Monster

"I guess I exaggerated a bit about going on an adventure..." I muttered with a frown.

My eyes, sheltered behind sunflower-rimmed glasses, were lost in the enigma of streets that unfolded before me, a labyrinth of asphalt and brick.

The place where I was right now was a residential area, an oasis of serenity in the city's desert, a haven of peace in the urban chaos.

The noises, smells, and vibrant colors surrounding me faded away, replaced by a silence as soft as a wool blanket on bare skin.

"... Strange. It shouldn't be far from the busy main streets." I mused, though without giving it too much thought, like someone watching a cloud pass by.

At first, I had been content to wander and browse in the stores, like a child in a candy store, eyes bright and mouth full of wonder.

But as I discovered more and more hidden treasures, I got sidetracked until I finally lost my way.

In my right hand, a bag of purchases swayed to the rhythm of my steps.

On my face, sunflower-rimmed glasses shielded my eyes from the sun, though the moon had already taken place in the sky.

And over my shoulders, a new jacket, a contradiction to my thoughts of thrift and frugality.

Nevertheless, upon deeper reflection, I concluded that I wanted and needed to enjoy this new life.

Even God had stated that the opportunity to return to life as I had done was extremely rare!

So I justified these purchases with that idea, like a lawyer defending his client.

I had avoided falling into total profligacy either, even though there were as many ways to lose money as there were to make it.

Therefore,

I set a limit on how much yen I could spend. I had enough cash to afford it.

Otherwise, I would find myself in my apartment, waiting the next day to go to the bank and sort out the relevant problems.

Or, failing that, call my legal guardian, the trusted family lawyer in charge of my finances until I came of age.

As I mentioned, the suicide letter Noah wrote was especially detailed for my convenience.

Of course, I didn't have a credit card because of my age.

Instead, I used a student debit card, which allowed me to withdraw money from ATMs like a miniature adult.

With its limit defined.

But with so much on my mind, that card slipped my mind just as I had forgotten to charge my phone.

At times like these, I wished I had Noah's memories, akin to a castaway longing for dry land.

However, not feeling emotionally affected, I didn't consider it a loss I regretted...

... Life is a game of give and take. You can only expect some things to go your way. Not all.

Thud!

Thud!

Suddenly, a dull sound and others captured my attention at that instant, pulling me away from my inner thoughts.

Should I go? It was a doubt that turned into an action.

Curious yet careful, I followed the sound to a dark alley, where I found a scene that looked like something out of a horror movie.

A man lay on the ground, his arm and parts of his body in a nasty state due to what I assumed was acid.

He was also mumbling something intelligible that I couldn't understand. Beneath him, an ever-growing pool of blood formed from the largest lesion.

At his side, a sword-sheathed-

It was then. A thrill of unease ran through me, and without further thought, I activated the Sharingan!

Maybe I was too nervous because of what I looked up earlier on the internet, but...

My eyes turned a bloodshot red with a single tomoe surrounding the pupil like a planet in the sun.

'This is good.'

So far, I didn't feel strange or exhausted. Nor did I experience dizziness or headache, like last time.

And from the entrance of the alley, a few meters away that seemed less because of these eyes,

A creature with numerous mouths and a body resembling a mass of partially scorched flesh was slowly approaching!

Moreover, its laughter was an amalgam of disturbing sounds far from normal. Undoubtedly, a nightmarish monster.

Surrounding his body was an aura that I also saw in the one-eyed thing on the wall of my room, but in greater quantity.

It was like a lighthouse in the middle of the night.

What I could not perceive on my own before, I managed to do by using these eyes. I didn't hesitate for a second to activate them, thankfully.

"I guess I exaggerated a bit about going on an adventure...!" I repeated those words in a whisper, feeling a mixture of emotions.

Fear, disgust, and a tremendous urge to vomit; the stench that thing was emitting was insufferable.

Despite this, in a split second, I weighed the possibility that this being or monster was the same type as the one in my room in the apartment.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm my racing heart. I didn't know what to do, but I knew I couldn't just stand there and do nothing.

I couldn't behave like a deer paralyzed by car headlights.

I looked at the man on the floor, his face pale and his eyes full of desire to live. As long as I left him there with that creature, I sensed that nothing good would happen to him.

Call it naivety or stupidity, however... I did not want to make the same mistake I regret even now.

An event, but now only a memory, that now haunted me.

At least it would not be an act of complete altruism driven by a morality of righteousness if he received experience for this.

I wanted to enjoy this new life I had been given, but here I was, risking it. How ironic it can all be.

Therefore, with a sigh, I took off my sunflower-rimmed glasses and put them in my pocket.

—The count of sighs I had not forgotten about had not stopped growing.

Then, I approached the man and took the sheathed sword.

I didn't know how to use it, but it was better than nothing. The creature was getting closer and closer, its laughter booming in the alley.

"Well, I'll take this as part of the day's adventure..." I said before unsheathing the sword, its blade reflecting the moonlight.