Chapter 6: Episode 2 - The Wanderer's Examination (1)

The two stared with confusion and wonder at the windows that had popped up in front of them, an interface with simple text and embellishments.

"What the hell...?" Ji-Ho muttered as she touched upon the interface in front of her. Upon her grazing against it, the window shattered into a thousand fragments, gradually turning into nothingness as she watched the wind blow it all away.

Suddenly, a soft purring noise came from underneath her shirt.

Unfurling her cloak, Ji-Ho spotted a whitened ball of fluff sitting within her interior pocket. She had not even noticed the cat that had slipped their way into her pocket. It was that which had led her to Meihua in the first place.

Looking over at Ji-Ho, Meihua let out a quieted laugh.

"Ah, so even Nuo has come with us to this world." Meihua smiled.

"Nuo?" Ji-Ho asked of her, still staring down at the wiggling ball of fluff that slept still within her pocket.

"She has been the only friend I've had for the longest time..." Meihua smiled. "I'm relieved that she is here with us, truly."

The wind wrapped around her neck like an icy scarf. The warmth of Nuo tucked against the underside of her chest kept her from shivering, even though the clouds started to group up in grey swirls, blocking out the sun.

Ji-Ho stood up, walking along the field of wildflowers as she stared off into the horizon.Stepping along the silky field, she stumbled upon a slimy substance that covered the bare patch of earth beneath her. A face of disgust washed over her face as she pulled her boot back.

In the center of the pool of sludge that littered the grassland, a single glimmering piece of gold sat alone. Ji-Ho reached for the shiny treasure, and upon picking it up, a message popped up in the corner of her vision.

[1 Gold has been obtained.]

This was very interesting to Ji-Ho, and also very terrifying. It was like something in a book, a heroine who had been transported to another world and recieved strange messages that allured to something greater than themselves.

[Your personal attribute skill has been unlocked.]

Ji-Ho had no idea what this meant. Yet upon seeing it, a feeling erupted from the depths of her body; it was a muscle memory so indescribable, as if she knew what to do with it simply by habit.

She took two fingers with her left hand and placed them upon the air as if it were simply a surface to be touched. Swiping downward, Ji-Ho pulled an interface out of thin air.The interface was fairly simple, containing icons to view your equipment, inventory, and character list.

Ji-Ho had nothing in her inventory besides the single gold coin, and the knife she had forever carried by her side.

She dragged the silver knife out of her inventory, equipping it to an item slot in her equipment list. A glimmering knife appeared in her right hand, a bit larger than before.

The guard against the hilt was curved, and the back of the knife was serrated and fine. The whole weapon seemed to have a yellow-golden sheen that would dance on the edge of the blade. It felt lighter than a weapon like this usually would.

Her character list was fairly simple, and it contained a lot of useful information.

[Ji-Ho]

「Attribute Skill: Universe Composition」

Constitution: 10

Strength: 10

Agility: 10

Magic Power: 10(+10)

Weapon Proficiency: 5 (*)

「Skill List:」

[Alchemic Exchange: Level 1]

[Quantum Superposition: Level 1]

Summary: A character with a skillset useful for survival and practical situations, but not too much focused towards combat abilities.

The attribute skill [Universe Composition] allowed her to see the makeup of every puzzle piece that fit together around her and manipulate it with her skills, which were focused towards such tasks.

Ji-Ho was surprised at the summary. She would have assumed with her natural physique that she would be at least somewhat gifted in combat.

In any case, all of this just reaffirmed her suspicions, for she was in a world that acted like a game.

*

"Now that I'm reminiscing, we truly did die... didn't we?" Meihua asked Ji-Ho.

"I suppose we did. Why do you ask?" Ji-Ho wondered.

"Well... if we were able to arrive here by dying... then what of those that we lost?" Meihua pondered. "What if my parents are here as well?"

"You lost your parents?" Ji-Ho asked.

"Yes... a long while ago. It's the reason I was by myself all this time."

A bird perched on a branch in a tree not too far away, whistling a tune whilst Ji-Ho sat beside Meihua, holding a smooth grey stone within her hands.

[Magic Skill: Alchemic Exchange has been activated.]

The stone in her palm glimmered and then ran away in a flash of bright light, disappearing and leaving a piece of quartz in its place.

She set the the quartz down beside her, and watched as a small wound opened up on her wrist, letting her blood flow towards the soil.

[Magic Skill: Alchemic Compensation has been recieved.]

It seemed that the baseline payment for an exchange was her own body, and she did not know yet if she was able to exchange anything other than that.

"You should really use that in moderation..." Meihua said with worried eyes.

"There's no need to worry about me. I've felt much worse." Ji-Ho smiled softly, looking over at Meihua.

"How could I not worry..."

Ji-Ho glanced over at the items beside her, each sowed from multiple stones, brought to this world with her own blood.

— — A stone shaped like a bird, a ball of cotton, a piece of quartz, and a peridot gemstone.

She had tested the limits of the ability, and had so far found out that she could mold substances, exchange them for something similiar, something valuable, or obtain something entirely new.

Each exchange brought about different costs, each measured in her own body's resources.She had tried to use her other ability, [Quantum Superposition] multiple times, but an error message seemed to harass her ears each time.

[You do not have an acceptable level of understanding needed to use this ability.]

It was alluring as to why she could use her first ability, but not this one. Maybe [Alchemic Exchange] was just a simpler ability in the first place.

Wrapping her wrist with strips of cloth, she brushed her hand against Nuo, who had been snuggled under her shirt the entire time. Nuo purred and licked at Ji-Ho's wounds, which stung, but was absolutely adorable.

Ji-Ho was quite a serious person from birth, but had a weakness when it came to all things pretty and cute.

She wondered if that was the reason why her heart had been drawn to the angel beside her.

*

The two women, sensing a storm on the horizon, chose to move on from the field of beautiful wildflowers. While the peace they felt there was immense, it would likely be lost the moment they were unable to find shelter amidst the rainfall.

Luckily for them, as soon as they had crossed over the hill that had long sat beside them, they were able to greet numerous lights upon the horizon.

"It's a town..." Meihua whispered softly.

"It's people..." Ji-Ho smiled erratically alongside her. "It's people that have gathered... without the risk of tragedy"

Upon Earth, those who chose to gather over a certain amount almost certainly fell to the calamity known as the Decay, as if the centering of the stench of humanity was enough for it to track them down to the very edge of the world.

Yet, within the world they had arrived in, the Decay was seemingly not present. There was no worry in gathering; no worry in being human.

For a decade, the two girls had not sat within normalcy of society. Therefore, they couldn't help but run a full-sprint towards the town. Slowly but surely, with each grating step, did the lights grow closer.

In an instant, they had stopped in front of the gate that led into the town, panting relentlessly as they fought a war within themselves to catch their own breaths.

There were no Guards posted outside the gate, but loud music could be heard from inside the walls of the town.

Against the edge of the gate, a large parchment poster sat pinned amidst the brick, words scrawled nearly onto its surface with blackened ink.

[One who wishes to fight against the tyranny of Gods must participate in their cruel, uncertain games. Those who feel they are ready to help liberate the people of this world must join the force of the Wanderers.]

It was clearly an advertisement, but for what it was Ji-Ho did not know certainly. The concepts described upon the parchment were foreign to her, and she couldn't wrap her head around the words in the slightest.

They were also clearly in a language she had never learned, but could understand clearly. Perhaps it was a charm of this world she had been brought to.

Suddenly, a voice called out to them from above. A man in what was semblant of chainmail armour peered over the edge of the wall, a face of stone as he talked to the two women.

"You... are you two new?" He spoke sternly. "Well, I suppose I should be the one to welcome you to Nowhere."

As the gates slowly swung upon, he parted his lips to speak.

"Welcome to the City of Craithe." He said. "I would wish a God's prayer upon you both, but we know well that they don't have good intentions."