Chapter 4

Somehow, I managed to get Sylph to help me get down from this rocky mountain and take me to a human settlement.

"Um, Lady Sylph. This child told me that this place is called the Land of Death, right? I'm really sorry, but could you take me to a human settlement?"

"Titles and formal speech are unnecessary. Spirits don't like formalities."

Sylph said this while waving her hands. The atmosphere seems to have softened. But if I get too familiar and upset her, that would be the worst. But if I'm too formal and she dislikes me, that's no good either. It's difficult.

"Then, Sylph, can you take me to a human settlement?"

"You don't need to use 'san.' Anyway, taking you to a human settlement is difficult. We spirits can lend our power to a contractor through a contract. The most we can do is secretly and indirectly lend power to someone we like. Otherwise, we can only use our power freely when protecting our own domain."

Huh? So, we're still stuck, right? We haven't escaped the pinch at all. And I'm a bit concerned about the young spirit drooling in her sleep.

"If that's the case, call me Yuta. But we don't have enough magic power to make a contract. Without a contract, we can't borrow power. Sylph, is there any good way to escape?"

Am I being too familiar?

"First of all, what level are you? What skills do you have?"

She doesn't seem angry. If I can talk casually like this, it's a relief.

"Level? Skills? How do I check?"

Sylph gives me a look of exasperation. Did I say something strange?

"Check your status. What kind of life have you been living?"

Status... Oh, I forgot about the most basic template. I should have checked it first.

"Ah, I've never seen my status. I don't know how I ended up here, but I think I was transferred from a different world. In the world I was in, there are no such things as status, levels, or skills."

"Oh... You're a wanderer. That's really rare."

She looks at me with great interest. Wind spirits seem to be very curious.

"Really rare, huh. By the way, do you know how to get back?"

To be honest, I'm excited about the adventure in this different world, but I'm worried about the people who will be concerned. Ideally, I'd like to be able to travel freely between Japan and this different world.

"I'm sorry, but I know that wanderers exist, but I don't know why they wander in or if they can return to their original world. Besides, I've never heard of anyone returning to their original world."

So, it doesn't seem like I can return easily. My parents will be worried. I hope my older brother and sister can cover for me.

I'll be fired for unauthorized absence from work. I might never see my family and friends again... I can't think too deeply about it or I'll cry. There's nothing I can do. I'll just put it off and not think too deeply. Thinking about it only makes me sad. ...But it's not my fault that I can't return, and this is a fantasy world with spirits. I might as well enjoy it.

"Well, I kind of expected that. So, how do I check my status?"

"Think about wanting to check your abilities and say 'status.' That will allow you to check your abilities. If you want advice, you can let me see it too."

"Got it. I don't want you to see anything embarrassing, so I'll check it myself first."

"I don't think there's anything embarrassing in your status, but okay."

I think about wanting to check my abilities and mutter 'status.' A status screen appears in front of me... It feels like a game world.

Name: Yuta Morizono

Level: 1

HP: F

MP: F

Strength: E

Intelligence: C

Dexterity: C

Luck: B

Unique Skills:

Language Understanding

Pioneer Tools

Skills:

Life Magic

What's this? I have no idea if it's good or bad. Is luck the highest? The unique skills seem good. The regular skill is life magic. It doesn't seem to be a powerful magic just because it has 'life' in the name, but just being able to use magic is exciting.

I understand the unique skill 'Language Understanding,' but what's this 'Pioneer Tools'? I tap on 'Pioneer Tools.' Ah, it opened. The status screen is touch-sensitive.

Pioneer Tools:

Magic Bag, Magic Axe, Magic Saw, Magic Shovel, Magic Hammer, Magic Crowbar, Magic Survival Knife, Magic Plane, Magic Chisel, Magic Hand Auger, Magic Hoe, Magic Ski, etc.

A long list appeared. It seems like a lot to check. I'll try tapping on the 'Magic Bag' first.

Magic Bag:

Whatever you need, just put it in here. Heavy items can be instantly stored with a touch. Infinite capacity and time stop function! The handle feels weightless.

Wow, it's like a cheat. It's like an item box in a game. The description sounds like a late-night infomercial. Ah, this could save my frozen food. How do I use it? Hmm, if I consciously try to take something out, it will appear. To store something, I do the opposite.

When I consciously try to take out the magic bag, a shoulder bag appears. Hmm, is it convenient? I'll check the details later, but first, I need to save the frozen food.

"What are you doing?"

Sylph asks as I suddenly start moving. Her finger is still poking the cheek of the sleeping young spirit, which looks a bit surreal.

"Just wait a moment. It seems I can store this luggage, so I'll try storing it."

I walk over to the cart and touch it. When I think about storing it, the cart disappears instantly... It seems to have been stored. When I touch the bag, a list of the items inside appears in front of me like the status screen. It's convenient.

I'll put my smartphone and tablet in too. If time is stopped, the battery won't drain. I need to find a way to charge them somehow. If I can, I can enjoy e-books, anime, movies, and music on my smartphone and tablet. It would be even better if I could connect to the internet.

The bag is made of some unknown, sturdy brown leather. It's a design I like. Is it tailored to my preferences?

"Wow, you have a storage skill. That's quite rare. You're lucky."

"Yeah, the food was about to go bad, so the time stop function is really helpful."

"Time stop... Yuta, keep the time stop function a secret. In human countries, similar magical items only slow down the flow of time, and they are considered national treasures."

...I thought it was a cheat, but it seems to be an even greater cheat function.

"Got it. By the way, it seems to have infinite capacity. What about that?"

"Well, combining time stop and infinite capacity makes it a fairy tale world. Be careful how you use it, or it could cause trouble."

A fairy tale world... The fairy tales in a fantasy world must be amazing.

"I'll be careful. But it doesn't matter if there's no one to be careful around in the human settlement we reach."

It's unlikely that the bag's abilities will be noticed if I'm a bit careful. I should be fine.

"That's true. Do you have any skills that could help you reach a human settlement?"

"Oh, I haven't checked everything yet. Can you wait a bit longer?"

"Hmm, I'm a bit bored, so hurry up."

"Got it. It doesn't seem to have anything embarrassing, so I'd like your advice. Can you check it with me?"

"Sure. A wanderer's status sounds interesting. Let's check it right away. I'll give you advice."

The Great Spirit of Wind, Sylph. At first, I thought she was a beautiful and cool woman, but my impression is gradually changing. She seems a bit childish.

"Level 1... You really are a wanderer."

"Were you doubting it?"

"Not exactly, but it's surprising to see it. In this world, even small children are at least level three. Yuta, an adult at level one. If you go to a human settlement and your status is checked, you'll be suspected if you don't level up a bit."

Even small children are level 3, while I'm 25 and level 1. I'm full of suspicion.

"How do you level up? And how is my status in reality?"

"You can level up by defeating monsters. However, to learn skills, you need training, so it's better not to be too extreme. Yuta's status... except for luck, everything else is at a child's level. But it should be fine as long as you level up a bit."

There are monsters too. With my status, it seems quite dangerous. I'm starting to worry if I can survive.

"Does the ability to increase stop halfway?"

From what I gathered from Sylph, weak attributes can have slow growth or stop growing. The displayed ranks range from F (lowest) to SSS (highest).

Incidentally, to contract with Sylph, you need at least B-rank magic power. Even if I get a boost to the minimum, B-rank is still required, so Great Spirits seem to be quite powerful.

If I contract with a young spirit, D-rank magic power might suffice. If the affinity with the spirit is low and you can only sense its presence, even B-rank magic power might struggle to contract with a lower spirit. I might get a bit overconfident.

"Hey, what about unique skills? They seem rare to me."

"Well, Language Understanding is a skill that scholars can also acquire, but this Pioneer Tools unique skill is amazing. I've never heard of so many magical tools being packed into one skill."

That's true. I checked a few, and they had ridiculous performance.

Magic Axe:

No matter how hard or large the tree, it's no problem. Just tap it, and it cuts through instantly! Can be resized up to 2 meters. The handle feels weightless.

Magic Saw:

For processing stone and wood, just use this. Even hard stone and wood are like tofu. It can cut through metal effortlessly! Can be resized up to 2 meters. The handle feels weightless.

Magic Shovel:

No problem with soil or bedrock. Any obstacle can be dug through like pudding. Can be resized up to 2 meters. The handle feels weightless.

Magic Hammer:

Nothing can withstand this ultra-powerful super hammer. Can be resized up to 2 meters. The handle feels weightless.

I couldn't test the magic axe because there were no trees, but the other tools worked as described. The rocky mountain was indeed like tofu or pudding.

And the handle feels weightless, which is a cheat performance. Even at its maximum size, the magic hammer can be swung around effortlessly. The magic saw can cut through anything, so I don't feel like I'd lose to most monsters now.

Putting aside the appearance, I feel like I've acquired a pretty good skill. Long live the cheats.

Thank you for reading.