Will You Be Accompanied by a Spirit?

Since time immemorial, the world of Endgame had always been divided into five continents: Adile, Eardwulf, Mwajuma, Citlali, and Hiraya. Among those, Eardwulf is where most of humanity lives. It’s also the setting of most of the episodes of Endgame, particularly in the Kingdom of Fairburne. On the other hand, Adile is the largest continent, and its diverse terrain makes it home to the other races such as Dragonborn, dwarves, gnomes, and a lot more. Demi-humans inhabited the continent of Mwajuma. Various monsters primarily dwell in Citlali. Nomadic sorcerers set their base in Hiraya, but most of the time, they travel the world.

Despite these, each continent is not exclusive to a particular race. For example, Citlali might be a hostile environment for humans because of monsters. Still, because of Citlali’s rich mineral deposits, they had established communities far from the dwelling places of monsters.

These races lived in peace until one race planned to disrupt it.

The most powerful race among them is the demon folk, ruled by its tyrant, the demon lord. Fifty years ago, a new demon lord named Milieu ascended on his throne and waged war against the other races. After threatening some races to join its side, Milieu has set his eyes on humanity. As described by the demon lord as a race “of weak vessels blessed by the gods”, humans were viewed as persistent threats to his world domination.

That’s how adventurers are born. In response to demon folk’s threat, several human nations have posted an ultimate quest to their own Adventurer’s Guild: defeat Milieu and prevent the destruction of humanity. To prepare for the greatest battle humanity is fated to face, adventurers honed their skills by engaging in various quests, including slaying monsters that the demon folks controlled and unleashed in human territories.

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This is how the story goes, and now I’m going to live it!

☆ ☆ ☆

“WAAAH! The dinner I heated in the microwave and—eh?”

Everything felt so surreal. Just a few minutes ago, I was on the balcony of my room. Then, suddenly I woke up and saw myself lying on the ground.

“That’s right.”

The fact of being transported has not yet fully sunk in. That’s why trivial thoughts of my previous world were still on my mind, and those freaked the heck out of me. But after calming down, I realized that worrying about those didn’t matter anymore since I’d be living my life here in another world. And there’s no assurance that I could return there anytime sooner.

I stared at my hands and felt something different inside my body. There’s a persistent tingling on my temporal region, the back of my head, my arms…actually, my whole body. It wasn’t just blood and my internal organs working tirelessly. There’s, like, another system built inside my body.

This is…

– Magic! It’s magic! I really am in Endgame. Yay!

I didn’t know what magic felt like since it didn’t exist as a utility on Earth but rather a mere concept. But my intuition says that it’s that thing. I was so thrilled that I could cry. I’ve been living the dream of every otaku on Earth.

– To all my bros on Earth, I’ll do my best in this world!

☆ ☆ ☆

I was transported with a different goal in mind. In most fantasy novels, people summoned in another world were given the task of defeating a demon lord or something and the title of being a hero. But it’s not the case for me. I was no hero and wasn’t compelled to save the world. Goddess Faina just granted my unconscious wish of saving Arisha. Out of kindness? Out of a whim? Because of a completely different reason? I don’t know, but whatever the case might be, there’s only one thing that matters to me. This was a chance given to me, and I won’t waste it.

But saving Arisha might even lead me to face the demon lord. That’s the worst-case scenario. Being aware of that is necessary in planning my course of action in this world. Not to brag, but I performed well in school and experienced leading a group in strategy games in our school festivals. It’s unusual, but schools like my high school trained their students to develop strategy-making skills. I’m grateful that I will apply what I’ve learned in school and in real life.

First things first! Since it’s a fantasy world, magic and abilities spawning from mastering one exist here. That’s why I need to disregard the logic on Earth where everything was explained through science, and magic was merely a work of fiction.

“Maybe I’ll try if I could cast a spell. Er, I think it goes like this….”

I tried casting the most basic spell in Endgame. “WATER MAGIC,” I said. Then, suddenly, I felt air swirling toward my hands.

– It’s working!

“WATER BULLET. “Pea-sized balls of water formed and were shot at high velocity. My eyes widened in fascination. It’s my first time. I finally knew how teenagers with eighth-grade syndrome felt, except that I’m actually experiencing it. It’s very satisfying.

For now, that’s enough. I just tested whether I could use magic or not. Good thing, it turned out that I can. At least, it wouldn’t be hard for me to acquire the skills necessary to accomplish my original goal.

Next is my current location. The goddess sent me here, but she didn’t give me any idea about my current whereabouts. Although, she did say that her assistance to me is limited, not none at all.

– Did she give me anything like a starter kit or something?

I looked everywhere, and I saw a rolled-up paper with a note. It went like this,

[Dear Yoshiro, did you find that world wonderful? Oh, you won’t be able to reply just yet. Tee-hee!]

I was shaking while reading it. Her second sentence was a bit out of character. It didn’t sound like her.

[...Anyway, I gave you something that I think will help you in your journey. Consider it as my blessing.]

– So she did give me something, huh?

I looked everywhere and saw a flat rectangular disk. There’s no mistaking it.

“It’s a tablet!”

[...Have you seen it? Yay! That tablet is equipped with magic. I’m amazing, yes?]

– For a goddess, she’s a bit eccentric. But, a tablet, huh? And equipped with magic? How does this work exactly?

While inspecting the tablet, the screen glowed like when it’s turned on for the first time. But the glow was much brighter than those tablets on Earth. After a few seconds, the screen brightness decreased into something tolerable. Then, a female voice came from the tablet.

“Nice to meet you! I’m Eirunn, the spirit residing in this tablet.”

“Ah, y-yes! N-nice to meechu.”

Shoot! Having difficulty communicating through spoken words, that sure took me by surprise. I even got tongue-tied. Still, a spirit in that tablet…

– Is this what the goddess meant by this being equipped with magic? I dunno why, but it reminds me of voice assistants in smart devices.

“Er, Eirunn?”

“Yes, Master?”

– M-master?! Why?

Being called like that with a cute voice reminds me of those girls working in a maid cafe. But I need to calm down since something’s not clear to me.

“You’re a spirit, right? Are you the one controlling this tablet?”

“I think the more precise words are, Eirunn is the spirit of this tablet. You see, unlike manmade objects, deities’ creations like Lady Faina’s are spirit-filled. It’s as if they were living beings.”

“I see. This tablet is made by the goddess, huh?”

[...Please take good care of the tablet and my adorable Eirunn. She’s sweet and reliable. She’d be a great help to you. With love, Faina]

The tablet possessed by the spirit named Eirunn was the “blessing” given by the goddess. It functions the same way as a typical smart device. But aside from the difference in power source, it contains additional features. It has a camera that can capture images and detect magical capacity in the area. Its map has a threat detection ability. There’s also a contact list, but the only contact was “Goddess Faina”.

“Can I really contact the goddess using this?”

“Oh, the communication function. Yes! But it requires a substantial amount of spirit energy which is only available at certain locations in this world.”

“I see. So it’s like a cell reception, eh?”

So to talk to the goddess, I need to be near those places. It seems that while she’s still cannot be reached, I need to figure things out on my own.

– Well, that’s what I expected at first. The appearance of the tablet and Eirunn made things easier.

☆ ☆ ☆

“Master, if you wouldn’t mind, can you tell Eirunn your name?”

“My name? Ah, yes. Call me Yo—”

“Yo?”

I’ve got somehow uncomfortable using my real name Yoshiro Tanigawa in this world. It seems a lot different from Earth. There’s no guarantee that my mother tongue has a similar sounding language in Endgame. And if there’s one, what if it’s the language of someone affiliated to the demon folk, the antagonist race in this world? I should live here with a different name.

“Tenjin. Call me Tenjin.”

Tenjin. In this world, I’d be using my Webbit user name. I didn’t hate my real name. It’s nice and has a beautiful meaning, but it’s better that I hide it for the sake of protecting my origin. From now on, I’m Tenjin in the flesh.

“Tenjin. Lord Tenjin! It has a nice ring to it. A name befitting the one chosen by the goddess of wisdom.”

“Chosen?”

“Lady Faina is fond of granting wishes of those people she deemed wise enough to bring change to the world.”

Wise enough to bring change to the world. Those words reverberated in my mind the moment Eirunn said those. It’s like my position in the world has been grounded. If the goddess brought me here in response to my unconscious wish of saving Arisha, would it be safe to assume that it’s her granting me a wish? Does it mean I’m wise enough to bring change to the world?

Like what I’ve said, my goal here was not precisely to defeat some demon tyrant I originally watched in an anime. I don’t know if my future actions should lead to something revolutionary. But if it’s some kind of prophecy or will of that goddess, maybe I’ll give it a shot. After all, saving Arisha from a terrible bad ending might not be enough.

“Er, Eirunn. I don’t know if I’m capable enough to live up to the goddess’ expectations. My aim here in this world is to rescue the life of someone I’m emotionally attached to….”

“You mean, the one you love?”

“Haha! I guess you’re not a fan of beating around the bush. Well, yeah! Her name’s Arisha. She’s just a fictional character not too long ago, but now the goddess has given me the chance to meet her. I did wish to save her but thinking that it may come to reality still felt like a dream. To be honest, I’m not confident that my ability is sufficient to develop a plan that will succeed.

But the goddess gave me an opportunity. I’m given this ultra-rare opportunity out of billions of people on Earth. And on top of that, she’s so kind giving me this tablet, and you, Eirunn. That’s why I’m looking forward to working with you.”

“Come on, Lord Tenjin! Don’t be so formal. Lady Faina’s wisdom is immeasurable. If she has chosen you, that means she saw something great in you. Besides, when you picked up the tablet earlier, Eirunn already sensed that Lord Tenjin will definitely carry Lady Faina’s will.”

I couldn’t believe hearing those words of compliment. My heart was overwhelmed with unfaltering bliss. I knew my journey here in another world would not be a smooth ride, but those had given me hope and firm conviction to carry on.

“Well, shall we go?”

“Yes, Lord Tenjin!”

And now, I was about to start my journey in another world…accompanied by the spirit, Eirunn.