Four months later…

Michelle

The carriages ferrying out Earthlings had arrived on a regular schedule since the very first one had arrived, with them coming every five days or so. They usually had some supplies to minorly improve our situation, and the level of comfort in the base further improved as the number of people dwindled.

It had been an absolutely agonizing wait for their turn to leave the base. They ended up being in the 23rd group to leave, which was about halfway through the total number. The calendar wasn’t exactly the same as Earth’s, but the amount of time they had spent in the base equated to roughly four whole months of just… waiting.

Michelle had attempted to play the “Won’t someone think of the children!” card, but there were thousands of other people who also wanted to leave the base just as badly as they did, and she hadn’t been lucky enough to get her group a ride out so early.

Although she did have her motorcycle, she still didn’t know her limitations with it. Not to mention that they would be woefully underequipped if they just left the base on their own. Everyone received a small amount of supplies when they left the base in a carriage.

During the several-month-long wait, she had experienced having a period several times. It had been unpleasant for her, but not fatal or anything so extreme. Michelle realized she was probably lucky hers weren’t worse. She had been a bit moody during her first one, but that was more because she was once again coming to terms with her new body.

I'm so lucky Amber and Sarah were both there to help me.

At long, long last, the four of them boarded a carriage for Elsanth. In a small way, they had actually been fortunate by having to wait for so long. Everyone who was left was allowed to take all the supplies with them that they’d already been given. This meant that the longer someone remained at the base, the better their starter kit was.

It still wasn’t much, but they had each been given a small bag to carry a few changes of clothes, blankets food, and some other supplies. Everyone was also given a beat-up leather breastplate and a knife.

The necessity of having to wear armor and prepare a weapon was another reason they had been reluctant to leave the base on their own, as they didn’t have those things. Stone knives made with Amber’s magic would only get them so far.

Even Luna was given a knife, though Michelle didn’t allow her to carry it. However, given that they were in a war zone and there were real, actual monsters in this world, she begrudgingly began showing her how to use it. She would only hand it over to her in an emergency, though.

It was only a few days by carriage to get to Elsanth, but the threat of monsters had kept nearly everyone from leaving on their own. And even with the game’s sheer level of detail in survival skills, most people from Earth still weren’t confident enough to survive in the wild.

When monsters showed up during their trip, they couldn’t do anything but watch as the soldiers killed them. They didn’t want any of the Earthlings messing up their work, anyway.

Michelle, Amber, and Sarah all remembered seeing those very monsters in the game, and could also tell that their appearance and behavior generally matched what she knew.

Luna cried when she monster get pierced by a soldier who had created earth spikes underneath it. She held her ice bunny tighter in her arms and leaned against Michelle, who did her best to comfort her daughter.

I hate that this is my new normal. I hate that Luna will likely face a monster herself one day. I hate the fact that the game’s realistic survival and monster-handling systems were actually just the Empire secretly training us. I hate all of this.

The Earthlings who'd already left had sent messages back confirming what the soldiers at the base had been telling them; which was that it'll be virtually impossible for everyone to get a job in Elsanth, or even any of the other cities in the Kingdom. Not even their Gifts are likely to help matters.

What awaited them in Elsanth was likely to not exactly be pleasant, but they were hoping it would be better than waiting around indefinitely in a research base.

———

On their second night of traveling, after they were all safe in their camp and Luna was asleep, Michelle quietly said to her friend, “Amber… I think I might have to seriously teach Luna how to hunt and take apart monsters and stuff.
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“Obviously, those aren’t things I want to do, but I think keeping those things hidden from her will only hinder her as she gets older.”

Amber frowned and looked at the young girl’s sleeping face. “I’ve been thinking about that, too. If we had grown up in this world, then we would’ve had some history and credibility, but instead, we’re all just a bunch of untrustworthy strangers summoned by the enemy.
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"We can't get jobs other than monster slaying in this part of the world where people know of us. That sentiment might die out the farther away from here we get, though.”

Michelle nodded solemnly. “I hope so. We'll probably have little choice but to work as monster slayers for some time.
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"On Earth, there are many examples of kids going out to hunt at incredibly young ages, even in modern times when it’s unnecessary. I’ve always abhorred the idea of hunting for sport, but that’s not what this is.
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“If I don’t teach Luna these things, things might actually turn out horribly for her. Especially since some level of combat capability is expected from pretty much everyone in this world, no matter who they are or where they're from."

Amber added, “And schools in this world even teach monster slaying lessons as part of the mandatory curriculum. Monsters are just so prevalent that something like that is necessary.”

"Yeah," Michell sighed. "I guess I just have to accept that this is going to happen no matter what. The only thing I can do is prepare her as best I can for it.”

Amber placed a hand on her shoulder. “You won’t be alone, you know? You have me and Sarah to help you. And our Gifts. That’s something most people don’t have.”

“That’s true. Speaking of, I might finally get a chance to drive my new motorcycle for the first time. Having the ability to just hop on it at any given moment but not take it anywhere has made me so restless.”

She smirked. “I’ve noticed. And I might finally get to do something other than repairing and adjusting shoddy clothes.”

“You did sharpen our knives yesterday. I very much appreciate that.”

“I’m excited to really dig into the meat of my Gift, too. I should create some ridiculous armor for myself so that people who want to cosplay as me have to put in some serious effort.”

Michelle snorted.

“Mom…?” Luna sleepily asked.

“Sorry, sweetie. Go back to sleep.”

“Mm.”

She watched as her daughter fell back into unconsciousness.

“Probably a good idea for us to sleep, too,” Amber said.

“Yeah. Thank you, Amber.”

“Mhmm. Goodnight.”

“’Night.”

———

It was around noon the next day when they finally arrived in Elsanth. It was a small city, as they were already aware. Most of the buildings were made of stone, with a few wooden ones throughout. The walls surrounding the city were also made entirely of stone. Enchantments and magic tools glowed here and there, creating interesting mini light shows. Anything interesting the city had was completely ruined by the residents glaring and spitting at them as they walked past, however.

Among their provisions, they each had been given a small pouch containing several coins, though that meager amount of money wouldn’t get them very far. They knew where they wanted to eventually travel to, but they barely had enough money to even leave Elsanth, let alone go somewhere a great distance away.

Their planned journey would take them through several countries, meaning they would have to exchange currency in each one, possibly even multiple times in a single country.

The army that had been taking care of them had arranged for three nights in an inn for free. The food wasn’t free, however, and would come out of the money they were given. Luna had received a share of money as well, which meant their group had slightly more to work with, as she didn’t eat as much as an adult.

With only a few days to work with and meager savings to get them by, they had to act quickly to secure income for themselves.

That meant they would have to register as slayers. The people of this city clearly hated the regular deliveries of foreigners it had been receiving, and seemed utterly sick of all the new people from Earth showing up all the time. They weren't going to hire any of them.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t anyone at all that Michelle trusted to take care of Luna, which meant she was left with the unfortunate decision of either bringing her with them when they went to kill a monster, or leaving behind one of the adults to stay with her, making the others’ odds of success drop drastically.

Their first order of business was to see what armor and weapons they could get within their budget. The cheap breastplates and knives they each had could hardly even be called a bare minimum.

The people of Elsanth were obviously used to all the Earthlings passing through, as they were directed to an armory before they could barely even get a word out.

They had no idea whether or not any of the things on display were actually worth their price, but with Amber’s ability to repair damage on the used and worn-out items, they could afford to buy more cheaply than most.

Going by the way the shopkeeper scowled at their cheap purchase and refusal to pay for repairs, he was apparently making a killing by showing off his worst crap to Earthlings, and selling it and repairs to them for presumably exorbitant prices.

Because it was normal in this world for kids to do dangerous things—with a parent, usually—they were even able to get armor for Luna without Amber having to resize something.

Trying to gouge us to repair this heavily-used and obviously cheap armor…

The armor even had stains, which she tried not to think about. Though, it at least seemed to have been cleaned pretty well.

They also picked up a weapon for everyone. Michelle got a sword, which had been her weapon in the game. Luna got a shortsword, which meant Michelle could teach her what she knew. And Amber and Sarah received a bow and a hammer respectively. They also picked up a couple healing potions, which left the group with scant money remaining.

They next headed for the Slayer’s Guild to see what was available. They planned to start working the following morning, however, after Amber had already fixed up their gear.

The people at the Guild were also used to all the strangers passing through, and the staff had prepared a written explanation for them beforehand so they wouldn’t have to repeat the same answers to the same questions a million times.

With their supplies purchased and the Guild’s explanation in hand, they headed for their inn. The room they had been given was cramped, and had two beds with hardly any space at all between them. Michelle and Luna would take one bed, and Amber and Sarah would take the other.

They sat in their room to look through the information the Guild had given them, which was a bunch of rules, as well as answers to numerous questions the previous people from Earth must’ve been asking.

To everyone’s dismay, some of the information in the packet they had received was about how bandits are actually real in this world, and in those situations, it’s expected for those defending against an attack to just kill them instead of capturing them. Many places will even give people fines for causing trouble to the guards by bringing captured bandits.

Few people are ever imprisoned. The people who became bandits in the first place had usually done something pretty bad to end up rejected by society like that.

Michelle looked down at Luna, who was sitting in her lap. To the others, she told them, “I’m not sure if I could do it. I can’t help but think about what their lives are like, what reasons are motivating them. What if they’re just doing their best for their kids?”

Sarah looked at her sternly. “You might not have a choice when the time comes.”

“I know.”

Michelle resolved herself for a day that she hoped would never come.

With everything else sorted out for the day, everyone put on their armor so Amber could make sure everything was sized correctly. She made sure all the armor and weapons were in as good of condition as she could get them, then they went to sleep for the night.