[21:30 / 9:30 PM] Shibuya City Square
...
His phone rang once, dialing the number he had selected.
He waited for a few seconds as it continued to ring, finally being picked up as the ringing stopped.
"Hello? Chihiro?"
His voice was low, mixed with a bit of concern and anxiety. It felt like an eternity since he last heard his friend's voice.
"—Oh. Osu! Ichiro! Are you already there? It hasn't been a day but you're already missing your pal! How sweet of you!"
It was just then a familiar laugh that came in after that tease, something that had made Ichiro smile.
Ichiro was at a coffee shop, and beside him was a black coffee made for someone who didn't want to sleep tonight.
It was almost 10 PM but it didn't feel like it from the massive crowd that always circles the crossing.
It's been famous for foreigners, but for someone who would usually just live here and pass by, it was a normal occurrence.
"No. It's just that... Tokyo is different. A girl just tried to hit on me earlier. How about that, huh?"
He spoke calmly, expressing his excitement yet not climbing in intonation or energy. It was like he had always been calm.
Or was he?
All he could feel was the unwanted remorse that he needed out of his system but with no one who will forgive him or punish him, he was left to decide for himself.
"What? You must be lying! A girl would only hit on you if your body looks like you hit the gym for at least a few months! A scrawny guy like you wouldn't attract them!"
It was that exact description as to why Ichiro was tried to be hit on by a girl earlier, only to realize that he indeed had some changes in his body.
It wouldn't make sense if someone saw him an hour before as scrawny and then suddenly buffed an hour later.
It was just a good thing that no one was in that restroom when he disappeared and reappeared.
"I'm not lying. I'm—"
"Alright, I get it. Boy-Gets-Picked-Up-In-City-By-Girl. You must have read too much manga in your free time that you forgot the bro code."
"——."
Ichiro could slip a word in with Chihiro blasting him with words that didn't make sense except for some.
There was no way he would forget about a friend and he's the only friend he got.
It was just a small tease to idle chat they had, but as it progressed more and more with nonsense, the card he didn't want to have was drawn.
"If you have transported to another wor—"
Ichiro was cut off as both of them spoke at the same time, only Ichiro stopped abruptly after hearing the other.
"Oh, right. About the game you were playing..."
"——?!"
Chihiro only mentioned a game, but there were tons of games that Ichiro could have played. However, the odds of it being the game he thought it was was neigh high.
Seeing as Chihiro had the attention span of someone younger, he wouldn't remember the past games Ichiro would talk about and only remember the most recent which would be...
"Hmm? What was the—Ah shoot. I forgot to turn off the stove! I'll get back to you later, Ichiro!"
Just as Ichiro had needed to know, Chihiro hung up on him.
If it would be Tentetsuki, it would be something unexpected. Now that his mind was a bit cleared, he thought that that app may have the power to pull people into worlds.
He didn't want Chihiro to be suddenly caught up in that kind of mess also.
There were multiple attempts to call Chihiro back but there were no answers. All he could do next was send an SMS, saying to not play Tentetsuki.
He was still aware that he was only transferred after gaining that skill [Travel] in the app, but for something that defies the logic of the world.
He might as well consider it unpredictable.
In that world, three months had passed.
But for this world, three hours had passed only.
"..."
"I should get an apartment."
❊❈❊❈❊❊❈❊❈❊
"I never thought I'd get a good apartment."
Standing beside the glass wall of his apartment, he could see the city from above.
It was a good view of the city.
The apartment was wide and it had a large bedroom that was more than comfortable.
It was far soft and comfortable from the sleeping backs that felt like rocks and were constantly itchy.
The food was far more tasty and fulfilling than the ones from back there.
The air was not stale and was cold instead of humid and polluted.
This place was just a far better one than the world he traveled to.
"I can't believe that I got this place..."
Ichiro would just hold his head, laughing nervously as he looked at the television.
❊❈❊❈❊❊❈❊❈❊
It was a few hours ago.
"Geh—How am I supposed to get an apartment with this kind of money..."
Opening his wallet, Ichiro had forgotten that his wallet only contained enough money for a month's rent for an average apartment, excluding food and necessities.
In other words, he was broke unless he finds a job in less than three days.
"Huh..."
Ichiro would remember the items he had in his backpack and pockets.
It was just a short while but after passing by a few pawnshops, some of his items were bought and he ended up with a total sum of almost 3.5 million yen.
"Ahaha... Those items are made of elements that are called different in the other world but here, I guess they're just diamonds."
Unknowingly, Ichiro would sell those items which were carefully made by artisans of the other world, making it all the more expensive as the search for the mysterious creator of these unique items would be done in the future.
"Hmm..."
He gazed at his hands after jumping into the large bed, looking at how rough it had become.
On Earth, hours had passed while back there, it was months to which before he was forced to live a life of labor.
Albeit he gained tone from that world, it seemed like he was only getting younger as he looked at himself in the small mirror he held.
However, those are only insignificant to his goal.
What was important is that he was back on Earth.
"I'll be able to continue searching for my sister... but... this is one hell of a way..."
Invoking a word with his mind, he would blink expecting to see something.
"[Status]"
A screen would pop up as soon as his eyes opened.
[Ichiro Mushibami: Lvl 6.]
Status Chart
Intelligence: 40(+15)
Strength: 15(*2)
Constitution: 20(+5)
Agility: 77(+25)
Attack Speed: 60
Luck: 51%
Mana: 10/10(+50)
[Skills]
Healing Factor Lv. 1, Luck Lv. 2, Curiosity Lv. 1, Inspect Lv. 2, Wisdom Lv. 1, Cooking Lv. 3, Household Lv. 3, Insight Lv. 2
[Unique Skills]
Traveler Lv. X, Adaptation Lv. X, Blink Lv. 1
[Class]
Citizen/■■■■
Sponsor: N/A
It was just as he opened it, he immediately noticed something that changed.
"Wasn't my class... commoner? It changed..."
He wondered why for a second, but maybe as opposed to the other world where each role has a hierarchy, on Earth, most roles are equal in their way.
"In any case, I could still use my skills and storage box. That's pretty convenient."
Ichiro would stand up, chanting out his skill.
"[Box]"
A holographic-like box would appear before him.
He reached out inside and pulled out a few objects, closing the skill after.
"Huh..."
Standing beside the large mirror, Ichiro wore what seems to be an ominous pair of boots.
"Black Hare's Leggings... I do sure feel light wearing this but..."
Looking at it again, the boots were far too unique to be worn normally in society.
"It would be convenient if I could somehow disguise these as like, normal shoes."
He sat back down into the bed, but as soon as he thought of that idea, a panel would pop up on his face.
[Tutorial: Equipment Visibility]
You can disable the equipment's visibility by clicking on the eye icon beside the equipment name on the status panel.
"Huh? There was something like that?"
Opening his status panel, Ichiro quickly tried it out as he looked at the boots.
Not only did it go invisible, the feeling of the boots has entirely vanished as well, allowing him to wear another pair of shoes without having to lose the stats.
"Now that's convenient—"
BAAM !!!
Suddenly, a compact but loud explosion would be heard.
"?!!"
Ichiro was fast enough to look out at the window, looking down from the building as if there was a small incident that had happened.
It seems to be that a small car exploded into flames just near the building.
"What the hell is happening down the—"
However, just as his eyes looked at the crowd that piled around the incident, he would feel a shiver down his spine.
[Danger Sense Activated: A threat to the user is within the vicinity, thread with caution.]
For some reason, he could feel the presence of someone familiar from the other world.
A presence that he'd never think he would be able to see here.
"I...Inspect."
Using the power of the system to inspect everyone within his peripheral, he was able to see all the person's status which were all level 1, except for one.
"Why are you here...?!"
He would grip into his clothes, remembering the last scene he saw before he left the other world.
"—Kagiri Natsuyami!"
It was the same man that obliterated a city filled with memories.