"Man, I love my bed."
I rolled over and hugged my pillow like it was my best friend. Moving back into my real bedroom was the smartest choice I ever made. The couch in the living room was a torture device. It had a spring that poked me right in the ribs every time I breathed. But now? Now Eucliwood had my parents old room, and I had my own safe zone.
I stared up at the ceiling and let out a long, heavy breath. My body was fully recovered from fighting that Fallen Angel, Dohnaseek. I won, but it was way too close.
"System," I whispered, waving my hand to bring up the blue glowing screen in front of my face. "Show me my stats. And don't give me any bad news today. I can't handle it before breakfast."
[STATUS]
[Name: Ard Voldigoad]
[Level: 3]
[Attributes: Strength: 19 | Speed: 16 | Stamina: 18 | Endurance: 18 | Vitality: 18 | MP: 16/16]
[Wallet Balance: 676,956 Yen]
I looked over my numbers. They were good. I was basically a superhuman compared to normal guys on the street. But in a world with devils, dragons, angels, aliens, gods, supernatural clans and who knows what else I was still just a guy with a farming tool.
I scrolled down to my skill list.
[Unique Skills:]
[Foolish One]
[Online Grocery]
[Skills:]
[Basic Appraisal]
[Farming]
[Mute]
[Low Prescence(Inactive)]
[Mapping(Inactive)]
[Basic Woodworking(Passive)]
[Hard Fist(Active)]
[Critical hit(Active)]
[Healing Magic(Active)]
[[Danger Sense (Passive)]
[Enhanced Arm Strength (Active)]
[Enhanced Leg Strength (Active)]
[Weapon Summon: Iron Sword (Active)]
[Item Box]
[Vitality Buffer (Active)]
Looking at those top skills made me shiver. I made most of those during my very first ten days in the sub-dimensional world. People think getting isekaied is fun. It is not. My first ten days in that nightmare were a hell. I slept in the dirt. I hid from giant bugs. I used my very first Common Skill points to survive and sold mushrooms just so I wouldn't freeze to death. I created [Danger Sense] so I wouldn't get eaten in my sleep.
I had to learn how to fight the hard way and those ten days in the sub-dimensional world turned me from a normal high schooler into a survivor.
So before I went back I had to use every opportunity I had in the real world, to prepare for when I go back.
"I have six days to get ready. And I only have 1 Skill point and 1 Item point today because I burned the others fighting that stupid bird-guy."
I dragged myself out of bed and walked to the kitchen. I needed food.
Cooking was the one thing that kept me sane. I grabbed a pan, cracked some eggs, and started frying up bacon. The smell filled the house. A minute later, the door down the hall opened.
Eucliwood walked into the kitchen. She was already wearing her heavy silver armor over her purple dress. I honestly didn't know if she slept in that armor or if she just put it on really fast. She sat down at the small table and looked at the stove.
"Morning, Eu," I said, giving her a tired smile. I slid a plate of eggs, bacon, and toast in front of her. "Eat up. We have a busy day. I have to run the cafe, and then I need to do some heavy training."
She nodded once and started eating. She was quiet. She was always quiet.
Here is the thing about Eucliwood. She is a necromancer. She is super powerful. But she doesn't know anything about my System. She doesn't know about the sub-dimensional world, the tutorial I went through, or the Transmigration Gate.
To her, I am just a weird guy who runs a cafe, makes good food, and has a Sacred Gear that lets me summon tools and hit things really hard. I wanted to keep it that way. My Longinus world was my problem. I wasn't going to drag her into my mess. When the gate opened, I was going in alone.
By noon, Café Sunrise was packed.
Ever since I started using my cooking skills, the local people couldn't get enough. The bell on the door kept ringing. High school kids, office workers, everyone wanted a seat.
"Order up!" I yelled, moving behind the counter like a ninja.
Having 16 Speed is a cheat code in a kitchen. I chopped onions so fast my knife was a blur. I flipped burgers, poured coffee, and handed out plates without missing a beat.
"Hey, boss! Can I get extra spicy mayo?" a guy in a suit asked.
"You got it, buddy! But if you cry, I'm not giving you a napkin!" I joked back, tossing him a small cup of sauce.
I loved the cafe. It was loud, it was busy, and it felt normal. It was a place where I didn't have to worry about monsters or magic points. But every time I looked at the clock, I remembered the countdown.
Eucliwood sat at the end of the counter the whole time. She just watched me. I would slide her a piece of fruit or a small cookie every now and then. She ate them slowly. She never got in the way. She just liked being around people without having to talk to them.
At four o'clock, I locked the front door and flipped the sign to 'Closed'.
"Whew. Okay. My feet hurt," I complained, untying my apron and throwing it on a chair. "Eu, grab your coat. We are going to the scrapyard."
She tilted her head. She pulled out her little white notepad and wrote.
Why?
"Because I need to practice my Sacred Gear," I lied smoothly. "I punch hard, but I need to learn how to hit things from far away. And I can't blow up the kitchen. The landlord would kill me."
We walked to the edge of town. There was a huge, empty dirt lot filled with broken cars, old buses, and piles of rusty metal. Nobody ever came here. It was the perfect spot to be loud.
"Okay, sit on that old car seat and cover your ears if it gets too loud," I told her.
She sat down and crossed her legs, watching me closely.
I walked into the middle of the dirt lot. I took a deep breath. I thought about the monsters in the sub-dimensional world. A lot of them could spit poison or shoot spikes. I couldn't always run up and hit them with my sword. I needed a magic attack.
"System," I thought in my head, making sure Eucliwood couldn't hear me. "Use my 1 Skill point for today. I want to make a new attack. Make it simple. Make it a fireball. Just a hot, explosive ball of fire I can shoot from my hand."
[Processing Request...]
[Skill Synthesized: Basic Fireball (Lv.1) - Cost: 3 MP. Cast Time: 1.5 Seconds.]
"Awesome," I grinned.
I pointed my right hand at a crushed, rusty truck about twenty feet away.
"Fireball!" I yelled. I didn't have to yell it, but it felt cool.
I felt a tug in my chest as 3 Magic Points drained away. For a second, nothing happened. Then, a spark popped in my hand. It grew super fast into a spinning ball of bright orange fire. The heat was crazy. It felt like holding my hand next to an open oven.
A second later, the fireball shot out of my hand. It flew across the dirt lot and hit the side of the truck.
BOOM!
The noise was huge. A wave of heat hit my face. The side of the rusty truck caved in, and black smoke went up into the sky. The metal was glowing red.
"Haha! Yes!" I cheered, jumping up and down. "Take that, you piece of junk! I have range! I am a wizard!"
I turned to look at Eucliwood. I wanted her to be impressed.
She just sat there. She wrote one word on her pad and held it up.
Noisy.
"Oh, come on! That was awesome and you know it!" I complained.
I spent the next hour shooting fireballs at different cars. I learned that it took exactly 3 MP every time. Since my max MP was 16, I could only shoot five fireballs before I was completely out of gas. That was dangerous. If I ran out of mana in the Forest of Death, I would be a sitting duck.
I had to be careful.
Day Two started with my whole body aching.
"Why does magic make my back hurt?" I groaned, rolling out of bed. "I didn't even lift anything heavy. This game is rigged."
I checked my System. My points had reset. I had 1 Skill point and 1 Item point again.
I looked at my gear. I didn't really have any gear. Just my normal clothes and the All-Purpose Farming Tool. If I was going to survive in the forest, I needed something to keep me safe from the weather and the dirt.
"System, use my Item point," I thought. "Make me a really tough jacket. Not heavy armor, just thick leather that won't rip easily. Make it black."
A flash of light happened, and a heavy black leather jacket dropped onto my bed. I put it on. It fit perfectly. It felt strong, like it could stop a wild dog from biting through to my skin.
"Good. Now, I need to mix my old skills with my new ones," I told myself.
During the cafe rush that day, I was in a good mood. I made a huge lunch for myself and a special dessert for Eucliwood.
I put a tall glass on the counter. I filled it with layers of vanilla ice cream, fresh strawberries, crushed cookies, and chocolate syrup. It looked like something out of a commercial.
"Here you go, Eu. Consider this a thank you for putting up with my loud magic practice yesterday," I said, sliding it to her.
She looked at the huge parfait. Her blue eyes got a little wider. She picked up a long spoon, took a bite of the ice cream and strawberries, and closed her eyes.
She didn't write anything. She didn't have to. The way her shoulders relaxed told me everything. She loved it.
I leaned on the counter, wiping it down with a rag. "You know, having you around isn't so bad. It's actually kind of nice having someone to cook for who doesn't complain about the prices."
She opened her eyes, looked at me, and gave a tiny, almost invisible nod. Then she went right back to eating.
It was a slow, quiet moment. We were getting used to each other. She was a strange girl with scary powers, and I was a guy lying about where my powers came from. But in this cafe, we were just two normal people eating ice cream.
That evening, we went back to the scrapyard.
"Okay, Eu. Today is about speed and combos," I told her.
I walked out into the dirt. I needed to practice using my old sub-dimensional skills together.
I thought about the interface. System, activate [Enhanced Leg Strength].
I felt my leg muscles get super tight and powerful. I lost 4 MP.
I ran toward a pile of old tires. The dirt kicked up behind me. When I got to the tires, I jumped. My buffed legs sent me flying fifteen feet into the air.
While I was falling back down, I used my skill. Activate [Weapon Summon: Iron Sword].
A heavy, gray iron sword flashed into my right hand. I swung it hard as I landed, smashing a rusty car door clean in half. The metal screeched.
"Now for the tricky part!" I yelled.
I made the sword vanish back into my inventory. I aimed my empty hand at another car.
"Fireball!"
I waited the 1.5 seconds. The fire built up, and then it shot out, blowing up the hood of the car.
I fell to my knees, breathing super hard. Sweat was pouring down my face. My MP was almost totally gone.
"That... is exhausting," I panted, wiping my forehead. "Swapping from the sword to the magic takes too much focus. I need to get faster."
I practiced for two hours. I ran, I jumped, I swung the sword, I shot the fire. I fell down in the dirt a lot. I got scraped up. I complained to the sky about how unfair it was that I had to train this hard just to survive.
When I finally couldn't stand up anymore, I just laid on my back in the dirt.
A shadow blocked the moon. Eucliwood was standing over me. She held out a cold bottle of water she brought from the fridge at home.
I took it with a shaking hand. "Thanks. You're the best."
She wrote on her pad.
You fight like you are running out of time
I took a long drink of water and wiped my mouth. "Yeah. Something like that."
I didn't know what to tell her, but it seemed she was fine with that. So after I recovered my stamina, we went back home, I made us Mappo Tofu which may or may not have resulted in Eu almost saying a word from its sheer heat and deliciousness, then after a while we went to bed.
I woke up feeling anxious, but I didn't really know why. Something just felt off about today, something weird was in the air. But I wasn't sure what...