kscans

Chapter 1 - A Single Book.

When I was a kid, I was fascinated by the idea of other worlds.

But reality always had a merciless way of shattering those dreams.

What would you think, though, if you performed a ritual on a whim, just for fun, and it actually worked…?

*

It was a summer in August.

My name is Kaikawa Shinsuke. I’m twenty-three years old, with short black hair and standing at one hundred eighty centimeters tall. I'm a bit on the heavy side, but I don’t really have a gut to speak of. I've always been proud of my arm and leg muscles—I can bench press forty kilograms for fifteen reps without breaking a sweat. I used to be a physically-inclined salaryman. I say "used to be" because I quit my job yesterday.

Constant power harassment from my boss. A senior colleague who would never help me when I was in a bind. A junior who would mock me, saying, "Your numbers aren't improving, are they?" I just couldn’t take it anymore.

In school, they taught me that being a member of society was the natural way for people to live in the modern world. But I absolutely refused to believe that this kind of life was natural.

"Haaah… maybe Grandpa’s way of life was better after all."

When I was in elementary school, my parents died in an accident, and I went to live with my grandfather, who lived near the mountains.

My grandpa was what you’d call a hunter. As a child, he’d often take me into the mountains and teach me the tricks of the trade: how to hunt, how to set traps, where to find prey—all the skills a hunter needed. The one thing I was never allowed to touch was his rifle, since I didn’t have a license. I was only permitted to watch. Grandpa would often ask me, "Do you want to become a hunter?"

"My teacher and everyone else says that being a member of society is our duty. So I’m not going to be a hunter."

That’s what I told him when I was in my third year of middle school.

After that, he seemed to lose his spirit, appearing much frailer than before. When I was in my first year of high school, that same grandpa went into the mountains, fell from a cliff, and died. I worked part-time jobs to cover my living expenses, managed the money my family left behind, went to college, and finally landed a corporate job. And the result? I quit in just two years. How did it come to this? Maybe it was my punishment for rejecting my grandfather’s words.

"Maybe I should become a hunter… But you need six different licenses for that. Trapping, Class 1, Class 2… On top of that, it costs a lot of money, and even after paying all that, the income isn’t even stable."

But there was no point in complaining.

Resigned to my fate, I headed home, figuring I’d just start a farm in the countryside.

It had been a while since I was last back in my rural hometown. The only people around were the elderly; all the young people had moved to the city to become salarymen. The thought that I was once one of them left a bad taste in my mouth, though I couldn't say why.

It just felt wrong.

I returned to my family home and looked inside.

It wasn't too dusty, which made sense. I came back once a month to clean, so of course it would be tidy.

I checked that the gas, water, and electricity were all still on, then started unpacking. I didn't have much—just a single suitcase and whatever fit in my backpack. I was grateful that my company dorm had a kitchen and even a fridge, so I never had to buy any large appliances. As I was putting things away, I noticed some antiques lying around, but there was no point in displaying them.

I decided to store them in the old storehouse behind the house.

I’d only been inside that storehouse a few times as a kid. It was two stories tall, but I was always told the second floor was dangerous, so I’d never been up. On this occasion, however, I decided to go upstairs to put the antiques away.

There was nothing on the second floor but three bookshelves lined up against a wall.

I couldn't see what was so dangerous about it. Figuring the floorboards were probably just old and might give way, I walked slowly and carefully, placing the cardboard box of antiques on a random spot on the floor.

Looking at the bookshelves again, I saw they were filled with foreign books, each one giving off a strangely eerie vibe. But one book in particular caught my eye—it was the only one written in Japanese.

The title was clearly marked: How to Go to Another World.

"‘Go to another world’? Whoever wrote this must have a serious case of chuunibyou."

It was the kind of book you couldn’t help but find ridiculous. Normally, I would have just put it back without reading it.

But for some reason, I felt a strange urge to read it. Maybe it was because I, too, had my chuunibyou phase back in the day.

With that thought, I opened the book and began to read.

*A Few Warnings Before You Go to Another World.

First, the language of this world will be foreign to you.
Second, the people of this world are exceedingly weak.
Third, you may have a resistance to killing.

Therefore, the most necessary things when going to another world are language acquisition and ability acquisition.

On the next page, you will find a magic circle. The characters inscribed within it have been researched from runic letters and formulated into a spell that allows you to acquire both language and abilities. After drawing it, create a depression about one centimeter in diameter in the center of the magic circle, then fill it with your own blood.

Once that is done, you must stand in the center of the magic circle by exactly 5:55:55.

Either evening or morning is acceptable.

When the magic circle activates, your surroundings will grow dark, but this is merely the sensation of passing through a tunnel and is harmless. Within it, you will hear a voice ask you questions. Please answer them honestly.

…A word of caution… When answering the questions, if you give an answer that is too boastful, you may acquire an ability that is incompatible with you. Therefore, please answer based on your instincts or hobbies.*

"What a detailed setup," I muttered to myself. I turned the page to find a drawing of a magic circle. The design looked quite authentic. I went back downstairs and stepped outside the storehouse.

It was about one in the afternoon. With plenty of time until five, I started drawing the magic circle in the yard in front of the storehouse.

My house stood in front of this spot, so no one from the outside could see me. I could indulge in this without feeling embarrassed. Besides, since I was planning to live a slow life farming in the countryside anyway, I had plenty of time for this kind of amusement.

The magic circle was complete, and I’d made the depression in the center. All that was left was to add the blood, but it was still too early. I decided to wait until five in the evening.

At 5:40, I returned to the magic circle, book in hand. I had spent the afternoon back in the house, reading the rest of it. The pages after the magic circle described the world I was supposedly going to. Its name was Milmguard.

The transfer point was in a forest on the outskirts of a regional city called Alum.

The monsters that inhabited the area were mostly Wolves and Falcons.

Inside the city, there was an Adventurer's Guild and a branch of the Saint's Church. To register as an adventurer, you had to fight captured monsters in a training hall to determine your rank. The ranks ranged from E to A, with A being the highest. A new registrant could start at D-rank at the very highest.

If, after going to the other world, I wanted to return to Earth, I just had to draw the same magic circle and fill the depression with blood.

After that, I could return anytime, regardless of the hour. Even if the magic circle in the other world was erased, the location where it was drawn would act as a waypoint, so it wouldn't be a problem.

Thinking it was an incredibly elaborate setup, I began my preparations.

All I had to do was offer a drop of blood, but I was squeamish about cutting my finger. Instead, I decided to cut the back of my hand with a kitchen knife.

Shaa!! Ugh…

"Ow! Whoa, that’s a lot of blood… I need to fill the hole, quick."

I rushed to the center of the magic circle and poured my blood into the depression until it was full.

Once it was filled, I wrapped my hand with a bandage I’d brought and tossed the kitchen knife outside the circle. The time was 5:50.

In five minutes and fifty-five seconds, this little game would be over. I felt like an idiot for getting injured over something so silly.

5:55 and thirty seconds… forty seconds… fifty seconds… fifty-one… fifty-two… fifty-three… fifty-four… fifty-five.

In the next instant, my surroundings went dark.

"Huh? What’s going on? Why is it dark? It was still bright out just a second ago."

I was bewildered.

Why? What’s happening? I thought in a panic, but then I looked at the book in my hand.

"No way… is this the tunnel? Then where am I right now?"

Just then, a voice echoed from above my head.

【Welcome to the dimensional boundary. I will now ask you a few questions. Please answer them honestly. Are you the physical type, or the intellectual type?】

Is this the fantasy equivalent of asking if I'm a front-liner or a back-liner?

"…I like moving my body, so physical type."

【Are you better at close-range or long-range combat?】

"…Close range."

I remembered going to a summer festival with my grandpa a long time ago. I was so bad at the shooting game, missing the targets by a wide margin, that even I had to admit my aim was terrible.

【What is your preferred profession?】

"…Crafting. I especially like swords and other bladed weapons made from earth and ore, so a blacksmith."

I once made a teacup in a pottery class back in middle school.

The instructor was impressed, saying it was a fine piece of work. But I had wanted to make things like swords and spears more than anything. Of course, I wasn't allowed to make such things, so I just molded them out of clay at home.

【Final question. Upon arriving at your destination, what is the first thing you will do?】

"…First, I’ll scout the surrounding area to figure out where I am and get a grasp of the situation."

No matter the circumstances, gathering information is crucial. I learned the hard way at my old job that cutting corners leads to a string of mistakes.

It was not a pleasant memory.

【…Thank you for your cooperation. We are now searching for abilities, or skills, that are suitable for you. Please wait a moment.】

So they’re called skills, huh?

【…Thank you for waiting. You will be granted three skills: Detection, Analysis, and Matter Conversion. Do you have any questions?】

"…Hmm? I understand Detection and Analysis, but what is Matter Conversion?"

【…Matter Conversion is the ability to transform inorganic matter you touch into metal and manipulate it at will. For example, by holding a stone, you can convert and shape it into any metal you imagine. Also, if you touch the ground with your hand, you can convert and control the area you are touching. However, if you manipulate the converted material into a form that exceeds its original mass, the deficit will be supplemented by your magic, resulting in higher consumption than usual. This is the same as when you touch the ground and try to expand the area of effect.】

So, if I convert a fist-sized stone, I can only make something as small as a gauntlet. If I wanted to make a sword, it would consume a lot more magic. Is that it?

"Well, I guess it’ll be faster to just try it out. I have no more questions."

【…Thank you for your time. We hope you enjoy your life in another world.】

In that moment, my surroundings were enveloped in light.

When I came to, I was in a forest. The cries of beasts, the sound of birds flapping their wings, the dim, gloomy scenery… one thing was certain: I was not near my house. More importantly, two moons, one yellow and one green, hung side-by-side in the sky.

"You’ve got to be kidding me…"