Reincarnated In The World Of The Last Game I Played - Chapter 5

After all the explanation and lessons that Anemus gave Athena on how to use mana, activation of skills and spells and how to increase mana, Athena decided to visit the city.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?” Athena asked Anemus.

Anemus curled up on the bed, wrapped in an almost transparent sheet. “No.”

“You took that much money for what then?”

“…”

Despite what it looked like, Anemus was still anxious and worried that Athena wasn’t Hades and that this was all just a dream and maybe Athena would disappear when she woke up, so she wanted to keep her distance if only for the day.

Athena approached Anemus and whispered in her ear. “I’ll be back in a few hours.” She kissed her cheek and walked away, leaving the hut silent.

***

“Athena, Athena!” Fotiá said as she bounced along the path in front of Athena.

“Hm? What’s wrong, Fotia?”

“Where are Athena and Fotiá going?”

“We’re going to town. I need a few things so I can take you hunting.” Athena said with a fond smile.

“Yay! Athena will take Fotiá hunting!”

“Say, Fotia. Why do you want to stay strong?”

“Because Fotiá is a nymph and she doesn’t want to be abandoned by Athena like Anemus was abandoned by her master.” Fotiá said, her head down as she held her dress in her little hands.

As if she’d been punched in the stomach, Athena was without a moment. She didn’t expect Fotiá to think about it and then realized how Anemus actually felt.

Athena crouched in front of Fotiá and took her small hands. “I will never abandon you.” Athena said, looking into Fotiá’s crimson eyes. ‘Not again.’

“Athena promises?” Fotiá asked with pleading eyes.

Athena smiled. “Promise!” and suddenly a stream of light stretched between Athena and Fotiá. “W-what is it?”

Fotiá laughed happily as Athena stirred in confusion, not understanding what was happening.

Fotiá had unknowingly used a unique magic of the nymphs that allowed her to link her soul with Athena’s, that way, no matter what happened and where they were, she would still be together.

***

After nearly an hour walking through the forest, Athena and Fotiá finally arrived at the city gates. A city that Athena remembered not staying even a week ago when this was still a game.

The city had gigantic walls surrounding it and to reach the entrance it was necessary to cross a marble bridge that was guarded by two guards dressed in black armor and armed with halberds.

“Hold on!” Said one of the guards.

“…! What’s it?” Athena replied.

“I’ve never seen you around here. Where did you come from and for what??”

Athena had a sleeping Fotiá in her arms and wore a white dress that in the game was an initial outfit for the high-human race.

“I live in the forest of… What was the name of that forest again?” Athena wondered aloud and started ignoring the guards.

“If you-”

“Sh!” Athena said, interrupting the guard. “Was it from the mushrooms? No… Grove from the pumpkin farms? Also not…”

The guards watched Athena and began to ponder whether the woman in front of them was crazy or not.

“I give up!” Athena said. “What is the name of the forest east of here?”

The guards looked at each other and then pointed their halberds at Athena.

“Huh? Wh… What are you guys doing?” Athena said, exasperated.

“The only people who live in that forest are the holy hermit and her nymphs and they never left that place.”

Athena made an expression of surprise. ‘Oooh… They went to scout my house… Why?’ Athena wondered, but then pushed the thought away. “I-I am that person!”

The guards exchanged glances again and began to laugh.

“W-what?”

“S-sorry… Pffff! The holy hermit has been alive for over three hundred years.” The green eyed guard said.

“You don’t look more than three hundred years old.” The other, thin and bearded, commented.

“Doesn’t even look twenty.”

“So how do you explain Fotiá?” Athena said as she directed their attention to the pointy-eared girl in her lap.

“It’s not common, but there are other people with nymph companions who pass through here.” The green eyed guard said.

“It’s actually not common, but it’s not uncommon either.” The skinny one added.

‘Serious? Nobody in the game chose nymphs as companions because it was difficult to increase the affinity with them… Could it be that there are more people who have reincarnated in this world?’ Athena thought and thought and then got rid of the worry. “Well, not that it matters. Are you going to let me in or not?”

“Go ahead, don’t forget to pay the fee at the gates.” the skinny guard said.

Athena walked towards the gate, she had never stopped to see the scenery from above the bridge when she was playing, but now it was inevitable not to see.

The war between the gods left many disasters and destruction in the world, floating islands were one of them.

Without the islands the races that fought for the goddess of creation would have perished in the fight against the army of the goddess of destruction.

When she realized she was losing the war, the goddess of creation used her last strength to hurl the islands to the skies and seal the goddess of destruction.

Athena approached the parapet of the bridge and from there she saw, through the clouds, the world that the goddess of creation had no choice but to abandon.

The dark red earth was covered in miasma and mist and you could see ruins of what were once cities and also giant monsters walking across the surface.

A shiver crept up the back of Athena’s head at the sight of it. “If I’m not mistaken, Hades’ house was down there… I better forget I have a house there.”

Athena turned away from the parapet, cradled Fotiá in her arms, and headed for the wide, tall gate. Athena walked through the gate and saw that the walls were thicker than she remembered.

Halfway there, Athena saw adults and children sleeping on the floor or asking for money to enter the city and continued walking forward.

‘I think this sort of thing is common in any world…’ Athena thought as she avoided puddles of excrement she didn’t want to know what they were.

In front of a huge wooden and iron gate that had a gate of a reasonably common size, six guards guarded the place.

One of the guards wore a robe and clothes of bright, elegant colors and had in his waist a sword that looked like it had never been used, the others wore armor similar to the guards Athena saw on the bridge and carried large shields.

“Hold on!” ordered the elegant guard. “Ten silver pieces for the child and twenty-five yours.”

Athena raised an eyebrow as heard the price of the entrance fee and then looked back at the people trapped outside the gates.

“Some problem?” the guard asked in an almost squeaky voice.

“I see… Don’t you think this is an unreasonable price?” Athena asked in a sigh.

“How it is?”

Athena looked into the man’s face and almost laughed. The man only needed to be green, shorter, have pointy-eared and frog-eyed to be a goblin.

“No. I’ll pay.” Athena said holding back a laugh. “{Inventory}”

“Hey! What are you…????”

The red wooden door appeared between Athena and the guards, and when the guards came around the door, Athena opened it and entered.

“Fotiá, my angel, wake up.” Athena said as she shook the girl.

“Athena… Are we here?” Fotiá asked with drool running from the corner of her mouth.

“Yes. I need to do something that will need both hands.”

“What?”

The guards looked inside the door and in the room mysteriously lit by a white light, they saw the woman crouched in front of the girl and behind them four open chests.

In that light the men could see Athena’s beauty and Fotia’s cuteness and were enchanted, but the goblin man could only see the chests.

Athena said something to Fotiá that made the girl’s ears twitch slightly and an amused smile spread across her little face.

The girl ran to one of the chests and using the skirt of her dress as a bag, she started carrying several gold coins near the door.

A gold coin was worth a hundred silver coins and a silver coin, a hundred copper coins, and finally a copper one was worth a hundred brass ones.

It was common knowledge that the entrance fee to a city should be copper coins for pedestrians and then no more than five silver per cart. The corruption was obvious and Athena didn’t like it.

Athena took a handful of gold coins and walked to the door and the guards sighed as if they were seeing the goddess herself coming toward them.

“Here.” Athena said as she handed a coin to the goblin guy. “Now, excuse me. Anytime you want, Fotiá.” Athena said, smiling at the little girl.

Fotiá grabbed as many coins as she could with both hands and threw them away.

“W-WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?!” The man screamed like a trumpet when he saw the coins fly no more than three meters away from Fotiá.

Athena laughed and then flung the coins she had in her hand away. “The money is mine and I’m giving it to your victims.”

“Y-are you crazy? If you don’t want it, give it to me!” The man said as if it were something common.

“Pffft! Why would I do that?” Athena said seeing all the people picking up coins from the floor with a smile.

“Do you have any idea how long it would take these poor people to raise so much money?? Huh??? Quick! Take the money!” The man ordered.

Athena turned her eyes to the guards with contempt. “You should be ashamed.” and she kicked the rest of the coins off the floor. “Let’s go, Fotiá.”

“Athena, is it over? Is it over?” Fotiá asked when being caught by Athena.

Athena smiled fondly. “Yea.” Athena closed her inventory and looked at one of the guards who still held his post. “We can?”

The deep-eyed man with the unshaven black beard looked at Athena with gratitude on his face and opened the gate.

“Thanks.” With a voice affected by a choked cry the man said to Athena’s back.

Athena smiled at the light of the city. “Your welcome.”