[Narrator: Author]
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With a deep breath, Sayuri made her decision. She would face her fears and go back to help Reiji. If he had been willing to sacrifice himself for her, then she would do everything in her power to aid him. She couldn't let the guilt consume her or allow herself to be paralyzed by fear.
Rising to her feet, Sayuri took a steadying breath and turned back towards the clearing. Her heart still raced, but there was a newfound resolve in her eyes. She knew that she might not have the strength or abilities to defeat the invisible assailant, but she couldn't let fear dictate her actions any longer.
As she neared the clearing, her steps slowed, and she approached cautiously. The sight that met her eyes was both horrifying and worrying.
'I-It's done…?'
The rabbit creature lay lifeless on the ground; remains splattered all over. She instinctively covered her mouth with her hands, her gaze shifting to Reiji as she felt the contents of her stomach urging to exit.
"!!!"
But it looks like this time, she wouldn't succumb to the nausea.
'Nope! Not this time!'
As her eyes averted from the unsettling scene, Sayuri's heart raced as she spotted Reiji leaning motionless on a tree trunk. Fear clutched at her chest, and she called out, her voice trembling with worry,
"S-Shiroyami-kun!"
Sayuri rushed over to Reiji and knelt down beside him, her hands trembling with concern. As she carefully examined him, her heart skipped a beat. There were no wounds, not even a scratch on Reiji's top-less body.
Her eyes widened in disbelief as she noticed upon closer inspection that the bare skin of her classmate was untouched by the violence that had happened moments ago.
Confusion washed over Sayuri as she struggled to comprehend what she was seeing.
How could Reiji be unharmed after such a brutal attack?
And where had his injuries disappeared to?
With a furrowed brow, Sayuri gently touched Reiji's right arm, the very same arm she had seen injured earlier. However, there was no sign of any wound, only smooth and unblemished skin.
A mix of emotions swirled within Sayuri as she grappled with the inexplicable situation before her.
Was this some kind of illusion?
Or perhaps a miraculous intervention?
It was at that moment when, a single…
Tick~!
A single drop of water fell onto Reiji's hand.
Sayuri slowly lifted her head, only to see Reiji crying with his eyes still closed. She reached her hand towards Reiji's face and started wiping his tears on each corner of his eyes.
'Seeing him up-close... this is my first, but he sure is good-looking. He's even handsome while sleep-crying!'
The sight was unexpected, and she couldn't help but feel a mix of embarrassment and concerned for him.
"...Shiroyami-kun?" Sayuri called his name softly, trying to understand what was happening. "Shiroyami-kun, are you okay?"
Her voice seemed to reach him as Reiji's eyes slowly opened. The tears in his eyes shimmered with emotion, and for a moment, he seemed at a loss for words.
"...Nakamura-san?" he finally mumbled; his voice still tinged with the remnants of the dream. Still feeling groggy, his blurry eyes squinted as something loomed over his vision.
'Uh…?!'
Now fully conscious, he tried his best to avert his gaze but finding it somewhat challenging given the proximity.
Sayuri's eyebrows furrowed in concern, but she couldn't help but notice Reiji's flustered reaction and don't know what the cause of it.
"A-Are you alright, Shiroyami-kun?" she asked gently, still concerned.
Reiji nodded quickly, his cheeks turning a shade of pink. "Y-Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I didn't mean to... It's just that, well, your...you know..." he stammered, trying to find the right words to explain his awkward predicament.
Sayuri smiled, relieved to see him conscious, and attempting to lighten the mood. "It's good to see that you're fine now. I woke you up, you were crying, so."
"I cried...?" Reiji murmured as he reached his right hand to his eyes, feeling his fingertips slightly soaked with his tears.
"Yes, you did."
"Oh, is that so." At that moment, Reiji's embarrassment disappeared and he was now prepared to tell Sayuri about what was concerning him earlier. With an aloof expression, he whispered. "Your... clothes..."
"Hm?"
It was then when Sayuri tilted her head sideway and shifted slightly to adjust her position, that she felt a cool breeze on her skin. Glancing down, she noticed that some of the buttons on the top of her button-up shirt were unbuttoned, revealing a part of her uh… b-bosom…
Her cheeks flushed crimson, and she quickly buttoned it up with fumbling fingers, trying to hide her embarrassment.
"I-I'm so sorry-!" she stammered, her voice slightly shaky. "I didn't realize the buttons came undone...! How embarrassing...!"
Reiji's eyes widened in surprise as he noticed Sayuri's flustered state.
"I-It's alright..."
He quickly averted his gaze, not wanting to make her feel more uncomfortable. The atmosphere between them became slightly awkward, but they both tried to push past it, focusing on the situation at hand.
Reiji then tried to move his hand to his body as he was feeling his position quite troubling. Expecting to feel pain from his wounds, he was taken aback when he didn't feel any discomfort.
'...Huh?'
Confused, he slowly untied and unwrapped the makeshift bandage, and to his astonishment, his abdomen didn't have any wound or scar – it was completely healed.
'...What? The wounds were deep, and there was so much blood...' Reiji mused, his mind racing to make sense of what had happened. 'What happened while I was unconscious?'
Reiji's confusion only deepened as he processed the miraculous healing of his wounds. His mind raced with questions, seeking answers in the midst of the inexplicable.
Then, as if to add another layer of mystery to the unfolding events, a blue translucent window panel materialized to his left, resembling something straight out of a video game:
「 NOTICE | NOTIFICATION PANEL Reactivated: Non-critical notifications will resume. 」
「 NOTICE | Leveled up! 」
'No way…'
'No way…!'
'No way…!!'
'NO WAY!!!'
His eyes widened in astonishment as he read the words before him. Could this be real? Was he truly experiencing something akin to a game interface?
'What I saw earlier… wasn't just some kind of play in my eyes?'
Turning his head towards Sayuri, he hoped to find confirmation or understanding in her expression. But she was preoccupied, still buttoning up her clothes, oblivious to the surreal display unfolding beside them.
'It looks like it's been here since earlier. Can she not see this?'
Returning his gaze towards the window panel, he reached out to touch it, but his hand passed through without resistance. In that instant, the window panel vanished, replaced by a new one with different text:
「 NOTICE | Full Health Recovery Achieved! 」
'My wounds from earlier healed up because I leveled up?' Reiji's mind reeled with disbelief. 'No wonder I felt no pain…'
「 OBTAINED | [Stat Point] (x2) 」
「 NOTE | "Stat Point" can be assigned to chosen Stats! 」
The shock of the revelation left Reiji speechless, his mind struggling to process the implications of what he had just witnessed.
'F-For real…?'
「 SKILL LEARNED | [Passive Skill: Pain Resistance (Lv. 1)] 」
As Reiji beheld the golden-hued floating window panel before him, his mind raced with a mixture of disbelief and excitement. This was just like the lines he had seen countless times in the manga he devoured, a familiar sight that now unfolded before him in reality.
'S-〔 Status Window 〕...' he thought, inwardly echoing the words that had become so familiar to him through his readings.
And there it was, displayed in front of him, his very own identity profile:
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—|Identity Profile|—
〈 Name: Reiji Shiroyami 〉
〈 Age: 17 〉
〈 Species: Human 〉
〈 Gender: Male 〉
〈 Class: Class-less 〉
〈 Rank: N/A 〉
〈 Title(s): Otherworlder 〉
<>
—|Stats|—
〈 Level: 1 〉
〈 HP: 17 (+7) 〉
〈 MP: 10/10 〉
〈 Stat Point(s): 2 〉
〈 Strength: 11 (+10) 〉
〈 Magic Power: 11 (+10) 〉
〈 Dexterity: 11 (+10) 〉
〈 Endurance: 11 (+10) 〉
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'It's true... This world... it's the same as the mangas I've read...!'
His excitement threatened to bubble over, but he maintained a poker face, concealing the turmoil of emotions within him.
Upon closer inspection of the stats, Reiji realized the intricacies of the system. 'So, I was initially Level 0? Also, there are four stats and I was given with 2 stats points too, huh.'
[Author: The explanation of the system is scattered in certain chapters. Bombarding it all in one chapter would mean to a boring chapter, feel free to explore them!]
'My class is class-less... does that mean I have to choose my own class?' Reiji pondered, his mind swirling with possibilities. 'And my I've got no Rank, too…? Am I really at the rock bottom, meant to work my way to the top?'
But amidst his musings, a simple desire emerged above all else. 'But I... I just simply want to travel this world...'
'Anyway, my title is an Otherworlder... that means Nakamura-san is an otherworlder, too.'
'How do I say the information of the title… 〔 Title Information 〕…?'
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—|Title Information|—
〈 Name: Otherworlder 〉
〈 Rank: S 〉
〈 Traits: Strength Stat +10, Magic Power Stat +10, Dexterity +10, Endurance +10 〉
〈 Description: A title given to beings who had traveled across different worlds. 〉
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'Oh! It appeared!'
'Let's see…'
"—Ah!"
Lost in thought, Reiji was jolted back to reality as Sayuri addressed him, her voice breaking through his reverie.
"Nakamura-san, I'd like to talk to you about something later," Reiji replied, his tone serious as he recalled the creature that had attacked him. The splattered blood would undoubtedly attract more creatures, perhaps even larger beasts.
"Y-Yes!" Sayuri nodded eagerly, her concern evident.
"First off, we need to find a source of water, a lake or a river would do good," Reiji suggested, thinking ahead to both hygiene and safety. "Since beasts are apparent here, the blood from the rabbit I just killed will definitely attract them. It would be best to get out of here immediately."
"I-Is that so? You're quite knowledgeable about this, Shiroyami-san, but…", Sayuri started undressing, and when Reiji was about to ask about the 'but', Sayuri suddenly yelled sheepishly, "D-Don't turn around!"
Having a gist of it in the periphery of his vision, he quickly turned around with eyes tightly closed.
"H-Here, it's okay now…", Sayuri placed something on Reiji's shoulder, and to his surprise, it was her cardigan. It's slightly small, but it's enough to partially cover his upper-body. Although Reiji wanted to refuse, he have no choice because of the situation.
"T-Thanks… I'll give it back to you once I found clothes."
"S-Sure…"
Living in another world had once been a wild dream, something exciting Reiji only encountered in his favorite stories.
Now, that dream became real, and a little terrifying. The vast forest loomed before him, an unknown path that could lead to freedom or a gruesome end. But Reiji was determined to face whatever challenges this strange world threw his way.
His priority?
Staying alive.
Yes, 'staying alive' in this world, not 'going back to their homes'.
Why?
Because he had already made a decision earlier. He was going to explore this world, with no thought of returning to Earth.
There was nothing for him to go back to, either…
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|TO BE CONTINUED|