NOVEL NEXT Book 1: Chapter 1: Part2
New chapter today.
Chapter 1 Part 2
“There’s no one here… right…?”
I peeked timidly out the door to confirm my surroundings, but as I had hoped, there were no signs of people. I stepped into the room again, overwhelmed once more by the sensation of trees and wood all around me.
When I entered the room, I saw a wooden closet next to the desk and chair, and inside that closet were pairs of slim shirts, trousers, and underwear that obviously weren’t my size. It was a bit disappointing, since it felt unexpectedly nice when I touched it.
“Oh, I didn’t notice it until now, but there’s a window in here.”
I approached the window and looked outside. And then…
“Whoa…”
The area beyond the window was dense with trees. The house I lived in wasn’t anything like a mountainous area. It was in a residential area, and normally you could see cars passing by, both in front and behind the lot. However, this cabin was completely surrounded by forest…
“As I thought, it’s a different world… well, the only other possibility is that it’s connected to another place on Earth.”
I thought the window might just be a super realistic picture, but when I opened the window, I had to abandon that thought. Pure air flowed into my lungs which I couldn’t imagine breathing from a city. I couldn’t hear the sound of any cars, nor were there any construction noises, just a tranquil silence.
I closed the window and looked around the room again, and noticed a paper on the desk.
“What’s this?”
I picked up the paper and tried to read it, but it had strange characters that I didn’t recognize.
“I can’t read this. Is it a language from this other world?”
Despite my lack of understanding, a message appeared when I stared at the letter for a few moments longer.
You have acquired the skill [Language Comprehension].
Hey, hey! What’s this useful skill? I appraised it immediately.
[Language Comprehension] :: A skill that grants you the understanding to read and write in any language.
It was such a useful skill. If this is also effective on Earth, wouldn’t English be a piece of cake? Anyway, since I’d gotten such a long-awaited skill, I turned my eyes back to the letter and was able to comprehend the mysterious script that I couldn’t read before.
To summarize, the previous owner of this house had decided to part with this cabin, because his life was soon to come to an end. Because he had no family, if anyone found this house, he would give that person ownership, along with everything inside the house. The registration of ownership was also updated somehow, with the power of magic, such that it wouldn’t be possible for anyone other than the owner to enter the house.
This was probably because I got the title of [Master of The House], so I became its owner. From the description of the title, I could understand that a wise man once lived here, but how amazing was he? Personally, I think it’s incredible to prevent anyone other than the owner from entering, but was that a normal thing in this world?
How can I put this? I think I was incredibly lucky that the door connected to this place… I’m very grateful for that.
“It’s only just now hitting me, but there’s something else: this world also has magic…”
No, the situation itself was too unrealistic. Even if it described the existence of magic, it still didn’t feel like a fantasy world. [ED: He literally just walked through a magic door…] It surprised me a little, but still, the line about magic caught my interest. Would I be able to use it too?
“Well, whatever… first of all, I’m relieved to know there’s nobody else in this house, and that means no one but me will ever come here.”
As soon as I discovered this house was mine, all of my wariness went right out the window. Since things had turned out like this, I decided to check out everything in this place…
“Is all this real…?”
There were so many kinds of weapons all over the place. I tried to pick up the first sword I saw.
“Whoa!? It-It’s heavy…”
Obviously, my physical strength was pretty low, so just holding up a sword is almost enough to make me fall over. I guess I need to do full-on muscle training. Well, I used to do that in the past, but I didn’t get any muscle at all after a whole year.
“Even so… it’s a splendid sword.”
It was a double-edged sword that gleamed as if it had just been polished, and the blade clearly reflected my face. The handle was almost completely undecorated, but there was still something familiar about this sword in my hand, so much that even an amateur like me could feel it. I immediately tried using [Appraisal] on the sword, out of curiosity.
[Omni-Sword] :: The pinnacle of all swords. The blade remains shiny without tarnishing, and the edge is always perfectly sharp. It’s said to be capable of cutting anything, but that depends on the contractor. Not for sale. Contractor: Tenjou Yuuya.
“Seriously!?”
It’s more incredible than I could have imagined! Moreover, I’d signed the contract before I knew it! Even if you say it’s not for sale, there’s no way I could sell this kind of thing, right!? It’s too amazing!
Wait, what kind of person was that wise man again? To think he’d just leave this sword lying around in that disorderly pile of weapons!? Something this amazing should be handled appropriately…
I was surprised at the wise man who I’d never be able to meet anyway, but I wanted to give this sword a swing.
“As a man, I should try it out at least once, right?”
I don’t know who I was making an excuse to, but I just wanted to force someone else to justify my actions… guess that wasn’t really necessary. Well, since I wanted to check the outside, I timidly opened the front door of the house.
“Ooh!”
Apparently, the land this house was built on was pretty spacious, and the front area was like a garden. There were also fields to cultivate fruits or vegetables.
“Is this all included as part of the house?”
If it wasn’t, I couldn’t go out carelessly… but when I wondered about it, a message appeared.
The inside of the fence surrounding this house is the owner’s land.
Oh, so in other words, no one can even enter this garden! Neat! Now I can go outside and swing this sword to my heart’s content! I don’t know who you are, but thank you, Mr. Message!
I went outside in high spirits unbecoming to my age. Then I tried to swing the heavy sword however I pleased, but…
“Whoa!?”
It was hopeless. The end result was more like me being swung around by the sword rather than the other way around. I couldn’t even swing it properly… No, in hindsight, that result was obvious.
I panted. “Well… uh… that was fun…” Even though I couldn’t do anything, I laid down on the spot, with an odd feeling of satisfaction. Then the message appeared again in front of me.
You have acquired the skill [Swordsmanship: 1]
“Huh!?”
[Swordsmanship] skill!? Just by swinging it around!? Besides that, what was the number next to it?
When I focused on [Swordsmanship: 1], a detailed explanation was displayed. That’s the [Appraisal] skill for you.
[Swordsmanship: 1] :: Skills to handle swords. The numbers represent proficiency, with a highest value of 10.
In other words, was I now a super beginner when it came to handling a sword? No, I honestly think it’s presumptuous to even call myself a beginner… Still, is this skill something that can be learned so easily?
“Ah, maybe it’s the effect of the [Otherworlder] title?”
That might be the case.
“Even so, it’s weird that I was able to learn this quickly… what about the other weapons?”
Inspired by my new curiosity, I put the sword back where it was and went out into the garden with other weapons. As a result of appraising them one by one, I started to get the sense that anything I picked up was going to be an amazing item.
[Absolute Spear] :: The one and only spear that exceeds the Divine Spear. It’s said that this spear can pierce anything, depending on the contractor. This spear can’t be broken. If you throw it, it will always hit the target and will return to your hand. Not for sale. Contractor: Tenjou Yuuya. [TLN: The kanji is 絶槍. I’m not sure about this name to be honest; if anyone can come up with a good translation, please let me know.]
[Death Scythe] :: A scythe that could even kill the God of Death. It is said to be capable of cutting anything the contractor wants. Any existence cut by this scythe, no matter how small is it, will give a fatal wound. Not for sale. Contractor: Tenjou Yuuya.
[Infinity Gauntlet] :: Not only does this increase striking power, this gauntlet can also be used for protection. One blow is equal to infinite attacks. Not for sale. Contractor: Tenjou Yuuya.
[Formless Bow] :: The ultimate bow without physical form. Depending on the contractor’s will, it can produce an infinite number of arrows. The arrows are said to be capable of shooting through the world. It will absolutely hit whatever target the contractor desires. Not for sale. Contractor: Tenjou Yuuya.
And so on…
Well, there were a considerable number of weapons, but I was able to touch all of them. Therefore, I only have one impression for everything: All of them are stupendous. I don’t know why this stuff was just scattered around, and I don’t know what kind of person the wise man was, but more than that, it’s amazing that of all people, I’m the contractor. Now, this is my current status…
[Tenjou Yuuya]
Occupation: None
Level: 1
Magic: 1
Attack: 1
Defense: 1
Agility: 1
Intelligence: 1
Luck: 1
BP: 0
Skills: [Appraisal] [Endurance] [Item Box] [Language Comprehension] [Swordsmanship: 1] [Spearmanship: 1] [Scythe Technique: 1] [Hand-to-Hand Combat Technique: 1] [Archery: 1] [Whip Technique: 1] [Axe Technique: 1] [Hammer Technique: 1] [Staff Technique: 1] [Club Technique: 1] …
Titles: [Master of The Door] [Master of The House] [Otherworlder] [Person Who Visited A Different World For The First Time]
I no longer understand what any of this means. I first noticed this when I was playing with all the weapons, but it still feels strange. When my face twitched involuntarily, a message appeared.
You have met the required condition. Integrating all martial arts skills. You have acquired the skill [True Martial Art: 1]
What’s this [True Martial Art]!? I used [Appraisal] immediately, and it displayed as follows:
[True Martial Art] :: A state that can only be reached by those who have learned all weapons and hand-to-hand combat arts. You can master all weapons and hand-to- hand combat.
But I can’t use it!? It’s impossible, no matter what you think! I was just swinging those weapons around! However, regardless of my intentions, the text on my status has been changed, and that massive list of weapon skills has disappeared, replaced with [True Martial Art].
Did Mr. Wise Man also have this outrageous skill…? I guess he did. Without even knowing what was happening, I’d suddenly gotten an incredible bonus.