Vol 1 Chapter 4 (1/2)

Volume 1 Chapter 4 Part 1

After leaving the restaurant, s.h.i.+n turned his feet towards the library. The reason why he wasnt heading over to finish the Hilk gra.s.s request first was because there was no deadline. As such, there was no need to hurry. Or so he told himself. The real reason was because he was feeling insecure from having had to face so many happenings the past few days without sufficient prior research.

Its here, huh.

s.h.i.+n was currently at a place between the industrial district and the residential district. The lively voices of the merchants intermittently reached s.h.i.+ns ears. It was a lot quieter here than inside the industrial district. The building that towered before s.h.i.+n was a library managed by the kingdom. Its name was the Royal Magic Library. Although the word magic featured so prominently in its name, it also had a large number of books on other genres. According to Tsugumi, another piece of common knowledge here was to first visit this library if there was anything to look up. Though some books inside did require special permission to read, today s.h.i.+n planned on only reading the generally accessible ones, so there was no problem.

There wasnt anything characteristic inside the library; all he saw was the reception, tables, chairs, and a huge number of bookshelves. Just in case, s.h.i.+n grabbed the introduction pamphlet, which told him that while it was free to read inside the library, borrowing a book would cost a fee. There was a limited number of days that a book could be borrowed for, and a maximum of three books could be borrowed under a single persons name at any given time. The fee for borrowing a book would vary based on the kind of book it is and the number of days that it is borrowed for. Naturally, if a borrowed book is lost, a fine will be incurred. As a general rule, books that require special permission to read may not be borrowed, and may be accessed only by people of at least a certain status, such as higher ranked adventurers and military officers working under the royal family. Some books in the library were actually quite valuable, so there were guards posted as security and anti-theft skills had been installed throughout the library to discourage theft.

(Level VIII Wall and Barrier, huh. No wonder theyre so sure of themselves.)

Though s.h.i.+n was curious why the enchantments here were stronger than those used on the castle walls, he acknowledged in admiration that with this much security, the library was indeed very safe. After learning the basic rules, he had someone teach him the locations of the different kinds of books. Going around the library, he picked up several volumes before settling down into an empty seat. First up was history. He had decided beforehand to prioritize looking up information on the so-called Dusk of the Majesty, the event where all of the players had logged out of the death game at the same time. He spread open a book that gave a chronological account of the major events that had happened after the founding of the Berylricht Kingdom.

So it starts from recent events and goes backwards in time. Lets see, looks like this year is the 511st year since the founding of the country. Ive heard that it has also been roughly 500 years since the Dusk of the Majesty, so the two events took place around the same period?

Tilting his head at the coincidental timing, he continued going back through the years. The book told him about kings.h.i.+p successions, funerals, wars, large scale construction projects, and the formation of alliances. The entry at the very end was about the founding of the country.

There isnt even a shred of information on the Dusk of the Majesty.

The book only had information on the history of the Berylricht Kingdom. It made no mention of anything prior to that.

Well, its a chronological account of the kingdom. Maybe another book will talk about it.

He pulled himself together and opened another history book. However, this book also only talked about the history of the kingdom, and did not give any details about the Dusk of the Majesty. After that, he consulted several other history books, but they were all the same. The only mention that he found said,

The world was changed on that day is all I can find ......

The description did briefly mention that kings had died, countries had disappeared, and that the world had changed, but there was nothing at all about what happened directly afterwards. From the brief mentions that he caught, he inferred that for a while after the Dusk of the Majesty, the world had been thrown into turmoil, but that was all he got. There were also no details on exactly what the Dusk of the Majesty was. The players logging out, which was effectively a ma.s.s disappearance, and the chaotic history afterwards might have been hard topics to write about, but it was almost suspicious how few references there were.

Starting to despair of finding any proper information, s.h.i.+n picked a book at random from the mountain that he had brought back. It turned out to be a book on the different races. It was brief, but succinctly described each races characteristics and current state.

Human The most populous race, and has the most countries. Theyve built kingdoms, and the t.i.tle they give their leaders is King.

Dragnil Has especially high strength and vitality and are long-lived. Able to take on human form. Theyve built empires, and the t.i.tle they give their leaders is Dragon King.

Beast The second most populous race. They are keen and nimble, and are separated into different tribes, each with its own characteristics. Many tribes have gotten together to form unions, and the t.i.tle of those who lead unions is Beast King.

Lord Has a tendency to rely on abilities. Does not possess any prominent strengths, but are generally strong all around. Theyve built imperial empires, and the t.i.tle they give their leaders is Demon King.

Dwarf They are very dexterous and good at making equipment and tools. Have been dispersed into different countries and belong to craftsmen unions. Has a high tendency to share their technology. The t.i.tle they give their best craftsman is Cave King.

Pixie The race with the longest lifespan. Very proficient with the use of magic. Has made a separate world called the Fairy Village and makes a distinction between those who live inside that world and those who live outside. The t.i.tle they give their leader is Fairy King.

Elf Second longest lifespan after pixies. Has strong magical affinity and high danger perception. They live in the forest alongside nature. A lot of their younger ones choose to leave their home village and explore outside. Their villages are called gardens, and the t.i.tle they give their leaders is Forest King.

(T/N: The dragnils countries are called , which is a term most often used to refer to the j.a.panese empire. The lords countries are called , which zKanji translates as empire, imperial. Thus I will call the former empire and the latter imperial empire. The beasts unions are unions between tribes, while what the dwarves have is more like craftsmen guilds. However, the Adventurers Guild already features prominently in this series, so I will call the former unions and the latter craftsmen unions.)

Most of this matched with what s.h.i.+n already knew. The fact that the top dwarf craftsman was called Cave King gave him a momentary sense of discomfort, but it abated when he remembered the setting that dwarves lived in caves. There might be elves or pixies who still remembered the Dusk of the Majesty, so he took special care to memorize the information on them.

Alright, next.

Having decided to look up as much as time would allow, he cracked open another book.

While s.h.i.+n was doing research in the library, Balkus and Els were in a meeting with the other executive staff inside a room in the Adventurers Guild. Of course, the discussion topic was the Skull Face. They were still waiting on the results of the jewel a.n.a.lysis, but because the person who had reported it was a letter of introduction holder, they were taking a believe him until proven wrong stance. As such, the only people at the meeting were only those who happened to be free, and there wasnt much of a sense of urgency. Balkus and Els had also vouched for s.h.i.+ns character, so everyone was working off of the a.s.sumption that the Skull Face was indeed already dead. One might say that they are placing their trust too easily in the person called s.h.i.+n, but never before had a letter holder turned out to be a bad person, so there was a very high credibility behind the honor.

Well then, lets begin this extraordinary meeting.

In response to his voice, everyone inside the meeting room gave their attention to Balkus.

I think youve already heard this before, but the Jack cla.s.s Skull Face inside the Northern Forest has already been defeated. The one who did it had only retrieved the jewel, and we are currently examining it. Did that person not also retrieve the sword and armor that had belonged to the Jack cla.s.s?

Almost everyone expressed puzzlement at Balkuss matter-of-fact announcement. The first person who had spoken up was Aldi, who was currently dispatched to the guild from the kingdom as the person of contact. Another person who had disbelief on his face and was nodding in agreement Aldi was the one currently in charge of the jewel a.n.a.lysis, a wizard named Arad Royl. Only the submaster, Kirie Ein, and Els, who knew the full details of the situation, did not react.

According to the person, the sword and armor were c.r.a.ppy. c.r.a.ppy ...... you said? He must be a personage with quite some means to be able to say something like that.

Aldi looked very unconvinced. Next to him, Arad was smoothing down his own hair while laughing like ho ho ho. Arads hair and mustache may be conspicuously white due to his old age, but his bulging back muscles made him look quite a bit younger. With his cheerful laugh, the overall image that he gave off was that of a good-natured old man..

The majority of those guys who hold these letters of introduction are lacking in common sense to some degree or another. You lose if you let it get to you, young one. Is that how it is? Wait a minute, wait a minute. Im not saying this just out of professional courtesy, but were not that bad! Theres absolutely zero persuasive power when youre the one saying that, Guildmaster.

Though Arad was of the opinion to not place too much weight on so-called common sense, Aldi was still dissatisfied. Balkus had cut into the conversation, but was immediately shot down by Els.

Well, about that jewel. We still dont know the full details, but we have at least somehow managed to confirm that the level was indeed as claimed. As I thought. With this, I believe we have sufficient proof. What we should now worry about is whether there are anymore similar monsters still roaming around.

Having joked around until even the small amount of tension that had been in the air was dispersed, Arad soberly delivered his report. He had been a.s.signed to examine the jewel because he was by far the most apt person for it from within the guild. With his input, it was now confirmed that a King cla.s.s Skull Face had indeed appeared.

I have already deployed staff specialized in on-scene investigation to the area. We will get a detailed report by tomorrow.

Kirie added to the conversation in a calm voice. She had black hair held back with a barrette and brown almond eyes that peeked out from behind her gla.s.ses. If there wasnt a sword hanging at her waist, her intelligent face would make one mistake her as Balkuss secretary.

Kirie-jou is as on top of things as ever. So much so that I wish our guildmaster would learn a thing or two from her. Our submaster is just that good, Roy-jii. I also believe that Balkus-sama should spend more effort on the managerial side. Ughhh. Not a shred of mercy, eh?

Kirie followed up Balkuss light jest with a sharp comment. It wasnt that Balkus was particularly bad at office work; it was Kirie who had particularly high standards.

............ Fumu, is this going differently than how youd imagined it? No, I mean, well, I did expect there to be more of a sense of urgency.

Arad spoke out to Aldi, who looked taken back at the previous dialogue between the guilds executive staff. Having a more serious and reserved personality, Aldi was currently a bit bewildered.

Dont worry about it, this is how it always goes. Besides, this time was more of a liaison meeting instead of a proper meeting. When things get really serious, we would also gather the supervisor of each of the districts and all available S rank adventurers. So we really do think that there was only a single Skull Face? Indeed. To be frank, we wouldnt be able to handle it if several such monsters came out. But of course, there is also a proper reason for why we think there is only one.

The very fact that only five people had gathered for this meeting was already a large indicator that they were not in a state of emergency, but Aldi still had doubts that the situation was being taken too lightly. Arad was now voicing Aldis thoughts as if he had read Aldis mind.

Its the protective barrier, isnt it. Correct. Are you aware of exactly what it is? Its a barrier that wards off monsters. It doesnt let monsters from the outside to even get close. Exactly. It was set up by the king who founded the kingdom. Consequently, it is extremely improbable for several strong monsters to appear at the same time. The way the barrier works is by preventing large concentrations of magical power from building up. And I believe you already know at least a little bit of how vigilant and alert we still are. The technique formulas cast at the birth of Berylricht Kingdom were still fully functional. Therefore, though powerful monsters have indeed appeared every so often, there has yet to be a case of several of them appearing together. However, both the kingdom and the guild are by no means simply sitting back and relying on the barriers to do everything. At the news of the Skull Face, the Knights Order had made the necessary preparations to become ready to sortie at any time, and the guild had immediately issued the subjugation request, such that even now they still had the adventurers on standby. Currently, though, all efforts were being directed towards information gathering.

If there are still any Skull Faces around, they would become much more active at night. Aldi-kun, please relay to the Knights Order to further increase their alertness just in case. Duly noted.

At the lull in the conversation between the two of them, Balkus interjected. There wasnt even a trace left of his fl.u.s.tered self from earlier. Based on the reactions from Arad, Kirie, and Els, Aldi inferred that this was the norm.

This is all I have for now. Does anyone else have any comments or information to share? If not, then this meeting will be adjourned.

The main agenda for this meeting was the information on the Skull Face, so with this conversation drawing to a close, Balkus, Kirie, Arad, and Els thought that the meeting was over. However, Aldi rose a hand, signaling that he had something to say, so Balkus nodded and gave him the floor.

We have received information that the weapon used by the Skull Face this time was different from normal. I would like to hear as much as you can divulge on the person who subjugated the monster and what has been learned so far in regards to the Skull Faces equipment. Fumu, we have no intention on hiding details about the equipment, but we cannot reveal anything about the subjugator, as that person wishes to remain anonymous. With this in mind, please feel free to ask anything you want. We are also curious why your side is so interested in the subjugator. May we ask the reason behind it? I can tell you, but I will have to change the topic of the conversation a bit. I believe everyone already knows that a sword had flown into the royal castle, yes?

Everyone nodded in confirmation. If it wasnt for the commotion around the Skull Face, that incident would have been the one on everyones lips by now.

Unlike normal Skull Faces, reports say that the one this time had been wielding a greatsword. On the same day that the sword flew into the royal castle, this Skull Face was also subjugated. There are those who believe that the two events are connected.

At those words, a certain person came into the minds of all those on the guilds side.

May we ask what kind of sword it was? As long as you agree to abide by the condition that you will not disclose this to anyone else.

Everyone present nodded in acceptance of the condition. All of them were well aware of how valuable information could be.

The blade body is 2 mels long, is made of an alloy of demon steel and mithril, and is imbued with an unbreaking enchantment. It is as good as our kingdoms treasured sword. In some aspects, it could even be said to be better than our treasured sword. ?!

At this revelation, none of them could hide their shock. Though Berylricht Kingdoms treasured sword was not exactly high-end, it was still Legend grade. As there were only very few people alive who could forge a weapon equal to it, a sword that was even more powerful appearing would be a huge deal. And to think that such a weapon had been in the hands of a Skull Face.

The reason why s.h.i.+n did not usea.n.a.lyzeon the sword was both because he had been too engrossed during the fight and because he had complete confidence that he could make a perfect replica by himself if he really wanted to. Consequently, he was still under the impression that the sword was at best Rare or Unique grade.

If what the Skull Face had been using was indeed that sword, the subjugator would have to be someone who was able to defeat something with an extremely high level that was wielding a weapon on par with our kingdoms treasured sword. It would be impossible to tell us to simply overlook him. Besides, the situation has become somewhat troubling ...... Troubling?

Aldi was trying his best to answer earnestly and honestly, but it was a fact that no one knew enough about the greatsword to provide sufficient confirmation. For the residents of this world, it was almost common sense that it was impossible for an undead to hold a holy attribute weapon. The guild executives could see why Aldis side was so interested in the subjugator. However, Aldi still seemed undecided about sharing the second half of what he had wanted to say, so Balkus pressed him for it.

Well, I believe that an official notification would soon be sent to Balkus-donos side anyways, and it might even be announced to the general public eventually. So I would ask that the following be kept secret only until then. Fumu, understood. Would you like to have the others step out of the room first? I have received permission to share this, so as long as everyone abides by the same condition, then they may stay. As I said, there is a chance that it would become general knowledge anyways.

Balkus and the rest were doubtful when Aldi said that it would be announced, but they all nodded in acquiescence for the time being.

The truth is ......

What Aldi said next threw all of them into a state of great perplexity. Volume 1 Chapter 4 Part 2

”Even in a parallel world, I can still count on yakitori to taste good.

(T/N: Yakitori is chicken pieces grilled on a skewer.)

s.h.i.+n had spent several hours doing research in the library. As was the fate of all public facilities, some time before sunset, when the sun was still visible in the sky, the library announced that it would be closing. According to his ingame menu, it was 4:50pm. Though he didnt know if his clock was properly synced to the worlds actual time, he saw that even the city hall and postal office were closing at the same time, so there was nothing that he could do. Rather, he was more surprised at how they all closed at pretty much the same time. When he decided to return to the southern district for the time being to check out the street stalls, his stomach growled. It was still too early for dinner, but he stumbled upon a yakitori stall that was doing really well with the grilling, so he bought some. However, this yakitori was very different from what is normally sold in j.a.pan; it was a 30 cemel long skewer with hearty portions of chicken on it.

Oh dear, I might have bought a little too much.

With a wry smile, he pulled out a fresh skewer from the bag. He had bought four skewers. For a pre-dinner snack, the quant.i.ty was definitely a bit too much. Eating while walking around wouldnt be very relaxing, so he sat down on the rim of a fountain in the middle of a large square that had become a resting area for the local residents. He continued stuffing his face with meat while watching the people going by. There were a lot of adventurers around, which s.h.i.+n guessed was because the news about the Skull Face had been publicized. Similarly, there were also more stalls selling goods aimed at adventurers than he had ever seen before. Well, s.h.i.+n had only been here a few days, so he only vaguely felt those differences. Though the news that the Skull Face was defeated had also been publicized, it appears that the adventurers were still on high alert.

............

While munching on his yakitori and gazing at the bustle of the streets, he mentally organized the information that he had learned from the library. At this point, there were three points worthy of special mention.

The first point was that there was absolutely no information on the Dusk of the Majesty. There was also the possibility that all such information had been locked away into those books that require special permission to read. Either way, there was nothing that s.h.i.+n could do about it this moment in time, so he decided to set it aside for now. He resolved to find the communities where long-lived species like elves and dragnils lived and directly ask the residents there. He was not desperate enough to want to sneak into the library to read those books.

The second point was the world that s.h.i.+n was currently in. Originally, the world of THE NEW GATE had been composed of four continents, respectively aimed at low-leveled players, mid-leveled players, high-leveled players, and players bored of the normal fields. Naturally, s.h.i.+n had cleared and revealed almost every part of the entire world. However, it would not be an exaggeration to say that the map was currently pretty much dead. The reason was extremely simple: the cataclysms that had occurred after the Dusk of the Majesty had completely altered the entire worlds geography. The continents had moved and land had risen from the sea, all such that there was now a total of five continents and lots of small island countries. The book where he read this from did actually have a map, but calling it rough would have been an understatement. This could also have been one of the reasons for the lack of doc.u.mentation on the Dusk of the Majesty. Incidentally, the continent that s.h.i.+n was currently on is called the Eltnia Continent.

The third point was the metropoles of this time that had once been player bases. Every continent used to have two or three metropoles where players had been based in. Each metropolis had a different characteristic, such as being famous for its equipment or its commerce, and each metropolis also had a unique race and job demographic. The temples where players resurrected at were located only in those metropoles, and was thus a big reason why people gathered at those cities. Now, though, those metropoles are calledHoly Landsand are re-conquest targets. The metropoles themselves had remained relatively untouched by the cataclysms, but they had become demonic cities rampant with high level monsters after the Dusk of the Majesty. Many scouting parties had been dispatched to theseHoly Landswhere even the weakest monster was over level 500, but no one has ever made it back out alive. For some reason, the high level monsters inside theHoly Landsnever come out. The magical power overflowing from theseHoly Landshad also caused the surrounding land and vegetation to mutate, which led to an enormous number of lower level monsters sp.a.w.ning.

Well then, what should I do?

s.h.i.+n contemplated his plan of action while tapping his chin. Since the geography was now completely different from the game, his memories would not be of much help. The places where long-lived species lived, like the elven gardens or the pixies Fairy Village, could very well be in a completely different place than where he remembered. It appears that he would have a tough battle ahead if he was to continue seeking more information.

Fu,mu............ Nn?

Just as he was thinking of asking Tiera or Els, s.h.i.+n felt someones gaze on himself and looked up. Turning his face towards the direction where he had felt the gaze from, he saw a little girl with nekomimi between 6 to 10 years old staring at him from about 2 mels away.

(T/N: Nekomimi is cat ears. Due to it being such a famous characteristic, I will leave it as is.)

............ ............ ............ *slurp* Really? ............

An amendment is in order. A little girl with nekomimi between 6 to 10 years old was staring at the skewer that s.h.i.+n was holding. She somehow looked like she wanted something very much.

............ Errrr ...... ............ Umm ...... ............ ............ Wanna eat one?

s.h.i.+n gave in under the little girls intense stare. Under the fixed gaze of such an innocent-looking girl (a debatable characteristic in light of her blatant materialistic desire), strangely enough it was s.h.i.+n who started feeling like he had done something bad. In the first place, he had been thinking that he had bought too much anyways, so while holding the skewer that he had been eating with his teeth, he took out a new one from inside the bag and held it out to the girl. s.h.i.+n had intended to ask Wanna eat one?, but because he was biting down on a skewer, it came out slightly distorted. It wasnt clear whether it was because she understood what s.h.i.+n had said, or because she understood the gesture of having meat held out to her, but she trotted over with small steps and s.n.a.t.c.hed the skewer with such force that he almost heard a whoosh sound. She then sat next to him and started stuffing her face with the yakitori. At the first bite, her nekomimi stood up so suddenly that s.h.i.+n started a little.

Mugumugu. Hamuhamu.

For a while, the meat was eaten in silence. When s.h.i.+n stole a glance at her, he saw her trying her best biting down on the meat with her little mouth. Somehow, the scene gave him a very heartwarming feeling. But separately, words like waif and beggar came into his mind. However, those words were immediately rejected, as her appearance was too well-groomed for that. Though there were mends on her clothes here and there, she was wearing proper clothing, and she did not look emaciated. Neither did it seem like she was aiming for his wallet. s.h.i.+n judged that this girl did at least have a home to return to and people to look after her.

Hafu~,gochisousama des.h.i.+ta. Nn, youre welcome.

(T/N: Its manners to saygochisousamaafter a meal.Itadakimasuis for before the meal.)

After completely cleaning off the skewer, the little girl lowered her head to s.h.i.+n.

Onii-chan, good person. Thank you for that.

s.h.i.+n looked at the little girl with a small laugh. Her nekomimi was an obvious indicator that she belonged to the beast race. More specifically, her yellow hair that appeared dyed with brown at the tips told s.h.i.+n that she belonged to the tiger sub-race. According to Tsugumi, a third of Berylricht Kingdoms population were beasts, so it wasnt that unusual for this girl to be one too.

Me, Millie. Onii-chan is? Oh, name? I am s.h.i.+n, just s.h.i.+n. Same as Millie. Same? Millie too, just Millie. Ohh, youre right, we are the same.

s.h.i.+n was just using his player name, so he had no last name. Because no one had ever made an issue of it, he had left it as is, but he had given due consideration to whether it was a problem or not. At that time, he had decided to put off the issue, as it was not urgent. Now, though, seeing the delighted Millie chanting Were the same, were the same at his side, he lost all interest in the matter.

Well then, since weve finished all the meat, Im going to head off soon. What are you going to do, Millie? If youre going home, then I can escort you.

Im fine. Pick up, already came. Nn? By pick up, you dont mean ......

Millie pointed with her finger. s.h.i.+n could not hide his surprise at the silhouette that was walking towards them from that direction. Noticing that Millie was together with s.h.i.+n, that person also started walking faster towards the two of them.

Ou, we meet again, s.h.i.+n. Ever since lunch, eh, Wilhelm.