The Bounty Hunter

Chapter 1: My Part-Time Job

June 1st, 2088

My name is Cross Minato, with the family name being Cross and my given name being Minato. I am 15 years old, having just graduated from middle school and now starting my summer break. As one would expect from my name, I am half-Japanese and half-American. This is also reflected in my appearance: I have green eyes, dark brown hair and a perfect blend of facial features that make it impossible to tell my nationality. Sometimes I would catch people staring at me, probably because they were trying to figure out where I came from.

My mother is an elegant beauty from Tokyo while my father is a rugged rancher from Texas. I was born in the USA, although we moved to Tokyo when I was about 7. My mother is a corporate lawyer, while my father started an American steakhouse chain after moving to Japan which became surprisingly successful.

At this point, one would assume that I would say that I am a perfectly normal teenager. I wish I could say that but I won’t, since that would be a lie. It was the first day of summer break and I was alone since my mother was working a big case at the office and my father was on a business trip to Sapporo.

After eating a simple breakfast, I went to my room and started getting dressed in preparation for my shitty part-time job. It was a job I was doing in secret, so I was only able to work hours here and there when my parents weren’t around. But my parents are gone a lot, so I have ended up putting in quite a few hours.

I put on some light brown hiking pants with dark brown steel-toed combat boots and steel greaves. The leather belt threaded through my pants had leather pouches attached. Up top I had a green long sleeved shirt beneath a black chest-piece of a military riot armor along with some steel demi-gauntlets (fingers had flexible cloth with steel on back of hand).

I put a dark brown leather overcoat over all this and covered my face with a dark green bandana and motorcycle goggles. The bandana had a white insignia depicting a single mountain peak piercing through a layer of clouds. Lastly, I put on a tan combat helmet, causing my face and hair to be completely obscured. I fiddled with this chuunibyou outfit for a bit, adjusting the pouches and the additional equipment I had on.

Finally, I was ready to go and started to turn around to head towards the door. As I was turning I felt a brief eldritch sensation and after the turn my view was not what one would expect. Instead of my bedroom door, I was gazing upon a snowy evergreen forest. Apart from the sudden change, the scenery itself was unremarkable.

The pines were green, the falling snow was white, and the cloudy sky was a depressing grey. “What just happened!?! Where am I?!” were things that I did not say. I simply started walking through the forest until I came upon a dirt road. I continued walking on that road, weathering the cold wind that howled through as I headed towards a frozen mountain towering over the forest.

The minutes dragged on into hours until I finally arrived at a ramshackle mining town located at the base of the mountain. “Oi, are you here for that damned troll?” a short man called out to me as soon as I entered the town. He looked to be about 4 feet 2 inches tall and was bulky. He had a barrel chest and bulging muscles that made his width comparable to his height. He was bald, but had a large and impressive orange beard that reached his waist. His ears were not rounded at the ends, but instead they were square.

Ask 10 people what that man was and 10 people would respond: it’s a dwarf. I nodded in response to the dwarf’s query. The dwarf grunted and said “The mine shaft is over there, hurry up and kill that damn thing. It mauled 5 of my workers when it arrived and has shut down operations for five weeks now. I’ve had to throw in a slave every so often to make sure that pain in the ass didn’t come out to hunt.”

I didn’t respond and simply headed in the indicated direction while double checking my weapons. I had a leg holstered 9mm pistol on each side along with a ninjato sword on my back and waist, both of which were hidden by the overcoat. Lastly, I had a polearm slung diagonally on the back of my overcoat with the handle sticking out over my shoulder.

It had a 4-foot long blade with the staff portion being about 3 feet long. The blade had a modest curve with the single cutting edge located on the inside of the curve which ended in a sharp point. This polearm was known as a rhomphaia and was a brutal weapon that could hack and stab with great effectiveness. It stayed on my back due to a nifty clasp that was similar to a bear trap. After drawing the weapon, I could easily holster it again by pressing it to the clasp. Although I admit it took me ages before I was able to do that in one try.

At this point I arrived at the mine entrance where the monstrous troll lurked. I could smell the fetid stench from the worker’s corpses and heard echoes in the mine that indicated the troll was still there. I unclasped my rhomphaia and entered as the dwarf called out after me “I almost forgot, I threw in a slave a little before you came to stall the troll. If it’s still alive and able to work be sure to bring it out, so I can save some cost!” His heartless words echoed in the mine as I vanished into the flickering darkness thinking to myself “I hate this damn other world.”

Chapter 2: Troll Hunting

June 1st, 2088

The troll was of course at the deepest part of the mine, munching away at what was the most recent sacrificial slave. “Looks like he won’t be saving some cost.” I muttered to myself as I sized up the troll in the flickering light of the mine lamps. It looked to be about 12 feet tall, with the characteristic huge nose and large flappy ears. It had a humanoid figure, although it was extremely slope shouldered and more resembled a gorilla on its knuckles than an upright human. Its skin was a dull grey-blue and it was extremely fat.

I sighed inwardly after I realized just how fat the troll was “With that much blubber, his threat level is a solid 9.” The threat level was a system I developed over the years to evaluate the danger of a situation/opponent and its range is from 1 to 13. Anything 10 and below is something I can handle although the risk of injury and death varies depending on the number. 11 is a 50-50 situation, 12 is high chance of death and 13 is near certain death. I have never face a threat level 13 in my lifetime thankfully. An average troll would be a threat level 7.

The reason that a fatter troll is more dangerous is due to the ridiculous regenerative ability that all trolls have in this world. You can cut off a troll’s head or tear out its heart and its regeneration could handle it. However, the regeneration only lasts for as long as there is energy available for it to use. Otherwise, the troll turns to dust as the regeneration literally cannibalizes its own body in order to try and recover.

So the fatter the troll, the more energy reserves it has and thus the more it can regenerate. Not to mention the extra fat also acts as armor, making it harder to injure in the first place. Only fire can limit the regeneration, but that was not an option because the mine’s poor ventilation would cause me to suffocate from the smoke. “It’s gonna have to be a battle of attrition, I guess.” I thought out loud as the troll noticed me and immediately lunged with an arm outstretched at a shocking speed.

I easily sidestepped the arm and promptly swung down my rhomphaia, severing the hand from the body. Hacking limbs off was a strength of the rhomphaia, even this troll’s fat couldn’t hinder it. The wrist also had less fat on it than other parts of the body, making things easier. The troll was unperturbed and immediately swung its arm in sweeping motion as if to slap me away. Instead of backing out of range, I turned to face the incoming arm and swung down my rhomphaia once more.

The hand was severed and flew to the side from the centripetal force, allowing me to remain motionless since I was out of range of the now shortened arm’s sweeping motion. But the time it took for this series of events to occur was enough for the troll to regenerate the hand that I had severed first. And the troll once again tried to crush me with the new hand, which I severed again.

Although this mine shaft was big enough for the troll to enter, it was not big enough for it to move freely about. So it had to make due with these simple attacks. The lack of available space also limited my flanking options, so this back and forth of the troll regenerating its lost limbs while I kept cutting them off continued for about 25 minutes. Honestly, if it wasn’t for the fact that the severed parts turned to dust as they tried to regenerate, I wouldn’t have had any space left to swing my weapon at this point.

At last, the troll’s enormous blubber reserves were depleted and the enormous monster was reduced to an emaciated husk. The troll wobbled unsteadily and I charged forward, nimbly avoiding its last-ditch resistance as I stabbed my rhomphaia right into its heart. The troll finally collapsed and turned to dust as its regeneration consumed itself, leaving nothing behind. Incidentally, one of the reasons why people hate dealing with trolls is because they leave no corpse that could be harvested for materials. I sheathed my rhomphaia and immediately left to report my success.

The dwarven mine owner was delighted at the news of the troll’s death and immediately paid me the bounty of 2 gold. Just like in your stereotypical fantasy novels, the currency was divided into iron, copper, silver and gold coins. 20 iron were equal to 1 copper and 20 copper were equal to 1 silver while 20 silver was equal to 1 gold. 1 iron was about the same value as 1 US dollar, so a copper was 20 dollars, a silver was 400 dollars and a gold was 8000 dollars. For reference, an average commoner makes 1 gold (8000 dollars) a year and lives a very poor lifestyle.

Merchants, craftsman and the like make more but it varies. So I took my 16,000-dollar reward and started to leave the mining town as the dwarf yelled out “Alright you filthy lot, time to get back to work and fucking be of use you trash!” The tattered doors on the houses opened up and the workers trudged out slowly. It was a collection of dwarves, animal eared beast-kin and a few elves. All of them looked to be starved and worn down as they trudged toward the mine where they would be worked ragged. And those were just the free workers, all the slaves had been fed to the troll.

I paid them no mind as I left, since horrid sights like these were rather common in this messed up world. I checked my watch and saw that it had been 5 hours since I came here. I was feeling hungry and my mom was going to come back soon, so I decided to leave for home after I reported my completed bounty. Now that I was out of sight, I stooped down and wrote in the snow with my hand “A journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step. A journey of a thousand miles ends with a single step.” These two sentences were written in a circle around me and as I gathered my mana they glowed brightly. I then took a single step forward and vanished from the harsh snowy north in a burst of light.

Chapter 3: The Other World

June 1st, 2088

Far to the south of the desolate mining town, there was a large bustling city called Obsidia. It was the capital of the Darkmoon Queendom, which was ruled by dark elves. Personally, I feel the naming scheme in this world is lackluster but I guess I have no right to criticize. The Darkmoon Queendom was by far the largest country and the only “civilized” country in the world, which was founded by the surviving dark elves who had weathered the destruction of the old world. This destruction was caused by the Treacherous Deities, the gods who had previously been worshipped before they betrayed their duties and turned the world to ash.

The queendom dominates most of the continent and is always fighting with its “uncivilized” neighbors in an attempt to conquer or even exterminate them. There was a non-descript building located in the northern district of this city that I reappeared in. I looked around the empty room and sighed in admiration “No matter how many times I use it; magic is truly amazing.”

Magic exists in this world and it is an integral part of everyday life. Magic energy, commonly known as mana, permeates everything in this world. People create magic tools and magic items from various ores, plants and monster parts. These magic tools allow people to cast magic by drawing in mana from the environment and channeling it for them.

However, people who can use magic innately without tools or items, wizards, are very rare. They possess a sixth sense which allows them to sense and manipulate mana directly. Wizards are not limited by their equipment and the magic they use is far more potent. Using magic for wizards is almost instinctual, so there is no major learning curve. This instinct also means that wizards’ magic is very subjective and it could be influenced by a wizard’s emotions along with other factors. The magic itself is the combination of willpower, focus and imagination with mana used as fuel.

Wizards can generate and store mana naturally and can even take it in from their environment. The presence of mana in their bodies allows wizards to live far longer than non-wizard members of their race. Incantations, rituals, hand seals, magic circles, catalysts etc. are not necessary to use magic, but can be added to aide with casting. They vary from wizard to wizard, and can be used to help with one of the three components of magic to reduce the overall mana cost or to strengthen the magic.

Wizards can also create their own magic items and tools, which are collectively called magic artifacts, and these are far more powerful than anything made by a magic crafter because of the enchantments being added onto the magic crafting material. Thus, wizards are feared and respected throughout this world.

Wizards are also highly desired by the nobility as retainers. So for someone like me who does not want any attention, I have to hide my ability to use magic. One of the two reasons why I do not want any attention would become apparent by looking out into the bustling streets of Obsidia: in all the throngs of people bustling about there were all kinds of varieties of elves, dwarves and beast-kin. These were the three dominant civilized races in this world. They were also a variety of other minor civilized races such as pixies, asurans, gnomes, lamias and tallboys. And if you were observant enough you could note the cloaked figures of the uncivilized races such as hobgoblins, orcs and harpies skulking in the crowds. Yet not a single human could be seen.

This world has all manner of races, but the human is not one of them. In fact, humans are a creature of legend in this world, much like how elves and the like are in ours. I even once overheard someone fantasizing about what it would be like to meet a human and touch their round ears. Elves have pointed ears, dwarves have square tipped ears, and beast-kin only have their animal ears, so humans’ round ears are considered cool and exotic which I find odd to think about.

The fallout from a human being discovered would be tremendous and something I want to avoid at any cost. The second reason for hiding my magic ability is simply because I do not want to expose all of my strength. It is important to always have a hidden ace. This is something that I factored into my threat level system: all my evaluations are based on the assumption that I am not using magic. With magic most threat levels are reduced by 3.

I double checked to ensure my face was covered and stepped out into the street. It was a cobblestone road and the buildings were highly reminiscent of Medieval Europe. I avoided the piles of garbage festering here in the slums and the starving beggars who would soon be rounded up by the guards and sold as slaves. I broke the hand of a pickpocket who tried to steal my purse and I ignored the brothel criers advertising their pleasure slaves.

My destination was the Northern Guard Station in order to report the collected bounty. There is no adventurer’s guild in this world unfortunately, so I have to hunt bounties instead. These bounties are usually issued by either nobles or wealthy merchants and posted in various government offices. The targets are criminals or monsters and if a bounty was collected from a client it had to be reported in.

I always checked for new bounties and reported in collected bounties at the northern guard station, so when I stepped into the building the beast-kin at the counter looked up and smiled. “Hello Terra, are you here to report a collected bounty?” The dog-eared guardsman asked. His cheerful demeanor made it obvious he was still a newbie. Give it time and he’ll become a cold, indifferent bastard or a corrupt scumbag. I responded to his question by handing over a proof of completion signed by the dwarven mine owner.

The guardsman’s eyes widened in shock as he saw the document “Wow, you took down a troll alone! I suppose I should say as expected of the one they call the Peerless!” I ignored his praise and simply turned to leave. Terra the Peerless, that’s what I’m known as in this world. I choose the name Terra at random since my normal name would stand out too much. The title Peerless was received for two reasons: I work alone and I have no equal in the business, supposedly. Bounty hunters always work in groups due to the danger of the job, but I have never bothered to make comrades to work with.

I have no interest in making friends here and if it wasn’t for an obligation I cannot abandon I would never return to this horrid world. As such, I don’t even speak to people unless absolutely necessary. Being a bounty hunter allows me to minimize my interactions with others while being able to make money on my own time, which is invaluable for me who still has to go to school and study. The guardsman meanwhile, was unoffended by my behavior. I had over the years become well known for my anti-socialness here at the northern station, so my rudeness was ignored.

I was quick out the door and returned to my hideout. Once I was in a room with no windows, I started turning and was greeted by the view of my bedroom door back in Tokyo when I finished. “I’m home.” I murmured out of habit. I proceeded to strip off my gear and store it in a corner of my closet where I applied a charm to make it invisible after I used magic to clean it thoroughly.

My ability to use magic is not limited to the other world, although I have a self-imposed rule to not use it casually in my everyday life. Unless my life or someone who I cared about is at risk, I will not use magic. If it is someone I don’t know, I will not risk exposure in order to save their life. I’m sure it seems heartless to most, but I don’t care. I have learned through bitter experience that I am not a hero who can save everybody, so I don’t bother trying. “I should get started on the summer homework I suppose.” I said aloud as I headed out the room.

After eating a light lunch, I was soaking my sore muscles in the bath as I was thinking about what bounty I should try and take next. I shifted a bit and winced at my aching muscles. Those 25 minutes of fighting a troll with endless stamina had really taken a toll. Unlike in the stories, I had no unique super cheat when I arrived in the other world. I had an above average ability to use magic and that was it. “Tch, if only I had never discovered that damned world” I complained to myself as I started thinking back to how it all started.

Chapter 4: Discovery

The first time I had traveled to the other world was when I was 6 years old. My family was still living in Texas at the time, and I had been playing alone in my room while my parents were entertaining some guests for lunch. I was pretending I was a character from an anime I had been hooked on watching and spun around while imitating his transformation scene.

I felt a weird sensation surge through me as I spun and what greeted me after I had completed my spin was a magnificent panorama of an endless clear blue sky and a sea of green trees beneath it. I was standing on a large ledge on the side of a mountain which had a small meadow and a few copses of trees situated on it. There were no animals apart from some birds chirping in the branches.

Needless to say, this situation was so fantastical that my six-year old self was not actually afraid. I believed that this was all a part of my imagination so I took a pose and yelled “Fireball!” At my words I felt a surge of energy within myself and a ball of fire rocketed from my palm, exploding in the air about 30 feet away. “Awesome! That’s just like on TV!” I exclaimed and I spent the entire afternoon playing with magic until I got hungry. “Ah, mom’s gonna be mad if I don’t come back for dinner.” I thought, so I hurriedly spun around to get home.

It didn’t work the first couple of times and I started to get worried. “How did I do it the first time?” I wondered as I focused on that weird sensation I had felt before. Suddenly I felt it again and I spun, arriving back in my bedroom just in time as my mother opened the door to get me for dinner. “What have you been doing for so long up here?” She asked. I simply giggled and said “It’s a secret!”

That mountain meadow became my secret place and I started spending a lot of time playing there. I would cast all kinds of magic I saw in the anime I watched, and I would run around the meadow while looking at the forest below. After 3 years, my curiosity finally made me decide to go and explore the forest below. My constant practice and playing with magic made it easy for me to scale down the mountain.

Once I reached the bottom I started walking for a little while until I encountered my first monster: a goblin. It was short, standing about 3 feet tall with dark green skin and a hideous visage. He had a wooden club in his hand and a filthy loincloth around his waist. The goblin saw me at the same moment I saw him and immediately rushed me while raising a guttural yell. I was scared by the killing intent the goblin was emitting and a gout of flame spouted up beneath the goblin, killing it instantly. The forward momentum led the corpse to sprawl to my feet, where I could see and smell the charred flesh in its entirety.

I stood in shock for a moment before my senses overloaded and I vomited. Before I could collect myself, a crude arrow flew from the bushes and whizzed by my shoulder. I felt pain and saw a decent sized scratch on my shoulder leaking blood. A group of 12 goblins appeared around me, wielding a collection of rusted metal weapons and primitive bows.

I quickly turned and reappeared in my room, where a smell of ammonia reached my nose. I knew that I had wet myself, but I didn’t care as I was too busy crying due to the pain in my shoulder. Without thinking, I tried to use a healing spell and was surprised when I felt the pain in my shoulder disappear. I hadn’t ever tried to use magic in my world before, in fact I had subconsciously treated the other world like it was a dream until now. But reality finally set in and I continued to cry due to the realization that I could have died had the arrow been more accurate.

I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and I quickly tidied myself up with a cleaning charm before my mother burst into the room. “Sweetie, what’s wrong?! Are you hurt anywhere?!” my mother asked. She was an attractive woman, with a tall, elegant figure and silky dark brown hair reaching her shoulders. Her brown eyes frantically scanned over me, searching for any injuries. I shook my head and said while I was still sniveling “I had a scary dream.” My mother quickly pulled me into a hug and started to gently stroke my head while whispering “It’s all okay now, dear. No matter what happens in a dream, it stays there. When you are here, it cannot follow you.”

Those words were exactly what I needed to hear and it managed to get me to stop crying as I looked up at my mother and asked “Really?” She smiled at me “Of course, the scary things from your dream aren’t here now are they? So the next time you have a scary dream, be brave because you will always be in a safe place when you wake up. And I’ll be here besides you too.” I knew my mother had no clue about my true situation and what I had actually been through, but her words were so spot on and reassuring that the fresh trauma in my heart was already fading.

What should have been a longstanding scar on my psyche ended up becoming a memory of my mother’s love. I stopped going to the other world for a few weeks, but soon I returned. I was determined to be brave like mother told me to and get my triumph over the goblins. Part of my recovery was also due to my like of hero summoning novels, I had convinced myself that I was like one of those main characters and that I would eventually have to save that world. Thus, I couldn’t just let some goblins stop me.

Traveling between worlds has always felt to me like turning a corner. As you turn, the view before your eyes changes as you walk by whatever was blocking your line of sight. When I return, it’s like I am going back around that same corner. So I always reappear in the location I had departed from. I am also able to sense my immediate surroundings before actually turning the corner, so I instinctually know if there is something blocking me or waiting nearby. Basically, I can observe the surroundings of the point where I will appear. That’s why I was able to tell that the goblins were nearby as I appeared in the forest where I had previously run away.

I snapped my fingers, and a gunshot like crack sounded off in the forest. I heard leaves and branches cracking as the goblins approached. They surrounded me, shouting in a guttural language. I was scared but this time I was ready as several arrows flew towards me. A wall of wind encircled me, brushing aside the arrows. I then condensed the wind into a thin line and shot it outwards. After the whoosh sound of the wind, there was complete silence. Then the goblins all split in half, along with the trees behind them. Blood soaked the ground around me and the smell of their entrails reached my nose. Once again I threw up and then I sat down trembling for a while. Afterwards, I returned home and ran to my parents for comfort.

This was the start of a pattern for the next year as I traversed the forest and fought monsters. I would fight with magic while sometimes getting injured and being scared. But I would then return home, where the comfort and security along with my parents’ love would heal me. The defined boundaries I had between the two worlds allowed me to overcome any potentially traumatic events without too many emotional scars.

Home was safe without a doubt and it was my strength. Eventually, I became a veteran at fighting monsters and was no longer afraid. Finally, after a year of travelling I reached the edge of the forest where I came across a small village. It was here where I would start to learn more about this world, and it was here where the birth of my hatred for it would occur.

Chapter 5: The Obligation I Cannot Abandon

June 8th, 2088

It’s been a week since the start of summer, and I was taking a break. Specifically, I was browsing some web novels on my phone while finishing up a bounty in the other world. One of the many unexplainable things in this world was that I still somehow maintained my cell phone reception. The irony of reading a transported to another world story while in another world never ceases to amuse me, so I often spend my waiting time doing so. It was easy to pass off my holophone’s projected screen as a magic item.

Currently I was seated upon the carcass of a particularly large quad-bull, a vicious monster twice as large as a normal bull with two pairs of golden horns on its head and a black steel like hide. A quad-bull specialized in charging, but its agility was what made it truly dangerous.

The joints of its legs had a 360-degree range of motion and there were four hooves for each ankle, so the quad-bull could literally turn on a dime while maintaining its momentum. But it was an extremely simple beast, so an established tactic was to encircle it with people and have it run itself to exhaustion since it would change its focus and charge to whoever hit it last. It would rank as a threat level of 8 if one had to fight it in close quarters but this wasn’t an issue for me.

The flexibility of the quad-bull’s joints came at the cost of having relatively fragile ankles compared to its hide, so I dealt with it by shooting a clip of 9mms into its ankles and crippling its mobility before slitting its throat with my rhomphaia as it thrashed around helplessly on the ground. The meat of a quad-bull was a high-class ingredient, so bounties were often issued for them.

I had sent a message with a crystal orb to my employer about my successful hunt and so I was waiting for them to come to collect the corpse. “Hmm, Kira should be back from her trip by now so I’ll go visit her after this.” I thought to myself as I saw my employer coming with a group of mercs and a wagon to haul the corpse away.

The Employer’s POV

I, Everett Cook, am the proud owner of the Obsidian Steakhouse, my house specialty is quad-bull steak. It is a favorite amongst the nobility and I often get hired to cater noble functions. As an elf, I have been doing this for 150 years or so and the number of bounties I have issued to acquire quad-bull meat are near countless. As such, I am well aware of the danger of that monster. It takes about 10 or so talented mercenaries to bring down the beast by exhausting it through a day long battle, and casualties often occur.

But today I met the bounty hunter known as the Terra the Peerless. He walked in, with his entire body completely covered, and handed over the bounty sheet I had posted. I explained the bounty to him and handed him a crystal orb to contact me when he caught a quad-bull. Honestly, I was skeptical about his ability to handle a job that requires 10 pros. I examined him rather closely, but I couldn’t figure out anything. He didn’t speak a word and although it’s obvious he’s not a dwarf, I couldn’t tell if he was an elf or beast-kin or even a savage race like a hobgoblin. “Well, let’s see if the rumors are true or not.” I thought to myself as I watched him leave.

Terra the Peerless had mysteriously appeared 3 years ago and quickly became a famous individual in the queendom. But the rumors surrounding some of the bounties he had completed were so outrageous I found them hard to believe. Until now. Maybe 2 hours after he left, the crystal orb I had started shining and an image was being transmitted to me that left me dumbfounded.

The bounty hunter Terra was calmly seated on the corpse of a huge quad-bull on the plains nearly two hours travel away. To have already completed the job meant he would have killed that quad-bull in less than 10 minutes after arriving. He was a monster, an absolute monster. Cold sweat started forming down my back as I quickly called my guards together to go collect the carcass. It wouldn’t do to make him wait and let’s increase the payment just to be on the safe side.

Terra’s POV

I was back in Obsidia, in the southern residential district to be exact, walking as I double checked my recently collected reward. I was a little confused at the unexplained increase in the payment, but I decided to chalk it up as a bonus for finishing the job so quickly. I quietly stepped into an empty side alley before casting an invisibility spell and heading to a safe house I had set up down the street. The southern residential district had much better public order than the northern slums due to a high number of guard patrols so travel was easy.

After I entered it I quickly changed my outfit and sent it back to my room in Tokyo. I also unequipped my weapons and strapped on a standard longsword onto my hip instead as I put on a shirt with long, billowy sleeves and some breeches. Lastly, I put on a hooded cloak that covered my ears from sight. After this change of clothes, I continued on my way until I stopped in front of a small store with gargoyles on each side of the entrance with a sign saying “9 Lives Trading Outpost”.

I entered through the front door and called out “Kira, are you home?” At my words a golden blur raced across the shop before lunging at me like a predator at its prey. I heard a joyful shout of “Big brother! You’re back!” as the golden blur successfully pounced on me and hugged me tightly. I returned the hug and was rewarded with a loud purring noise.

I smiled and looked at my precious little sister Kira, the one reason why I hadn’t already abandoned this shitty world, as well as the living reminder of my failures. She was an absolutely adorable girl of about 13 years, with long golden hair and sparkling amber eyes with cat-slit pupils. Her skin was flawless and cream colored. She also had this cute little mole just beneath the corner of her left eye that looked like the number 9 upon close inspection. She had light pink lips and perfectly defined facial features.

In a few years she would without a doubt become an earth-shattering beauty. She had a pair of golden cat ears tipped with white on top of her head, with a matching tail that was currently dancing around in joy. “How was your trip? Did you cause Grandma Kuma any trouble?” I asked her as I started stroking her ears. She didn’t expect that and let out a cute “Nya!” in surprise. “Mou, big brother don’t do that so suddenly!” “Oh? So should I stop?” “… I didn’t say that.” I grinned at Kira’s response as I continued petting her. “The trip was fun, we got a lot of cool merchandise to sell! Granny is in the back putting it away right now.”

The door to the back coincidently opened at this time and an elegant elderly cat-kin woman walked in. She had short brown hair and amber eyes just like Kira’s. “Hello Terra, nice of you to visit again. Poor Kira here was so forlorn that she couldn’t see her beloved big brother this past week.” Kira’s ears and tail both perked straight up in embarrassment as she turned to her grandmother while somehow maintaining her hug on me “Granny! Don’t exaggerate!” “Ara, I’m surprised you managed to stop purring long enough to respond.” Kira turned red at this and buried her face into my chest as Grandma Kuma simply laughed.

Cat-kin purr when they are happy and content. It is something they only do in the presence of those they trust such as close friends and family. So I am not exactly sure what’s so embarrassing about Kira’s behavior but I certainly can’t say I know everything about cat-kin culture. “So are you joining us for dinner?” Grandma Kuma inquired. I nodded “Yeah, I’ll be intruding for a bit. I’ve also brought some sweets to contribute.” Both Kira and Grandma Kuma’s ears perked up and their tails started dancing around as I said that. I often bring some kind of treat from my world when I visit and they have all been quite well-received. I grinned at their response and took off my hood as we headed to their kitchen to eat.

Kira and Grandma Kuma are the only people in this world that know I am a human as well as a wizard, although they are unaware that I am from another world. They are also the only people here that I give a damn about and I have gone to great lengths to ensure their safety. The gargoyle statues out front are actually a type of golem I created that is powered by a contracted demon rather than a magic core. There are also various hexes against intruders on the interior and I also placed several vengeful ghosts in the walls to attack anyone who survives the magic. I even gave Kira a protective charm that would send me a signal if she ever was in danger.

Lastly, I had bribed the guards to greatly increase their patrols in the southern residential district in order to increase public safety. Specifically, I indicated for them to keep an eye on a house that was further down the street from the 9 Lives shop. This was to ensure that if anyone ever investigated my affairs they wouldn’t discover my connection to Kira. The resident of the house I told them to watch is an arrogant elven bitch who tried to enslave Kira and her family when I was younger. A truly evil and heartless bitch that one, who only has good looks to be proud of.

Nevertheless, she makes an excellent decoy and this precaution has led to the guards believing that she is my lover or some such nonsense. I also planted a special surprise to strike at whoever tries to kidnap the decoy. Am I being paranoid? Yes, yes I am. My experiences in this world and the things I have lost in the past due to my childhood naivety have made me to be cautious and wary above all else. I visit Kira every day I can to make sure she’s safe and doing well. It’s the only thing I can do to ease the guilt that’s been burdening me since 3 years ago.

Chapter 6: The Village of Hafor

I had just finished celebrating my 10th birthday when I had stumbled across that village on the edge of the forest. It was a small community of about 50 people or so, it would be more accurate to call it a hamlet rather than a village. But when I looked more closely I could see that there was a group of people discussing something with serious expressions. “Wow, that’s so cool! Those people have animal ears and tails! And that short guy with the beard must be a dwarf! Woah, and there’s even an elf!” I exclaimed to myself.

I was delighted at the sight of these fantasy races and as I drew closer I heard them talking in a language I didn’t know. I pondered for a moment and then quickly improvised a translation spell which miraculously worked. The timing was perfect since an elderly dwarven women stepped out from the largest house to address the group about what had occurred. “Everyone, please settle down. I have talked with the scouting party and we have come to the conclusion that a large group of goblins have moved into the area.”

At her words, the group of adults paled. One women with dog-ears asked “How large exactly?” “The estimate is about 100 or so.” Everyone broke out into worried whispers and murmurs as a blonde-haired elf cried out “Even if they are just goblins, we aren’t able to take out that many! What do we do?!” My eyes shined at this situation as I thought “This is it! This is my chance to start my otherworld hero story!”

And without further ado, I stepped into the fray. “Excuse me! Where are these goblins located?” I asked the village chief. “Hm? They are at the cave by the river to the east. Wait, who are you?” And so everyone quieted down as they noticed me standing next to the chief. “My name is Terra and I’m an adventurer! I’ll go solve your goblin problem for you!” Without waiting for a response, I eagerly ran off in the indicated direction.

Although there was no trail in the forest, I had a year’s worth of experience allowing me to navigate with ease. I was free-running at full speed, jumping over thick roots, swinging from the occasional branch and avoiding thick brush that would slow me down. When I arrived near the cave, I used a simple charm to examine the interior. My year of monster hunting had taught me to be cautious and always investigate before engaging anything unknown.

Luckily, all 100 goblins were in the cave. Even better was the fact that there was only one exit. That made things very simple for me. I walked up to the entrance and snapped my fingers. There was an echo in the cave that continued for far longer than a natural one would. The pressure in the cave suddenly amplified to the point where I could see the pebbles being crushed into a fine powder. I heard a series of nauseating sounds from the depths of the cave, signaling the deaths of the goblins from my spell. My breathing became heavier while my heart rate also increased and I had cold sweats. It took me a few moments to calm down. Although I had conquered my fear of fighting monsters, killing was still hard on me.

By this point of my other world adventure, 100 goblins were no problem for me. My ability to transverse worlds seemed to synergize with my ability to use magic, making me more powerful than the average wizard. Furthermore, my time in the forest had made me nimble and agile. My current fighting style relied on me evading a monster’s initial attack while scanning it for weaknesses, then I would strike with magic.

These fights made me develop an infallible intuition that I have relied on ever since. But despite all of my impressive abilities, I was still a kid. I may have adapted to fighting, but killing was a different matter entirely. Even though I knew from experience that monsters were incredibly hostile and vicious, I still had a soft heart. I couldn’t imagine ever having to kill another sentient being. I wanted to be a Hero that saved everyone after all.

My resolution of the crisis made me a hero in Hafor Village and all the residents happily welcomed me. They thought me to be a guardian spirit due to my human like appearance, my enormous strength unsuitable for a child and the fact that I would disappear and reappear like the morning mist. I would often hunt and repulse threats in the forest, thus becoming a valued existence in the village. I learned all sorts of things during my time here. The village healer taught me alchemy, hunters showed me how to track and stalk prey, and the magic crafter showed me how to make magic items. At home I only had one friend, and she was becoming busier due to family obligations so we could no longer play together as often. I started coming to the village frequently to play with the other children since I had no one else in my world.

It was here where I met Kira, who was currently the youngest in the village at the age of 7 and would be left out when the other children played because she couldn’t keep up. I, however, approached her the moment I saw her. Partly because I saw she was lonely and partly because I was fascinated by her cat appendages. I had always wanted a pet cat but my father was allergic so I could never get one. I had also wanted a younger sibling, but I never got one.

Apparently my mother had been deemed infertile when she was young and my birth in of itself was a miracle. So I definitely spoiled Kira a lot when we were together. We quickly became as close as can be and she even started to purr for me when we were alone together. This laid back village life went on for 3 years and then the incident happened in the summer before I entered middle school.

Chapter 7: I am not a Hero

That fateful day was without a doubt the worst of my life so far. It started out with me seeing off my childhood friend Fujimoto Hikari, who was moving away from Tokyo for her father’s work. She had lived next door to me and since we were the only kids the same age in the neighborhood we were always together. And so the day after we graduated primary school, I tearfully waved goodbye to her as I watched her go. I was feeling down the entire day and failed to notice the time until it was nearly evening. I suddenly remembered that Kira had asked me to come meet her by the river and that I was late by nearly an hour. “Oh crap!” I thought to myself as I hurriedly ran up to my room and traveled to the other world.

The view that greeted me was the burning wreckage of what used to be the village. I saw strewn corpses of men who were cut into pieces and women with their clothes torn apart and their throats slit. Their faces showed expressions of horror, despair and agony. They were the faces of kind people I knew who had given me treats or had taught me various things. My shock was so strong I did not vomit nor did I cry nor did I scream. I simply stumbled through the debris like a zombie, looking at all the faces until I came to Kira’s house.

I saw her parents lying there dead, and then I realized that Kira wasn’t there with them. That sliver of hope that she might still be alive brought me back to my senses and I immediately dashed to the river. As I came upon the river, I saw two grimy looking beast-kin that looked without a doubt to be bandits standing over a bloodied Kira. “Shit, this bitch was a handful. I don’t know if I even have the drive to do her anymore.” One of them complained. “Fine by me, I’ll just take your share! Who’d a thought staying behind to loot some more would yield such an attractive prize!” the one who spoke licked his lips with an evil grin. Kira just laid there on the ground, I couldn’t tell if she was alive or dead. My blood ran cold at the thought she died, and for the first time in my life I had a killing intent.

The two bandits were torn to shreds by my magic without ever realizing what happened and I hurriedly ran over to Kira. “Kira, Kira! Please still be alive!” I shouted as I repeatedly used healing magic over and over again, to the point of exhaustion. I was trembling from my exertion and from the fact I had just killed two people. I felt her stir in my arms and a temporary relief washed away my trauma. I quickly escaped with her to my room at home, where I cleaned her up and placed her in my bed. As I saw her quietly lie there, my tears finally started to fall. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” I repeated over and over to Kira lying on the bed.

If I hadn’t come late, maybe I could have stopped the bandits. If I hadn’t come late maybe the people I came to care about would still be alive and happy. If I hadn’t come late maybe Kira wouldn’t be lying here unconscious. I thought that I was the hero of an other world story. The villagers would affectionately call me a hero every time I defeated a dangerous monster that threatened them, but now I know the truth.

I am not a hero. A hero would have come in time to stop the bandits and save Kira from nearly being killed. A hero would have protected everyone and not have let a single person die. A hero would right now be smiling at the village as they celebrated their savior. They wouldn’t be standing over a sole survivor crying. I am not a hero. This thought carved its way into my heart like a knife and stayed there. That instant would change me from a goofy, innocent kid to something else entirely. My tumultuous flood of emotions that made me feel like my head was going to explode… vanished as I broke inside. My mana grew exponentially, as if it were trying to fill the void which appeared within me.

“I’m sorry Kira, I’m not a hero. But I will kill them, I’ll kill all of them, so just wait here for a bit.” The voice I spoke with was calm and serene, to the point of it being frightening. I immediately left for the ruins of the village after casting a spell to prevent entry into my room. I used psychometry and relived the entire event. I watched the village burn in a surprise attack by 50 bandits, led by a pretty-boy elf with green hair. I watched every rape, murder and the sick joy in the eyes of the bandits as they did it. I saw how Kira had avoided the initial ambush because she had been at the river and then I saw as she came upon the horrific aftermath and was then chased by those two stragglers.

Anyone watching this playback would have felt a flurry of various emotions, but not me. I was empty of both emotion and feeling. There was neither rage nor sorrow. My state of mind was akin to one in meditation. But I was most certainly not at peace. Instead, I had an objective that absolutely needed to be done. “52 bandits to kill, I should collect the heads in order to not lose track and to show Kira later.” I said to myself with absolutely no inflection in my voice, like a machine. I picked up the heads of the two bandits I had already killed along with a sword. An old man in the village had been a mercenary in his youth, and he had taught me the basics of using various weaponry such as the spear and sword. Using magic, I easily tracked the rest of the bandits to where they had made camp in the forest.

What happened next was quite straightforward: I killed them. I burned them, I stabbed them, I cut them, I bludgeoned them, I electrocuted them, I froze them, I drowned them, I suffocated them, I tore them to shreds, and I decapitated them. They used a variety of magic tools and weapons as they fought back, but my magic was too strong so their resistance was like that of leaves before an autumn storm. The one I had intentionally left for last was the green haired elven leader. I drove him to the brink of insanity through torture and then killed him. The entire time I had a disinterested expression on my face, as if what was happening had nothing to do with me. Mentally it felt like I was in third person controlling my body.

But as soon as I had killed the last bandit, that emptiness disappeared along with my overflowing mana. I felt a flood of emotions roar back into me and the shock made me vomit immediately. I then promptly fell to the ground and stayed in a state of shock and hysteria for about an hour before I collected myself. “You still have work to finish, pull yourself together!” I shouted at myself. After that scene, I cut off all the heads of the bandits and packed them onto a wagon they had. Unfortunately, the horse hitched to it had died in the battle.

I paused for a moment, but decided to try out magic that I had made off-limits because I thought it wasn’t what a hero would use. It was my first time so I decided to use an incantation to help “I call thee from thy eternal rest, rise once more at my behest!” The corpse of the horse shuddered at my words and slowly stood up. There was no life in those eyes and its blood did not flow from its open wounds.

“So this is what necromancy is like.” I muttered as I looked towards the undead horse. It was a simple reanimation spell, so to the unobservant it might simply seem injured, not dead. I could command the zombie horse with my mind and did so. By now it was night, so I put on a tattered black cloak to try and maintain some warmth as the wagon rattled along. I sensed Kira was still sleeping peacefully back in my room, so I decided to first go back and bury the villagers before taking Kira to her grandmother’s in Obsidia.

Chapter 8: My First Bounty

A Guard-Captain’s POV

My name is Oram Likle. I am a guard-captain of the Northern Residential District of Obsidia, arguably the most dangerous neighborhood in the queendom. Crime is rampant here and I could randomly throw a stone in the street and hit a criminal who would kill my entire family because I hit them with a stone. I have seen so many grizzly and horrific things while on the beat that nothing affects me anymore. Or so I thought until now.

The night shift tonight was like any other at first albeit it being somewhat foggy, with there being a healthy amount of traffic still entering the city at a leisurely pace. But soon the amount of traffic decreased abnormally and the few travelers that were still coming came at a run. After getting called out by the guards posted at the gate, I came to interview the most recent traveler: an elven peddler who had nearly collapsed from terror and exhaustion.

I sat down across from him “So what in the blazes has you so worked up?” And I received nothing but an eerie laugh “HAHAHAahahAhAHaHAAAHAHAhAH! It’s coming for us! IT’S COMING FOR US!” The peddler had gone completely over the edge. His behavior was freaking out all the guards, myself included. I slapped the elf across the face “WHAT’S COMING?!?” I shouted. He just smiled and fainted. The creaking and the rattling of a decrepit wagon reached my ears. I looked towards the gate shrouded by fog.

Coming out of the fog, in the intermittent moonlight, a horse pulling a wagon appeared. It was covered in wounds that should have been lethal, but it appeared unaffected as it continued to walk in an uneven gait. The driver of the wagon had no reins, his face was obscured by a tattered black cloak. Both the wagon and the driver’s cloak were covered in bloodstains and in the back I saw a pile of severed heads with expressions of agony. An old legend that was universally known claimed that Death likes to collect the heads of those who anger him and he always takes his collection with him in a blood-stained wagon. My mind went blank as I thought that. None of the guards made a move for fear of Death turning its attention to them.

Without any signal from the driver, the horse had stopped and the wagon was right next to me. I could feel the gaze of the driver and I started trembling in fear. “Where’s the nearest guard station?” Death asked me. “It’s just down the sst-ss-treet.” I stuttered. Death didn’t respond and the horse started to move without warning once more. As its back faded into the darkness, every guard at the gate collapsed. Afterwards, we would all be plagued with nightmares.

Terra’s POV

After hours of travel, I finally arrived in Obsidia. During the trip I was able to think about what to do next. I realized that keeping the severed bandit heads to show Kira that I had killed them all would be traumatic for her. So I decided to go to the guard station and see if there had been any bounties out for them before discarding them. Oblivious to my appearance, I headed to the guard station nearby and was promptly surrounded by a group of terrified guards. I was unperturbed. “Are there any bounties for these?” I indicated the heads in the back.

One of the guards timidly came up and looked and stopped at the bandit leader’s head “Oh my goodness… This is Bandit King Burk! And that’s Two-Faced Trin! And...” The guard kept listing names and when he finally finished, everyone stood there dumbfounded. “These are all the members of the Disaster Robbers. How did yo-” I interrupted him here, “Just give me the bounty.” “Ah, yes! Right away sir!” My total reward came to 20 gold coins and at this moment I realized how profitable bounties could be. Apparently the Disaster Robbers were the queendom’s most notorious bandit troupe, with no one being able to stop them to the point of the rural villages treating them as the equivalent of a natural disaster, hence the unoriginal name.

After claiming the bounty, I left for the southern district where Kira’s grandmother was. I had been to her place a few times before when I joined Kira’s family on their trips to the city. I brought Kira over from my room and placed her next to me. Eventually I arrived at Grandma Kuma’s shop, and I took Kira in my arms and promptly used magic to destroy the wagon and horse, leaving no trace.

I knocked loudly on the door and waited as I heard Grandma Kuma getting up. Soon after, Kira was peacefully sleeping in a room while Grandma Kuma was pouring me some tea to drink. After explaining everything that had happened, I handed over most of the bounty and left. I was frustrated at my own helplessness and enraged at a world where something like this could happen. I had failed those people, but I would do everything I could to make sure that Kira lived well.

My pursuit of keeping that promise changed me. In order to tutor Kira and make sure she became well-educated, I became the top student at my school. In order to protect her and make sure she lived comfortably, I started hunting down the most vicious criminals and monsters to make money. I broke dozens of bones, bled liters of blood, nearly lost several limbs and even came close to death a few times over those years. I trained at a local dojo and even smuggled some guns from the US and became proficient in their use.

The many experiences I had changed me, sometimes I wonder what would have happened to that goofy, carefree brat back in primary school had he never gone to the other world. How much have I lost? How different would my life be? These worthless thoughts occasionally flash across my mind as I fight, kill, and claw my way through this world.