"What did you just get yourself into," Yua still talked in a hushed tone, gluing her arms on Yuuta's arms as they dove deeper into the forest. She had no idea where Yuuta was taking her but she accompanied him nonetheless. Her life was saved by Yuuta, there's no way he'll endanger it, right?
As they strolled through the Spirit Jungle as if they were casually strolling on parking grounds, Yuuta went on to explain how he met Ki-ru Shoumetsu and how he ultimately defeated him. Yua wore a skeptical face throughout the entire exchange, but she concluded that maybe Yuuta got a unique skill that allows him to match the strength of others. In the end, she decided not to interrupt his story, fully listening just so she could get a clue as to what Yuuta's mysterious skill is.
However, Yua was still unsure of one thing. "Where are we going?" She asked out of the blue.
"Oh, sorry I didn't tell you anything. We're going to the Beginner Village. I need to get someone there." Yuuta answered in a nonchalant manner. "I also didn't ask you if you will come with me, sorry about that. Are you coming or not?"
"I'll come, I'll come. But before that, I have to ask my mom first. She gets unnecessarily worried at times."
"Okay, then same place? I'll be waiting for you there. It would be preferable if we can get there tonight. We have a better chance of getting out than in once we get there so you don't have to worry about anything."
"But... isn't it dangerous? Aren't there a lot of S-rank Evil Spirits surrounding the Beginner Village, cutting it off from the outside world? How would we get in?" She asked.
Since Yuuta couldn't remember whether he already told Yua about his Black Grsrzy Scarf or not, he just smiled towards her. "Don't worry, I have a way. You should ask your mom right about now, I'll be leaving as soon as I can."
Yua nodded and obediently ran out of the Spirit Jungle. Unbeknownst to Yuuta, there were no threats in the Spirit Jungle anymore. And as hinted before, Aarkra was the leader of the Spirit Jungle. With him out of the picture, the other Evil Spirits were in constant confusion.
As soon as Yua disappeared from view, Yuuta set to work building his own lodge inside the Spirit Jungle. Now that he used his All-Seeing Eye Skill on Kazunari, he was able to match Kazunari's level 300+ strength. His assumptions were correct. Once he uses the All-Seeing Eye Skill on someone, he can match their strength, power, and speed. And adding to his one-year combat experience in the underground, he might very well be one of the best adventurers in the whole of Lucid. Even if he's level 20+ he can match, or rather, outmatch any opponent he encounters.
There were some disadvantages to it, however. Even until now, he still couldn't read any information about his skill. He knows that he's got the Mirage, Clairvoyance, All-Seeing Eye, and Third-Eye Skills but he could only know so much. That's why, even though he can match anyone of any level, he couldn't really overuse any of his skills. Hence, this leaves him no choice but to level up as quickly as possible.
Yuuta also has no idea if his Skills have any cooldowns, or how many times could he use his skill within a day. With that, he couldn't just use these skills willy-nilly. If it boils down to it, or if something happens and he wasn't prepared for it, it would be safer if he could use all his skills to get out of that situation.
"Still, to think that our Lucid Dreams is actually forcefully connected to another world. Who would've seen that coming?" Yuuta said to himself as he lifted a tree. He then cut it to equal pieces with his small dagger. Midway through the process, his dagger broke, so he used his own hands to cut the wood. To his surprise, one swipe of his hand could easily cut a log.
'As expected of a level 300 adventurer!' Yuuta thought. He then realized that there were other adventurers who had a level of 500 upwards. He shuddered at the thought.
After cutting a few trees to equal pieces, he then laid the groundwork and foundation of his house. Half an hour later, he was almost done with the whole thing— a bungalow cottage with a huge veranda and windows on all sides. Yuuta didn't expect it to be as big as it turned out but there was no going back. "Last but not least, the roof, huh. If only there are aluminum or bricks that I could place on top of this house, I won't have to do extra work."
"Yuuta! Mom said ye— " A few minutes later, Yua arrived bringing a basket and a backpack with her. She was fully clothed with adventurer clothing as well. When she saw Yuuta hammering away on top of a house, her mouth hung loose as she stared in shock. "What are you doing? And why are you building a house in the middle of the night?!" She said in a soft voice.
"Pretty neat, right? I was just testing out my new skills." Yuuta vaguely replied, wiping a drop of sweat off his brow. "In any case, are you ready? We can head out as soon as I finish laying out the roofing. It would've been nicer if I could use a different material for the roof but wood's got to make-do for now."
Yua felt her throat opening as a question almost escaped her mouth. But before it did, she clamped her mouth shut. She knew that asking more questions would just confuse her so she would just have to take what's happening at face value.
After getting a few more logs from the ground, neatly piled together, Yuuta laid them equally as roofing. He was already done with one slope so he was finishing the other slope. It was a painstaking task but Yuuta was too focused on it he didn't even notice the time. A sigh left Yua's lips as she admiringly stared at her savior. It may not be obvious but she could tell that Yuuta was exerting a lot of strength when building the cottage for who knows what reason.
"That will do for now," Yuuta finally spoke after tying the lined-up logs on the roof with a rope he bought from the marketplace a while ago. "Are you ready? Should we head over to the Beginner Village right now?"
Yua nodded.
Danger may be lurking nearby however, Yua felt secured with Yuuta by her side. They may be venturing into the most dangerous location in the world of Lucid but having Yuuta as company is enough to reassure her that everything would be all right. 'If Yuuta didn't come to rescue me from the other dimension where Aarkra took me, I would've been dead by now, or worse, left to serve an Evil Spirit for a lifetime... wait, now that I think about it, that Intelligent Services guy said that Evil Spirits open portals to Yuuta's world... does that mean I've been to Yuuta's world without me knowing?!' Once again, Yua's jaws dropped to the ground.
"What are you daydreaming of, let's go," Yuuta said.
.....
Shiki wandered along the streets of Nagoya with his head drooping towards the ground. If a classmate passed by him, they wouldn't have recognized him because of his baggy clothes and a bonnet that covered most of his facial features. And to add to the aesthetic, he was holding a pepero chocolate stick in hand. At first glance, Shiki seemed like a bum who was wandering the streets to gather scraps, with a cigarette in hand.
"Now, where were they... " Putting the pepero in his mouth, he looked around, trying to intimidate anyone who would get too close for comfort. He was rather enjoying his disguise, so much for cosplaying.
Today was a special day for Shiki but his expression showed otherwise. After years and years of overcoming his asthma attacks and becoming a new person through exercise and an effortful healthy lifestyle, he could finally return the favor to those who deserved it. At night, he constantly roams the street, getting rid of the bullies and gangsters who would prey on innocent passers-by, coercing them with money. He was a vigilante, but not once did he think that he is one. After all, he was doing all that in preparation for the next big thing.
"So, this is the place? Typical, a shabby half-constructed building where bad guys tend to meet up. What a load of nonsense, when will these kids grow up? To think that I was put to the ground by these same people." Shiki clenched his shaking fists as he approached the building. 'I'm different now. There's no way I'm going down the same way before.' He told himself, trying to ease his panic but it wasn't helping. He knew that right behind the door in front of him was a group of the most powerful gang in the city of Nagoya. Although he wasn't there for the whole gang, he knew that getting them caught in the fight is entirely possible.
"Who are you?! State your name and which gang you're from!" A man in his early twenties screamed at the top of his lungs, trying to intimidate Shiki.
"Leader, I think he's a newbie, he doesn't even know the territorial rules of every gang here in this city."
"Yeah, why don't we rough him up a little bit and send him to their gang leader or something. That's always fun."
"Count me in! You're in danger boy. Going here is not a good choice."
Quite ironically, them egging him on was what brought his calmness to normal levels. His shaky hands steadied, and a split-second thrill of being threatened made Shiki smile briefly. He could feel the adrenaline rushing through his system, making him almost superhuman as he keenly watched the slow movements of the whole gang.
"I'm here on behalf of a friend. I'm not affiliated with any gangs." Shiki announced. "Ryuunosuke Kabane-san, leader of the Red Wolf Gang, I would just like to borrow five of your subordinates. That's all I ask."
"Oh, a friend? That's interesting... and who is this friend you're talking about?" Kabane licked his lips as he gestured towards his men to step forward with their weapons at the ready. There were roughly twenty-four of them, but Shiki knew that they have additional members— five of them, to be exact.
"I am not inclined to tell you his name, but I would like to tell you that it would only spell trouble if you don't bring me these five people. I'm not one to threaten or blackmail anyone so— you know where I'm getting at, right?" Shiki grinned a mischievous grin. It was enough for Kabane to understand.
"So you're looking for an honest fight, huh. Very well. Name these guys."
"Sekiguchi Ryota, Ito Taka, Seta Masaki, Yama Shinji, and Araki Isao." Shiki simply said.
Kabane licked his lips one more time as he stood from his chair. That's when Shiki noticed that Kabane was actually sitting on a makeshift chair made out of high school students. Shiki could only assume how long they've been acting as their leader's chair but he could tell that they were exhausted. "And, what do you want from my chair?" Kabane asked as he twirled his fingers in the air.
In a split second, roughly two dozen men surrounded Shiki, cutting off all his escape routes and forcing him to fight.
"You know what kid, you probably think that I'll let down my guard when I see a high schooler in my turf alone. But I'm not just your run-of-the-mill type of gang leader. I know a threat when I see one. So tell me... what do you want from my chair?" Kabane repeated, referring to the five people whom Shiki mentioned which he was using as a chair.
"I want to beat them up so bad I trained in a dojo for two years and exercised the hell out of my life. And now I think I'm ready." Shiki bent his knees and took a step forward, he then bent his arms and pointed both fists towards Kabane. "As I told you, it will only spell trouble for you if you don't give them to me. And if that's still not enough— well, remember my name is Onigawara Shiki. And just like a demon that sits atop a temple, I'm here to prey on you."
"Men, you know what to do. Get rid of him for me." Kabane waved his hand, turning around.
But as he did so, his face suddenly planted itself on hard cold concrete, breaking all his teeth and his nose bridge in the process. The impact was so hard that he instantly lost consciousness.
"Lesson number one, Ryuunosuke Kabane, leader of the Red Wolf Gang, never turn your back from a passionate opponent." Shiki was suddenly on top of Kabane as he lay face-down on concrete.
brief light from a passing car shone through the gaps of the half-constructed building, temporarily lighting the room where everyone was in. And for a moment, the Red Wolf Gang could've sworn that they saw a smile of a demon as Onigawara Shiki smiled at them, eyes filled with rage and bloodthirst.