1 A Month In Another World
~Chapter 1: A Month In Another World
Poverty had plagued the lands of Aishkafel for the past decades.
Worse, the debt they incurred from their neighboring countries ended what little hope they had for recovery. If one were to trace the origin of how the renowned "richest land in the East" became a land of nothing but beggars, one could only blame the instance that happened fifty-three years ago—
A sudden demon invasion…
Creatures from unknown lands struck the shore of the Belur Continent without warning. Monsters that bore a significant resemblance to humans, but having superior attributes, unabatedly ravaged the lands. Being on the far east side of the continent, the Aishkafel Kingdom took the brunt of the demon invasion.
Miraculously, the Aishkafel Kingdom mustered enough military strength to fend off the demonic invaders. However, in exchange for suddenly having such strength, they exhausted valuable resources far more than they could ever replenish.
Mines were shut down after getting declared dead due to over-mining— mineral resources, especially metals important for forging, disappeared completely, making blacksmithing, or even simple repairs, impossible. Followed by the disappearance of vital resources to maintain the military, the kingdom in itself gradually lost the trust of its people.
With no reliable way of maintaining the huge armada, the Aishkafel kingdom eventually lost hold on its own military power— soldiers were disinclined in offering their services; doing any further than what they already did during the war could only lead them to eventual harm. The citizens, seeing most of the soldiers flee, reluctantly stayed.
However, they were now having doubts about their safety.
As a last-ditch effort, the monarchy decided to borrow from neighboring kingdoms. With a stand of having these kingdoms owe the Aishkafel for not bringing upon the invasion unto them, the other kingdoms could only succumb to such unreasonable request. However, they all knew for a fact that the Aishkafel was already into a very steep decline—
An unaccounted mistake could easily prove lethal to the very existence of the kingdom.
The Aishkafel kingdom survived for a few more decades— fifty years after the invasion. The war that stretched for three years scarred the very core of what used to be a great kingdom; now, it was simply impossible for Aishkafel to return to its former glory.
---
*Crackle*
A huge dent appeared on the surface of a red orb laying atop a watery steep. Gradually, the slit of what initially looked like a mere scratch became a huge crack. A mysterious pitch-black liquid slowly oozed out of the crack and mixed with the pond below it.
"I… I am free. I am finally free!" exclaimed a voice muffled in the void. "I am… No, what is this? Where is my body? My immortal body... is gone!?" the voice rebuked. "No… No!".
The pond bubbled; clouds of vapor rose as the dark liquid, which was initially diluted by the huge amount of water in the pond, became dense and concentrated, ultimately turning the pool into an almost-empty crater with nothing but the dense pitch-black liquid in it.
"So be it… I will look for a new body myself. A body that will transcend this pitifully confined realm. It will be better than my old body by leaps and bounds… I, the Dark Demiurge, swear this unto my own name." the muffled voice resounded once more.
Inside the crater that formerly housed a pond, the concentrated dark liquid eventually solidified, turning itself into a pitch-black sphere. The sphere then spun, causing the air around it to fluctuate in a destructive and frenzied manner.
*Rip!*
A gap that leads to the void was forcefully ripped open. As soon as the very fabric of space and time was torn by the abnormal fluctuations it caused, the pitch-black sphere immediately leaped unto it, vanishing with the dissipation of the punctured void.
---
About a month later— In a hut near the shores of the Aishkafel kingdom.
...
System Notification— A quest has been issued.
-Type: Daily Quest
-Task: Catch (2x) Carrion Fish
-Difficulty: F
-Reward: (20x) Gold
...
'This quest again, huh? Alright. The fish in itself isn't edible, but the twenty-gold reward is pretty good on its own.' Kirin thought. If he wasn't mistaken, it should be his fourth time doing the same quest for the past month. Its repetitiveness did not bother him, though. Compared to those quests that required a lot of things to be done, this one was far easier.
He had pretty much mastered what to do for the quest.
Back then, he had no idea what a Carrion Fish even was. But with the assistance of the "system", he gradually discovered how to complete the quest. All this time, If it wasn't for the system's help, Kirin could've sworn that he'd be stuck clueless upon his sudden arrival. 'It should be noon by now, I should get going before the sea level rises too much,'
Kirin rose from his bed and fixed what little blanket he had in an orderly fashion.
His bed, made from thin twigs and a single sturdy log, shook when he tried tapping some dirt off. 'Tss, I couldn't afford breaking this bed. There's not enough wood around to fix it.'
Kirin walked out of the hut, no longer bothered to clean things up. It was fine for him to be hygienic back on Earth, but it would be inconvenient if he were to do the same here— Well, he wasn't planning on living a barbarous life either. Personal hygiene was a different story.
The bright afternoon sun shone down the empty village. According to the system; this place was previously a prominent fishing village of the Aishkafel Kingdom prior to the demon invasion. Fearing another attack, the residents completely evacuated the area.
'It's really a shame this place is empty.' Kirin thought. Back when he first arrived, Kirin felt a little depressed about living all alone. A life of isolation, however, wasn't as bad as what he thought it would be. Truth be told, it felt like it wasn't all that different from his previous life.
He was a businessman back on Earth who spent more time with clients than socializing with peers and colleagues. Although he was a notch above everyone else in the industry, he was clearly nothing more than a lonely tycoon. "That is why I decided to live modestly." As if the words he just spoke was deeply-rooted in him, Kirin clenched his fist, a resolved expression appeared on his face. "...I will live a better life here than what I had back then."
Although it was a pity that he died without being able to do anything to change his own destiny; the fact that he got sent into another world for another chance in life, made Kirin feel at ease— It was better this way than him regretting everything in the void of the afterlife.
The system's existence made it all the more convenient, and in a way, fun— It definitely was a bonus for someone like Kirin who knew nothing about fighting and survival.
Although he indeed had hardships during his previous life; quarreling against your landlord about late rent was a lot different than fighting against creatures that could literally tear an arm off in a blink of an eye. Either was terrifying, but both situations were different.
In a way, the system's guidance made Kirin's goal of living a modest life in a fantasy world possible.
…
After taking a quick bath on a nearby lake, Kirin made his way to the shoreline.
Dressed in clothes left by the residents of the fishing village, Kirin looked neat and fresh. Even with untrimmed hair and beard, he still looked youthful. It was apparent that he got transported into this world with a much younger body; there was no way that this was the forty-year-old body of his. Roughly guessing, his current age should be at around the '20s.
Along the way, Kirin picked up a long and sturdy stick; it was his preferred tool for hunting a Carrion fish. "This should be enough," muttered Kirin as he tried swinging the stick around, trying to gauge whether or not it could withstand, at the very least, a single strike.
After walking for a few more minutes, Kirin arrived at a crevice on the coastline's rock wall.
The crevice was wide enough that one could consider it as a cave, or a cavern, at the least.
Naturally, this cavern became a habitat for various creatures, one of them being the Carrion fish. If it wasn't for the system's clarification back then, Kirin would've initially wandered off finding random dead fish on the shore, mistaking the quest for something along the lines of looking for a literal "carrion" fish. Luckily, he did not do so, as it would have looked foolish.
Kirin entered the cavern and a notification screen appeared,
...
System Notification— You've entered an area.
-Name: Aishkafel Coastline Cavern
-Type: Carrion Fish Nesting Ground
-Location: Borena Fishing Village, Aishkafel Kingdom
-Difficulty: F-Grade Threat - Non-threatening
...
The notification screen appeared just as expected.
Kirin felt ecstatic back then when he finally found the cavern. However, for someone who had been in the same place for the fourth time, the notification felt quite unnecessary. Still, Kirin appreciates the effort of the system to consistently provide guidance and information. It was definitely an effort worth acknowledging.
…
Kirin walked deeper into the cavern.
It did not take long before a Carrion fish made an appearance.
The creature, which had webbed feet instead of fins, looked more like an amphibious monster than a normal fish. However, with gills constantly spewing vapor, one could tell that it wasn't normally breathing air, technically classifying the hideous creature as a fish.
It had an appearance that resembled a zombified fish, just as its name suggested. With physical features such as its disproportionate tail, unaligned eyes, and ghoulish green skin; one would never mistake the creature as something else — It was indeed a Carrion fish.
...
Carrion Fish (LV. 25)
-Health: 24,500
-Mana: 200
-Mana Color: Black - Blue - Green
-Monster Type: Undead - Aquatic
-Monster Class: Dark Dweller - Assassin
~System's Assessment: Creature [non-threatening] to the host.
...
"Oh? It's a pretty strong one!" Kirin exclaimed at the sight of the ghoulish-looking fish. It was his first time seeing a Carrion fish with a level higher than twenty. 'Hmmm, that's interesting… It has mana? I've never seen these fishes having mana before...'
If his memory serves right, what he saw from the other Carrion fishes were health, type, and class. They had no mana or mana color, back then. 'Did something change since the last time I did the quest? — Huh, eh?'
Kirin's thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the Carrion fish which suddenly sprung up and charged towards him. "They became much aggressive as well..." Something fishy was definitely going on, but as to what it was, Kirin had no clue. Simultaneously dodging away from the fish's charge while swinging the stick he was carrying, Kirin struck the fish down.
[-17,401]
Kirin dealt massive damage in a single blow, leaving the fish stunned and barely alive. If it was a different Carrion fish, it would've been dead already. However, the one right in front of him was rather unique, having a much higher level, and thus, having more health.
*Snap*, "Ah… it wasn't sturdy enough." just after a single swing, the stick he used immediately shattered into pieces. "I guess I'll have to do things the other way." Kirin clenched his fist, he then threw a power-packed punch towards the unconscious fish.
As whistling noise followed by a sonic boom suddenly echoed throughout the cavern.
[-14,221]
Successfully Killed: Carrion Fish (LV. 25) [+25,000 EXP]
Congratulations, You Leveled Up! (LV. 40) [+50 Status Points]
[Required Experience Points to LV. 41: 421,000 EXP]
System Notification: Your status is being updated…
...
Kirin Frey (LV 40)
Job: None
Titles: None
Health: 46,000
Mana: 5,000
Mana Color: Gray
Gold: 1,880
Status Points: 50
EXP Required: 421,000
Strength: 450
Agility:400
Sense: 600
Vitality: 450
Intelligence: 100
Skill 1: System's Eye (--)
Skill 2: None
Skill 3: None
...
What followed the shattering noise was complete silence... and a slight beep coming from the system's notification; of course, Kirin was the only one who could hear the latter sound. His status page abruptly opened after leveling up, Kirin immediately assigned the status points that he gained into strength, changing the value to a solid 500. "That should do it," muttered Kirin as he smiled while looking at the stacks of numbers on his status page.
Closing his status page, Kirin knelt and inspected the corpse of the Carrion fish.
He was curious as to how the fish suddenly had mana, "It even had three mana colors."
The uncharacteristic aggressiveness was also something that Kirin found unusual. Looking at the corpse, he couldn't find anything strange about it; it was still the same hideous fish. After a slight touch, the corpse suddenly turned into light particles, "Ah! I forgot about that."
Successfully Acquired: Carrion Fish
System Notification: Adding item into Inventory…
"Alright then… nevermind." Kirin shrugged. It was not like he could learn any further about what caused the fish to change just by looking at it. Although he could try and retrieve the fish from his inventory; it would never be the same. He might get one of the other eight Carrion fishes instead. If that happens, it would be impossible for him to tell the difference.
...
— Inventory —
Equipment
1x [Sword of the Martyr]
12x [High-Demon Knights Lance]
40x [Iron Sword]
Consumables
10x [Red Potions]
Miscellaneous
9x [Carrion Fish]
1x [Map of the Belur Continent]
Quest Item
1x [Tainted Bronze Key]
20x [Remains of the Invasion]
80x [Demon Horns]
...
Kirin opened the inventory tab through his thoughts— as this is how he interacts with the system, which is integrated inside his head— and inspected the items inside; making sure that the fish he just "caught" counted. It did count, as he could clearly see 9 fishes in the Miscellaneous tab. Kirin then made a quick glance through the other items inside the inventory, 'I accumulated quite a lot in just a few months, huh.' he thought.
Every day for the past month had been an exciting adventure for Kirin. Besides the levels, he gained quite a lot of things through 'Daily Quests' and 'Sudden Missions'. Although some of those quests— including the one he was doing right now; which is catching an inedible fish in exchange for a certain amount of gold— made no sense in hindsight, Kirin was still eager to do it despite not really getting the point of the whole thing. It was not a matter of preference or what not; trusting the system— which had been his only strand of hope in surviving in a fantasy world— was something any logical person should be doing.
After ensuring that the ninth fish counted, Kirin closed the system's inventory.
"That's one fish down, one more to go." Kirin decided to just continue the quest and no longer bother about the whole "fish with mana" anymore. But just when he was about to walk deeper into the cavern, he suddenly felt some presence outside, approximately near the cave's entrance. 'Wait, there are people outside?' Kirin wondered. Although he could easily detect other's presence, he was unsure what brought these strangers to explore the shores in the first place. Weren't people afraid to go near the shores anymore since the invasion? It didn't make sense for them to suddenly come here…
The situation immediately made Kirin curious. 'People… Hmmm, this should be my first time seeing others in this world… Should I approach them?' Kirin pondered for a while before deciding not to go out. People or monsters, both have the potential to be dangerous—
The risk simply outweighed the benefits.
Either way, he could just hide, wait, and see what would happen. Surely, anyone that tries to go inside a stinking cavern with nothing but hideous creatures in it should have a fixed goal in mind. Kirin could just use the 'System's Eye' to assess these people later on. That way, he could easily gauge whether or not it would be fine to approach them.
Kirin hid behind a boulder, peeking through the top ever so slightly.
The sound of footsteps treading through wet sand grew closer. Kirin waited until he could see a silhouette brush past the boulder's reflection; the light coming from the entrance slightly dimmed, providing Kirin the perfect opportunity to have a clearer view of the strangers, 'Huh? Demons?'
