Chapter 133: Encounter

I'm currently reading Chapter 1: Encounter, and I'm completely absorbed in it.

With a flash of white light, Yue Ren found himself in a completely different world.

But when he saw everything clearly, he was stunned.

The cracked earth and the sand-laden gale that stings the cheeks even without magical defense seem to be the only "living things" here. They swirl the sand and gravel between the stacked rock pillars, making those places groan like the panting of wild beasts.

The rock pillars resemble remnants cleaved by a giant axe and eroded by wind over thousands of years, with layers of textures stacked like waves.

The earth was torn apart, revealing its sinews and bones, with brownish-yellow, grayish-black, and bluish-green patches twisting on the rock face.

The distant horizon was tinged with a sickly yellowish hue, turning the sky a lifeless pale blue, and beyond that, an endless canyon stretched into the distance.

The cliff face descends vertically, and the layers of rock, in the light and shadow, gleam with a rusty dark red and earthy yellow, somewhat resembling skeletons that have been burned by fire and gnawed by wind and sand.

There were no birds, no beasts, and even the wind seemed to grow heavy and sluggish, only making a dull rustling sound as it clung to the rock face.

The ground beneath my feet was hard sandstone, offering no elasticity whatsoever. The only sound was the soft crunching of sand grains under my shoes, amplified infinitely in the open space.

There was no vegetation, no water source, only rock formations scorching under the blazing sun, and scalding sand floating in the air. Every breath felt like swallowing burning coals. This environment was absolutely unsuitable for human survival.

"..."

Yue Ren had the feeling that he had been suddenly thrown into some kind of special inherent barrier, but after probing with his magical power, he discovered that this was the real world, just another world.

One moment you're living a leisurely and tranquil modern home, the next you're in a vast, desolate Gobi Desert.

With a slight sigh, he took out some clothes suitable for the current environment from his storage space.

He had prepared this in advance to deal with various situations, and he never expected it to actually come in handy.

They put on a long robe to cover their bodies, covered their heads and mouths with scarves, put on goggles, and set off to find a place to take shelter first.

Judging from the scene before him, it didn't look like he had been taken to any populated area.

Finally, after half a day, the Yue people found a "suitable" cave.

After borrowing this "home" from it at the cost of the original owner's life, and dealing with the odor inside, Yue Ren was finally able to properly examine the situation.

First, there's the environment.

Based on observation, the surrounding area is a dead zone unsuitable for human habitation, similar to the center of a desert, with no water, no plants, only high temperatures, sandstorms, dangerous "monsters" and tiny "poisonous creatures".

The land was covered with rocks, and the terrain had a dramatic elevation change, so there was hardly any color other than yellowish-brown.

The ground was hard, and the soil was cracked and granular, giving the impression of being nutrient-poor and almost turning into a desert.

There are almost no plants here, and at most, you might occasionally see strange rocks that resemble cacti.

Undoubtedly, he was dumped in a place that required "wilderness survival," where it would be questionable whether an ordinary person could survive for even an hour, which was quite different from what he had expected.

What is clear is that he is no longer in his original world, or even on Earth, because the things he just "robbed" do not look like creatures that exist on Earth.

The giant four-legged lizard, with unusual horns that shouldn't be there, looks more like a monster from some fantasy world. Why do I say that? Because not only is it the size of a lion, it can also breathe fire—can you believe it?

Aside from the living organisms themselves, there were no usable resources. He estimated that even starting a fire would be a problem, not because he couldn't start one, but because he had no firewood.

He knew the general facts about this kind of environment, namely that the temperature difference between day and night would be significant, barring any unforeseen circumstances.

Open the taskbar.

There was only one lonely sentence left above.

"Embark on an adventure in this new world!"

Adventure my ass! Who would be so bored as to throw novice adventurers into a remote and extremely dangerous desert as the starting point for their adventure? Are you out of your mind?

Moreover, no information about this world has been revealed. What kind of world is this? He has to figure this out himself. The after-sales service is terrible. It's like they only care about killing and not burying.

And you could at least give him a task or some guidance. What are you just going to do by dumping him here like this? Make him sunbathe in the barren Gobi Desert...?

Fortunately, to his relief, there was a line of small print below the previous task.

"World transfer in cooldown: 29 days 16 hours"

He didn't know if he had returned to the world of magic or entered another world. Fortunately, there was still hope. However... he was going to have to stay in this godforsaken place for a month. The supplies he had prepared in advance were definitely not enough.

He even prepared these things cautiously just in case; otherwise, given his current strength, someone else would probably have come empty-handed.

Don't panic, let's formulate a strategy and find human settlements first.

He had prepared himself for the worst before deciding to come, and now there's almost nothing that can make him panic.

He decided to think things through and leave first.

Based on reasonable calculations, humans would probably live in places far from the activities of magical beasts and with some supply capabilities. So, after exploring the activity patterns of the surrounding animals, the Yue people chose to move in the opposite direction.

Braving the wind and sand, crossing the huge, undulating rock walls, when hungry they would eat the flesh of magical beasts if possible, of course, only after they had been investigated and found to be non-toxic.

Water is of utmost importance, so drink it sparingly. Use the bodies, furs, and grease of hunted monsters as fuel for fires at night. Although these things don't smell good, they are useful nonetheless.

During this process, he also discovered that the air in this world contained a special power, similar to curse power, but more "advanced" than curse power. The magical beasts used it to use skills such as "fire". Yue Ren guessed that this should be the special energy system of this world.

They tried to gather these energies together to conduct experiments and discovered that they could 'fuse' with the curse power, eventually transforming it into a more 'advanced' energy.

What makes it "advanced"? It's that using this energy-driven technique allows for better results. The most obvious example is when using the "Ten Shadow Spells" to summon the "Jade Dog," the latter grows from the size of a horse to the size of an elephant, and all its stats seem to increase.

It gave the Yue people the feeling of having entered a "higher dimension".

With nothing else to do, after confirming that it was harmless to his body, Yue Ren began to absorb the energy into his body, gradually 'modifying' the curse power.

During this process, his body experienced countless needle-like stings. If he hadn't seen through the technique that this was a widening and correction of the 'path' for the flow of magical power within his body, and that it was just a necessary process to go through, he would have suspected that he had ruined himself.

After a day, the transformation was finally completed, and his energy intensity and total amount were significantly enhanced, which was an unexpected bonus.

After the transformation, his body began to generate this new energy on its own. At the current rate, it is estimated that his body will fully generate this new power on its own in a month at most.

So, the world of sorcery is considered a lower-level plane? That's ridiculous.

Meanwhile, another piece of good news was that after three days and climbing over countless cliffs, he finally saw smoke rising from chimneys and greenery.

Below a not-too-high rock face, he finally saw the 'house'. Its layout was reasonable, and it seemed to have been built at the foot of the mountain to protect against wind and sand.

Filled with excitement and trepidation, Yue Ren jumped off the cliff and headed in that direction.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that a large group of people had gathered at what appeared to be the entrance to a village. It seemed to be a standoff between two groups. One group consisted of three people facing the village, including a boy and a girl, two children, and a tall man whose most striking feature was his emerald green hair.

On the other side were three people, two men and one woman, all very young. Only the one in the middle, who was using a cane, was slightly older, but judging from his appearance, he was only in his forties. All three of them had very distinctive light purple hair and wore unique yet uniform ethnic costumes.

So it seems like the villagers and outsiders are negotiating? I really got lucky, and... it really is another world, but it's not that other world. I thought I would see pig-headed people or elves or something. No, even if there are elves, they shouldn't appear in a place like this.

The best news, however, is that as long as he can communicate with others, that's fine. What he needs most right now is to spread goodwill and see if he can get some supplies or something.

He walked slowly forward, and his figure attracted the attention of the other party. The three strangers who had their backs to him turned around to look at him.

He finally saw the true faces of the two children and the man: a beautiful girl with red hair dressed as an adventurer, her cheeks delicate and rosy, well-maintained, but her lips and cheeks were extremely dry and chapped.

It must be a change that occurred when someone who was originally living a wealthy life suddenly moved to an unfamiliar environment.

Another little boy with bright yellow hair, a head shorter than her, was wearing a finely crafted vest and holding a long stick with its head covered by something like a coat. It looked like a magic staff. Was he a magician?

And then there was that green-haired adult, with a very robust yet streamlined physique, exuding a powerful aura. He had something resembling a ruby ​​on the center of his forehead and held a long spear made of what appeared to be bone...

This three-person team... the more he looks at them, the more familiar they seem...!

As he got closer, a scene from an anime suddenly flashed through his mind!

Holy crap, is it a jobless reincarnation?

The Yue people remembered everything.

Suppressing the turmoil in his heart, Yue Ren still maintained a kind smile and stepped forward.

"Hello everyone, I'm a traveler who accidentally ended up here. I'm exhausted and wondering if I could stay the night?"

Five out of the six people looked confused because they couldn't understand it.

Only the orange-haired boy showed a surprised expression, because he could understand what Yue Ren was saying; it was Japanese.

Are you Japanese?

This sentence was said almost subconsciously.

"Oh, you too? That's great!"

Upon hearing the boy's question, Yue Ren was certain that it was the same as he had thought, and a smile appeared on his face.

"Um, may I ask who you are? And how did you come to be...?"

With a mixture of joy, surprise, and a tentative tone, the boy spoke again.

The Yue people appropriately displayed a look of bewilderment and magnanimity.

"My name is Kawasaki Koshito. As for how I got here, I don't know. A flash of light and I suddenly appeared here. They seem confused by what I'm saying. They probably can't understand me. Hey buddy, it looks like you can communicate with them? Could you do me a favor and translate for them? I know nothing about this world right now, and my food and water are almost gone."

"Okay, okay, leave it to me."

The boy lowered his guard slightly because of Yue Ren's friendliness and the familiar-sounding name. Looking into the other's sincere eyes, the special feelings surging in his heart made him agree to Yue Ren's request.

He turned to his companions and the three people opposite him and communicated in a language they couldn't understand. The way everyone looked at Yue Ren softened a bit.

"Alright, we were just about to go in and discuss things. We've already explained things to the village chief and the others. Mr. Kawasaki, please come along. I'll be happy to help if you need any assistance. Of course, I hope we can talk privately later, is that alright?"

"By the way, my name is Rudeus, Rudeus Grerat."

The man from Yue smiled slightly.

"Of course! Thank you, Rudius."

Now it's quite obvious, and for a moment I don't know what to say.

Well, let's just take it one step at a time. Since we have the opportunity, talking to this 'protagonist' might be a fun thing to do.

The group entered the village together, led by the guide.

Although it's called a village, it looks more like a smaller settlement.

Only about a dozen houses are clustered together, surrounded by a simple fence.

Inside the fence was a small field, and although it was unclear what was planted there, the harvest did not look promising.

Thinking about it, it makes sense; cultivating crops in a place without rivers is simply too difficult.

The village has no name; it belongs to the Migrud tribe and is their village.

This village is also related to Rudeus, the "transmigrator" and "protagonist" we just talked to; it is the hometown of his childhood teacher.

In short, they were "extremely poor".

There are only a dozen or so households.

It's hard to describe the shape of the house in detail, but it's like digging a hole in the ground and then covering the hole with a tortoise shell.

Plants with withered and drooping leaves are planted in the fields that can be seen from outside the village, but they look like they are about to wither.

In the corner of the field grows a flower with teeth, resembling a man-eating plant. It's hard to tell whether it's a plant or an animal. A set of uneven teeth makes a clicking sound, and it seems to be used to prey on insects that come near the field, perhaps to deal with harmful animals that invade the field.

In a corner of the village, several girls who looked like middle school students could be seen huddled around a fire, seemingly busy with something.

There were almost no men in the village.

Although there was a little boy, the only adults present seemed to be the three people around him, including the village chief.

Rudius naturally chatted with the village chief along the way, and also made sure to translate the answers he received from Yue Ren, giving him some basic information.