Chapter 1:
A Brand New World’s Medicine Making
UGH, I’M SO DONE with work. I just wanna skip it till the end of time.
That was what I thought to myself as I made my way toward my workplace.
Suddenly, I found myself in the middle of a forest.
“Er…where am I…?”
This is weird. A second earlier, I’d been in the business district, surrounded by office buildings. Now, I was ringed by trees. I even heard the cries of unknown animals.
Glancing downward, I saw not asphalt, but dirt and fallen leaves. Nature stretched out beneath my feet.
Am I dreaming? I wondered. Don’t tell me I got so sick and tired of work that I’m seeing things…? That’s gotta be it.
I tried punching myself. Smack!
“Ow!” I immediately regretted assuming that, since this was all a dream, the blow would be painless. “What the hell?!”
Wait, I thought. That means this forest’s real?
I heard a strange shriek. “Meoink!” Following the cry, I spotted a pig mewing like a feline.
“Is that weird creature a pig, or a cat?” I furrowed my brow, staring at it until a sentence appeared in my mind’s eye.
MEOWPIG: Catlike hog. Staple ingredient in many dishes.
Hunh, I thought. Was that a status screen or something? I’ve never seen anything like it before.
I reflected on the strange animal, unfamiliar trees, and the fact that the city I’d been walking through had suddenly transformed. “Don’t tell me I’m in another world…?”
Indeed, it seemed like I was in a completely different place.
“SWEET!” I pumped my fist victoriously. No more worrying about oversleeping, no more crowded trains, no more crappy job. Goodbye to all that junk!
I mean, what else was I supposed to think? It wasn’t like I came here of my own free will. I had no clue how to get back; it was totally out of my hands. Even if I did know, I wouldn’t try.
“Whoa, now,” I muttered. “It’s a little early for celebrating.”
Overconfidence would’ve been reckless, since I was deep in the forest. I could easily imagine bumping into monsters or dangerous beasts.
“Grrrrrrrrrrr…”
Yikes! My shoulders hunched. I’d just heard some beastly growl; where had it come from? Man, already? Isn’t it too early for an enemy encounter? Wait…it’s pretty common for protagonists to have useful skills for situations like this.
Concentrating on myself, I looked at my status.
KIRIO REIJI: Otherworlder. Twenty-four years old.
Hoping for an impressive skill, I read the final line.
SKILLS: Identification, Medicine Making
That’s it? No magic? No abilities I can use to fight? I couldn’t help feeling bummed as I cautiously observed my surroundings.
The growl I’d heard moments earlier repeated. Now that I really listened carefully, the creature sounded as though it was in pain. I was so surprised when I first heard it that I hadn’t realized.
I gingerly peeked into the thicket where the terrifying snarl came from, only to see a large white wolf lying on the ground. The beast’s eyes were closed in pain; blood ran from its open wounds, covering its white fur.
Had it gotten caught in some sort of trap? Did someone take it down? I had no way of knowing.
“Hey, are you okay?” In response to my voice, the wolf slowly opened its eyes, but soon closed them again. “Jeez, don’t I have anything? Medicine, or…”
Sure, it wasn’t my responsibility to save some random animal I just stumbled upon, but I didn’t want to leave it to die. I rummaged through my bag, but nothing in there could’ve helped.
I glanced at the old bag the wolf lay on. Since it was wrapped around the creature’s shoulders, it must’ve belonged to the wolf itself.
“Sorry about this.” I pulled the bag from under the animal.
Inside, I found a small bottle the size of my index finger. It contained some strange blue-green liquid.
POTION (REGULAR): Stops blood loss. Effective on superficial injuries.
“A potion!” Those things typically healed HP.
I immediately uncorked the bottle and brought it toward the wolf’s mouth. Its nose quivered a bit and its eyes widened.
“G-grr…?!” The wolf seemed less surprised by my presence than by the strange fluid I held in front of it.
“You had this potion on you. Say ‘ahhh’!”
I urged the wolf to open its mouth, but I don’t think the attempt at communication worked. It turned its head, then stretched its tail toward me and tried to swipe the bottle out of my hand.
“Whoa! Close one.” I barely pulled away in time. “Hey, c’mon now. This belongs to you, pal.”
How would a wolf even ingest this on its own? I wondered. Well, whatever. Maybe it distrusts me because I’m human? It might think I’m trying to feed it something dangerous. In that case, I should drink some in front of the wolf to prove that it’s safe.
I brought the bottle to my mouth and caught a whiff of the liquid. “Yuck! What the hell?! This smells like crap!”
Otherworldly potions smell shockingly like garbage!
My survival instincts screamed at me; I gently closed the bottle. “Yeah, I get why you’re against drinking this junk.”
Supposedly, good medicine tasted bitter, but this potion just stank. I’d never wanna put this stuff in my mouth. Its horrific aroma lingered even after I closed the bottle. Frankly, it smelled so bad that it kind of crossed over into being funny.
So, it turns out otherworldly potions are laughably smelly. What exactly is this horrific smell, anyhow? It was like someone had soaked a dishrag with spoiled milk and raw sewage.
While playing RPGs, I definitely made characters drink potions if they were in a pinch health-wise. Jeez. I bet they hated that.
If I ever found myself in a video-game world, I’d definitely designate a character I didn’t use in combat the “potion carrier” and make them carry the main party’s potions. Nobody would want to be within five meters of them.
As I imagined this hilarious scenario, the wolf’s tail swept the potion out of my hand and onto the ground.
“Ah, crud. You gotta drink this, buddy,” I sighed. “What’re we gonna do? I get that it smells awful, but…”
“Grrr…” The white wolf rasped.