Take on Another World with My Best Friend Vol. I Ch. 2

The sun on Terra is starting to set. The two started to wake up in a vast grassland, edged by a cliff near an ocean line. Akira woke up after the glare of the sunset. Akira looks around to see where Shin to see he is nowhere to be found. "SHIN! SHIN! WHERE ARE YOU?" Akira calls for Shin but there is no response from Shin, but the noise attracts nearby wolves. The wolves howl in unison to attract more wolves, but mainly to intimidate Akira. "Shit. SHIT!" His fight-or-flight response is flaring. A wolf started charging at Akira. Akira cannot find anything to use as a weapon except for a stone that fits to hold. Akira unties his tie, grabs the stone, and wraps the stone in his hand. Akira punches the wolf as hard as he can on the head. In his state of desperation, Akira closed his eyes until he felt a splat of blood on his face. "Did he bite me? I don't feel any sharp pain" Akira opens his eyes to see the wolf's head is crushed. Akira's eyes widen in surprise. "Wuh-what?" He has a suspicion thatt his weapon mastery is working. In an instant, a fire ball struck the wolf. "What the-" Akira looks in the direction where the fireball is fired from. "Hey, you. You're finally awake" "Shin!" "Need a hand bud?" "Yes, please." Shin opens his palms and cast a repeating fireball at the nearby wolves, while Akira punches his way through the wolves to reach Shin's side. It was a one-sided fight. "Hey. Say 'Menu' now" "Menu" A screen pops up in front of Akira. Akira notices 2 notifications; You have leveled UP Shinnosuke Shimazu has sent a friend request and a party request "Just like a game, right? Click on that one and accept my party request" However, the wolves' reinforcement arrived, and among them stood a dire wolf with white fur. "That must be the alpha" "Yeah, do you have any weapon I can use?" "No. But I have a plan." "Let's hear it" "I'll flank from the right, you'll attract the wolves. When you have them at one point, I'll strike them in one go" "You have got to be kidding me" "Akira. Do you trust me?" Akira sigh for a second then looks at Shin and nods with a smile. Akira prepares himself to rush toward the wolves. "GO!" Akira rushes toward the wolves and provokes the wolves. "HEY, STUPID DOGS! OVER HERE!" The wolves took the bait and charge toward Akira, except for the Direwolf Shin runs to his right and conjures up wind magic. "AKIRA! KEEP THEM ON YOUR TAIL!" "WHAT THE FUCK DOES IT LOOK LIKE I'M DOING?!" Shin keeps conjuring the wind magic with his left hand, making the shape of a ball. But he keeps making them bigger, and bigger. Until the size of a boulder. His right hand imbues the wind magic with fire magic until the wind boulder turns into a gigantic fireball "AKIRA! TO ME! NOW!" Akira acknowledges and ran toward Shin with his magic over his head. When Akira is within 3 meters of Shin, he signaled Akira to dodge. Shin sends down the wind magic with the strength of a divine beast "CHO ODAMA RASENGAN!" "huh?" Shin's wind magic pressure is enough to almost instantly crush the wolves and the fire heats up the wind to make sure all the wolves are killed. "That's tha-NGH" Shin felt a sharp pain on his back. He glanced over to see direwolf claw marks gnashing through his red three-piece suit. Blood is trickling down and Shin's falls, laying on the ground "SHIN!" Akira rushes to the direwolf and punches the direwolf body. He knocks back the direwolf. "Still standing after that punch?" The direwolf, angered and bare his fangs. "Bare your fangs all you like, you're still going to die" Akira readied himself to launch another attack. The direwolf charges first, Akira is anticipating his next slash. But the direwolf suddenly jumps and biting Akira on his right shoulder" "AHHH!" The sharp pain almost make Akira faint, but it also strengthen his body. Akira smiles and hugs the direwolf "Wolf are still no match to a bear" Akira hugs gets tighter and tighter, and the hugs turns into a bear hug. Akira puts all his strength to his arms and CRACK The direwolf whimpers and falls off Akira's shoulder, laying on the ground, dead. Akira breathes heavily and winces at his pain. He looks for Shin but his body is not laying on the ground. He stood up and dusted his three-piece suit. "Glad to see you fine" "Yeah. Glad to see you too" Shin sees that Akira's wound is deep. Deep enough to see his shoulder bone. "Eesh. That looks bad" "It hurts. Can you heal me?" "Sure" Shin's starts to clasp his hands until his hands glows green. He puts his hands on Akira's shoulder "It's warm" "Shut up. I'm concentrating" The wounds close and Akira shoulder is looking as it was. No scar left. "There. All done" "Can you fix my suit too?" "Geez. so demanding." Akira chuckles. "Can't walk into town looking tattered, now can i? "That's fair. I taught you about fashion after all." "Where were you when I woke up?" "I'm thirsty. I saw a river with my Worldly Eyes inside the forest. By the way, you would not believe that when I saw my reflection, I look younger. Like, when I was 17. You should check yourself too." "Eh, maybe later. Moreover, what should we do to all these dead wolves?" "Let's dismantle them and sell them in the nearby town" "We do not have any equipment nor the skill to dismantle them" Shin smiles slightly "Say 'Skill'" "Skill" A screen popped up in front of Akira's face. He is looking at his skill tree. The skill tree is divided into 3 categories; Warrior, Magician, and Artisan. And there are 3 skills that already have a point; Weapon Mastery, Exp Multiplier, and Craftmanship. His eyes widen when he glanced over to the corner left of the screen. "L-L-LEVEL 32?!" Shin glanced over Akira's skill screen. "Whoa, nice. That Exp multiplier came in handy. Let me take a look at my screen. Skill" Shin's status appeared in front of his face. He looks at his status. "Level 36?" "Yeah. We have a lot of skill points here" "We partied up right? If we are in the same party, shouldn't the Exp we received to be distributed evenly?" "It must be your Jack-of-All-Trade occupation. Remember what St. Alexander told us? Leveling up with Jack-of-All-Trade would be more difficult." "I see. I think I'll max out the Exp Multiplier so I could keep up with you." "That would be wise. I'll do the same" Then both of them allocated 9 skill points to the Exp Multiplier "So You would still have 23 skill points, and I have 27 points." "What do you think I should spend this point on?" "Since we would need money, we would need your crafting skill. So put 9 on that skill, spend 3 on weapon mastery, 6 on dismantling and spend 3 on whatever you like" "Eh, I can't put 9 on crafting. The cap for crafting is at 9. I already have one so I could only spend 8" "So 8 at crafting, 3 at weapon mastery, 6 on dismantling, and 4 at other." "How about you? You're a merchant, but you do not have any mercantile skill" "I'm a CEO, remember? I could negotiate even without a skill. But I see your point. I should use some just in case" "So which one you would spend your point on?" "Let's see. 7 at magic aptitude, 5 at Intimidation, 7 at Persuasion, 4 at worldly eye, and 4 at Tradecraft" Akira tilts his head slightly. "Why would you need Intimidation?" "My father always says be assertive but don't be forceful. Funny. I hate him but I can't deny his lesson is very useful." Shin's eyes give off a hint of sadness but compose himself immediately. "Anyway, what are you spending your 4 points on?" Akira searches for the skill that would be useful but seems cannot find anything interesting. "Ah... I'll put it in magic aptitude, I guess." Shin's smiling and cannot hold back teasing Akira "Are you trying to upstage me, loser?" "Don't flatter yourself, idiot" "Hehe. Punk. Anyway, we're losing daylight here. Let's dismantle these wolves, put them in our item box, and get outta here" "Alright" Shin helps Akira gets and they dismantled the wolves until there's no more left on the grassland. "Alright. Let's hit the road" Akira puts his briefcase in the item box and walks with Shin to the nearest town "Hey, speaking of magic aptitude, what's with the Rasengan?" "I love Naruto. Besides, I can't come up with a good name. Why don't you name it? "Magic name is cringy. Why would you call your attack when you can't stay silent? You cast it without saying anything, didn't you? "We are in another world, that cringy stuff won't apply here" "It still does" "I don't see you come up with a name for it" "Fine. Hell's Gale. Happy?" "Glad that's Chuunibyo side of you still there. Ahahaha" "Fuck you" After walking for a while, Shin's Worldly eyes caught something. A wagon. With an old man commandeering the wagon. "Head's up. Someone's coming" "Who?" "An old man with a wagon. Seems like a merchant." As if it is on cue, the wagon appears behind the duo. The wagon was pulled by two horses and a lantern hanging beside the coach. The wagon stops beside the two. The driver is a skinny old man with white hair and a mustache. "Good evening boys. You guys seem lost. You heading somewhere?" Akira is about to speak but immediately interrupted by Shin. "Good evening, Mister. We are heading to the nearest town. Do you know where the nearest town is?" The driver immediately replied to Shin's question. "Yes. Wilhelmshire is to the east. I was heading there myself. Come on in, I'll give you a ride. The gates will be closed in an hour." Akira and Shin's smiled and thanked the driver. "Thank you, mister. We owe you one" "Nah, don't worry about it" Akira and Shin's hop on the wagon. "I'm sorry. I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Hull. A merchant. What about you boys?" Shin's about to speak when interrupted by Akira. "I'm Kira and this is Nosk" "Keera and Nosk? You are not from here, are you? That is some weird clothing you wear" "No Sir, we are from the east. We were on a ship when something attacked and sank the ship" Hull is slightly shocked. "I'm sorry to hear that. Anyway, you're alive and kickin'. So that's gotta count for something" "Thank you, sir." Along the ride, a message pops up on Akira's menu screen. "Why lie?" Akira looks up at Shin's puzzled face and replied with a message "We don't know this old man. I don't trust him" "I know you got some trust issues, but is that really necessary? he helped us" "All the more reason to be suspicious. You think he would help us, expecting nothing in return?" "YES!" "Let's talk about it later. We're here" The party arrives at Wilhelmshire, to be greeted by town guards with plate armor and a spear. "Halt" The wagons slow down. Hull grabs his lantern and holds it in his right hand "Good evening kids. Working late, I see" "Oh hello, Hull. What are you hauling?" "The usual. Oh, that reminds me. I have something for you" Hull picks up a small crate labeled "For Isa" behind him and hands it to the guard. "Thank you, Hull. You're the best." "Anything for my dear customer. Is there anything else?" "If there is anything, I'll swing by your shop. Now is there anyone inside?" "Yes. 2 young men are inside. I'm giving them a ride" "Would you mind asking them to step outside?" "No problem. Boys, could you step out for a moment" Akira and Shin step outside. "Good evening gentlemen. May I have your Identification please?" "We're sorry but our identification got swept away when we were attacked." "There's no bandit along these roads. Please be informed that lying to a townsguard is punishable by law" Akira and Shin' starts sweating bullet. They are so close to a town, yet they cannot enter if they cannot show any form of identification. Then Hull speaks up "They are not lying. They came from east when their ships were attacked, these two are the survivors" "Are there any other survivors?" Shin's turn to answer the townsguard. "Besides us, we do not know" "My condolences kids. I hope everyone survives" Shin's face turns somber, but Akira knew that Shin only makes that face when he is lying to gain sympathy. "Yeah, me too" Akira is stifling his laughter. Shin caught a glimpse of this. As soon as the townsguard turns around, he winks at Akira. The townsguard went into a room and retrieve two papers. But Shin can sense that this is not a normal paper. "Hold this paper with both of your hand" Akira seems puzzled. "What's this for?" "A visitor form. Hold onto that paper. It will tell us your name, occupation, background and if you are a wanted fugitive." They hold the paper in their hand but were anxious if their real name will be showing on the paper. Then the paper form fills itself. The guard takes the paper from their hand. "Hmm. Kira, Jack-of-All-Trade, 17 years old. An orphan, mother died after father ran away from debt. Oof. My condolences, kid." "No worries" "Now you. Nosk. Merchant, 17 Years old. Kira's Best friend. A... Noble?!" The guards were surprised, Isa's leg is shaking. Knowing that stopping a foreign noble from visiting would cause an international Incident. Shin's is slightly puzzled, but his mischievous grin indicates that he is up to something. "F-f-forgive me Lord Nosk for my impudence. We should welcome you better since you are wearing such elegant clothes" "At ease soldier. You do should know better, but I'm willing to let it slide on two conditions" "One, you will give us passage freely, and I mean us. In or out of the city" "Yes, Lord Nosk. W-w-what would be your second condition?" "You will tell no one, I mean, No One our real identity. Is that clear?" "Y-y-Yes sir" "Good. You have done a great job. I commend you for doing your job perfectly. Now. Give me information. Which inn would you recommend for an adventurer, Where is the adventurer's guild and where is the Merchant Guild?" Isa thinks for a moment before answering. "Hmm, for the inn, I would recommend Huber's Inn. They are cheap but the bed is comfortable. Good food too. For the Adventurer guild, it's right across the Huber's Inn. As for Merchant guild, you could come with the Guildmaster Hull there. "Guildmaster Hull?" Akira and Shin turns around to Hull, staring at the old man before the old man answers. "Ah. I forgot to mention it didn't I? Sorry" Isa's hands the paper to the other guard and welcomes the duo to the city. "Welcome to Wilhelmshire, gentlemen. We hope you enjoy your stay" Hull thanks Isa and ask the two to hop on. Taking them to Huber's Inn. "Here it is boys. Huber's Inn." "Mr Hull. Thank you for everything. We are sorry we cannot repay you. We lost all of our money. We don't think we could afford rent." "Ah. No worries then." Hull grabs the pouch behind him containing 5 Gold coins, 12 Silver coins, and 120 Copper coins. "Catch" Shin catches the pouch. "Thank you, Mr. Hull, but we cannot accept this without giving you something in return. Would you please wait for a moment?" Shin opens his item box and grabs 2 of the wolf fur, meat, and fangs, and gives them to Hull. "This... Do you guys have any idea what you have given me?" Akira thought that this is not enough and prepare 2 of his wolf worth of loot and give them to Hull. "You're giving me more?" Akira spoke to the old man. Slightly disgruntled. "Yes, we thought 2 are not enough." "Are you kidding? This is a highly valuable material. The Antarte wolf from the Antarte forest is highly dangerous. The fur is highly conductive to magic and they are extremely durable. That's why we named the forest based on them. the fur itself would sell for 40 Gold." Shin. Having no knowledge of how Terra's economy works, raises a question "We're sorry Mr. Hull, but we do not know the worth or denomination of this country." "I see, Let me put it this way then. 450 gold coins would buy you a small house. If you are not splurging too much, 1000 gold would set you up for 5 years without having to work a single. 1 Gold can be traded for 100 Silver and 100 Copper could be traded for 1 Silver. There's a platinum coin. Worth 100 gold" Akira and Shin's jaw drops. They excuse themselves for a moment and counted the wolf carcasses. In total, There were 42 between each of them. Shin turns around and asks Hull some more. "So in total, how much for a whole carcass would sell?" Hull pulls up his abacus and starts calculating. "Let's see. The fur itself is 40, The fangs are 5 gold each so 2 fangs are 10 gold. The meat itself is 50 Silver, minus 2 gold transaction taxes and 2 gold processing fees so you are looking at...46 gold 50 silver. You guys gave me 4 carcasses so it would be 184 gold 200 silver or 186 gold." Shin's pulls up his smartphone and opened his calculator. Hull is interested in the device. "What's that?" Shin looks up at Hull and replies "Oh. This is my tool. An Everyday magic, if you will." Shin taps the number from the phone. Calculating while whispering to himself "So for gold, it's 46 each. Times 42 would be...1932 and for silver. 50 times 42 is...2100. In total, per person would get...1953 gold coins?!" Akira looks at Shin's smartphone. He could not contain his surprise and almost had a heart attack "What the fuu... we have this much gold?" Shin shakily replies. "No. That's per person" Akira shakily calculates and tallies the total of the gold. He collapses. Hull is absolutely dumbfounded by this chaotic series of events. Akira had a heart attack. "AKIRA!" Shin uses his magic on his left hand to generate electricity. He uses his makeshift defibrillator to jumpstart Akira's heart. One, two, three times Shin uses his defibrillator, then Akira gasps for air. "You okay, Kira?" "Man. This new world is bad for my health. Should we sell them all? "The normal wolves, yes. The direwolf, no. Better use them for your crafting. If we ask for the price, you'll die for real." "Let's not, then. Help me up" Shin extends his hand and Akira grabs them. Hull snaps back. Before leaving, Shin asked Hull another question. "Will you be at your guild tomorrow?" "Yes" "Alright, we'll swing by the guild tomorrow. We still have things to sell" "Of course." Hull's wagon starts to leave the two behind but not without a goodbye. "It was nice to meet you, boys. If you ever have a direwolf carcass, please visit me. They would sell 450 gold per carcass. So long boys" Akira collapse. Again. "Goddamnit, man" Shin zaps Akira again, supporting Akira on his shoulder. Then they enter the inn to be greeted by a bearded, plump of a man with a loud voice. "Welcome to Huber's. You guys must be from far away." Shin, while struggling to carry Akira, sarcastically replies. "Wow, you're smart. What gave it away? Was it the face?" The big man, fortunately, does not get the sarcasm. "It's the clothes. Anyway. I'm Huber. The owner. Are you looking to rent a room?" Again, Shin replies sarcastically. "No, we are looking for an orphanage." Huber, again, fortunately, does not get the sarcasm "Oh. You are in the wrong place, friend. This is an inn" "For fu- yes we are looking for a room." "Excellent. We have one ready. Two beds, roadview room. Will you be including breakfast for two?" Shin, once again, wants to reply sarcastically but refrains from doing so. "Yes, please." "How many nights?" "A week" "Excellent. That would be 1 silver and 40 copper, please" "Can we pay when we get to the room first? This guy is heavy" Huber is looking at Shin's shoulder. "Oh that is a person. I thought it was a sack of a solanum. Nevermind. Let me carry him for you." Shin hands Akira to Huber, and Huber is handing him the magic key. "This is a piece of wood with a mark on it" "It's the key. Come. Let me show you to your room." Huber is leading Shin and carrying Akira to their room up the stairs. The inn has 3 floors and each floor have 10 rooms. Huber arrived at the duo's room. "Key, please" Shin hands Huber the key and taps it on a piece of black wood wedges on the door and the door lights up with runes all over the door. Huber opens the door and places Akira on the left bed. "Thanks, Huber. Here's the payment." "Thank you, sir. Breakfast starts from Sunrise to Noon. Please bring your key with you to the dining hall." "Thank you, Huber. Here's something for you" Shin's hands Huber a gold coin "Sir? I don't understand. Are you extending your stay?" "No, Huber. That was my apology for being rude earlier and gratitude for carrying this guy" "Oh no sir, I can't acce-" "Please, keep it. You deserve it" Huber's face glimmers with a smile. He hands the key to Shin and leaves the room. Shin, exhausted, take off his three-piece suit and store them in the item box. Wearing only a boxer and a black wife-beater shirt. "One day we're here, and it has been interesting, hasn't it, Akira?" Akira does not respond, he is still alive but sleeping like a dead corpse. "Well, I look forward to what life has in store for us" Shin, exhausted from what happened today, tucks in for the night and quickly falls asleep. Meanwhile, in the Merchant's Guild, the guild master unloads his carriage in the guild's backyard. While unloading, the door opens, and walks a neatly dressed woman, neck long, braided blonde hair, a fair complexion, and a sparkly white face. "Grandpapa. You're back. Let me carry that for you." "Ah, Mel-bear. I can carry them on my own you know?" "Grandpapa, you're already 55. What were you thinking, going to Kingsport on your own?" "Melissa, we are a family of merchants. I build my fortune by being a merchant. If I forget what I learned, how can I call myself a guildmaster?" While conversing, Mellisa is helping Hull carry several crates of goods inside. "But you are this city Lord. It would be dangerous if you travel alone" "Were. Your father is currently the head of the family. Can you call other employees to carry the items? I need you to come to my office. Bring everyone to my office after they're done." "Yes, Grandpapa" Hull is walking up the stairs. In front of his office, a guard welcomes the guildmaster. "Welcome back, Lord Hulligan de Wilhelm" "Hello, Gunn. How's your wife?" "She is recovering, sir. Thank you for your concern" "Happy to hear that. Is it a boy or a girl?" "It's a girl, sir. Thank you for the money you lent us. We are able to move to another house." "Happy to help. Just keep working hard, in the future, yes?" "Yes, sir." "Oh, one more thing. Take a day off tomorrow." "Sir?" "Your wife needs you more than I do. Be on her side. Take care of her needs. She's still recovering" Gunn's face is getting teary, but he's trying his best to hold back tears. "Thank you, sir" "I'm calling everyone to my office. Make sure they're unarmed, Gunn" "Yes Sir" Hull sits on his office chair, writing the store inventory and looking at store income and expenditure. A few minutes pass, and there's a knock on the door. "Grandpapa, May we come in?" "Yes." All the employees, including Melissa, are standing across the table. Hull announces the news. "Tomorrow, there will be a flux of Antarte wolves carcasses. I want you guys to work twice as hard. Move the meat to our cold basement, sells 25% of the fangs to the blacksmith and the other 25% to the alchemist store. Sell all the fur to the tanner. Also, can someone go to Huber's to guide our guests here?" "Yes sir, I will escort them here." The young man in the back raises his hand. He walks to the front of the crowd. A redhead, slender but slightly muscular build. "Thank you, Andre. Make sure you're here on time. Now everyone. Go home. It's already late" The crowd bows down and disperses, one by one. Until Melissa is the only one. "Antarte wolf? How did someone get their hand on it? They are at least Ranked B monsters. Is this guest of yours stole them?" "Unlikely. They are near Antarte Forest when I found them." "With all due respect, Grandpapa, even our knights have a hard time hunting them down" "You're overthinking this, Melissa. Now go home. Get some rest. We'll talk about this tomorrow" "Yes, Grandpapa" "Goodnight, Mel-bear" Melissa walks out of the room. Leaving Hull on his own in the office. "They are some interesting friends you sent us, Director" Out of the corner, A white-suited man emerges. He spoke in a polite and friendly manner. "They sure are, Hull. Or should I say Haruki Takahashi?" "That is a name I have not heard in a long time. How are you, old friend?" "I have been great. I have a gift for you." The Director pulls something from his dimensional box and puts them on the desk. Hull sees what The Director brought him. "Golden Rye Beer, and a crate of them." Hull smiles and grabs one of the bottles. "It's lukewarm, Director" "Then use your magic to cool them. I'm not a fridge, you know." "Right. Please have a seat." The Director grabs a bottle and cools them down. "So, how may this humble human help you?" "Stop with the formality, will you?" "I can't help it. So, how can I help you?" The Director takes a gulp of the beer. "Ahh, that's good. Now, long story short, I want you to be the benefactor to our guests." "What do you mean by benefactor?" "You will provide support for those two. Protect them." "I'm an old man now. How can I possibly protect them?" "From any political influence, and I forbid, the church" "That's ironic, isn't it? God telling me not to have them involved with the church" "The church's purpose is to worship me, yes. But the people running them serve their own purpose. Has nothing to do with me. Besides, the church is about politics nowadays. If any kingdom or factions, should have that kind of power, it would tip the balance in their favor." Hull takes a gulp at the beer before speaking "Then I would protect them. Consider it done." "Thanks, Haruki. I miss this, you know? It feels like it has been too long since that time. I was very lonely up there. All work and no play make me a dull God. But with you, never a dull moment. I owe you one." "I never asked you before, but what happened back then?" "It was my first time coming down there. I envy humans. I wanted to live like a human just for a day without all this responsibility. But I can't have that. Then you came along. You invited me to drink after you told me your son has been born. You told me that you are excited but also afraid that you messed up as a parent. You remind me of when I created Adam. Then you got fired, You told me that you prayed for a better future but instead, it's a series of bad luck. Debt and all that. From that point, I knew someone wasn't answering prayers. Also, What were you thinking, borrowing money from a Yakuza?" "We don't have much choice. We are getting evicted, we don't have any money. I don't know where to go. I feel lost" "That's why you got hit by a truck. You know, there's one thing you said to me that still resonates in my mind" "What's that?" "'If there is a different life, would it be different for us?' Your son said the same thing" "You met Akira?!" "Hey. I told you I'll take care of them, didn't I?" "How are they?" "Your wife does not make it. But your son is blessed with a good friend" Hull's face is showing regret, but after a while, he smiles to hear that his son is okay. "That's it for today, Haruki. I'm breaking protocol so I have to go back." "Thank you for visiting me Director, no. Thank you, Eli" "Don't mention it. Don't forget what is asked" After their conversation is finished, the Director, walks back into the dark corner of the room. "I'm glad you're okay, Akira." Hull retires to his room with the crate of beer, keeping it hidden in his secret room. The night moons is at the peak of the world, waiting for the sun to replace them.