Chapter 2

I feel a chill reminiscent of the nearby train station sting my skin. What was this? My skin felt damp. Damp, but also prickly. What was it?

Half awake, I open my eyes. I see grass. Grass? Uncomprehending, I slowly pull myself up and take in my surroundings.

I see that I’m on a mist covered, grassy hill.

“Wha…t, where…am I…?”

Yes, I should have been at the convenience store until a moment ago. Along with that robber. I remembered that much, before I started to panic and lift up my uniform to check my stomach. But the knife that should have been there was gone, there weren’t even any traces of the wound on my clothes. This didn’t make any sense.

It didn’t, but… there was one explanation I could think of. It was that voice. It had said something about a subject for summoning.

In other words, something or someone, I didn’t know which, had summoned me for a reason. I had seen this happen in a novel I read when I was a student.

Transfer to another world.

Perhaps that was what this was? Some great will or something had taken pity on my poor self as I was stabbed by the robber, and allowed me to transfer to this world…?

Well, this would be quite embarrassing if it turned out to be nothing more than a countryside in Japan. Though, that in itself was quite horrifying…

For now, I had to take some sort of action. It appeared to be early morning now… Or at least, it felt like it. I couldn’t stay here forever. Fortunately, the mist was starting to dissipate.

“A morning mist, huh…”

What sort of trick of fate was this, I had been thrown into a location that was the same as my own name, ‘Asagi Kamiyashiro.’(*Asagi = morning mist) I didn’t know if it was fate or intrigue, but I started to walk down the hill anyway.

Passed the plains of short grown grass, I could see a forest.

“A forest, huh…”

A forest. In terms of food, a forest would be much more likely than the plains… Thinking back, I hadn’t even had my night shift break, so I had yet to eat. It would be great if there were berries or fruits to be found here.

But, if this really was another world, then surely they would be here.

Monsters.

If they decided to attack me, then I would need to fight back. In that case, I would need a weapon. I’m sure I could manage if I just picked up a random stick in the forest. Fortunately, I even had a box cutter in my pocket that I used to cut the strings off the new magazines that came in. My cell phone had been left in the office, though. Shit. Well, with this, I could at least sharpen the end of a stick and make a spear.

Okay, with that decision made, I should act quickly. Enemies would hardly wait for me.

I quickened my stride towards the forest.

□ □ □ □

I walk over the soft, fallen leaves. Along the way, I had picked up a stone with a pointed end and so I started to search for a random, thin tree.

After a bit of walking, I found a tree growing that was just the right size. It was just the right thickness to fit in your hand when gripped. I hit at its roots with a rock. Klunk, klunk. The sound bounced off the tree and echoed through the forest. I was becoming a little nervous…

After several more hits, the tree slowly fell over. I take out my boxcutter and remove all the unnecessary branches. The trick was to cut the same place as if drawing a straight line. Once you’ve created enough notches, you should chip away as if stripping the rest away. Then you use the blunt side of the boxcutter to try and sand down the severed end of the stick. It won’t be very smooth, but it should at least be easier to hold. After that, you just carefully sharpen the end of the stick so that it does not snap. And just like that, you have a spear.

“Great… it’s finished.”

I look at the spear in my hand and think. That unique skill that had been bestowed upon me, by that voice before I died, ‘Jack of all trades, but master of none.‘ Could I have become adept at working with wood because of that? Well, there was no point in thinking about it now… I try holding the spear in an offensive stance.

“What…!?”

Right then, the motions of me thrusting the spear forward appeared inside of my head. It was like I was viewing the security camera feed in the back room monitor, with the screen split in four, showing each move. One of the images was of me thrusting the spear out. In imitation, I set my feet in place and thrust out the spear.

“Oomph…!”

There was a sound of something cutting through the wind as I executed the sharp thrust. This was it, I thought. I have never even held a spear before. I repeat the powerful thrust. It was a straight and steady attack.

I was now sure that this was the ability of my unique skill.

‘Jack of all trades, yet master of none’ was a skill that allowed you to use anything skillfully even if it was your first time.

Then why couldn’t it just be ‘Jack of all trades’? The ‘master of none’ part bothered me… What if it meant that I could use them, but I would never improve past that point?

That was quite tragic. I have skills. There would probably be stats. What if, I just hadn’t realized it yet, but I could also use magic? I think of this, but no such images appeared in my head. In that case, I’d like to go somewhere where I could learn about these things.

…Yes, a town. I should head for a town. If this was really another world, there should be guilds or facilities for adventures and the like. Or such were my current delusions.

Just then, I heard a rustling sound at my back. Was it a monster? I slowly turn around.

“Googururu…”

“Woah…”

There was a small humanoid monster standing there. Its skin was a light green. Its mouth was so wide that its corners reach its pointed ears, and I could see its uneven teeth. Its limbs were quite short but the claws were sharp. It’s lower half was only barely covered with a waistcloth.

I knew what it was… A goblin.

“Googaaah!!”

The goblin cried out as it swung its well-worn billhook over its head.

“Wo-wowoh…!”

I hold up my spear. The goblin comes rushing towards me, it’s billhook swinging down.

I frantically move out of the way, but I feel a sudden pain in my leg.

“You-you have got be kidding me…!”

My pants had been cut near the hemline. And there were drops of red blood dripping from my leg under it. Even though I knew it was only a light scrape, it hurt.

“Fuck!!”

I tore my gaze away from my leg and looked up at the sneering face of the goblin. Its ferocious expression showed that it saw me as nothing more than food. Damn it, I was not about to be killed again, in a place like this!

“Gagagagagaga!!”

“Eat this!!”

I thrust out the spear as the goblin came rushing towards me again. It was exactly as the image that had appeared in my brain. The end of the spear shot straight through the stomach of the running goblin. I must say, it was a little awkward that I aimed for his stomach instinctively, in spite of having experienced a similar assault.

Stab quickly and pull out quickly. The end of the spear was wet with blue blood.

“Ha….gga….”

Its writhing hand dropped the billhook. I use my spear to knock it away from the goblins reach.

It slid across the fallen leaves and stopped at the base of a tree.

I watch the blood rush from the goblins wound as I hold the spear ready once again. Slowly, the goblin crumpled to its knees. Here’s my chance, I think. It had fallen face first into the dirt, and I point the tip of the spear into the back of its neck.

“And now…it’s over…!”

I plunge the spear deep into its neck. The goblin convulses violently as my foot presses down on its back and I pull out the spear. For a second, a fountain of blood erupts from the hole but quickly subsides. The foot that I had placed on it was drenched in blue blood.

“Hhhaahh, hhhaaah…”

Ha… It was the first time I had killed… I didn’t know how I felt. I took the Japanese route of trying to convince myself it was ‘self-defense,’ but something still bothered me. Throughout my life, I had never even killed an animal. It was quite something to have to suddenly take the life of a monster.

However, I was also someone who had been killed once. I was not so good-natured as to allow someone to do it to me again. Survival was the only option for me now. I shook my head to dispel any such negative thoughts.

Suddenly, I remember that the goblin had been carrying a billhook. Where was it…there it is. It had fallen near the roots of a tree.

“Here we are… Woah, it’s disgusting. …Huh?”

As soon as I had picked it up, images appeared in my brain once again. It was the same screen split into four with each showing footage of different moves. Well, there was no variation for attacks with this, so it was really just different camera angles being shown. Of course, it was. You couldn’t thrust with it like a sword. Now if this was a sword hatchet…nevermind. I picked up the old billhook that had my own blood on it and the spear I had carved with a box cutter and continued through the forest.

I was far from unstoppable…

□ □ □ □

Currently, I was hiding behind some bushes after having walked for quite a while. Why was I hiding? The reason was standing just on the other side of the bushes. I separated the leaves enough to confirm the situation, and sighed.

“Gaaagaaga, kugooooo!”

“Gegagagagaga!”

“Gaagaagaa!”

More goblins had appeared. And as a herd this time. As far as I could tell, there were at least 10 of them…

This was the worst. It hardly mattered now, that I could wield a spear or a billhook, those numbers were not manageable. There was nothing I could do. I would have to wait for them to leave.

But things would not be so easy. As if things couldn’t get any worse, one of the goblins had started to approach the bush I was hiding behind. Its nose sniffed at the air as it came closer and closer. What? Was it my smell…? The goblin blood…! The blood that had soaked into my clothes was now luring them!

“Shit…!”

I cursed internally as I frantically made my retreat. What should I do…The goblin was practically right in front of me now. And I was practically out of options.