Chapter 11: The First, Brief Crossing Over

The newly rebuilt house couldn't be moved into immediately; it needed some time for the smell to dissipate. Moreover, everyone had been working hard and felt exhausted, so they hoped to rest for a few days.

During this period, Kobayashi decided to traverse the worlds for the first time.

In truth, one important reason he hadn’t mentioned before for teaming up with Megumin and Darkness was that none of them were particularly clever. If he had adventured with others, they would certainly notice something unusual about him, no matter how well he hid it. But with Megumin and Darkness, it wasn’t necessary—they were so lacking in intellect that Kobayashi could fool them ten times over! Even if they sensed something was off, with Sato Kazuma and Aqua covering for him, there shouldn’t be any problems.

Inside the inn, Kobayashi said to the two of them, “In summary, I plan to use a cheat.”

“Ohhh!!!” Sato Kazuma was even more excited than Kobayashi.

“Finally… finally the time has come for Senpai Kobayashi to show his true strength?! I thought it would be earlier.”

“Well, I was worried about all of you,” Kobayashi replied.

Several members of the party were troublesome children, and if he didn’t carefully plan their itinerary, it could lead to huge consequences. He had no doubt about their destructive potential.

His plan was to drain their energy first, then traverse the worlds while they recovered. It was a clever calculation.

“So, I’m counting on you, Sato-kun, while I’m away.”

“No problem, leave it to me!” Sato Kazuma pounded his chest in assurance, then nudged the dazed goddess beside him. “Hey, Aqua, don’t you have anything to say?”

“What should I say?” Aqua looked at them blankly.

Then, under Kobayashi’s expectant gaze, she slowly said, “Um… safe travels?”

“That’s it?! You idiot goddess?!” Sato Kazuma burst out angrily.

“Ah, how dare you call me an idiot goddess!” Aqua snapped back furiously. “You sneaky otaku Kazuma, what right do you have to say that about me!”

“W-what… I don’t understand,” Sato Kazuma muttered anxiously. So Kobayashi wasn’t lying—Aqua really did know about his embarrassing secrets.

Kobayashi sighed in disappointment. He had hoped Aqua would tell him something useful about traversing worlds, but with her dumbfounded expression, she probably forgot how to use the cheats long ago.

Tch, placing hope in her was foolish.

“Enough, you two, stop fighting,” Kobayashi separated them and instructed, “I’ll be traversing worlds soon. After that, I’m relying on you. If I’m late coming back, Sato-kun, please cover for Megumin and Darkness.”

He raised his right hand, touching the communication ring.

“—Traverse!”

A flash of light, and Kobayashi’s figure vanished instantly. The whole process was surprisingly plain, without any flashy effects.

“Ohhhhh… huh?” Sato Kazuma exclaimed halfway, puzzled. “Just disappeared like that?”

“What were you expecting?” Aqua shrugged.

“Usually, shouldn’t there be a few glowing magical circles or something?”

“Impossible. Magical circles just waste divine power for nothing. As long as it works well, that’s all that matters,” Aqua said with disdain, clearly looking down on anything flashy.

Sato Kazuma was unconvinced. Though what she said was true, was she serious? The water goddess, who usually liked to show off grandiose banquet skills to everyone, was calling the magical circles that matched such high-spec cheats superfluous? It was truly surprising.

He half-suspected she’d been swapped with someone else.

But just as she said, good cheats don’t need flashy effects.

——

Meanwhile.

Gears—everywhere he looked, there were gears.

Endless gears of various sizes and shapes, fitting together perfectly.

The strange mix of intricate complexity and orderly arrangement stretched infinitely into the distance, merging with the horizon as if the entire planet were composed of countless interlocking gears.

Kobayashi stood on a balcony, gazing down.

On the fully mechanized streets, a few wooden buildings looked oddly out of place. Walking on the roads were not only humans and pets but also numerous mechanical beings.

The city center bustled with crowds, and the advertisements plastered on the skyscrapers were huge virtual projections.

Unlike the real world or other fantasy realms, this enormous city, steeped in cyberpunk atmosphere, was truly a spectacle.

“Ohhh, so this is another world?” the boy exclaimed in wonder. “The technology here is even more advanced than my previous life?!”

Even Kobayashi was thrilled. After longing for so long, the chance to traverse worlds had finally come true. It was impossible not to be excited.

Especially since this time, the world he had entered was exactly his favorite cyberpunk style.

Double the joy!

“Hmm… what should I do next? Leave here to explore the downtown area, or investigate this place first before moving on?”

Both options were appealing, and Kobayashi found himself torn.

Beep beep beep beep beep——

An unusual sound reached his ears. A helicopter flew low overhead, its twin rotary machine guns reflecting a cold, dark gleam in the sunlight, warning that it was not to be trifled with.

A sharp intake of breath escaped him.

With his current physical condition, he couldn’t withstand a barrage of firearms. This world seemed dangerous; he would have to proceed carefully.

While he pondered this, the helicopter passed overhead with a deafening roar, accompanied by a strange noise, and something unusual fell from the sky.

As the black dot on the ground grew larger, eventually obscuring his entire body, he realized what it was.

He looked up sharply!

A massive shipping container was almost upon him!

Kobayashi broke out in a cold sweat, his legs growing weak, and he couldn’t help but blurt out an expletive.

“—Dammit!”

Startled, he activated a skill to leap back just in time, avoiding the gruesome fate of being crushed into a mess.

Boom!

The impact of the falling container was so great that the open-air balcony couldn’t hold, collapsing along with the container and stirring up a cloud of dust.

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

The falling container disappeared along with him.

The tremendous noise caught the attention of nearby residents.

Minutes later, a small boy wrapped in a towel appeared on the rooftop.

But upon seeing the empty, ruined scene, he doubted his super hearing was malfunctioning.

“Ah, did I mishear?” The blue-haired boy nervously took off his cheap noise-canceling headphones, fiddling with them.

He muttered, “But I clearly heard someone… and wocao… what does that even mean?”

His awkward imitation was amusing.

A cold breeze swept by, chilling the boy and causing him to shiver.

Coming to his senses and seeing the devastated rooftop, he clasped his head and shouted, “My… my rooftop… who did this?! Damn it!!!”

However, the culprit and the innocent Kobayashi were no longer in this world.

——————

P.S.: The new book has been signed! So, if you haven’t invested yet, hurry up! Also, please give some recommendations and add it to your favorites—it really means a lot to me!