Ugly Bastard System

"Well, that didn't turn out so bad."

Sawashiro Kurona, whose real name was impossible to pronunce in human tongue—and will probably kill everyone or at least drive them mad in the planet she was in, took another little sip from the ambrosia she had. She was trying to save it as much as possible as it was impossible for her to restock her supply again. It was not because the high level Alchemist that made it was long gone, she just had to do some math to determine the correct spacetime coordinates.

The main problem was that the world had gone through some sort of cataclysm that was caused by a multiversal war among all the local deities and immortals, and now the pre-cataclysm era was simply sealed off by the winning coalition. Its a shame that the Alchemist was born in that same era, and no other alchemist was ever able to reach that level after the apocalypse.

She took another sip and sighed in contentment. Well, she could always gather something else from some other world. For now, she would simply enjoy her what little time she had left in her vacation in this mostly physics-dominant world.

To be honest, her time was already up in this world, but she still decided to stay because she discovered something really interesting.

It was always amusing to see low tier systems in action. Well, it was more interesting to see how the host was using it to do exactly the opposite of what he was intended to do. And he was really doing quite well so far, so she decided to lend a little helping tenta-ehem, hand to him.

How did she help him? Well, she just acted a little weak in the hospital who was easily pushed aside by the stalker. That's all she did. But how did that help Gojima?

Well, what if she did not crash into the shelf? What if Gojima immediately caught the stalker with his boost? What if Takeshi did not see him in action and ask him to be his mentor? What if they never exchanged their personal email address?

...what if Takeshi never sent the message to Gojima that evening?

Butterfly effect. It was a beautiful concept of chaos theory. And who other than her, a being of Chaos herself, would understand it better than her? She did not have to use even 1% of her power to do anything in this world, she just needed to be in the right place at the right time. And look how beautiful it turned out to be.

A man who lost his child gained back one, and a child who lost her parents also gained one back. Of course, it was not a perfectly happy ending. But that is why it was beautiful. It truly meant that their journey was still far from over. Kurona could see the trials and triumphs they could be facing in the future. It was not hard for her to look beyond the physical dimensions. All the possible paths, all the possible outcomes—she could see them all.

"Gojima Kenzaburou, and... Ubs. You two did manage to triumph over two of your challenges, and managed to save two innocent souls. Hmm."

She sipped again.

"But will you be able to break through the next obstacle as easily as before? Your next opponent is far more dangerous and deadly than what you can brute force through. Can such trifling momentous enhancement be enough for you two to succeed?"

Well, she did leave them a minor gift. One 'get out of jail free card' in a sense. Will they have to resort to using it? Or will they find a way to triumph over their foes once again?

"Hmm. Exactly what will you ask of me? How will you be able to impress me with your wish? Ahh~ I can't wait~"

If they asked too much of a mundane wish, they will fail. If they asked for something too powerful? She was on a vacation and she did not want to exert much power. She would simply grant them their wish and then just destroy both of them because they annoyed her. She just does not like people who are too greedy.

But still, she had high hopes for the two.

Kurona took another sip and then found the chalice to be empty. Ah, she was drinking the elixir a bit too much. Maybe she should save it for when things got actually interesting and try something else in the meantime?

"Hmm. I am kinda in the mood of being surprised. Let's see..."

She snapped her fingers and a portal opened right in front of her. If any mortal looked into the chaos inside, they would have lost their sanity. Kurona shoved her hand inside the ripped fabric of reality.

"Hmm... I think I grabbed something... nah, too gooey, yuck... hmm... nah, not this one either, I am not in the mood of munching orichalum now... hm?"

She found something soft and squishy in her hand and then pulled it out. Just what was so soft but still did not get torn apart by her strength?

She looked and found that she was holding an orange colored mushro—

She instantly shoved her hand inside the portal and shut it off, shutting away both her hand and the... thing on the other side. She regrew a new human hand within a blink. She did lose a little bit of her true flesh, but it was not worth all the chaos even she could not handle.

Nope, she was not dealing with that one. Just no.

 

---

 

A few hundred miles away, in a relatively calm and peaceful rural town, it was almost the time to harvest crops.

No, the townspeople were not even that old school to harvest the crops the good old 'staw hat and sickle' way. Automation had already reached the town, and every family had access to modern equipments.

One particular newcomer in the town was especially helping out an old lady with the harvesting work. While the lady herself was strong enough to drive the harvester herself, she definitely appreciated the help of a two young and strong arms.

"My, Ken chan, I really feel bad about having you work in the field for me even though you are teaching the younglings in the school..."

"Ah, its nothing. It is not something I cannot handle. And the class only has seven kids, thats nothing compared to what I had to handle in the city."

"Sigh... I think my age is finally starting to get to me," Grandma sighed, "I did not feel my back ache that much even a few days ago... if you had not helped me with my work, my health probably would have been deteriorated and I would not have able to get up from my bed within a few months."

She slowly walked inside the house with Gojima carrying four boxes full of corn in his hands. The rest had been already stored in the silo.

"Woof! Woof!"

A dog came running towards them with her tail wagging. She started to merrily spin around Gojima.

"Hora, Maro-chan! Don't bother Ken chan like that!" She did not listen to Oba san's warning at all, and still kept spinning around Gojima. No scolding was going to stop it from the eating the tasty things inside those boxes!

Maro, for some reason, really liked corn, especially if it was heated and unseasoned. Of course, she still liked meat the most, but there was something about the savory taste of the corn that she just could not give up on. Even the painful memories of getting her GI tract blocked after accidentally swallowing a cob was not enough to deter him.

"Maro chan, have patience. Let me put down the boxes first..."
"Woof!"

Gojima slowly put down the boxes and then patted Maro's head with a smile on his face. The shiba inu smiled and wagged her tail in return.

Soon a girl walked into the room and Maro instantly ran towards her and started licking her cheeks. The girl patted her head in return as well, with a slight smile on her face. A sad smile, completely unlike what she used to have constantly on her face.

"Ruri chan."

The emotionless girl looked up at Gojima and then moved her hand in certain positions.

'Are you going to boil the corn?'

Gojima nodded and he also moved his hands, 'I was thinking about making some sweet corn today. Do you want to eat it that way?'

"Hm."

Ruri made a slight sound as she nodded her head. She was still unable to even utter a word properly, so she had to resort to learning sign language for now. Gojima just had Ubs download it as a part of his detective module, with using the prospect of speaking with a target as an excuse to go around the restrictions.

It had already been a month since that fateful evening. In this one month, her whole world had changed. Her name was now Gojima Ruri, and she now lived in a town far from the city she lived in. She had not contacted any of her friends since moving to this town—except Takeshi, and she was having a hard time getting along with the local kids as well. And she was still deeply scared of adults.

Gojima was not in a hurry, though. As a former psychiatrist, he knew well enough that some wounds simply needed time to heal, and trying any forceful treatment would only worsen everything.

Well, at least she had gotten closer with Maro, a service dog he had gotten for her. The girl could use some pure animal innocence in her life. Human contact could wait for now. It was a good beginning in Gojima's opinion, and he would be there for her.

He watched Ruri being guided by Maro to the garden to play with her.

"Poor girl," Oba san wiped her tears, "why did such a young girl had to go through all of this?"

Gojima could say nothing in reply. There was only the sound of the old lady trying to not sob and failing.

It was then broken by a phone call.

"Ah, it must be Sayuri," Oba san received the phone, "Sayuri! Are you eating well?... Yeah, I am taking my medicine properly... Ruri chan and Ken chan are healthy as well. Hm? Yes, Maro chan is also healthy."

Gojima's psychiatrist self was thinking about how to go with Ruri's treatment as his thought process was halted by Oba san.

"Ken chan? Sayuri wants to talk to you about something."

"Hm? Me?"

"Yes!"

Gojima hesitantly took the phone.

"...Hello, Sayuri san."

"Ah, Ken kun! Thank you for helping out Mama with everything."

"No, I'm being helped by her a lot as well."

"Hahaha, humble as always, huh!"

"Haha..."

"..."

"..."

"Umm, K-Ken kun?"

"Yes?"

"Have you thought anything about Ruri chan's birthday the day after tomorrow?"

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Ken kun?"

"Huh? Ah, well, umm..."

"...Please don't tell me that you forgot about it?"

"..." Gojima stayed silent after hearing the unusually cold voice on the other side. He had no excuse.

"Sigh, some father you are being. Have you thought about what to gift her?"

"...Uhh, I am not sure... puzzle books maybe?"

"And?"

"...Detective novels?"

"...And can you get any for her in the town?"

"...Probably not."

"Wow, even Ken kun has things he has no idea about, huh. Heh."

"...I am flattered that you think so highly of me."

"She will be angry you know."

"...What can I do?"

"Well, I was also thinking about finding some nice gift for her birthday. Why don't we look for it together?"

"...Huh?"