It was nighttime in the Highland Orc tribe's village, but everyone was anything but tired.
Torches were lit, music was playing, drinks were poured, and a massive feast was served. The male orcs were doing a dance with swords that seemed to be a tradition for them while the females were dancing while dressed in flowers and jewelry.
David, Makoto, and Tomoe had delivered Emma to the tribe's chief while explaining that Tomoe had nothing to do with the sacrifices and that the demons behind it had been killed by David.
When the chief heard that, he was extremely grateful to David and thus began their celebration that ran late into the night.
It wasn't until a few hours later when the sky turned dark that Emma woke up.
Apparently, her stress had been building for quite some time so when she learned that everything was over, she ended up getting some much needed rest.
David and Makoto were sitting on a large rock, eating and drinking to their heart's content.
"So, David, I never asked. You said you were here to do some things, but you seemed to hate the goddess. Did she summon you and throw you away, too? You seem to be too damn handsome for her to disregard you."
David just threw his head back and laughed heartily, feeling a little drunk.
"Hahaha! If that narcissistic bitch ever saw me, she would either be dead or turned into a mindless puppet that same day. No, I wasn't summoned by her. I can't say much about it, but I have an ability that lets me go to different worlds."
He took another drink of the ambrosia in his cup and took a bite out of the meat on his plate before leaning back on his hands.
Makoto was at a loss for words when he heard that David could so casually go to different worlds.
"How many worlds have you gone to?" He asked.
"Eh? This is my first one, but I will likely go to a lot more in the future. For now, I'm strong enough to not have to worry about myself, but I'd like to make my women as strong as possible so that they can come with me eventually. I'm sure some worlds would be a cool vacation spot."
"Women? As in you have more than one lover?"
Makoto's eyes widened at the thought.
"Yes and no. Currently, I only have one lover, but I know myself and I know that I won't be able to stop there. How about you? You got a lover back in Japan?"
Makoto just shook his head. "No, I don't have anyone like that."
David just nodded his head and looked up at the stars.
'This is one of the reasons I like Makoto. He was confessed to by a girl in the archery club, but he rejected her because he thought it was either a prank or a pity confession. In reality, the girl genuinely liked him, but he has such low self-worth that it became normal for him to think that nobody would like him.'
David thought about how to help Makoto out, but he wasn't sure Makoto would believe him.
"You know, Makoto, I used to be a disfigured cripple."
He laid down on his back and put his hands behind his head.
"Ever since a young age, I would try to find comfort in girls because I didn't have anything good back at home. For years, I kept an optimistic attitude and kept making girlfriends only to find out that I was being cheated on, used, and mocked."
David reached over and took another bite of meat.
"I was always ostracized for being ugly, for being a cripple, for being pathetic. But after a crazy turn of events, I gained power and got a new chance at life. I can tell you have insecurities about your looks, but I can also tell you have a good heart. I know we just met today and you can choose to believe me or not, but I respect you."
He looked over at Makoto only to see him looking shocked.
"Haha, don't look at me like that. I have a good judge of character. Also, I may be incredibly handsome now, but I wasn't even close to it before. Hell, I looked worse than you do. I'll tell you this, you shouldn't give up on the idea of finding your better half. Just because you haven't found them yet doesn't mean they don't exist."
He looked back up at the starry sky.
"I had actually found someone back then, but I lost her due to carelessness on my part. So listen to me when I tell you that there's someone out there who will actually like you for you, okay? They won't care about your looks or insecurities, they'll just want to be with you."
David sat up and patted Makoto on the shoulder before waving his hand and walking away.
"I know it's a hard thing to do, but you should have a bit more confidence in yourself, Makoto."
Makoto was left sitting alone on the rock in contemplation.
[Makoto] 'He saw right through me... Scary.'
When David was wandering around to get more alcohol, he was stopped by Emma.
"David-sama... Thank you from the bottom of my heart for saving my village."
She bowed and looked extremely sincere.
"Haha, it's nothing much. The thought of sacrifices in itself makes me sick and the fact that someone was tricking good people like yourselves made me even more upset."
Emma looked up at David and smiled while wiping the tears out of her eyes.
"Still, we will be forever grateful to you, David-sama."
David stretched a bit before giving up on finding more alcohol.
"Emma, would you be able to teach me magic? I heard that you're very proficient in it and I'm quite curious to learn."
"Eh? You can't use magic?" Emma asked with a tilted head.
"No, I can use magic, but my magic is different from yours."
David conjured up a simple fireball that was filled with a myriad of colors and launched it into the sky.
When it was about 100 meters in the air, it exploded and displayed a beautiful flower. He had obviously created a firework.
"Wahhh! It's so beautiful, David-sama!"
David just chuckled at Emma's compliment.
"It's nothing much. Anyway, my magic can be customized to the smallest detail, but every spell requires strict calculations. From what I've heard about the magic here, it's a lot easier."
Emma thought for a moment before she clasped her hands in front of her and bowed her head.
"I would be very happy to teach you our magic, David-sama. Please, follow me."
David nodded and followed behind Emma, leaving the lively party behind before exiting the village and arriving at a rocky outcropping devoid of any life.
"Okay, let's start with the basics first," Emma said before she held out her right hand, palm facing up.
"I summon thee, flame that is the core of fire... Bhrid."
A small flame appeared above Emma's palm.
"This spell is like a magic key that gives mana properties or changes its nature."
David nodded and copied Emma, holding out his right hand with the palm facing up.
"I summon thee, flame that is the core of fire... Bhrid!"
A flame that was 1 meter tall and half a meter wide appeared above David's palm, radiating an intense heat.
"Whoa!"
'This is way different than my magic system!'
"What now, Emma?"
Emma was a bit flustered, but composed herself somewhat.
"I-Imagine a ball of fire and throw it at your target!"
David nodded and closed his eyes, imaging a super condensed ball of fire floating steadily and spinning at a high speed.
The flame in his hand condensed to a smooth sphere of white-hot flames 3 inches in diameter and spun at an incredible speed.
He opened his eyes and launched the fireball at a tall rock in the distance.
FWOOM!
BOOOOM!!!
The fireball shot out at an incredible speed and as soon as it touched the rock, it exploded and made a mini mushroom cloud.
The shockwave was bigger than David had imagined and a wave of intense heat was rushing toward the two of them, instantly sobering David up.
"Shit!"
David quickly scooped up Emma in his arms and ran at full speed away from the shockwave.
Emma's head was empty. She couldn't process the power that David had just displayed and was in utter shock.
Once they finally escaped from the danger zone, David sat Emma back down on the ground and was trying to comprehend what the hell just happened.
'Chaos-chan, what's going on? I felt like I had pretty good control over that spell, but its power was way out of expectations!'
[Your body is still getting used to the laws here so it'll take some days before you're able to perfectly control your spells.]
'Are they always going to be so destructive? I just wanted to melt through the rock, not make it explode.'
[Yes, like I said, you won't be able to perfectly control your spells yet. This means that if you wanted to create enough water to fill a small cup, you might end up flooding the area. Or if you wanted to create a small stone stool, you might end up raising a mountain.]
'What the hell...'
[Remember how I said your runes are inefficient? This is what I'm talking about. The quality of your energy doesn't matter here, only the amount you have. And you... Well, you have a lot of energy.]
'Dammit, I'm both impressed and depressed. Why are my runes so shitty compared to the magic system here??'
[How the hell would I know? On the bright side, your Sovereign's Cradle is adapting to the laws of this world as well so you'll be able to use this magic inside all the time. Once you link the Sovereign's Cradle with our home world, the laws inside will also transfer there.]
'...Isn't that super dangerous then? What if people there figure out how to use this magic and cause mass destruction?'
[Don't worry, unless they come to the original world where the laws originate from, people won't be able to use this magic. Think of it like Wi-Fi.]
'Wi-Fi?'
[Yes. This world is the router and the Sovereign's Cradle is like a signal extender. The signal will transfer from this world to the Cradle and from the Cradle to our home world. Everyone will be able to see the connection, but only you have the password.]
'Ohhh... So anyone who comes to this world will get the ability to use it, or the password in this example, and wherever the laws of this world are, the wi-fi signal also in this example, the people there will have access to use it. Makes sense...'
[Yep! Now, I suggest you go easy on this world's magic until you've fully adapted.]
'Got it.'
After David understood what had happened, he turned to look at Emma who was still staring at the site of the explosion in shock.
"Ahaha... Sorry, my control isn't very good yet so it was a bit more destructive than I anticipated. How about we just stick with theory for now?"
Emma snapped out of it and looked up at David, seeing him in a new light.
"Yes, right!"
Once composed, Emma resumed her lessons, this time focusing on theory.
The first thing she covered were the four basic elements: fire, water, wind, and earth. She talked about how there are compound elements such as lava, ice, etc., but most people stick with just one or two elemental affinities.
She then explained that elemental magic is all about manipulating mana through imagery and chanting.
David didn't tell Emma, but he could remember exactly how it felt when the mana rushed to his hand and formed the initial flame as well as when he started changing the form to the condensed fireball.
If David wanted to, he could now easily use chantless magic.
Even though he didn't need to, David paid close attention to Emma's explanation on chants out of respect.
The lesson continued for over an hour and David listened intently, asking questions where he needed and getting a feel for this world's magic system.
...
While David was learning and Makoto was contemplating, Tomoe was sitting next to the tribe's chief and drinking with him.
"Tomoe-sama, I would like to sincerely thank you again for helping us and avenging our daughters who were sacrificed."
Tomoe waved her hand, "Haha, your thanks are misplaced. My master did it all by himself and I only found out about it after he told me. If that Makoto kid didn't say anything, I'm sure my master wouldn't have said much."
The chief looked over with sincerity. "Still, we'd like to formally thank him."
"Don't worry about that."
Tomoe set her drink down and looked over at the chief.
"However, I do have one suggestion."
"A suggestion?"
Tomoe smiled mischievously. "How would you like to live in a rich and fertile land?"
...
Early the next morning, David was awoken by the sound of multiple people moving around and carrying heavy loads.
"Fuaaamn~... I didn't think sleeping on stone beds would be this comfortable."
David yawned and sat up from the bed he was using. He swung his feet over the side, planting them firmly on the floor.
'Now that I think about it, I haven't used my daily lottery since I got here. Chaos-chan, let's draw the lottery!'
[Roger!]
The prize wheel appeared this time and without hesitation, David spun it.
Only a few seconds later, it stopped on a grey segment.
'Huh, you weren't lying about my luck running out.'
The grey segment spun and revealed a pixelized icon of a small pile of gold coins.
[Congratulations! You have received 10 Gold Coins!]
'Hmm... Is that a lot or not?'
[It's equivalent to 100,000 yen, the same amount of money you'd get if you got a Normal currency prize in our home world.]
'Ah, that makes sense. I remember something about the currency exchange rate being mentioned in that one episode where Makoto and the two girls went to rent a room at an inn in that one town.'
[Yup!]
David glanced at the gold coins in his inventory before nodding his head and heading outside.
When he was outside, he wasn't surprised to see the scene in front of him.
All of the orcs were lined up and kneeling in front of Tomoe with Makoto off to the side, watching with curiosity.
David quickly arrived next to Tomoe and saw the happy and smug look on her face.
"Tomoe, what's going on here?"
Tomoe crossed her arms in front of her impressive chest and said, "Hahum! Can't you tell?"
David, doing his job of playing the part, said, "The orcs have packed up their belongings to see us off?"
"No, they're moving!" Tomoe said with a smile that was practically asking for praise.
"Where are they moving?"
The tribe's chief raised his head and said, "We thought we'd humbly accept Tomoe-sama's generous offer to live in her sanctuary."
Tomoe chimed in, "Don't worry, master. The water, air, and environment are all of exceptional quality. I've also thrown in an assortment of the creatures living around here."
Makoto stepped forward this time, sounding a little worried.
"An assortment? What if there are ferocious demons?"
At this point, a small girl who looked like a mini version of Tomoe with darker blue hair appeared and jumped on David's back, hanging on to his neck like a daughter playing with her father.
"That's why I'm here! If there are any, I'll deal with them!"
'Uwah! She didn't jump on Makoto's back in the original work, why do it now?! That surprised me!'
"I'll be here so everyone will be fine," the little girl said.
She kicked her leg out to the side which looked quite hilarious since she was still hanging on David's neck.
"If they're attacked by any demons, I'll fend them off!"
While David knew who the little girl was, Makoto was quite a bit surprised after looking at the similarities between the little girl and Tomoe.
"Gyaaa! Tomoe-san has a child?!" He yelled.
Tomoe went behind David and picked up the little girl, pulling her off of David and holding her in her arms.
"How dare you scream like that? This isn't my child. It's a fragment of me."
Tomoe harrumphed and stood next to David, trying to seem intimate to everyone watching.
David turned back to the orcs once the little show was over.
"Are you guys sure about this?"
The tribe chief said with conviction, "Of course!"
Emma then looked up and said, "I told everyone we'd be moving onto your land and supporting you, our savior."
"Alright, if you're sure, then I don't mind. Tomoe, can you use your mist to absorb the entire village, please?"
"Huhu~! Of course!"
Tomoe stretched out her hand and mist spread out, covering the entire village in almost an instant.
Before David knew it, he could feel a large amount of new lifeforms inside of the Sovereign's Cradle.
The only ones left standing in the now-empty barren wasteland were Tomoe, her fragment, David, and Makoto.
"Haha, nice job, Tomoe," David said, patting her on the head.
She just smiled and looked proud, enjoying the warm feeling of David's patting.
Makoto walked up and was amazed.
"That was amazing! Did they all go to the land you mentioned earlier?" He asked.
David, while still patting Tomoe, turned to look at Makoto before he answered.
"They did indeed. We're about to head in, wanna come?"
Makoto nodded his head, "Sure!"
Without being told, Tomoe opened up another Mist Gate and they all walked through, though Makoto was a bit hesitant at first.
The first thing they saw was a boundless expanse of greenery. The second were all the buildings from the orc village plopped in the center of a grassy plain, surrounded by innumerable trees.
Emma was the first to notice their arrival and quickly ran up to David.
"David-sama, this place is wonderful! Is this the Sovereign's Cradle you mentioned last night?"
During the magic lesson, David had talked about the Sovereign's Cradle and showed off some of his own magic. He also taught a few runes to Emma, though she had a little trouble using them at first.
Since the magic system David created was made to interact with the building blocks of the universe, it didn't share the same permission issue that the magic system in this world had, allowing anyone to use it so long as they have a type of magical energy in their bodies and know how the runes work.
David nodded, "Yes. This is my own personal dimension and Tomoe has the highest level of authority here next to me."
"Ah, that's amazing!"
"Haha, thank you, Emma. If it's not too much of me to ask, would you like to assist Tomoe and I with the management of this place? I don't know how often I'll be in and out of here so administrative tasks wouldn't get done. I can give you a nice salary and exempt you from taxes."
Emma's pure brown eyes lit up. "Really?! I'd love to be of assistance to our savior! I wholeheartedly accept!"
"Great! Tomoe, you heard what I said. Emma will help with administrative tasks, she'll get a salary, and she's exempt from taxes. Make a note of it somewhere or something."
Tomoe released her fragment she was holding in her arms and allowed her to run off.
"Understood, Master. However, I would like to request memories, please. I want to watch more historical dramas!"
David just shook his head and smiled wryly. "That's fine. I'd like to go out and wander the Wasteland for a bit before coming back so wait until then."
David then turned to look at Makoto who was still admiring the scenery.
"You can stay here and relax or train as much as you want, Makoto. I'll be going in and out every so often so if you can't find me, look for Tomoe or Emma. I suggest training with your magic more, I'm sure you'll learn a lot if you experiment with different things."
Makoto looked over at David with an appreciative gaze and nodded. "Thank you, David. I think I'll take a look around and decide what to do then."
"Sounds good. Anyway, if anyone needs me, Tomoe can contact me through telepathy and I'll be back in an instant."
Everyone gave various voices of agreement or understanding before David disappeared from the Cradle and arrived back out into the Wasteland.
He created a simple stick with his wood magic and stood it up on the ground before letting it fall.
When the stick fell, it pointed off to the southwest.
"Alright, looks like that's where I'll be heading. Hopefully, I'll meet my spider wife soon."
And with that, David headed off in the direction the stick pointed, practicing with this world's magic as he went so he could try to gain control over it faster.