Website Update
Introducing a new feature: You can cycle furigana view mode (a.k.a. ruby in HTML) by clicking the ABC button. Currently, only this series that can utilize this feature (although might not working properly for some older chapters).
There are 4 view modes:
ABCor default, like originally written in the raws;ABC, only shows the main text;___, only shows the furigana part (as main text) and probably the author's intention; andINL, shows both texts inline in format ABC (XYZ).
*I don't know if there's a better symbol though.
Author's Note
My goal with Orihara was to create a character that would be disliked by the majority, but that some people would also like.
The biggest threat is not the level of performance breakdown, but the fact that they "understand the nature of Jin."
Maybe he won't appear until near the end of the story? Maybe he won't appear even in the final episode. There are characters who leave the main scenario and don't appear until the end of the story. Secret boss?
As we ran, we listened to reports from Sakura, Mio, and Sera. Dora was also participating in the telepathic communication, but I didn't expect any reports.
(We've secured the survival of all the royal family. Right now, Gilbert and the other dragon knights are cleaning up after Eldia.) (Mio?)
(I see. If there's no problem, then that's fine.) (Jin)
Mio reported to us about Eldia's condition after we left. She said that even without us there would have been no problem as the war was effectively over.
All of the surviving members of the royal family (who were minors) had been safely secured and were currently being held together in a prison in Eldia. A decision would come from Kastal's side, from Sakuya, at a later date. And if I felt so inclined, I should be able to get involved in that decision.
It seemed that Mio and the others were helping out, but most of the practical work was handled by the knights who came from Kastal. It seemed the knights didn't think we would be of any use in cleaning up after the war either.
At the meeting before the invasion of Eldia, Sakuya had declared that I was not an expert on post-war settlement. In other words, Sakuya must have anticipated this and sent someone with experience in post-war settlement. If not, I'll spank Sakuya on the butt (hard).
I had no intention of doing anything I couldn't do. I had a policy of leaving things I couldn't do to the professionals, so I wouldn't have been of any use in that world. In that sense, I guess you could say that being transported to this world was good timing. Of course, I wouldn't be thanking Orihara or anything—
(Onii-chan, have you thought about doing something horrible to me? It sent chills down my spine... I was so scared I almost peed my pants...) (Sakuya)
(No, nothing in particular.) (Jin)
A little later, Sakuya interrupted the telepathic conversation, but only replied briefly before hanging up.
(? Why Sakuya-chan...? Oh well. Anyway, the town is in a terrible state, so we called the maids in and are in the middle of a major cleaning.) (Mio)
(There are a lot of corpses due to the demon invasion...) (Sakura)
Mio said it simply, but Sakura seemed to be in a heavy mood. The streets of the Eldia royal capital was in a terrible state, and it must have been tough for Sakura, who had a low tolerance for gore. But, does it feel she's better than before?
Or rather, are the maids allowed to go to Eldia? In terms of transportation and justification...
(Well, even if the demons hadn't come, we would have still invaded, so the damage would have been the same. Of course, we didn't intend to cause so much damage without thinking.) (Jin)
(That should be stated categorically, not just tentatively, right? Master) (Sera)
(Even if it was an ordinary citizen, I think I would kill them if they threw a stone at me.) (Jin)
Sera asked timidly, but there was no way to fix it. When I was dealing with Eldia, it's inevitable that my boiling point would be lower.
(In that case, I will kill them. I won't bother you, Jin-sama.) (Maria)
(……Master, it's a good thing that you aren't still here. It seems that the Kastal dragon knights were even hit with stones…) (Mio)
Mio's voice sounded strained in response to the slightly disturbing remarks made by Maria and me. Still, it seemed like the Eldia folks didn't know where they stood.
(Mio, tell Gilbert to enslave those who tried to harm the dragon knights, including the one who threw the stone.) (Jin)
(Huh? What do you mean?) (Mio)
It seemed like Mio didn't quite understand what I was saying.
(Didn't I tell you? I'll be involved in the cleanup after the Eldia war. At this point, there's no need to be shy around someone who's already been harmed. Besides, if you knew what the fate of those who harmed Kastal would be, you'd be able to understand your current situation a little better, right?) (Jin)
(Master, you're merciless...) (Mio)
(If we go easy on the Eldia guys, we're bound to end up paying the price. It's best to be strict. I don't even mind immediate execution.) (Jin)
If someone from the defeated country threw a stone at someone from the victorious country, it wouldn't be surprising if they were executed.
(Master, you really hate Eldia so much, aren't you?) (Mio)
(Yeah, of course.) (Jin)
I won't show any mercy to Eldia, even in its current battered state. Because kicking a corpse is its traditional culture.
As we were receiving several other reports, Mio asked as if she had just remembered something.
(Oh, that's right. Master, do we really have to go to that world? It's a bit scary, but if we use the same method as Maria-chan, we can go there, right?) (Mio)
(Oh, you don't have to come here. In fact, I think it's better if you don't come.) (Jin)
(Jin-kun...) (Sakura)
(Dora also[1]...?) (Dora)
Sakura and Dora muttered in sad voices.
(I don't mean to get in the way, but I want to reduce the danger as much as possible. In this world, even I don't know what's going to happen. ...I want to ask you, Sakura, if a crisis were to suddenly occur, are you confident that you would be able to immediately take appropriate action?) (Jin)
(I'm not very confident...) (Sakura)
(Dora too…) (Dora)
It's a bad idea to just rush in a large group to a place where you don't know what will happen.
I was a bit worried about leaving the unathletic Sakura and the young Dora to deal with the last-minute situation. In terms of power balance, I would like to leave Sera on the other side. There was no point in bringing Mio because there's no specialty dish (merciless).
I thought it would be best to travel with only Maria, who I could trust with taking care of my personal needs and who was highly adaptable. I would rather have everyone stay in that world. If all of my subordinates, who were my greatest assets, were to be here, I might not be able to respond immediately if something were to happen. When I told everyone about my idea, Sakura and Dora seemed to agree.
(I understand... I'll be lonely, but I'll wait here...) (Sakura)
(Dora is also waiting for Master) (Dora)
(Yeah, I'll leave things over there to you.) (Jin)
(Hmm, I feel like I'm being treated pretty badly, though, but I guess it's normal so I'll let it slide. Oh, I'll put the food in [Infinite Storage], so don't forget to eat it every meal, okay? Even in the other world, Mio-chan is in charge of cooking for Master, right?) (Mio)
(Oh, please prepare the food. I don't know if we'll have anything to eat here.) (Jin)
So far, no food had been found. It might have been bad if it wasn't for [Infinite Storage].
(I'll protect over here, so Maria-san, please look after Master. Ah, but I hope you won't do anything too reckless.) (Sera)
(Please leave Jin-sama to me. It's not reckless... I'll try my best.) (Maria)
Sera was worried about Maria. Certainly, if Maria was the only one by my side, she would have to be constantly on her guard. From time to time, I would need to retrieve the device (Vega) and let Maria rest.
A while after the telepathic conversation with Sakura and the others finished, I received a message from Alta.
[Vega has found a hostile entity. Since Vega's combat capabilities are likely to be insufficient, it has been left alone. It appears to be destroying the surrounding buildings, and the buildings outside the area where the entity was found are almost completely destroyed.] (Alta)
Hmm, it seems this is what Orihara was talking about "monster-like creatuers." If Vega, who has fairly high stats, doesn't seem to be able to win, it must be a pretty formidable opponent. I guess I'll defeat them at the same time.
And so, we drove for several hours—it was quite far. Finally, a "monster-like creature" appeared on the map (narrowly).
Name : Dvorak
Species : One-eyed Giant
Affiliation: Hollow Beast
Ranks:
- Stamina A
- Attack S
- Defense A
- Agility D
- Technology F
Characteristics:
- [Strong Arm] [Astigmatism]
When I checked my status, a completely different status screen was displayed. ....Pperhaps, the systems are different?
[Yes. It is set and displayed in a different way than before.] (Alta)
There are a lot of things I'm curious about. Can you give me a rough explanation?
[Yes. First of all, I will skip over the "individual name" and "species name". The Hollow Beast affiliation seems to be a general term for beings that are facilitating the collapse of this world.] (Alta)
Helping the collapse of this world? You mean the destruction of the structures you mentioned earlier?
[Yes. It seems that the more things that are destroyed, the faster the collapse of this world will proceed. The Hollow Beasts are destroying structures, accelerating the collapse of this world.] (Alta)
That's troublesome. It would be best to kill them as soon as we find them. Even so, since it's called an "affiliation", it's unlikely that there's only one type of "Hollow Beast". In terms of their status, it's more like a "title".
[I have a similar guess. I will continue my explanation. "Rank" corresponds to the status of the other world, but it is not a numerical system, it is only a classification. SSS is the highest, followed by SS, S, A, B, and so on. The lowest is H.] (Alta)
In a way, it's a more game-like way of displaying things. If you think about it, the number of items is less than the other person's status. What would happen if I were to steal this with [Power of Life and Death]? Or rather, can I steal it?
[No. It is not possible for [Power of Life and Death] to steal abilities.] (Alta)
But I remember you explained earlier that you had enabled all of the [Power of Life and Death] functions, right?
[Yes. If you have a status from the other world, you can steal it in this world. However, if you only have a status from this world, you cannot steal that status.] (Alta)
It's just a bit of a hassle. Hmm? Looking closely, there's no level section. I guess skills fall under "traits"...
[There is no concept of levels or experience points, and these creatures do not get stronger or weaker. Therefore, they cannot be taken away. And although "Characteristics" are indeed similar to skills, they do not have the same influence as skills. Please think of them as merely displaying strengths and weaknesses. Of course, they cannot be taken away because they do not Transform.] (Alta)
Boring. That was the first emotion I felt when I heard Alta's explanation.
It's not like I couldn't take away their status. However, that way was just boring.
It doesn't get stronger or weaker. It doesn't grow or deteriorate. They continue to destroy structures to promote the collapse of this world. Always, unchanging, repeatedly, endlessly... Such things are not living things. I won't let them be called living things. Ah, so that's why it's called a Hollow Beast. A beast that hollow... a beast that isn't a living thing... When I think about it like that, it makes sense. After all, I don't like the way it is...
As I was thinking about this, the Hollow Beast in question came into view. As its name, One-eyed Giant, suggested, it was a giant demon with one eye. I had been having a lot of luck with demons lately. One-eyed Giant was a giant about 17 meters tall with green skin. It carried a huge club in its hand and swung it at the surrounding buildings.
"GOOOOOOOOOOO…" (Cyclops)
It was emitting a deep bass sound that sounded more like a growl than a shout and pounding on the building. Just as Alta had said, the destruction was heading in the direction we were heading. Simply put, it seemed as if destructive activity was being carried out from the edge of a collapsing world towards its center.
"GOOOO......, GOO…?" (Cyclops)
The One-eyed Giant suddenly stopped moving and focused on us as we moved (this is a metaphor, as it only has one eye).
"GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" (Cyclops)
In the next moment, the One-eyed Giant was charging towards us. I see, so there's no room for argument. This is perfect since I was planning to defeat him too. Now, let's make this my first battle in this world (the battle with Orihara is treated separately).
"GOOOOOOOOOO!!!" (Cyclops)
The One-eyed Giant, charging forward while shouting, raised the club it was holding. Hmm?
"Jin-sama..." (Maria)
Apparently, Maria had sensed the same thing.
—DOGOOOOOOO!!!—
We ignored the approaching club and stopped where we were. In the next moment, the club was swung down, creating a small crater in the ground. It was about 10 meters away from us— No matter how I thought about it, the club was not on a trajectory that would hit us, and I couldn't help but tilt my head. What on earth happened to cause such a clear miss at this distance? Intimidation?
[It's [Astigmatism]. It seems that it misjudged the distance. Since it is a monocular, it may be difficult to judge the distance.] (Alta)
……………………Seriously? The shocking truth: the Cyclops' attacks miss due to his astigmatism! Are you stupid? What do you mean, "Hollow Beast..."? You have a very human weakness. Be more hollow!
Certainly, humans use their two eyes to judge the distance of objects. I had often heard that if you lose an eye, you lose your sense of distance. And if you add astigmatism to that, it's going to be difficult to land an accurate attack. I understand the reasoning. I understand the reasoning, but what is this feeling of disappointment...?
"For now, let's defeat it..." (Jin)
"Jin-sama, should I fight?" (Maria)
Maria asked, but I shook my head.
"Well, this is my first battle since coming to this world, so let me do it." (Jin)
"I understand. Please be careful. ...your first battle?" (Maria)
Ignoring Maria, who tilted her head, I faced the Cyclops, a monocular giant with astigmatism.
It's extremely disappointing, but fighting is fighting, and it has to be taken seriously. Yeah, I'm really disappointed but I'll try my best.
"GOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" (Cyclops)
The One-eyed Giant raised its club again, but once again its attack was off focus. There was no need to dodge the attack, and I ignored it as it missed and I approached the Cyclops.
"Haa!" (Jin)
I gave a shove and swung my fist at the One-eyed Giant.
"Take that!!!" (Jin)
—Crack!—
With that sound, my fist slammed into the Cyclops. That huge, single eye—
"GOOOOO!? GOOOOOOON!!?? GOOOOOOOOOOON!!!???" (Cyclops)
It must have hurt. The One-eyed Giant collapsed to the ground and writhes about, clutching its eye.
I had been watching him for a while, but it showed no signs of recovery. It continued to writhe around forever.
[It seems that "no change" also means "no recovery." It also seems that it takes a long time to recover from injuries and pain.] (Alta)
I heard that was a good thing. In other words, once you land a significant hit, you can continue the fight under favorable conditions.
So, I hit the dying One-eyed Giant a few more times. With that, the Cyclops stopped moving. Then, it turned into particles of light and disappeared. It's a bit like the Guardian of the Labyrinth. When I defeated it, it disappeared immediately, but it was strong... Strong?
Oh, just to let you know, I restored my stats to normal after the battle with Orihara. I think that stat was too excessive for everyday use.
"Good work, Jin-sama." (Maria)
"Well, I'm not tired at all." (Jin)
Maria congratulated me, but I really was not tired at all. Or rather, I was not doing anything that would tire me out.
[Master, please check your status.] (Alta)
Huh? What's wrong? ...Level 232?!
My level suddenly increased drastically. I couldn't take away its abilities, but I still got experience points. Also, it seemed like I had gained a lot of experience considering my strength.
"It seems like you've got a lot of experience." (Maria)
"I've leveled up too. It's amazing how much you can level up against an opponent of that caliber. I think you probably have more experience than the Ancestor Divine Dragon or the Oni God." (Jin)
If we look at experience points alone, that means it was above level 200 or 300 monsters. For me, who could basically steal status, leveling up didn't seem all that appealing. However, when experience points were gained efficiently, it was a different story. It was in the nature of gamers to want to earn as much experience points as possible.
(M-Master! My level just suddenly went up, what did you do?) (Mio)
A telepathic message came in from Mio. Strangely enough, it seemed like I was able to share experience points with Mio and the others in the other world.
[I did my best.] (Alta)
This was the result of Alta's efforts.
(I just defeated one monster from this world. It seems like it's pretty efficient at giving me experience points.) (Jin)
(Oh no, I want to go...) (Mio)
Fellow gamer Mio seemed to find this world quite appealing.
(I understand how you feel, but I just told you not to come. I'll bring you back when we can find a way to return and are ready to use.) (Jin)
(That's a bit of a high hurdle... Oh well, I guess that can't be helped. Well, I'll just enjoy power leveling. Good luck, Master) (Mio)
Mio said it in a teasing manner, but when I heard something like that, I had no choice but to get serious.
(Maybe I should max it out while I'm here...) (Jin)
(Really…?) (Mio)
Seriously level up... should I?
...I couldn't do it. In fact, I haven't encountered a single Hollow Beast since then.
"...If you think about it carefully, it makes sense. The purpose of Hollow Beasts is to destroy buildings, so there's no way they would be in a place that's already been completely destroyed. *sigh*..." (Jin)
I sighed as I ran over the rubble of the destroyed building.
The Hollow Beast was heading towards the center of the world, destroying buildings as it went. In other words, since we were moving in the opposite direction, we could only meet once with the Hollow Beast. Of course, if we took a detour, we might be able to meet other Hollow Beast, but if we were heading straight to the end of the world, then there was no chance we would meet them.
"Once we've reached the edge of the world, let's take a little detour on our way to the center." (Jin)
"Yes, I understand." (Maria)
It seemed that the more Hollow Beasts we defeated, the longer the lifespan of this world would be. Let's defeat as many as we can, even if it means taking a bit of a detour.
"Anyway, let's have a meal now." (Jin)
"Yes. Mio-chan is providing the food in [Infinite Storage]." (Maria)
It was already night, but the surroundings were a completely grey and unaffected color. Since there was no change, it was hard to tell how much time had passed if we were not careful.
Maria found a table in an area with less rubble and took out Mio's food from [Infinite Storage]. I guessed she learned at Izumo Kingdom. Today's dinner was ramen. It was my favorite soy sauce ramen. It also came with a half serving of fried rice and gyoza dumplings. As expected of Mio. She knows it well.
"Delicious." (Jin)
"Yes, it's delicious, isn't it?" (Maria)
It was delicious, but perhaps because I had been eating with large groups a lot recently, it felt a little unsatisfying. Maybe I felt that way even more because Maria didn't talk much about unnecessary things.
As I was taking a breather after drinking up the ramen, down to the broth, I received another call from Alta.
[Master, a Hollow Beast is approaching.] (Alta)
Looking at the map, I saw that a Hollow Beast was indeed heading towards us. The map's effective range was narrowing, so we would likely make contact soon.
Name : Chopin
Species : Divine Wolf
Affiliation: Hollow Beast
Ranks:
- Stamina A
- Attack A
- Defense C
- Agility S
- Technology B
Characteristics:
- [Smell]
I see, so it noticed our presence because it has a good nose. Certainly, the area of the map had narrowed, so it wouldn't be strange if it had more detection capabilities than just a simple sense of smell— Of course, this was by other world standards.
Now that we had been caught, a fight here was inevitable. Originally, the plan was to defeat the Hollow Beast, so there was no problem. Maria and I put the ramen bowls, table, and other items away inside the [Infinite Storage], then took out our weapons and began preparing for battle.
...Then, the Divine Wolf that had been heading in our direction suddenly stopped. It stood there for a while, then turned around and trudged off in the direction it came from.
"What?" (Jin)
Unable to understand the actions of the Divine Wolf, I blurted out in surprise. Did it notice that we were preparing for battle and give up on fighting? ...That can't be the case. Hmm, maybe...
Suddenly an idea occurred to me, so I took out a ramen bowl from [Infinite Storage]. I had already drunk up all the soup in mine, so this was Maria's, who had some left over. Then, the Divine Wolf turned again and started running towards us.
"Maybe it's attracted to the smell of ramen?" (Jin)
"Eh? The Hollow Beast?" (Maria)
Maria exclaimed in surprise. To be honest, I was surprised too. But no matter how you look at it, it's running towards the smell of ramen...
After waiting for a while, the Divine Wolf appeared before us. It was a giant wolf, about 10 meters tall, covered in pale blue fur, befitting its name, Divine Wolf. Its presence could be compared to that of the Silver Lord Wolf we had fought previously.
"Grrrrr..." (Fenrir)
Those sharp eyes stared intently at me and never let go.
I tried lifting the ramen bowl I was holding up and to the upper right. The Divine Wolf's sharp eyes were directed to my upper right.
I handed the ramen bowl I was holding to Maria. The Divine Wolf's sharp eyes were directed at Maria.
This guy is totally after the ramen! You were lured here by the smell! That's why you're a Hollow Beast! You should be more hollow! Why do you have such a strong personality!
"Grrr! Roar!!!" (Fenrir)
With that said, the Divine Wolf leapt at Maria. No. It lunged at the ramen bowl.
"Hey!" (Maria)
Maria poured the remaining ramen soup over the Divine Wolf. Then the Divine Wolf opened its mouth wide to drink up the soup. The ramen soup was sucked into the Divine Wolf's mouth.
—Zzz!—
Similarly, Maria's [Sunlight Divine Sword - Solar Blaze] were also sucked into the Divine Wolf's mouth and pierced it. And so, with its mouth pierced, the Divine Wolf turned into particles of light and disappeared.
The Divine Wolf's presence was greater than that of the Silver Lord Wolf, but their ends were not that different. Both were pretty pathetic.
"It's finished, Jin-sama. ...It was much easier to defeat it than I thought." (Maria)
"I'm surprised too. I had heard that Hollow Beasts have such grandiose names and are beings that will contribute to the destruction of the world, so I thought they would be a bit more of a threat, but that's what I got. How can we be threatened by monsters that are just treated as a joke? Give me back what I said when I said 'Beasts that hollow...'! At least make them more hollow!" (Jin)
"Jin-sama, please calm down a bit..." (Maria)
Maria tried to calm me down, but my frustration remained.
"But I don't like the fact that I get so much experience points and feel like I've somehow gained something. If they're weak enemies, they should act weak and give experience points that match their abilities!" (Jin)
"I understand how you feel, but please calm down a bit." (Maria)
Thanks to Maria's desperate persuasion, I regained a little composure.
"I'm tired so I'm going to bed now. There were a lot of exciting events today." (Jin)
"Please wait a moment while I prepare the tent." (Maria)
I sat down in the chair I had brought out again and Maria set up a tent while I leaned my head against the table.
Once the tent was completed, I called Vega back so that Maria could rest.
"Master, I recommend you summon one Tamo-san." (Alta/Vega)
"Oh, come to think of it, I left Tamo-san behind in the other world." (Jin)
I also left Tamo-san just before being transported by Orihara. It would be a bit strange to leave the constant watch to Vega alone, so it would probably be better to leave it to Tamo-san.
(Tamo-san, can you freeze or petrify yourself and enter [Infinite Storage]?) (Jin)
(Understood……) (Tamo)
As soon as I asked, Tamo-san was stoned by the stone attack of the Basilisk from Tamo-san B's [Mimic]. Tamo-san B then retrieved Tamo-san A back to [Infinite Storage]. I took Tamo-san A out of [Infinite Storage] and undid the petrification. I decided to ask him to keep watch over me without sleeping.
(Understood……) (Tamo)
Thus ended a busy day that began with a contract with Great Spirit, followed by the invasion of Eldia, a battle with the demon Four Heavenly Kings, transfer to another world, a battle with Orihara, and a battle with the Hollow Beasts. It's really deep!
Author's Note
Composed by Dvorak[1] "From the New World"
A giant one-eyed robot "Za***"[3]
It has a double meaning.
2017-07-30 Fix: Fixed the issue where [Clean] was being used even though the character could not use magic.
Translation Note
[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anton%C3%ADn_Dvo%C5%99%C3%A1k
[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fr%C3%A9d%C3%A9ric_Chopin
[3] https://gundam.fandom.com/wiki/MS-06_Zaku_II (probably; thanks to lijuntang via comment)
Also, this world (third world) uses "[ ]" bracket for skills and other statuses, while the main story world uses "< >" bracket. Because I didn't prepare the system to be able to use "< >" bracket, so I used "[ ]" for the main story world.
In other words, "< >" is used for HTML tags, and it needs to be encoded to be used as content text, and I didn't prepare the system for it, so I'll use "[ ]" for both worlds for simplicity.