“I’ve spent my entire life savings on this. It’s too late to back out now. Yukino, my waifu Yukino. The first SSSR unit in the ever popular gacha game Deus:EX. The first time I laid my eyes upon her, I knew she was my waifu. Her hair, cascading like silk in a gentle breeze. Her face, a masterpiece of grace and strength intertwined. Her eyes, endless pools of mystery, drawing you in with a single glance. Her breasts, ohh—I could only afford twenty cubes to get her now. Ten pulls, that’s all I have. It might not be enough to get her with the abysmal half a percent drop rates and no guaranteed pity drop, but I don’t care! I don’t mind living on the streets as long as I have her. So help me God! Help me get her—Yukino! Please help her come home to me!”
Hi, I am Matining Jero, and while embarrassing, that was my last moment on Earth.
About a year ago, I received a prognosis of six months or less from the late-stage cancer that was growing in my stomach. It was by no means a devastating news, and that made me on an out of control downward spiral journey. Drugs. Porns. Alcohol. RoyalRoad’s fantasy web novels. Games. You name it. While living alone in my little apartment in downtown Neo-Tokyo, I was indulging in all sorts of vices known to man. Having no family or friends to turn to, I was left trying to desperately fill the void inside of me, the one that was devoured piece by piece by cancer. And, out of everything, the gacha game Deus:EX was the only thing that seemed to fill that void the most. Or at the very least, it was the last thing I indulged in before a diesel truck slipped off the overpass above my apartment—guided by gravity to crash into my room, and exploded—burning the building along with me inside it. A bit grim end, but anyway, it was all in the past.
While unfortunately Yukino didn’t come home, I was fortunate enough to get summoned to another world during my last moments. I didn’t expect it, really. I was at the lowest point of my life at the time, and it was at that stage where putting an iron in my mouth and pulling the trigger myself didn’t seem like a bad idea anymore. But, hey, who would dare to decline a second chance at life given by Gods, even if it was caused by an error in the system.
The world is called Don’ya—a short for Imdon’yano—a medieval fantasy realm plagued with danger and uncertainty. Life here was tough at first because the gods didn’t grant me any cheat abilities or anything, but they did give me access to the system—a game-like system—which was neat, since it gave me a chance to survive. And I did. I survived, and before I knew it, six months had passed since I was summoned to this world.
“WAKE THE FUCK UP LAZY BASTARDS! BREAKFAST IS READY! BREAKFAST IS READY! CHOW TIME GUYS! WOOF! WOOF! BARK! BARK!”
After living in Don’ya for a while, I could say life here wasn’t that bad. Sure, the technology wasn’t up to par with what Earth had to offer, and we had to draw water from the well manually. But we had Dwi, the adopted daughter of the inn’s owner where I currently stayed at, clanging metal pots in the hallway and shouting loudly to wake everyone up for breakfast every morning.
“Her mouth is dirty as ever, huh,” said Songo while stretching his arms up in front of his door. Songo was an elf friend that I befriended along the way, and ended up staying in the inn room in front of mine. His long ears peeked through his disheveled blonde hair. He looked great for someone who had spent the entire night in the outhouse after last night drinking session, vomiting.
“Well—” I yawned and stretched my arms too. “—She’s growing up surrounded by people like us. She had to pick up her personality somewhere.”
“You know,” Songo replied, now stretching his legs. “—Normal people would at least watch their language instead of letting a little girl grow up with a dirty mouth like that. How old is she exactly? Seven? Eight?”
“Eleven.” I stretched my legs too. “But we aren’t exactly normal, are we? We are adventurers.”
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“Dude,” Songo said as he abruptly stopped stretching. His nose twitched, sniffing at the air, as if catching a scent. “Did you smell that?”
“What? Your vomit from last night?”
“No—” He stopped sniffing abruptly as a group of fellow inn guests passed in front of us, then resumed once they were gone. “—Actually, yeah, that too. But I smell something different, something delicious, from downstairs. Tell me, what day is it today?”
“Acten—” It was Actendag. It was: ““Curry day!””
We frantically ran to the ground floor, our footsteps quick and hurried, where the dining room was. Because it wasn’t just the usual curry day. Yesterday, a certain group of platinum-ranked adventurers came into town to hunt a certain monster. Since they apparently hunted too many, as high-leveled parties always do, they decided to sell the game in bulk—and the inn owner got his hands on a lot of it. That game was Cloud Hare. Not only did it have a distinct aroma, its unique body composition made the meat tender and allowed it to absorb the curry spices like a cloud. In short, Cloud Hare meat was the ultimate ingredient for curry.
“Holy hell—so good! Damn! Oh god, so good!” I said as I chomped down the ever-delicious curry with all my might. Songo, who sat in front of me, was also doing the same, but with more grace, carefully slicing each piece of meat and savoring it as if it were fine cuisine.
“HERE COMES THE SLOP! CHOW DOWN YOU MUTTS!”
Dwi, who had just returned after waking everyone up, now moved around the dining hall, distributing the curry and refilling our bowls without being told.
“Dwi! You’re an angel! Thanks!” I said to her with a smile on my face. She didn’t reply and only gave me a thumbs up before continuing to move around the hall.
“You know, I’d never tell if she really likes doing her job or hates it,” Shiji, who came bringing a bowl of curry on his own, announcing his presence. Shiji was a mage from the local magic tower who I had also befriended, alongside Songo, along the way. He sat himself beside Songo, and ate. “Morning,” he said to us, but we didn’t reply because we were too busy chewing down the curry. Have I ever told you that the curry was that delicious?
Anyway, we had to cut our dining session short because someone’s scream ruined the mood.
“KYAAAAAA! NOOOO!”
It was Dwi’s. The little girl’s scream was high and raw, cutting through the peaceful chatter of the bustling dining hall, trembling with fear. She apparently had found a dead body sitting in the corner. As she began crying miserably, it shattered the strong facade she had maintained, revealing that, underneath it all, she was still just a kid.
One of the female guests hurriedly covered Dwi’s eyes, and carried the girl to the kitchen where her parents were. I could still hear Dwi crying back there as I approached the dead body alongside a handful of curious guests.
The dead body was still fresh, with blood dripping from the cut in its neck. It was a woman seemingly in her mid-twenties, wearing a black hoodie covering her whole body. Her head was resting lifelessly on top of the table. I noticed her long ears peeking out from behind her brown hair. “Dude, do you know her?” I asked Songo, who had come to stand beside me.
“Did you just ask me if I know all of my brethren? No, dude. No,” he said while firmly shaking his head. “Did you notice that, though?” He pointed his finger to the dead woman’s right arm. There was something engraved on her wrist—an intricate script, colored in red. My experience told me that it was magical, as it glowed when I pressed it with my finger.
I looked at Songo, and we exchanged eyes. He knew what I wanted to say, and before I could say it, he said, “Fuck me—But we’re on vacation!”
“I know, dude. I know,” I said, filled with regret, and looked around. I noticed more people were gathering around the dead body and asked Songo, “Do you want to call this in?”
He took a long sigh and pulled a badge from his interdimensional storage, flashing it at everyone in the room with a firm, commanding gesture. “Magical Bureau of Investigation—MBI! Step away immediately! This area is hereby declared a crime scene, and any interference will be met with severe consequences!”
“Yeah, today is going to be a long day,” I muttered to myself as I secured the premises with a mana thread. “Yo, Shiji! Want to take a look at this dead body?”