Chapter 10: The trip to the USA (1)
«Money!! Money!! I need money!»
My pocket was going into the red, at this rate I have to take out a loan
Fortunately there are many ways to be rich
First there was the stock market, new towers and dungeons were constantly being created in the world and who was in charge of conquering them? The guilds that are treated as companies, so I couldn't buy shares of the public guilds on the guild stock exchange
Today was March 25th, I have to be richer to at least buy shares
"Hey… how will we make money?"
«Now you worry, right ghost, because of you I lost my ambition in these months now I have to make a damn plan, it's time to go to a "field"»
When I say "field" I mean the danger zones where monsters appear, unlike towers and dungeons, the danger level of the fields depended greatly on the rank, so no permissions were needed to enter the less dangerous ones
The most recommended field for me was in the countryside of Tokyo, Japan, specifically Hakone
It is located west of Tokyo, it is a mountainous city known for its hot spring resorts and views of the iconic volcanic Mount Fuji, but much of it became a zone so the inhabitants had to withdraw because it was dangerous to live there
It was also a great opportunity to visit that distant land
-Well decided, I will earn money and prevent my descent into extreme poverty!-
*Wiing
At that moment I felt a vibration on my wrist, it was a message
[Travel club announcement]
[There will be a short trip on Sunday to serve as an orientation for the first-year students]
-Well, at least they announced it to me, I hope the trip is fun-
"You have to train"
-Yes ma'am~-
I couldn't rest in peace, I started going to the training room against my will, now I was more of a slave without rights
If I didn't do the contract, I would get a strong electric shock if I didn't comply
Seriously, help me
***
I spent the rest of Friday training like crazy and working out, and that turned into a Sunday before I even realized it
[Travel Club Announcement]
There will be a short trip on Sunday to serve as orientation for freshmen
-Oh right, the orientation was today-
As far as I know, the meeting place was the "Wellston portal station" which was north of Island X
I didn't trust it much because of the Daemon from last time, so I decided to keep my magic sword in a luggage backpack that had a space hole that allowed the space of 10 large objects, the truth is I didn't learn the magic of object summoning but I will learn it in one of these days
I headed to the meeting place, many important people from my class were here, Hajime Aikawa, Damian Connors, Hanami Sasaki and Mirai Shiva
They seemed indifferent to my existence except Damian who looked at me for a few seconds and then pretended ignorance, being in the same club with him made me nervous
"It seems that I don't forget you"
«Holy God, he's sure to want a rematch»
-Oh, brother, did you also join the travel club?-
I heard a familiar voice, in front of me was Miguel raising his hand with a smile
I responded with the same attitude and then shook hands
When I wanted to talk, the president of the club arrived
-Hello, I'm the president of the club, Roman, I didn't believe it when I saw so many club applications but… it's real. Who would have imagined that such outstanding students would join my club?-
He was of average height and his gentle face gave a good first impression, Roman looked at the club members while scratching his neck out of nerves
Cheer up champ, I understand you, I'm in the same class as those elitists
-I'll give a brief introduction about the travel club-
He put on a shy smile, took out a piece of paper from his pocket, it looked like it was a prepared speech, I think he is a very shy person
After clearing his throat once more, he put the paper away
Is that all?
-As part of the orientation, we will take a short trip to the US, exactly Washington D.C. We will have a theme for each trip, as today is an orientation, we will have a free trip without anything complicated but instead of traveling alone we will divide into groups of two-
After that a huge box appeared
-We will start with a raffle-
-I will go first-
Shiva spoke, she took a step forward, I saw her take out a name and her gaze went blank
Ha, poor thing for the one who has to put up with her horrible and arrogant attitude. I just feel sorry for the poor devil who has to be that witch's partner
-Alan Harwey-
My gaze went blank, I felt like I was going to faint at any moment, but I could see Shiva looking at me with a calm gaze
"You have such bad luck and yet your "luck" is perfect"
The ghost spoke with much pity in his voice
Please kill me
**
Explanation
Hajime became Hanami's partner, and Damian became the partner of the club president who kept trembling in his presence although Damian was calm and tried to break the tension but his attempts always failed
After finishing the lottery, the members gathered in pairs and stood in front of the portal
The portals use magical science and engineering powered by mana crystals, it was 15 meters high and 30 meters wide, there are more than 100 places of this throughout the countries of the world, with traveling from Island X to Washington D.C. taking only 3 seconds
-Student Alan Harwey, confirmed-
The portal operator gave us a seal, this seal would resonate with the portal and take us to Washington
-Let's go-
The club president entered first, the next to enter the portal was Hajime Aikawa, Damian Connors, Hanami Sasaki… and finally me
A sensation like being submerged in water was felt throughout my body, but only for a moment
In the blink of an eye, the surrounding landscape transformed into an unknown place, a futuristic mix of blue and grey, it had to be the Washington Gate Station, with just two steps I had crossed the sea
-It's 1:00 p.m. right now, so we'll meet here at 6:00 p.m.-
As the portal we were in was connected to Wellston, there was no one around, but the portal next door that connects to Washington with the station should be full of people, after all there are a lot of people moving around here since they are one of the world powers
-For now follow me-
We followed the club president, after another minute we received another stamp from the portal employees before leaving the portal station
After leaving I could immediately see the words "Washington Station Union"
«My first steps in foreign lands, this I never thought would be possible for me»
-You can go wherever you want as a couple using the public transportation system, for today we will not ask you to write a report, but make sure to return at 6:00 to the OASIS hotel, if you are late you will be penalized-
With a warning from the club president, the students left in pairs
Mirai Shiva, did not speak to me, but I followed her for a moment, but she stopped and then looked at me
-Let's part ways, I have pending matters with an annoying relative-
-… Oh, of course-
«What the hell is wrong with her? Well, if she gets scolded it will be sweet revenge for me»
-Again-
Suddenly she looked at me with her hand on her hip
-Don't look at me so indifferently-
-… What?-
-This is my first warning, there won't be a second time-
Her words were serious, if she did it for the third time she could get revenge on me in some way
-Understood, I apologize!-
-…Tsk-
The young woman left without saying goodbye, it was clear how much she disliked me, so Mirai Shiva and I parted ways after only 5 minutes of arriving in Washington, but I had someone in mind so as not to be alone, I used my video transmitter to send a message to an acquaintance
[Hello Miguel, are you alone? ( ͡❛ ͜ʖ ͡❛)]
[Yes… sadly I didn't meet anyone, not even a girl talked to me… I curse my luck!!]
Poor thing, she's just like me... I'm glad about that
[Well I'm free do you want to go with me to eat everything in this place ( ◑‿◑)ɔ┏🍟--🍔┑٩(^◡^ )]
[Sure bro, give me your coordinates and I'll be right there!]
And that's how I managed to not be alone during the trip
**
-Long live the food!!-
-Long live the food!!-
Miguel and I started eating in this great city
I loved visiting all this
Their food was delicious, so much so that it made me drool and that irresistible aroma
Miguel told me that he would go to a pizzeria near the hotel where we would be staying for the moment, those of us in the travel club
After eating a hamburger, I arrived at the national weapons museum, in this museum there are replicas of the mythical weapons registered and discovered by humanity
"…"
This spirit hasn't spoken for a long time, but I could see him looking at my food with a greedy expression, so I decided to bother him
«What's wrong Nameless? Do you want to eat? Oh right, you can't eat because you're a ghost Hahaha!!!»
"I swear I will return this to you… someday"
The ghost declared while trembling from pure anger, even lighting up and growing a little bigger
I ignored his words of revenge and walked through the large white museum
-Dad, what is that?-
-Oh, that's the Fragarach sword-
As it was the weekend, the museum was full of parents and children hoping to become hunters
But no matter the crowd, the ones who stood out the most were surely those two, Hajime and Hanami, currently I could only see Hanami posing with bright eyes over a bow
-…I want it-
He gritted his lips
I could only laugh in my thoughts at that childish attitude, but I looked around almost nothing caught my attention in the end they are just replicas but they do not have the power of the originals
They are weapons that are similar in appearance but not in power
-Is this the Tizona of the Cid Campeador?-
I will give you a history lesson
Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar better known as the Cid Campeador was the hero of Castile who acts as a mercenary at the service of the highest bidder, in one of the many Towers of Spain they found his sword, but the mythical ability was nowhere to be found, rumors say that the king of England rank 7 has that ability but it is just a rumor
-Hm? Ah…-
Hajime's gaze turned to me, looking away from the Cid's sword, but he seemed at a loss for words
-Alan Harwey-
I got a little nervous
Oh my god he knows my name, this guy knows my name, but I don't want to get involved with him
-Ah! Sorry, I didn't expect to find you here, so I forgot!-
He gave a kind smile pointing his finger at the sword
-Did you come to see the Tizona del Cid?-
-Eh... no-
-Well I was wondering since the origin of the sword is from Spain, the place where you come from, right?-
"Because you get nervous"
«Sorry, I remembered it on the exam»
I don't know why I felt strange talking to him, it's like you can trust him, the first time you meet him, I didn't know how to describe it but I didn't like it
The guy is handsome, I admit it, very skilled in the use of the sword, his personality is fantastic and that was everything I hated
He has it easy, but I and the other students don't, for some reason I felt disgusted just by looking at him
If I could describe him it would be like a fucking Shonen manga protagonist
-…Yes-
I spoke coldly trying to hold back my nerves, I wasn't very good at communicating with boys my age, I only made an exception with Miguel because we got along at first
I gave him a slight smile just to then go to the hotel that Roman had assigned to us, I wasn't worried about getting lost since the video transmitter had a GPS system and a map that helped me a lot in my journey through the enormous city, Hajime and Hanami who stopped looking at the arch to then go with us to the hotel went with me to my same destination.
No, please, I don't want to be in his social circle
After a long walk I managed to get to the hotel
The OASIS hotel was very big and could hold a lot of people, and it was also very elegant and had that European style
Normally it would be quiet but this was not the case
When I arrived I could feel something strange on my back, I felt someone's penetrating gaze, not on me but on the hotel itself
"Did you notice it?"
«Someone's gaze… obviously»
Nameless started to leave the hotel to take a little look around
When we entered the hotel…
*¡Explosion!
When the three of us were in the reception room, a sudden explosion occurred
I could recognize the sound as the footsteps of some giant creature. Soon, the sound of something breaking was generated, and the atmosphere in the hotel changed
-Kyaaak!-
-What was that?!-
The unknown led to anxiety which then turned into panic, the common civilians screamed and started to run, however, I could feel it, death was waiting outside
-Stay here! Don't come out!-
Hajime shouted
"Hey Alan, this is really bad"
Nameless came back with a face of bad news
«What the hell is going on outside?!»
"Outside the hotel is being attacked by a monster along with its subordinates"
«Holy lord this is trouble and more»
"I think there is a Daemon here, the monsters had that dark aura on their body"
«Damn, a Daemon here? Has this attack been planned?... calm down Alan, you've already faced one before, and the hunters will have already noticed it and it won't take long for them to arrive, plus there are guards trained for anti-monster confrontation, so it should be less dangerous outside»
*Break
A sharp sound resounded, I could hear the sound of glass breaking, the source of the sound was not far away, the spirit and I turned towards the direction of the sound and could see Hanami who was at the counter, she had broken a glass box containing a button only to then summon her bow
-Are you crazy?!-
-No, I'm 100% sane-
Suddenly the hotel's siren was activated, and the defense mechanism began to activate, in just 5 seconds, all the rooms were closed, people panicked, fortunately, not even a D-rank monster could break the barriers blocking the exits
-It's better to stop people one by one and warn them-
With that, he cleared his throat and shouted to the panicked citizens
-Calm down, it's safer here, we're hunters!-
-Hey…-
-Shut up, don't just stand there and summon your weapon now-
-What? Why me…?-
I took my [magic sword] out of my backpack and then went to Hajime to tell him
-Don't stand still, quickly summon your weapon since our enemy is in front of us-
I pointed with my hand to a man in a coat with a very suspicious appearance who was in that place, before Hajime said anything, Hanami fired her bow without hesitation
-Hey no...-
Her magic arrow pierced the man's throat, immediately Hajime froze, he seemed stunned by Hanami's murder
If the person was ordinary he would die instantly from that arrow, but the man grabbed the arrow, pulling it out of his neck and pulled it out, the power of black magic surged from his hand, turning the arrow to dust
The man turned around, looking in the direction the arrow came from, his eyes burning with silent anger as the dark aura erupted from him before he showed a twisted smile
-Oh I see that I've already been discovered~-
It's definitely a Daemon
I could recognize him because it was clear that he didn't hide his hostility towards everyone, and his appearance made him seem very suspicious
What luck I have, am I sure I don't have bad luck?