Ch 9 Strangers, Food, Bath, and Sleep

I was glad the fight was over. I walked over to Arisu, checking her injuries. Even if the healed wounds revert when you leave, the pain is annoying in the white room while we strategize.

I made sure to praise Arisu, "Good job Arisu! That special orc was worth lots of experience points. Did you level up too?"

She looked at me confusedly, "No."

Based on previous experience I should need 16 XP to go from level 4 to 5. With two people splitting the experience we would need to kill 32 regular orcs. We killed 6 orcs, which should have a remainder of 26 more required. Wait, I forgot I had another 4 XP from before Arisu's previous level up to level 4. This means we received equivalent of 18 to 25 regular orc kills for that single special orc, given that Arisu didn't level up either. I also don't think any of those regular orcs was slightly stronger giving extra XP either.

Arisu was looking at me expectantly, waiting for some sort of reply, "Well, I think that special orc was maybe level 5 and we got bonus or double XP for being lower level?"

When I checked the computer, I realized while it does not directly tell you your XP, if you hover the box that has your level it told me I had 3.0/32 XP until level 6. It was similar to how I had checked my mana regeneration rate by hovering over MP or when I hover over my name/title for details. I explained to Arisu the function to check the current XP.

I asked, "Arisu, how much XP do you have?"

Arisu moved from behind me to her laptop and informed, "I have 15 out of 16 XP until level 5."

This is a guess, but maybe level 5 monsters give 16 XP, but if you are under leveled it provides a 50% boost for a total of 24 XP. I checked my skills. I decided to level up Summoning Magic to Rank 6. I have not even had the chance to summon armor yet, and I am already the next Rank. I had a feeling that the just the buffs to existing summons was better than the buffs to the support skills or new spells in general. I did feel a slight regret though, I had ranked healing magic to Rank 2, If I had skipped Healing I could have had both Summoning magic rank 6 and Support magic rank 4 this time around, but that remove pain spell was helpful previously. Never mind, I added that wrong… Considering what I unlocked at Rank 2, I don't think I will increase the rank to Healing Magic again for the foreseeable future. I had the thought previously that I would be needing it, but I think Arisu will not have any issues charging into that field. Plus, my water elemental has some sort of healing property. I think taking a Rank 1 in an elemental magic could be useful, but the elementals cover that aspect. I now have a max mana pool of 50 and I could summon two elementals at the same time, but I would be at 0 mana after.

I think I will, wait a moment. That other girl, uhm Tamaki will be joining us. If I was going to go solo, Summoning magic makes total 100% sense. However, I think I should level up Support magic to rank 4 this time around. My max mana will limit me from multiple high level summons regardless, this level up means I am increasing my summons count even without increasing my Summoning magic rank. I'll ask Arisu what she thinks.

I ask half expectantly, "Arisu, do you think I should increase Summoning magic to rank 6 or Support magic to rank 4? I think if your friend Tamaki is going to join us, support magic makes more sense, but what do you think?"

Arisu looks at me with a smile, "Tamaki? Oh! Where is she?"

I explained that I found Tamaki right before that roar attracted my attention. She is safe and hiding with others. Apparently there is a hidden stairwell to the next level she is hiding in. She does not look injured.

Arisu with a relieved expression answers back, "I am so relieved! Hehe."

I continued, "So…"

Arisu answered fairly easily, "Support magic will help Tamaki level up!"

I had to nod and agree with that point. "That's true. I'll increase support magic from rank 3 to 4. So I just wanted to double check, but is there only one entrance to the second floor?"

Arisu shook her head, "Well, there are two emergency exits on both the left and right sides of the building, but they are exits only."

I nodded with a thoughtful expression, "I'll summon two ravens. One will guard the main entrance while the other will patrol outside around the building. When we leave the white room, let's go to Tamaki and see the other people hiding with her."

I clicked finish on my screen. I then looked at Arisu, "Anything else before you click finish on your screen?"

Arisu jumped out of her seat without clicking finish with a blank look before it turned gloomy, "You forgot about Shiki-san! She watched her best friend being raped and killed by those orcs… She has suffered!"

I had to agree that I wouldn't want that to happen to me, but I persevered, "Okay, I will summon temporary clothing for you to carry to her. While I did briefly look at her, I didn't take note of her dimensions, so I'll give you a robe. I'll go to Tamaki and take a look at the others. I'll prepare some food and drinks, you bring her to our side of the building. Questions?"

Arisu nodded in agreement and clicked finish on the computer.

Results:

Kazuhisa level 4 to 5: Summoning Magic Rank 5, Support Magic Rank 3 to 4, Healing magic Rank 2, Remaining SP: 0 to 6 to 2

Arisu level 4: Spear Rank 3, Physical Rank 1, Movement Rank 1, Healing magic Rank 2, Remaining SP: 1

I used deportation magic on my remaining familiars. I then summoned a raven to patrol outside, one to watch the main staircase, one to follow Arisu, and one to follow me. I then summoned a Gray wolf to protect me. I then noticed the blue gem different from the other 14 red gems. I looked at Arisu's spear and repaired it just in case. I then summoned a black trench coat, I was hoping to summon a priest robe, but I guess I made a mistake? I handed the coat to Arisu. I then saw her injuries and casted a heal on her once.

I made sure to remind Arisu, "Don't forget to heal your self some more."

We separated at the top of the stairs. While walking towards the hidden staircase, I thought about the new option to summon protection and armor. We can talk and try it out after we eat. I was quite thirsty and hungry. When I got into the room, I started to summon some items. I summoned two loaves of bread, a table knife, spoon, jar of peanut butter, and a jar of grape jelly; spending 4 Mana. I then summoned 6 cups, two half gallons of milk, and 6 apples; spending another 10 Mana. I can summon two cups for 1 Mana, but if there is only 5 people then I'll have two apples for myself. I then decided to summon an apple slicer, now spending a total of 15 Mana for everything.

I yelled for Tamaki, "Tamaki! The area is clear, I am making food, come on down!"

I started to make the sandwiches on the table. I started to scoop peanut butter onto 10 slices of bread. I then started to hear the noises from upstairs, they should be moving down soon…

I started to stir the jelly in the jar to make it easier to spread. I dumped an equal amount on each slice, quickly spreading the jelly and finishing the sandwich. I also took note that the peanut butter is written with English, the jelly is in French, the bread is Arabic, and the milk is in Russian. I thought it was two half gallons when it's actually two 2L 2.5% Milk from the Молоко company. Also the grape jelly while Welch's also sells in the USA the label is written in French. The Arabic white bread says sliced bread in English, but it also has Arabic letters on the label. I guess I didn't notice until I paid more attention.

I had finished the 4th sandwich when I heard the door being opened. Tamaki and 7 other girls were hiding on the third floor.

Tamaki took a look at me, looking for my expression. When she didn't see any negative feelings on my face she started smiling and explaining, "It's great, it's really great! Just now I heard a big sound, and then everything became quiet. I almost died worrying! Where is Arisu?"

I continued making sandwiches and explained, "She is bringing someone else here. I am preparing some food for everyone."

With 11 people total, I summoned 6 more cups, 7 more apples, and two more 2L Milks. The cups were in pairs of random colors. The apples were also a mix of different types: Red delicious, Golden delicious, Fuji, Granny smith, Pink lady, Honey crisp, and Gala. The milk was also from the USA this time. I spent 11 more Mana. I then opened the next loaf of bread and made 11 more sandwiches, as each loaf has 21 slices of bread. When I finished preparing the sandwiches, the other girls had paper plates ready. Apparently, there were girls who were part of the Cooking Society. Another girl had sliced the apples and another had started pouring milk into cups while the other girls arranged the seating.

Arisu came into the door, immediately saw Tamaki, dropping her spear, "Tamaki! I am so relieved and happy!"

Shiki Yukariko entered the room with a trench coat on, her collar bone was visible. She proceeded to sit down at the table. I had then cut the 9 sandwiches in half. I took a plate with different apple slices on it, grabbed two sandwiches, and a cup with milk in it. I then started to relax for a moment eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

The girls started to explain to Arisu and Shiki Yukariko that 2 guys arrived at the building running away from orcs, the orcs had followed them to the building and proceeded to kill them and 3 other girls. The only survivor who was caught by the orcs is Shiki Yukariko herself. I am actually surprised that 9 girls managed to survive out of the original 12 girls in the building.

Tamaki bragged that she and 2 other First years had ignored the dangers of the orcs to climb a nearby tree, threw a rope into a window on the third floor, and the Tea Ceremony Society students who were already on the third level helped bring them into safety when they climbed the rope.

I mumbled, "Even Indiana Jones would be shocked with this accomplishment."

I then noticed something, "This building only has clubs with girl members?"

One girl explained that today, only Tea Ceremony Society and Cooking Society was in the building. There is a Drama Society that does have 2 male members, but other than those two, yes there are only girls in this building for clubs. This old building was originally used when the school was an all-girls school three decades ago, as it was old and rarely used it was never updated with a male restroom. There is a single person bathroom and shower on the first floor that males can use.

I guess it makes sense and it's natural for the survivors to all be girls. They are all younger than me, other than Shiki Yukariko, if there were any guys I can have them be muscles and do all the heavy lifting. Other than that, a situation like a guy being surrounded by girls, is kind of uncomfortable. But if it is in a novel, it can be described as a paradise… If I was surrounded by female classmates who watched the original Kazuhisa, then I think I would not be able to stay here, but they are effectively strangers who are dependent on me.

I had a stray thought though, what if Shiki Yukariko told Arisu or the others about how much I am a loser I was? Then I thought of something very simple, when I looked at Shiki-san talking to the other girls, my eyes grew ruthless as I had resolved myself to an easy answer, I would kill her. I saw Shiki-san peaking at me for a moment and turning back away. I hope she realizes the existence of a virtual noose around her neck if she goes out of line.

At some point, when the room was silent as the others were busy eating, I decided to start explaining, "Well, you might not believe it, but magic is real now, apparently."

I had everyone's attention at this point, continuing, "I'll try to explain briefly, but there are these orc monsters that are raping and killing people. If you kill an orc you will gain XP and can level up to level 1. You will be brought to a white room with a laptop where you can select between choices to place your skill points. For example, I can use summoning magic and supporting magic. Arisu can use a spear and healing magic."

I took a drink of my milk, then continued, "By myself, I used the safest method to level up to level 1 by building a pit trap and had accidentally lured an orc into it before killing it with a long spear. If you have gasoline or if you learn fire magic, you can trap an orc and then just light it on fire."

Maybe I rambled too much, but the others have frowns now, while Shiki has a face like she is in deep thought. I continued with my thoughts aloud, "I haven't tested it, but I think Earth magic would be useful to make traps and then you could just bury them to slowly kill and suffocate an orc. If someone learns Earth magic when they level up, that would also help the entire group protect the area with more traps. Oh, and me and Arisu can assist each of you to get to level 1 tomorrow morning. I'll be honest, I am very tired."

I looked at Arisu, waiting for her to make eye contact, "I am going to rest, if you can wake me up in 30 minutes I should have all or most of my mana recovered. Then I will summon you and Tamaki-san some armor, and, uhm 9 weapons. Well, I think I might only have enough mana to summon 5 or 6 weapons."

Arisu nodded, then looked hesitant, "Okay, Kazu-senpai. I'll look for some supplies?"

I had the wolf familiar come to the corner of the room with me while I used his soft body as a back recliner. I did notice some of the girls stiffen when they realized a large gray wolf in the room with them, but relaxed when they watched me lay down with the said wolf. With the tense emotions relaxed, at a spot I designated to rest, the accumulated fatigue came in at one go where I fell asleep quickly.

I woke up to some shaking. Once I opened my eyes, I noticed the surroundings are filled with the scent of incense used in funerals. The surroundings have a dim light, probably from candles. I see, if it's candles, then once you close the main door, the light will not escape outside.

A voice came from somewhere very near me, "I lighted some incense, because it is too smelly."

I raised my head and saw Shiki Yukariko sitting beside me, looking at me. She is wearing gym clothes from the high school section, that is probably something that is always in the Tea Ceremony Society. But, why is she the only one around?

Seeing my confused expression, Shiki Yukariko laughed bitterly, explaining, "Arisu told me to look after you, while she is going to bathe with Tamaki."

Oh, I wonder if there is any hot water.

Noticing my wonder, she denied my thoughts, "Sorry to spoil your expectation, there is only cold water."

I guessed so, but even if there is only cold water, that is already good enough. I am covered in sweat, mud, and blood; completely filthy. And, I feel itchy all over, no matter if it is a cold bath, I don't care.

I then remembered the scene when we first discovered her. Indeed, seeing her previous state, it's not surprising she had already taken a bath.

She started to explain what has happened, "There is a food storage in the basement of this Cultivating Center, some emergency rations too, but mostly energy bars. We cleared it a bit, those rations could probably let 10 people here survive for a year. There are also some cans and water tanks and bottles, so we don't have to worry for a while. We also found a generator which uses fuel, but considering it's loud noise we did not try to start it."

I nodded my head in agreement, a smart judgement. This proves my theory that she can manage, and given the sort of tragic stuff she just went through, her liveliness surprised me.

She continued her explanation, "Also, we moved all the corpses to the innermost classroom on the first floor. We are going to bury them tomorrow morning. Other than that… Ah, why are you looking at me like that?"

"Eh? Wah, ah, sorry."

She waved me off, "Forget it, it's fine." She used her hand to brush her hair behind her, she then guessed my thoughts, "Just saying so, I am actually forcefully enduring it. If I don't do something, I will not be able to handle this situation."

I guess that makes sense, "I see… Sorry…"

She then patronizingly barked, "Don't apologize. If not for you, I would be dead or still in the midst of hell, so I am very grateful to you, thank you," she ended the statement with gratitude in her voice.

I felt off, because It was not my intention to save her, "You should thank Arisu, if I met you by myself, I would have asked for deferred compensation."

I got in the mood, not quite bragging, almost indifferently like the subject I was talking about was not directly in front of me being spoken to, "While I am strong enough to not need a meat shield or a distraction for combat, I would not hesitate to abandon you if a situation arrived where I had to make the decision to."

She actually smiled at me in understanding, "Yes, I understand, I have seen your situation before, and as you look at me, it was me who have always abandoned you."

I nodded powerlessly. She is right, I saved her, but actually that was just the development of the situation. For the same reason she abandoned me previously, we are only following the scenario, making the best choice at the time. The best choice for me is to save her, even if I don't like her.

There isn't any meaning in saying anything in reply at this point.

She then got my attention, "Don't reject it anymore, the you now is filled with power."

I nodded, "Yeah, everyone can level up"

She grinned, like she was in on a secret, "Oh? Arisu was telling Tamaki that she needed to join your party for extra skill points by imagining she was to become girlfriend when she kills an orc? By the way, she was the one who healed me of my serious injuries."

I then understood her intention, she wanted to know more about that, "Well, after you are level 1, you can join someone's party by mutual intention and I think close proximity? But before you are level 1, you can't join someone's party. I had Arisu imagine she is one of my wives when she killed an orc to immediately join my party as she leveled up, whereby I could go into the white room with her. I have a bonus for some reason that gives me bonus stuff, and a reduced bonus can be shared with a limited amount of others."

She then looked up to me, "So, what now? Are you going to banish me out of this building and send me to the orcs?"

I shook my head, "Nah, I will not do that sort of thing."

She nodded, as that is what she expected apparently, "I know, but if you were that sort of person, I would have less guilt to my self-reproach."

I expressed my agreement, "Yes, good." So she felt painful to her own powerlessness; she herself who can't do anything.

She then had a look of begging, "Anyways, can't you do something like punch me and then I can ask you to forgive me?"

While I didn't expect her to be this simple and straight forward, I was shocked and it showed on my face, I shook my head, "No. I will not beat you."

She looked crestfallen, "Ah, then at least flick my forehead."

I laughed bitterly, and when I was about to bring my finger to flick her forehead, she closed her eyes. I decided to flick her nose instead.

She looked at me like I tricked her, "Ow, You tricked me! Ah, this does not hurt at all!"

I shook my head, "You have already experienced so much, and I do not want others that are not my enemy to feel pain anymore."

She then nodded in understanding, "Yes! You have killed many orcs, it has been tough on you."

I wanted to scoff at that, because Arisu is the one standing in the frontline and she is the one who has it tough; however, I then remembered my first few kills.

Ah, I need to double check our perimeter and summon weapons.

Getting a little serious, I ask, "What weapons should I summon? I can summon any weapon, but for you girls I can summon short light swords, light long spears, bow and arrow, throwing knives, javelin, or maybe a staff. I can summon larger weapons when you level up. I think a spear would be the best, to kill from a distance, but I can have my summons hold prey down to kill them, or we can use a pit trap. What do you think?"

She got into a thinking pose, "Uhm, I think spears make the most sense for beginners, but can you summon nets or hammers?"

I thought for a moment, shook my head, "I can summon hammers, but the nets will most likely not be reinforced like a gladiator's net, but a common fishing net a fisherman uses in durability and strength. I think in the future I will be able to summon them, but not now, however, I feel that I could summon a different kind of net, called a bola. But that would be more like a cowboy than anything. I could also summon a catchpole, also known by it's colloquial name man catcher, a long stick with a U shape at one end to keep others at bay or pinned to the ground."

Shiki-san nodded and agreed, "I think two spears and some catchpoles makes the most sense at this point. We can team up to take down a single monster. We can look for other things later, but I am really looking forward to watching your summoning magic."

Well, it was time to get started, with a loud grunt, I hopped up.

Shiki-san game a loud eekk screech, backing away like I was going to pin her down. She immediately fixed her posture like nothing happened, then apologized revealing an ironic smile, "Ah, sorry I was surprised."

While she showed a strong indifferent front most of the time, she definitely had PTSD after going through that trauma.

She said under her breath, "I thought I have already worked very hard…"

I didn't really know how to take what she said, maybe she thought she could ignore her stress or something? I don't know, but I decided to leave the room and keep a distance from her. I wanted to just move towards the door, but I needed to summon some things first. I summoned 2 spears and then 4 of the catchpoles as I had previously mentioned. While it was mostly dark, the summoning had a flash of light for a moment each time I summoned a new item.

I wanted to leave the room quickly, so I briefly explained, "I am getting low on mana, it will be another 35 to 40 minutes before I am full again. Most people recover 60% of their mana per hour while I recover 180% of my mana per hour."

I quickly left the room and closed the door after my wolf passed with me. I Then realize I left behind my wooden spear, but I didn't feel like going back into that room. I decided to walk outside. I have the rank 2 support magic spell Alert Territory that I plan to use around the cultivation center. At rank 2 it can last for up to 12 hours or until I cancel it, but with my rank 4 status it can last up to 24 hours instead. As I walked around the building, each of the four cardinal directions around the building I had set up the spell with the setting of: [As long as something which exceeds the size of a kid pass the boundary, the alarm will sound]. I ended up using 8 Mana, but in the 8 minutes of walking outside I have recovered 12 Mana. I then walked back inside the building.

I looked up at the sky, and notice there are 2 moons. I have two different sets of memories on how the constellations should look, both different; this makes the third version now, not that I had any in depth knowledge of precise coordinates. I had already known this was a different world, but seeing is believing. While I knew I was not the original Kazuhisa, I had a thought in the back of my mind that it was a hallucination and that I really was Kazuhisa.

While I was looking up at the starry sky, I realize I didn't really have a goal per say. I originally died from drowning in a river, because I was injured with a broken arm from a motorcycle collision that took place on a bridge and fell into the said river. The reason that broken arm made it difficult is because I was tangled underwater with a heavy motorcycle on top of me.

I found the room with the bathtub, following a small trail of water on the first floor. I locked the door, summoned 16 gallons of hot water to mix with the cold water with summoning magic using 1 Mana.

If I had to decide on a goal, maybe it should be to accept change? I have already thought in my heart that while there are those I can never forgive, others, if I have benefits then I think I can.

Shiki Yukariko, even if she offered herself to me right now I would not accept, but I am already tolerating her existence and I already know it's only a matter of time. I have already started preparing for myself the moment I saw her since the earthquake. Many thoughts I have is just Meta guessing a plotline that I have no real knowledge or memory of, but am merely guessing based on my own feelings and how I think a play or script would end as cliché as possible. I had already guessed that she will be useful for me for some reason, and seeing her performance on letting me know about what happened and some thoughts for tomorrow lets me know she is a planner and possibly my future strategist.

I got out of the tub, summoned a fresh bathrobe, and started walking to the third floor. Well, if I want to accept change, maybe I should face my first real roadblock, Arisu…

I found an empty western-styled room on the third floor and fell asleep with my dirty clothes as a bed and the wolf as a pillow. I had spare mana, so I summoned 5 more catchpoles before a laid down.

I had imagined Arisu crawling into my bed, but I knew that wouldn't happen.

The long day ended just like that.

Then…

The second long day in another world begins when I wake up tomorrow.