Chapter 9 — It Seems like the Introduction Scene to an Other World Reincarnation Story
Hanakawa was floating in an empty white space. He had expected to be teleported right into the game after saying the keywords, but it didn’t seem that was the case.
“Ahh. I have not had this experience myself, but it seems like the introduction scene to an other world reincarnation story. Normally, a goddess would appear to bestow some sort of cheat power on me...”
Hanakawa’s previous summonings had all been rather abrupt, the kind where he’d appeared in another world before he had realized what was happening.
“Sorry. Though I might have the dignity of a goddess, it is just me.” The Sage Sion appeared beside him.
“Oh! How abrupt! Did you not have something like a meeting to attend?”
“No, this is not my actual self. I told you I would give you the Battlesong installation before, did I not? That is what this is. Van’s game uses the Battlesong system as well, so I set it up to interrupt the game’s starting sequence with a client installation. I am nothing more than the UI for that installation procedure.”
“Did that require you to use Miss Sion’s visage?”
“Not at all, but I do have to ask whether or not you would like to install the client. Do you not think a yes or no dialogue box would be a bit unsatisfying?”
“I feel like that would be fine, honestly.” Considering all that Sion had put them through, Hanakawa felt instinctively on guard against her. A more mechanical procedure would have actually been more encouraging.
“So, what will it be? If you allow the installation as per normal, you will most likely receive the same class as in part one, though if you wish for it strongly enough, it is possible to obtain a different one. Of course, you can also choose not to install it at all.”
“Oh? Sir Van told me Sages were capable of freely manipulating Battlesong and could thus give any class or skills they wished.” Back in part one, Van had increased Hanakawa’s level and given him a range of new skills.
“Did he, now? At the very least, such a thing is beyond me. All I can do is give you the randomized Gift from installing the base client.”
“Dammit! So he is that terrible kind of person who believes anyone could do something he alone was capable of!”
“He is certainly like that, though he seems totally unaware of it.”
“In any case, I have no choice but to accept the installation. There are hardly any demerits to it at this point. Ah, but in my case, you said it would be restoring my backup. How will that work?”
“I can restore your backup Gift or give you a brand-new installation. If you choose to restore your previous Gift, you will be guaranteed to have the same class and level as before. If you receive a new installation, your level will return to one, but your class will be determined at random, so it may or may not be useful.”
It was a difficult decision to make. The Healer class wasn’t particularly skilled in combat, but its survival capabilities were incredible. Though he wouldn’t be exceedingly strong, it certainly had its utility. That said, being capped at level ninety-nine meant he couldn’t grow all that much. On the other hand, a fresh install would put him back at level one, and he may not receive any useful abilities at all. It was quite possible he would die helplessly right away. However, there was the possibility of him obtaining the Limit Break skill, allowing him to grow far beyond what he was capable of as a Healer. So the choice was between a class that would be useful and have little future prospects, or getting something entirely random hoping for better growth in the future.
“Hmm...well...Healer did not seem like it was quite sufficient...so I will have to ask for a fresh install!”
“Understood. Would you like the mental assistance turned on?”
“You mean the personality change to be more warlike?”
“Yes. Ordinary high school students would find themselves extremely averse to killing monsters, let alone other people, and would find it very difficult to engage in combat.”
“Then, if you could give me a little bit of that...”
“How about level three? At that level, you will calm down the moment you have resolved yourself to take action and will recover from shock with ease. How does that sound?”
“Out of curiosity, what is the highest level possible?”
“That would be level ten. In part one, I had you all set to level six. At level six, you will lose your inhibition to murder, become easily sexually aroused, and be more likely to resort to violence to resolve any conflict. At level ten, one is willing to resort to killing for something as simple as someone standing in their way on the street and will assault members of the opposite sex on sight.”
“Level three is fine.”
“Understood. Then let us begin.”
“Please wait a moment! I wish to focus myself first! You said strong feelings can influence the class I gain, correct?!”
“I doubt anything you could do now would influence the result.”
“Please do not look down at me like you know I will receive a useless class already!”
“Very well. I will give you one minute.”
Hanakawa started taking deep breaths. He began to imagine what kind of class, what kind of skills he wanted, and focused hard on them.
“Okay, beginning the installation process now.”
“Huh? Has it already been one minute?!” He still wasn’t ready. He tried to stop her, but before he could say any more, his vision filled with strange letters. It was the Battlesong client startup sequence. If the installation was complete, nothing he imagined would affect the result now.
After a short time, the colorful images faded, and his status window appeared. His new class was Monk.
“Oh. Looks like you received a high-level class.” Sion seemed surprised.
“For being no more than a UI, you seem to have quite a bit of variation to your reactions. Well, no matter. My current self is able to forgive anything now!”
Hanakawa had figured his odds were good. He had been a Monk once before, so he could easily imagine what kind of class that was. He had figured that approach was much more likely to succeed than coming up with some vague, powerful class he knew nothing about.
His skills consisted of Limit Break, Heal, Auto Heal, Item Box, Status Discernment, Close Combat, Spiritual Refinement, Spirit Projectiles, Insight, Claw Mastery, Spear Mastery, and Staff Mastery. They were all exactly the same as he had gained when Van had changed his class before. Perhaps these were the starting skills for the Monk class. As expected, his level had been reset to one, but it wouldn’t take long for him to surpass his strength as a Healer.
“That is the limit of my intervention. I only interfered with the teleportation process a little, so now that your installation is complete, you will teleport as normal.”
As she said that, Sion disappeared and Hanakawa was standing on the ground again.
◇ ◇ ◇
Tomochika lay motionless on her bed. She didn’t really have anything to do until Sion made it back.
“I kind of hate being stuck in limbo like this...”
If you have nothing else to do, you could always train.
“What? Now? Here?”
All of your training since coming here may very well have been reset. It may be best to confirm that for ourselves.
Tomochika hadn’t been trained past the advanced arts of the Dannoura School before, so Mokomoko had been teaching her as they traveled. The school was broken up into four main levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced, and final arts. Once those had all been learned, one could then learn the final level, the true arts. Mokomoko had tried to teach her the true arts, but it hadn’t been successful, so Tomochika had been training in the final arts instead.
“I remember doing it, so it’s probably fine...” That said, if everything that happened had essentially been “a dream,” it was likely those memories would fade over time. It would be an issue if all that training went to waste, so she stood up from her bed and started going through the movements again. Her body being the masterwork of the Dannoura lineage, it didn’t take long at all for her to grow accustomed to the forms.
“Something like that?”
It seems there are no issues. You will likely be able to conclude the final arts and move on to the true arts soon.
“I don’t feel like martial arts are going to be all that useful in this world though...huh?”
Is something wrong?
“Something feels off...” Her highly refined senses could pick up the slightest change in the environment around her. Feeling the barest trembling in the structure of the hotel, so faint an ordinary person would never notice it, Tomochika felt a vague sense of danger. “Something’s happening below us? That’s what it feels like...”
I shall take a look.
Mokomoko slipped through the floor.
“I really don’t get what the limits on her movement are...well, I guess she can probably go anywhere in the hotel, right?”
As her guardian spirit, Mokomoko couldn’t leave Tomochika’s side. That restriction was so powerful it had brought Mokomoko along with her when Tomochika was transported to this world. However, there didn’t seem to be much of an issue moving vertically, as she had often gone up into the sky to survey the landscape.
After a short time, Mokomoko returned.
Things have gone quite wrong. The first floor is filled with those infected by the Seyla.
“What? Isn’t the barrier supposed to be keeping them out?”
Perhaps there were some inside before the barrier was erected. For now, the first and second floors have been closed off, but who knows how long they will hold?
The answer to that question came almost immediately, the window of Tomochika’s room shattered as something barreled in from outside.
“You couldn’t even wait two seconds, could you?!”
They seem quite different than what we saw before. On Belm, the Seyla was not nearly this active and had not transformed its victims to this degree.
The creature that came through the window was humanoid in shape, but the ends of its arms and legs came to sharp, bladelike points instead of hands and feet.
Make sure you do not touch it.
“Die,” Yogiri’s voice came from behind them. As usual, the creature that had come through the window collapsed motionless to the ground.
“Takatou!”
Turning around, they saw Yogiri standing right there. The door was off its hinges, so he had likely killed it to get in the room. He had his backpack on, so it seemed like he was planning on running away already.
“You okay?” he asked.
“Somehow, yes.”
The Seyla had broken into his room as well, so he had hurried to her room to make sure she wasn’t in danger.
“It doesn’t look like there’s anywhere safe left for us.”
As they spoke, the sound of screams and glass breaking filled the air.
“The hotel is currently under attack by the mysterious creatures,” Celestina’s voice said over the hotel’s intercom. “We have attempted to erect barricades to keep the creatures at bay, but they are now climbing the walls and infiltrating through the windows, so it has become quite difficult to ensure everyone’s safety. I believe it would be safest for everyone to take up the Sage’s offer. I can confirm that if you say the keyword, you will be immediately teleported away. If you feel you are in danger, please do so immediately. Those who do not wish to teleport, please come to the rooftop.”
“An intercom system doesn’t seem very fantasy world, does it?” Tomochika commented.
There appears to be some technological transfer between worlds.
“Let’s head to the roof,” Yogiri suggested. “We have to wait for Sion anyway.”
Stepping out into the hallway, they headed to the stairs and started climbing to the roof. They came across some of the Seyla on the way, but Yogiri had no trouble dispatching them. It seemed the infected still had a measure of their original personalities, but he had no choice but to deal with them immediately.
They made it to the roof, but the only thing they found there was more infected. Being able to climb the walls of the hotel, it must have been easy enough for them to reach the top. It didn’t seem like there were any other survivors, with Tomochika and Yogiri being the only uninfected in sight.
“Looks like it’s already too late,” Yogiri said. It appeared almost everyone in the hotel had already been infected. How many survivors were still in the building? They could only hope anyone left would teleport to safety in time.
“For now, I’ll clean up these—” Yogiri was about to kill the infected in front of them as usual, but before he got the chance, the Seyla were all blown off the rooftop.
“My apologies for being late. It took longer to rescue everyone than I anticipated.” It was Celestina.
“Did you do that?” Yogiri asked her, confused.
“Yes. Everyone below us has teleported to safety. You two are the only ones left. Will you not go?”
“We have to wait for Sion.” If everyone else had joined Cavern Quest, it made sense that they were the only ones on the roof. But Sion had said she couldn’t join Cavern Quest, so if they teleported away, making contact with her again would be difficult.
“Understood. Allow me to buy you some time, then.” Celestina spun around, lifting her hands into the air. Her graceful, dance-like movements weren’t quite enough to distract Tomochika from the familiar looking object in her hands. A thread, so thin as to be nearly invisible, stretched out from her hands. The thread wove a complicated web over them, creating something like a dome.
“Huh? I thought we saw... Ah! Back in the trial at the tower!”
Teresa of the Thunderous Blade. The woman in the maid outfit who had taken it upon herself to act like an examiner and attacked them. She had used a thin, wirelike blade to fight, much like what Celestina was using now.
“If you are speaking of the tower of the trial, you must be speaking of the trial to become Knights of the Divine King. Have you met my sister, then?”
“Teresa is your sister?”
“Yes, unfortunately. She caused some problems and was forced to retake the trial. I hope she did not cause you undue trouble.”
“Trouble, huh? Wait, didn’t Teresa belong to the royal family? What does that make you?!” Of course, Tomochika couldn’t say they had killed Teresa, so she tried to change the subject. During the incident in the tower, the third prince of Manii, Richard, had told them that Teresa used to belong to the royal family. If Celestina was her older sister, that would have meant she was royalty as well.
“I am just a simple concierge.”
“Can simple concierges make barriers out of thread?!” The infected that had climbed the outer walls of the hotel and made it back to the rooftop were getting caught in her barrier of thread, being immobilized midair.
“I believe such skills are ordinary for a concierge.”
“Concierges in this world are on a whole other level...” As Tomochika muttered in disbelief, Sion appeared beside them.
“Sorry for the wait.”
“How did it go?”
“First, let me give you these. I was able to obtain four stones.” At Yogiri’s question, Sion immediately pulled four round, transparent stones out of nowhere. They were the Philosopher’s Stones belonging to Yoshifumi, Alice, Gorouzaburou, and Akemi. Putting all of them together, they now had seven. Taking the stones, Yogiri put them in his backpack.
“Isn’t that way too many to start with?!” Tomochika exclaimed.
“All that remain are the ones in the possession of the Sages Van and Shirou. Van has put the Philosopher’s Stones he possesses up as a reward for clearing Cavern Quest. Shirou is currently working with Van as the Submaster for the Cavern Quest game as well, so if you wish to obtain any more, I suspect heading underground is our only option.”
“I guess we don’t really have a choice,” Yogiri spoke slowly. Their classmates had already teleported underground, so it wasn’t like the two of them could do much if they stayed on the surface themselves.
“What about you, Celestina?”
“Once you have all headed below ground, I believe I will follow you.”
“Okay. Let’s go, then.” Without any hesitation, Yogiri took hold of Tomochika’s hand.
“Wha?! Why?!” Tomochika immediately became flustered by the unexpected behavior.
“Teleporting is fine, but it’ll be a problem if we get split up. So I figured if we held hands, we might end up in the same place.”
“R-Really?!”
I feel he is just continuing his habit of making any excuse at all for physical contact...
“I cannot say where you will be teleported either, but judging by what I know of Van, I doubt you will be split up.”
But how much could they trust Van, someone they had never met? Just in case, Tomochika accepted the gesture.
“Okay, then, let’s count down and say it together. Three, two, one. Play Cavern Quest.”
The two of them declared their intent to play at the same time.
◇ ◇ ◇
After a bright flash, the scenery around them completely changed. Under their feet was dry earth, and around them were a number of wooden buildings. They were in some sort of settlement. Knowing nothing about Cavern Quest, there had been a possibility of them appearing someplace dangerous, but it seemed they had landed somewhere people could live.
Looking to his side, Yogiri saw he was still holding hands with Tomochika. He had no idea whether it had made any difference, but he was relieved that they hadn’t been split up.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. I don’t think there’s anything wrong.” Letting go of his hand, Tomochika checked herself over. Her belongings and clothes all seemed to be in order. Just in case, Yogiri checked the contents of his backpack as well, but there were still seven Philosopher’s Stones inside.
Looking up, they could see a glowing orb in the sky, beyond which was a stone ceiling. Though it wasn’t entirely clear at first glance, the game was called Cavern Quest, so perhaps it all took place in this underground cave.
“So, what now?”
“I guess we should check out the buildings in front of us first. Looks like there’s something written on the sign.” Yogiri tried to read it, but the handwriting was so bad that he couldn’t make it out. He had spent quite a bit of time studying the language of this world, but he still had more to do.
“Oh, hold on! Let me try reading it!”
“How?”
When we were teleported, she was asked if she would like the Battlesong system to be installed, and accepted. Of course, I made sure it would not affect her negatively, so you can rest easy.
The Battlesong client Sion had given their classmates allowed them to understand the language of this world. They were able to read, write, and speak the language of this world with no problem.
“If Mokomoko says it’s fine, then okay.”
“Uhh...looks like this is the Adventurer’s Guild. Wait, Adventurer’s Guild?!”
Once he had heard it from her, Yogiri could piece together the words himself as well.
“After all we’ve been through in this world, we’re getting this cliché now?!” Tomochika cried.
“I guess we should go inside and talk with them.” Yogiri was somewhat looking forward to the idea of stepping in and registering as an adventurer.
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