Chapter 2: The Comet and the Red Moon

“Huh… strange..It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

“Am I dead? Already? Thank goodness… I don’t think I’d liked to have experienced more of it.”

“It feels...warm. I never thought the embrace of death felt like this.”

While floating within the darkness, all he could see was numbers. The water, he was in, he could not feel. Despite being submerged, he needn’t breathe.

This sucks.

He wanted to weep, and yet nothing could come out. To be truthful, he couldn’t feel anything at the moment.

Just himself. His consciousness. Floating within an endless array of numbers.

“Heh… always knew this was how it would turn out. Guess that philosopher wasn’t so full of shit after all.”

“How absurd. I thought I was going to do well in life. I worked as hard as I could and did everything in my power to create the life I promised. And yet… here I am.”

“One Wrong Brick, Can Topple Over The Whole Castle”

Who’s words were those again? He was beginning to lose sense of reality. Was it another philosopher he so quoted daily? Or was this one of his own original quotes he wrote within his story.

“Still… even though I’m dead. I still must come to wonder. What will become of Owa. Will she even remember me at this age?”

“No- perhaps it's better if she doesn’t. She can do without the pain I saw within that young man.”

He closed his eyes, trying to imagine the best for her. Surely, this death would only be a temporary scar on her heart. He shuddered to think if it had happened a couple years later.

“Kagami…?”

“Kagami???”

Odd. The voice sounded real. It was not a voice that was in his head. He had never heard it before. Yet, it sounded familiar.

“Are you… sleeping, Kaga?”

No. This was certainly the voice of someone else. His eyes shot open. He hadn’t even realized they were closed. The scene before him was beautiful. Even more-so than any he had ever designed in his games.

An array of stars dotted the skies with such clusters and conglomeration of colors that it looked akin to a painting. He found himself taken aback by the sight. His breath caught in his throat.

‘Wait… breath?’

He turned his head and looked around. Seems he was lying in a field of grass. Greener than any he had seen before. The wind that blew each blade, offset its colors in waves before crashing upon his skin.

He was alive.

His body sprang up as fast as he could. As he quickly checked his torso. His legs were still attacked. No sign of damage.

‘What in the world… I was certain I died just now. This shouldn’t be.’

“Kagami? Were you having a dream or something?”

He turned his head to his left, finally giving attention to the voice he heard calling out. “..y-yea… umh. Who are-...”

His eyes looked her up and down. The girl appeared to be in her 20’s, pitch black hair. From her clothing style, she was from the 15th century. That can’t be right. She was dressed more like an MMORPG character.

Her shoulder pads embraced her collar and a very heavy thick, black leather vest covered her torso, with leather pads draped over her hips. The same black leather chaps and vestments covered her legs as well.

‘Have I woken up at a cosplay festival? Or is this one of those VR games recently released… still, the coding would put mine to shame. This has to be a dream.’

He pinched his cheek as hard as he could until he drew blood. “Ahch! Okay. Certainly not a dream.”

“Are you sure you’re alright?”

“Aye.” He nodded. His eyes hovered over her once more. He could see something else now. Details so fine print, that he didn’t realize them before. Over the course of her body, was countless numbers. Source Coding.

This was certainly a game. He could read everything about her.

#define WEAPON_HPP “Sword_Breaker”

#include <HP+10>
#include "Severence"
#include <Mana Reg +.35%>
#include "item EXP Loss"
….

{

Name = “Rain”
Age = “24 Years”
Class = “Warrior”
Level = “12”
Base Damage= “8”
}

One thing was for certain… this was definitely video game coding he was reading. So it seems it was a game after-all.

“I’m alright, Rain. Just… had to wake up a little, that’s all.”

Rain pouted. “Mmrrrhhhg… Why am I always the one traveling with idiots. Here, I’ll heal you up.”

Thank you.

She casted a quick technique and put her hand up to his cheek. He could quite literally feel the cut closing itself back together. If there was a sensation for reverse pain, this was definitely it. It felt like an itch that was disappearing.

“Thank you... Um, Rain, aren’t you a warrior class? How are you able to heal?”

Rain tilted her head and cocked one eyebrow.

{Emotion = ‘Confusion’, Ref. #c13}

“Eh?? Did I say something strange?”

“Are you sure you’re feeling alright, Kagami-Sama?”

She put the back of her hand to his forehead, surely checking the man’s temperature. “You don’t seem to be having a fever. Actually your body feels rather cold.”

“Oiiiii!!! You two! You’re about to Miss the Comet!!”

“Comet?”

Rain nodded. “The Comet of Promise, c’mon you were all excited for it this morning. There’s not going to be another red moon for 10 years!”

Kagami stood up. His joints felt stiff, but nonetheless, he was kind of happy to have his full range of motion back.

Behind them, at the top of the hill, the rest of his group gathered. Flinn, Meil, and Kobul.

‘So it seems, I’ve been incarnated into a role. This body was already pre-existing before me. Was it just an NPC before?’

He checked his own stats. Everything seemed natural to him. The movements, the mechanics. It was as familiar as breathing. Just by closing one’s eyes and focusing their own mind internally, they can get information about themselves.

Name: Kagami Shima
Age: 28
Height: 6’2
Weight: 165lbs
Class: ??? “inconclusive”
Rank: D
Special Skills: ???? “inconclusive”
Special Aspect: “Inconclusive”

‘Huh… odd.’ There was information being withheld about himself as well. The list continued on from there with various inconclusive factors.

‘In any case, I better tread lightly. I know I’ve died just now. There has to be a way to return to my original world. Even better If I can take this body with me.’

His train of thought was interrupted the moment he got to the top of the hill. There, in front of him, was the Red Moon. So huge and descended, that it looked like the sun. But unmistakably, this was a moon.

A Shiver went down his spine at the sight. “What… is that?”

A dumb thing to ask. He should be trying to blend in at the moment.

“You alright, Boss? Or did ya end up drinking too much.” The older, red haired man spoke. He had a sneering smile on his face as he placed his hand around his shoulder. “Never thought I’d see the day, the old Drinking Legend of Calistine Village, actually being damaged by a drink.”

Rain scoffed and flicked Flinn on the forehead. A huge “-2” number could be seen hanging over his head. “Ah, that’s right.. Let me turn off insight.”

Insight was an ability granting the players to view the known stats of a character, including the damage points, HP, MP, or Level of another. Just from guess alone, everyone could use it on and off.

Flinn rubbed his forehead scoffed. “You know your flicks are stronger than ya think right??”

“Good. For someone as hard headed as you, it's only natural.”

Meil and Kobul laughed. Kobul’s boisterous laugh thundered and seemed to rumble the whole area.

Meil “Oh, shhh guys, the comets about to appear!”

Just as he said, this giant stone shot through the sky. Brighter than the morning star. Blistering heat emanated from it and overshadowed the red moon in its rays.

“Kagami Shima… How Sad. Yours is a tale of many tragedies. Seek me out, when you truly wish to fulfill your goal.”

“That comet just now… it spoke to me?”

“Are you saying you heard the goddess?” Rain asked, shocked.

“N-now that you mention it, I- I think I heard it too” Flinn chimed. “It told me that I’d be the handsomest and richest hero in all of the lands. And I’d have a harem of wives.”

Meil and Kobul chimed in as well. “Actually, it definitely spoke to me as well. I heard that there will be an abundance of food this next coming year. I’ll grow stronger than ever.”

“The Goddess just told me that Flinn’s into midgets.”

Rain audibly sighed. Yet again, the world reminds her that she’s surrounded by idiots. Even the great boss.

“Give me a break.” She sighed.

“Hey. I was serious. I definitely heard something just now.”

“Hahah, yeah right boss.” Flinn slapped his hand on his shoulder. “That’s a good one. You tellin me you’re one of the chosen? What it tell ya then.”

“Yours is a tale of many tragedies.”

There was a quick air of silence among the entire group. They were not expecting him to speak very dark and harrowing words for the extent of his joke.

“Ya hit your head or something boss? Maybe the kobold from the other night?”

“Oi. I didn’t take any damage, Flinn.” He patted Flinn’s head. For some reason, this just felt like the right thing to do for someone they called boss. Clearly, he was wrong. This only served to increase the confusion.

‘My behaviour is too different from the boss. It would probably be better to remain silent and observative if I’m to blend in.’

“Hah, just kidding!” He smacked the back of Flinn’s head. Everyone laughed.

“Tch. That’s more like it.”

“Guys! We’re almost at the village. Veidan Village.”

“Mhm. Now that we’re rested up, wouldn’t it be better to sleep in beds for tonight?” Rain asked.

He nodded. “Aye. How many more miles.”

“It’s only 12 miles.”

“Ah. My familiar could definitely hold off for that long. We could be there within an hour. My MP has finally restocked. So, what ya say?”

“Then let’s go!!” Flinn shouted, putting his thumbs up high into the sky.

Meil nodded and clasped his hands together. 「Summon Familiar; Endoo」

A wyvern appeared with a cart strapped to its back. The cart had several bench seats built onto each side. “Alright Endoo!! Let's head off.”

‘So Meil is a magician then. I wonder what Flinn’s class would be…’

‘Jester’

A sudden thought flashed in his head of the two drivers in his taxi. Flinn being the second one. He shuddered at the thought. It would be hard to ever see those two again. If they were by some chance even part of this world, he would slay them without hesitation.

They… the ones who took him away from his daughter. The recklessness of such an action was unforgivable. Truly. Kagami sighed. He couldn’t though could he? He wasn’t the type for violence. Nor did he like the sight of blood himself.

“What ya sighin about, Boss. Getting cold feet?”

“Cold feet? What do you mean by that?”

“Well, we’re going to your hometown after-all. Or have you forgotten that too??”

“Why?”

“Eh…?”

Flinn stopped to inspect the man. “Ya know. I’ve heard that there are monsters out there that can impersonate people.”

“And I’m sure a jester impersonated you at birth. Leave me alone. I’m tired.”

Rain laughed as if to commend him for that comment. It seemed she found it funny whenever downing Flinn was concerned.

The beast set off, running at speeds of upwards of 20 miles per hour. At this rate, they should reach the village in a matter 30 minutes.

Realizing it would probably be too reckless for him to continue talking, he lay back on his seat and just heard the conversation ensuing. Pretending to sleep to avoid dialogue.

From the information he was picking up, it seems they’re responding to an adventurers notice. His home village had released an SOS urgency mission. The Mission was for A-Ranked adventurers. Yet, given how poorly funded they were, they could not pay much towards the reward.

Thus, no one would accept it. As heroic as adventurers may seem, they do not work for free it seems. On the other hand, Kagami had only accepted it because it was his home village.

Kagami felt something was off about that however. And immediately pretended to wake up in the middle of conversation.

“About that” He yawned, and feigned stretching. “What grade was the mission again?”

“It says here Upper B-grade to A-Grade.”

“Then what's the plan?”

His eyes scanned the group he had with him. All of their rankings were showing D-rank as well. He was no different. When he checked his internals previously, he was also of D-rank. Furthermore, he was the highest level in their group.

“Boss?”

“We don’t need a plan. You always come up with something as we go.” Flinn answered. “You’ve always managed to get us out of a tight pinch with that brain of yours. A plan is only needed for weddings and birthdays. That’s your own famous quote.”

Kagami internally cringed. If those were truly his words, he’d better hide his face in a hole and lay about in shame his whole life. Even if it wasn’t really him, he felt the second-hand embarrassment.

To think that a couple of upstarts survived this long within the adventurers guild by simply winging it. It was a shock this unruly group had even survived their first couple of missions. Or made it to levels above 10.

He facepalmed. “You’re right. Nevermind the plan.”

The next couple of minutes, he rode watching the stars that beautifully presented themselves on the world below. “Hey guys… after this mission. Let’s head further east. Where the comet landed.”

“How do you know where it landed?”

“I just have a hunch, that’s all. There’s something I wish to confirm there.”

“A-alright Kagami-Sama.” Rain answered.

From what he saw earlier, he could definitely see all the details surrounding the comet's existence. That wasn’t any comet. It was a living creature. With the trajectory and speed, as well as its deceleration, he could easily figure out the exact location it had dropped.

For certain, there are answers that thing has for him.