kscans

Chapter 35 - The Journey and Skill Names

Around noon, we decided to head to the sea.

We temporarily disbanded to prepare for the trip. I returned to Earth and got my things ready at home. I tossed some manga into my rucksack for when I got bored, then crammed in as many cup noodles as would fit. I could make a kettle with my skill, and generate water with magic. I wanted to bring my music player, but I knew I’d have to stay alert, so I decided against it.

Then, I retrieved a surfboard from the shed. It was something my dad used a lot when he was younger. I’d never used it once, but I figured this was the perfect opportunity. Finally, I strapped my usual tool pouch to my waist. With a decent amount of luggage, I returned to the other world. I couldn’t let the gatekeepers see all this stuff, so I temporarily left it on the path outside of town. Of course, to prevent theft, I put it all in an iron box with no lid and transformed the four corners into stakes, driving them deep into the ground so it couldn’t be carried away.

My preparations were complete.

I headed to the town entrance to wait for the others. After a little while, Bardos arrived. He was wearing his usual clothes and armor, but he had a cloak on. He was holding another one, which he handed to me.

"A cloak is essential for travel," he said. "Figured you didn’t have one, so I brought one for you."

I thanked him for his thoughtfulness.

After waiting a bit longer, ‘Beautiful Sword’ arrived. They were all in their usual gear but were also wearing cloaks. I could see why they were essential. Their luggage consisted only of potions and outdoor tools; there was no food. They must have planned on procuring it locally. With that, we set off on foot. Apparently, it was a five-day walk to the sea from here.

When we reached the spot where I’d left my things, I retrieved them from the iron box.

Seeing it all, Bardos exclaimed, "Whoa, whoa, isn’t that a bit much?"

His voice was laced with disbelief.

The others looked just as astonished, but I was prepared. I transformed the iron box into a cart. I attached four wheels, designed the front axle to steer, and created a seat at the front. It looked just like a horse-drawn wagon.

Tina looked at it and said, "Well, that’s a versatile skill you have there. But who’s going to pull it?"

"If I channel my magic into it, it’ll move on its own," I explained. "It can steer left and right, too. I just don’t know the way, so I’ll need you to navigate."

I loaded up my luggage and sat down in the driver’s seat.

Hearing this, everyone else climbed into the cart. We were ready to go. I channeled my magic, and the cart began to move. It traveled at a speed of about thirty kilometers per hour, which was more than enough for a leisurely trip. The others looked around, impressed.

Just then, Bardos asked, "This is nice and easy, but are you gonna be okay? You have to keep channeling magic the whole time, right?"

"I’ll be fine," I replied. "At this speed, I won’t run out of magic. We can just take breaks now and then. Also, if you get bored, there are some books in my luggage. They’re from Earth, but I think you’ll be able to read them."

With that, I focused on driving.

Bardos rummaged through my bag and pulled out the books—manga. The others each took one and started reading. A short while later, I glanced back and saw them all completely engrossed.

It seemed that after teleporting to Earth, they had gained the ability to read the language. They must have found the stories fascinating, because they all had great expressions on their faces as they read. I continued to drive straight down the road, which had no forks.

Meanwhile, in the Guild Master’s office.

A single bird was perched on the windowsill. It was a messenger bird used for communication between guilds. But the arrival of this bird meant something important was happening. The Guild Master took the paper tied to the bird’s leg and read its contents.

He immediately shot to his feet and headed downstairs.

His appearance on the first floor sent a wave of tension through the adventurers, who sensed something was wrong.

"I’ve just received a notice from the Royal Capital’s guild!" the Guild Master announced. "A Kraken has appeared in the port town and is sinking every ship that sets sail. The kingdom dispatched the Royal Navy and the A-rank party ‘Flash,’ but they were unsuccessful. The kingdom has now designated the Kraken as a freelance subjugation quest."

The adventurers were stunned.

‘Flash’ was a party said to rival ‘Beautiful Sword’ in strength and reigned as the top adventurer party in the Royal Capital. The thought that a monster they couldn’t defeat even with the navy’s help was out there created an atmosphere of despair; even all of them together wouldn’t stand a chance. The Guild Master knew this.

Even though it was a freelance quest, subjugating such a powerful monster was impossible for an average adventurer. The only ones with a chance were ‘Beautiful Sword’ or ‘Intense Thought.’

Thinking this, the Guild Master looked around.

"Hm? Sorry, but where are ‘Beautiful Sword’ and ‘Intense Thought’? I don’t see them."

The receptionist answered, "Oh, yes. Tina-san came by before lunch and said she was going to the Royal Capital with ‘Intense Thought’ for a change of pace. She said they’d be back in two weeks at the latest."

"A change of pace?" the Guild Master muttered. "That’s unusual. Wait a minute, the Royal Capital is only about half a day from the port town. If they happen to go to the port town... No, I’m overthinking it. There’s nothing to see there but the sea."

With that, the Guild Master returned upstairs. His guess, however, was spot on.

Shinsuke’s party was in the middle of their journey.

We took a break along the way, hunted for a light meal, and then ate. A short while later, I sensed multiple presences approaching. Tina and the others noticed it too and went on alert. A group of Goblins emerged. There were twenty of them, but none of them were strong individuals.

I was about to draw my sword, but Tina stopped me.

"Leave this to us. We feel bad making you do all the work, Shinsuke."

Tina and the others drew their weapons. I took her up on the offer and sat down to watch. The Goblins had the numbers, but Tina’s party was stronger. I figured it would be an easy win, but I stayed vigilant for any hidden enemies.

Tina raised her sword and activated her water magic, dousing five Goblins in a powerful stream of water. While they were still stunned, she plunged her sword into the ground.

"Ice Field!" she shouted, unleashing her magic.

The ground rapidly froze over, encasing the Goblins’ bodies. It wasn't a solid block of ice, but more like a frozen shell, turning them into ice sculptures. Unable to move, Tina shattered them with her sword.

Leona faced five Goblins and planted her shield on the ground.

"Rock Quake!"

As she yelled, the ground beneath the five Goblins suddenly caved in. As they fell, walls of earth slammed in from both sides, crushing them like a press. Then, the ground returned to normal, leaving nothing behind.

Rumily and Milfy took on five Goblins together.

"Wind Disc!"

"Fire Tornado!"

Rumily raised her right palm, and a disc of wind appeared above it. She threw it like a shuriken. Two Goblins ducked to avoid it, but the disc’s altitude dropped, slicing off both their heads. Milfy aimed her left palm at three Goblins, and a vortex of fire shot out. It swirled like a tornado, growing too large for the Goblins to dodge, and they were consumed. When the flames died down, three charred corpses lay on the ground.

Bardos faced the last five Goblins, readying his great axe.

"Murderous Dance!!"

He roared and swung his axe horizontally.

He bisected two Goblins in a single swing, then continued his spin, cleaving through the remaining three in one motion. He looked like a spinning top.

The battle was over.

But I had a question.

"You guys... what were those skills just now?"

Tina answered for the group.

"We tried out some moves we saw in the books you brought, Shinsuke. We just came up with names that were easy for us to say."

She declared it plainly.

I see. I had hunted with them before, but I’d never seen any of those moves. Especially Bardos’s.

"Bardos, that skill you just used... do you have to shout the name for it to work?"

"Yeah," Bardos replied. "It gets me more pumped up that way. Besides, the name is cool. I decided I was gonna shout it."

He gave me a huge grin and a thumbs-up.

Seeing his face, I just nodded and said, "I see." If he was happy with it, I wouldn’t say anything more. The Japanese word genocide means mass slaughter, so I guess in this context, it was fitting enough. I decided to just go with it.

That night, we decided to camp outdoors.

We hadn’t caught any game for dinner.

We had searched but found nothing. Everyone but me assumed we’d be going without tonight.

"Dinner’s ready," I announced. "Tina, can you fill this kettle with water?"

I opened the lid of the kettle.

Tina looked skeptical, but she used her water magic to fill it. Once it was full, I placed it on an iron grill I had set over the bonfire. After a while, the water boiled, and I poured it into cup noodles for everyone. I handed them out and timed three minutes. I happened to be wearing my wristwatch. When the time was up, I opened my lid and started eating with a disposable fork. The others watched me and did the same. Their faces were a picture of astonishment. It was understandable; a meal that could be prepared just by adding hot water was unheard of in this world.

"This is amazing," Bardos said, eating enthusiastically. "Honestly, I wasn’t expecting much, but I can’t stop eating."

The others had the same expression, eating with abandon. They drank every last drop of the soup, and we threw the empty containers into the bonfire to burn. It was time to sleep. Normally, we would take turns standing watch, but I had an idea.

"Alright, I’ll make things a little safer around here."

I transformed the iron cart.

I drastically reshaped it, creating a small hut. It was spacious enough for six people to sleep comfortably. I created a large opening and we went inside. I moved the bonfire to the center, and we arranged ourselves to sleep in a circle around it. I had wanted to build a wall to separate the men and women, but Leona shot that down with the sound logic that "we wouldn’t be able to respond if something happened." Bardos was on my left, and Tina was on my right. I couldn’t exactly turn to my right to sleep.

But to avoid giving the wrong impression that I disliked her, I decided to sleep on my back. I sealed the large opening, leaving no door, just a solid wall. I created air vents at the top and bottom, covering the bottom ones with a mesh to keep small animals out. Our safe space was complete. This way, even if bandits or monsters came, we wouldn’t be attacked immediately and could wake up to deal with them. With that thought, I decided to go to sleep.

Just then, a thought crossed my mind.

(My first time camping with friends in another world. It’s a little nerve-wracking, but it’s fun, like a real camping trip. My house back on Earth is locked up tight, and those guys are probably panicking right about now, so no problems there.)

With that thought, I drifted off to sleep.

Earth. A certain group.

The group was heading somewhere in a car. A map was displayed on a laptop screen, with a single location blinking red. A man looked at it.

"So, it hasn't moved from this spot at all."

A woman replied, "No, sir. It’s been about a day and a half since we gave him the stuffed animal. It hasn’t moved from this location for over six hours, President."

The president was satisfied with her answer.

This was the group that had attacked Shinsuke on his way back from the auction. The teddy bear they had given him in their exchange had a tracking device hidden inside. They were heading to his house to try and negotiate again, confident that even if he refused, knowing his location would allow them to uncover his identity through the landowner.

They arrived at their destination. It was a dark back alley. Believing the building must be somewhere nearby, they followed the transmitter’s signal.

The signal grew stronger. The group steeled themselves, rounded a corner, and found... a dead end. Confused, they zoomed in on the transmitter's map. The signal was coming from near the wall. When they checked, they found a stray dog sleeping there, a teddy bear strapped to its back. The president and his subordinates slumped in utter defeat.

In fact, after receiving the stuffed animal, Shinsuke had checked its contents and analyzed it, discovering the tracking device inside.

He had a feeling they wouldn’t give up so easily. He had put on the gloves he brought with him and thoroughly washed the stuffed animal in a washroom to remove his fingerprints. After meticulously cleaning it, he dried it with fire magic and then placed it on the back of a stray dog he found in the park bushes, tying it down with a string so it wouldn’t fall off.

The dog looked annoyed, but a flash of killing intent from him had made it compliant. He then left it and went home. As for the pyrophoric alloy, after analyzing it, he changed it into a different metal and coated an iron pillar with it.

"For now, retrieve that stuffed animal," the president ordered his subordinate. "I want to hope there’s at least a fingerprint on it."

He gave the order with a complete lack of confidence.

They retrieved the stuffed animal and left the scene.

Later...

They examined the stuffed animal and found multiple fingerprints. Apparently, passersby had found the sight of a dog carrying a teddy bear on its back unusual and had touched it.

The president was utterly dismayed by the result.