Setting Aside Personal Decency

Entering a fantasy world felt like suddenly diving into deep water, then slowly floating to the surface.

Wang Shui opened his eyes and took slow, deep breaths. Air fragrant with earth and vegetation poured into his lungs, and the comfort left him somewhat intoxicated.

"A beautiful, clean world."

Silvia, who shared Wang Shui's senses, offered this simple assessment. Wang Shui neither agreed nor disagreed.

[Connecting to the Dream System. Solo exploration mission ready.]

[Fantasy world launching for the first time. Simulating world...]

[Synchronizing language. The awakener temporarily gains proficiency in the local language. This expires upon leaving the instance.]

[Main quest loaded...]

----

[Main quest: Philosopher's Stone]

[Quest description: Obtain and submit 32.76 kilograms of the item known in this world as the "Sage's Stone."]

[Reward: Dynamic Weighting]

[Penalty: Two years of forced labor in a war world with a danger rating of "5."]

----

Tsk... Wang Shui clicked his tongue in displeasure. This time, the penalty was not immediate execution, but a suspended death sentence instead.

"What is it?"

"The system... the system seems to know a lot about these unknown fantasy worlds. Why does it still need awakeners to explore them?"

Wang Shui put his question to his veteran senior.

"You're overthinking it. The system has no reading consciousness. It just extracts keywords from fragmentary information, then has explorers fill in the gaps so it can gain control over the fantasy world's rules. This isn't exactly a secret. Spend more time online and you'll find it."

"All right." Wang Shui bent down, picked up the suitcase at his feet, and moved aside to inspect it.

Inside were two stacks of paper currency in different sizes and denominations, some coins for change, various identification documents, and so on. He was now a citizen of [Amestris]. The address field for his place of residence was blank, but there was a stamp beneath it.

It was clearly the same level of [Orphan's Wish], yet SAO had even given him a house, while here he only got a suitcase. Had they given him more money instead?

"Is this a fantasy world produced by your homeland?"

As Wang Shui carried the suitcase toward the nearby town, Silvia suddenly asked him a question. His steps faltered, but he continued forward unaffected.

"Yes and no. How could you tell?"

"Simple. A coward like you entered what the system considers a completely unfamiliar world without the slightest fear or hesitation. That means you know the plot here. Plenty of awakeners encounter fantasy worlds from back home. You reacted just like them."

"That was careless of me."

"It's common enough. Don't worry about it. So why? Why yes and no?"

Silvia's curiosity had only grown stronger since she lost her body.

Wang Shui was not someone who shied away from conversation. People used to call him Half Bottle of Water precisely because he was always showing off his immature ideas and knowledge.

"This world, or rather, this work, didn't come from my homeland. My homeland is a country. I don't want to extend that warm concept to the entire planet. I'm not someone who loves everyone."

"So this fantasy world is a country you hate?"

"You can't really put it that way either." Wang Shui rubbed his chin. "Every region and country in this fantasy world is fictional. Its cultural backdrop is the distant West as I know it, while its author is from a neighboring country. The conflict lies in issues with the author's early works and the stereotypical prejudices in this one, which left me without the patience to finish watching this world's story."

"So you don't like this world?"

"A gentleman doesn't promote a man for his words, nor dismiss words because of the man. My country and my people are highly accepting. We won't deny a work's success because of its author. But acknowledging its success doesn't mean I'll forgive the author's prejudices, whether they were intentional or not."

"So you chose acceptance?"

Wang Shui stopped walking. After giving it serious thought for a while, he said, "No. But that doesn't stop me from obtaining power from this world."

"Besides," Wang Shui pointed at the sign ahead, "judging by the documents and road signs, this world uses an early form of English. I hope the people here won't make a fuss over every little thing either, and will just let me acquire knowledge in peace."

Before long, Wang Shui entered the fairly sizable town.

[Resembool]

The houses on the outskirts were detached homes with their own yards, while farther in were smaller, joined rental units. Quite a few factories stretched into the distance. There were a few cars on the roads, as well as plenty of animal-drawn vehicles. The town was exceptionally clean.

Barring anything unexpected, this should be the town where the protagonist had grown up. Judging by how densely packed the buildings were here, the protagonist probably lived in a village outside town.

Pondering this, Wang Shui entered a tavern. It was a little past four in the afternoon, and there were not many people inside.

"A cold beer and a meal with meat, please."

The tavern served some simple food. Wang Shui studied the menu, hoping to judge socioeconomic conditions from the food prices. Of course, he would also need to check the prices of ordinary manufactured goods.

"Haven't seen you around before. From out of town?" The bartender struck up a conversation out of habit as he brought over the beer.

"Yes. A mechanic and alchemist from the east. I'm traveling while looking for somewhere suitable to work and settle down."

"Even farther east? Oh, being able to travel around is really enviable. Life in town is much duller. Everyone's busy making a living. Have you come across anything interesting on your travels? Why not tell us a bit? The beer's on me."

By now, some of the fellows around them who were having beer as their afternoon tea had also turned their attention his way. Wang Shui put on a meticulously crafted, wry smile.

"My name is [Sil Via]." Wang Shui appropriated someone's name with a pointed pause between the syllables. "I'll be staying here for a while. The surrounding area looks nice, and there are plenty of factories in town. There doesn't seem to be any shortage of work. So there's no rush. Let's save the interesting stories for tonight. I need to hurry up and eat something, then find somewhere to stay."

As he spoke, Wang Shui began taking large bites of his smoked sausage and small steak. Both were well seasoned and well cooked. Paired with warm bread and cold beer, it really was a fine experience.

"If you're staying a while, there's a decent inn right across the street. They offer a discount for stays of a week or more, and it's fairly clean too."

"What about property around here? Settling down here probably wouldn't be cheap, would it?" Wang Shui chewed heartily, only asking after he had finished what was in his mouth.

"In town, it really isn't cheap. A ready-built house with the land costs over a hundred thousand. If you build it yourself somewhere farther out, you can manage it for under fifty thousand. It just takes time to build, and there's the hassle of decorating and all that."

"What about outside town? I quite like open spaces."

"Land outside town is cheap, but you'd definitely have to build a new house, and getting around isn't very convenient. If you're not in a hurry, ten or twenty thousand will get you a big house. Go to the town's administrative center. There isn't much paperwork involved in applying for land outside town. Oh, right. Do you have citizenship, Mr. Sil?"

"Of course." Wang Shui had already finished his simple meal and stood up. "Let's talk tonight. I'm going to have a look around."

In a thoroughly friendly and polite atmosphere, Wang Shui left the tavern full of burly, middle-aged and elderly men with Western faces, headed straight to the town government's administrative center, and paid one unit of currency to rent a map of the outskirts.

It marked which plots of land were for sale. Since there were signs, Wang Shui did not have a staff member accompany him.