Before I went and got carried away with my shopping, I made my way back to the inn and reserved a room for the night. I was likely to move to the upper city tomorrow, but I’d already promised to meet up with Gavin tonight, and I didn’t want to find there was no room at the inn when it came time to sleep.

Room secured, I headed back to the market.

I considered stopping my a money changer, but still didn’t feel like turning my Vallan currency into the local stuff yet. Hmm, I still hadn’t heard this country’s name. I should probably figure that out sooner rather than later.

Well, the wyvern claws sold for a good amount, so I should be fine for a while, as long as I don’t go overboard with buying stuff.

As soon as I reached the market, I started browsing. This being the merchant’s district, there was an immense assortment of items available, though most of it failed to interest me. Clothes? Nope, got plenty. Dishes, same, and I can make them myself from rocks with earth magic. Baskets? Bah, I’ve seen better. Food, yeah, lets buy some of that.

Several hours later, my purse was feeling rather light, and I’d added a ton of food to my storage. Maybe more. Oh, I mean that literally, since I found plenty of interesting foods I liked that seemed to be offered at a good price. Did I get scammed? I don’t think so? Well, the funds I spent were nothing compared to what I have available.

I gave up and visited the money changer, turning some gold and silver into their local equivalents. I didn’t even bother with copper. The exchange rates made it not worth the effort. I lost five percent of the value. I hate money changers.

At least I have plenty of funds now, and already finished browsing the marketplace for foo… what’s that. It wasn’t there earlier.

---

Before returning to the inn, I swung by the guild to see what quests were available. I’d seen some of them earlier, but hadn’t had much time before I reached the front of the line. Fortunately, the place was pretty empty, since most people were out on jobs.

Since I was only a rank zero, my choices were very limited, and there wasn’t much other than day labor available. There were some materials quests, but I didn’t have what they asked for. In fact, I was lucky the wyvern I’d encountered were similar enough to the ones from Valla for their claws to work at filling the request.

In fact, I don’t even recognize most of the monster names listed on the wall. Some things translate over, like goblins, orc, ogre and troll, but what the heck is a gurbnak?

Sighing, I left without taking any requests. Hopefully the guild hall in the upper city will have a better selection, since I’ll be going there tomorrow. If nothing else, I’ll be able to rent a dismantling room and carve up the wyvern I caught yesterday. I wonder if the meat tastes different here than it does on Valla?

Back at the inn, I found a comfortable seat and situated myself, placing an order for a beverage while I waited. It was likely to be a while before Gavin arrived, since he said he’d be working till around the seventh bell, six PM. It was probably only around five, so I had over an hour to wait. Hmm, probably a good deal longer if this morning was any indication.

I’d already freshened up, since doing so was easy with magic, so I enjoyed a book while sipping my on some ale. I didn’t use to like the stuff, but I’d acquired a taste for it in the ten years since I’d first been summoned.

I’d been really surprised when it had happened, especially since I’d woken up on a cold stone floor in naught but my underwear. The magic didn’t even have the decency to bring along the blanket I’d had covering me.

Fortunately, I had been provided clothes quickly so as to preserve the ‘dignity of the hero.’ The one who’d greeted, and clothed me magically, called herself the goddess of light. No name, just her title. She explained that I’d been summoned since a situation had arisen where an ancient evil had escaped its seal and was wreaking havoc on the land, loosing other beasts and worming its way into dark hearts to lead the world to destruction.

The hero had been summoned since no one on Valla was able to wield the Holy Magic required to either seal or destroy the dark being, a remnant of a defeated evil god. There should have been a saint, but she hadn’t been revealed yet, meaning she was too young for her powers to manifest, not even the gods knew who it would be, since that was something only the chief god, the creator, would know, but he’d been asleep healing from wounds taken when the evil god was originally defeated millennia ago.

So a Hero was summoned to hold the line and drive back the darkness until the saint came into her powers. Or possibly to give my life to seal it away long enough for a new one to be born and grow.

I was summoned to defend a world not my own, or to be a sacrifice if I faltered.

I’d been given blessing by many gods to assist me in surviving, but I’d still started out incredibly weak. I knew many things, but most of it was of no use in this fight. Given the choice between fighting with my life on the line or being extinguished forever, I put all of my blood, sweat, and tears into growing stronger as fast as I could.

It had been a close fight, but I’d held out long enough. Though the saint that had been revealed was a surprise to everyone, including me.

Saints were always female. The Hero was always male.

But things is not always binary.

It had been eight years since I’d been summoned. I’d defended the world, pushing back the darkness time and again, but I was unable to continue forever. I collapsed, and was barely evacuated before the fortress we’d been defending had been overrun.

While recuperating, I found something I never thought I’d find. A solution to not the world’s problem, but my own personal one. One that had been tearing me up for the longest time.

The shapeshifting spell.

I’d known that something was wrong with me for the longest time, but it hadn’t been until I’d reached my middle years that I’d realized what it was. I’d been born a male, but I wasn’t. Not entirely.

Learning the spell, I’d altered my body, making it so it suited my soul.

Not male, not female, but both together.

And the saint’s power was released.

With my rebirth, a wave of holy energy had been released, reviving the lands that had been devastated around the fortress we’d fallen back into after the previous one had fallen.

Not only was the land revived, but also the body’s and souls of those who were putting themselves on the line to defend the world. The army’s will and courage reignited from the dying embers, I led the charge, taking back that which we’d lost.

A Hero was a powerful fighter, a Saint was a force that comforts and heals. Being both, I was unstoppable. But I’d been only only one person. I couldn’t be everywhere. So it had taken two more years, and many lives, but the world had been saved. The fragment was destroyed, something long believed impossible, only made possible by not being just a Hero or a Saint, but the best of both.

While the war had ended, what the world needed was time to rebuild itself, but already the darkness within the hearts of man had begun to tempt many. I’d intended to stay on that world, one where I felt more myself than I had on Earth, but what happened forced me to change my mind.

The war had ended, but another began. One fought over who would wed me. And where my will was being ignored. As long as I was on Valla, there would be no peace, so I was forced to leave. To return to my original home, a place where I’d never really been myself.

Or that’s what would have happened, had this new summons not occurred. But what had they been trying to summon? A Hero, or a Saint? Or had they tried to summon a Sage? I’d ended up earning that title as well for my mastery of magic, though it was not a title that was exclusive to a single person at a time. At least not on Valla. I’d been one of three before my departure. It had only been possible for me with the books from the ancient library and the blessings of the gods.

Speaking of the blessings, I hadn’t actually checked my status since arriving, since nothing had seemed to change from when I’d been on Valla.

I pulled up my status.

WHAT THE HELL!?

I had a new freaking title. One I never wanted. One I shouldn’t have, since I’d been born human.

The Creator.

The freak is this?! I ain’t no god! Or was it because I’ve got a ton of crafting skills.

Calm down. Check the details. Nothing to do until I know what it actually means.

[Creator]: Title given to the divinely blessed craftsman. Grants the creation magic skill.

Okay, so that’s not too bad. It’s a skill for craftsmen, which I am. I know a bunch of them, since I couldn’t rely on supplies always being available, and had to make stuff for my party from whatever we could scrounge. Plus, among the blessing I’d received were some from crafting gods which is why I’d gotten as good as I had in so short a time, especially with a war going on.

So then, let’s see what the new magic skill is.

[Creation Magic]: Allows the user to substitute ingredients in crafting with mana, even allowing something to be created from nothing but mana. Can create items without the need for tools if desired. Must have a very clear image of what the user desires created.

Hmm? I think I remember reading a story with something like this. Ah, yeah. That one with a weird name. I mean how could you be unsure that you were in another world with all that evidence? Though I guess many web novel titles are weird, or just don’t translate well.

I’d like to try out the new magic, but this wasn’t a good place to do so.

I checked my status for additional changes, but there was nothing but those two that I could recognize as different. There may have been some changes in skill levels, but I seldom checked my status. It was a bad habit to rely on the thing, it was better be able to recognize the differences with my body rather than reading it on a screen.

Not sure if it makes to other people, but it makes sense to me.

I went back to reading my book. I wasn’t actually reading the one I had in my hands, but one of the ancient ones. But just staring into space tended to get me into trouble, so I’d gotten used to holding a physical book when I read. It kept me from having to explain how my skill worked.

I’d tried doing other stuff with it, but it had been… messy. It wasn’t possible to dismantle stuff without removing it. I didn’t want to think of the results again.

I was on my second mug of ale when the seventh bell rang. That means he should be getting off of work soon, though he’ll have to swing by the guild office to collect his pay before coming here. It’ll likely be busy, so I didn’t expect him anytime soon.

I kept reading, though with the sun setting, the place was lit with candles. They didn’t make reading easy, so I casually threw an orb of light into the air above me without stopping to think about it. It sucked that I still needed light to read from the screens.

The room went quiet. Thinking there might be a possible threat having entered the room, I looked up from my reading… and found that everyone’s eyes were on me? Huh? Why?

I tilted my head in a questioning fashion. And whispers broke out across the room.

I shrugged and went back to my book. Conversations continued around me, though I couldn’t make out most of them. The ones I could have made out, I ignored in favor of my book.

I was working my way through a book on construction magic. Basically ways to build things with magic. I was able to make a two-story building, but when I’d tried making larger ones, they hadn’t lasted long. Now I knew why! If I just…

“Rynn!”

“Hmm?”

I looked up from my reading, finding Gavin in front of me.

“Oh! Sorry, interesting book, I can get really distracted when I get into a book. How was your day?”

He sighed, rubbing his face with a hand.

“Rynn. What’s that?”

He pointed up.

“The light ball? I wasn’t getting enough light from the candles, so I threw it up there. It’s got a few hours left before it fades. Why?”

I furled my brow, not sure why he’d asked about such a simple magic.

“You can use light magic?”

“Well yeah, but that spell is something anyone can learn even without being able to use other light magics. It falls under lifestyle magic if one doesn’t have the light attribute. Hmm? Is there a problem?”

“Yeah. You need a lesson in common sense. And we need to get out of here before they arrive.”

He’d grabbed me and started dragging me towards the door, only for it to open and a cloaked man led in a pair of men dressed in armor so highly polished it shone silver in the light. Over it was a white tabard marked with a red rose.

“F-”

The cloaked man pointed at me, and the knights? Moved towards me.

“Are you the blasphemer who wasted the gift of the goddess on a reading light?”

“No.”

“She’s lying! I saw her do it.”

The knight stared at me, expectantly, so I continued.

“I wasted nothing. Nor am I blasphemer. For to be one is to speak against the divine, who I truly believe in. So I was not lying.”

“You have broken the laws of the church and will be punished.”

The knight reached out to grab me.

“I beg your pardon, but does your church rule this land? I was under the impression that this land had another ruler. Is the church claiming to be the lawmaker?”

I have no idea how this land is actually governed, so I was just making stuff up.

He froze. Score!

“If your church does not rule the land, then the only ones who your laws apply to are those who have sworn to obey those laws, not the residents of this land, and certainly not those who are merely visiting.”

His face turned red in anger.

“You dare imply that the church could possibly be wrong?! That we should let evil spread across the land!?”

“If you refer to the use of magic evil, then you are the blasphemer. The gods gave the people this power than they might improve their lives. If your leaders teach that using the power they bestowed on their children is evil, then I would look really hard at how those people are acting.”

He tried to grab at me, but I struck his hand away.

“Try to touch me again, and I will have to assume you mean me harm and act in self defense. You won’t like me when I get defensive.”

I leaked just a little bit of my power out utilizing the intimidate skill, directed only at the idiot who though using magic was evil. His face went from beet red to pale white in moments. His legs also got shakey. If that tiny amount of power shakes him that much, he’d probably die if I if I upped it much further. I was only releasing around five percent…

Weakling.

Not knowing what was going on the other knight drew his sword and attacked me, only to be met with my blade which deflected his strike to the ground. Not wanting him to attack again, I struck the sword from above, making him drop it to the ground, then knocked him out with a blow to the head.

“Hey Gavin. This guy attacked me, who do I talk to about that?”

He’d backed off when the fools arrived.

“No one! Not if you value your life. If I’d known you were a witch, I’d have told you to leave the way you came. The guards obey them.”

Ah, great. So I’d pissed off the de facto rulers of the land by using one of the most simple spells. FML. I wasn’t sure if Gavin was helping me or cursing me for getting him involved in this. His words kinda went both ways. I didn’t appreciate being called a witch. Mage, sage, hero, saint. I’d answer to those, but not witch. It had too many negative connotations.

Hope it wasn’t these axxholes who summoned me here, cause they’re unlikely to be willing to work with me. Though do I really want to go home?

Well, given the situation, I don’t think staying at this inn was a good idea. I’d have to think about whether I wanted to go home or not later. It was time to skedaddle. At least I didn’t have to collect anything before departing. I didn’t drop anything off in the room, since I got it only to sleep in.

I headed towards the door, leaving the crowd behind. I’d easily overpowered two temple knights, or whatever they got called here, no one wanted to follow me and make me angry.

Ah… there were more of them outside, with a wagon, likely to carry me to whatever prison they’d decided using magic had earned me. Fools. Magic was there to be used, not treated like toxic waste.

The temple knights drew their swords. No one was supposed to leave unless accompanied by their commander. Well screw that. I powered on my aura, making them collapse to the ground foaming at the mouth. Or pissing themselves.

Seriously, what weaklings! Did no one train these idiots? Only a raw recruit would have fallen to that back on Valla. They’d be able to withstand a quarter of my power by the time they’d finished basic training. Well, at least this means I’m unlikely to encounter many that can cause me problems.

Before walking away, I had to leave a message with them.

“Pass this message to your superiors, all the way to the top. You do not know who you have decided to make an enemy of. Leave me alone, or I will make you regret it. I want peace, but if you bring a war, I will end it.”

Then I left, fading into the darkness of the night.