Amongst All Other Worlds, Why Did It Choose Such A Clichéd Setting?

I awoke after what I could only assume was a few hours later. The twin suns in the sky had already started to set below the horizon, basking the atmosphere in a brilliant arrangement of oranges and purples. As for the reason why I was admiring the sky above like so? Well, it was simple. Presumably, while I was lying unconscious on the forest floor, I was apparently relocated to a calmer, less corpse filled section of the forest. My body felt stiff. Movement was painful, but nothing compared to the sensations from earlier. Looking over across from me, I could see the fox, resting itself against the trunk of a tree, reading what looked like a journal.

Noticing my glances towards her direction, she looked up, and with a slight wag from her tail, greeted me in an energetic, feminine voice.

“Oh good! You’re awake!!! I’m super glad your ok!!! Oh!!! I have so many things I want to ask you!! I was absolutely thrilled at the battle we fought together in!!! I had to say, you were weirdly amazing! What kind of magics did you use? Why where you out here? Are you in pain still? Did you—"

I was verbally assaulted with a relentless onslaught of words and questions! The fox was talking at such an incredible pace, I was at a complete loss for words! I was confident my face was nothing but a surprised speechless expression as she rambled on about the battle and all the cool things that happened to us during the encounter. Eventually, her eager expression calmed, as with her frantically twitching tail. Probably from reading the confused look plastered across my bruised mug.

“I’m sorry, I’ll stop with all the descriptions and details… Humans don’t seem to like it when I talk like that so—”

“No, It’s fine.” I somehow managed to find a moment to interject!

“Let’s just say I’ve had a really, really confusing day. I would be more than happy to answer your questions, but my mind is still a jumbled mess from earlier.”

“Hmmm, that potentially sounds like mana shock. Are you experiencing a sense of exhaustion, dizziness, and what feels like bubbles bouncing around in your head?”

“Ummm, actually yes, yes I am.”

Huh, I thought to myself, somehow the fox was able to perfectly describe the condition I was feeling at the moment, almost as if they were a trained medical doctor. Thinking back, I remembered hearing words in my head mentioning something about magic exceeding an allowable safety level? Perhaps this was the side effects of the warned condition?

“Perfect! Errr, well, not perfect per say, but mana shock is an easily treatable affliction! You see, it’s the result of when a caster transcribes a spell without sufficient mana stores in their body an— I’m sorry, that’s probably too much talking and I’m bothering you. I’ll stop now. Just make sure to rest and you will feel better in a few hours!”

I had to say, while I was very confused, I kind of wanted to know a little more about this condition. The person in front of me was clearly a wealth of knowledge, and I needed to learn everything I could about my present situation. So, I spoke to reassure them that I wasn’t bothered by their rambling, but, I did have a very important question to ask them.

“No, It’s fine, really. Actually, I would greatly appreciate if you could tell me all about this “Mana Shock” thing. You see, I actually don’t know a whole lot, and I would really appreciate learning more about it from you.

But I do have a question for you though. I think you were the person that saved me, right? And helped me during our fight with the bandits? I wanted to say I really appreciate your help! You were amazing in helping support me during combat!!!

However, I think we missed a few steps that should be resolved before we talk further. Ummmm, if you don’t mind me asking, but what is your name? Miss Fox?”

Yes, that’s right, for all the events that had transpired this afternoon, even after working together to take out a group of bandits in a life-or-death battle, we still hadn’t exchanged names with one another! So it was only fair for me to ask my saviour for their name, no?

“Oh!!!! That’s right!!! I had totally forgotten to introduce myself!!!! Well, I mean, we never really did have a proper chance, did we, right? Things just kind of happened and then, well, ya! So, Mr. Mysterious Noble, I am the great Inari Kitsune! Supporter and Healer Specialist at your service!”

Inari Kitsune? Well, that was a rather weird name I thought. If I remembered correctly, Inari was a deity of rice, harvest, and prosperity, while Kitsune was another language’s word for fox! So, their name was essentially... God Fox? Prosperous Fox? Messenger Fox? Amused at hearing my friendly helpers name, I started to laugh as I already knew the next question I was going to ask them!

“Haha, that’s a pretty funny name Inari! Sorry, I don’t mean to offend you, but Inari Kitsune? Well, lets just say it’s a little funny in my language for you to be called that!”

“Hey! What do you mean funny? There is nothing wrong with the name Inari Kitsune! I am very happy with the name my parents picked for me! Seriously??? And what do you even mean “Your Language”? You’re speaking to me in Solarian, aren’t you?!?!?”

“Hey now, let me finish first haha! So, miss Inari, I have a serious question for you. Do you happen to like…. Tofu? Fried tofu? Perhaps?”

While still mad about my earlier comments dismissing her unusual name, Inari’s expression suddenly changed from an angry pout, to what I could only describe as a child eagerly awaiting to receive their favourite treat! Her face beamed with joy as their tail began to aggressively wag back and forth at the potential prospect of a fried tofu snack! Looking into her eyes, I could almost swear they were replaced with glistening stars, shining with a whole new, pleased brightness!

“Well, yes! I absolutely LOVE fried tofu! It’s my favourite thing to eat back at the tavern with Felice and Yarn! The crispy texture, soft-interior, and wonderful flavour makes it the most amazing dish ever!!!!”

Finishing her happy, cheerful exclamation for the love of fried tofu, her happiness quickly turned back to curiosity as she continued her rambling-like response.

“But, how would you know I like fried tofu? What would have possibly given you that idea from my name?”

“Hmmm, well, I’m not exactly sure how to put this but—”

Actually, ya! Come to think of it, I wasn’t sure how I should put this! This morning started off like any other day, working at the office, commuting home, then suddenly I appeared to find myself in a completely different world. As much as I wanted to deny this fact, there was more than enough evidence to support the hypothesis that I had somehow managed to “isekai” myself. This fantasy-like setting was all too common a trope from the many anime’s I had watched on the genera.

I mean, seriously: multiple suns in the sky, talking anthropomorphic animals, goblins, magic, bandit attacks! All clichéd scenarios that playout in the beginnings of many isekai stories! As such, all of these instances had led me to the conclusion that I was no longer on Earth, and in a whole new, fantasy-filled world of adventure!

But, how would I explain this to Inari? Would they think I was crazy?

Regardless, I decided to trust my instincts and tell her everything that had happened today.

“Inari, would you believe me, if I said I was from another world?”

Carefully, I retold all of the events that had happened. From me working in an office, falling from the sky, strange voices in my head, everything! As I spoke, Inari’s demeanor changed to one of deep thought. She brought one of her paws to rest underneath her chin as she mulled over my story about being from another world. Without uttering so much a sound, she continued to sit there, silently, for what seemed like an eternity.

Great, I thought. Now the one and only person so far who I could talk to on friendly terms, was going to think I was a deranged lunatic!

Eventually, she reached towards her journal and quickly began flipping through the various pages and contents. After landing on one of the more recent pages, she stopped and brought her attention towards me.

“Hmmm, well I can’t quite say if it’s true of not, but if I examine everything from the perspective of an unknown type of magic’s influence, there is the faint possibility what you’re saying is correct Mr. Noble!”

Ok, not too bad, looks like she didn’t think I was completely crazy... But Mr. Noble?

...

Well, I guess I should tell her my name. After all, it wasn’t exactly fair to only know hers, was it?

“Well I appreciate the name “Mr. Noble” since it sounds fancy and all, I do believe my proper name will be easier in conversation. Well I might not have as nice and fancy an introduction as you, my name is Kotato, but feel free to call me Ko instead.”

Inari simply looked towards me and responded in a cheerful tone.

“Sure thing! Pleasure to meet you Ko!”

We found ourselves both smiling, having finally begun to talk knowing who each other was. And so, with my curious mind eager to listen to Inari’s hypothesis, I asked her to explain her thoughts in detail to me.

“Likewise! So, Inari, since you seem pretty well versed about the use of magics, would you mind explaining your hypothesis to me? And please, in as much detail as possible!”

What followed, was a very in-depth summary glossing over the various ways mana can be utilized by casters to examine their surroundings. I learned from Inari’s excited explanations that each living creature has a unique “Mana Signature” and “Sub Signature”. To draw comparisons from my world, a mana signature would be like a race or species, such as: Human, dog, cat, butterfly, etc. While the sub signatures would be more comparable to each separate individual: Human 1, dog 2, cat 3, butterfly 4, etc.

Additionally, casters could further gain insight on a creature or object from the spell “Appraisal”. This ability, produced what was basically a status screen window I was familiar with from video games. However, depending on the caster’s capabilities, sometimes you could see additional information, such as a more detailed description of their skills, or current party members and inventory holdings. I could only assume that this was like casting a stronger version of the same spell, kinda like how one might compare the spells “Fire and Fira” from a super popular fantasy RPG series. Same spell, but different potencies.

Having developed a sufficient baseline structure to extrapolate from, she continued on towards how I had piqued her interest. Specifically, my mana signature identified me as a human, but it didn’t match the clearly defined values for humans according to magical scholars.

I was an abnormality.

Delving deeper, when she had attempted to learn more from casting the appraisal spell, Inari was unable to read any of the letters showing on the holographic box! This is roughly the point in time when I had the poison cleansed from my body. Thankfully, some things stayed consistent, such as symbols for status debuffs, otherwise we might be in a very different situation from now!

Thinking about it, if Inari couldn’t understand the characters on my status screen, perhaps they were in a language I knew from my world? Curious at this mystery, I asked if we could perform an experiment.

“Hmmm, I love this level of detail Inari! From my world, a lot of what I did involved using analytics to make sense of large amounts of data, so I share the sentiment! So, with that said, I have a proposal for you, would you like to try an experiment using the appraisal skill on me? I have a theory that the characters might be from a language I’m familiar with and would like to test that. It might be able to shed some more insight as to my current situation!”

Inari’s ears perked up at the sound of my proposal, wagging her tail in an excited motion, she happily responded with a pip in her voice.

“Why of course! I would love to experiment to see if we can gather more information!!! Oh, by the way, when I cast the appraisal spell, you might feel a slight, tingling sensation, it’s a common side effect, so don’t be alarmed!”

“Thanks for the heads up! Don’t worry, I’m just as excited and ready as you are!”

“Wonderful! Alrighty then, one appraisal spell, coming right up!”

“World reveal onto me the secrets within, show me all that lies inside, Appraisal!”

As Inari happily and confidently completed her chant for the appraisal spell, my body vibrated as the mana within shifted back and forth. I vaguely remembered back to when the poison was removed at the similar feeling I experienced.

Hmmm, so during that encounter, when I thought the poison was spreading throughout my body, it was actually her casting appraisal on me! Interesting indeed. However, there was one key difference I would ask her about after viewing the status screen.

Regardless, shortly after finishing the chant, a grey, holographic-like box appeared near Inari. Next, she motioned for me to come over so I could read it’s contents. Shifting over to sit beside the curious fox, this is what I saw regarding the status of myself:

---

Ņ̸͊͂̀́̇̚ą̴̙̳̤̦̱̰͌̋̆̕͝͝m̴̢͕͓͙̻͉͉̦̩͍͌͆̍̓ȇ̶͙̩͙͍̮̱̿̒͗̇̈́͑͜͠͝:̶̢̢̝̦̱͑͗̏̍̓̿̆̏͌̕͝͝ ̶̢̻͔͙͈̝̳̺̭͎̥̞̈́̃̾̅͌͂̉̐͋́͆͠K̶̨̙̪̞̳̙͕̒o̶̻͉͒̇̽̈́̽̐̒͌̽ţ̸̜̰̊̎̓͐ͅā̶̡̫̼͙̠͖̫̆̓̿͊̾̄̚̕̕t̸̫̰̻͆̎͊̌̊̈́̉̚o̷͉̞̻̳̾ ̶̩͓̭̝̥̞̩̱̲̟́̌͋̂͒̓͌Y̶̯̎̉̀͆̎̀̈́͘͝a̷͈̯̮͗̏͊̿̂̀̌̓ṁ̶̡̧̼̺̝͖̃́̂̆̊͑̊̽̔͝ȧ̷̧̧͈̣̤̼̊͑͗͑̇ṯ̴̨̨̧͇̝͓̱͖͋̈́̏̏̕͜a̸͖̜̪̺̺̙͇̪͗́̽̇̒͊̓͝͠ l̸̨̝͇͚̯̺̙͉̫̑̐̈́͑̾ͅe̸̫͈̻͉̝̯̣̠͆́̍̔̔̎̏͗̏̎̄v̸̼̼̟̆̌̌͌̿̂̿ë̶̜͓̲̰͖̪̥̪̈́͑̀̋̉̋̇ľ̸͖̜̘̗͙͖̙̻̀̈́̃̋́́́̐͘͠͝: ?̴̙̦̟͓̘̂͋̀̔͗̿̆̃͆̾̒̋͂͘͝?̵̘͈̺͔̮͚͔͕̻̙̌́͜?̵̡̯̱̼͕͈͔̙͓͔̲͔͎͔͛̑̀̓̄̽̇͝͝

?̷̛̺̳̣͓͉̻̊̾̍̽́͛̅̽͛̊͑͑͋̽̐̓̔̏̃̇̔̃̂̏͌̑̆̓̿̈́̓̉̈͘̕̕̚?̸̨̧̢̥̩͚̖̖̬̻͔͕̱̘͎̦̖͉̯̳̜̻͔̘̺̣͙̝̙̳̭̼͕̟̮̜͖̇̀͋̇͛͗ͅ:̶͇̩̬͙͎̑̆̅̄̊̐̀̈͛̓͆̓̎͌̂̋̏̊̀̍̄̂̅́̏̅͗̈͗͋͂̇̑̎͆̚̚͝͠ ̵̧̡͖͈̼̲̤̪̖̬͎́̅?̴̻̬̺̹̦̞̟̯̩̙̻͂̋̋͋́̐͛͊̽̿̈́͒̐̓̓̅́͠?̴̡̧̧̢̧̧̡̘̯̝͕̬̜̙͍̲̣̩͖̫̣̟̭̭̱̼̪̣̖̤͚͍͈̺͈̰̙͍̇̇̎͛͗̀̈̃̎̕͠͠?̴̡̛̺̥͉̬̣̠̤͙̣̲͚͔̙̻̬̂̆́̾̅̀̐̌̉͑̃͊͘̕͜ͅ?̸̧̧̖͙̞̤̭̤̥̜̼̼͖̮͍͉̭̟͍̤̾̓̐̎̀̈́͊̄̔͂̂̊͑̂̅̎̍͂́̆̀̆̎̏͋̿̎̐ͅ?̴̡͈̻͈̮̱̟͍̤̺̻͎͍̤̺̻͎̈̆̅͋̒̊̾̔̏̆̽̌̓͛̓̈́̀̉̎̕̕͘͠͝͠ ?̵̡̛̬̥̻̬̪̠̱̼̿̀̒͌̈́͂̌̎̂̆̔̈́͛̈̊͛́͗͋͘?̸̡̨̡̢͍̫̙̞̜̱̻͕̺̪̯̥̹̠̘̙̳̰̻̺̪̫̥̎͐̔͛̿͛̀͘̕ͅ:̷̧̢̧̛̼̬̙̘̣̺̤̳̹̫̺̭̳͚͈̱̭̦̻͚͖̏̍̔̇̋̄͊̏̄̃̃͒͜͝͠͠ͅ ̵͚̯̀̽͑̓͊̉̏́͊̏͆̓̆̆̒͌̀̋́͂͛̒̔̋́͗̚͝͝?̴̧̨͙̼͇̙̝͇͓̤͎͓͙̲͚͖̳̞̳͓͇͉̝͚͚̼͉͒̒̂̒́̈́̋͋̀̒̄̅̾̓̆͘̕͠͝?̵̢͈̜̝͕̝͓̟̲̩̪̟̬̝͖̖͖͕̻̻͓̘̺̖͙͚͓̜͂?̵̡̨̧̤̻͔̫͔͎͉̞̤̜͖̹̬̩̥̟̠͕̬̠̩͔̠̦̏̎̾͋͛̀̂̓̑̈?̷̡̛̳̤̬̠̫̳̲͚̹̹̲̫̊̽̽̀͒̈́͆̋̓̋͊̃̏̍͊̓̚̚̕̚?̷̡̡̛̛͙̞̘̹͇͖̜̬̪͎̟͈͖͛̄̒͘̕͝ ?̸̡̛̛̛̣̟̩͍̊̽̽̋̅̇̈͋͑̈́͂̔̏̈́͒͆̇͝?̵̡̧̨̣͇̤̱̠̻̗͈̳͇͈͚͕̬̟̟̳̦̲̗̱͓̖͇̠͍̬̄̏͆̎̏́͌̉͐͌̆̏̋̃̄̀̀͗̈̊̒̕̕̚͜͜͝ͅ:̶̡̧̢̡͕̪͓͍̞̘̭̮̞̗̰̖̝̦͈̻̙̣̭̩̤̺͑̾̇̋̈́́̔̐̈̋̂́͊́̃̈́̚̕͜͝ ̴̥͇̑͂̀̍̈͂̇͘?̶̢̡̨̳̩̯̠͕̖̪̱͍̠̗̣̟͔̝͍̣̱̾̃̃̈́̑̅́̈́̈̃͂̽̔̔̔͑͠͝͝ͅ?̴̨͖̝̗͎̒̓͑̑͆̎͂̊͘?̸̢̯͔̖̺̲̹̬͕͙͈̩̲̲͍͙͎́̓̆̀̔̾̊̽̚͝ͅ?̴̛̲͖͉͇͖̬͇̼͛͑̏̋̏̂͒̓̄͆̀̏̾̀͂̚̕͠?̶̡̧̨̝͇̜̮̲̩̫͙̥̺̭̠̮̖͕̝̯̘̝̥͔͎̩̫̝̃̉̔̔́͊͜͝ͅ

A̸̛̛̼̝̺͕̍͒͐͊͜g̷̜̪͙̯͇̳̹̮̀̓̊͘ě̶͈͠:̵̨̨̯̼̖͌̅̋̈́̈́́̈́͘ ̸̙͓͕̖̭̜̥̤̆?̸͇̙͚̠̥͓͍̱̍͐?̶̧̯͍̹̳̹̬̳̩̎̄̉̆̉̊͛͐̕ͅͅ

P̴̟͙͉̖̩͒r̷̛̗̬̭̬̮̼͙̣̫̅̓̊͐o̶̡̪̭̹͐͌̄̈́̈́͠ͅf̸̧̟̜͔̠̻̦̪͓͉̌́̋͂̌͘͝͠͠ë̷̛̦̙̞̤͖̬̱̤̞̻́́̒̊̔̈́͗s̸̮͔̻̳͖͈̻̖͍̩̈̉͐ͅs̷̨̡̞̝͎̮͎̪̖͔̄͒̈́̅̏̚i̷͓̭͇̭̦̝̻̓̚͜ǫ̴̖̮̣̭̪̹̱͉̀̑̅̃ņ̷̯̫̠͌͐̋̈́͆:̷̙̖̺̠̱̦̊̈́͐̅͋̌̀̔̾͐̚͝ ̸̡̥̟̦̲͉̱̺̗̊̈̿̓̅̊ͅ?̵̣̹̤̭̊̈́͆͋́͛͝?̴̞̙͍̩͖͈̝̝͂͌́̿͂̒?̴̛͚̃͋̄͊?̷̖̮̞̝̐̾̍͒̌̃̀?̷̪̺̯̮͉̝̻͛͗͛̚ͅ?̶͆̾͗̇͆̽̽̚̕͜͠?̴̹͒̉͋̎

S̴̢͓͍̬̳͚̤̈t̵̜͍̭̦̟̖̱͉̗̰̖̅̋̓̉ͅà̷̳͗͗̉̀̀̌̾͋̎̎͘ţ̸̨̢̦̼͍͖̬̭̬̪̀̾͒̐͘ͅǔ̴̞͈̮̿̍͒̃̐͂̐̌̀̑͘ŝ̷̨͔̗͇̮͖̓̓̀͛̋̑́̈͜:̴̤̹̗̃̈́̔̅͗̀͛̎̀̚ Ş̵̮̂̓̐̕͠ţ̸̨̨̜̫̓̓̉͒́́͋̑̈́̈́͛̐r̷͓̬̯̯̩̬̪̫̓̔̉͗͛͌̌͋̉̋̃e̶̼̺̩̗͙͌͒̀͗̚͝ͅn̸̛͖̰̳͆̾͛͑͑͝g̶̡̣̞̼̥̰̝̦̯̥̃ͅͅt̷̙͒̐̆h̴̠͕͛̍̓̉̈́͐͋̊͋͊̎̇:̶̤̞̆̇̊ ̴̙͚̬̙̱͕͋͐̾̄̍̌͌̊͂̕̕͠1̴̢̢͖̙͖͈̹̙͉̈2̷̨̧̱̔̽́̅ ̶͉̍͑̎͐̈͒̃̅̊͋̚͝D̶͉̭̱̗̦͙͖̻͓̳̆̂̇ë̸̢̛̠̥͓͚́͊͑͆̀͘͜͝f̵̲̳̲̗̥͇̳̒̅̾̆́̈́͘͜ę̵̖͉̦̥͚͉͉̒̎̄̃́͜͜n̴̳̯̖̩͚̪̽̓̀͂̂̕ç̶͎̳̠̤͕͌̍͊̈́̾͂͋̐̿͠͝ė̸̢͇͉̟:̵̩̦͔̳̜̜͙͔̰̠̽̉ ̶̡̪̪̜̱̯͚̳̥̪̱͗̊̑̇̿͐͋͘̚1̵̥͕͙̿̋͛̈́͋̓̉̏͆̅̾͝0̸̡̧͓̬̗̜̣̖̹̺̫̃͜

̷̯̀͊̅̄̀̑̋̋̑́͝͝ ̷̢̰͖͕̯̫̻̠̓̃́̎̄̍͗͝͠͝ ̷̖̪̙͖̼̝̰̟̅̔̈́̂͝ ̸̺̝̳̥̖̮̓̌̓̈́̔̅́̏̋̎͘͝M̸̫̟̱̎a̷̡̢̺̗̬̰̤̦̗̮̜̿̒̂̑̓̄ͅg̶̨͖̗̮̮̠̠͙̺̯̈͌̈́̏̃̓̈̑͛i̴̢̛͙̚c̸̩͖͎͍̥̰̫͚͙̞̐̇͊̈́̋͆̊̇͘͝͠:̵̤̙̗̆̈́͒̈́͊̆ ̸̧̛̮͙̞̟͍̻͍͚̃̍̃̋̑͊͜6̶̨̠͔͕͕̤̳̺͕̀ ̷̛̛̣̮̘͇̃͊̏̒̅͐̈́̾͘̕D̴̤͎͓̫̜͕͚͖͔͕̫̈́́̂̇̌͒̌͜͝ê̷͍̮̣̻̐̾̄̂̐́́̌͝x̴̝̻͇͍̫̞̗̠̻͕̄͛̈́̓͑̋̚͜ͅt̶̢̧̥̙̭͔̺̤̍̿͑̽̿͘͝é̶̘͇͈͚̈́͗̏́̎̃̈́̚̕͠͠r̴̢̤̫̩̺̹̠̠͚̽̃͋̑̀̆͐̎͐i̵̛̼̊̐̀t̷̼̉͂̄͒̉̈́͛̍̽͘͝y̷̡̟̣̻̰̻̘̙͓̔̋̒̃̅̉̕͘͠͝:̴̬̩̼̓̾̄̃̒̑̓̚ ̴̨̜̮̤͈̙͙͙̙͝1̷͓̟͚̯̙̪̟͎̙͋̅̀̓̿̓̕0̷̡̪̮̙̻̞͍̾͛͋

S̵̨̨̖͎͖̝̜̏̀̊̆̒̓̊̈̾̽̇̈́͒̾̕̕͝ḱ̵̢̡̺͇̮̼̞̈́̂̒̉͛̕͝i̷̧̡̖̫͈̭̟͈̱̹̻̳̲̰̐͑́̌̅̐͠ͅļ̸̢̲̬͈̭̝͂l̸̨̧̟̥̺̭͉̲̳̞͖̙͈̥͙̟͐̔̇̈́̆͆̋̇̊̓̕͜ͅ ̸̛̝͙̀̿͆͒͒͑̕P̵͉͇͌̓r̵̺̫̪̩͚̤͎̘̙̮̪̘̋̓̄̍̂̐̽͒̀̐͗̐̏͘͝o̷̡̢͕̲̞̤̩̳̬͓̙̳̖̲̯͊͗̈́̎͜f̵̘͌̐͛͝i̸̧̧̧͖̱͚͈̪̫̤̠̠͖̦̣͊͜ͅc̷̛̞̟͆̀̋̊̅͂̐͐̍̀̀̓͑͐͑i̶̳̲͌̓͒̒̌̿̽̂̏͌̚e̴̘̘͕̓̅̐n̶͔̪̯̝͊̈̒̑̚̕͝c̴̨̛̖͔͓̻̩͍͎͇̄͒̌͋̄̑̌͋̇̅̾̄͌̚̚į̵̫̞̙͈̰̆͌̏͘ͅe̵̘̗̤̼̜̼̻̱͓̙͗͗̈́͌́́̈̊͋s̵̡̢̧̩͕̹͕̖͊̿̊̒̊͌̿͌́̊̃̔́͝͠͝:̵̛̬̪̱̥̦̱̓̓̋ͅ ̸̺̩̜̝̣̠̻͌́̓̐̀̊̑̂̉̅͝[̴͖̖͙̥̠͖̫͇̓̒̏͗̇̃̒́̅́͌͘̚̕͝͝Ȟ̴͎͙͌e̷̜̯̱͉͍̳͔̙͈̿́͜a̷̛̼̙̞͊͆̌͊̓̑̃̒͒̾̒͝͝͝ͅv̵̨̛̛̮̭̻͈̻̩͙̙̤̥̪̻̩̺̩͖̊͑̋͂͝ȩ̷̧̮͖̳̜̫̲͙͎͇̬͔̏̍͜n̸̡̻̪͇͕̩̼͖̯̥̥̺͖̋͗̾̈́̂̋͗̑̐̚̚ͅl̶̢̢̧͎͓̙͉̟̼͍̘̯̘̹̮̫̫̄̂͂̐̐͌̽́̀͝ͅý̷̢͓̼͖̫̫̮̣̈́̃̋̀̎̋͝ ̸̢̢̡̢̧̛̠̩͕̘̱̌̽̄̀͆̊͂̾̌̓̓̚͝͠͝F̸̘̥̌̌l̸̟̯̪͇͓͓͖̮͍̙̫̋̉́͋́̏͆̉̽̈́͝͠ą̸̢̘̜̲̱̹͎̭̬̙̅͘ͅm̵̧̹̳̭̰̟̝̼͇͕̘̝̓̌̄̔̌͒̈̏̒̐̂̓̚e̸̗̙̻̙̖͓̜͕̟͙̥͚͕̟̖͉͖̠̽͗̾̃́̑͒͘̕]̶̡̹̺͍̱̝̖̖͍͎͚͍̙͚͎̬͑̅̏̐̅ ̵̧̢͖͚͓͉̳̣̼̣̯̹̙͍̟͇̎͊͂̂̏̎̈́̀̿͌͆̐̉̀͌͑͝[̴̨̛̛̛̞̣̱̘̖̉͋͛͛̋̏̓͐͛̀̓̕͘͝͝Š̴̡͔͔͎̭͔̤̼̥̳̣͂̈͛w̸̨̢̛͖̮̦͇͂͂͘͝o̷̡̡̠̺̫͍̰͌͗̄̀̇̋̊̀̇͘̚͘͝ŗ̸͉͙͇̬͎̬̱̦̟̦͌͒́̀̿̓͑̌̈̓͐̊̈͜d̷͈͙̝̗̻͕̟͊̀̏͜͠ș̵̡̈̽ ̶͍̟̤̗̙̯̱̣̒̎̈́̾̋͗̏͋͘–̴̢̛̱̼̳̤͍͔̥̺̙̙͎̈̾̊̍͊̍͗̄̌̽̓̈́͂̊̏ ̸̫̋̂̅?̶̨̢̮͇̮̤̳̻͍͓̫̿̉͂̋́̊̌̕̕͜?̸̡̼͌͛͆̏̄́̔̈́͋͑̎̅̀͊͝?̶̛̙̭͔̻̠̼͚̺̈́̋̾̓̚]̸̡̨̢̛͖͔̳̠͉̦̪̳̠̹̰̙̜͇͒̆̏͐͐́̃̌͆͋̓̍̅́́͘͝ͅ ̵̛̛̬͑͒͂͗̊̃̈́̓͛́̈́̇̕̚͘͠[̷̡̨̬̺͉͈̙̱̣̩̱͔͔͓͕̣̒̃̄̀̓̂̓͆̃̎̑͑́͘͘̕͠͝ͅR̵̪̓͊͊́̑̒̐͗̿̃͋͒̆͂̿̇͘e̶̖̙͗f̶̖̠̽̃̀l̸̨̛͚̝̪͈̣̩̞̠͎̈́̾͊͗̈́́̎̏̀è̶͔̜̗͚̈x̴̛̲̺͑͌̌͐͒̀́̿́̀̍͝͝ę̷̱͉͙̠̲̭̪̬̱̜̲́͂̈́̋͆̾̍́̌̕͜͠ş̴̡̼̱͍̯͝͝]̵̧̹̬̟͇̟̮͍̞̞̱͎̦͋̄̌ ̴̧̛̦̋̏̾̉̄̈́̚͝͝[̵̡̖̠̪̱̺̩̺̘͖͓̗̜̀̈́͗̽̾͠F̶̢͕̣͇̪͖̣͒̈̾͊̄̐̄̓͌̈́͌̓̚̕a̵̟͎̘̾͒̈̇̀̈́̈́̑̚ṣ̷͈̳̙͎͑̀̆̋̑̓͋̃̑̌̇̂̽t̷͇̞̥̠̠̾̐̔̑̔͊̄̃̈́͗̋͋̍̌ ̶̡̖̳̃̾̅̀͑͋̔̓́̊̍̅̌̒̚͘͜͠G̷̨̧̻̙̪̠̞̱̤̘̅̏̋͛͐̅ͅŗ̶͇̱̞͎̠͆̓̓̒͋ͅo̷͓͓͖̼̱͖̺͊̃̂̾͊̎̀̃͘͜͝ẅ̷̞̥̌́͑̏͊̍͒t̸̨̧̳̹̘͍̬̱̱̹͉̞͗̂̈̌̽͒̓̀͗͗̕͝͝h̸͇͈͈̄̓̈̂̆͝]̵̡̘͎̪͈̟͉̫͖̣̻̹̺͚̀̊̓̊́͊͊͐̌̋̎̑͑͠ͅ ̵̨̧̲̰̣̥̖̳̓͂̐͠[̴̢̖̹̥̖̤͍̬͓̝̮͉̮͔͔̦̳̥̔̎͒̆̌̀̅͛͊̈́̀͆͆̅̀̈́͘͝Ş̴͕̙̦̬͎̦̤̼͊̿̅̋̑̾̿̐̉̐͗̚ữ̷̧̛͇͇͈̺͖̘̞̳̠͖̰̣̳̓̈̂̎͐̓͛͋̑͆ͅm̵̨̜̺̬̞̠̤̜͓̩̼̥̞͚̰̜̖͒̀́͂̀̇̚͘͘̕m̶̼̲̥͍̫͎͚͈̘͚̹̮̱̺͓̤͊̓̋́̾̈̊̈́͜o̶̧̢̜̙̺̦̳̗̳͍̬̩̫̼͐͒̏̀͘̕͜n̴͓͓̬͇̫̟̄̾̓̓͛͊̄̀̄̈́͜e̷͈̫͈̞̬̩̩͔̺̬̣̲̦͓̦͆͊̏̍̊́͗̏̈́́͌̀̊́̚d̸̨̨͇̠̲͚̹̲̘̓̎͋̐̒̀͑̇̈́̎́̾̕ ̷̧̡͇̮̤͇̲̦͖͔̰̈́̈́̈́́̆Ḩ̴̛͖̞͓̭̮̤̪̹͚̟̲̜̩̦̻̈́̓́͆̄̅͋̊͆̑́̋̾̚ȩ̸̦͇̳̥͉̣̰̙̱̤̲̞͌̈́͌́̐͌̾̊̄͂̌̈́̀͊̕͠r̸̨̧͓͉̣̗͇̬̤̺͍̝̩̺̫̲̝͋̅̽̂̿̍͐́̊̉̀́͌͜͠ǫ̸̢̧̮̖͎̩̳͇͚̙̘͕̦̺͙̦̠́̾͗͒]̸͍͚̍̽̔̌͑̆͝͝ ̷̗̤̰̉̈́̄̎̿͛̓̊̉͑̄̄[̷̀̀͐̔͗̍̅̍͋͋̉͑͗͘͜͜͝͝W̴̧̢̧̤̞̼̭̙̹̻̲̦͇͊̈́̆̍͌̇͋̾͑̊̌̒̾̓̊̉̍ö̴͓͇̪́̂̈́̌͛̎͆̕͜ȑ̵̢̧͇͔̮̫͍̣̪͔̩̭͈̠̼̖͓̍̇͑͑̌͛͒̊̃̈́́́͊͝͠l̵̡͙͒̈̈́̀̔̄̉̀̓͑̄̑̽́̊́̚͠ḑ̸̟͕̤̬͇̲̖̰͚͍̳̍̂͂̉̔̅̉̌͒̓͛̕̚͜͠ͅͅ ̸̣̖̥͇̰̪̫̻͆̌͒̋̀͜S̵̡̛̻̲̣̯̦̠̒̏̉̀̆̅̓̃̀͊̀̋̓͜͠͝e̸̘̯͉̟͊̐̉̿̀̀̌̍̋̕͝r̴̼̙͂̐̈́p̸̞̹̤̲̬̤̯͇̖̞̰̂̎͒͊̎̋̑̓͂̈́͜͝͝e̴̢̢̬̩͕͇͙͔̺̘̝̠̦̫̰͙͠ǹ̵̨̦̰͚͙͙͖̻̆̎̋̑̉͒̾̍͌̓̉͝͝t̶̨̡̯͔̰̞̺̩͚̺̙̞̱̯͕͍̗̑́͐̆̽̌ͅ’̴̧̛͕͉̦̼̪͓͖̥̬̳̯͍̹͉̰̬̈́͋̅̍̾̀͐́̀̆̂͋ș̴̡͕̹̼̭̤̳͚̟̤͉̙̰̓͒͛̐̈́̀͌̈̈͒̊̈̕̚͝ͅ ̸̡̡̨̤̭̗͖̪̯̤̗̣͑̐̕Ą̵̧̛̙̦̮̻̪̫̺̖͇̦͚̹̼̞͙̑͒́̓̓̆̿̀̒̇̎͐͝͝͝p̸̛̥̭̆̇̍̐̍̇̏͗̀͂̚͠ỡ̴̡̺͓̙͙̩̰̟̰͙͇̦̜̒̔͂͛̔͠ş̸̧̥͔̑̐t̸̨̼͎̹̲͕̳̥̩̰̟̦̙̾͛̒͗̀̾͜l̴̺̰͉̐̀͋̇e̵͙̳̖͖̬̪̥͂̿̑̓͆͆̔́͐͛̌͗̔̿̓͛ͅ]̶̛̫̌̍̇̾̈́͆̏̅̈́̀̋͜

Ţ̸̲̻͔̫͉̦͇͓̠͍̿̆́́̓͝͝į̶̯̞̝̱̮̣̝͕̉̓̓̑̍͛͋̅̇͂̌̆̃̎̔͝t̵̨̨̼̫̰̰̮̺̬̤̲͇͕̪͙͐͐̒̾͒̌̂̀̃̌̎̈́̍͐͗̚̚ͅͅl̴̩̺̱̪̺̘͓̱̮̯̆̎ẹ̸̬̓͑͂s̷̢̞̯̙͈̳̗̪͖͍̮̮͔͚̤̗̯͉̋̐̀͒͛͂̆́͌̊͝:̷̞̩̦͙̟̝͚̖̹̄̇̔̀͛̍̆̓̒̆͊̊͂̒͜͠ ̴̡̺̳̪̗̥͇̯̙̬̙͌̎̉͊̓̄̃̾̃̿̚͜ͅ?̵̡̧̜̭̦̰̰̟̥͙͈̤̹͚̏̑͋̋͋̉̾̽̈́̋͑̕?̶̡̛͕̲͚̑̎̅͊̐͗́̈̍̈́͆͌̏͐̀̕͝?̷̖̪̫̗̳͇̥͐̊!̸̡̨͙̼̯̯̲͓̝̠̩̤̞̣̰̰͝?̷͕̦͙͉͕͛́̿̈́!̵̧̣̲̤̤̥͎̜̰̘̪͒̕͘͜͝͠ͅͅD̸̡̧̤̬̩͓͓̪̝̼̋̅̾̎͂́́̄̎̿̄̈̆̾͝!̴͓̭̫͈̖͖͔̻̘͈͉̫͕̘̀̑̇͂͒̓̕͝!̸̡͍̣͇̬̣̦͓̯͈͔̪̉͗̑D̴̫͓̲̯̳̹̭͖̪͇̱̠̣̝̭̄̌ͅG̴̢̪̮̭͎̭̗̫̺͕̩̫̱͓͒̒̐̓̏́̽̋̈̑̾̒̒̋̈́̅͘ͅͅS̴̛̰͇̝͍̦͚̮̀̌͛̄̀̃̈͛̔̇̄̋̓͝͠F̵̨͎̦̲͙̂̐̓́̀͠Ğ̷͈̜̖͚̙͖͇̬̠̻̝̱̤̮̗͈͗̔̏̃A̷̡̖̘͍͎͖̯̲͉̻͔͙͖͎̟͌͆̐̿͜͝D̸̢̢̞̩̩̫̰̠̤̈̀́͗͋̿͐̒̈́̀̾͒̑V̷̛̮͎͉͉̫̼͚̩̝̘̈́̾͑̆͆̉́͒̋̂̑̍͌̚͠͝͝ͅD̴͈̯͔͚̫̀́͛͑͆̎̉̈́̇̓͒̎̏̋̎͝ͅS̷̡̢̡̲̱̬̬̄̈́̀̄̈́͘A̵̧̬̠͍͉͍̣̣̙͊̔͛̎̾̊́R̸̡̡̛̛̩͉̬̗̼̳̱̣̞͂̈́́̈́̂̎̏̔̉̓͊̉̅̃̕!̸̯̦͙̼̳͉̫̘̟̘̹͈̖̬̆̽?̶͉̺̺͉͇̼̼̭͚̬̄̀̄͛̏̀͆̃̋͜͝!̶͕̯͈̞̬͍̟̹͚͙̑̃̈́̒͆̓́̚͘͠

---

“Huh”

I said with a shocked expression. I was just as confused at the letters and characters before me as I’m sure Inari was! They appeared all jumbled and disoriented, kind of like how text would appear “glitched” in older games if the many 1s and 0s made a mistake in interpreting an input. Excitedly wagging her tail, I heard the impatient fox speak up towards my puzzled expression.

“So, can you read them??? Oh I can’t wait to find out what these silly characters mean!!! This is such an incredible discovery!!! Ko!!! Please!!!! What do they say!!! Tell me!!!”

Tried as I might, I just couldn’t make sense of it. I thought I could make out the vague shape of words such as “Name” and “Status” but everything was blurry and shifting around as I tried to focus on the contents. Disappointed, I reported my results.

“I’m sorry Inari, but it seems I’m unable to read them as well. While I thought I could recognize the words for things like “Name” and “Status” around here, this is still a very jumbled mess of symbols mashed together in an ugly, unreadable assortment!

However, while I can’t read the words, the characters themselves appear familiar from experiences I’ve had from my world. They are almost like something is wrong, like this world can’t interpret my values and doesn’t know what to display!

If we assume I was indeed, summoned here, perhaps this is a result of an incompatibility between this world and my own? What if we have someone cast a stronger version of appraisal? Would that potentially reveal more information?”

Inari seemed initially disappointed at my inability to convey the mysterious letter’s meanings, but quickly changed back to her usual, curious self, as I explained contextual information that was seemingly useful.

“Hmmm, well I’m not familiar with how summoning magic works and its effect on summonies, I think I know someone who could help us out! They’re a super intelligent demi-human with incredible skill in mana weaving!!! Actually, they’re the same one who taught me all of the stuff I know about using magic!! Lets head back to the tavern quickly so I can introduce you!!! I’m also sure they’re incredibly worried about me! After all, I kinda wasn’t suppose to sneak out for the goblin subjugation request! Oh no, Felice is going to be super angry with me when I get back!”

As excitement turned to fear, Inari appeared to at least have some idea as to what we should do next.

“Hmmm, that reminds me Inari, while I don’t want to bring up painful memories, but there were other dead adventurers with you when the bandits attacked... Were... Were they your friends? If so, I’m sorry we couldn’t save them in time.”

Inari paused, while she didn’t look exactly sad, I could tell she was probably choosing her next words to me carefully.

“No, it’s fine Ko. I mean, yes, they were fellow adventurers, but it’s not like I was exactly close to them.

You see, the leader of that party, Jake, came to the Tavern to recruit a healer for a goblin subjugation request to round out their party composition. I agreed to help them, ignoring my friend’s advice to stay behind. While I didn’t know them all too well, they seemed like decent people. They were also the first humans I’ve interacted with---”

A few tears formed in Inari’s eyes, dripping onto her fur as she spoke about Jake and his party. While I was happy to learn a little more about how she ended up in this scenario, I had clearly touched on a sensitive subject and felt bad. The threat of death was a foreign concept to me, and I couldn’t imagine the feeling of losing someone you had talked to before in battle.

“But it’s ok, they didn’t die in vain. While it’s still sad, we avenged them of their killers, so their spirits can hopefully rest in peace.”

“I see, thank you for sharing. I appreciate it.”

Looking to change the subject, I started steering the conversation back towards my last remaining questions.

“Before we get going, I do have two more questions: First, do you happen to know where my backpack is? I have some very important items in there that might be useful for us. And second, when you cast appraisal on me, you spoke the incantation. However, earlier I think you did the same thing to me without speaking. Is there a difference in potency when you speak a spell vs. cast it from your head? I’ve been curious myself since I seemed to be able to do this during our encounter with the bandits as well.”

Inari’s face was overcome with shock with a slight hint of fear. Maybe I had said something I wasn’t suppose to? Hesitantly, she spoke to me in a stuttering tone.

“Incan.. Incantationless casting?? Heh, what do you mean casting spells without saying their incantation, nobody can possibly do that Ko!”

“But Inari, I’m pretty sure I did that myself during the battle a few times, I just pictured the spell I wanted to, and spoke the words in my mind! Also, I’m pretty sure you were doing that for a few of your spells as well, such as that barrier, and rock wall column attack an—”

“Nope! Definitely wasn’t me, well, I mean, I did cast those, but I was totally saying the words! I was just.. Super... Quite???”

Yep, clearly something was up. While I wasn’t convinced in anyway by Inari’s attempts to hide her shock and misdirection, she was clearly guilty of incantationless casting. But why the secrecy?

Not wanting to pry into the matter further, I decided to drop it so we could start heading back to the tavern she had mentioned. Apparently, this “Felice” was a very capable user of magic and might be able to help solve the mystery surrounding me.

“Oh, ummm your backpack! Yes!!! Ummm, I think I brought it with me, it should be over where you were lying down befor—”

Looking towards where Inari was pointing, I was happy to see that my trusty backpack was staring back at me with a defeated and confused expression, while it calmly rested underneath one of the nearby trees. Excited that it was with me, I rushed over, blissfully ignoring the pain coursing throughout my body as I reached inside. Next, grabbing my trusty “Mythical Healing Item” I eagerly applied one to my injuries. Slapping the bandage on my forehead, my body glowed in a brilliant, blue light as all my wounds and pain vanished! That’s when I remembered, my friend of a fox, was also probably still injured from our tango with the bandits!

“Hey, Inari, you’re still injured from our fight with the bandits, right?”

Having been fully healed from my injuries, along with the bubbly, foggy feeling in my head vanishing from the miracle of these bandages’ restorative powers, I quickly sprang to my feet rushing over to once again, join Inari by the tree.

Looking at her, her face was in complete shock at my instantaneous recovery! Inari, who was always rambling away, had been left speechless as to what just happened before her eyes! As I got closer, she managed to utter a response at her disbelief.

“I mean, yes bu—”

“Good!” I quickly interjected.

Removing a bandage from it’s protective packaging, I quickly slapped one onto her forehead as well, giving us a matching pair of brown bandages across our heads! Then, without pause, the bandage on Inari’s head began to glow that same, brilliant blue colour.

All of the cuts, scrapes, bruises, and dried blood, vanished, leaving behind her pristine, red and golden fur coat! Looking her over, I had to admit, she did seem rather cute spouting her confused, shocked look with accompanying forehead bandage! Her fur had also become noticeably fluffier! Almost like she had just dried off after a nice, warm bath! Unable to contain myself, I laughed at the whole situation.

“That isn’t funny Ko! What the heck did you do to me anyways? What is this thing?”

“Hahaha!!! Lets just say it’s magic from another world!”

I could tell Inari was annoyed at me for spontaneously slapping a foreign item on her head, but I had no regrets! Now, with another pouty expression, she huffed then sighed seeing as nothing bad had technically happened from my actions.

“Fine... but we should really get going, the suns are starting to set and it can get dangerous in the Eldermyst forest at nighttime.”

And so, after surviving a deadly encounter with bandits, Inari and I set off towards the Tavern she was staying at to try and find some answers about my situation.