and a sort of market village was growing. He found a seat at an open-air tavern, some liquor merchant set his wagon and crafted crude log tables and benches.
"Some drink please!" He asked.
"Eh, you come over here and buy your drink, lad. We have no wait staff." The merchant replied.
The Japanese teenager dropped a few copper coins on the bench of the wagon and received a wooden mug with a frothy drink. Bitter.
'Beats drinking the water,' he thought. Kazuya used the fermented beverage to wash down some dried meat he had. 'And the food is shit.'
He could eat good food from his home before, but ever since a few days ago, his luck ran out.
Item Shop access: Locked. Skill Shop access: Locked. Spatial Inventory access: Locked. Attribute Point allocation: Locked. Skill Point allocation: Locked. Summoner Link unavailable. Please restabilish link to resume service.
He only realized how bad he depended on that princess after he got this message. However, the slaver took her away. Who could tell what horrors he was submitting the pure and innocent Pearl right now? He could be doing this, or doing that, or doing even that thing. Kazuya was a man on a mission. Avenge Shinji and rescue Pearl from her kidnappers. And the Loli Elf while at it.
"
He was sure this was so broken Shinji didn't even log back on. He must be laughing at Kazuya for remaining in the simulation. But he couldn't find the Log Out command. It was just like that anime where a thousand people trapped in a VR game had to climb a castle in the sky and everyone thought the anime was cool until video-loggers criticized the series and everyone jumped in the bandwagon.
The night was coming, and he found a spot of grass to lie down.
"Hey, kid. To sleep here you must pay a lodging fee. It goes to pay for the security."
Some rough hunters came to harass him. Kazuya wanted to just kill these NPC and keep on his main quest, but he was on a new map and his reputation was not as good as back in the map in the other side of the tunnel. Killing NPCs could get his reputation too low and brand him as a criminal.
He only had to find Pearl, reconnect with her and rescue the Loli Elf.
"I don't have coin." It was true. His last copper coins were spent buying that mug of goblin piss.
"Then get out of here, you beggar. Or sell something to earn coin. We don't care either way. But to sleep under our protection, you must pay."
「面倒くさい」(Bothersome), he cursed.
"We will count to five and then kick you." They threatened.
A man shouted nearby, calling their attention. "I'm sorry, could you gentleman enforcers wait for a minute?"
「日本人ですか」(Are you Japanese), The man asked.
「はい」(Sim!), Kazuya answered, happy.
Kazuya looked at the man. Old, probably in his fifties, wearing worn woolen clothes. Silvery beard and unruly silver hair, desperately needing a good washing. He had a friendly look and rugged hands.
"My son, can I know your name?" The old man asked.
Kazuya stood up and respectfully bowed forty-five degrees. "I am Kazuya, sir."
"Good, good. Young Kazuya-kun. It has been a long time since I met someone from the land of the rising sun. Can I intrude and ask what brings you here?"
He should be cautious, but this old man seemed trustworthy. Besides, he knew about Kazuya's homeland and showed respect to him. Probably these should be enough hints to be very cautious, but Kazuya didn't pick them up.
"I'm trying to rescue my princess. She was kidnapped."
The old man laughed like a grandfather. "Indeed. Kidnapping princesses seem to be the trend these days. Well, I came here to talk about business, not to chat. You seem to be needing coin, I am an antique and exotic curios trader. Do you have anything to sell, lad?"
"I might have something in my bag... Monster parts?"
The old man shook his head. "I use to trade in magic and enchanted things. And I am known to pay well. Do you have anything magical to sell?"
Kazuya thought. If he had his inventory, he could sell potions or even some low-level enchanted gear he outgrew but didn't throw away. Besides his essential gear, he had a slave collar, but selling that would raise too many questions. He had the papers he took from that guy. Magical circles. He sifted through them, drawing the attention of the merchant and the enforcers. There was one that the System didn't recognize, appraising it only read 'Unfinished Spell'. Gibberish.
"Merchant-san, could you tell me how much would you pay for this one?" He handed the sheet of paper over.
"Hum. A seventh-circle spell. Unfinished though, a shame. Probably some experiment by a magic student, but the calligraphy is very good. Let me think... How about four gold coins for this one and all your spell circles, lad?"
"Six and we have a deal." Kazuya tried to bargain. These spells were useless to him, he only took them because they maybe could be evidence of that guy's evil ways. But as he appraised the finished spells, he found nothing evil in them.
"Good, good. I'll take them at that price then. I really like how polite you are, boy. Here you go Kazuya-kun. Don't spend it all at once!" He laughed.
The boy eyed the six gold coins in his hand. He didn't even know where they came from, but he appraised them.
This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.
Yutis Gold Coin. Rarity: Uncommon. Value: 1 gold coin.
A gold coin minted in Yutis, the Kingdom of Light. This one celebrates the coronation of King Helios.
"Thank you, merchant-san."
"Yes, yes. A good trade, indeed."
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Kazuya cursed his naivety. With that much windfall of gold, all the merchants flocked to him, peddling his wares. Some women even tried to get into his pants for some coin. He had to choose between either flee the camp or slaughter them. Sleeping in the camp was impossible, he was sure these NPC would try to steal from him. The old man event was a lucky one though. He got gold for useless spells.
He got out of the camp, didn't cross the bridge and just went upstream. Surely there would be another crossing upstream. He walked for four days and the river didn't grow smaller. In fact, he was lost. Little he knew that all rivers in Yutis remained full during the first month of Spring, as all the ice on the mountains around the Kingdom thawed.
Suddenly something hit him from within, his mind spun and he fell to his knees.
WARNING: Summoner Link Broken.
MP Recovery Rate reduced by a factor of 10,000. Stamina Recovery Rate reduced by a factor of 10,000. Exp received reduced by a factor of 1,000. HP Recovery Rate reduced by a factor of 1,000
WARNING: Revive or contract a Summoner.
Time Remaining until termination: 699d 23h 58m 22s
Kazuya freaked out.
Pearl was dead.
They killed Pearl.
That guy will pay.
But he now was running on a timer. A long one nonetheless but he had a death flag on him.
"Status" He needed to know how bad it was.
Name: Kazuya Class: Death Assasssin Level: 28 Race: Human Age: 17 Exp: 46% Strength: 43 Agility: 127 Dexterity: 90 Stamina: 34 Endurance: 31 Vitality: 37 Intelligence: 24 Wisdom: 27 Charisma: 36 HP: 8,950 / 8,950 MP: 6,500 / 7,200 Stamina: 4,000 / 4,500 HP Regen: 0.002/s MP Regen: 0.00012/s Stamina Regen: 0.00015/s Attribute Points: LOCKED Skill Points: LOCKED Shop Points: LOCKED
He would recover only 10 mana, 13 stamina and only 173 HP every day. He would need to ration his resources to the maximum. But his rational mind was giving way to something deeper, darker.
"Fuck playing the good guy. Time to rake some bad Karma. Shitty game. Wanna raise the difficulty to impossible? You are on."
He returned to the marketplace by the bridge. At night, he watched as the few enforcer scouts were doing a poor job of scouting for threats.
He carefully approached them. His katana sung in the night.
Critical Hit. You gained 0.014% Exp
Critical Hit. You gained 0.015% Exp
He had a plan. His status would all recover to maximum if he leveled up. Even with the Exp penalty, He would only need to kill 3,860 more of this NPC to level up.
This merchant camp would be a good start.
----------------------------------------
Kazuya was glad the good merchant that bought those useless spells for six gold was not in the market after he returned. It would pain him to kill such a nice NPC. But there was one strange thing. The NPCs were not respawning. Instead, the game started to send waves of animals and monsters. Rats, vultures, giant ants, a shadow panther, and even a giant scorpion. Thousands of bugs crawled, flied, and swarmed the scene. Kazuya was all bloody and tattered.
HP: 6,632 / 8,950 MP: 4,543 / 7,200 Stamina: 2,123 / 4,500 Exp: 52%
He earned only 6% of Exp to the next level so far. Time to move on. North, toward the capital of Yutis. To avenge Shinji. To avenge Pearl. Kill the slavers. And rescue the Loli Elf.
----------------------------------------
Astromelicus glanced at the scrying orb. The worst-case scenario was happening right now.
After two thousand years of summoning, countries devised countermeasures for otherworlders. Wide-scale magic was always in effect in all Kingdoms to detect the mana energies of otherworlder summoning, warning everyone whenever a princess succeeds in the ritual. Also to detect the presence and general location of any otherworlder in their territory. Not having the latter was suicidal.
Yutis was very concerned when they detected that their neighbor Gohar had summoned otherworlders. It usually meant that either a great threat was present or that an invasion was about to begin. Astromelicus and Helios were relieved when they heard that Lumina was bringing back the summoner Princess, Pearl. The archmage facepalmed when he thought that the girl did the ritual out of boredom. How much of a thrill seeker she must be to throw her life away like that?
He dragged her into his private tutoring lessons meant only for Aidan and Dawn in order to get close and learn her real motives. And she proved to be a harmless airhead. Kindhearted and friendly. He only hoped that the tunnel trade agreement went forward. Those kids deserved every victory they gained.
But now he had a loose cannon in his guarded lands. Kazuya slaughtered the merchants and was systematically wiping out all life in his path. Already three villages fell to his blade. Astromelicus knew his final destination. He was coming for Pearl.
He had another duty besides the one to his King and closest friend. He had to report the events to the Magi Assembly.
> Astromelicus: Brothers and Sisters of the Assembly. It is with a heavy heart that I declare the hero summoned by Gohar a 'Murder Hobo'.
>
> Chairperson: Astro, is that true? We hadn't a Murder Hobo in almost two centuries.
>
> Astromelicus: It is. However, it is not too alarming. I have already a contingency plan in motion.
>
> Council of Evocation: Are you using Yutis' princess for a counter-summoning? This could escalate beyond your borders. Heath will not stand silent.
>
> Astromelicus: Perish the thought. Yutis won't summon, you have my word. I predict a 95% chance of the Murder Hobo clashing with the God-Slayer.
>
> Chairperson: That would be catastrophic if the God-Slayer loses.
>
> Astromelicus: He won't. This generation's God-Slayer is the most resilient ever. Once he matures, he will be unkillable.
>
> Council of Healing: I hope you are right, old friend. What is the opinion of the Assembly? Should we leave the matter in Astromelicus' capable hands?
>
> Chairperson: The Chair says aye. Does any Council say nay? Anyone? Astro, it is up to you and your pupil.
>
> Astromelicus: I thank all of you for the Assembly's trust.
Astromelicus cut the connection. He sighed and looked at his kettle, but he was out of coffee.
"I'm sorry Aidan. I'll have to dump one more problem in your lap."