In Another World With The Crafting System - Chapter 72

Oh yeah it’s backstory time.

Also made a discord. I thought “why not?” and made one.

Here’s the link:

discord.gg/XM8r7CXVdZ

****************************

(Read THE FIRST BIT of chapter 52 first to understand the next part a little better)

Will was on the ground. He had almost died when a truck almost ran over him. Luckily someone pulled him by his hoodie at the last second and saved his life.

People gathered around the truck that fell over. They all took out their phones and used it to record it. No one’s attention was on Will. No one had died from the accident, but the truck would block the driveway for other cars.

The one who pulled Will and saved him is a teenager around his age. He couldn’t get a good look at his facial features since the sun was behind him and made it difficult to see. And he was still sitting on the ground, scared shitless, as any ordinary teenager would be.

“Damn…” Alex looked beside his feet and he got mad. He picked up a McDonald’s cheeseburger, but the burger dropped on the ground and the ingredients scattered everywhere when he dropped it. Alex accidentally let go of his burger when he pulled Will from his hoodie.

Still, Alex picked it up, brushed away some of the dust and dirt that was on the burger.

“Come on, get up. Go back home or whatever. Just don’t get isekai’d anytime soon.” Alex helped Will back on his feet, Will was still in a daze. Alex looked at Will one last time and left as he ate his burger.

“Wha- wai- wait!” Will tried to run after Alex, but he was still scared and his legs were numb.

“It’s… that… thanks for…” Will couldn’t find the proper words to say to Alex. Now that he took a good look at him, he noticed that Alex is ordinary looking, short black hair, his clothes were dirty and broken from god knows what. He looked very serious, a bit tall just above average.

He couldn’t tell if Alex was younger or older than him. But Alex did look older because he looked dirty, aside from his worn down clothes, Alex had messy black hair, his face looked sorta clean, but his shoes were the most torn out of all his clothing. Even his toes were sticking out.

However, his long sleeves are the only parts of his clothing that weren’t too badly damaged. But today is a hot day, so it didn’t make sense for Alex to wear long sleeves on such a hot day. He didn’t pay too much attention on that part.

Alex also had a smart phone with him, but his screen was scratched, old, and the screen was shattered. He also used wired headphones that helped him listen better on his phone.

“Got something to say?” Asked Alex in an annoyed tone.

“It’s just that… well…”

“Jeez, please finish a sentence, today if possible.” Alex could understand why Will was like that. He was almost killed. Something that Alex could relate to.

*WEEEEEEOOOOO*

Police sirens could be heard from a distance.

“Wait!” Will ran after Alex because he wanted to thank him, help him. Seeing his pathetic state he had to help him.

At first Will tripped, but he started to regain control of his feet and could chase after Alex. But Alex was too quick.

Alex didn’t run too far. He stopped at a nearby park which was like 3 blocks away. He heard a police siren closing in, with no choice left he hid behind the bushes. The people in the park didn’t even pay attention to Alex.

A few seconds later a police car came around but headed in the direction of the accident.

Alex heaved a sigh of relief. He noticed he still had his dirty burger, his phone, and smiled, he didn’t accidentally drop it as he ran. As he prepared to leave he saw Will running after him.

“Dude! Why are you following me?!” Alex didn’t want a stupid kid following him and attracting attention.

“Please, let me thank you by helping you.” Will was skinny, but he wasn’t much of a runner so he got tired a little bit.

“I don’t need your help. Just go.” Alex prepared to leave, but the next thing Will said made him stop.

“I-I- I have clothes you can wear, and food.”

“How much food?” Asked Alex.

“Um, chicken, sandwiches, so-sodas. And candy.” Will wasn’t used to talking to people his age so he was kinda feeling awkward about it..

Will in general was a good person. He’d help people in need without a thought. But it is that kindness that people would take advantage of by others.

“Fine. I’ll consider it as payment for saving your life.” Alex had no reason to refuse his offer.

“Um, okay. My house is… uh oh.” Will didn’t remember which way his home was.

“You forgot where you live?”

“Um…” Will suddenly felt scared. This was his first time sneaking out of his home, since his parents don’t let him go outside on his own.

“Oh, right.” Will took out his phone, got on google maps and typed in his address.

“Found it.” Will headed to the direction where the accident began. But Alex firmly grabbed his arm.

“Um…” Will nodded timidly. They took the longer route back to Will’s own place, completely avoiding the police.

Will saw Alex was still eating the dirty burger in his hand.

“Please, don’t eat that burger! It fell on the ground!”

Alex looked at Will in confusion. And asked, “Why?”

“Because it was on the ground.”

“I’ve eaten worse things off the ground.” Alex took the last bite of his burger and savored every bit of it. He could care less about where the food has been, as long as it is edible he didn’t care.

Will thought that it was gross, but also felt bad for Alex. As someone who’s been spoiled all his life, he found it wrong to eat things that have touched the ground, especially on the side of the streets.

Will didn’t even think as to why Alex would want to avoid the police. Still he led him back to his home. Once they reached it Alex was amazed.

“Holy! Is your family rich?” Alex has lived in poverty.

“Hm. This way.”

Instead of going through the front door, Will led Alex to the back door. The back door led straight down to a path of stairs, which led to the basement floor.

Will took out a key from his pocket and opened the door.

“Hurry.” Will hurried Alex to go in.

Alex merely entered the house at his own pace. Will quickly shut the door and locked it.

“Phew. I thought my parents would be home by now. Seems that they’re out late. Lucky.” Will’s prayers had been answered.

He did a bit of planning on sneaking out to buy a video game without his parent’s knowledge. He had to save up money from the money his parents gave him lunch money for school. They usually gave him about 10-15 dollars a day.

After many days of skipping lunch at school Will had finally saved up to buy the video game ‘bloodborne’ which is like dark souls. It also gave him enough time to study his parent’s schedule and set up a time when he would buy the game.

It took a few weeks longer to execute his plan since he was nervous and scared to go outside on his own. Good thing was that the video game store was merely 20-30 minutes walking distance from his house.

Today would be the day where the one a month punishment would finally be lifted.

“Woah… Are you secretly like a rich noble family from an anime of some kind?” Alex’s eyes twinkled when he saw the basement.

It had a mini fridge, 3 TV’s, large speakers, 2 large couches, a pool table, 4 rooms, and so many beautiful yet expensive looking decorations.

But on the ground were piles of clothes everywhere, garbage, crumbs everywhere. It was a nice place but the garbage ruined it.

To Alex this was the equivalent of having like millions of dollars. But Will’s family was upper middle class, so they’re richer than most people and can afford better living conditions than the lower class. It’s the kind of house you would see on the internet and that you could never hope to afford in this lifetime.

“This is my room.” Will said. The basement was indeed his room.

It’s been a few years since they moved into this house. And as an only kid for now, he wanted the basement for himself, and his parents agreed and even made it into a mancave. All this was just for him.

“Woah, you really are living like a king. Like a king among kings!”

Alex could see that Will was spoiled. But at least he didn’t act like a spoiled, ungrateful brat. Will was timid, and kind. Not like the spoiled, ungrateful rich kids he reads in those wuxia novels.

It’s okay to be spoiled, there is nothing wrong with it. But acting like ungrateful, spoiled, demon brats is unforgivable.

“Woah, I didn’t know you can have more than one TV! Woah, a working giant fridge! Woah, fancy chandeliers. Woah, such comfy couches!”

Alex was like a kid. Everything in this room fascinated him, even normal everyday items.

“Yeah… I think we have some food- wait, what are you doing?” Will stopped Alex from picking up a half-eaten box of cookies that had been sitting there for various days.

Alex didn’t stop and just ate it, not letting any of it go to waste.

“It’s food, right?” Alex could care less if the food was half-eaten or stale. This half-eaten box of cookies is the best thing he had in years. He didn’t see anything wrong with what he was eating.

Hunger can make people do the craziest of things. But this bȧrėly qualifies as crazy or weird.

“I’ll make you a, uh, sandwich. Just please don’t move. And don’t eat the garbage here. Please.” Will ran up the stairs and ran straight to the kitchen.

Alex looked around. He didn’t sit on the couches and just stood up. He knew that he was dirty, filthy, covered in dirt and germs, so that’s why he didn’t sit on any of the couches.

“Hmm… I guess this place could use a little cleaning.” To Alex, this was the best room he had ever seen despite the mess. But it could be cleaner.

Will was searching the refrigerator, the pantry, just straight up rummaging through the kitchen like he was a hungry thief.

Will never made his own food, and rarely helped in the kitchen. So it was a challenge to find the ingredients to make a basic sandwich, which was mostly just bread, sliced ham, and lettuce or whatever people use in sandwiches.

It took ages, but he finally found the bread, and some sliced ham. He prepared it as best as he could, and he even cut it in half.

The kitchen was a mess because of all his rummaging. Before he stepped foot into the kitchen it was super clean. Now there was clutter everywhere.

“Man, didn’t know making a sandwich was so difficult.” Will wiped the imaginary sweat from his forehead. It was just a sandwich with some ham, nothing else.

He did find lettuce, but as he began washing the lettuce on the sink he accidentally dropped it. One of the tips he got from his mom from cooking dinners is that if anything falls into the kitchen sink it belongs in the garbage.

Will didn’t need to use the entire lettuce, but he did because he wasn’t smart about it. Now he was out of lettuce.

“Oh, god, mom and dad are gonna kill me.” Will noticed the kitchen was a mess thanks to him.

“Okay, give this sandwich to… that guy, and then I will clean this up.” Will didn’t know Alex’s name yet, so he referred to him as ‘guy’ for now. As he got his plate to deliver it to Alex, his heart stopped the second he heard the front door open.

“We’re home, sweety.” It was Will’s parents, they had just arrived.

Will’s heart started to beat fast, and he started sweating bullets. He didn’t want to know what his parents would do if they saw all this mess, which they will because the kitchen and the living room are connected. It is literally the second thing anybody sees when they enter the house.

What was worse is that the basement was still a mess, and his parents clearly told him to clean it up before they arrived.

And what was even worse is that he invited Alex to his house. How would they react to seeing Alex? He doesn’t know but he knows it’ll be bad.

His parents entered the house with his gaming consoles that they took from him. They had already taken the consoles from Will multiple times, and each time they hid it somewhere in the house Will always found it, like a hound dog finding hidden drugs like a pro.

“What’s wrong… oh.” His mother, who looked very young and average, was shocked to see the state of the kitchen, which she had left clean before they left.

“…” His father, who looked like a grown-up version of Will, only stood there in silence as he looked at the kitchen, and his son in the middle of it.

“Did you do this?” Asked his mom.

Will only nodded, not saying a word. He looked down but not in shame, but to hide his scared expression. What worried him most was Alex that was still downstairs. How he prayed to the gods’ to Jesus, to everyone, that Alex wouldn’t come up the stairs.

“And you made a sandwich. All this mess for a sandwich?” His dad said.

Will nodded again.

“Aw…” His mother smiled. She walked up to him and hugged him.

“You finally did something for yourself. Good job.” She congratulated him instead.

“…” Will already knew he was dumb. Though he felt happy about being hugged, it didn’t help that she said it in a way that made him feel like mentally retarded, like he can’t do anything himself. He could but he was just lazy.

“Well… that’s true. Still, you should have cleaned up or kept the mess to a minimum.” His father looked around the kitchen.

“Really? You’re saying that?”

“What?” The father looked at his wife in confusion.

“Remember that time when you made that ‘romantic’ fish dinner for us on our third date?”

“Not this again.” The father rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath.

“What was that?”

“Nothing, honey. Nothing. Just… hey, Will, let’s go downstairs and see if you cleaned up that mess!” The father hurriedly took Will down stairs before his wife gave him another long, boring lecture.

Will could feel his feet were frozen from fear. Once they reach downstairs his father will without a doubt see Alex. He couldn’t speak at all. And yet he couldn’t let go of the sandwich in his hands.

“Let’s see what the damage… is. Huh.” The father and Will looked at the basement, and it was sorta clean, at least better than before.

Most of the garbage had already been picked up. And most of the clothes had been folded and placed neatly on the clean couch.

Will was more shocked to not see Alex there. Was he even there at all? Did he leave? No, if he did leave an alarm would make a sound the second he opened it which would have made a sound throughout the house.

“Well, I am impressed. It’s not as clean as I had hoped but it’s getting there. Good job, son.” His father patted Will’s head. To him this was a major improvement.

“Yeah.” That was all Will could say.

“But, if you want food, just grab some leftovers. We have plenty of chicken left over. It’ll save us the trouble of cleaning up.”

Will wanted to slap himself in the face. He was right. He saw the leftovers in the fridge but he didn’t even think about giving it to Will after microwaving it. Perhaps it was because he was too focused on giving Will a plain sandwich.

Microwaving leftovers would have been much better and faster than a sandwich.

But he didn’t think about that anymore. He just wanted his father out of the basement so he could look for Will, who surely must be hiding here.

“I’ll be helping your mother in the kitchen. Just stay here and keep cleaning this up. Okay?” His father rustled his son’s hair one more time and ran upstairs. Will’s hair looked like a bird’s nest now.

Hearing his father’s footsteps fading, Will placed down the sandwich and started yelling while whispering to Alex.

“Where are you? Dude?”

“In here.”

Will jolted as he actually got a response. It came from one of the doors, his room to be exact.

Will saw Alex peeking out of the door.

“I heard your parents, so I hid in this living room. Hope you don’t mind.” Alex whispered to Will. He mistook it for a living room because it was a huge room, at least to him.

“That’s not a living room. That’s my room.”

“I thought the basement was your room.”

“Yes, but…” Will realized he made an error. “It doesn’t matter right now, my parents are home!”

“Yeah, I should leave. That sandwich for me?” Will pointed at the delicious looking sandwich.

“No! Don’t! Once you open that door my parents will hear the alarm and they will know it’s coming from here.”

Each door that opens has a different sound when the alarm sounds.

“Then I’ll open the door, quickly bolt out of here, and you tell them you opened it for… whatever excuse you can think of!”

“No! They will know I am lying. And I never open the door. In fact I am not even supposed to have the key to open the door!”

Will’s parents hid the key in case Will ever ran outside to protect him. This made sure that Will never leaves without their permission, and it stops Will from ever forgetting to ever lock the door and preventing a possible home invasion.

It was simply better and easier to use the front door.

“So what should I do?” Alex didn’t think he’d be staying for too long in this house, but it would have been a stupid move on his part to refuse free food.

“I don’t know! I don’t plan these things!”

“Should I keep hiding in this living room?”

“It’s a room, and no. Wait, actually, perhaps you have to. Just don’t ever let my parents find you. Please! I’ll get super grounded.”

Alex thought that perhaps this kid lived alone, like in the mangas he reads, which is why he invited him. But he was wrong, so wrong.

“Wait, why did you clean the basement?”

“That’s the first thing you ask?” Alex had run away from the police, looks like a homeless person, and that’s the first thing he asks?

“I just thought I would show my thanks for the cookies.”

“The stale cookies?”

“Those were the best cookies I ever had.”

That reminded Will of the sandwich. He handed Alex his sandwich. Alex looked at the sandwich with sparkling eyes.

“Just don’t go upstairs. Please.”

“Aye, aye, captain.”

Alex closed the door. Will sighed. Not a second later the door opened again.

“Um… can I have the internet password?” Alex gave Will his broken phone. He just wanted to watch anime.

“….” Will was worried how laid back Alex was acting.