It took longer to explain what a video game is compared to telling them the information of the future. I gave up explaining everything and just told them that it's like a fictional story where you can play as the protagonist and follow the story as the protagonist. Then you can make a decision as the protagonist.
"Anyway, the main point is that demons are coming and they will attack this world. Not about what a video game is. That's too difficult to explain," I say.
"How do you make video game in that world?" Felix, probably the most curious one, asks that to me.
"It's too difficult to do in this world. But it's basically a string of 1s and 0s. There need a specialized knowledge and technology to make one. I don't have it," I say.
I was a teacher. But I don't have knowledge in computer science. And even if I do, these people will just end up asking what a computer is later.
"That's not important right now. What's more important is the demon," Sven says. He's quite smart despite his appearance.
"Not just that. I want to ask Asdis herself about how she picked the protagonist and if he's important to this world. And also why the main story starts in one year from now. But first of all, is it true that demons are coming soon?" I ask Asdis, the Goddess herself.
She's the Goddess whose name is Asdis and Asdis has Goddess as the meaning of that name. Did she name herself?
But that's not important, right? It's about the future of this world that I live in now. That's more important.
[…What I know at the moment is yes, the barrier between this world and the demon world has started showing gaps and opening. Some demons might already have entered this world. And all demons have no desire to live in peace with the humans. All of them look down on humans with most of them want humans to be killed. Some are open with their intention and some are hiding their intention. I think it's highly likely that those smart demons who are hiding their intention have entered this world already. If that's really the message from the future me, we have to be ready for anything at any time,] the Goddess says.
Good. Telling the Holy Knights to prepare themselves for what's coming is good.
"But we still don't know how much future this kid knows," Sven says.
"I'm a reincarnator. I'm not a kid," I say.
"You're a kid now so get used to it," he replies.
I have gotten used to it. For seventeen years.
I casually grabbed a pack of cigarette from my pocket and put one in my mouth before lighting it up. But Rosalinda stops me by gripping on my wrist.
"No smoking. I hate smoker," she says.
"One of the knowledge I learn from the game is this. Smoking using red grass. It increases my maximum mana and after testing it it's real. You can see the difference if you smoke fifty cigarettes a day but I have stopped doing that after I have a lot of mana but I still smoke one whenever I can. Also, red grass cigarette has no taste and no smell. The butt can also be swallowed without any health risk. It's just the effect is so miniscule no one thinks much about it. You should start smoking one since you're a mage and we will have a war in the future," I say as I light up a matchstick and light up the cigarette.
[After watching him since I lost my power to reincarnate someone, I knew he did things that no one knows in this world. I thought it's common in his previous world so I didn't think much of it. I guess it's another thing he learned from that video game,] Asdis says.
Everyone is now looking at me curiously. It's weird because all I did was lighting up a cigarette.
Felix, the most curious one, grabbed the cigarette from my mouth and put it in his mouth. Seriously?
"There's no taste and no smell indeed. So there's only positive effect but because the effect is so little no one cares about it even though red grass is almost everywhere? Interesting," he says.
"As I said, you can only see the effect after smoking fifty of them at least. I can use an extra slip magic after fifty of them. Now I can use it to transport you all to another country as you have experienced it so I stopped smoking that much but I haven't stopped smoking completely. Who knows if there's a time when I will have to use magic nonstop for days?" I explain.
"But why slip magic?" Felix asks.
Why slip magic? Why indeed.
"That's also my question. Why is someone with an important task who knows the future is given a talent in slip magic? I'm asking the Goddess herself now. Why not other better and stronger magic or even just swordsmanship or something?" I ask the Goddess.
[Humans' talent is never up to me. Also, ask the future me since I have no memories about it. But one thing for sure is that if you have other talent, you wouldn't be able to grow as strong as you are now,] Asdis says.
That might be true. If I have swordsmanship talent, I would just focus on swordsmanship and probably won't care about magic at all. Because I have slip magic, I needed to develop it to the point where I can use it at any time including during battle. I guess it's good that I have slip magic talent.
Because of that, even now, I still believe that there are many other ways I can improve slip magic.
"So, demons will be coming. Now what?" Jaden asks.
"Asdis, is there a way we can tell if someone is a human or a demon? Some of the demons can shapeshift into humans and humans can change into demons if they make a contract with them or they have been corrupted by the demons. Is there a way for us to recognize if there are demons on the street?" I ask.
[I don't have anything like that. If I have enough Divine Power, I might be able to create something like that. But I don't have any so you are the only one with clues of demons right now,] Asdis says.
"Damn! Then about the protagonist. Why did you pick him as the protagonist of the story?" I ask.
I don't know his personality. After all, during interaction, the protagonist mainly replied with yes or no. So I don't know if he can be trusted or not.
I explain about the protagonist to the Goddess. There must be a reason why he's picked as the protagonist.
[I don't know. I don't even know him until now. Right now, he's just helping with the farm in his village and he doesn't even know his talents yet,] she says.
"There's nothing we can do about someone we don't know anything about yet. What's more important is the truth. The truth that demons will be coming in the future. What should we do until then?" Duchess Johanna asks.
"Get stronger, get smarter, and get everything as much as possible before the time comes," I answer simply.
"You make it sound simple. I have already reached the peak of swordsmanship and there's nothing I can improve at anymore," Jaden says.
"That's extremely arrogant of you knowing full well I defeated you when you didn't use Aura. Do you think my swordsmanship worse than you? And just a reminder, I have no talent in swordsmanship. My only talent is in slip magic," I say.
Jaden remembering what happened during our fight before. Sure I used slip magic to ignore defense and increase attack. Though he doesn't know it yet.
"Wait, if I use magic like yours, I can ignore defense. I can cut through armor like they're nothing," Jaden says.
"Haa… I have said it a few times to other people but the common sense of this world is totally broken. Talent is not everything. It's just a direction where you can walk to if you want. People of this world mostly just walk through that direction their talents pointed at without thinking much when you can take other ways. Just look at Keith. He has a farm next to his house. Keith, do you have a talent in farming?" I ask Keith. The one with a family.
"Nope. It took a while for me to grow a crop when I first started and finally harvested it. Even then, for a few years, my vegetables weren't as good as the ones I bought on the market. But I still farmed and now…"
"Now you can be self-sufficient. There are things you can do without the talent. Get stronger, get smarter, and get everything as much as possible before the demon invasion begins. Fuck, I'm going to teach you many things if you want. I was a fucking teacher in my previous life. I taught kids and teenagers but now I have to teach adults? Whatever. It's for my survival anyway," I say.
There are things that they can do with their strength, knowledge, and influence. I can help them realize those things. I was a teacher after all. I guess I'm a teacher again now.
"I see. I'll take that offer. It's also for my family. In exchange, we will teach you about other things. Archery from me, swordsmanship from Jaden, maybe unarmed combat or armed combat with different weapons from Sven, magic from Rosalinda, and various knowledge from Felix, Sabine, and Johanna. Will you accept it?" Keith asks.
"If you didn't offer that to me I would have ask that of you. I will also teach you things that will probably happen in the future hopefully we can avoid them. But what I know is mainly through the path that the protagonist went through in the game," I say.
"Learning things at this age? Fine. I also can spar with Jaden as much as possible so I will accept it," Sven says.
"You're just a fighting maniac. Goddess, we will need something to teach this reincarnated kid things from this world. Sven, Keith, and I will make sure that he can learn to use Aura without any talent in combat. If he wants to prove to us that talent is not everything, he will have to use himself as a proof. If he learns Aura, then we can really improve even though all of us thought that we have reached the limit of what we can do," Jaden says.
Learning Aura? That's awesome. With Aura and slip magic, I will be many times stronger.
[Alright. Then, I'll make Miroslav stay in the Training Zone until he can use Aura. If he can't use Aura, he will not be able to leave. While the others can come in and out whenever,] Asdis says.
This Traning Zone is also a place where she can appear without being summoned. It's a place in another dimension that Asdis created in the past to train Holy Knights especially those who excel in combat where she can stay without disappearing since it's not on this world.
Maybe I will be a Holy Knight as well in the future. But what does a Holy Knight do? I'll ask that later.
Now, it's time for a long and difficult training. I have to learn how to use Aura as much as possible.