[Tokyo, Hakone – Thursday]
Today was the hunting club's orientation day, but we didn't have to go to orientations, so I decided not to go this week, partly because Nameless told me that Hanami was in the same club as me, and the main reason was because I'd be going to the Japanese countryside.
-God... I feel nervous.-
I'm currently in Tokyo. Hakone, if you don't know, is located west of Tokyo.
Wellston students have the privilege of using the teleportation portals a maximum of eight times per month, provided they fill out a form.
Hakone's landscape could be summed up in one phrase: "Diversity."
Hakone was a blend of modernism and traditionalism. I could see foreigners of all kinds walking around, sightseeing, and even independent hunters with their weapons. There were also agency employees using their tablets to calculate the price of their loot.
«Now that I think about it, John was the one who always calculated our loot to get the maximum value... I need an agent»
Japan was famous for its spiritualist culture, and it is said to be blessed and cursed at the same time because monsters appeared very frequently but they were given many resources.
Well actually I'm not interested in any of that.
But since I am a foreigner, I am under the tax law and we had to pay more taxes, even so, a large part of the mercenaries and hunters flock to Japan because the hunting process is one of the safest to compensate for the high taxes.
I continued walking through the streets, which were full of interesting things: a blacksmith's workshop, potion shops, a liquor store, and more. They all looked like they belonged to the Middle Ages and were located in modern buildings. This reminded me of Spain because they were somewhat similar.
Before I knew it, I was two steps away from the entrance to the "camp." There were lots of people waiting nearby.
-Very well... best effort-
**
"Today is not your day…"
I speak Nameless with regret about myself increasing my anger more
-Could you shut up, now I'm trying to create a solution-
I was near a tree while I was meditating on my plans.
I tried to get an agent but they all rejected me giving me a thousand and one excuses like "Sorry we are very busy right now" "Don't waste my time brat" "Forgive us but you are not qualified" and all because of my current rank in the academy, those damn opportunists don't want me because for them the rank described the strength but they will see when I am more famous
-It seems I wasted my time going to Japan...-
-Eh, excuse me, I see you're new here?-
While internally cursing this waste of time
Someone interrupted me, it was a tall man, with a normal face, pale skin wearing a suit, he is probably an agent
-Yes, I'm new here and I came to hunt by chance. Are you an agent?-
-Oh yeah... God, where's my card? Here it is-
I took the presenter's card, but I knew he was an agent who sells monster bodies.
[Chief Manager of the Aoki Agency, Aoki Yukio]
Aoki Agency?
The name didn't sound very familiar to me. Maybe it was because it was a small agency that had just opened and was trying to get me to be its first client.
"We urgently need a manager, Alan."
«I know, but… but it doesn't convince me, I don't want to earn a pittance»
"Don't worry, I see a lot of talent in him, look, he believes in him and if we don't earn little money we will go to Spain to see if we earn better than here."
Nameless had a good eye for seeing the hidden talents of people, and I knew he wasn't lying to me after spending a long time with him, so I decided to believe in this little manager.
-Hey, you might not know me but I just started this job-
I began to doubt Nameless's words when I saw that the man confirmed my suspicions, he was a complete newbie, but… but I had to have faith in my partner.
Connections are one of the most important aspects of life; a person's future is often the result of the bad and good relationships one establishes.
-I don't know much about Japanese Kanji but... as I remember Aoki means green tree, and green is associated with money, so it will be a pleasure to work with you, sir-
I extended my hand for him to shake as a sign of collaboration.
-Yes, it will be a pleasure to work with you-
**
I pulled out the magic sword and then entered the camp.
Aoki followed behind me, seemingly desperate considering the fact that agents without vehicles usually waited outside the camp.
-I see we found my prey-
After about 20 minutes of wandering around, I finally came across a monster.
A large body, crimson red eyes, and thick brown fur, a C-rank monster known as the "Scarlet-eyed Boar." Its name refers to the color of its eyes, which glowed when attacking.
-It seems very troublesome, maybe we'll look for another monster-
I ignored Aoki's words and headed towards the Boar, activating [Fencing] and [Impulse].
I also imbued the sword with the darkness element, something I didn't tell you is that this element was too powerful due to its offensive power but it drained my mana a lot due to my poor handling, so I almost never use it unless I change it with [Duality]
Cut the beast's hind legs causing it to fall to the ground bleeding, then in an arc shape generate a cut of darkness separating the head from its body.
-...Wow-
Aoki exclaimed in astonishment.
-It was a very neat cut! Your skill with the sword is amazing!-
-Hehe, thanks for the compliments, but how much will this boar cost me?-
-Well, "Crimson-Eyed Boars" are expensive lately and since this corpse is in good condition, even with the fees, it should be at least 150 thousand Yen, but because of the tax law you would only have 135 thousand Yen…-
-Wow-
"I told you"
Inevitably, when it came to getting a result that involved money, Aoki reminded me a little of John. His calculations with prices are admirable. It seems like he was made to be a successful businessman.
-You can wait a while, I want to save the corpse-
Aoki took out a kind of white sack from his bag and then the sack extended swallowing the corpse of the wild boar, it seems that it has spatial extension magic
The sun was high, so Aoki and I decided to continue, I killed several monsters in the process Boars, Goblins, etc., but I came across something that completely caught my attention.
-Ah... it's... It's a dungeon!-
Aoki shouted, we were at the top of a mountain and inside there was a cave with a dungeon portal.
-I will enter the dungeon, if something happens to me, call reinforcements to rescue me, Mr. Aoki-
-Yes understood-
I entered the dungeon, it was a dark cave with nothing special.
Suddenly an undead appeared, but it was different, it had a kind of Samurai armor.
-How annoying-
I made a clean cut through the undead, splitting it in half, only to then throw a fireball to stop it from resurrecting.
Every step I took, giant bats and gray-furred wolves appeared.
Killing them was very difficult, as one monster after another kept arriving.
The bats generated a strong sound wave that stunned me for several seconds, but I cut their wings with my sword only to then launch the [Ether Cannon], killing everything in my path. I also had to make sure their bodies were almost intact since I could sell them for a good price.
To be honest, the dungeon seemed like a labyrinth to me; it had tunnel after tunnel.
Nameless had to spend a good while investigating the routes and exits of the dungeon. In the end, he came back to me with his report.
"Walk right, then left, then at the end you will find a tunnel in the middle. Walk towards it and you will reach the boss area."
I nodded at his words, walking to the left, then to the right, which had several undead monsters, but with [Duality] I was able to easily annihilate them.
Now there were two paths, one to the right, one to the left, and one in the middle.
Every step I took, I felt my breathing become agitated from the effort I made to kill each enemy I encountered.
Blood was bathed in my sword and even my clothes were splattered with it.
When I left the middle path I found myself before a huge Undead almost my size, he had a large black samurai armor with golden ornaments that completely covered his entire body and his helmet was adorned with two large Elk antlers but behind him I could notice a dusty chest which it seems the Undead was protecting.
I started to swallow and got into position, staring at the Undead, who stared back at me with his icy gaze, where there were no eyes, only a skull that would make a normal person tremble.
The Undead also began to take position.
We both ran at the same time, only for our weapons to clash.
The samurai's sword was very fast, and all I could do was deflect all of his attacks.
After another clash, we both fell back several meters.
The samurai lunged forward, his katana flashing quickly through the air. I barely managed to deflect his attack.
[Duality has been activated]
I wrapped my sword in the element of light to deal more damage, while also accumulating [Ether Cannon] magic on the blade.
The Samurai exchanged very precise blows with me, a cut grazed my cheek, I could still feel the monster's cold gaze, which sent shivers down my spine.
The steel of the swords clashed again and again, leaving sparks in the air. We were in complete balance.
In an attack from the undead, he slammed his sword into the ground. I quickly kicked the Samurai's hands away from his weapon and plunged my sword into his chest.
The monster tried to pull the blade out of his chest, but I gripped the weapon tightly.
-Ether-Light Cannon!-
A golden beam emerged from the sword, causing the Undead to disintegrate into dust, leaving only his helmet.
"You did it, Alan. We never thought this guy would be such a troublesome opponent."
-Yeah... we did it-
I fell to the ground to lie down, my breathing ragged and my heart pounding.
I took a few minutes to recover and get up, then headed to the chest.
From its dusty appearance, it didn't seem to be a Mimic, but just in case, I grabbed my sword.
When I opened the dusty box, I could only see a black Kimono and an egg, but suddenly, the Kimono emitted a red light that enveloped me.
"Oh no, brother!"
The red light completely covered me, and the red light grew stronger to the point where I had to close my eyes.
*
I opened my eyes, I was inside a traditional Japanese room, I could hear the sounds of birds singing outside while I remained confused.
I didn't feel tired or fatigued in my body, it was as if I had never fought, but there was a problem that I just realized... Nameless wasn't with me.
I continued to get more confused, and this confusion was increasing to the point that I had to bow my head to gather my thoughts.
-I see you're awake-
A deep voice came from behind me. I turned my head to see... myself?
That man looked like me, only he was wearing a black kimono with red details, along with white clothes and a scarf of the same color.
Despite having my appearance, his hair was metallic gray, and his gray eyes were a good match.
-Where am I?-
-You are in my domain, exactly within one of the many memories of my mind-
I started swallowing saliva and then asked him
-Who are you?-
-Well you should know me, I am the man known as the demonic blacksmith who created many cursed Katanas... Sengo Muramasa-
«Muramasa said!»
One of the legendary blacksmiths of ancient Japan, it is said that his forging skill was enormous, but he also had an impetuous and violent temper. Each katana he created was so sharp that he founded his own school of blacksmithing at a young age.
If I were dealing with a highly recognized historical figure, I had no doubt.
I was being tested for a mythical skill!
Mythical abilities are very rare, since they are said to have the consciousness of a historical figure, they cannot be said to be the strongest since it depends on the legend and the power they have to know exactly the magnitude of their power.
-It's just as you think, I am a mythical ability... the kimono you found is my catalyst that contained my ability and I will fight you to see if you are worthy of carrying my ability-
Muramasa snapped his fingers and instantly made two black Katanas appear with their sheath included, one he threw to me while his eyes rested on my hands.
«Muramasa is just a blacksmith, I never heard of him fighting with a Katana in my life»
I thought nervously since each legend had something in particular and secrets that they had in life, that Muramasa had fought with his Katanas did not seem completely crazy to me since the context of his story
-It will be an honor to face the legendary blacksmith Muramasa-
-How flattering... but flattery won't work for you-
Muramasa drew his Katana slowly making it look like he was no ordinary blacksmith.
From what I understand, the hunters who managed to acquire the mythical ability told the public that in the mental realm, one could not exercise some abilities or could use them normally... therefore, a conclusion was reached: depending on what kind of historical figure you face, you can fight with or without abilities so that you are on par.
In addition, historical figures can use their true appearance or use the appearance of people the challenger knew in life.
Muramasa took a stance and quickly slashed, leaving the mark of his cut on the ground.
I quickly counterattacked, but the blacksmith blocked my attacks, and we began a clash of swords.
-Oh I see that you have a lot of ability, I give you a point for that-
Muramasa gave off an aura of death as he did not take his sharp gaze away. The feeling he gave was as if hundreds of thousands of swords were placed around your body and a single movement could cause you a wound or dozens of wounds without you realizing it.
«Shit I'm in trouble»