Transition to Another World, Land Mines Included. 034

Transition to Another World, Land Mines Included.

ACT 2: UNION
034: Survival Rate

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“OK, serious question. How do you think our classmates are doing?”

“Well, it all depends on the race they chose. From what we know, maybe four or five of them have died in Rafan because of Skill Steal.”

“Hmm, we had maybe three in Saarstat with the same fate? Probably, based on rumors we heard while working at the bar.”

That made sense. If three people died of unnatural causes in such a small city in the space of one day, of course people would start to gossip.

“We also heard from Tomii about Tanaka and Takahashi, so they’re gone as well.”

“Can we be sure about that? And who’s Tomii?”

“Oh, Tomii is Wakabayashi’s new name.”

We then related Tomii’s story to a disbelieving Yuki. Her face went white as the implications of not getting the Help Skill started to really sink in.

“So Wakabayashi-kun chose to become a dwarf… It’s so hard to imagine that,” Natsuki said.

“Yeah, we didn’t even know it was him until he identified himself,” I replied.

“But he still speaks really polite, so it doesn’t match his new image at all,” Tohya added.

I agreed. I kind of wished Tomii would learn to start speaking like an old man, but I guess that was just my bias at play. I mean, there were dwarf children and dwarf teenagers, so it wasn’t fair to expect them all to speak like gruff men.

“We didn’t manage to meet any classmates. Was Wakabayashi-kun the only one you guys came across?” Yuki asked.

“Well…”

“We met her too… Erm, Umezono.”

“…Oh, yeah.”

Haruka frowned slightly at the mention of our classmate’s name.

“What’s wrong? You seem a little upset.”

“Nah, it was just that Umezono got on Haruka’s bad side.”

We shared the story of how we met Umezono at the cafe, and how she became antagonistic towards Haruka and us without any provocation.

“Wow, Umezono-san’s quite scary! And it’s so reckless of her to be so horrible to Haruka!”

“Really, Yuki, you make me sound so scary.”

Haruka gave Yuki a tight smile. It was a little scary, to say the least.

“Oh, of course you’re not scary, but I never knew of any classmates who dared to stand up so directly to you before,” Yuki continued.

“Yuki’s right. Most of them can’t stand up against you, Haruka, and I think that’s a wise choice,” Natsuki added with a nod of agreement.

It was true. Even the guys in class weren’t so stupid as to get into arguments with Haruka. It was probably also because Haruka was so popular, so making an enemy of her could lead to the other girls disliking you as well, and not many guys in school would want to risk that happening.

“Oh, come on! I was clearly the victim here! …Technically speaking.”

Technically, since she’d helpfully shared her Skills with someone who then betrayed her. Not that Umezono was trying to hide her true intentions, anyway.

“Oh, it doesn’t really matter now. She’s no threat to us.”

And there it was, Haruka’s calm, cool, and blunt judgment, which showed how strong and frightening she could be. However, it was also thanks to this side of her personality that we’d managed to have a relatively successful life in this world.

“So, as much as we know, about 25% of our classmates are already dead. I’m surprised that so many of them are so reckless,” Haruka said with a sigh.

“Who knows. What do you think, Tohya?” I asked.

“I think you’re in the minority, Haruka. Our character creation screen was packed full of land mines, so I’d say 25% dead is an underestimate.”

“I agree.”

I mean, I wouldn’t be surprised if most of those classmates who skipped on getting Help were dead by now.

“Exactly. You got a good set of Skills, Help, and even Otherworldly Sense, but you’re still being so cautious about everything. If I were you, I’d probably have gotten overconfident and gone goblin-hunting a few days after transitioning,” Tohya explained.

“Me too. I only got Help because I had enough Points to do so. If I started out with 100 points or less, I probably would have just banked them all on a cheat-like Skill,” I added.

I sent a silent thanks to my past self, who was smart enough to get Help.

“I know! Those Skills just seemed so attractive!” Yuki gushed with a vigorous nod.

“Exactly what someone who got Skill Copy would say,” Natsuki retorted.

“Please stop with that already~!! I know it was a mistake,” Yuki moaned, looking all sad and pitiful.

“Oh, but it’s become so useful now, hasn’t it? Now, you can learn Skills from all of us,” Natsuki assured her.

“I know!”

Just as Yuki seemed to perk up again, Haruka threw another bomb at her.

“But you still have to work hard at leveling those Skills up, or it’ll all be in vain. You’ll have to train much harder than all of us.”

“I know…”

“But to be able to get so many Skills from all of us, even at Level 1, is still a great advantage,” I added, hoping to cheer her up.

“Yeah, I’ll work hard! Please support me, everyone!”

“We can teach you, but it won’t be easy. I mean, we literally spend a few hours each day just on training,” Tohya warned.

“So I just have to do that as well, right? Of course. I know I won’t get results unless I work for them.”

It was true. The three girls were hardworking even back in the previous world, achieving good results not through talent, but effort. It wasn’t strange to see them studying hard, or joining practice sessions whenever our school held any sports tournaments. Thanks to that, they were all well-rounded students, which I felt deserved credit and recognition.

“I’m physically stronger now too, so I’ll work hard as well,” Natsuki added.

In the previous world, Natsuki wasn’t bad at sports, but her stamina was a little lacking compared to the rest of us. There were also times when she was so sick that she had to skip school. On the other hand, Yuki had always been full of energy, and she was probably the most physically fit out of the three girls. Haruka was in the middle, but her adaptability meant that she could win against Yuki sometimes. In short, both of them were some of the most well-rounded girls I knew.

“I wonder how many people actually got Help?” Natsuki continued.

“Most of the girls who aren’t gamers would probably have gotten it. I mean, that’s what happened with you, right? Besides, the evil god did warn us that there was no way of cheating, so I’m thinking some people would take that advice and avoid any dangerous-sounding Skills?”

According to Haruka, since we’d transitioned into a relatively normal world rather than some apocalyptic or war-torn one, it was still possible to earn money even without becoming an adventurer.

“Really? If they had enough points, won’t girls invest in things like Heroine’s Essence, or Charm, or Attractive Appearance?”

“Nope. I think if they played games or read light novels, unless they’re going for a specific character type like Tohya or Tomii, then they’d probably end up getting Skill Steal or EXP Gain instead.”

That made sense, since those Skills did sound more useful. Tomii wanted to become a dwarf, so he’d decided on Skills such as Drinker and Smithing to build his character.

“By the way, Tohya-kun, why did you choose to become a beast-hybrid?” Natsuki suddenly asked.

“Because I want a kemono-mimi wife!”

“…Oh.”

To my surprise, Yuki and Natsuki just nodded in understanding at Tohya’s excited declaration. Come on, it’s OK to tease him about it, you know. But that would start him off on a rant about his love of furries, so maybe they made the right choice to just let it go…

“Well, I’m glad we’re not in a world where cheats rule. If we’d been given free reign of all those Skills without any compromises, we’d surely become hazards to the people in this world, and to cautious classmates like ourselves,” Haruka concluded.

“I guess so. There will surely be those who get into huge battles with each other, and those who try to form a harem, and more.”

“Exactly. We should just live our lives safely as normal citizens.”

“Normal citizens…?”

“You as a normal citizen, Haruka…?” I asked in disbelief.

“Yeah. Being careful not to attract attention, not partaking in dangerous missions, slowly earning money through honest hard work. Won’t you call that being a normal citizen?”

The four of us frowned and looked at each other.

“I mean, that does sound like the life of a normal citizen, but why would you want to live like that?”

“It doesn’t suit you at all, Haruka. You’re made to be a leader.”

“And you’re so proactive too. You may even be able to start a business in the future.”

“Yeah, exactly! Like some cool female entrepreneur!”

All of us nodded at Yuki’s statement. Even back in the previous world, it was hard to imagine Haruka leading the uneventful life of going to university, getting a job, then becoming some normal office worker.

“Is that supposed to be a compliment? Oh, whatever. Anyway, we won’t know what will happen in the future, but I’ll be doing my best not to go looking for trouble. Are you all with me?”

“I am. I’d rather stick with people like you guys, whom I can trust,” Natsuki said.

“Me too. I’ll definitely be there for the fun times, though I don’t know how things will go in dangerous situations…” Yuki added.

“You already know what Nao and I think,” Tohya said.

“Yeah. If we happen to meet with other classmates, we’ll just deal with them like how we did with Tomii,” I finished. “Unless they possess those land mine Skills, in which case, I’d be running in the opposite direction.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

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