The night we arrived in this new world, I was unable to sleep. I was in my [Tangible] form, but I still wasn't able to sleep. When I felt Kenji fall asleep on my lap, I took that time to silently cry.
It's just like Kenji said, we're never going to be able to go home. This is our new life now. I'm anxious about my ability to survive in this world. I don't know if I can get hurt or how I can.
There's so much I hadn't achieved back in Japan… back home. I never got a girlfriend. I never got an A on a test. I never made many friends. I never had a chance to prove myself on my own merit. Being stuck in this world might give me that chance.
I have to catch up to that back that's always been ahead of me. That back scares me. It's like it's taunting me 'You'll never be good enough' it says, 'Stay in the shadows' it tells me. I need to catch up to it, and overtake it for my own sake. I need to catch up to Kenji Togata.
I think back to the difference between Kenji and I's statuses. He may be stronger than me, but I can do things he could never even dream of. I've made up my mind. I need to get stronger.
Even if Kenji has accelerated growth, I don't know how accelerated it is! I don't need to sleep, so I can get an additional eight hours of training every day! I'm a genius! Kenji Togata, I'm coming for you.
"Let's do this!" I say in a whisper, slowly lowering Kenji's head onto his backpack. I revert to my ghostly form and float out of the cave.
The night sky is like a tapestry of glittering diamonds and pearls in a deep, dark ocean. The forest is still, calmed by the sleeping beasts that dwell within it. It feels like I'm the only thing awake for kilometers.
"[Telekinesis]!"
Dozens of small rocks are picked up off the ground around me and start hovering gently. I envision what I want these rocks to do. I want them to dance around me in a waltz created by my mind. The stones respond, being carried on their own little paths of wind. Round and round they go.
I wonder what else I can pick up. I decide to drop the stones. I want to try something more precise. Let's try to pick off berries from bushes. I envision the berries I had seen earlier in my mind, in my mind's eye, I see the berries being lightly pulled off of the branches of the bushes.
My [Telekinesis] activates, drawing the berries towards me. It was a rousing success. I'm able to use it quite precisely it seems. It must be the power of a [B] level skill.
I spend hours upon hours testing my limits with this skill. It seems as though I'm currently able to lift 90 kilograms at a time, which would allow me to move Kenji's 80 kilograms with a bit of room to spare.
I'm not worried about being able to use my [Telekinesis] on living things, because I tested it on a few fish I found in the river. I used my skill to psychically grab a hold on them and lift them out of the water. I caught three fish this way. One was a large salmon like fella, and the other two were medium sized salmon like fella. I'll call them Salmofellas for now.
It seems as though my hard work has paid off, as I hear a voice in my mind.
(Level has been increased to two. Skill [Telekinesis] has increased to level [B+], Stat [Magic] has increased to [A-], Stat [Mana] has increased to 2100.)
I've done it! I'm at a higher level than Kenji! It may have taken me hours, but that doesn't matter at all! It seems as though you don't have to kill living things to gain experience, just practice, practice, practice. This is perfect for me! Even if Kenji gets ahead of me, I can always work my unsleeping ass off at night to try and catch up to him!
Ufufu my rival Kenji Togata. Your eternal opponent, Aria Togata, has just reached level 2. Aria the hardworking ghost will surpass you! I may be your support for now, but I'll become so great that people will have to acknowledge me! I'll prove to myself that my worth isn't tied to you.
Your hero title may put you at an advantage over me, but don't you worry, I'm going to be the hero of my own story. Aria Togata, the legendary ghost, that will be me! When people think of the name 'Togata' they won't be thinking of you Kenji, they'll be thinking about me!
I think it's time for me to rest, I'm running out of mana. I float back into the cave and activate my [Tangibility]. It feels like I can be sleepy in this form, so let's try and catch some Z's for the next few hours before morning.
===
I wake up, feeling well rested and ready to go. Kenji's not a great person when getting up in the mornings so I shake him until he's awake. His eyes spring open and he lurches up, swiveling his head around looking at his surroundings.
"Wha-where am I? Why am I in a cave, Aria why am I in a cave?"
"Kenji, calm down, remember, we got reincarnated in another world yesterday." I say, waving my hands to try and help him understand our situation.
"Oh yeah, you're right. I'm a hero and you're a ghost right?"
Why does your face look so sour saying that Kenji?
"Yeah, that's the case. Let's go out and explore our surroundings. We may be able to find a person or a village or a town or something."
"Understood, you lead the way Aria."
I nod and deactivate my [Tangibility], returning to my ghost form. I silently float out of the cave with Kenji following me. We decide to head north, and we march forward. We've been collecting berries along the way, and I've been catching small animals with my [Telekinesis] along the way for Kenji to kill. We still have no way of dismantling the animals, but that will come later.
"Wow Aria, that [Telekinesis] skill is really cool!"
A giant smile gleams across my face, and I start to giggle.
"Hehehe, well Sir Hero Kenji Togata, I actually spent all the time you were sleeping training my powers and my mind. I've ascended to a higher realm and reached level 2 before you! I've also increased my [Telekinesis] skill's level to [B+] and my [Magic] to A-! Praise me!"
Kenji starts clapping.
"Oooh, good job Aria, I'm proud of you," he says with an incredible smile. Fucking lady-killer.
Suddenly I feel something incredibly strong up ahead.
"Kenji, there's a strong monster up ahead, and I think it's fighting people, let's go help them."
"Are you sure Aria, what if it's something we can't beat?"
"Shut up, you're supposed to be a hero, so let's save the people who we can."
"Yes Ma'am."
I fly ahead towards the presence at my top speed, Kenji following me, getting small scrapes on his legs from the twigs of all the bushes he's running through and jumping over.
We reach a clearing where a large monster that looks like some sort of Ogre is staring down two girls who have animal ears and tails. One of them is a tall woman, just a few centimeters shorter than Kenji. Man, she is quite large in multiple ways. I curse my diminutive stature once more. The other girl is just a bit taller than me, about the same height as the goblins we fought earlier. Unlike me though, she seems like a genuine little kid, maybe twelve or thirteen. The pretty big sister like person seems to be maybe nineteen or twenty. I get the feeling that she's a person who likes to tease others. I haven't even heard her voice yet but I can already hear her saying 'ara ara~' in the back of my mind. Hot.
Big Sister lady says to her companion, "Meeka, stay vigilant, I'm going to distract this thing so you can run away and tell the village chief that there's a Blue Ogre in the forest."
The little girl, Meeka I suppose, starts to cry, "No! Charlotte you can't die! Let's run away together, please!"
She seems really scared but Big Sister Lady Charlotte shakes her head, "It'll just catch us so run!"
Kiddo Meeka seems unable to move and she starts crying and shaking. Kenji sees this and starts seething in anger at the ogre. He leaps forward with his club and yells, "Let them go monster!"
Charlotte and Meeka's eyes open wide in shock. "What are you doing? That's a Blue Ogre! You're going to get killed!" Charlotte yells at my brother. He doesn't seem to hear her and just smashes the ogre with the club. The club shatters while the ogre stumbles back a few steps, clearly having felt that hit.
The little girl Meeka passes out, likely due to intense fear and stress.
I'm trying to figure out what to do, since Kenji has no chance of beating something that strong without a weapon. Kenji and the ogre are at a stand off, with Kenji just barely able to avoid its attacks, and land a few hits that unfortunately don't seem to be doing much of anything.
Let's think, how can I kill this monster. [Tangibility] is out, I'll die the second it touches me. [Pseudo Possession] won't do us any good as Kenji can't hurt it significantly enough. [Possession] is out for the same reason. I'm left with [Telekinesis] my old friend. My bread and butter, my trump card, the magnum opus of yesterday's hard work. I look around and see a small felled tree, likely toppled by this ogre. I fly towards it, meeting the eye of the tall attractive fox woman.
"[Telekinesis]!" I chant, picking up the tree with my mind. I've got one shot to make this. I've got to land this perfectly. I shift my body like a baseball pitcher, the tree floating behind me, and I wind up and snap my body like I'm throwing it as hard as I can. I put some spin on the tree to try and increase its accuracy like a gun with rifling.
"TIMBER!" I yell as the tree hurtles towards the Blue Ogre. The tree pierces its head, killing it immediately. Why the hell did I say 'timber,' the pretty lady was there, she's going to think I'm weird now. Oh no...
She's looking right at me, maybe right through me. My cheeks flush with red as I fly behind a tree and peek out the side of it. She tilts her head looking towards the tree I'm hiding at. I stop peeking out so I hope she ignores me.
I hear footsteps coming towards me, my ghost heart's beating incredibly fast. I'm so nervous I can't even tell who's walking towards me. I just want to curl up into a ball and disappear right now. Kenji please help me. I'm sorry for calling you a fucking lady-killer and every other insult I've thrown at you, just help me I'm so embarassed for saying something so stupid.
The footsteps stop once they reach me. I timidly look up and let out a sigh of relief when I see that it's Kenji, not Miss Charlotte.
"Aria, she said she would take us to their village, do you want to go?"
"She must think I'm weird, I'm nervous."
"No, no, she said you seemed really cool there! Don't worry Aria!"
Thank goodness, she doesn't think I'm weird. Kenji even said she thinks I'm cool? Was I really cool? Does she think I'm cool? Thank you, Kenji you're the best!
"Yeah, let's go with them then."
Kenji and I move away from the tree down to the clearing where Charlotte is. She's already grabbed the ogre's magic stone and walks up to me. My heart is beating out of my chest as she approaches.
"Beautiful young lady, what might your name be?" She asks.
"I-I-I'm Aria, Miss Charlotte, it's really nice to meet you. I'll be in your care." I say as I bow a dozen times.
"Oh my oh my, how cute are you?" She asks tilting her head with her finger on her chin. If you ask me she's the cute one. I turn a brilliant shade of scarlet as she says this. I don't know how to deal with this. I have no experience.
"Please take the magic stone of the monster you killed," She says, handing me the magic stone. She drops it in my hands but it falls to the floor. I start to tear up from sheer shock and embarrassment. Curse my ghost hands!
"I'm so so so sorry Miss Charlotte"
"Now, now there's no need to worry, my lovely Aria, it's my mistake." I was absolutely right. This woman is a teasing devil and I'm the one she's set her sights on it seems. Kenji why are you making such a strange face?
Kenji picks up the magic stone and puts it in his backpack. He picks up the young fox girl Meeka, and Charlotte says, "Come, follow me you two, I'll take you to our village and we'll show you our utmost hospitality!" She starts happily marching to the North as she sends me a wink.
My heart can't handle this heat I think and I float behind her, with Kenji carrying the young fox at my side.