Snippet 1: Graviton
Disclaimer: I do not own the original setting.
Chapter 10: Ruthlessness
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- Altair -
I yawned as I relaxed against the frame of my bed. There was no lecture today so I was planning on mostly just relaxing, as I had been rather productive the last couple of weeks.
I normally had educational lessons twice a week, it would ordinarily be thrice a week, but due to my former world's knowledge I had no need for the extra days worth of classes that were dedicated to things like reading, writing, critical thinking, mathematics, etc.
The classes I did attend were ones such as strategizing, etiquette, monster terminology, geography, history, and the like, as those classes would actually be useful in this world. Then another two days a week I worked with Shizu on my direct combat ability, something that had been making even more progress since Yuuki left.
Partially because Shizu could dedicate herself to teaching just me, and then partially because I didn't feel the need to hold anything back out of worry about what I had shown biting me in the ass.
Shizu did have other classes to teach as well, but those were done on the days I was in another class.
Other than that I kept myself busy in training my own Arts and swordsmanship independently. I had seen just how far swordsmanship could take you in this world.
For example, Hakurou was likely far weaker than I was at this point in time, yet if I gave him the chance I imagine he could make quick work of me. At least if what was said about his skills in the light novel was true in this world.
And he wasn't even good compared to the real sword masters. Though I could always just bombard Hakurou from a distance, Graviton could be rather flexible in the ways it is used.
I could probably even create a black hole if I wanted to, but I never did as I had no idea how to control something like that. Maybe that was something I'd tackle whenever I became an Enlightened.
As for the Arts, I was far from replicating any of the powerful Arts shown in the light novel, but they were good enough for the current me. My swordsmanship and battlewill training has also been coming along.
But other than training on Shizu's urging I've been going out to stroll through the capital city. I ate streetfood, visited shops, etc.
Even if the future still weighed on me, I was beginning to learn to just live a little. What was the point in making sure things go the right way, and that this world survives to see the end of the decade, if I had nothing to do after that other than exist?
Once that chance in mindset happened, I felt a lot more relaxed, and even more confident about my place in this world.
I was still conflicted about the actions I may have to take in the future, but in the end, perhaps I wasn't as limited as I first believed I was.
A large majority of my free time was spend trying to come up with plans to make sure that Rimuru Tempest became a True Demon Lord (so long as he actually ended up reborn in this world, if he didn't, well then fuck me).
But essentially, I just needed to make sure Rimuru Tempest became a True Demon Lord, and there were a few ways for that, at least that I could think of.
The first would of course be letting canon play out as it had, which could still happen despite my existence in this world. I had yet to cause any significant butterflies after all, but I didn't know if that would change in the future. For all I knew, I would get involved in a situation that I couldn't turn a blind eye to and change things enough for Falmuth to no longer invade Tempest due to their greed.
Option 2 was to somehow come to an arrangement with Guy Crimson. He had plenty of souls, and only 10,000 were needed. However… he was Guy Crimson, which already eliminated that plan. I didn't want to even step foot on his continent in my entire life if I didn't have to. On the bright side, knowing who I was, I probably wouldn't have to worry about that.
After all, why would I of all people have to ever meet Guy Crimson?
Option 3 was finding another way for Rimuru to get the 10,000 souls, and thanks to my canon knowledge, I knew that it didn't even have to be 10,000 human souls. Just 10,000 souls from people who could look into a mirror and recognize that it was them staring themselves back.
Essentially, they just needed a certain level of ego. And in this world, there were plenty of people that fit that qualification, and who I wouldn't feel bad about telling Rimuru about, as I did plan to let Rimuru know what I wanted for him.
If in the future, when god-mode Rimuru looks back in time and sees what I'm doing, I don't want him to think that I was manipulating him or anything. That sounded like a good way to get off'd secretly by Ciel or something.
Though I didn't think any sort of manipulation would even be necessary. So long as this Rimuru was the same one that I remember, so long as I present proof, I don't see why he wouldn't cooperate with me to save the multiverse.
He was a good person at heart after all. All of that of course only applied if Rimuru was reborn in this world, and maintained the same personality I was familiar with. If both of those conditions weren't met… well I'd have a much harder time surviving the next two decades in this world.
Of course this could also be a world in which none of the canon events happen, maybe Rudra is just a nice guy (he isn't, I verified with historical records), maybe Feldway is a chill person and accepted that the past was the past, maybe Michael isn't a yandere for Veldanava.
But that was a lot of maybes, and I wasn't willing to gamble with the lives of an insurmountable amount of people on a maybe.
There were probably other ways to get Rimuru the souls needed as well that I could think about more in the coming years.
I blinked as I heard a knock from my door.
"Sir Altair, there is an official from the royal palace here for you." The person from beyond the door said.
I sighed. That was another thing that was happening. Even the teachers more or less treated me with far greater respect as a "noble". They were obligated to or else someone in a higher place may get pissed off, but I made sure to let all of them know to treat me no differently.
They've known me for quite a while now, and many had seen me at my lowest when I was mostly clueless and had no idea what to do in this world, so most were rather comfortable with me.
"Coming."
I already knew why the official from the royal palace was here. The king had told me that he'd send an official dignitary to hand me a medallion that signified my official status within this kingdom and across the Western Nations.
That and then the official "welcome party" that would be held in my honor. That wasn't done for most nobles, let alone a lowly Baron like myself, but the king was hosting it nonetheless for reasons obvious to anyone with a brain.
It had only been a few days since Yuuki left as well, so I thought that it would still be some time until I had to take care of that. I suppose I wouldn't be allowed to rest today then.
–
I stretched my back as I was finally allowed to go back to my room. The official that was sent from the palace just kept going on and on about my "responsibilities", about what an honor it was to become a noble and that stuff. The guy was clearly completely addicted to the power that being a noble gave him, and wanted to preach just how amazing it was.
It wasn't a very enjoyable experience, but I'd rather just suffer for a few hours rather than cause any more trouble.
Even Shizu left me for dead when I gave her a pleading look. Some hero she is.
I mostly just tuned the official out after he gave me everything that he was required to. Now I just wanted to rest since tomorrow I planned to go to the adventurer's guild for a quest that Heinz had requested me for.
I wasn't exactly sure what the quest was about, but he said that he'd tell me about it once I saw him. When I asked Shizu about it she seemed to already know about the quest. When I asked her how she knew, she told me that Heinz asked her for permission, which was odd.
Shizu may have been my mentor and someone I immensely respected, but for the most part she left me to take care of myself and be independent. She could be a bit of a mother hen at times, but that was rare, and Heinz knew this, so him asking her for permission was a bit odd to me.
I wasn't insulted or anything at having some of my independence taken away, as Shizu was my mentor and Heinz likely had good reason to ask her about this quest, but that did still make me a bit curious about what exactly Heinz had in store for me.
Shizu seemed to be a bit sad when she looked at me the last few days, so I can only imagine that it wasn't anything good, but I could only wait and see.
With that I closed my eyes and went to sleep.
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"I'm here to see Heinz." I told the lady at the front desk of the guild.
She looked up from her stack of papers and smiled. "Ah yes, Altair, right?"
I nodded.
"Very well then, you know the way, right?"
I nodded. This wasn't the first time I was here to visit Heinz. He was usually the one who gave me my more troublesome quests, of which there had been a couple since I killed that Medium Dragon.
Pretty much all of the quests I took were for advanced ranked adventurers. If I were to place a rank on the monsters I'd faced on those quests, it would probably be on the lower end of B Rank. The Free Guild's ranking system had yet to be invented by Yuuki yet, so it was generally pretty hard to tell the difficulty of a quest as there could be massive gaps between a single rank.
None of the quests I'd taken went as catastrophically as that quest though of course.
I didn't face any monsters even close to as strong as the Medium Dragon. Monsters like that getting so close to civilization was rare. But that didn't mean the quests were useless to me. They allowed me to refine and test the techniques I'd been developing as well as my swordsmanship.
Battlewill was one of the most important things I was focusing on since seriously beginning my training. It was essentially the foundation of all combat in this world, with all swordsmanship techniques being built up on it in some way, shape, or form.
Battlewill and my Unique Skill: Graviton were the main focuses. Wise Grimoire couldn't really be worked on much, so I left it as is and tried to only rely on it when I had to.
I didn't want to overly rely on it and be crippled if I was one day unable to use it for whatever reason. Though it was still incredibly useful due to its grimoire functions. I could essentially "store" spells and Arts in it once I had successfully used it once, and then could essentially instantly cast it again with Wise Grimoire.
Similar to the Grimoires in the world I came from, Black Clover. If I could do it once, then I could do it again.
That was something I had of course abused to note down every single basic spell Shizu could teach me. It even worked for Sword Arts, so it was safe to say I had a fairly large repertoire at this point.
However, mastery and just having a spell copied in my grimoire were very different.
Their efficiency wouldn't be perfect, I'd have to work on that myself, but it was still something. When going all out, I could even put Shizu slightly on the backfoot, though once she pulled on Ifrit (something she very rarely did due to her dislike of the Spirit), she would crush me.
I did make sure to actually practice and learn to manually do the spells and Arts that I thought I'd regularly use, so that I could do them on my own if need be.
Wise Grimoire would just make it simpler, but I didn't want that to cripple me long term. At the moment things cast through Wise Grimoire would be cast quicker than if I did so manually, but eventually I believed it would be worthwhile to learn to cast all of my go-to Arts on my own.
My training with Graviton was coming along nicely as well. Progress was slow, but that was to be expected, as my potential with Graviton only expanded when I grew stronger myself. That meant my internal energy reserves, magic power which was used to manipulate my own reserves, as well as my own calculation power and even mental energy.
All of them had to be improved for any raw power increase in Graviton. So I had mostly been focusing on technique with Graviton. Coming up with new nifty ways to use it, sort of like what I did against Yuuki, subtly messing up his balance with Graviton.
Other than taking quests and training, I also got to meet a couple of local adventurers that seemed nice enough.
As I walked up the stairs of the guild headquarters, I noticed that I was getting a lot of odd looks now. Before I was an untested adventurer that Heinz approved of and nepo'd to the top of the adventurer rankings.
It was understandable that people were upset about that, but once I actually started to regularly take difficult quests that few could manage in this city, those looks faded into admiration.
I still wasn't quite used to it, so I did my best to not pay attention to the looks.
Before long I made it up to Heinz's office and was let inside.
Heinz immediately set the papers he was looking at down and gave me a smile. "Ah Altair, I was expecting you." He said as he gestured to the seat on the other side of his desk.
I nodded and took the seat.
"Allow me to congratulate you on becoming a noble. That is a feat almost none will accomplish, let alone at such a young age."
Heinz himself was also a noble.
"Thanks."
With the niceties done, Heinz began. "Hmm, now like usual I asked you to come to give you a quest that I believe that you would excel in. However, this quest is a bit… different from your usual monster slaying quests."
I raised a brow. "Different? Different how?"
Heinz sighed. "For one, it is not a monster slaying quest at all."
"Oh? So is it a fetch quest or something?"
I did one of those in the past. Heinz asked me to take it to build a connection with the noble I was doing a fetch quest for.
He shook his head. "Not quite, let me finish."
I nodded, slightly abashed.
"I spoke to Shizu about this before bringing this to you, as I'm sure you know."
I nodded.
"Despite my earlier words about this not being a monster slaying quest, this is still a slaying quest."
I could feel my heart race at Heinz's words, as I immediately understood where he was going. This world was a cruel one, a one in which humans regularly harmed others, even more so than back on earth.
"There are a group of bandits at the border of this kingdom's territory that have been terrorizing villages and merchants. Kidnapping, stealing, and other sorts of unsavory actions. The knights were dispatched to deal with them, but they failed as the bandits seem to have someone somewhat strong. The Court Mage believes that they may be an otherworlder, at least going by the descriptions the knights gave. It is believed that the group migrated from a neighboring kingdom, but the council of the west has yet to respond to our requests for information. Before dispatching Rykard to deal with the situation, the king recommended you, and I agree with him as you could use the experience."
All of a sudden, I saw an image of that Adventurer's body getting vaporized by the Blade Tiger flash into my head.
"Altair!"
I heard Heinz yell, and then all of a sudden I was brought back to reality. My breathing quickly calmed down, and I noticed that I was sweaty.
"Are you okay? Let me get you a glass of water."
He quickly returned with said glass.
"Thanks." I said as I sighed.
"Perhaps this kind of quest is still too much for you right now, Altair. You are a good person, and killing another living being… it's not easy." Heinz said with an easy smile.
I shook my head as I took another sip of water, luxuriating in the cool liquid flowing down my throat. "N-No. You said it yourself, I need the experience. If I want to survive in this world, I need to know that I can fight another human being that wants to kill me and survive."
Heinz hesitated as he looked at me, but he eventually sighed. "I know that I am the one who brought this up, but now I am not so certain. But if this is what you desire, then so be it. I have faith that you will succeed, Altair."
At least that explained Shizu's hesitance the last few days. She knew that this was a quest that Heinz was going to offer me, and she knew that I would likely accept it, and be forced to kill another human being, possibly multiple other human beings.
I still wasn't used to that thought. I hadn't even considered killing another person myself before I came to the world, and now here I was. But if I wanted to get anywhere in this world, then this was yet another step that I would need to take.
I could ignore the sensations that were brought by the thought of killing another with Wise Grimoire, but that would just be avoiding the problem. I would never get to grow that way, and in this world I was the only one responsible for getting stronger.
Shizu could try to move me along, but in the end I'd be the one taking each and every step.
"I will have my assistant give the details to you on your way out." Heinz said.
I nodded and took the dismissal for what it was, but before I left Heinz called out to me.
"Altair."
I stopped at the door.
"I know our relationship has mostly been professional, with me investing in you while I can, I know you are intelligent enough to realize this."
I didn't respond, even though what Heinz was saying was something I had realized a long time ago. I didn't blame him for it either, it was only smart.
"But I do care for you, if you wish to speak with me about anything, come see me. I will make time for you."
I nodded. "I'll keep that in mind." And with that I left.
I quickly went through the front receptionist and got the details for my quest. At least I was being paid handsomely, not that I was ever left wanting for money. With what I got as a Baron, my quests, and the funds that the academy gave me, I could generally buy whatever it was that I needed.
Still, who didn't like more shinies?
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I sighed as I suffered under the gaze of the hot sun. I was currently walking to where the knights had said the bandit group was last. I could have taken a carriage instead of going by foot, but I didn't know how to actually drive a carriage (though I could likely learn quickly), and I also could use the journey as stamina training.
I was moving way faster than the carriage would anyway, and in this case time was of the essence. The sooner I got there, the lower the chance that anything else would happen to the locals.
No person deserved to die due to circumstances completely out of their hands, due to the greed of god-like beings that simply wanted what the other possessed. Since that's exactly what otherworlders were in comparison to this world's normal residents, god-like beings.
It had been a day since I spoke with Heinz and had a… reaction to the quest I was being offered.
I hadn't realized that I was still held up on seeing that adventurer blow up into mist right in front of me. I imagine suppressing my reaction and emotions with Wise Grimoire at the time didn't help either, but it had to be done so I could focus.
In the end, I was just a normal human. I probably seemed like I had everything planned to outsiders, but in the end I knew that I was mostly winging it and hoping for things to work out. I had concepts of plans, sure, but I also knew that no plan survived in the face of the monsters this world had.
Rimuru saw that himself, as all plans against him failed against his and his nation's raw power.
At this point there was no use in worrying about all the threats that would inevitably mess with my life. I just had to do what I could do, and at this point that meant growing stronger, and building connections.
The rest could come later, I realized that after being in this world for quite a while.
With those kinds of thoughts stuck in my head, I continued my trip. I had left almost immediately after being offered the quest, though I did return to my dorm to gather some stuff and let Shizu know. She had some comforting words to say, but in the end we both knew that this was something I would have to do eventually if I ever wanted to remain safe in this world.
She had to do it herself, and was made to do so by her mentor, and now she was doing the same for me. Though she was taking a far more gentle approach than Chronoa according to her. Chronoa just threw her into a life or death battle with another human and told her to do her best.
It was a bit cruel, and not what I expected from Hinata or Chloe, but in the end I didn't know either of them. I just knew figments of them through a novel.
I was a bit spooked by the feeling that Destined Guide was giving off as well. Whenever I felt something like this, it meant that something big was going to happen. I felt the same thing when I was first brought to this world and met Shizu, except the feeling was even stronger now.
The feeling started ever since I was offered the quest by Heinz, though I couldn't pay attention to it immediately due to the conflicting feelings I had about the quest.
A few hours later I made it towards the borders of the Kingdom of Ingrassia, specifically the region that it was said the bandits were active in. I didn't encounter any extra monsters on the way, as the kingdom had been dispatching more knights and adventurers to handle the more commonly used routes.
The Medium Dragon making its way into the kingdom's turf seemed to be a bit of a wake up call for them to take their national security more seriously. They couldn't only rely on the Council of the West, especially since the amount of funds they "donated" to the council wasn't a lot compared to the bigger nations like Falmuth.
The council offered more assistance if you donated more money. If you didn't donate enough, then you would be given the bare minimum, and Ingrassia all things considered was a small kingdom.
It was a messed up system, but it was probably intentionally designed that way by the Council's ruler, Granbell.
It didn't take me long to find horse tracks, but by then it was already getting close to night time. It was far more unsafe to fight during the night as being ambushed was easier, but that applied for the bandits as well.
For the most part I could rely on Wise Grimoire to warn me of any sort of sneak attacks with Magic Sense, as these bandits shouldn't be able to hide from that if the reports about their strength level were correct.
I didn't want to overly rely on Wise Grimoire, but sometimes it was unavoidable. I just didn't have the computational power and mental energy to fight and use Magic Sense at the same time yet. Hopefully that would change with time.
It didn't take me long to zero in on the location of their camp. They had lanterns blazing all around, and a fairly large encampment set up. The knights did say that there were around 30 of their number.
Now the only thing left to do was figure out their numbers, and try to sense who among them was the actual otherworlder. He was the main threat here, though I wouldn't underestimate the rest.
That was something Shizu drilled into me, never underestimate your enemy.
And so I did my best to conceal all of my Aura, though I wasn't perfect, even with Wise Grimoire there was still a tiny bit leaking out. Yet another thing that showed the difference between my Wise Grimoire and Rimuru's Great Sage, but it is what it is.
I tried to ignore the way I could feel my heart beat speed up as I felt a chill travel down my spine. It wasn't a warning due to danger, it was because of what I'd likely end up having to do.
One step at a time.
- Hinata Sakaguchi -
She grit her teeth as the rough chains bit into her wrists and ankles. Her arms were pinned behind her, legs bound tight enough that circulation began to prickle unpleasantly.
They'd dumped her in the far corner of the bandit leader's tent like a broken tool, kneeling on the hard-packed dirt, face half-lit by the flicker of a sputtering lantern.
Maybe this was her punishment. Maybe this was what she'd earned.
Her mind replayed the moment, her father's startled expression as her hands shoved him over that cliff. The yakuza had hollowed him out long before the fall did, turning him from a weak man into a liability they'd all have to pay for. Someone had to break the cycle. She had told herself that as she watched him tumble.
The insurance payout had saved her and her mother from being turned into cautionary examples by men whose knives never hesitated. And yet the leader of that same gang had somehow learned what she'd done. He praised her nerve and offered her a standing invitation, a place among them, if she ever decided her conscience didn't matter anymore.
But then her mother found out the truth, and everything spiraled again. Her mother's eyes had gone hollow, like she was looking at a stranger whenever Hinata faced her. Within days she'd buried herself in some cultish religion that promised purification. Hinata had been trying to figure out how to fix that mess when reality split open in front of her.
Before she could scream or run, she was dragged in.
She had read enough light novels to know the trope, sure. Japanese teens disappearing into other worlds wasn't exactly new fiction. But having it happen, feeling her stomach drop as gravity vanished, felt far more like a nightmare than some cute adventure story.
She woke up tied, bruised, and surrounded by strangers. She had no idea what had been done to her when she was unconscious either. At the very least she didn't feel sore anywhere.
And she could feel something inside herself, an unnatural current of power that she was never used to, and yet felt part of her all the same. She felt as if she had been missing out her entire life.
Yet she was still bound by chains. She didn't know what material they were made from, only that every time she tried to pull strength from that strange well inside her, the bindings swallowed it whole.
She wasn't surprised she couldn't break free. She wasn't a superhero. Just a high school girl who had already done too many irreversible things.
When she'd woken fully, she'd learned where she was, in another world. Magic, magic was real, displayed casually when the leader conjured a sphere of water in his palm. It wasn't CGI. It wasn't a trick. Not when she could feel her instincts screaming that the air itself was… different.
She didn't even know she had instincts before that.
He'd introduced himself as Homura, another Japanese "otherworlder" as he called their kind.
But unlike her, he'd already aligned himself with scavengers, bandits who preyed on travelers and villages alike. The kind of scum she'd crossed paths with in her world, just dressed differently. The kind of men those yakuza were.
Utter trash.
He explained everything in a calm, almost bored tone, otherworlders existed worldwide, some free, most enslaved. Powerful, yes, but coveted for it. They were treated as tools and nothing more.
She felt her heartbeat crawl into her throat at the thought of what could happen to someone like her. But fear didn't matter. She wasn't going to die in some dirt-stinking tent surrounded by men whose eyes slid over her like property.
Homura's offer was simple, to join him, or be handed over to his men.
The look in their eyes made her stomach twist. She didn't understand their language, but she didn't have to. Some expressions translated just fine across worlds.
Homura wasn't subtle either. He wanted her as both a weapon and a prize. But at least he wasn't pretending he was anything better than a criminal. That honesty, in its own twisted way, told her he knew exactly what she was worth. Otherworlders were stronger than most trained mages here, born with Unique Skills, abilities that bent natural law. At least that's what Homura told her, so she would take it with a grain of salt.
Apparently his group were set to leave this kingdom tomorrow, as the kingdom had taken more active action against them than they had expected.
She was well aware that he was likely trying to manipulate her, scare her into coming with them compliantly.
She closed her eyes and focused inward. She could feel two sparks inside her, not one. Two distinct pulses of power that were likely the so-called Unique Skills he described to her. She didn't tell him about that.
Homura also revealed he'd taken her restraints from a Sarion convoy, some magically advanced nation whose craftsmanship apparently made escape impossible. At least for now.
Hours passed as he tried to coax, threaten, flatter, and reason his way into her compliance. He was smarter than she expected, as despite his clear lust for her (she knew she was very attractive), he didn't let that control him.
He wasn't the type to drop his guard, especially not around someone as valuable as her.
But that only confirmed something important, she needed to play along. Let him believe she would break. Let him trust the chains more than he trusted her, and then she'd strike.
She had no illusions. She was inexperienced in this world. He held every advantage. But if she could tap those Unique Skills, if she could truly access them, everything could change.
One pulse of power felt cold and sharp, the embodiment of her calculative nature, the other felt hungrier, as if the power centered around taking, claiming, stealing what others possessed.
She didn't know what she would become with that kind of power.
But she did know one thing. She would survive. One way or another. And if she had to bloody her hands directly, then that's what she would do.
Now that she had a chance of claiming true power for herself, the chance to never be at anyone's mercy again, the chance to make sure no one else was at another's mercy… she would take that chance with everything she had.
If she had to kill a few scum, then so be it. She knew she was a little demented, normal people weren't supposed to be so casual about killing after all, but that was fine with her.
- Altair -
I had snuck around the camp for about an hour, getting their exact numbers, the general locations of each group, as well as the leader's location. He had gone into the large tent in the center of the camp frequently from what I was able to sense. I didn't use Magic Sense at the start as I didn't want to waste energy needlessly when my eyes worked fine.
I'd use it at the beginning of the raid to confirm what I saw, as well as have a clear picture of the camp.
I had… seen them wiping the blood off their weapons, suggesting that they had likely just finished a raid of some kind. I did feel slightly bad, as thoughts of if I could have stopped them before they did any more damage ran through my head.
But I knew those were irrational. I got here as quick as I could while maintaining my strength for a fight.
I was still getting used to the way of this world, but that kind of cold, logical thinking was required in this profession.
Their numbers were also lower than what the knights reported, so they likely lost a few people in the last couple days.
I had done all the scanning that I could by this point, at this point I was holding off for the sake of it, stalling out what I'd have to do.
After a couple seconds I got my nerves under control.
I exhaled slowly, letting the night air cool the heat in my chest. Fear wasn't the problem. I'd fought enough monsters that I could manage the fear.
It was certainty that weighed on me.
The certainty that some of the people I was about to kill had families somewhere. That some may have been forced into this life, that maybe a few had never actually crossed a line they couldn't come back from.
It was the stupid thoughts of a child, I knew that, but I couldn't help it. I just had to harden myself to the world.
The knights had confirmed the massacred caravans, and they had no reason to lie. I even had evidence right in front of my face.
These people were likely just trash, but even trash had feelings, they had beating hearts.
I closed my eyes, and opened them as I steeled myself. Once my mind was steady I took a step forward, a certain ideology and mantra flashing through my head from my old life.
"Ruthlessness is Mercy Upon Ourselves."
The more I watched them move around the camp, the swagger, the casual cruelty, the blood on their clothes, the more that familiar heaviness pulled at me.
I drew a slow breath, letting Magic Sense ripple outward. Shapes bloomed in my mind like silhouettes made of heat and mana laid bare in a 360° diagram only I could see.
My range had expanded considerably, this way I'd have a clear map of everything that was going on while I fought. Of course this was being managed by Wise Grimoire.
I froze for a moment once I scanned the large tent. There was a feminine silhouette trapped in the corner of the tent, one that seemed to be bound. The leader was speaking to her right now.
That alone made me steel myself further. I had considered the possibility of sparing as many bandits as I could and leaving them to the knights, but at this point my control wasn't fine enough to distinguish what would be fatal or not fatal.
That would be the next thing I needed to work on. Now I didn't want to risk not using enough power, allowing a bandit to signal all the others present, or maybe allowing one enough time to recover and possibly surprise me.
No, I'd be ruthless.
I'd kill them for my own convenience, because it was only the strong who survived.
I slipped behind the first guard, suppressing my presence as much as I could, replicating Formhide. My hand wrapped over his mouth. I had replayed my plan hundreds of times now via Thought Acceleration.
A micro-burst of Gravity compressed around his spine just enough to snap it cleanly and silently.
I ignored the shiver that passed through me. At least I could be content in the fact that I felt no guilt.
These people deserved it. That's what I kept telling myself.
He died before he understood anything was wrong. I sucked him into a Spatial Storage, a spell that I had learned and used through Wise Grimoire.
I closed my heart and continued. With Graviton suppressing the noise of my movements and voice, by pressing down and erasing any sound waves any movements could make, I drifted through the shadows. There was a bandit crouched cleaning dried blood off an axe.
My fingers flicked forward, punching a series of invisible holes through his heart with Shigan. He collapsed without a sound. He was also instantly sucked into my Spatial Storage.
There was another sleeping on a canvas roll. A gentle gravitational implosion crushed his chest inward like paper.
Kill after kill, I tried to make each surgical, and each perfect to waste as little time as possible.
And each one felt worse. Not because of the act itself anymore, but because of how… easy it was. How easy it felt. Just a tiny pulse of power was all that I needed. It felt… inhuman.
By the sixth, I could barely look at the body. I just sucked them in and moved on.
I kept going just like that. Assassinating the bandits that were on the outskirts of the camp, clearly on guard duty while the others rested.
At a certain point though, I got careless. I was too deep in my thoughts, a mistake Shizu had warned me about on numerous occasions.
I rounded a corner too early. Wise Grimoure wasn't like Great Sage. It wouldn't automatically correct my mistakes. And I wasn't paying perfect attention to the map Wise Grimoire was maintaining for me with Magic Sense.
A bandit froze. His breath hitched.
"S—"
I flicked a Magic Bullet straight through his windpipe, but he unfortunately wasn't alone. A second across the firepit stared at the body, realization dawning on him. He inhaled.
"INT–" I snapped my fingers, instantly creating a localized silence field. Essentially what I did to keep silent, except at a wider scale.
The bandit's scream died in his throat, literally. I applied a sudden pressure to his throat via gravity, crushing his windpipe for good measure.
There was no sickening crunch.
He was instantly sucked into my Spatial Storage, but the beginning of his scream had already gotten out.
I wasn't quick enough, and panic was surging throughout the camp.
I heard whistles blaring, likely some sort of signal.
"So much for stealth." I sighed.
'Calculate the odds.' I told Wise Grimoire.
'Engagement scenario initiated. Probability of containment: 76%. Probability of survival with maximum force: 99%.'
I hadn't wanted to go all out with maximum force, finesse was something I was trying to learn after the debacle with the Medium Dragon, but the choice was taken out of my hands.
After a few moments I was already located and surrounded.
"You don't want to do this." I said softly, as I was coming to grips with what I was going to do.
I hadn't even needed to use my rapier so far.
"The fuck you mean, brat!? You one of those shitty adventurers? Think you can be a hero? Save the damsel in distress?"
As his monologue finished I began using the Soru movement technique I'd recreated. In an instant I was in front of them, then behind.
Two bodies fell, clean slices through their hamstrings and throats from my rapier.
A heavy club swung at me. I hardened my torso with Tekkai, the blow bouncing off harmlessly. A twist of my wrist sent a compressed Rankyaku slicing through the offender's abdomen.
They all charged at once. I just seized the air above the group and pulled, making Gravity multiple ten fold.
They all hit the ground so hard that I heard the sickening crunch of bones.
My stomach turned.
This was… too easy.
It had only been about 30 seconds since I was discovered. There were 13 bandits left according to Magic Sense, though none were approaching now, but I felt the largest energy signature immediately close in on me. I could only guess he ordered a retreat.
His Aura didn't scream that he was particularly strong, but an otherworlder was an otherworlder. We were a cut above the rest. The girl in the central tent radiated even more power. Not as much as me, but that was to be expected as I had been training my ass off since coming to this world.
But from what I could sense, her raw power was still higher than mine had been when I first came to this world.
After a moment the otherworlder arrived.
He took a look at the bodies around, then clicked his tongue at seeing me. "Tsk, you're that new otherworlder brat that's being hyped up, huh? Altair, right?"
I blinked in confusion. I hadn't expected him to know of me.
"No matter. Say, I know this is a long shot, but do you wanna join me? We can give you women, riches, and all the freedom in the world." The man said with a grin.
"You, you don't care that I killed half your men?"
He looked around. "Eh, they can be replaced. There is no shortage of desperate men who want more out of this shitty world."
I hated that he was right.
"By the look you're giving me, I'll take that as a no then? Shame. I do hate killing our kind, we always get fucked by this world." With that he held his fist up in front of him, as a thin coating of fighting spirit formed around his hands.
He was an otherworlder, one who had clearly lasted in this world for some time. That meant a Unique Skill, the only question was what it was.
I could see his fighting spirit, it wasn't refined at all, just wild and untamed. He had clearly gotten by on the raw power being an otherworlder granted you.
I didn't try anything drastic like immediately crushing him with hundreds of times the force of gravity. Shizu had always emphasized that when against someone with a Unique Skill, it was best not to show your primary cards until you knew you could end it immediately.
Without knowing his Unique Skill's functions, that wasn't possible for me to be certain of.
And so our clash began. We both dashed forwards at the same time, but once my rapier made contact with his fists, I noticed a small amount of the energy I had coating my rapier drain.
I immediately leaped backwards. There wasn't an incredible amount of raw power in his attack, but that wasn't the main thing otherworlders were feared for, no, that was Unique Skills.
The man grinned. "Noticed it, huh? Handy little thing, ain't it?" He said as the fighting spirit around his fists blazed a little brighter.
I let Wise Grimoire calculate. I may have not wanted to rely on it exclusively, but its analytical capabilities couldn't be underestimated.
'Minimal drain. Power boost insufficient to surpass the host's combat ability. Threat level: negligible.'
He may have just ruined himself. Now that I knew the basics of his Unique Skill, I knew I could throw caution to the wind. I didn't have to worry about some bullshit attack getting me when I least expected it.
I exhaled. It was always otherworlders like this. Those who got power and decided the world owed them something just because they suffered once, and took it out on those who had nothing to do with their circumstances.
Stories about them had been spread, it was a reason that otherworlders on average were feared by most.
He lunged, closing the gap fast.
I shifted my weight just a fraction, using Soru to move sideways in a blur. His fist smashed through empty air. A crater formed where he struck as dust pummeled around him.
"What?!"
He charged again, aura crackling, feet thundering across the dirt. I didn't back up. I didn't dodge, I just let him come. Then at the last second, I lifted my hand.
His entire body locked up mid-step as an invisible weight slammed down on him. Nothing lethal. Just enough to pin him to the dirt.
This… this was the strength of the man who had terrorized countless in this area. Two villages were already confirmed to be left bare by this man. The knights were dispatched after the first village.
He was said to have come from another kingdom, but the council of the west had yet to give any more information about him.
He did all that, and yet I crushed him with ease.
He strained, muscles shaking violently under the pressure. "You… bastard…! Fight me! Head-on!"
"You're a bandit." Was all I said as I stepped forward.
I stepped closer, feeling the heaviness growing in my chest. My rapier tip hovered just above his throat. He couldn't move. Could barely breathe under Graviton's weight.
I could spare him here, turn him into the knights. But in the end, this was an otherworlder with a useful Unique Skill. I didn't know what he'd go on to do. I had to be ruthless, for it was mercy upon myself.
I didn't let him respond as I stabbed him through the throat cleanly, ending this once and for all.
My first night ever killing another human being, and I already racked up a kill count.
I stopped holding him down with Graviton and sighed when he collapsed.
I took a seat on the dirt as I processed everything. The nerves were mostly gone, I just felt… empty. It would pass, Shizu described feeling the same for a few days.
It was all just so… easy. Humans really were so fragile.
After a moment I steeled myself again. I wasn't done yet.
"Ruthlessness is Mercy Upon Ourselves." I muttered.
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Author's Note:
Sup everyone, back with another chapter of Graviton! It's been a while since I wrote this fic, but I had this chapter planned out a long time ago. Altair isn't like my other mc, Felix, he isn't cold, he isn't ruthless like he's trying to be.
In the end, he's human, and he feels bad just as we all do about certain things. I hoped to convey that in this chapter, it'll be a bit of a learning moment for Altair as he takes another step forward.
Hinata also finally shows up! I did change up her circumstances slightly, as there is no mention of her being kept captive mentioned in canon. She would escape either way the moment she got free of her chains. Usurper would carry her enough to bitch the entire bandit group.
I already have a few plans in mind for her, so I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!
Peace, and thanks for reading!
Also just as a side note, I wonder if anyone knows where the mantra referenced in this chapter comes from? Leave a comment if you know!
Thanks to @Salante and @Flowerman for beta'ing this chapter.
Support me if you want to read ahead on pat reon *.com* / theogbasilisk