2024-01-03 03:22:34Katsuo looked around him. He was in the middle of a lush forest. The leaves of the trees were wide and he could see wines creeping up on the trees. This didn't feel like one of the forests he would see back home. It felt more like one of those rainforests he would see on TV.
After he got up Katsuo made sure there wasn't anything dangerous in the vicinity. Once he confirmed he was safe he uttered the words he only said in his dreams.
"Status Panel"
---
[Name]: Kazama Katsuo
[Age]: 16
[Job]: Civilian
[Rank]: 0
[Title]: The Traveler
[Background]: None
[Strength]: 1
[Agility]: 1
[Willpower]: 5
[Vitality]: 4
[Charisma]: 4
[Mana]: 0
[Active Skills]: Appraisal (Max)
[Passive Skills]: Heavenly Body (Max), Polyglot (Max)
---
Katsuo looked at his status panel but he didn't know what to make of it. He could see his stats but the problem was he didn't know if they were good or bad. Though there were two that he knew were definitely the worst. His agility and strength were both at 1 which was obviously the lowest number the system could give. Actually, he was suspecting that if it could give lower than 1 it would have done so.
Well, it wasn't hard to imagine why those two stats were like that. He spent his life making sure he didn't strain his heart so it shouldn't come off as a surprise that he was weaker than his peers.
Next, he checked the description of his skills. There was one more than expected but he wasn't going to refuse it.
---
[Heavenly Body(Max)]: The power of nature pulses through your heart
---
Hmm, it was quite a vague description but at least his heart shouldn't have problems in this life. The part that piqued his interest was where it said the power of nature. Did this have anything to do with the fact that Aeternitas threw him into a jungle? He needed to research this fact more but he didn't know how to go about it so Katsuo just threw it at the back of his head.
---
[Appraisal(Max)]: You can appraise the target. This stat is affected by the Willpower stat. The higher the Willpower, the more information you can glean from the target. For targets with higher Willpower than the user, it will only show partial information. If the difference in Willpower is too big the skill will fail to activate. It costs 10 mana to activate it once.
---
Katsuo wasn't expecting much but this was the trademark skill of the transmigrators' Appraisal! So he should be able to use it to make a killing at auctions and other events. This was definitely a treasure. He didn't know why Aeternitas gave this skill to him, maybe she thought it was included in the system package? Which would make sense since in every game checking the stats of monsters was a basic ability.
Though it was kinda annoying that he needed mana to use the skill. It's still okay. He only needed to find a way to gather mana in his body and he should be able to use it easily. Then again seeing his other stats Katsuo wasn't sure if 10 was really a low number.
---
[Polyglot(Max)]: You can speak and understand every language in existence.
---
The last skill had a simple and clear description. It basically meant that no matter where he went he could speak their language. This was good. He didn't know how many languages there were in this world but the more he knew the better. Especially since he remembered that in the books he read there were stupid idiots who spoke a foreign language in front of the MC because they thought s/he couldn't understand them. Then MC would use this fact to make them spill hidden information and their plans.
He could do something similar in the future.
Now that he checked his skills Katsuo started to think about his situation.
He was in the middle of a jungle and he didn't know where to go. But he thought there should be a settlement somewhere nearby as he didn't think Aeternitas would throw him in the middle of nowhere.
So his mission was clear, he needed to get out of the jungle and meet with whoever was nearby. Afterwards? Well, he didn't give it much thought as he was thrown into a different world suddenly but now that he was in a fantasy world there was definitely a job he wanted to try his hands on; Adventurer!
As a Japanese how could Katsuo not become an adventurer? If he decided to become a farmer with his potential all his ancestors would curse him from beyond the grave. Well, even if there wasn't an Adventurer profession, he could also become a mercenary since it should be the closest thing to an adventurer in this world.
"Okay!"
Katsuo hit his own cheeks and got up from the grass he was sitting on.
Though he became dully aware of one fact. He didn't know anything about wilderness survival. How was he supposed to get out of this jungle?
He lifted his head to see the sun but he couldn't see it as the trees covered the sky obstructing his vision.
He remembered something about moss but that was it. He didn't know what mosses were supposed to say about his location. What else?
...Nothing.
He didn't know anything.
Katsuo's hands started to tremble under this realization.
What if he couldn't get out of the jungle?
Also now that he paid attention he noticed something he didn't before.
The jungle was quiet.
Too quiet!
He couldn't hear the sound of any bugs or birds.
This place was eerie. Almost as if it was a haunted jungle that ate the souls of whoever wandered into it.
No way!
The goddess shouldn't have sent him to such a dangerous. She wouldn't. After all, she was the one who accepted Katsuo as her believer. Also, why would she revive him in this world if she wanted to kill him? She would just not revive him at all!
This must be his imagination.
It was natural. After everything, he went through today no wonder his nerves were a little strained. He must be imagining things.
Yes, that was it!
*Crack*
"WHO IS THERE!!"
Katsuo turned back and shouted to see that it was only a deer that stepped on a branch. When it heard Katsuo shouting it ran away without a second thought.
He took a breath to calm his nerves.
*Thump* *Thump* *Thump*
His heart was beating faster than when Aeternitas teased him but unlike back then he didn't like this sensation.
He felt like his face was hot and he could hear a tiny shrill in his ears, his hands were trembling more than ever. It was getting harder to breathe.
Katsuo thought he was about to have another heart attack but that was supposed to be impossible. His heart was healthier than ever so how could he even have a heart attack?
He leaned on a tree and tried to calm himself down.
Yes, everything was fine. He was just overreacting...
Wait!
He was in a jungle right? And there was a deer here? If so...!
Katsuo rolled on the ground to just barely dodge the claws of a black beast!!
Seeing that its sneak attack had failed the beast roared.
*ROAR*
That was when Katsuo realized he had forgotten the most basic rule of nature, the Circle of life. Every being in existence coexisted with nature. So if there was a prey there was a predator and that predator had its own predator. Everything had a natural enemy. But as a human who came from a world where they conquered nature, Katsuo had long forgotten it. The fact that he had to be afraid of nature and that he was just a weakling without his civilization's weapons.
"Soooo, Uhm, I know this is out of the left field but would you consider letting me go?"
Katsuo begged the beast. He knew that it was a futile attempt as there was no way a beast could understand him.
While slithering away he observed the beast. It looked like a panther but it was bigger.
Much MUCH bigger.
Just by standing it easily towered over 4 meters in height. Most importantly, it was silent. After that roar, Katsuo couldn't even hear its breathing and that was despite the fact that Katsuo could see it walk towards him.
The Beast also had white lightning-like patterns in his fur. They gave him a sort of noble air. If this jungle had a king Katsuo could bet his own existence that this beast in front of him would be it.
"You can speak our tongue? Are you a druid, boy?"
...What?
The beast looked at Katsuo in surprise as it could understand him.
Katsuo himself was surprised as well due to the same reason.
The beast pranced around him and sniffed the air.
"Weird, I can't smell the aura of a druid from you but you definitely smell like nature. What are you, boy?"
This was good. At least the beast wasn't going to kill him immediately. He needed to think of a way to run away as fast as possible.
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"Okay"After some thinking, Katsuo decided to accept her proposal. He had to because this was the arrangement of the goddess. He didn't know what her plans were but at least he knew that she didn't hold any ill will against him, but most importantly he wanted to have a family again. So what if his family in this world were not humans? He didn't mind."Then from now on your name is Kazama Um'rael"Aranel said as if it was a matter of course."No no no, you have a misunderstanding. In my world, we say the last name first so it should be Katsuo Um'rael""Is that so? Anyway, now that this matter is settled, let's get along well from now on son""Ugh, can't you just call me by my name?""No, you have to get used to it S-O-N"Seeing him bothered by her address Aranel teased him even further by emphasizing it."When do we start training in mana?""Look at this kid, trying to run before he could even walk. We first start by teaching babies how to speak elven but you should have that covered s
The Traveler: Martial Druid Chapter 11
"...congratulations. You passed"Katsuo wanted to jump and scream in joy but he held himself back. Finally! After 7 months of gruelling, he had finally passed all the exams sensei had prepared for him. This meant that he should be able to start his mana training soon.During these 7 months, Aranel Sensei had taught him the common knowledge of this world, starting from the major countries to what happened in the past. Katsuo didn't think he had even studied this much for his high school exam."So sensei, we can finally start mana training, right?""Why are you asking the obvious? Of course not! Think of yourself as a baby, you only learnt how to speak. You can only be considered a toddler now. So what do you teach to a baby after how to speak?""How to walk?"Katsuo was finally used to Aranel Sensei's weird pace."Correct, then what do you think walking would be for you?""I guess it would be moving my body?"Katsuo took a second to ponder before answering the question."You are right,
The Traveler: Martial Druid Chapter 12
"Woosh*Grey blur was running all around him again going whichever way it wanted.*Thud*It crashed against the invisible barrier again and fell to the ground. Looking at it struggling like that Katsuo felt heartbroken. It had been a month since his sensei had given him Grey Blur to take care of and there still weren't any improvements. Because it was such a wild animal Aranel Sensei had put a leash spell on it. It could only move around in a fifty-meter radius around Katsuo. The first mission sensei had given him was to learn her name. Katsuo thought it would be an easy mission since he and Grey Blur had a history and he didn't think it would be a problem, but as long as she had any energy Grey Blur would run all around him and try to escape her leash. She wouldn't even speak a word to him.He knew that she could understand him thanks to his skill [Polyglot] but she was refusing to even speak to him. She didn't even eat anything Katsuo had given her, instead, she would hunt when Ka
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Chapter 41
By the time Katsuo had returned it was already evening. Sven and Gail still had not arrived so he decided to wait. He was not a detective, the play he put on in front of the Fatty was already the limit of his abilities. So his only job now was just to wait and learn where the girl was being held and then beat up some kidnappers. Speaking of which Fatty truly surprised Katsuo. He had already thrown out the idea that he was the kidnapper because of his demeanour and actions. In fact, he didn't even think he was a bad guy at all. Why though? He was not an easily trusting person... at least he thought so. Did that mean Fatty messed up with his brain in some way? That was impossible. If there was even a hint of magic involved he would have sensed it. Maybe there was something in the whiskey? No way, he had cast [Detoxcification] on it so that was not possible either. Maybe he used some psychological tricks on him, after all, he was a politician. That last one was a little probable but at
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Katsuo gave it a thought and agreed to help Roy with finding his kidnapped sister. According to him aside from the mayor, there was no one else they had any enmity with so that was Katsuo's first clue, Gail said she could ask around about her to her old contacts and Sven decided to do his own thing. When asked what he meant by that Sven said just leave it to him and brushed him off. He had never questioned before maybe Sven also had some connections with gangs here but that was impossible as he was from Horwaard. However, when Katsuo thought about where to ask about the mayor he noticed a crucial problem in his plans. He didn't know anyone in Dawn. His sister and Kalrune had already returned to their countries. He wasn't some gruff noir detective who could understand how everything went down by piecing together some rumour either. So Katsuo thought about his own advantages. For one, he was a transmigrator with a lot of popular culture knowledge when it came to isekai genre. So he as
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After his party members returned Katsuo started to talk with the boy to learn about his situation."So you said your sister was kidnapped?" He asked the boy cautiously. From his get up he looked like a beggar but his face was well defined despite the bruises so there was a high chance that his sister was a beauty as well. That would explain why his sister was kidnapped but Katsuo had no intention of getting ahead of himself. It was better to hear the situation first-hand from the concerned party."Yes, today she was kidnapped by a bunch of ruffians. I don't even know who they are and why they targeted us. Please help! I am begging you. If the money is not enough I can find more."The boy started to speak in haste. He was really panicked but what he said was of no help at all."I wanted to ask about that. This money is too much for a beggar like you. Where did you get it?" Gail asked as she grabbed the pouch and checked its contents. "No, that is money left from my grandfather's inher
Chapter 38
As expected, Denstria accepted the terms of the deal and Kalrune left for Oedl soon after, leaving Katsuo and Sven to embark on their long-awaited adventurer life finally. "How could you forget about me *Sob*," said Gail while grabbing Katsuo's fur coat and sobbing. "No no, how could we forget about you? If we did such a thing what kind of a person would we be? We just had something important going on so we couldn't come to pick you up. Right, Sven?" Katsuo lied as naturally as he breathed. Aria peeked under Katsuo's shirt and wrinkled her nose. "Ugh, stinky. Playmate who is this? She smells awful" Aria said as she covered her nose with her tiny little paws. Hearing that Gail got self-conscious and smelled her armpits but she couldn't smell anything. She as a budding young lady was very disturbed by such accusations. "I don't smell" Gail grumbled and pulled down her hood even further to mask her face. You know, just in case. "Of course, you don't, that was just Aria being...
Chapter 37
"Uhm, are you sure about this?" Katsuo couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked after leaving the meeting. "About what? Saving hundreds of thousands of lives?" "But just like that fatty said isn't the Greywulf estate your ancestral home?" This was the part that eluded Katsuo. He was from a lineage of martial artists and their family held onto their traditions for centuries. So selling their ancestral home was something he couldn't imagine. That was why he wanted to ask Kalrune how he did it. "Home is where you make it. Also, I wasn't joking when I said Greywulf estate is its people and not the land. My father would also agree with me. After all, he was the one who taught me this. Being a noble means 'being responsible for your subjects'." As Kalrune spoke about his father his face brightened up. Katsuo could see that Kalrune treasured him greatly so this made him curious about the strongest man on the continent Brevok Greywulf. Just what kind of person was he? A cold Duke of the
Chapter 36
"My supervisor accepted selling Greywulf estate to you," said Kalrune as everyone in the meeting looked at him in shock."Come again?" asked the fat mayor of Dawn while wiping his forehead with a handkerchief. "You heard me right. Kingdom of Oedl decided to 'sell' Greywulf estate to Denstria" Kalrune repeated himself."Of course, since you have a legitimate casus belli this land belongs to Denstria so we will withdraw but as we were the ones that were taking care of it for so long you guys need to pay us for our services. After all, if it were not for the 'current' Greywulf house the land would already have been ravaged by the monsters long ago. So it is only right that you guys pay us."The glasses guy from Denstria frowned while pondering. This was out of his considerations for how the meeting would go. He didn't know who came up with this ingenious idea but they surely got him. He even suspected that there might be a spy amidst their ranks otherwise it would be impossible to come
Chapter 35
Kalrune was pacing around in his room thinking about how to stop this impending war. This time Denstria was coming at them for real without any intention of stopping with measly threats. Otherwise, they wouldn't have pulled out the trump card they had been hiding for centuries. The question was why now? There were times in Oedl's history when they were way weaker than they were now. In other words, this plan was something in the making for a long time.At first, Kalrune had thought this was going to be another small skirmish to cull the forces of Greywulf Duchy as after Archmage Karrion's death his father became the undisputed strongest man in the world so of course this reputation had its pros but that was about it.Now Denstria was aiming for swelling Greywulf whole... but why?Even as a person who was born and raised in Greywulf estate Kalrune couldn't see any point to this.Sure it was acting as a shield against Denstria but even if they took down the Greywulf estate they would ju
Chapter 34
Katsuo unwillingly hugged his sister Tharnel. Truth be told he didn't know how to treat this sister of his. If he said they were close that would be a lie, but if he said they didn't get along that would be one as well. Their relationship was complicated. "Woah, I missed you, little brother! You have grown bigger since I last saw you. But you seem a little thin. Are you eating okay? Don't tell me you get so wrapped in your training and forget to feed yourself. Didn't I tell you to take better care of yourself?" Tharnel started nagging Katsuo as she gave him a firm hug. Well, the distance between them was only awkward for Katsuo. For Tharnel, he was her one and only little brother. "Ugh, no. It's just that my muscles have become more compact so I look thinner... you also know that Sensei would never let me skip a meal right?" Katsuo mumbled as he pulled away from her hug. "You still call mom Sensei?" "It's... just... I don't know it's complicated okay?" "Why though? She only sa
Chapter 33
Katsuo nervously walked behind the elven strider. He tried to read his status window but as usual, the damn thing didn't work when he needed it to work. As they walked forward Katsuo remembered what he had learnt about striders. They were a subclass of warrior profession but they had extremely harsh requirements so usually only elves could become one, which made sense considering elves were the ones who created the profession.The speciality of striders was their endless regeneration. He wasn't sure about its authenticity but he had heard once heard from Aranel that even if you decapitate them master rank striders could grab their heads and reattach them and keep fighting like nothing happened.Of course, their fighting style also was one that favoured mutual destruction.They didn't care if their arms were chopped as long as they could leave one wound in their enemy. In this way, they sounded like berserkers but unlike those glass cannons, these guys were anti-aircraft cannons.
