Chapter 1 : Transfer to Another World
My name is Sozai Shuu [1]. 26 years old. Single.
Suddenly, I realized that I was walking in the sky.
No, I know that you won’t understand what I meant by ‘walking in the sky.’ Humans can’t physically float in the sky; in the first place, we can’t float in empty air.
However, both above and below me is the blue sky, and white clouds drifted by leisurely. I cannot more adequately describe what I am doing right now anymore than saying that I am walking in the sky.
A perfectly clear blue sky with pure white clouds swimming by slowly. Just by looking at this scene, my heart became calm.
As I took one step forward while gazing around this mysterious space, a ripple spread out widely from the tip of my foot.
It’s as if I am walking inside water, but the surface is definitely the sky.
“Where in the world is this place?”
I traced my memories for the events that happened before coming here.
I was happily playing MonMonHunter after I left my company.
“I accepted a materials collection quest. Then I harvested some medicinal herbs and mushrooms, and then I was attacked by monsters. There was no way to avoid that battle so I subjugated them and got this amazingly rare material… Eh? I don’t have any memories after that?”
“What happened was you got really excited, exited your room, fell down the stairs and died.”
As I tilted my head in confusion, someone’s voice suddenly appeared.
I whipped my head behind me to see a person standing there, wearing a Chiton-like robe, similar to what the Ancient Greeks wore.
He was blonde-haired, blued-eye, and terrifyingly handsome. His features were so amazing that even professional actors or models cannot compare.
“Who….. is it?”
“If I were to say it simply for you to understand then I am what you will call a god from another world.”
A god from another world? Then that would explain his otherworldly appearance.
“I see. And about what you said just now……”
“It is exactly as I said. You fell down the stairs and died.”
“Tell me it’s a lie….? I haven’t finished collecting all the materials yet!”
“That’s the first thing you say after being told you’re dead?”
Looking at the grieving me, God sported an amazed face.
I love collecting stuff.
Ever since I was a kid, I would collect stones with a pretty shape, trinkets I found while walking along the streets, marbles, and etc. Anyway, I love collecting things that I was interested in.
The me that had the habit of collecting stuff did not limit my interests to only reality, I also love collecting materials inside games as well. I am the type of person that even if there are materials to collect in the next town, if my collection is not yet completed then I would earnestly search for materials I don’t have first.
I truly enjoy the simple act of collecting different materials. On top of that, I also find the unforeseeable description of materials that the game developers crafted to widen the view I have within that game too.
Just a few characters, merely a few lines, but I immensely loved them.
That’s exactly why the act of not being able to complete the materials collection of the game I loved was so devastatingly regretful.
After I relayed that to God, he said in a very light-hearted way that,
“Want to try transferring to another world and collect some materials then?”
“Eh? What does that mean…?”
“The purpose for calling you here was to transfer you to another world, that’s why.”
“…….to another world?”
“I need to send some magic power to the world I am managing, you see. However, if a god like me were to directly pour magic power into the world, there would be all sorts of problems happening. So I would transfer a person as a medium to slowly mix magic power into the world.”
I have some doubts about what God said, but basically, by sending in the magic power-infused me, the world would be sustained peacefully.
Also, by sending in an Otherworlder, the world and other humans would experience some kind of motivation or impact as well.
I don’t particularly think that I would have such a huge influence on the world, so I believe that he should not expect much from me.
“But, why am I here in the first place?”
“When someone dies, their soul will wear away and most will vanish. However, your soul didn’t erode and stayed in a beautiful condition. It was probably due largely to your strong will of not completing your material collection yet.”
God said so with a wry smile, as he told me the reason how I came to be here.
Seems like I came here because I was harbouring some kind of a weird regret. Sorry, kinda.
“To wrap things up, I want to transfer you to another world. Is that fine with you?”
A life ended in death. To have a chance for it to continue once more, obviously, I would want that.
If I don’t accept this chance, I would neither know if my soul as ‘Sozai Shuu’ would disappear or not, nor do I know if I will be reincarnated on Earth for certain.
There is a possibility of fading away completely if I don’t take any action.
If that’s the case, then I would like to try living in another world as l the current ‘me’.
“…….I understand. Please transfer me to another world then.”
“You help me out a lot by agreeing to be transferred. It is bad if I, as a god, alone benefit from these circumstances, so I will give you some abilities that will help you live in another world more easily. Do you have any wishes?”
God asked and I pondered for a bit.
“What is that world like?”
“It is a world similar to the game you were playing just before you died, I guess? Civilisation is not that advanced but there is magic and such; atrocious monsters exist as well. Oh, there are also lots of mysterious materials.”
Ooh, so it’s a game-like fantasy world with swords and magic, huh.
Seems like it’s overflowing with strange materials as well. My heart was deeply moved by God’ statement.
However, what I am concerned about is will I be able to survive in that kind of world.
In that case, my wish would be something like this.
“―― I want an ability that will let me live a carefree life collecting raw materials in another world.”
What I want to do is obvious. It is to live leisurely while collecting raw materials.
Same as the game I played before, I want to try pursuing that kind of livelihood.
But, I want to, if I can, avoid the scenario of me being in the middle of collecting materials, getting assaulted by monsters, and my another world life ending immediately.
I don’t desire the power to defeat any monster so please at least give me the ability that can let me run away.
“I got it. If you have an ability that will let you collect raw materials leisurely then it would be fine, correct?”
“Yes. Having an ability that won’t let me die immediately would be plenty enough.”
“Ahaha, for such a bold wish, don’t you think that statement is too modest?”
Hmm? Was my wish that bold? I simply said that I wished for a power to live leisurely while collecting materials though.
I somehow have an uncomfortable feeling like I pressed the wrong button somewhere… Is it just my imagination?
Well, nevermind. God said that there’s no problem anyway.
A world overflowing with strange materials huh… I’m looking forward to it.
As I imagined the unseen world, I suddenly came back to my senses.
“Ah, please wait a moment. About the other world’s language……”
“It’s alright. In order to insert my magic power, I had to rebuild your body from the start anyway. That’s why there are no issues regarding that.”
I asked in haste, and God grinned while answering humorously.
That’s a relief. Going to another world is fine and all, but not understanding the language would be really troubling to my livelihood.
“Well then, Sozai Shuu. I will put my magic power in your body and will transfer you now.”
“Yes. I am in your care.”
The moment I responded, a bright, shining light spread from God and painted my sight completely white.
And then, something flowed into my body.
It was a very warm, very strong wave.
While being embraced by that warmth, I let go of my consciousness.
Notes
[1] 蘇材集 – Sozai Shuu.
蘇 (so) means to revive. 材 (zai) means raw materials or ingredients. The MC surname has the same pronunciation as the word 素材 in the title which also means raw materials.
集 (shuu) means collection.
It is a fictional name which is not used in real life, although Shuu (pronunciation) is a pretty common name with different kanjis.
Read more: https://www.behindthename.com/name/shuu/submitted
Peach Knight Translations 