Take on Another World with My Best Friend Vol. I Ch. 13

Shin, looking at his friend with his worldly eyes, stood there in shock. Akira lay unconscious on the ground. He ran as fast as he could to Friguld town. Realizing he's not fast enough, he enchant his shoes with wind magic to make him move 10 times faster. After 3 minutes, Shin looks around. A complete ruin. The walls are in shambles. Dead bodies lying rotten being eaten by the bicorn. He went to Akira and sees the aftermath of the battle. Sands turns into a massive fulgurite, the ground scorched pitch black, craters in the middle of the road. No, at the condition they are fighting, it was a war between two entities. He sees the decapitated head of Mammon lying there. Akira checks the pulse on Akira's neck, to feel a faint of pulse. He taps his ear. "Talos, Mina. Akira is dying. If there's anyone that can help, I need them at the camp. I will be there as fast as I could" "Oh no" Shin shoulders Akira's body, but the armor is too heavy for him to carry. He takes off Akira's mask and his armor assembles back into the mask and put it into his item box. Shin carries Akira, and ran as fast as he could. This time, he gather all his magic into his feet and he run almost as fast as Akira's Lightning Steps. He arrives at the camp within two minute. "TALOS!" The refugee looks at him. They have seen Shin before, but not Akira. He suspects that he's one of the refugee. "Oh no. Oh no no no...Boss...I should have not left you" "Reflect on that later. Have you found a doctor?" "I have not found anyone" Overhears this, an old woman in ragged clothing approach them. "You need a physician?" "Yes. Can you save him, please?" "We need to get him dry first. Do you have somewhere dry?" "There's a room inside the schooner" "Great. Hurry" Akira, Talos, and the old woman rushes through the schooner. They lay Akira down on what appear to be a bed, but not quite. It was more of a hammock than a bed. "Do we have any bandages?" "We don't" "I can create bandages" Talos interrupts. "You can?" "Yes. Boss grant me this power. Let me try" Talos focuses his energy to create a bandages. Multiple rolls of bandages. "Good. Now help me lift his body. I'll wrap the bandages around his body and cast my healing spell" Talos and Shin takes off his jacket and shirt, lift his body and the old lady untangles the bandages and wrap the bandage on the wounded part. The old lady cast his healing magic on Akira "Uh...that's not supposed to happen" "What?! What happened?" "The bandages acts as a catalyst for the healing magic. It is supposed to break like a cocoon" "Maybe the bandages are too strong?" "Not likely. The magic itself that would break the cocoon. Not This young man himself" "So what does that mean?" "I myself do not know. His body healed, but there's something else that keeps him from waking up" "What can we do?" "We let him rest" "But is he okay?" "His condition is stable for now" "Are you sure you are a healer lady?" "I am sure. My name is Galena du Homaris" "O-okay?" "I guess people don't recognize me anymore. I was once the most sought healer in the land. I can heal anything from a simple cut to missing limbs. I was a healer back when Morden still alive?" "Morden? That's a long time ago. Do you know Morden?" "Knew him? That moron owe me 12 gold" "How are you living so long?" "It was an experiment, but something went wrong" Shin and Talos wonders. "Something went wrong?" "I won't spare you the detail. Long story short, I split my soul into a dragonglass, and that dragonglass was missing" "So you curse yourself?" "It was an experiment. There was a theory that split soul could regenerate inside a dragon glass, so when a person died, we could bring him back with the dragonglass. But nevermind that. We should let him rest. Let's leave him be" "Can you do it to him?" Shin points at Akira "His soul is intact, and he is alive. There's no need to split his soul. Now let him be. Get out" Shin, Talos and Galena went out of the room letting Akira rest, but once they are outside, Mina rushes to the room "Where is he?" Shin points at the door. "He stabilized. But he needs some rest" Mina wants to go to the room, but stopped by Shin. "Let him rest, Mina" "Get away! I need to see him" Mina pushes through Shin and Talos. They went down the schooner, and Armas, in a sense of urgency, he rushes to Shin" "Master. Thank you for taking us in. But we have several issue need your immediate attention?" "What is it?" "The rain is still pouring, even though less than a few moments ago, people are getting cold. We request permission to build a temporary lodging. The thing is, we don't have a tool" "Talos. Go with him and provide them the tools" Talos nods, but before they leave, Karina and her family arrives. The older man with him, assumed to be Karina's father, is missing his right leg "Kamilo! You're alive! Thank god" "Armas. Nice to see you too. I believe you're okay?" "Getting better. This man here is the one that comes to save us" "No. It was not my idea. The man you are referring to is laying inside the ship" "Oh, he's sleeping?" "No. He's dying" Kamilo and the rest of his family except Karina is stunned by this information "He's...dying?" "Yes. For all of you. For the sakes of the people here" "I'm sorry to hear that. We will make sure that the soldiers that did this will pay" "It wasn't a human. It was a demon" Armas, Kamilo and his family is even stunned than before. "There's...no way a human can defeat a demon." "If you don't believe me, the body is still at road in the city. Check for yourself" Shin, at the corner of his eyes, sees movement. He used his Worldly Eyes and sees that there's 4 guards are spying on the camp. Shin grabs his helmet again and put them on. He readied his M1911 and load the magazine. He walks past everyone except Karina, who were at the back from the rest of her family "Karina" "Yeah?" "You were followed" Shin puts his helmet on. His Riot Gear generate itself, until forming a full armor. He screws his silencer into his M1911, and flank them from behind. "They are really here. look how many of them there are. Must be a whole town's worth of people" "We catch them, we get rewarded, right?" "Right. You go get reinforcement. We will ambush them here" Shin shot one of the guards in the back of the head. The armor of the guard was an iron, but the bullet penetrates the helmet with no problem. One of the guard slumped dead. "You are not moving anywhere" Shin punches the leader of the group in the chest plate. The leader is still alive, but his chest plate is caving in his chest, writhing in pain. One of the guards thrust his weapon at Shin but was shot between the eyes. The other guard tried to run away. Shin aims at the guard. "Marksman's Sight" His eyes turned from Worldly Eyes, seeing everything as if everything is slowed. His pupils are dilated and he could see everything stops. The raindrop stops, his sight is clearer, and his vision is getting farther. He could see the guard that are several tens of meters as if they were right in front of him. He takes aim and shot him in the heart. "Argh!" He drops almost instantly. The leader that is punched before grabs his sword from his hip and tries to stab Shin in the leg, but the sword couldn't go through. Shin turns around to face the leader, who still trying to harm Shin. Slashing, stabbing, and sometimes kicking, but to no avail. The leader drops his sword, pleading "Please. Don't kill me. I have a family" Shin doesn't care about his pleading. He shot one between his legs. The leader screams in pain, but now, he trembles between the combination of the pain and the fear of this masked men with red eyes on the helmet. But he doesn't see the eye part of the helmet. He sees the eyes of the one wearing the helmet. "AAARRRRGGGHHHH!" Shin pauses for a second, but the leader grabs his sword again trying to stab him. This time, Shin shoots his hand, amputating 3 of his fingers. The leader is wriggling even more in the pain of his penis and his hand. He salivated from the pain. "Plhese. No mhore. I'sh beg yous" Again, Shin didn't care. There are 2 remaining bullets in his gun. Armas and Kamilo approach the source of the scream, but are only able to see Shin pointing this weird device in his hand. "AHM SOHHY!" The leader is brought down to a crying mess. This time, Shin feels a little bad, but he brushes off the feeling and shoots the remaining bullet into his head. The leader of the guard is dead. Shin M1911 was put into a slide stop. He unloads the magazine, keeps the empty magazine and reloaded the gun, and holsters them. Armas, Kamilo, and Karina, who has been watching from afar, were horrified. He was begging for mercy yet given none. Shin saw them and approached them. Taking off the helmet. "You...killed him" "Yeah" There was no guilt in his voice, but his eyes says otherwise. He snaps out of it. "Right. I don't have your name" "My name is Shin. My intention, or my partners are to take over this island" "Take over? Like How the Corsair Princes' ruled over us?" "No. At least I don't think that's what he will do" "He?" "My partner. The one I told you dying after fighting the demon. What he wanted is to create his vision of paradise" Shin takes out his phone and types some keyword on the search engine. Karina, Kamilo and Armas looks at the strange device on his hand. He sees that the picture on the strange box. He sees several word on the picture, but the complete image is obstructed. "Avalo" "Colo" and those building were illuminated by a colorful, beautiful light. "This what he planned for this place?" "Yes" "His vision is beautiful. Maybe too good to be true" "We're here to rebuild this place like this" "But, you can't be doing it for free. What is your condition?" "We have several condition. One. This place will no longer be called Friguld, Corsair prince territory, or whatever. We will have the right to change the name" "Seems trivial" "Two. The beaches from north to south will be exclusively ours to build. You are free to visit, but how we build it, how we want it made, will be ours. Three. Sooner or later, this country will be placed under our command. But we are adventurers, so we will not be directly involved. So I need you guys to govern this place in our stead" "Kamilo can be your representative. I can be his advisor. Karina...well, Karina can be something" "Uhh...yeah. I guess I could do it" "Four, every month, we will take 25% of the tax collected. The rest of the money you could use to build the town. We will also build a hot spring town near the volcano. We will use that money to fund the town" "25%? That's steep" "Five. Since I am a merchant, we will make this place a hub for trading. With this, we can make this place richer. Nearly richer than Theovan. And Speaking of Theovan, since my dying partner is in-laws with the King, we will trade with them as part of His Majesty Leopold asks" Three of them are stunned by this. Today, they have been stunned by him 4 times. "We don't have any ships for trading" "I will give you our schooner and accompany you for a few times, just enough to fund this place and buy a new cargo ships" "That's fair. Any other conditions?" "Six, No Corruption" "You can trust us, Master Shin" "I just met you today. Why should I trust you?" "You saved us, Karina told me that you saved her. That's twice you done for us. Any other condition?" "That's everything I can think of now. I'll tell you later" Kamilo looks at Karina and Armas "Can we have a moment?" "Take your time" The trio huddles. Whispering about the conditions proposed by Shin "What do you guys think?" "It's a heavy condition, but every condition was beneficial for our side. We can work it out, Right, Kamilo?" "Those are indeed heavy condition, but look at the bright side. We will no longer be sold as slaves, and we will have work. everyone will have work. We have to accept this immediately" "Wait. Have you thought of the downside?" "What downsides are there?" "Corruption? A rule worse than the Prince? Infighting?" "They won't rule this land, I will. Besides, if there are any misgovern, I would be to blame" "You sure you're ready?" "I'll make it work" The huddles break and they replied to Shin. "Thank you for allowing to discuss this" Shin nods. "But we have a condition of our own" "Name them" "First. Our top priority will be rebuilding this place and improving the economy, so the people's welfare comes first. Second, since the people have nowhere to live now, we will ask you to help build their lodging. Third, we will not be able to afford 25% of the tax in the first year, but once the economy is stable and the people's needs are fulfilled, we will be paying you your 25% and the rest of it. Fourth, we need some capital to start. That's our current condition. We will think about it later when we reach a conclusion" "That's fair. For now, anything else you need?" "I'll ask your Silver golem if anything comes" "Right. I'm going to rest up in the schooner" Shin is feeling exhausted mentally and physically. He slumped into the schooner cargo hold. He took off his jacket and fold it into a pillow. He lay it on the floor and lay on it. He rests his forearm on his forehead. Shin started crying. Probably because he is worried that Akira is still unconscious, or the fact that he killed a person. Maybe a little bit of both. He cried until he is asleep. Morning came, and the schooner is still rocking. Shin woke up and put on his jacket. He went upstairs and went to the schooner chamber. He sees that Akira is still wrapped in bandages and Mina is sleeping beside him. Although it has been only a day, he feels really concerned. He went ashore. Sits down leaning on a palm tree. He reaches for his pocket. "Last one" He lights up the cigarette with his magic. "I wonder if this place can produce tobacco. What do you think, Bud?" He sees to his right but no one is there. His eyes tear up again, but he moves his head down, so no one sees him crying. He reaches into his pocket to grab all of his platinum coins. He is ready to buy all the levels up so he could change class to a healer. After buying every food in the market, he counts only 50 platinum plates and 100 gold. "Save your coin. His condition is not a physical one. He is spiritually wounded. Let him rest" The voices come from behind. Shin turns around to see a hooded figure. This person does neither have a figure of a man or a woman. Slim, Slender, and pale as snow. He reaches for Shin, but Shin moves back, wary of the stranger. "Are you my enemy?" "I am not. But I am not your ally either" "What?" "You won't heal him with another class. He's spiritually exhausted. At this time you can't do a thing to him. It's all him now" "Who are you? How do you know about him?" The hooded person tosses a small pouch to Shin. Shin catches the pouch. "Heard you are building a country. Consider that pouch my contribution. Keep me intrigued, young man" Shin opens the pouch and finds 5 platinum plates. "Platinum plates? Why are you giving me this?" Shin looks up and the figure is no longer there. Vanishes into nothingness, not even a footprint left behind "What the-Who was that?" Armas calls for Shin. "Master. Good Morning. Have you eaten?" "No. No I haven't" "Would you like to join us?" "Yes" "Please follow me to the dining hall" Shin follows Armas to a building. It looks really sturdy, really big. How did this place gets built overnight? "This wasn't here before" "Yes. We have carpenters working day and night in shifts. We have build several housing for the people too" "How about the food situation?" "Fishermen are working hard and people here know how to scavenge. Thanks to the tools from the Silver Golem, it was easier to fish and gather food" "So this is already a basic community" "Yes. But we are still missing several aspects. But this is temporal, so we can live like this until everything is done" Armas opens the hall door the interior is basic, lacking in decoration, but the dining hall is full of tables, chairs, and even a kitchen "This is amazing. How many carpenters are there?" "Eh, 300 more or less" "This place is packed" "We are about to have breakfast. All of us" "What's today's menu?" "Fish and Vegetables. Maybe mushroom and some berries" "I'll eat what I can eat. Armas, can I ask you a favor?" "Sure" "Can you bring one portion to the schooner? Mina must be hungry" "As you wish, Master" "Thank you, Armas" Armas leaves Shin at his table. The table he sat in is in the center of the room. He feels too exposed to this place, so he stands up and looks for a corner table. After a few moments, the food arrives at the table. Shin eats the simple food. It was nice, but it could use some work. When he is finished, he drinks the water from a mug. there was still a hint of saltiness from the water. They must have distilled the saltwater. "Salt, huh? I think this will be our primary commodity" Shin checks his phone. It is 6.45 A.M. at the clock. The sun is still rising from the horizon. Shin's phone rings. He saw Hull's name on the screen. He hasn't changed it yet. He picked up the phone. "Hello?" "Shin. How are things? I called Akira but he's not picking up his phone" "Hi, Haruki-san. I'm sorry but Akira is still unconscious" "Is he still sleeping?" "No. He is unconscious. He fought a demon yesterday" "W-what?!" "Calm down, Haruki-san. His condition is stable, but he needed rest" There is a pause. Shin could hear a slightly relieved sigh from the other side "My kid is still alive?" "Thankfully, yes." "Praise Almighty. But did you say demon?" "Yes. Do you know anything about a demon? We know that Alexander said there will be no demon in this world" "I have no idea. Alexander didn't tell me this kind of thing. Is the demon dead?" "Yes. He chopped the head clean" "Thank God" "There must be a reason you wanted to call Akira. What's going on, Haruki-san?" "I wanted to tell him that Sahuagin attacked Hapsburg. We suffer some casualties, but one day, they just screamed in pain and drop dead" "Sahuagin?" "Fishman. Half human, half fish?" "Like a mermaid? "They are different. Sahuagin parts that are human are its lower body. Mermaids, or Merfolk, as we called them here in this world, are humans on the top part. All I know is that there used to be a civil war on the underwater kingdom caused by religion. The rebels are called Dagonites, they worship Dagon, a deity of prosperity. All I heard was that Dagon feed off of his followers' greed. The other faction is called Tritonite. Followers of the son of the sea god. Their predecessor, Triton, is a mermaid and a messenger of the seas. That's all I know" "Am I right to assume that the demon Akira killed is Dagon?" "I don't know, but there's gotta be some correlation there" Shin for a moment hears a commotion in the dining hall. The people frantically move outside "Haruki-san. I have to hang up. I think something is happening" "Alright. Please take care of yourself and Akira" Haruki hangs up the call. Shin walks hastily outside to see what's going on. "Hey. What's happening?" "The Corsair Princes'. They are here" "Shit. Alright. Everyone calm down" They didn't hear him due to how panicked the refugees are "EVERYONE! SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LISTEN TO ME!" The hectic crowd is silent. They are looking at Shin. "Don't panic. If you panic, they will hear the commotion. All I need you guys is to calm down" "It's easy for you to say! we don't know how to fight. Let alone fight the Corsair Princes'" "No one is asking you to fight. All I am asking is to stay hidden, and don't panic. I will handle this" "You? Alone? Are you damn mad?" "Who says he's alone?" Karina shouts from the other side. She is with Talos, Mina, and Kamilo. "I will join the fight. So do this beastgirl and my sister. I understand that you're afraid. We do too. But this is our time to rise up. If you don't want to fight the Corsair Princes' then guard the camp. We will handle the frontline" "You are still outnumbered" "Outnumbered, yes. Outmatch, definitely no. Let me tell you something. That man behind you travels with his partner, who happens to fight and killed a demon yesterday. If one man can kill a demon, I'd say our chance of fighting against other humans are high" The crowd murmurs and the word demon are definitely thrown around. There are some skeptics, but there are also people who believe. "There's no way a human could survive against demon attack, let alone survive" "Yet he did it. The body is still on Friguld City" "That is true" Another crier shouts "I have seen the body. The demon is decapitated" "Alright. That's enough. You guys hide somewhere. For those who want to fight, take up arms and guard the camp" Shin leaves in the direction of Friguld City but is stopped by Kamilo. "Master. Do you have a plan?" "Yes. Kill them all" "That's not a plan, master. Are you out of your mind?" "I won't be alone. You and Karina will guard the camp. Mina will take care of Akira, and let no one near him. Talos, You're with me. I'm going to lay waste to everyone" "Master, wait!" "What now?!" "Maybe not everyone. Please give them a chance for the guards. They suffer as we are" "Absolutely not!" "Then our deals are off" "What?" "We will not hand you Friguld City" "You're making this hard, Kamilo" "Those guards, like it or not, are also the citizen of Friguld City" Shin pulls out his gun, but this time, the silencer is off. He aims at the direction of Kamilo. The team is in an intense mood. "Why should I trust your plan? You might be conspiring with them against us" "Master. I wanted to kill them as much as you do, if not more. But the guards are also victims in this situation. We will need the guards to keep the place in order" "You have to do better than that, Kamilo" "Do you think this idea of the town you are planning on will work without a constable? You're just making this place even more lawless than their reign" Shin thinks for a moment. He does have a point regarding security "Come with me. You will be the one persuading them. You have 2 minutes to talk to them before we start" Shin holster his gun. Karina and Kamilo look relieved. Shin abruptly grabs Kamilo's collar. "If you even think, for one second about betraying us, I will do worse to your family, even the Corsair Princes' will beg for your lives. Understand?" "Yes, master" "Good. Now let's go" Karina is shocked. This was not the man that saves her from the Corsair Princes'. This is someone else in the body of Shin. Kamilo, Talos, and Shin move ahead in the direction of Friguld City. Shin enhances Talos and Kamilo with wind temporary enchantment. They ran as fast as they could. Back in the camp, Karina is instructing people where to hide and who to assist in defending the camp. She instruct that most people hid in the dining hall. After assigning people, Mina approached Karina. "Hey. You're okay?" "Not really. What's with him? He wasn't like that when they saved me" "It has been a stressful moment, sure. Don't blame him for it" "I know that it has been stressful, but does he have to be this way?"| "His best friend is lying unconscious inside. That boy is everything he has left. What would you do to keep your loved one alive?" "I would do everything" "That's exactly what he is doing. He carries a big burden. This plan was Akira's, not his. He has nothing to gain and everything to lose. Do you understand what I am saying?" "I do, but I feel something's changing in him" "What do you mean?" "I mean, his eyes. His face. I see that this depletes him. All this is too much for him. I saw him killed yesterday. I see there is hesitation, but at that moment, he is completely devoid of...anything" "Yesterday? When he killed the guards?" "Yeah. I'm worried about him" "Me too, but let him work this out himself" "Hey. Everyone is already hiding. Where will we hide?" "Let's hide in the bushes. We're to take out anyone silently. Armas, Go hide in the dining hall" "Got it" Back to Shin, he is hiding behind the ruined wall in the Friguld City. Corsair Frigate, along with Nightingale harbors on the port. The Princes disembark from the Frigate, but their guards are to remain, leaving only a handful of elite guards guarding the Princes. "That bitch family better be ready because I will kill them slowly" "Calm down, Bonne. Killing them will be a waste now" "I don't care, Al-Basra. She failed, so she suffers" "I am just saying that there must be a better solution to using them" "Bonne's right, Al-Basra. We can't be lenient at this time" Tew, Thatch, and Avery storm off faster than the others. "You worried about the whore?! Have you not seen the chest? IT'S EMPTY! THERE'S NO MONEY!" "Avery. Calm down. We can keep selling people to Mercia" "THERE'S NO MONEY TO BE MADE BY SELLING SLAVES TO MERCIA!" "I agree with Avery, Sao. We can't keep getting by selling slaves. We'll soon run out" Thatch that keeps pacing toward Friguld City, walks back to the group. "Bad news everyone" "What?" "Mammon is dead" "What do you mean, Mammon's dead?" "See for yourself" Thatch points to the dead body behind him. A red, body with no head attached and black ground. "We...we have nothing left. Mammon always grants us gold. W-who did this?" Behind the wall, Shin is eavesdropping. He readied his mask and unholster his gun. He hands Talos Akira's mask. Talos whispers to Shin "What's this for? "His armor. Be ready to fight. Kamilo, Go convince the guards" Kamilo nods and sneaks toward the port. Shin and Talos keep listening to the Princes. "This is it. We're done" "I guess this is it" Horngold unsheaths his sword and starts swinging. "Henry. What are you doing?" "I'll collect all of your bounties. It must be a lot of gold" "Henry, don't do this" Thatch, who was able to sneak behind Horngold, stabs him in the back. "You should know your place, punk" He pulls his sword and slashes his head open. Slicing his face and brain. "Thatch" "He was my captain, but now he's just a punk. We will retort back to pillaging and we're still going to wage war with Theovania" "What are you talking about?" "We can depend on the slave, waiting until Mercia won the war, which is unlikely. Or we can get some money right now. Robbing and Pillaging. Like the old days" "That's not going to happen" Shin reveals himself from behind the wall. "Who are you?" "Don't you recognize me? I'm from the banquet yesterday" "I recognize you. You were talking with that whore of a minister" "That's right...Sao, Was it? I was at the party. In fact, the chef is here too" Shin points behind them. They think that the man in silver armor is the chef from the banquet. But in fact, it was Talos. With a sword in Talos' hand and an M1911 in Shin, they are ready to pick a fight, by a blade or a bullet. Shin put on his mask. "I don't think so. Elites. Go ahead" The elites are going in the opposite direction. To Talos and to Shin. Shin shot 2 of the elites and Talos decapitated 3 of the elites. The loud noise from Shin's gun and the sharpness of the sword made The rest of the 30 elites hesitant to move. "Master" "Oh. Would you look at that? It's a rat from the merchant family" It seems that Bonne holds the most disdain toward Kamilo. "The guards have defected" "WHAT!?" "And for you, elites. If you want to live in a new place with the law and no slavery, come with me now. We'll make sure our new land is without the Princes" 10 elites move away and sheathe their sword. It seems that these elites family are also a victim. "TRAITOR! I WILL MAKE SURE YOUR FAMILY SUFFERS!" "We have rescued everyone from your prison to your houses. Everyone is safe" Avery didn't take this news really well. He tried to lunge the sword toward Kamilo, but was shot in the stomach by Shin 3 times. He fell down and bled to death. "Avery!" "Don't move or I'll blow your FUCKING HEAD OFF!" "You think you're the only one that has projectiles?" Tew pulls out his flintlock and shot Shin in the shoulder. The flintlock bullet does not penetrate the armor, but Shin felt that. "Buddy. What do you think we should do to them?" "Hmm...Made slave? Killed slowly? Oh. Here's one. Crucify them in the middle of the sea" "That's a nice idea. Buddy. Let's do this" "Oh no. We're not the ones getting killed here. You are. Let us show you how we are called The Corsair Princes"