"New World! Here I come!"
Shion yelled out, his hands outstretched to the sky as if to touch the sun... Before slowly putting it back down to his side as he quickly powers walked away in embarrassment, looking down at the ground to not look at the others on the street that's looking at him weirdly.
"Oh god, that's embarrassing. They look at me like I'm a weirdo." He murmured under his breath. Quickly turning into a dark alleyway to calm himself.
"Okay okay, deep breath, calm down Shion, this is... This is your dream, your fantasy, it's for you to finally make a name for yourself." He took a step forward, ready to make a name for himself, ready to become someone successful, an adventurer, a mage, a-
He slipped on the wet ground and fell.
"... Fuck."
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"As far as I can see, this really is a fantasy world, I thought I was just high or something." Shion muttered under his breath as he looked around. Stone building, wooden houses, cobblestone streets under his feet as he continues to walk around and explore, this really is a generic Isekai moment.
He stopped walking as he noticed a building, a stone building with a big wooden sign above its entrance.
"... That's a weird looking sign... It looks like English but too weird looking... " He stared at the sign, trying to figure out what it says even with the hard to read font.
"Ad... Adventuru... Guildo... Adventurer's Guild..." He blinked, trying to remember his English lesson to see what it meant.
"Adventurer's Guild... Adventurer's Guild... Oh right! That place! The place with the quest board!" His eyes lightened up as he walked into the building called Adventurer's Guild.
The interior of the guild looks exactly like what he expected, a tavern, a board with posters, quests, nailed onto it, and a counter desk with a few adventurers lining up to either get a quest or get a reward from completing said quest from a receptionist.
And the adventurers here looks exactly like they're from an Isekai settings too. He looks around at the many unique, distinctly faces here. Cat girls, kobolds, lizard men, elves, normal humans, and probably more but these are the ones he recognised the most.
Shion took a steps forward to the counter, the sound of his shoes stepping on the floorboards caught the attention of others.
"That's one weird boots... It's more of a sandal with how short it is..."
"Nya, look sis, look at that boy's clothing, there's buttons on them, he must be a noble nya."
"Noble huh? His messy black hair says otherwise, those nobles always try their hardest to look neat and clean, but he didn't even have a brightly coloured hair. You know how those nobles are, colouring their hair to white or gold to show how special they are."
"Hmph... So you're saying that he's not a noble? Do you think that he's..."
"Uhm... My lord?" Shion shook a bit due to getting surprised and interrupted from hearing what others were saying as he looked in front of him, the line in front of him was gone now, giving him the way to walk forward to the counter and speak to the receptionist girl. The feminine voice that called him lord is the receptionist girl.
"Ah, yes. I would like to uhh... Register as a adventurer, is that okay?"
"... Register, my lord?" The girl tilted her head, she looked confused at hearing the word.
"I mean like... Uhm... Adventurer y'know, I want to uhh... Become one. I want to become an adventurer." Shion is dying on the inside. 'Come on Shion! You're trying to be the main character here! Gain some confidence!'
The receptionist girl blinked, as if she cannot believe such a person that dresses like this actually wanted to be an adventurer.
"Um, I see, then my lord, here, signed the papers here, and write your own name. The quests can be found there." She put the registration form on the counter and proceeded to point at the quest board nearby. "If you found the quest that you wanted to do, my lord. Then just come back to me and said the name of the quest and I would assign your name on the quest."
Shion looked down at the form on the counter table. "It looks like English, but yeah, but the font is looking like it's Hebrew... Still, should I write my name in Japanese or English?" He debated in his mind before finally deciding on what to write down and soon enough, he write his own name on the papers.
The receptionist girl raised her eyebrows at the way he wrote his name as well as what words he was writing. "A noble foreigner? I don't recognise that language." She said under her breath before taking back the form after he finished filling it all up and she put a wooden badge on the table. "This is your adventurer rank, my lord. This is the lowest rank. There are 10 adventurer ranks. From the bottom, the lowest rank is Wooden, then Steel, Bronze, Sapphire, Emerald, Ruby, Bismuth, Gold, Silver, and Platinum. There's also an extra rank called Diamond rank but it's only given to heroes that end a world ending threats."
Shion took the badge as the girl continued her explanation while pointing at the quest board. "The quests are also ranked the same and it's by how difficult it is to complete, wooden quests are easy while platinum quests are the hardest quests. If you want to move up the rank, my lord, then you have to complete a quest that's above your rank three times. This means that you can raise your ranks immediately to platinum if you completed a platinum quest 3 times, my lord."
She took a deep breath after finished talking and sat back on her chair. "That's all my lord, the quest board is right over there, good luck on your adventures."
Shion nodded as he went ahead and walked to the quest board, looking at the various quests available. "Hmm... There's not many here, ones that are high ranking anyway... Find my lost cat, collect 5 berries, these are ranked wooden quests, just a generic fetch quest." His eyes go to the part of the board where there are not many quest papers. "Ruby, Sapphire, Emerald, and even Bismuth quests are here, but they are not too many."
Shion looked at some of the mid ranking quests, investigate strange noise in an alley - sapphire rank, I've lost my books in an abandoned cabin in the woods, please find it- ruby rank, a loud roaring sound is heard from an unexplored dense forest, explore and investigate the forest - bismuth rank.
He decided to take the sapphire rank quest. The other adventurers that were watching him, decided to look away, not caring about him anymore, he picked a mid ranked quest, that means he is probably the real deal and is probably an actual real noble.
"Let's see... The place of the quest is... Here?" He blinked and looked outside. The quest is located in this very town he's in.
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Shion walked outside, looking in at every alleyway he could find, the residents looked at him weirdly, not at him but at the wooden adventurer badge.
"A noble? An adventuring noble..."
"Hey, I think I saw him before, the noble that accepted the sapphire rank quest."
"Oh really? Then I suppose that it is just nobles doing this to test their magic skills for their studies."
Shion ignores them as he notices a dark and deep alleyway. "Whoa, what a mysterious looking alleyway." He got closer, looking inside the alleyway while staying quiet to hear any strange sound inside the dark space. "... No sound yet, but maybe that's because I looked inside and alerted whatever it was that was inside the alleyway."
He decided to step in the alleyway.
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"Hahh... Hahh..."
A young girl with long black hair tied in a twin tail hair cut with red ribbons ran down an alleyway. She looks terrified as she looks back behind her every so often as she continues to run. 'I need to run... That girl... No... That demon in girl's clothing... She...' She saw the light at the end of the tunnel, the exit of this alleyway, her eyes widened in tears of happiness and relief.
She didn't even notice that she bumped into someone as she just kept on running.
"I need to... Raise the rank of that quest..." She ran to the Adventurer's Guild. She's breathing heavily, her legs are tired and her foot hurts but she has to go, she has to.
Before anyone else took the quest that's way above their rank and died to the hands of that demon.
-----
"Ow... What the hell? She bumped me that hard and she didn't even notice it?" Shion got up from the ground, patting his clothes to get the dirt off him. He looked deeper into the alleyway. "Alright, let's do this, maybe I will awaken my Isekai powers in a fight."
He heads deeper into the alleyway.
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"Tch, where did that girl go. She saw me, she saw me she saw me shesawmeshesawmeshesawmeshe-" The girl's eyes focused immediately as she looked at whoever it was further in front of her. "It's useless hiding. Step forth and show yourself."
Shion steps forth, his school uniform blending in the dark-
She immediately brings her hands up, sending waves of magic at full force to him. 'An otherworlder!? Did that kingdom already summon a hero!? I need to kill him! I cannot underestimate otherworlder! The last time I did that, I... I failed my master, I won't make the same mistake again!'
"Haahhhh!!" She let out a war cry, the ground and wall of the alleyway cracked the dark energy that seems to exhibit a dark ominous light.
But before she could destroy the hero to literal nothingness, he raised both of her hands up.
"W-wait! I'll use my secret power if you try to kill me!" Her eyes widened as she immediately made the output of her power straight to 0, the lights dying down and the alleyway turning back to its normal, albeit still dark, environment.
'Is that true? Is he bluffing? Is his power act on the intent to kill and harm or magic power being directed at him?' Ideas ran through her head to figure out what abilities the hero has that's standing a few feet away from her.
"Uhm... Can you introduce yourself first? I'll introduce myself first too, Shion, that's me. Uhh, what's yours?" She nearly thought of dropping her guard down from how young his voice is, nearly. She cannot think such thoughts because it would then make her waver, make her be easy to be manipulated and come to the hero's side. She saw it first hand after all.
But still, out of basic respect and courtesy, she revealed her name to him.
"Argalia, my name is Argalia."
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"It's been 50 times y'know." Death said with a smile as she watched the interaction from somewhere unreachable. There's no one around her, she's merely talking to herself as she enjoys the view of her own making. "Heh, did the gift I gave you to help you in your journey too much for you to the point you forgot all about it?"
She smirked, swirling the drink in the wine glass in her hand. "Just this once, you shall experience the slow death of everyone. Maybe this time you'll remember and you won't forget what happened to you. And why you've been going to danger despite not knowing what your powers are."
She put the wine glass to her lips and drank it, the delicious drink goes down her mouth. She elegantly put back the glass on the table after drinking. "And as for one who's reading this... Let's just say that his body still remembers despite the mind forgetting what happened."
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Shion tried to take a step back-
"Don't you dare move from where you are!" Argalia yelled out, her voice strained and she was sweating in a panic as she tried to figure out how to deal with him without the intention of harming him.
Shion was sweating nervously too as he stayed still in panic. 'Oh fuck, shit... This quest is only sapphire? How? The girl that looks like it's behind it all almost killed me in one shot!' he thought in his head as his feet were rooted to the ground.
The two remain there, looking at each other, afraid to make the first move.
'This girl... She's dangerous... But she's not attacking me?'
'Think, Alice! Should I blow him up!? No, he'll see it, he's not even doing anything! He's just waiting for me to attack him!'
Suddenly, Argalia's eyes widened as a bat familiar flew down to her ear and whispered to her something that Shion can't hear.
"Tch.. that girl..! Is that why the hero distracted me?" Argalia said under her breath as she brought one of her hands behind her to not make Shion see it and she snapped her finger. "No choice now... I have to end this now."
Shion raised his eyebrows as he noticed something was wrong and he took a step forward to her only for his body to feel weak and he fell to the ground. "What... Happening...." His voice is rasped, as if he is now an old man. He looked at his own hands, and sure enough, it looked old, full of wrinkles and he could even see the outline of his bone under his skin.
Argalia didn't even spare him a glance as she suddenly disappeared in a flash of dark magic. Shion let out a rasp gasp, he's having trouble breathing and he can't even stand up, he needs a cane to do it.
And thus, without much effort from Argalia, Shion experiences death by old age.
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Death's eyes lightened up.
"Well then Shion, you shall see what truly is your ability. After 50 times of using it and yet still haven't realised yet. I made it so that you shall experience your ability slowly..."
She smiled.
"I hope you enjoy the view, my dear student."
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"Tch, I failed to kill that girl secretly... But still... Master... I need to warn my master that a hero has been summoned... A mere old age won't stop a summoned hero from another world."
"Freeze!"
"Shit..!" Argalia stopped in her tracks, raising her hands to blast them away with her magic but then her eyes widened. "What..."
Her hands, they looked wrinkled and old. As if she herself got hit by the rapid aging spell.
"That hero..." Argalia said with a rasped breath, ignoring the people that were about to restrain her looking at her in confusion, as if thinking if this old woman really is the one behind the troubles.
She immediately switched targets. Moving her arms and hands to aim at where she thinks the hero is.
"D... Die..." Magic flows out of her wrinkled hands before fizzing out and her eyes widen. "W-what.... Even ma- kauff!... Even magic itself... Is aging and dying...?" She fell to the ground, her legs not strong enough to support her body anymore. She looks up around her, she would've gasped at what she's seeing right now but her body doesn't have the energy to do it.
Everything around her is aging, dying. Everything. It's not just her, the trees are drying, the buildings are deteriorating, and the people that were just about to catch her, have fallen to the ground, looking old and can't move.
"Hero... You...!" Argalia cursed under her breath as she focuses what little magic she has on herself. This thing that's happening, it doesn't make sense, no hero would destroy the whole world like this like it's nothing, they're powerful beings that control the fabric of time and use this world as entertainment. So this must be a ploy, a way to punish those and bring them back to life to punish them.
So she put her hands on her chest and began to record her memories. Her experiences, her love, her hatred and everything else, she recorded it all. All for someone to inherit it. But she can't just let anyone inherit it. Only she herself should inherit it. So she makes it so that these memories will only be given to a singular person that's just like her, same hair, same face, same love, same hatred, same everything.
"... Please... Other me... Warn him of that hero..."
And thus, the world experienced the death of old age.
------
Death looks at Argalia from above.
"You're one interesting girl, Argalia. Every time Shion's ability is activated, even before me making it a slow death for you. You recorded your death as a memory and you got the memory right as when you were reborn... Maybe that's why every time you encounter Shion, you killed him in a different way every time in the 50 occurrences."
She got up and took a step forward, the surroundings warped and changed into the alleyway that Shion died in. "How does it feel, Shion? I upgraded your ability, it's an upgrade for me anyway. Since you're experiencing death properly instead of just dying and immediately brought back."
Shion did not respond.
Death giggled, a sound that seems innocent and cute if it weren't for what's happening around them.
"Let's talk again after the world is destroyed, okay?"
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