My Favorite Isekai Adventure (Konosuba)

Chapter 11: The First, Brief World-Crossing

The newly rebuilt house couldn't be moved into immediately; it needed some time for the smell to air out. In addition, they had all worked very hard during that period, and everyone hoped to rest for a few days.

And during this time, Kobayashi decided to cross into another world for the first time.

Something he had never mentioned was that there was another very important reason he had teamed up with Megumin and Darkness.

Namely, they weren't very bright.

Other adventurers would surely have noticed Kobayashi's abnormalities. No matter how well he hid them, they would have found some clues. But with Megumin and Darkness, there was no need for such worries. With their intelligence, Kobayashi could fool them ten times over! Even if they did notice something amiss, with Satou Kazuma and Aqua providing cover, there shouldn't be any problem.

Inside the inn room.

Kobayashi said to the two of them, "In summary, I am preparing to use my cheat ability."

"Ooooh!!!"

Satou Kazuma was even more excited than Kobayashi.

"Finally... is it finally time for Kobayashi-senpai to make his move?! I thought it would be sooner."

"Well, I couldn't help but worry about you all."

Everyone in the party was a problem child. If he didn't manage their schedules carefully, they could cause a huge impact. He had no doubt about their destructive capabilities.

His plan was brilliant: first, exhaust their stamina, then cross worlds while they were recovering.

"So, I'm counting on you while I'm away, Kazuma-kun."

"No problem, leave it to me!"

Satou Kazuma patted his chest in assurance, then looked at the idiotic goddess beside him and nudged her shoulder. "Hey, Aqua, don't you have anything to say?"

"Say what?"

Aqua looked at the two of them with a clueless expression. Then, under Kobayashi's expectant gaze, she slowly said, "Umm... have a safe trip?"

"That's it?! You idiot goddess?!" Kazuma cursed in anger.

"Ah! You called me an idiot goddess!"

Aqua was also angry and immediately retorted loudly, "What right do you have to talk, you sneaky shut-in otaku Kazuma!"

"Wh-... what did you say? I don't understand."

Kazuma sensed trouble. So Kobayashi-senpai hadn't been lying to him; Aqua really did know about his embarrassing secret.

Kobayashi sighed in disappointment. He had thought Aqua might be able to tell him some relevant information about world-crossing, but looking at her idiotic expression, she had probably long forgotten how to use the cheat ability.

Sigh, I was an idiot for placing my hopes in her.

"Forget it, you two, stop fighting."

Kobayashi separated them and instructed, "I'll be crossing worlds in a moment. I'm counting on you two after I'm gone. If I'm late coming back, please provide cover for me with Megumin and Darkness, Kazuma-kun."

With that, he raised his right hand to communicate with the ring.

"—Cross!"

A flash of light passed, and Kobayashi's figure vanished instantly. The entire process was so plain and simple that it lacked any special effects.

"Oooohh... oh?"

Kazuma's cry of amazement got stuck halfway. He said, a little strangely, "He just disappeared like that?"

"What else did you want?" Aqua said, shrugging.

"Normally, shouldn't there be a few brightly glowing magic circles... or something?"

"How is that possible? Magic circles are just a waste of divine power. As long as it works, isn't that good enough?"

Aqua had a look of disdain, as if she looked down on flashy but impractical things.

Kazuma said, unconvinced, "You're not wrong, but are you being serious?"

The Goddess of Water who had always loved to show off in front of others and display her flashy but useless party tricks was now saying that magic circles befitting a super-high-spec cheat ability were impractical. It was truly surprising. For a moment, Kazuma suspected she had been replaced by an imposter.

But, just as she said, as long as the cheat worked, special effects weren't important at all.

Meanwhile, on the other side.

Gears. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but gears.

Endless gears, of varying sizes and different shapes, yet they all fit together seamlessly, fused into one.

The strange feeling of intricate complexity combined with orderly precision stretched infinitely into the distance, merging with the horizon, as if the entire planet were made of countless gears.

At this moment, Kobayashi was standing on a balcony, looking down.

On the completely mechanized streets, a few conspicuously out-of-place wooden buildings could occasionally be seen. Walking on the roads were not just people and pets, but also numerous mechanical creations. The city center was bustling with activity, and the advertisements plastered on the sides of the high-rise buildings were giant virtual images.

It was a style different from both his previous world and this other world. The massive city, filled with a cyberpunk atmosphere, was a real eye-opener.

"Ooooh, so this is another world?"

A cry of surprise escaped the young man's lips. "The level of technology is even more advanced than my previous life?!"

Even Kobayashi was incredibly excited. The world-crossing he had always longed for had finally been realized. It was impossible not to be excited. Especially since the world he had crossed into this time was a cyberpunk style he was very fond of.

Double the happiness!

"Hmm... what should I do next? Should I leave here and go to the downtown area, or should I scout around here first before leaving?"

Both were good options. Kobayashi was caught in a dilemma.

Whirrrrrrrrrrrrr—

An unusual sound reached his ears. In the distance, a helicopter flew at a low altitude. The multi-barreled rotary machine guns on its sides reflected a dark, cold light under the sun, seeming to say that it was not to be trifled with.

Hiss—

He subconsciously sucked in a breath of cold air.

With his current physical stats, he couldn't possibly withstand a barrage from firearms. It seemed this world was a bit dangerous; he would have to be careful from now on.

While he was thinking, the helicopter flew over his head. Amidst the deafening roar, there was another strange sound, and something unusual fell from the sky.

He only noticed it when the black dot on the ground grew larger and larger, completely covering his body.

He looked up abruptly!

A huge container was already right in front of him!

Cold sweat instantly broke out on Kobayashi's forehead, his legs went weak, and he couldn't help but blurt out a quintessential curse.

"—Holy shit!"

Terrified, just as the container was about to hit him, he activated a skill and took a step back, avoiding the tragic fate of being splattered on the spot and turned into a meat pancake.

BOOM!

Due to the immense impact of the falling container, the open-air balcony couldn't withstand it. It immediately collapsed and fell down with the container, kicking up a cloud of thick smoke.

But in that instant, Kobayashi's figure blurred and then vanished.

Also vanishing was the container that had fallen from the sky.

The huge roar attracted the attention of the residents. A few minutes later, a short young man wrapped in a bath towel appeared on the roof. But when he saw the empty scene, he couldn't help but wonder if his super-hearing had made a mistake.

"Huh? Did I hear wrong?"

The blue-haired boy uncertainly took off the cheap soundproof headphones he was wearing and fiddled with them.

At the same time, he muttered to himself, "But I clearly heard someone... and what does 'fck... sht...' mean?"

His clumsy imitation was laughable.

A cool breeze blew past, and the cold air made the boy, who was immersed in fixing his headphones, shiver.

Coming back to his senses, he saw the horribly destroyed rooftop, and the boy couldn't help but hold his head and scream, "My... my roof... who did this?! Damn it!!!!"

However, the originator of the chaos and the implicated Kobayashi were no longer in this world.

(End of Chapter)