Chapter 1: Afterall, in a strange world
Unknown Town.
It was night.
A faint fragrance was carried by the night breeze.
That gentle wind rustled small leaves, carrying a particularly sweet scent.
While it was dark,
Streetlights illuminated the darkness across commercial buildings.
A handful of commercial stores could still be seen open even at such an hour.
. . .
[Breaking news]
[Residents are advised to remain indoors due to the recent homicide incidents in town…]
[Local authorities state they are doing everything possible to apprehend the culprit behind the sudden surge]
[Parents are advised to—]
. . .
From within a stand, a television broadcast played, causing a lone figure to pause and listen.
The figure tilted their head slightly as the gentle breeze tugged their outfit.
"Man, they keep saying 'local authorities,' but screw them! They never do a damn thing."
"Tsk, just wasting our time."
A group of people, about four silhouettes could be seen from the banner.
Just from outside, it looked like a food stall.
Their voices reached the figure causing him to linger for a moment longer.
But, eventually, the figure continued on his way.
Black-haired, accompanied with star-bright eyes, standing at no more than 160 cm tall.
Most of their features were shrouded by the night, but oddly, they moved with purpose.
"...eh~ I can't believe they also exist here."
They crossed one street, then another, before turning into a narrow alleyway.
Saying that, they then paused.
A slight smile tugged at the corner of their lip.
Crunch~!
"So, it is."
Wet sounds echoed through the alley, followed by a sharp, metallic stench.
More crunching noises followed, prompting the arriving figure to take a step closer.
Any normal person noticing these oddities would have fled for dear life.
However—
"...yo."
In front of the huge shadow curled to the ground making those sounds.
The person calmly raised their hand.
And, sniff sniff.
The creature paused; it raised its head, taking a sample of the air.
As it did..
Slowly, its head then turned to the back.
"What a delicious smell. Human? To think a dish would serve itself before me."
It was a monstrosity.
Nothing short of it.
Its upper half resembled was human-like, but with distinctive features.
Long, spiky black hair with absurdly long vampiric fangs and crimson eyes.
However, its lower half was even more nauseating.
Spider-like legs that jutted outward.
Covered in black, fur-like growths that were nothing like actual fur.
"Disgusting."
The male muttered slowly raising his head, evening it with the monster.
"Ghihihi! Your scream will be pleasant to hear, die!"
With a sickening thunk, something wet and mushy struck the ground.
And in that instant,
His line of vision was instantly blurred, covered by a dark that swallowed the dim lighting.
Yet, despite this, the male didn't look away.
Instead, his lips curled into a faint smile as his right hand rose from beneath his robe.
He leveled his hand toward the incoming silhouette, as then gripped the air.
Just as he did—
"Form."
Kwinn~
A brilliant burst of light erupted, scattering radiant white brilliance in all directions.
For a brief moment, the surroundings shone as though a switch had been flipped.
The monster had stopped in its tracks, shielding its face with a shriek as the light swallowed it.
However..
In the next instant, the glow faded, slowly receding.
"Ghiii—!?"
One eye cracked open, only to see its prey still standing there, holding a… sword?
A longsword made of nothing but white, but radiating small pink like hues.
"What's.. that—"
From first glance, it looked like the product of Holy Power or something close.
But yet…
It's wasn't.
The white blade held no substance behind it, and yet it was clearly there.
Beside that.
It clearly had an ethereal form, but it was as if he were holding a solid substance.
To put simply.
It was nothing but a flare.
"Gahahahaha! Foolish human, to dare oppose me with such pitiful strength, even—"
Shiiiing~
«You speak too much»
As the words rang out, a horizontal line appeared across its grotesque body.
For a brief moment, it seemed to hear those words, however…
Those were the last words it would say, and it would every hear.
Like a balloon rupturing, or something torn apart by a violent gust—
That was how it appeared.
Chunks of flesh mixed with a warm, red-like substance were scattered across the ground.
And standing there with no particular expression on his face was the male.
"Disgusting."
Saying that, he walked across the scattered flesh and blood that rained on the ground.
He stopped before the macabre remains, nothing more than a mangled, mush-like mass.
The glow cast by the moonlight illuminated his face, showing a somewhat sad expression.
He looked no older than a high-school student, despite his expression, which was a bit cold for one.
Even the clothes that he wore were in rags.
Not to mention the rag-like one he wore to cover his body.
Yet, despite this.
He slowly lowered his head toward the lifeless body lying in its own blood.
"Sorry. I can't give you a proper rest, but at least… I hope I've avenged you."
With that said, he turned his back, then with a nimble motion, he jumped.
He jumped onto the roof of the building that encased the alleyway.
And with one last glance, he vanished.
. . .
[Breaking News]
[Reports were received last night regarding the discovery of a severely disfigured body in XXX at approximately 11:45 P.M.]
[A witness present at the time of the incident reported observing an unidentified silhouette in the air]
[...This was reported to have occurred shortly after an anomalous emission of light]
[It has become apparent that the frequency of such incidents has increased]
[Students, workers, and parents are advised to exercise caution]
[The individuals responsible for these incidents have yet to be identified by law enforcement]
[Footage of the incident location, which has been secured by the police, is provided here]
. . .
It was now morning
A fresh morning breeze blew across the park landscape as warm sunlight shone.
Today was a busy day, as usual.
People went about their daily lives, students, workers, and many more.
Well, everyone except a boy.
One who looked way out of place here.
Ragged clothes, messy hair, with an air of unnatural novelty about him.
Hearing the news from a passerby's device, the boy froze, as tears welled in his eyes.
'..ahhhh!'
Internally, they screamed as their bodies quivered while gritting their teeth.
Eventually, they sniffled as though sucking the tears back in.
He positioned himself on top of a tree, a place where he spent the entire night.
Fortunately, he had been used to this sort of lifestyle, though it still pained him.
His back hurts.
Despite finally arriving in a modern world,
…he still had to live as though he were trapped in the previous one.
'What a disaster, I've even lost [Shiro's Grace] to boot.'
That thought was the final straw.
If he'd been given the chance, he would've mutated into a dinosaur just to vent his frustration.
But he couldn't.
Perhaps «Shiro» could have helped. But he could no longer sense any connection to her.
Now, he was on hardcore…
That wasn't entirely accurate.
Right. He was a traverser who had spawned into this world on hardcore mode.
With no shelter, and not even the means to make a simple purchase.
'..nnjah~ might as well do what an outsider like me should do first.'
Thinking that, he stood on the branch of the tree, patting the trunk for a moment.
And once more, he disappeared.
No, to say he disappeared was not particularly the word to be used.
It was more like others didn't notice his presence.
'..yup, it's way easier to move like this.'
Having those thoughts in mind, the male began to move around the city.
Not that he couldn't have done so.
After all, this was only his second day, well, technically, his first day.
But after a few hours of aimlessly walking around, even he had to seriously admit it.
"Okay… now, this… is bullshit!"
Why was navigating a town harder than traversing a forest?
Make it make sense.
And what was this…?
Perhaps because it was his first time truly being surrounded by so many people.
…a wave of nausea hit him.
But after patting his chest twice, his otherwise pale complexion slowly eased.
With his back against the cold wall of an alley shaded by town's somewhat tall buildings,
He leaned his head back until it met the surface.
'Japan. Kanto region. Urobo lies between two towns to the east and west.'
'Namely, Kuoh and Morio.'
He nodded to himself.
"My investigation skill is top-notch as usual. Then again… Japan, huh?"
Slowly, he clenched and unclenched his fingers.
"How do I even understand their words in the first place, despite losing [Shiro's Grace]?"
"The «Language Comprehension» skill should be inaccessible."
With [Shiro's Grace] gone, the other abilities tied to it should have vanished as well.
Not that he had many to begin with.
Most of the skills granted by [Shiro's Grace] had been largely trivial.
Aside from understanding languages, or even something as basic as walking straight.
Basically…
They were skills that Shiro simply decided upon because he wasn't used to the world.
As such, [Shiro's Grace] included things like:
[My hands would hurt if I don't swing my sword properly]
In addition, [Brain damage whenever I make a stupid choice.]
Right, right…
There was also the ability: [I do not get bored] which oddly enough actually worked.
It was a paradoxical skill that forced interest, even when something was mentally exhausting.
Yes, even when mentally exhausting.
Basically, [Shiro's Grace] contained all those 'minor' inconveniences.
Inconveniences enough to make anyone immediately give up on life.
The pain was oh so much.
Yet now, instead of being happy, he found himself oddly puzzled by this.
"Guess I'm no longer «Arclight», and since I'm in Rome, might as well do as Romans do."
Niono Kiruki
There was no particular meaning behind the name, nor any real reason for choosing it.
After all, this was quite 'the change' from his 'first life'.
He, or rather, Niono paused.
Slowly, his lips then parted.
"I really do have the «Language Comprehension skill», don't I?"
He raised a hand before him, making a few tentative swiping gestures.
But to no avail.
There was no clear way to tell whether he indeed regained some fragment of [Shiro's Grace].
However, in the end,
..it didn't matter if he did or not.
Afterall, he was now in a strange world.
. . .
[Status: Created by Shiro]
[Name]: «Arclight»
[Race]: Human (doubts) - by Chronosis
[Age]: 17 physically
[Classification]: First Hero, Archenemy
[Blessings]:
[Shiro's Grace]
- My hands hurt if I don't swing my sword properly.
- Brain damage whenever I make a stupid choice.
- I do not get bored.
- Cringe fears me.
- Introvert.
- Passively upscales to the enemy, conditional on Shiro's whims.
+99 more
[Comments from acquaintances]
• [Shiro]: He's gone already…
•[Kuro]: I genuinely don't understand it. He's obviously human, yet he's able to fight with me.
• [Chronosis]: Gah! That bastard deceived us all! He took advantage of our sympathy!
• [Isis]: G–get that strange human away from me. H–he's scary.
• [Magnawell]: Irrelevant as it may be, who should bring up the matter that «Arclight» is a dragon slayer?
• [Shiro]: …
[Status: updated by Shiro]
Title added (+)
[Classification]: First Hero, Archenemy, Dragon Slayer
• [Magnawell]: Indeed, this should do it.
• [Alice]: I dare say that human is the worst enemy any of us could ever face.
• [Kuro]: "…"
• [Kuro]: Hey, will that guy actually be alright? I'm worried about the people of that other world. After all, above all that guy is…
• [Chronosis]: That racist motherf*cker!