1 A Slip Through The Cracks

"——The train is now departing."

It was March, the start of spring.

He was sitting on a standard class cart, riding the Nozomi train to Tokyo.

The air conditioning was cold with just a few people boarding along in the cart he was in. If a staff were to pass by him, he'd ask for them to turn it down a bit.

[Level 110: Defeat The Disaster Class Monster, Wormax!]

A fanfare played as the level starts, battling against monsters that attempted to attack the castle.

It was a game called Tentetsuki. It was a game that was played on a smartphone of a young man, peacefully riding the train without bother.

"This game is easy. You just need to maximize your defenses and upgrade it all over again with a good pattern to win. A repetitive process."

He spoke, holding the smartphone as the level ends, playing another fanfare as the boss level finally starts.

[Wormax: Eater of Worlds. After defeating it, you can access the hardcore difficulty.]

"Great. This should be interesting."

Intense music began to fade in as the level goes deeper and deeper, his defenses were slowly being whittled down by the boss.

This became a lot more interesting for him, finally getting his game face on.

Bit by bit, the castle's defenses went down, and there was only one troop left to fight against the worm.

It kept on attacking using magic and sword, switching side by side as the worm came close.

However, if the worm comes closer, the castle would suffer another damage that would result in a game over.

He needed to prevent that.

He needed to defeat that worm before it does.

And so, as he click on that final hero he had, he moved it forward to face the vicious worm alone.

Being eaten and self-destructing to deal damage to the worm and defeat it.

"——. Finally... that was close."

A fanfare plays as he won the game, sighing relief as he won a close battle.

[Congratulations! You've gained another skill! Trave—]

Before the game can even type out the whole announcement, he turns off the phone as he looks at his watch, expecting that he would arrive in Tokyo in an hour.

"I still need to wait for an hour or so—"

He leaned back to relax, however, his words trailed off as he felt an unusual vibration.

The bullet train began to shake, violently as they go through a tunnel.

The lights began to flicker on and off as they were pulsing from the front to the back.

"What's happening?!"

He asked and shouted, yet there was no one in the same cart as him.

The lights flicker became violent as if cutting away at the frames of his sight as he tried to look through the window of the train.

It was dark, but suddenly...

The tunnel had disappeared, and so had the train.

It suddenly became hot and sandy, a scorching feeling that welled up from his hands and rear.

"—Aah!"

He jumped up to his feet, patting away at his rear and hands as the sand on the ground was hot.

"Sand?!"

He asked himself, looking at the ground as he come to.

He was no longer on the train, nor any of the station.

He was sure that he was conscious of all of that chaos in the train but that gap in locations was too disorientating for him to process.

He knew that it was still spring in Japan but this heat was something he would only suppose to feel in summer.

Yet, it was unlikely that he would still be even in there.

There were a lot of dead trees in the distance, dried cacti that had been already trampled upon by something.

This was a barren wasteland.

"W...Where am I?! Is someone there?!"

He shouted, in hopes to find another person in the middle of nowhere.

Fortunately, as he hoped so, some figures came rushing in from the distance.

They were all screaming something.

"Whaaat?!"

He leaned in forward to see through the humid environment.

But as they come closer and closed, their clothes were different. They looked like those people in RPG games.

Adventurers as they call it.

"R—....!"

"Ra?"

He repeats what he had heard from them.

But as he sees that there was a large smoke that trailed from behind them, he was reminded of another term that would be infamous for its griefing.

"A mob train?"

Although he had only compared it to a game, this world was not his own.

He knew that. It was a feeling he had.

"Run!!"

They were finally closer. They were five adventurers with three females and two males. He could at least distinguish them easily now that they were closer.

But before he could even inspect them more, he was swept away from his feet by the other male who had a large build, seemingly the tank of the party.

"What are you doing in the middle of the wasteland?! Are you trying to get yourself killed?!"

It was a female voice, that came from behind.

He was being carried like luggage above the man's shoulder, his stomach only being pressured to be tough for the ride.

"G-Greetings! I am Ichiro Mushibami, and I have no death wish."

He spoke without any regard to the current situation, even having the ability to smile at the girl who spoke to him.

The girl had a large cap covering her long black hair and staff with an orb that shouted "Mage" as her class.

Ichiro would only be amazed by how this dream progressed.

Indeed. The reason for Ichiro's indifference was due to his belief that everything that was happening was a dream.

Even though the feeling of hotness and hurting were real, he was yet to process that this was his current reality.

"H-He's a lost cause, Poro! We should just drop him here!"

The girl shouts out as Ichiro's smile creeped her out in this situation. He must have lost his mind to be able to do so when they were being chased by a horde of mobs.

"Argh! Why are we even running!? Ron!"

Calling out his name, the one that had run beside the man who was carrying Ichiro stops and unsheathes a katana that was on his left waist.

It was an orange-haired man that was built for combat.

He stances himself before the horde that came after them.

"Got it! [Silver Sword Arts: Climbing Silver!]"

As he shouts out, he performs 25 diagonal slashes that chirped away of the horde's number, splitting them as he pushes through the middle.

However, as their number was still far too many, the monsters, mainly consisting of arachnids and goblins had already surrounded him.

"Kyori!"

"Agh! This is the last of my mana...! [Blink!]"

He calls out as a magic circle appears on his feet, becoming enveloped by a blinding light and teleporting back near his group which had been a distance away after his stunt.

"Nice work, Ron."

They all praised him, as he held them back for a significant amount of time, giving them some leeway.

"Nice work, Ron. What a move!"

Ichiro praised him as well, but Ron had qualms about the stranger.

"Hey, you! Stop talking for a minute."

They were still all running away from the horde, and bit by bit, they were finally reaching the path that would lead them to the city.

△▼△▼△▼△▼△▼

"Huh. Am I still dreaming?"

In the middle of a city, Ichiro Mushibami enjoyed the sight he was met upon.

There were both humans and demi-humans that were walking around.

This was the city of Nora, a city that was at the middle of the most famous trading roads and adventure.

There were houses and taverns alike that had looked like exactly those in RPG games yet it was more realistic.

Due to the Kingdom's new rules that allowed the mixed races to live together, life in the city had become more lively as per described by the locals.

It was like a dream come true for those who wanted to be transferred into another world.

"Hey! Why do your clothes look funny? They both look expensive and not."

From his side, Kyori asked him about his clothing. The rest of the party had gone inside the Adventurer's Guild that was right in front of the fountain they were sitting at.

She was left behind because of her troublesome attitude that had caused a certain event in the Adventurer's Guild that got her restricted there.

It was also because then that she was assigned to look after Ichiro who was still a mysterious person without identification.

"Oh... this?"

He was wearing a white polo and black pants as he was preparing himself to apply for a university in Kyoto.

"Oh, this is my uniform."

Ichiro answered nonchalantly, but it was the truth.

"Uniform? What are you? Part of the High Scholars? Doesn't look like it."

Kyori mentions an organization name that had never existed on Earth.

As he was still processing the events that were currently happening, his hand lands on his lap, feeling a bit of a hard object in his pants.

He could still feel something under his pockets, pulling it out as quickly as possible.

"Ah! My phone!"

It was his phone, and to his surprise, it was working with a network.

"—?! What is that? Is that some kind of magic mirror?! Did you find it in the wastelands?"

Like a curious cat, Kyori had her head resting on his shoulder, looking at the phone which he turns on.

"—Sneak attack!"

Ichiro aims the phone at her, flashing light multiples times as he took images of her.

"W-What?! Is this light magic?! Stop!"

Although it was mild, the flashing had Kyori waving her hand around to cover herself from the blinding light, begging for him to stop.

It was a good laugh, but his actions stood out, seemingly harassing a girl in public.

He needed to stop, but he also needed to affirm the truth of this place.

"Ahah! Maybe this is Japan and this is just all a big prank or setup! You won't be able to fool me."

He stood up, confident that his words were true.

"Ni...han? Pu... ranko? What are you rambling about? Did you lose about your sanity in the wastelands? Also, this is Nora, the City of Adventurers."

Kyori dusted away her clothes after she was pinned down to the side of the fountain.

He tried to convince himself, however, as the passing adventurers cast magic such as a small fire and water, there was no way that could be VFX.

He could only sit back and despair that maybe he had died in the train he was riding, then becoming transferred into another world.

There were magic circles that appeared everywhere, glowing in each corner of his eyes, and even the children played with them.

This was in another world. He needed to accept that.

But how come there was a connection if this was another world?

"Ah, wait a minute. Open up your status and make it visible to me."

Ichiro was suddenly pulled by his hand as he was turned to face Kyori.

"S-Status?"

He was very well familiar with such terms, but as he spoke it, there was a yellow holographic interface that popped up right in front of his face.

As much as he loved games, there was in no way that this was possible.

Along with being transported to another world, things like a game system were within his grasp.

"Come one, stop staring at it and show me!"

The panel was visible for both of them but it was only facing Ichiro who was dumbfounded.

Kyori quickly ran behind him to see, and just as she looked, his status was unfathomable.

[Ichiro Mushibami: Lvl 1.

Status Chart Summary: Intelligence and Agility are above average. Lacking in Strength and Constitution.

Skills: Healing Factor Lv. 1, Luck Lv. 2, Curiosity Lv. 1, Inspect Lv. 1, Wisdom Lv. 1, Cooking Lv. 3, Household Lv. 3, Insight Lv. 1.

Unique Skills: Traveler Lv. X, Adaptation Lv. X

Class: Commoner/■■■■

Sponsor: N/A]

It was almost unbelievable.

He had a redacted class beside the commonse class. This was a pattern that he knew would be somehow familiar.

"You're a commoner with a Traveler and Adaptation unique skill?!"

She shouted as if it was something amazing, making Ichiro surprised as he flinches back.

She didn't see the redacted text beside it somehow, only making fun of the class he had as he ponder what it was.

"I-Is it some kind of overpowered skill?!"

"HAHA! NO! How did a commoner like you manage to go out and travel lots of places just to gain a useless skill?!"

Kyori was bursting out of laughter as Ichiro realizes the embarrassment. She was laughing so hard that they began to gain the gazes of the passing people.

"Not to mention that your adaptation skill is also maxed! That's why you were just fine sitting in the middle of the wasteland!"

She kept on laughing, pointing at Ichiro as he falls back to the side of the fountain where he sat.

"This is so uncool."

Just as she thought that having a system and being transferred into another world would grant him an unbelievable overpowered skill, his class was only a commoner with a traveling skill which he never knew what does.

But wait, a traveling skill? He thought to himself.

He rushed to open up his phone screen and swipe to the game he had, however, that game that he once played was gone.

It was then that he began to realize.

"Status: Help."

He spoke under his breath, seeing a series of countless commands available for him.

"..."

It was just like the game he had played, but this...

It was reality.

"Travel."

He casts as another panel prompts with a message.

[State your destination.]

The skill [Travel] was never just about knowing the way how to get in one place or another.

It was something far more simple. If everything was a game then...

You can skip the dull parts of life.

"Earth."

[Connecting To Earth. Found Catalyst. Proceeding Transfer.]

Without a word, Ichiro vanishes in front of the distracted Kyori.

"—?! Where did he go?!"

—A slip through the cracks, a slither-like movement that brought him to an awry location.