Margrave

As humanity hadn't fully figured out teleportation, they used special trains that go so fast it forms a wormhole which then teleports them to the intended station.

Of course, it wouldn't be possible to know where a wormhole would lead, however after experiments done by the Mages Association they discovered that if they opened up another wormhole at the same time then it would connect forming a passageway.

Of course, this all had to do with theoretical physics and the destabilization of the planet's gravity due to mana fluctuations, which I don't know anything about.

I mean I know some physics but not much.

So in order to create these wormholes, two trains were sent from corresponding stations forming a passageway, of course, it all had to be properly timed so as not to end up in the wrong place.

Entering the train I found myself a seat and looked out the window.

At 10:30 AM exactly, the train began moving, as it sped up I was forced to lean back in my seat as the force pushed against me.

As we seemed to reach the max speed which at that point everything was blurring, a massive wormhole opened.

It was like a twisted version of reality.

It felt as if it was sucking me in.

Everything began spinning and I was forced to close my eyes.

Then it stopped.

Opening my eyes, I immediately regretted it as I almost puked.

Clenching my jaw and swallowing it, I gagged in disgust.

Well, that was less fun than I expected.

It was an understatement to say that I had held great expectations for the teleporter system I invented.

However, it seemed I wasn't even able to enjoy my own creation.

It somewhat reminded me of my current life situation.

The wormhole was like a giant twisted reflection of the destination we were heading to.

It was spiral-shaped and it seemed to coil and collapse on itself.

As I looked around, I noticed that everyone else seemed to be used to it.

My eyes flicked slightly to a person dressed in hunting gear.

A protective coat and black cap covered most of his features, however on his back was a large bag.

There were various contraptions in his bag and on him, he was a Hunter.

Hunters were different from Mages.

While Mages used mana to perform all kinds of magical feats, Hunters used the power of machinery and science.

Usually, someone became a Hunter when their potential was low or they had no mana in their body whatsoever and so they had to resort to traps and various other things to kill monsters.

They would patiently wait and trap a monster and once they killed it they would search for a core if there was one.

However, cores were rare as well as expensive.

Cores were essentially power nodes and were used to power many things as well as used in the creation of armor and weapons.

Getting up from my seat and making my way onto the platform, I joined the mass of people.

Making my way through the less grand-looking portal station I eventually made it outside.

The place I had arrived in was named Margrave, a relatively unpopulated area as it was half swamp.

The main reason for its population was due to the abundance of monsters, which made it an effective hunting ground.

Monsters came to the world in places where the mana density was high, when the mana density became thick enough it would form a mini wormhole which would end up swallowing monsters and bringing them here.

And Margrave had a very high mana density.

However, there was a very special reason I came to Margrave.

Deep in the swamp lay a pool of water, also known as the Pool of Life.

The Pool of Life is a pool of water deep in the swamp.

Its water has the ability to suck in pure mana, therefore if someone enters the pool the impurities in their mana will be cleansed.

Therefore the longer someone stayed in the pool the higher their potential became.

However, it was a long and painful process.

As the impurities in the mana were the cause of the limit on a person's potential, the more impurities they had the lesser the potential.

Towards the later stages of the novel, the protagonist would accidentally stumble upon this pool when he was trying to find a way to overcome his potential.

However, I was unsure of what happened far after that, as I had been transported here before I could get that much farther.

However, that wasn't much to worry about as that was far in the future somewhere around 3 years from now when the Great War began.

As I made my way down the bustling road I suddenly remembered I forgot to bring food or water.

Looking around I took in the scenery of the quaint city.

The buildings were made out of brick and stone and looked like they belonged in a much quieter setting.

Many signs hung above the doors to the buildings advertising their wares.

Most of the buildings around were shops with hunting provisions as well as hotels and entertainment.

Making my way down the sidewalk toward a small-looking shop, I stopped in front of it.

The sign read 'Hunters Haven' it was advertising hunting provisions for cheap prices.

The reason I chose it was because it looked small.

Normally someone would want to go to a bigger store as it made them feel as if the quality was higher.

However smaller stores tended to be cheaper and also provided some specialty items.

It was also the closest store to me.

Sue me.

Pushing the dark oak wooden door open, I entered the small store.

A small bell chimed lightly as I stepped into the store.

"Hello!, how can I help you?" called an employee.

Soft wavy light brown hair cascaded down her back.

Her pale white face shone with a slightly unhealthy pallor.

Emerald-green eyes watched me carefully from behind the counter as I entered the shop.

She wore a white blouse and dark black jeans.

She looked relatively young and new to the job as her voice didn't sound robotic yet.

My eyes didn't linger on her body for very long.

Scanning the small shop, I paid attention to the various details.

It was important to know what kind of quality of items I was dealing with.

You could tell a lot about the quality of a shop's items by the shop itself.

The shop's interior appeared to be made out of dark lacquered wood.

Various shelves adorned the walls with items resting on them, description tags underneath them.

The store had the smell of freshly baked cookies, the scent seemed to travel throughout the store as it pervaded every inch of it.

After inspecting the store and concluding that if they took care of their items like they take care of their store, there should be no problem.

Turning my eyes back to the girl who had a cheerful smile on her face, my eyes never left hers.

"I need 4 Hunter meal packs and a 5 cubic meter spatial storage," I said politely.

Just because I was one rotten son of a bitch didn't mean I had to be rude to everyone.

I could be quite polite, you know?

'Shut it.'

"I'm afraid we don't sell storage spaces, you'll have to go to that store over there," she said, pointing at a fancy-looking store in the distance.

"Thanks," I said.

I forgot that spatial storages were regulated by the Mages Association.

As spatial storages were made of special materials and were operated based on science that only the Mages Association possessed, they held the monopoly and regulated it.

I totally looked like a country bumpkin, didn't I?

Damn it.

Rule #31: Never look like a fool.

Silencing my unnecessary thoughts, I watched as she went into the back of the store.

As I waited with my fingers rhythmically tapping on the counter, I noticed that the same Hunter on the train was browsing through the items on display.

Hmm.

It seems like I'll have to hurry up.

Staring outside the shop window, the rays of sunlight peeked through.

It appeared it was almost noon.

"Here you go!" said the girl cheerfully, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"That'll be 40 ∃" she said, holding out a scanning device.

"Thank you, I said as I scanned my phone.

"Would you like anything else? we have many oth–" the girl began to say.

However, I simply picked up the bag with my stuff up and left, leaving the girl flustered.

Making my way over to the shop she pointed me to, I stopped and tidied myself up before entering.

Entering the much higher quality shop, I took my time looking over everything displayed.

The smallest spatial storage I could find was a 1 by 1 cubic meter backpack and even that was going for 999 ∃.

Sighing lightly I resorted to buying a regular backpack, a rope, and a map of the swamp, the trip should take about 2 days each way so it shouldn't be much of a problem.

Unfortunately, I simply couldn't afford a weapon, so I'll have to be as careful as I can.

Luckily the path to the Pool of life didn't contain almost any monsters as the Pool of life sucked all of the mana nearby into it.

Making my way down the busy road I glanced at an alley to my right for a moment before continuing.

After walking on the cobbled stone sidewalk for several minutes I saw my destination.

A big white marble building came into view up ahead, its giant glass windows looming over the surroundings.

At its head, a large golden MA was on display.

It stood for Mages Association.

It was pretty laughable that that was the short version, but it's not like it's my fault or anything.

Arriving in front of the two large glass doors, I stopped.

This was one of the branches of the Mages Association.

However, even here the majestic aura of the Mages Association was felt.

Entering through the large double doors, the echo of my feet on the black marble floor was drowned out by the loud crowd of people heading to and from the swamp.

Walking over I joined the large line of people heading into the swamp.

After what felt like ages and 2 arguments ahead of me, I made it to the front of the line.

"ID," asked one of the guards.

They were dressed in black military gear, heavy mana rifles rested at their hips.

Handing him my phone, I waited as he stared at it for a moment.

"What brings you here, kid?" asked the guy, he was probably in his late 50's.

He had slicked back salt and pepper hair, his eyes held an unusual hardness as he stared at me, scanning me up and down.

Judging by the fact that he didn't have a mana rifle and that he didn't mind asking me questions, he was probably a Mage.

"Monster hunting, sir," I answered with a respectful tone.

Old Mages liked being treated with respect so it didn't hurt to play along with him.

As expected the man's lips curved upwards when I addressed him like that.

"Heh, a youngster as frail as you shouldn't be hunting here," he said.

"Are you aware of the dangers?" he asked, looking at me with serious eyes.

"Yes, sir," I answered, staring him straight in the eyes.

"Hmph, I was just like you when I was younger, be careful out there and follow the path."

He said handing my phone back.

"Here take this, it's an emergency transmitter in case you get into a situation you can't get out of," he said, handing me a small metallic ball.

"Just press the little button on it and I'll know that you need help, normally I'd give you an association one but they usually take longer to respond. Since you've got balls kid I gave you one that'll tell me directly so only use it if you need to," he said with a serious tone.

"Understood, sir," I said, nodding seriously.

Seeing my serious attitude he chuckled slightly and waved for me to pass.

After I passed I dropped my stupid facade and began my journey down the path.

The first thing I noticed as I made my way through the swamp, was that it stank.

I mean it didn't just stink, it is freaking rancid.

I think the most fatal thing in this swamp isn't the monsters but the smell.

I'd rather die than smell it.

Luckily since it was winter it wasn't very hot in the swamp and was rather cool but still.

It's disgusting.

I personally hate dirt, I'm not a germaphobe but I like being clean.

However, I steeled myself and reminded myself that it was all for the sake of survival.

After all, in this world, it was survival of the fittest.

And so my first adventure in another world began.