While enveloped within shouts of cheering, I notice movement outside the window.
The surrounding police and SWAT have probably noticed the cheering and thus are approaching, ready to bust in at any moment.
My aim is to make myself known to the ambassador. Being caught by the police would just be trouble.
This is where I should apply the last one of the 36 Stratagems and beat a strategic retreat.
Thankfully, I’ve already left an impression. And disappearing right now would leave an even deeper impression.
To pound the final nail into the coffin, I take the little girl’s hand.
“By your leave, I shall excuse myself.”
I plant a kiss on the back of that hand, then dash out of the hall.
The most important thing is to leave an impression.
I caught a quick glimpse of the face of the little girl and the ambassador on my way out.
I am reassured that neither of them would forget me any time soon.
By the time the police bust in, I am already long gone from the embassy.
☆
After leaving distance between me and the embassy, I confirm my skills while evading pedestrians who have eyes for nothing but their smartphones.
－－－－－Skill－－－－－
Skill Points: 3/999
Acquired Skills (5/10)
[Close Combat V]
[Invisibility II]
[Lower Point Cost] (80%)
[Double Skill Points] (200%)
[Complete Translation]
－－－－－－－－－－－－－
My skill list has grown quite considerably.
It is so decked out as to be almost unimaginable for the first day of transmigration.
Thinking back, my first day in that world, I had acquired only [Close Combat I]. That was it.
In comparison, this is one padded lineup indeed.
But with that said, the 999 skill points that I carried over have been almost completely used up.
There are still a ton of skills that I need to acquire, so I need to find a way to earn more points.
The simplest way to earn points is, of course, through fighting.
And if I’m looking for a fight in this world……
☆
After taking the train, I have arrived in Shinjuku.
The nightless city of Japan, the city that is famous worldwide for never going to sleep.
At the same time, it is also a city of chaos with people from the underground crawling all over.
I exit the station, walk past the shopping area, and make my way to the most bustling, and thus the most dangerous street.
Walking through the shopping arcade, I ignore the call outs and focus instead on casually observing my surrounding.
The only thing that I’m looking for is signs of that sort of thing happening.
It turns out today’s my lucky day. I found it almost immediately.
Inside a slightly tucked away alleyway, there are two men surrounding a man in a suit.
The man in a suit is being forced to prostrate himself on the ground, while the surrounding men are stepping on his head.
I interrupt them.
“Stop it.”
As I step in and speak up, the two men turn to look at me.
They are still young, but the insolence common to those who’ve only put a pinky toe into the world of violence is evident on their faces.
“You, unrelated. Leave.”
“If you not leave, will kill you.”
The two threaten me with broken Japanese.
In this city, those who flaunt violence are not limited to only being Japanese.
Besides Japanese yakuza, there are so many foreign mafias who’ve taken root here that they could even sign up to be a multinational force.
The two men have Asian-looking faces, so I have a general idea of where they might be from.
I would be in trouble here if I had nothing, but now I have skills.
I talk to them normally.
“Let that man go.”
Skill [Complete Translation].
When I speak while keeping it in mind, the skill makes it so that the other party hears me in their mother tongue.
The two men are slightly surprised.
“You have good pronunciation. Are you also from Country C?”
I see, so they’re mafia from Country C.
Well, it’s pretty much as expected.
When thinking of Asian-looking mafia in this city, chances are it’s either Country C or Country K.
In any case, I now know their background.
“Don’t do anything unnecessary.”
“What did this man do to you?”
“Do you not see this?”
One of the men point down to his feet.
I tilt my head in puzzlement while following where he’s pointing, then finally notice it.
On the cuff of one of his trouser legs, and also at the edge of his shoe.
There is a little bit of vomit that’s gotten on there.
The man in a dogeza smells of alcohol. I see, so it was the vomit.
“That tiny ass amount of filth, you can just wipe it off with a tissue.”
I speak provocatively while throwing in a little bit of the truth.
This works wonders on this kind of men.
Just as I’d thought, the two flare up and head towards me.
“What did you just say?!”
“You fucker, are you trying to take the Japanese’s side?”
“What’s the point of threatening me? All I did was speak the truth.”
Oil onto the flames. Seeing how quickly these two took the bait, I have determined that they have zero tolerance against provocation.
As expected, the man who got a bit of vomit on him throws a punch at me.
I smoothly evade it, then land a hand chop on him.
[Close Combat V].
This level is sufficient to beat down a hundred people on a battlefield. It is more than enough for a mere hoodlum.
——You have earned 2 skill points.
Got my skill points.
It seems that third-rate mobs would only give me the minimal 1 skill point doubled to 2.
Well, it’s still better than nothing, I say to myself in consolation while turning towards the other man.
He also punches at me in the same way. So I make a half turn in evasion, then similarly land a hand chop on him.
——You have earned 2 skill points.
I got my points, and they’re not moving anymore.
Sigh, only 4 points huh——
“What are you doing over there.”
I jump reflexively.
If it is a police officer, then things would be troublesome——is what I thought, but turns out it’s fine.
The people approaching are giving off the same smell as the two that I’d just brought down.
It is the smell of third-rate hoodlums who wouldn’t hesitate to resort to violence.
They number 8——no, 7+1.
Seven of them are mere hoodlums, but the one furthest in the back seems slightly different.
Judging by the slight amount of discretion that can be gleaned from his face and the way he speaks and moves, I deduce that he’s most likely these hoodlum’s ‘big brother,’ or at least someone in that sort of position.
“Chou! Li! You bastard……”
“You’ve gone and fucking done something you really shouldn’t fucking have, motherfucker!”
The seven hoodlums, upon seeing the sight of their two comrades on the ground, immediately fly into a frenzy and rush at me.
I meet the the flurry of punches and iron pipes with hand chops.
One strike for each person, without any unnecessary movements. That’s 14 points.
Having reached 21 points, I then turn to the last man.
Big Brother wordlessly draws his weapon.
“Look out!”
“Don’t worry…… though now I’m quite curious what’s happened to the Swords and Firearms Control Law.”
The suited man lifts his face and worries for my safety.
He seems like a normal Japanese, so I just answer him normally without being conscious of the skill.
“You stupid Jap…… making light of us.”
The remaining man widens his eyes in intimidation.
But rather than his face, it is his weapon that I am looking at. What he has drawn is something that normally only appears in movies, a Chinese broadsword.
It’s amazing that he brought that along. But what’s even more amazing is that he drew it with full intention of actually using it.
If the rest so far were just mobs, then this guy would be the stage boss.
Right after dodging the Chinese broadsword that slashes towards me with a whoosh, I release my hand chop. But.
The man shifts his body just a little bit, causing my chop to land on his back instead.
The man groans. He took damage, but I had failed to knock him unconscious in one hit.
He really is a cut above the other hoodlums.
I can press on and defeat him normally. But I have 20 points saved up already, so I might as well grab the next skill that I want.
It’s one of the [Increase Attack Power] series.
By repeating a certain action, the skill would make my attack power go up.
There are four of them, namely Hit, Evade, Defend, and Defeat.
‘Hit’ is great for continuously hitting enemies, like with chain punching.
‘Evade’ and ‘Defend’ basically makes me stronger the more I evade or defend, respectively, and are best suited for a final ‘one hit certain kill’ style of fighting.
‘Defeat’ goes up the more enemies I knock out or kill. This is the one that I used the most on battlefields.
It is possible to acquire all four skills, but only one may be activated at any given time.
If I suddenly block in the middle of racking up Evade, then I would go back to the first count of Defend. If I’m in the middle of racking up Defend and mistakenly take out an enemy with one blow, then I would go back to the first count of Defeat.
That’s the kind of skill these are.
I intend to eventually pick all of them up, but for now, I will settle for…… Evade.
I’m up against a Chinese broadsword. In my current state of not having any defensive skills, I can’t defend against that.
Defeat is meaningless here because he’s only 1 guy, and he would probably go down with one punch so Hit seems similarly inappropriate.
Evade is the only one that I can take and make use of immediately.
I expend 20 points to acquire [Increase Attack Power (Evade)] level 1.
The man continues slashing at me with his Chinese broadsword. I make no move to retaliate, focusing instead on evasion.
I continuously evade the Chinese broadsword as it whooshes by me and smashes into the concrete walls of the alleyway repeatedly.
“Are you fucking with me?! Huh?!”
Enraged at my constant dodging, the man roars at me.
His reaction is only normal, but I don’t engage, focusing only on evading.
Even time I dodge a swing, I feel the strength in my body building up.
Eventually, I hear a ‘click’ inside my head.
That’s the signal that I’ve reached the upper limit.
[Increase Attack Power] does not go up infinitely. It has a cap. And I have just now reached that cap.
I take a step back, as if inviting the man to charge in.
Mindlessly falling for it, the man charges directly at me from the front, swinging his Chinese broadsword straight down.
“YOU JAP, DIIIEEEEEE!”
“——Hmph!”
I throw a counterpunch.
It’s a straight punch, with no feints or anything fancy.
My punch smashes the Chinese broadsword and send the man flying.
The distance that he flies is about 20 meters. He lands all the way in the main street and rolls a few times.
The amount of momentum is almost like he just got hit by a truck.
——You have earned 10 skill points.
Onlookers gather around the fallen man and start making a commotion.
Seems I’d taken a bit too long.
“Ah, wait a moment——”
Ignoring the calls of the man who was being bullied, I exit the alleyway, activate [Invisibility II] in a hidden corner, then make my escape.
☆
I got myself one more skill, and my points have gone back up to 11.
Satisfied with today’s results, I check myself into a nearby hotel.
It is neither a love hotel nor a business hotel.
This is a 40-story high-class hotel.
I rest my body in the one million yen per night suite room that I’d paid for in cash.
This place is fine for today, but I really do want a house.
I have 12 billion carried over from the other world’s Clear Bonus. Tomorrow I’ll go to a real estate agent and look for a good house——
“Wait a second. I can’t buy it right now, though.”
This is not the other world. This is the real world.
Even with my basic knowledge, I know that to purchase from a real estate, I would need identification documents.
But having just returned from another world, I don’t know what my family register has become.
Can someone like me…… actually buy a house?
“…… Oh well, I’ll do something about it, somehow.”
I give up unnecessarily thinking about it any more.
I have not only 12 billion, but also the ability to continuously add to my skills.
I will be able to do something about the family register, eventually.
“And even if that doesn’t work out……”
I smile, walk over to the window overlooking the night view of Tokyo.
A hotel that costs 1 million per night? I can live for more than 40 years with my 12 billion.
Thanks to my Clear Bonus, I feel like all my problems might as well not exist.
☆
This fluffy and empty space.
I immediately realize that I’ve been called by the goddess again.
“Same as last time, huh.”
“I’m surprised you remember.”
The goddess who’s suddenly appeared before me smiles wryly.
“Of course I remember. The previous time, I was called here again the first night after being transmigrated, and finally got to confirm all sorts of information about skills and things of that world. Let me see……”
I’ve just thought of a good metaphor.
“Yes, a tutorial. The first day is a tutorial, and being called here again is like announcing that the tutorial is over.”
“That’s a unique way of seeing it. It’s not exactly wrong, yet not exactly right, I suppose.”
“In that case, I’m good this time. I don’t really have anything I want to ask.”
“……”
“What?”
“Just as you had said, that world is beginning to go down. Now that the demon lord is gone, the humans have begun fighting against each other.”
“How fast…… oh wait, no, time flows differently in the two worlds.”
I spent 20 years in that world, but it was much shorter on this side.
It’s only been 1 day for me, but a lot more time has passed on the other side.
“…… Do you really have no intention of going back once more? If it’s you, then——”
“No thanks.”
Only an idiot would willingly go to a place where he would be shunned.
I hate that world. Even when I blaze a trail for them, all my rewards are withheld just because I’m an outsider.
Like hell I’ll ever go back.
“Very well. But can I at least leave 1 person in your care?”
“In my care?”
“Yes, someone of that side. To gain experience by your side, and return when the need arises. So that this time, someone from that side can become the savior of that side.”
“…… Alright. If that’s the case, then I’ll accept.”
Organizations are one thing, but I don’t hate the individuals of that side.
“Then I will arrange for it once preparations are completed. The transfer will be to your immediate location so that you can tell at once.”
“Got it.”
After that brief exchange, I leave the goddess.
Still…… so it really was a sinking ship.
I cannot help but to smile bitterly at having my prediction proved true.
While enveloped within shouts of cheering, I notice movement outside the window.
The surrounding police and SWAT have probably noticed the cheering and thus are approaching, ready to bust in at any moment.
My aim is to make myself known to the ambassador. Being caught by the police would just be trouble.
This is where I should apply the last one of the 36 Stratagems and beat a strategic retreat.
Thankfully, I’ve already left an impression. And disappearing right now would leave an even deeper impression.
To pound the final nail into the coffin, I take the little girl’s hand.
“By your leave, I shall excuse myself.”
I plant a kiss on the back of that hand, then dash out of the hall.
The most important thing is to leave an impression.
I caught a quick glimpse of the face of the little girl and the ambassador on my way out.
I am reassured that neither of them would forget me any time soon.
By the time the police bust in, I am already long gone from the embassy.
☆
After leaving distance between me and the embassy, I confirm my skills while evading pedestrians who have eyes for nothing but their smartphones.
－－－－－Skill－－－－－
Skill Points: 3/999
Acquired Skills (5/10)
[Close Combat V]
[Invisibility II]
[Lower Point Cost] (80%)
[Double Skill Points] (200%)
[Complete Translation]
－－－－－－－－－－－－－
My skill list has grown quite considerably.
It is so decked out as to be almost unimaginable for the first day of transmigration.
Thinking back, my first day in that world, I had acquired only [Close Combat I]. That was it.
In comparison, this is one padded lineup indeed.
But with that said, the 999 skill points that I carried over have been almost completely used up.
There are still a ton of skills that I need to acquire, so I need to find a way to earn more points.
The simplest way to earn points is, of course, through fighting.
And if I’m looking for a fight in this world……
☆
After taking the train, I have arrived in Shinjuku.
The nightless city of Japan, the city that is famous worldwide for never going to sleep.
At the same time, it is also a city of chaos with people from the underground crawling all over.
I exit the station, walk past the shopping area, and make my way to the most bustling, and thus the most dangerous street.
Walking through the shopping arcade, I ignore the call outs and focus instead on casually observing my surrounding.
The only thing that I’m looking for is signs of that sort of thing happening.
It turns out today’s my lucky day. I found it almost immediately.
Inside a slightly tucked away alleyway, there are two men surrounding a man in a suit.
The man in a suit is being forced to prostrate himself on the ground, while the surrounding men are stepping on his head.
I interrupt them.
“Stop it.”
As I step in and speak up, the two men turn to look at me.
They are still young, but the insolence common to those who’ve only put a pinky toe into the world of violence is evident on their faces.
“You, unrelated. Leave.”
“If you not leave, will kill you.”
The two threaten me with broken Japanese.
In this city, those who flaunt violence are not limited to only being Japanese.
Besides Japanese yakuza, there are so many foreign mafias who’ve taken root here that they could even sign up to be a multinational force.
The two men have Asian-looking faces, so I have a general idea of where they might be from.
I would be in trouble here if I had nothing, but now I have skills.
I talk to them normally.
“Let that man go.”
Skill [Complete Translation].
When I speak while keeping it in mind, the skill makes it so that the other party hears me in their mother tongue.
The two men are slightly surprised.
“You have good pronunciation. Are you also from Country C?”
I see, so they’re mafia from Country C.
Well, it’s pretty much as expected.
When thinking of Asian-looking mafia in this city, chances are it’s either Country C or Country K.
In any case, I now know their background.
“Don’t do anything unnecessary.”
“What did this man do to you?”
“Do you not see this?”
One of the men point down to his feet.
I tilt my head in puzzlement while following where he’s pointing, then finally notice it.
On the cuff of one of his trouser legs, and also at the edge of his shoe.
There is a little bit of vomit that’s gotten on there.
The man in a dogeza smells of alcohol. I see, so it was the vomit.
“That tiny ass amount of filth, you can just wipe it off with a tissue.”
I speak provocatively while throwing in a little bit of the truth.
This works wonders on this kind of men.
Just as I’d thought, the two flare up and head towards me.
“What did you just say?!”
“You fucker, are you trying to take the Japanese’s side?”
“What’s the point of threatening me? All I did was speak the truth.”
Oil onto the flames. Seeing how quickly these two took the bait, I have determined that they have zero tolerance against provocation.
As expected, the man who got a bit of vomit on him throws a punch at me.
I smoothly evade it, then land a hand chop on him.
[Close Combat V].
This level is sufficient to beat down a hundred people on a battlefield. It is more than enough for a mere hoodlum.
——You have earned 2 skill points.
Got my skill points.
It seems that third-rate mobs would only give me the minimal 1 skill point doubled to 2.
Well, it’s still better than nothing, I say to myself in consolation while turning towards the other man.
He also punches at me in the same way. So I make a half turn in evasion, then similarly land a hand chop on him.
——You have earned 2 skill points.
I got my points, and they’re not moving anymore.
Sigh, only 4 points huh——
“What are you doing over there.”
I jump reflexively.
If it is a police officer, then things would be troublesome——is what I thought, but turns out it’s fine.
The people approaching are giving off the same smell as the two that I’d just brought down.
It is the smell of third-rate hoodlums who wouldn’t hesitate to resort to violence.
They number 8——no, 7+1.
Seven of them are mere hoodlums, but the one furthest in the back seems slightly different.
Judging by the slight amount of discretion that can be gleaned from his face and the way he speaks and moves, I deduce that he’s most likely these hoodlum’s ‘big brother,’ or at least someone in that sort of position.
“Chou! Li! You bastard……”
“You’ve gone and fucking done something you really shouldn’t fucking have, motherfucker!”
The seven hoodlums, upon seeing the sight of their two comrades on the ground, immediately fly into a frenzy and rush at me.
I meet the the flurry of punches and iron pipes with hand chops.
One strike for each person, without any unnecessary movements. That’s 14 points.
Having reached 21 points, I then turn to the last man.
Big Brother wordlessly draws his weapon.
“Look out!”
“Don’t worry…… though now I’m quite curious what’s happened to the Swords and Firearms Control Law.”
The suited man lifts his face and worries for my safety.
He seems like a normal Japanese, so I just answer him normally without being conscious of the skill.
“You stupid Jap…… making light of us.”
The remaining man widens his eyes in intimidation.
But rather than his face, it is his weapon that I am looking at. What he has drawn is something that normally only appears in movies, a Chinese broadsword.
It’s amazing that he brought that along. But what’s even more amazing is that he drew it with full intention of actually using it.
If the rest so far were just mobs, then this guy would be the stage boss.
Right after dodging the Chinese broadsword that slashes towards me with a whoosh, I release my hand chop. But.
The man shifts his body just a little bit, causing my chop to land on his back instead.
The man groans. He took damage, but I had failed to knock him unconscious in one hit.
He really is a cut above the other hoodlums.
I can press on and defeat him normally. But I have 20 points saved up already, so I might as well grab the next skill that I want.
It’s one of the [Increase Attack Power] series.
By repeating a certain action, the skill would make my attack power go up.
There are four of them, namely Hit, Evade, Defend, and Defeat.
‘Hit’ is great for continuously hitting enemies, like with chain punching.
‘Evade’ and ‘Defend’ basically makes me stronger the more I evade or defend, respectively, and are best suited for a final ‘one hit certain kill’ style of fighting.
‘Defeat’ goes up the more enemies I knock out or kill. This is the one that I used the most on battlefields.
It is possible to acquire all four skills, but only one may be activated at any given time.
If I suddenly block in the middle of racking up Evade, then I would go back to the first count of Defend. If I’m in the middle of racking up Defend and mistakenly take out an enemy with one blow, then I would go back to the first count of Defeat.
That’s the kind of skill these are.
I intend to eventually pick all of them up, but for now, I will settle for…… Evade.
I’m up against a Chinese broadsword. In my current state of not having any defensive skills, I can’t defend against that.
Defeat is meaningless here because he’s only 1 guy, and he would probably go down with one punch so Hit seems similarly inappropriate.
Evade is the only one that I can take and make use of immediately.
I expend 20 points to acquire [Increase Attack Power (Evade)] level 1.
The man continues slashing at me with his Chinese broadsword. I make no move to retaliate, focusing instead on evasion.
I continuously evade the Chinese broadsword as it whooshes by me and smashes into the concrete walls of the alleyway repeatedly.
“Are you fucking with me?! Huh?!”
Enraged at my constant dodging, the man roars at me.
His reaction is only normal, but I don’t engage, focusing only on evading.
Even time I dodge a swing, I feel the strength in my body building up.
Eventually, I hear a ‘click’ inside my head.
That’s the signal that I’ve reached the upper limit.
[Increase Attack Power] does not go up infinitely. It has a cap. And I have just now reached that cap.
I take a step back, as if inviting the man to charge in.
Mindlessly falling for it, the man charges directly at me from the front, swinging his Chinese broadsword straight down.
“YOU JAP, DIIIEEEEEE!”
“——Hmph!”
I throw a counterpunch.
It’s a straight punch, with no feints or anything fancy.
My punch smashes the Chinese broadsword and send the man flying.
The distance that he flies is about 20 meters. He lands all the way in the main street and rolls a few times.
The amount of momentum is almost like he just got hit by a truck.
——You have earned 10 skill points.
Onlookers gather around the fallen man and start making a commotion.
Seems I’d taken a bit too long.
“Ah, wait a moment——”
Ignoring the calls of the man who was being bullied, I exit the alleyway, activate [Invisibility II] in a hidden corner, then make my escape.
☆
I got myself one more skill, and my points have gone back up to 11.
Satisfied with today’s results, I check myself into a nearby hotel.
It is neither a love hotel nor a business hotel.
This is a 40-story high-class hotel.
I rest my body in the one million yen per night suite room that I’d paid for in cash.
This place is fine for today, but I really do want a house.
I have 12 billion carried over from the other world’s Clear Bonus. Tomorrow I’ll go to a real estate agent and look for a good house——
“Wait a second. I can’t buy it right now, though.”
This is not the other world. This is the real world.
Even with my basic knowledge, I know that to purchase from a real estate, I would need identification documents.
But having just returned from another world, I don’t know what my family register has become.
Can someone like me…… actually buy a house?
“…… Oh well, I’ll do something about it, somehow.”
I give up unnecessarily thinking about it any more.
I have not only 12 billion, but also the ability to continuously add to my skills.
I will be able to do something about the family register, eventually.
“And even if that doesn’t work out……”
I smile, walk over to the window overlooking the night view of Tokyo.
A hotel that costs 1 million per night? I can live for more than 40 years with my 12 billion.
Thanks to my Clear Bonus, I feel like all my problems might as well not exist.
☆
This fluffy and empty space.
I immediately realize that I’ve been called by the goddess again.
“Same as last time, huh.”
“I’m surprised you remember.”
The goddess who’s suddenly appeared before me smiles wryly.
“Of course I remember. The previous time, I was called here again the first night after being transmigrated, and finally got to confirm all sorts of information about skills and things of that world. Let me see……”
I’ve just thought of a good metaphor.
“Yes, a tutorial. The first day is a tutorial, and being called here again is like announcing that the tutorial is over.”
“That’s a unique way of seeing it. It’s not exactly wrong, yet not exactly right, I suppose.”
“In that case, I’m good this time. I don’t really have anything I want to ask.”
“……”
“What?”
“Just as you had said, that world is beginning to go down. Now that the demon lord is gone, the humans have begun fighting against each other.”
“How fast…… oh wait, no, time flows differently in the two worlds.”
I spent 20 years in that world, but it was much shorter on this side.
It’s only been 1 day for me, but a lot more time has passed on the other side.
“…… Do you really have no intention of going back once more? If it’s you, then——”
“No thanks.”
Only an idiot would willingly go to a place where he would be shunned.
I hate that world. Even when I blaze a trail for them, all my rewards are withheld just because I’m an outsider.
Like hell I’ll ever go back.
“Very well. But can I at least leave 1 person in your care?”
“In my care?”
“Yes, someone of that side. To gain experience by your side, and return when the need arises. So that this time, someone from that side can become the savior of that side.”
“…… Alright. If that’s the case, then I’ll accept.”
Organizations are one thing, but I don’t hate the individuals of that side.
“Then I will arrange for it once preparations are completed. The transfer will be to your immediate location so that you can tell at once.”
“Got it.”
After that brief exchange, I leave the goddess.
Still…… so it really was a sinking ship.
I cannot help but to smile bitterly at having my prediction proved true.
