ISEKAI? More like I See Crap!-Chapter 96: Sealed Fates ( )

Hazuki groggily opened his eyes. "Ugh... what just happened?"

Before he could even process, a deep rumbling filled the cave.

The walls trembled. Dust and small rocks rained down from above.

"CRAP!!!"

Hazuki’s survival instincts kicked in. He scrambled up, reaching for his sword—

Wait. His sword... was glowing?

No time to think!

He snatched it up and bolted, sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him.

"WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME!?"

"No way I’m dying here!" Hazuki gritted his teeth, pushing his legs harder.

The cave was collapsing fast. Rocks tumbled behind him, each one promising a painful, crushing death.

He couldn’t stop. He wouldn’t stop.

Then—his mind flickered.

A memory.

Ellyn’s voice.

"Uncle?"

"Uncle!!"

"Uncle~"

His chest tightened. Why was he remembering this now?

Hazuki clenched his fists. "Damn it!" No time to think! I had to get out!

Hazuki saw the entrance and sprinted forward as fast as he could. At the last second, he jumped, throwing his body through the opening.

The cave collapsed behind him, sealing the entrance shut with a thunderous crash.

For a moment, Hazuki just lay there, face down on the ground, his body heaving from exhaustion. His arms trembled as he propped himself up, sweat dripping from his forehead.

He was safe.

A relieved chuckle escaped his lips as he turned his head to look at the blocked cave. "Ha! Serves you right, bad spirit! I’m sure you got buried in there! Good riddance!"

With a tired groan, he flopped onto his back, arms spread wide on the dirt. His body felt like lead, every muscle aching from his mad dash to survive.

"Damn it... what a waste of time." He muttered. "No treasure! Just some damn ghost trying to—ugh! Whatever."

He lazily reached for his loot bag and peeked inside. The goblin spoils, some glowing crystals, and whatever else he managed to grab rattled inside.

"Well, at least I got something. Wonder how much this will sell for?"

With a sigh, Hazuki slowly sat up, stretching his sore limbs. He ran a hand through his hair, brushing off the dirt, then finally grabbed his sword.

...Wait.

He blinked.

His sword.

It was different.

"Huh?" Hazuki stared at it. The once light green blade from the slime core was now darker, with strange glowing veins running along the metal. It pulsed faintly, like it was... alive?

A chill ran down his spine.

"O-oi... why does my sword look weird?"

Then—

"FINALLY! SOME FRESH AIR!"

A loud, booming voice rang inside his head.

Hazuki froze. His face paled. His hands trembled.

Slowly, he turned his head, staring at the sword in his grip.

It pulsed.

"Oi, human! You can hear me, right? Heh, looks like I’m stuck with you now! What luck!"

Hazuki’s eyes widened in horror.

Hazuki fainted.

The voice inside the sword let out an exasperated sigh.

"This idiot keeps fainting. What a weak-hearted man."

There was a brief silence before the sword pulsed faintly.

"...Well, whatever. Let’s see what skills he has and maybe some info on him."

A strange aura extended from the sword, brushing over Hazuki’s unconscious body. It probed his very being, scanning through his stats, skills, and history.

After a few seconds, the voice hummed.

"Oh? A human... and a summoned one at that? Interesting."

Another pulse. More information flooded in.

"Let’s see..."

A pause.

"...Level 21? A newbie-rank adventurer?"

A moment of stunned silence.

"SERIOUSLY!? This idiot is weak!!"

The voice groaned as if it had just been cursed to an eternal nightmare.

It continued scanning, hoping to find something redeemable.

"...Hmm... oh? A rare skill... wait a second..."

Another pause. The aura flickered in interest.

"...Elemental Control?"

The voice perked up.

"Does this mean this idiot can control ALL elements?! That’s—"

It checked further.

"...Yet he doesn’t have a single active skill to use it?"

Silence.

The sword’s aura flickered violently.

"WHAT A WASTE OF POTENTIAL!!"

Still grumbling, the voice searched further—until it landed on something strange.

"...Huh? What’s this?"

The aura wrapped around one peculiar skill.

"...’Crazy Guy Mode’?"

"...What the hell is that!?"

Then—

A strange pressure filled the air, and a faint, ghostly image appeared before it.

Two figures.

Mysterious, yet familiar.

One of them, a young man with sharp eyes and an amused smirk, squatted down and tapped the blade lightly.

"Oh? So he finally got released, huh?"

The other, an older man with a calm yet dangerously unreadable expression, chuckled.

The young man leaned in closer, his smirk widening as he looked directly at the spirit inside the sword.

"You better not tell that human about us." His voice was light, almost playful—but the threat was clear.

"If it wasn’t for us, you’d still be rotting in that seal."

The spirit inside the sword, Ridan, felt a cold shiver run through him.

He knew these two.

And he knew—they were dangerous.

The older man crossed his arms and gave a small, knowing smile.

"Oh, by the way, Ridan..." His voice was soft, but it carried a weight that sent a chill down the spirit’s core.

"Make sure not to spill anything about us."

The young man’s smirk never faded.

"Or we’ll seal you up again. And this time? For more than a thousand years."

Ridan clicked his tongue inside the sword. "Alright, alright, chill out, you two."

The older man smiled. "Make sure you assist him in anything. And stick to your mission."

"Hah?! I just got released, and now you’re already throwing a mission at me?" Ridan groaned.

The younger man tilted his head, his smirk never fading. "Who do you think revealed this place to him, hmm?"

The older man chuckled. "Who made the cave entrance appear, hmm?"

Ridan went silent. Damn it. They weren’t wrong.

"...Ah. Okay, okay! Jeez! What now?"

The older man gave a small nod. "Just make sure he’s ready for the mission."

"Without telling him," the younger one added, his smirk growing wider.

Ridan sighed deeply inside the sword. "...Yeah, yeah. Got it."

"Oh, by the way, Ridan, make sure you introduce yourself properly to him."

"Fine, fine. I’ll introduce myself properly."

The younger man grinned. "Good. And how’s the sword? Feels nice, right?"

Ridan scoffed. "Ugh! I knew you guys put something in this sword! What did you do?!"

The older man let out a hearty laugh, and right before Ridan’s eyes, his form shifted. In an instant, he had the face of—

Hesbeirn, the blacksmith.

"Well..." Hesbeirn smirked, his voice carrying that same teasing tone.

Ridan barely had time to react before the younger guy beside him changed as well. His smirk never left, but now his face had transformed into—

The herb cigar vendor.

"What’s with that look?" the man chuckled, taking out a cigar and biting down on it.

Ridan groaned. "You both are really annoying."

The two men only grinned. And then—

Poof!

Their forms shifted in an instant, shrinking down as they transformed into—

Two halfling guys.

Ridan’s eye twitched. "Oh, come on! Again?!"

One of the halflings crossed his arms. "What? You got a problem with halflings?"

The other one smirked. "We can seal you again if you prefer."

Ridan clicked his tongue but stayed quiet.

"Thought so." The first halfling nodded. "Besides, don’t go blaming us. We weren’t the ones who sealed you the first time."

( End of Chapter )