Chapter 1
"Ah, Yes, Knowledge... Equal to Power. And Power… Equal to Knowledge."
"Excuse me, Sir, can you fix this short-sword?"
"How's the damage?"
"Well, the razor feels dull and the handle's leather seems like it's been peeled off."
"...How the hell did it end up like this?"
"Constant use?"
"Even experienced adventurers wouldn't use a short-sword to such an extent… Wait, this thing is your main weapon?!"
"Precisely."
"Damn… you have my respect, Boy."
The middle-aged man before him, who is wearing a leather apron over a grey t-shirt and plain brown pants, is a blacksmith. The blacksmith is located near the Guildhall and what makes it great is the person himself.
He's really nice to talk with, and not what he imagined him to be. He thought a blacksmith would be a bald dude with narrowed eyes, thick eyebrows and straightened lips. But turns out he was just a bald guy with the typical middle-aged man's crisis.
Really feels relatable when you heard him tell his story when he was blacksmithing. Constantly told the customers the journeys he's been through as a youngster and what not.
"So… you've heard the rumours?"
"What rumours?"
"A maniacal manticore ran rampant through the West. Said that they need adventurers to hold it back. Damn! How did such a creature end up in such a state? Those irresponsible adventurers! They should end what they started! Who the hell would provoke a freaking Manticore anyway?"
A lion-headed scorpion-tailed monster? That Manticore? He raised an eyebrow at what the blacksmith said. And West…
...What West?
Considering that he's a 'foreigner' in this world, he… doesn't really know what he meant by 'West'.
"Not wanting to interrupt the current topic or anything but can you explain to me the current geography of the world?"
"Geography? What is that?"
"...Location of cities, towns, kingdoms, empires, and countries. Whatever they are."
"Ah! Wait, how could you not know such basic information?"
"...I'm an orphan with no particular knowledge about this world. All I know is fight, fight, and die? For what I love… yeah…"
Whatever bullshit he was spewing.
"Ah, now I feel bad for asking. Alright, to erase my guilt, ask whatever you need."
As the blacksmith solely focused on repairing his short-sword, he nodded his head to the blacksmith's words. Clang noise rang through the shop as the blacksmith used his hammer to pound the fiery red razor blade-shaped object on his anvil.
Seeing such a scene fascinated him. While he is no stranger to such a thing, thanks to the fantasy novels he read. Witnessing it with his very eyes feels different. He just couldn't believe that the process of blacksmithing those novels described is exactly what they have told.
Maybe there's a reason why every scientist often tests theories, even the things that are absolute that they've discovered. And while he never understands the experiments he did while he was merely a middle-schooler, now he knows.
It's to witness the proof! The evidence that they are actually true.
He heard that humans often overthink and doubt, and with such a conclusion in his head, what reasons for him to deny such things?
"How many regions existed in this world?"
"Regions, eh? You mean territories?"
"Yes."
"Give me a sec."
Placing the hammer on the table beside the anvil, the blacksmith goes to the backroom of the shop. A few noises later and he came out with a big scrolled paper in his hand, approximately 1,7 meters long.
For a mere paper, it sure as hell is long.
He placed the scroll on the floor and opened it. And damn!
This is a map, a vast one at that.
An enormous land covered most of the map, and 3 lines divided them into 4 areas. A red X on the middle-left one and he instantly could guess that the current area he presently occupied is that one. There are small dots too, which he concludes are some sort of islands.
And finally, the waves surrounding the vast land, the sea.
"Alright, let me tell you the basics. The left one is West occupied by Mongoloids, the middle left one is Center West occupied by the Mediterranean, the right one is East occupied by the monsters and finally, the middle right one is the Middle East, occupied by the demons."
"So this is a continent?"
"No, a Supercontinent."
"Ah…"
A supercontinent huh?
How did they know such a term?
Let's keep it on the back of his head for the time being.
Anyway-
He stared at the vast land on the map in interest. No matter what, a continent is already big, but now a supercontinent actually exists? Certainly, it is fascinating.
What a world.
How about North and South? As if reading his mind, the blacksmith nodded at him and pointed at the separated lands on the South and North, huh, he didn't notice. They aren't complete, it seems…
"Yep, The map. The map is not complete."
"Why?"
"Only those royal ones and aristocrats have it."
A stare is all he needs to indicate to the blacksmith to explain.
"Haah… It's pretty complicated that even I don't want to know. But all I know is, those two regions are filled with abnormalities, monsters, terrific things and a figure that spreads fear to the core of us people, even the kings.
The Lord of Abyss."
Even when he said that the figure spreads fear, he doesn't even flinch when he mentioned the name of such a figure. Rather, the black eyes of the blacksmith are gleaming with brimming rage.
The Lord of Abyss?
"How about The Demon King?"
He heard from that goddess that this world is occupied by a Demon King and he was supposed to defeat it.
"Huh? Demon King? Oh! Do you mean the lich occupied the Middle East? Two decades ago we allied with them."
Huh?
...What?
"What?"
"Yep, in fact, he was the one who discovered the South and the North. He said those unknown lands are pretty dangerous! So he didn't have any choice but to ally with us. We, too, have no choice but to accept it."
"But how?"
"A General of the Lich has explored a tiny fraction of those two lands, and you know what happened?"
"Wait, you're talking about Generals, the hands of the King right?"
"Yes."
"What happened?"
",...He was defeated by a pair of monstrosities."
"A pair? Two?"
"Yes."
Two abnormalities win in a fight with a General, the strongest one besides the King? What the heck? That Goddess, what kind of world did she put him in?
But he couldn't deny that it's… intriguing.
A pair of monstrosities defeating a General of a King who dominated one of the 4 major regions within this supercontinent? It's definitely unheard of.
"...Damn."
"And what do you think we will do after hearing such unnerving news? Of course, the king of ours immediately accepted the proposal and ever since then, they always keep their eyes on those two regions while trying their best to be at peace with each other. You know what's crazy?"
"What?"
"They speculated that those two regions could be possibly two new Supercontinents."
Fuck.
"A-Alright, S-Sir, it's enough."
"Haha! Such a young lad as you couldn't handle the news. But it's natural, even I was falling from the chair I was sitting on when I first heard the news."
The blacksmith chuckled, scrolling the map and put it back to where it came from. After that, the blacksmith goes back to his workplace and brings out the fiery red blade-shaped object inside the furnace with a tool often used by blacksmiths to pick up the hot stuff.
And he just… he just sat there, in the waiting room, head's bowed down and gazes too looked down, mind in disarray and confusion.
A supercontinent is like a mystifying thing for him, and it is speculated that there are 3 of them exist here? Within this strange world?
Wow.
Taking a deep breath, he massaged his forehead with his fingers and shook his head. Goddamn it, he knew that this world is odd even when you only look at the food, but to think that the oddness reaches to this extent…
'O'Goddess, what kind of world have you brought me to?'
He chuckled, with misery and perplexion within.
God fucking damn it!
"Wait, Sir, if those two regions could only be explored to such an extent, then how do they know that this figure named The Lord of Abyss existed?"
"...That's the scary part."
"What do you mean?"
"The Lord of Abyss, is the king of those two soldiers. And it was discovered through a strange sculpture in an abandoned village in the North."
Soldiers? Mere Soldiers?
"How about the South?"
The blacksmith glanced at him briefly before turning back to his work.
"Nope. Nothing at all."
Ah, it seems like this world is even more complicated than it already is.
There's The Lord of Abyss in the North. And what lies in the South? Death itself?
Are the gods who constructed this world all psychopaths? This is even more fucked up than Arch-Hydras. A creation exists just to bring death to those who invaded their territories, which is obviously the sea. With an obvious trait. Yep, correct, their heads, if counted properly, could reach up to 81 heads.
A shadow loomed over his form, he looked up and was greeted by a brand new short-sword in the hand of the blacksmith. There are cool looking carvings on its grey razor, with the new black leather as the handle.
He took it from the blacksmith's hand and he had to say, it feels like he was fated to use it. What an exaggeration… but it's true!
"Lookin' sweet, eh? Don't get tricked by its appearance though, it's not as strong as you think."
"As long as the razor is sharp enough, I believe nothing would go wrong."
"What confidence… haah, a young lad like you often gushing out such confidence."
"Well, I have my reasons."
"Alright, 32,500 Eris. Pay up!"
"Fine, fine…"
His hand entered his bag and a couple of coins revealed themselves, a few silvers and a bunch of coppers. He counted them and nodded, giving the money to the awaiting blacksmith.
The blacksmith checked the amount first before snorting in satisfaction.
"You actually got it right…"
"What's that even supposed to mean?"
"Remember a few days ago? You tricked me, you little shit."
"Ehehehe…."
"Wipe that grin off your face and get out, I have work to do."
"Yes Sir!"
Before he went outside, the blacksmith shouted out.
"I suggest you change your primary weapon! A short-sword is good and all but it fits more to the substitute category! Don't want a loyal customer to die funny, am I right?!"
"Yeah, yeah, screw you!"
Exiting the shop, he looked around and was relieved. Finally, he could take fresh air as components for him to breathe. How the hell could the blacksmith even survive in such an environment for hours anyway? Is he made out of anvil or something?
The recently acquired knowledge is still lingering around in his head. Screw that blacksmith, telling him such things. They're screwing his head right now!
But still, they widened his perspective. Now, he knows that this world is actually hell.
He shrugged his shoulders, oh well.
When there's a female adventurer strolling around the town with only a few pieces of armour to cover up her vitals, he knew that this world would mostly be fucked up. Nonetheless, it's not like he could change it to what he wanted.
...is he?
Twirling the short-sword through the gaps between fingers, he calmly walked on the road, gazes focused on the current thing he does and attention directed to the road ahead.
There's a saying, that a person could only do so much to the world they live in.
And that's the reason why he always grinds. To level up, become more impactful and influential. To?
To himself, to his life, to the people who have kindly served him when he went to buy something, and to this world.
Hey hey hey, the saying might be right, but the author forgets one thing.
And is that?
Life is unpredictable.
A smirk etched itself, and the knife went back to its sheath.
He stretched the stiff muscles within his body, with a sigh coming after. Breezes coincidentally passed by and they stroked his brown hair softly. People moving through the road, minding their own business. Carts were pulled, craters were carried, stocks were purchased, and transactions were initiated.
'Is this what grinding feels like to those mad scientists who always do stupid things to discover what they haven't found yet?'
A grind where the journey was filled with painful shits and extreme obstacles, but if one actually passed them, the result would even be more intense than the already extreme journey.
It's not guaranteed, but that's what often happens.
And who knows, it could happen to this single self.
'Ah, on a side note, I'm still a virgin.'
He will certainly be concerned about such a thing a couple of weeks ago, but seeing what life has to offer. He has to say, losing his virginity isn't even worth mentioning at all.
'Damn, I'm getting distracted once again.'
Screw Society Standards!