Flavor of Magic

My name is Riri Takami. I’m 18 years old and single, part-time worker in a cozy café in rural Japan. Somehow, I’ve ended up in this fantasy world filled with swords and magic, reminiscent of medieval Europe. The reason? I got caught up in a Hero Summoning. I’ve read countless fictions and novels to pass the time, but I never imagined such a thing would actually happen to me. To make matters worse, I’m not a hero. I’m just someone who got dragged along the summoning. This isn’t a joke. The orchestrators of this summoning are from a country called the Kingdom of Eldora. The summoning was supposed to bring forth three heroes, but four of us appeared. The higher ups in the room looked bewildered, but we were the ones most confused by our sudden transportation to another world. Despite the chaos, they started calling us “Saviors, Saviors!!” I realized immediately that we were in a different world. Initially, I had a bit of hope, since we were called Saviors, but that hope was quickly dashed. They performed a status appraisal on us using some magical item. The others, who seemed to be high school students based on their uniforms, had Hero from Another World, listed in their job column. I only had “A person from a different world who got caught”. Their stats were incredible, with stamina and magic power around 700 to 800. Mine barely reached 100. Even though they said my stats were above this world’s average, it was no consolation compared to the others. The number of skills I had was also drastically different. Apart from the common skills like Appraisal and Item Box, the others had skills like Holy Swordsmanship, Holy Spearmanship, and Holy Magic, which amazed the Higher ups. They also possessed magic skills for fire, water, earth, wind, light, lightning, and ice – a total cheat. In contrast, my unique skill was Net Super. I mean, really? What the heck is that? I knew what a net super was and had used it many times, but as a skill? Shouldn’t there be something more magical? The people from this world were just as perplexed, and the other heroes laughed at my useless skill. Because of this, I was immediately deemed worthless. Still, being part of the Hero Summoning meant I got an audience with the king. But his words were dripping with suspicion. According to the King, “The Demon King plans on dominating this country and frequently attacks us. We’ve managed to hold them off, but we don’t know how long we can last. Our citizens are suffering, so we performed the ancient Hero Summoning ceremony out of desperation. Please save our country. We don’t know how to return you to your world, but the Demon King, who has lived for a very long time and is excellent at magic, might know the way.” Yeah, right. His words reeked of deceit, especially when he mentioned returning to our world. From how the King spoke, this country was supposedly in a dire situation, but the people didn’t seem to share that sentiment. The king himself was a fat, middle-aged man adorned in a flashy, jewel-encrusted cape, and the queen and the princesses were dressed extravagantly. Given these observations, I concluded this was the ‘bad’ kind of different world summoning. Despite being called heroes, we were likely to be used as pawns in their wars. And since I wasn’t a hero, I feared I’d be treated poorly or even executed. I decided to leave the castle immediately. Assuming a humble attitude, I said, “I am not a hero, and staying here would only be a burden to everyone. It breaks my heart. If I could receive money to live for 2–3 months until I find a job, I believe I could manage on my own.” As expected, they seemed relieved to get rid of me and gave me 20 gold coins before escorting me out of the castle. Now, here I am, walking through the royal capital’s town. I don’t know if 20 gold coins is a lot, but it’s enough to live on for a while. I need to learn about this world quickly and, if possible, leave this country as soon as I can. Judging by the king’s demeanor, this place isn’t good, and I’ll likely encounter only bad experiences here. Alright, let’s get started. The royal capital’s town is reminiscent of a medieval European townscape. As I wandered, I decided to call out to some street children hanging around. “Can I ask you a little? I just came out of the countryside and don’t know much about this country. In exchange for treating you to food from that skewer stall, can you teach me a lot of things?” They were suspicious at first, but their appetites won over, and they agreed. I bought the kids two skewers each from the stall and listened to their stories. The first and most important thing I learned was the monetary value here: 1 iron coin = 10 yen = 0.1 USD 1 copper coin = 100 yen = 1 USD 1 silver coin = 1,000 yen = 10 USD 1 gold coin = 10,000 yen = 100 USD 1 large gold coin = 100,000 yen = 1,000 USD 1 white gold coin = 1,000,000 yen = 10,000 USD The stall’s skewers I bought for the kids were 5 iron coins each. With a family of four, one could live minimally for a month with 6 gold coins. The children also mentioned the existence of independent guilds for adventurers and merchants. Joining one of these would make traveling between towns and countries smoother and cheaper. Without guild identity cards, one would have to pay taxes to enter different regions. I also learned about the political situation. Apparently, there was indeed a battle against the demon race, but it seems this country initiated them, aiming to seize the demon race’s lands. Relations with neighboring human-governed countries were also strained, and people started fleeing Eldora. The children themselves were orphans due to the wars. These kids were unexpectedly well-informed, having done multiple jobs to survive. Street children are truly resilient. For now, I have decided to stay in an inn for the night and leave the royal capital tomorrow. The kids told me there’s a stagecoach that goes daily from the capital to KEELS, a town near the border with a neighboring country. I plan to escape using that. After reaching the neighboring country, I’ll figure out my next steps. My top priority is to get away from Eldora Kingdom. I have some ideas on how to earn more money, plus the 20 gold coins I received from the Kingdom. They likely gave me extra out of a sense of guilt for summoning me against my will. This suspicious country’s generosity is my gain. For now, I’ll make do with what I have and plan my next move. I arrived at a reasonably priced clothing shop the street kids had recommended. Standing out in my modern casual outfit wasn’t ideal, so I needed to blend in. The shop had a variety of clothes, and I settled on a simple yet stylish outfit: a pair of brown shorts and a shaded blouse, similar to what the locals wore. The clothes were pricier than I expected, costing me 7 silver coins, but I sold my previous outfit – a floral sundress with a denim jacket and my leather tote bag – to the store for 3 gold coins. This left me with an extra 2 gold coins and 3 silver coins. I thought of placing my small belongings like my smartphone, make-up kit, and pens inside my item box. However, since I don’t know how item boxes were perceived in this world, it seemed wise to avoid using them openly. In novels, item boxes are often valuable skills, after all. Thankfully, the store owner gave me a cloth shoulder bag, so I placed my things in there. My leather sandals should be fine for now. Before leaving the clothing shop, I asked about a reasonably priced inn. The owner recommended one a few blocks away, so I headed there. The recommended inn costs 4 silver coins per night, including a meal. After a decent dinner, I returned to my room to check my status. “Open Status,” I chanted. A transparent window appeared before me, displaying my stats: Name: Riri Takami Age: 18 Job: Person from a Different World Level: 1 Stamina: 100 Magic Power: 100 Attack Power: 78 Defense Power: 80 Agility: 75 Skills: Appraisal, Item Box Unique Skill: Net Super According to what I was told at the castle, only summoned heroes (though I’m not one) with the appraisal skill can check their status using magic items at guild branches or churches. They bragged about their status checker magic item being invented by their country’s craftsmen. Apparently, the average civilian in this world has a status of around 70, so I’m slightly stronger than average. The other summoned heroes had similar skills, like Appraisal and Item Box, likely privileges for summoned individuals. The castle officials mentioned that summoned people’s item boxes have large capacities, with legends of heroes storing over a thousand monsters inside. We also automatically understand the local language upon arrival, another summoned person perk. But my unique skill, Net Super, puzzled me. I knew what it was since I frequently used online shopping back home. On my days off, I enjoyed cooking with ordered ingredients while watching dramas or reading web novels. However, using this unique skill here was a different matter. “Net Super,” I chanted, but nothing happened. I touched the skill’s name, and the screen changed, displaying an online shopping interface identical to Eon, my favorite site back home. I placed a 500ml water bottle worth 8 iron coins and a sweet bread worth 1 silver coin into the cart. The prices seemed similar to those in our world. When I proceeded to checkout, a message appeared: ‘Insufficient Balance. Please charge.’ Below it was a rectangular frame. “Does this mean I need to charge money here?” I wondered, slowly moving a silver coin toward the frame. The coin was absorbed, and when I confirmed the order, silver particles gathered before me, forming a cardboard box. Inside the box were the items I ordered. “Oh! This is amazing!” I exclaimed. The kingdom’s officials and the other summoned heroes had dismissed this skill, but it was incredibly useful. As long as I had money, I wouldn’t have to worry about food. I might even be able to earn money with it. Salt. For instance, it is expensive here since the country doesn’t border the sea. Spices and sweets are luxuries for nobles. With Net Super, I could buy these items at our world prices and sell them for a profit here. I could join the merchant’s guild and legally trade, but registering in this country felt risky. If they discovered my skill’s potential, they might interfere. Better to register in the neighboring country. For now, my priority was to leave this town and escape the Kingdom of Eldora. Tomorrow, I'll start my journey. It would be a while before I could sleep in a bed again, so I fell asleep, dreaming of my plans.