- Before -


    The sound of scraping echoed through the forest, accompanying the rustle of the leaves. The soil carried a jade green luster, just a little darker than the bamboo around Aki.


    Aki was trying to dig out the Pudica that was requested. However, since it was her first time uprooting a plant it was proving to be quite a challenge. Besides being extra careful, she also had to be gentle and yet exert enough strength to dig up the soil. It was a difficult balance.


    This was especially so for Aki who had always used her brute strength to get through any problems and did not have delicate sensibilities. She had always sucked doing things like folding origami.


    "ummmm is this all?... or does the roots go deeper?”


    Tall bamboo trees tower over, casting a mesmerizing play of moving shadows and light. In the midst of the dense green was Aki squatting down at the base of one bamboo like a yankee.


    "urgh is it here.... Ah no! whew I almost damaged it... maybe its here...."


    Aki talked to herself under her breath as her hands stopped moving. Scratching her head, she tilted it in confusion while staring at the half dug up herb. Aki sighed.


    "Maybe it was not as easy as I thought it would be... hunting herbs."


    But looking at the bright side, Aki just needed to dig up one. When she asked Misha if that was actually enough, Misha explained the one of the use of alchemy to her.


    "Because of Trippers like yourself, many who came from cosmic eras have warned us about needlessly stripping the planet of its finite resources. To counter that, alchemists, who had always been pursuing creating gold, have found ways to extract the material''s essence and replicate it."


    "How? We can create something from nothing?"


    "I don''t know the specifics either. Well, since we can actually do magic, replicating an item should not be an impossible feat. Anyways, the essence that is extracted are still perishables, so we still get herb hunting requests to stock up, but we do not need as many plants as before. Therefore...."


    Misha leaned in close to Aki with her index finger pointing upwards.


    "One. You just need to hunt for one herb every request. And that just one herb will be able to grant you riches!! Of course, if you are able to discover any rare or new herbs it would also be beneficial to bring it back because. It. Is. Money."


    Misha''s eyes have turned into gold coins. Aki gulped and retreated a little at her intensity.


    "But won''t this lead to people still over hunting?"


    "There''s a law preceding over any excessive and unnecessary hunts. Everyone is bound by it regardless of your Kingdom and Race. Hunters especially, since we also take it a point to enforce it. Criminals are judged by the world council which governs over our world. They don''t get involved in national politics and issues but things that are of concern to the general survivability of our universe."


    "That... sounds really heavy."


    "Yeah, after all we all don''t want to go poof any time soon or in the future."


    Misha shrugged.


    Aki having finally dug up the Pudicap threw her hands in the air in exasperation.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.


    "Finally! Now to put this plant into the magic bag..."


    The magic bag is a gift from Heiki and Takeshi. It was an unassuming ordinary small brown leather pouch, but it is about an 8 tatami room. Bigger magic pouches will be more expensive and rarer as no common folk will need such a big storage space to bring around with them.


    "There is actually also space magic. You can create a separate dimension of your own and have that act as your storage space. However, besides the creation process needing huge magic powers, if you ran out of mana in the midst of an emergency, it''s game over as you need mana to access the space."


    Takeshi explained enthusiastically. When it comes to magic, Takeshi was oddly knowledgeable (to Aki) and highly passionate about it. His eyes would shine, and it looks as if he is having a lot of fun. Aki who had been hanging out with them would also feel the excitement bubble in her. It sure is contagious.


    "Now since I have time before meeting up with Takeshi and Heiki to learn the basics of magic…”


    Aki drew her katana which she named Shinshu. It stands for true red as the katana felt like it had a straightforward and pure personality with an old ancient lineage. Aki started out doing her usual practice swings. However, the light in her eyes got dimmer and dimmer.


    Kendo, The Way of the Sword, had never been fun for Aki.


    Aki was born into it like how royalty was born into their roles. Starting out at three years old, kendo practices had been tedious. Her grandfather looked over her training personally and it was harsh. When she hit middle school it was pretty much 100 Push-Ups, 100 Sit-Ups, 100 Squats and 10km Running every single day.


    Many took it as a martial practice to train the body and spirit but for Aki it was seriously a Budō, the way of war. It was an art to take lives.


    Aki did not hate the training as she knew it was necessary, but she did not take joy in honing her skills. It was just something that she needed to live.


    A wave of concern washed over her, waking Aki out of her trance. Shinshu was worried for Aki.


    "...ha.. ha... haha. Right. Why am I taking this so seriously? Since I''m in a ridiculous setting like tripping into a different world, I should do this differently as well.”


    "Mizu no kokyū, ryū no kata: Seisei ruten!!!"


    Breath of Water: The Dragon of Change, which was a constant attack that increases in power with each rotation.


    "Ittoryu Iai: Shishi Sonson!!"


    One Blade style: Lion''s Song, listening to the breath of the opponent and unsheathes and sheaths the sword rapidly.


    "Sword Skill: Howling Octave!!"


    An 8 hit-combo skill with varying directions.


    Aki casually recreated moves that she vaguely remembered watching from animes and improvised on some sequence that she could not really recall. The actions were not perfect and jerky at best, as if it was an amatuer swinging the sword around.


    Shinshu was also having fun unleashing moves that it had never heard of before. The shouting announcement also made Shinsu feel as if it was a main character on the battlefield. Most of all, it felt Aki’s mood lightened as bubbles of soft laughter rang out.


    While Aki was playfully mimicking and recreating moves, out of nowhere a greyhound appeared and pounced on Aki. Since Aki looked like she was messing around with her guard down, the monster thought that she was an easy picking. It attacked Aki''s open back.


    Just when it thought it would have a delicious meal, it was lying on the forest floor - dead.


    Aki froze as before she knew it, she had unleashed her moves skillfully and as naturally as breathing.


    Aki was truly not paying any attention, but she had been trained to instinctively catalog her surroundings and react to any potential danger at the back of her mind. Her body moved before she was even aware, dodging the attack without even looking back and doing a quick draw that sliced the monster''s jugular, giving it a swift death.


    A blood-soaked room with bodies littered on the ground. Moonlight shone into the room that looked like a shabby office, outlining Aki''s appearance. A scream in the background that she was faintly aware. And red. Everything was dyed in red.


    "WOAAAHHHH that was some sweet move you got there!!"


    A loud voice exclaimed, snapping Aki out of her memories. Takeshi and Heiki were walking towards her from a slight distance away.


    "This is a Canis Lupus. It''s a monster that needs a whole party to take down and you did it so easily!"


    Aki flicked blood off Shinshu and sheathed it. She looked a bit distant. Will... Will they be afraid of me and stop talking to me?...


    A hand looped around Aki''s neck in a friendly gesture which made Aki flinch and tense up.


    "Goodjob!! With this you can actually cash out quite a sum! Since I am here to teach you magic and your best friend, why not share with me a little of what you would earn? How about 20%?"


    "Takeshi! That is what Aki earned herself! Be prudent!"


    "Che- Okay okay!! I was just kidding!... How about 5%?"


    "Bakashi!!!"


    Aki was blinked and for a moment could not register their reactions and thus could not respond for a moment. In the midst of their jostling, Aki relaxed and a smile bloomed on her face which dazzled both Heiki and Takeshi.


    This was the first time that someone did not fear her but treated it as if it was a normal thing to do.


    Heiki’s and Takeshi’s ears reddened suspiciously.


    "Well, I''ll give you a 20% cut each if you help me carry this back for me and teach me what to do with it?"


    "DEAL!!"


    "Deal!!"


    In the end, the magic lesson got postponed. Heiki taught Aki how to dissemble the monster to parts that they could sell and parts that they should bury properly to prevent attracting other monsters. There was always the option to use magic to deal with it as well, but usually to preserve mana, Adventurers would deal with it directly.


    With Aki practicing and Takeshi helping to move the 2 meters long monster to different positions, the three of them ended up with patches of blood on their clothes.


    Although the blood still reeked of iron, it did not feel as unpleasant as it did before.


    Maybe... maybe over here she would be able to find her own path of the sword and tread down on it faithfully.