That last statement of Feyril's sent a shiver down my spine, reminding me that this other world was as real as my original one. There was no real reason for me to go along with their game. Come to think of it, they had been watching me all this time, even when I was nearly killed by the first goblin. There was no guarantee they would have stepped in to save me at the last minute. Why should I go along with their scheme of levelling up to save their world?
I couldn't deny that the idea of levelling up in an Isekai tugged at my heartstrings though. Maybe I could at least try some safe levelling for a few hours before going home to rest. There should be some low level monsters in the starter area, right? Now that I knew how to use Inspect I could check out the levels of the monsters before challenging them. Fighting monsters would then allow me to gain skills and level up, and maybe even gain more skills not already listed in my status. It was a win-win situation.
All right, I took a deep breath and decided to venture out again. Oh wait, before that, maybe I could check the attributes of my two swords first. I took them out one by one and inspected them.
Eins
Maker: Masamane
Type: Longsword | Age: 50
Attack: High
Durability: Normal
Description:
Extremely sharp only when used on a target with Level including the number 1 or shaped like the same number. Otherwise causes no damage.
Deux
Maker: Masamane
Type: Sabre | Age: 46
Attack: Normal
Endurance: Medium High
Description:
Can cut anything, but always leaves target with 2 HP. Has the ability to talk, but can be somewhat obnoxious.
"Obnoxious, huh."
"That's slander! My past owner never complained!" retorted Deux.
"And yet they left you under a boulder," I shot back. "I doubt they liked you very much."
The sabre went silent. I gave a victory pose in my head and put it back into my Void. Well, if I was going to do some exploring with these two rather unreliable weapons, maybe I should prepare a bit more. I was starting to feel peckish and my parents would surely be worried about me. According to Feyril, the time here was six times faster than Earth, so I should have been gone for less than an hour there. Still, I had better inform them that I was going exploring. I doubt they would believe that I had ventured into another world so that part would be kept under wraps for now.
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When I returned to our new house, a maid happened to be looking for me and brought me before my parents directly. I just told them that I had been exploring the premises on my own and intended to continue doing that for the next few days at least. My parents exchanged glances and allowed me to do as I wished. They probably considered that an improvement from locking myself up in my room to surf the net the whole day. The Malay butler looked like he wanted to say something, but held his peace in the end.
We proceeded to have lunch prepared by the chef and served by the maids, which was a new experience for us. I certainly could get used to this! The food was steamed rice and Chinese-style dishes, which wasn't Michelin-star level, but at least tasty enough to sell at an ordinary hawker centre in Singapore. My mom was pleased not to have to cook, but at the same time, she also went to ask the chef if she could enter the kitchen if she ever had the urge to prepare food. My dad was just glad he didn't have to wash the dishes.
I was curious about this grandfather I had never met and asked my parents about what he was like and his occupation, but they only gave me evasive answers. Asking the mansion's staff didn't yield any results either. They just told me that he was a hardworking self-made millionaire and left it at that. Well, probing further was unlikely to be helpful, so maybe I could find some answers in Shyi'eld instead. If this mansion was connected to the other one, there had to be some clues left there.
Before heading back, I filled a large water bottle, packed some cream crackers and asked the chef to make me a sandwich as an afternoon snack. Then I snatched up my smartphone, a notepad and ball-point pen, some plasters, a scarf and a penknife and put these into a small backpack. Lastly, I grabbed a jacket and put on warm socks and a pair of walking shoes. Now I was ready for anything. I didn't pack in a torch because I didn't plan on staying the night there or explore any dark caves. Besides, I could always use my phone as a torch in an emergency. I was going to do some "safe" levelling before coming back here to take a bath and be in time for dinner.
I exited my new room (which was twice the size of my room in Singapore, incidentally) and made my way to the enclosed garden and hut. Just as I was about to enter the garden, a low voice called out to me.