Chapter 2: The Town of Beginners

Axel Town...

Naruto opened his eyes and eagerly took in the view. He was standing in the middle of what looked to be a park if the children running around and playing were anything to go by.

'This place seems peaceful-Dattebayo...'

Naruto thought as a pair of kids ran right past him. Wasn't the demon king a pretty big deal? Eris did say that people were refusing to reincarnate back into this world because of the demon king's attacks...

Blinking in realization, Naruto shut his eyes and screamed into his mind.

'Kurama, are you there!? Hey! Talk to me, buddy!'

'Quit yelling! Of course I'm here!'

The angry voice of Kurama bellowed in the blonde's mind, and Naruto couldn't help but grin.

'Sorry, I was just worried you might have changed your mind...'

'Keh! It was either this or be enslaved by that accused Uchiha you still foolishly call a friend!'

'Hehe... So you would have missed me, huh? Love you too buddy.'

'Don't make me regret coming here, brat.'

Kurama said with a low growl, prompting the jinchuuriki to mutter an apology.

While Naruto was chatting with Kurama, some of the kids began to gather around him due to their curiosity, and the mothers then ran over to keep their children away from the strange grinning boy with his eyes closed who was standing on the middle of the park all by himself.

'But I'm impressed those self-proclaimed gods were able to collect all of my chakra and send the both of us here. They even managed to recreate a seal similar to that of your father's.'

Naruto opened his eyes and lifted his shirt to look at the markings on his stomach, and found that the seal was indeed different. But before he could make a comment, he heard a few gasps.

There was a group of children with their eyes being covered by their blushing mothers. Naruto put his shirt back down and laughed awkwardly.

'...Maybe I should go somewhere else.'

'That you should.'

————————————————————

After apologizing to the mothers in the park, Naruto ventured into the town.

'So, what should we do first? We're in a whole new world, no one knows us, and we don't have any money.'

So far, he had learned that he spoke the same language as the people here and that the town they were in was Axel, the town of beginners.

He had also tried to buy a snack from a nearby food stand but found that the currency was different in this world. Go figure. Looks like Gama-Chan and his remaining Ryo were nothing but a memento...

'Town of beginners... Keh! They should have sent us straight to the demon king's castle!'

'We don't know anything about this world, so of course we'd be sent to a beginner town. It may seem weird coming from me, but information first, demon king later.'

Kurama merely responded with a grunt.+

'I think I'm gonna look for that bar that we've heard about. Jiraiya-Sensei always said that bars were the best places to go for information.'

'We both know the real reason that perverted mentor of yours wanted to go to those bars. You would think a library would be the first place one would go for information, but I doubt your dumb-ass would be caught dead in one of those places. Not that I blame you.'

'T-that's harsh, Kurama...'

'Love you too, "buddy".'

A tick-mark formed on Naruto's forehead, but he was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard something crash next to him. He looked down to see a guy with brown hair that looked about his age collapsed on the ground under a few planks of wood. He seemed to have overexerted himself.

Naruto pulled the planks off the boy who was gasping for air.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Y-yeah, thanks. I need to get these planks to the construction site soon or else the boss is gonna yell at me again... Where'd that useless woman run off to?"

"Hey, I've heard about a good bar around here. Could you point me in the right direction?"

Naruto asked as the boy hastily gathered up the pieces of wood. The boy then stopped what he was doing before looking up, raising an eyebrow when he saw the shinobi's apparel.

"Those are some weird clothes... Are you a traveler?"

Naruto scratched his cheek awkwardly.

"Something like that ya'know..."

The boy hummed as if in thought before he grabbed something out of his pocket.

"Here. I'm guessing you don't have any money, and I have a feeling you'll need this later."

Naruto took the offered pouch and examined it. There were coins inside.

"Thanks, but are you sure? We only just met..."

The teen put the planks over his shoulder and snickered.

"Call it my good deed for the day. Treat me to a drink or something later if it's that big of a deal to you."+

With that said, the boy pointed down the street.

"Follow this road and take a right, there's a big building called the adventurer's guild. They'll have what you're looking for."

Looking in the same direction, Naruto nodded and grinned widely.

"Thanks a lot! I'll be sure to return the favor someday! By the way, the names Uzumaki Naruto."

"Satou Kazuma, and it's not a problem at all! A good senpai like me has to set a good example for his kohai-"2

"Kazuma! Where's Kazuma!? We need those planks ASAP! What is that skinny brat doing!?"

Kazuma's face paled when he heard the deep raging voice that Naruto could only assume was his boss.

"I-I-I gotta go! See ya!"

Naruto waved awkwardly as he watched his fellow teen run off with new vigor.+

'Poor guy... He must have it rough.'

————————————————————

After following the directions he had been given by Kazuma, Naruto found a building that was quite a bit larger than the surrounding houses. Without a doubt, this had to be the adventurer's guild.

Taking a short breath, Naruto walked through the front door. Immediately upon entering, he was greeted by a passing waitress.

"Welcome! If you're here to eat, just take any of the open seats!"

"Actually, I was wondering if I could get some information."

"Certainly! Just walk over to the reception desks. The staff working there will be more than happy to answer your questions!"

After thanking the waitress, Naruto walked towards the reception desks while taking in the guild's interior.

Maybe it was because of his bright orange clothes, but he seemed to be drawing quite a lot of attention.

Walking up towards the reception desks, Naruto noticed there were two stalls. One of which had a very long line while the other was completely empty.

Naruto raised an eyebrow before making the obvious choice of walking to the open stall.

"Welcome to Axel Town's adventurer's guild! How may I help you?"

A receptionist with short brown hair and green eyes said with a glowing expression, almost as if she hadn't expected him to talk to her.

"Are these two stalls different in any way? Do you cover different topics than the other one or something?"+

"Ah... No, the adventures just like to speak with Luna-San."

The receptionist said with a wry smile and pointed towards the other stall to prove her point.

Following the girl's finger, Naruto got a glance at the other receptionist, and he immediately understood why the adventurers wanted to talk to her. Blonde hair, golden eyes, and large breasts that looked as though they would pop out of her shirt at any given moment. The woman was gorgeous.

"Looks like she has her hands full..."

Naruto commented with a sweatdrop.

"Luna-San is like an older sister to us all, especially to the adventurers. So what brings you to the adventurer's guild, sir?"

"Please don't call me 'sir,' it makes me sound old... The name's Naruto, and I was wondering if you could answer a few questions for me."

The receptionist giggled into her hand and nodded.

"I'll try my best to answer, Naruto-San."

After Naruto asked some of his basic questions, the receptionist's eyes widened.

"You want to defeat the demon king? Well, the best place to start would be joining this guild and becoming an adventurer. After all, Axel Town is well known for being the town of beginners!"

Naruto nodded his head eagerly and asked the obvious question.+

"So, how do I sign up?"

"You just have to pay the registration fee of 1000 Eris, and we can take care of the rest!"

Naruto gulped when he heard this, but quickly remembered the money Kazuma lent him. Fishing the small pouch of coins out of his pocket, Naruto placed the change into the receptionist's hand.

"Is this enough?"

"Yes, that's the exact amount!"

1000 Eris exactly...

Did Kazuma already know he'd be joining the adventurer's guild? Naruto decided he'd buy the guy two drinks the next time he saw him.

"Now then, let me explain. Every adventurer has their own occupation or 'class.' You'll register what class you want to be onto your registration card."

The receptionist explained and placed a small index card on the counter.+

"This will keep track of the monsters you've killed, as well as your level, skills, and experience points!"

Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

"Eh? How does it do that?"

"With magic."

"...Magic?"

The receptionist blinked.

"Naruto-San... Do you perhaps not know anything about magic?"

"Nope. Not at all-Dattebayo."

Naruto said without hesitation and waved his hand dismissively, and the receptionist gained a troubled expression.

"I can take it from here."

The woman named Luna said as she walked over to them, and the receptionist Naruto had been previously talking to thanked the girl before excusing herself.

As Luna gathered some things from under the reception desk, Naruto glanced at the other counter and was surprised to find the long line of adventurers were long gone.

'She helped all those people that fast!?'+

"Now then, Naruto-San was it? Let me explain to you what magic is."

"Y-yes! I'll be in your care!"

...

Naruto's head spun as the kind, and patient receptionist thoroughly explained how magic worked in this world.

Magic, which was this world's equivalent to chakra, was used by adventurers in forms of spells and magical items. Everyone generated their own mana over time and spells consumed it while most magic items didn't. That was the gist of what Naruto picked up from the explanation.

"Next, we'll decide what your class will be. But first... Place your hand here."+

Luna placed a contraption with a glass ball onto the desk, and Naruto assumed it was one of the magical items she had been talking about. Placing his hand onto the orb, it began to glow as energy visibly spun around the gear-like parts. A stream of magic beamed down to the registration card that had been placed below the magic item, and Naruto was surprised when letters began to appear.

"Woah..."

Naruto whispered in awe as he witnessed 'magic' for the first time.

The receptionist grabbed the card when the magic item stopped writing and began to look over the information.

"Let's see what your stats are...! This is...!"

Naruto was about to ask what was written on the card when the Luna stared at him with a look wonder.

"Your stats are amazing! Above average across the board, and ridiculously high luck! Though your intelligence is about average..."

The girl exclaimed while mumbling the last bit with a slight hint of disappointment.

Naruto didn't really understand, but it sounded like he was being praised, so he rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly.

Wait, did she say his intelligence was about average? What was that supposed to mean?

"No way, did we just get another golden rookie?"

"Not just Aqua-Chan, but two golden rookies!?"

"We sure are lucky this week! Bless Eris!"

Naruto looked around when a crowd began to gather around him. Nervous from the sudden attention, he quickly looked back at the excited receptionist who was still looking at his adventurer's card in awe.

"What does it mean?"

"With stats like this, you can choose any of the advanced classes right away! Although I don't recommend choosing Arch Wizard which depends on the intelligence stat..."

The receptionist explained, while yet again mumbling the last bit.

Oi.

Naruto was about to choose arch wizard out of spite when the surrounding adventurers started shouting out suggestions.

"Be a Sword Master!"

"No way, this guy's aura is screaming Crusader!"+

"I don't know, the world could always use another Arch Priest!"

Trying his best to ignore the noisy audience, Naruto leaned towards the pretty receptionist so she could hear him better.

"Are there any limitations to each class? I'd pick the thief class since it's the closest thing to a ninja, but I just wanna make sure..."

"I don't know what a ninja is, but there are indeed limitations to each class. For example, a thief wouldn't be able to learn skills like intermediate magic spells that a mage could learn."

'Well, that's a bummer. I wanted to try learning magic, but if I choose the thief class, then I won't be able to do so until I... change clas-Ahhhh! I can't think with all these people shouting!'

Naruto was about to tell the adventurers to shut it when he heard Luna speak again.

"There is also the adventurer's class that can learn skills from all the other classes... But with stats like yours-"

"I'll take it! Make me an adventurer please!"+

...

The crowd immediately fell silent.

'Hah! Serves them right!'

Naruto thought with a mischievous grin as the adventurers started walking away. He heard them mumbling amongst themselves, some of them saying things like: "Talk about a letdown" and "What a waste."

But that didn't bother him in the slightest. Besides, the adventurer class may be the weakest of the bunch, but now he could learn skills from all of the various classes! So what if it took a little longer to earn enough skill points? He always had his jutsu to rely on!

"I-I see... You could always change your class later."

The receptionist said with an awkward smile but proceeded to make the changes to Naruto's adventurer's card and ultimately hand it to him.

"Now all you have to do now is walk over to that board over there and pick out a quest, but I recommend forming a party first. Solo hunting can be dangerous, especially for beginners."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for helping me!"

Naruto said and took a second look at his adventurer's card.

"You're very welcome, Naruto-San. I wish you luck in your adventures!"

Naruto waved to the pretty receptionist and turned towards the job board to pick his first job as an adventurer. He wasn't going to bother creating a party since he didn't plan on staying in this town for very long. Uzumaki Naruto wasn't a beginner in the slightest!

He'd stay in this town for a week at most and do some quests and earn some money, or at least until he understood the way this world worked a little better.

————————————————————

Later That Night...

A beautiful girl with light blue hair and blue eyes was arguing with a brown-haired boy in a green tracksuit in the corner of the adventurer's guild.

"I'm telling you Kazuma! I sensed a HUGE amount of demonic energy earlier today! But I couldn't find the source... But I'm telling you, I sensed it!"

"That's why you ran off Aqua!? Because you suddenly took off running, I was late to bring the supplies, AND the boss yelled at me again! All because you thought you sensed something with your former whats-it-called powers."

"I'm not lying! Maybe it was general from the demon king's army looking for me! After all, I am a goddess. As in now. They must have sensed my holy presence!"

Aqua claimed loudly while slamming on the table.

"A demon army general? In the town farthest from the demon king's castle? Yeah right. It was probably a new 'player' with some hax-like powers."

Kazuma said and took a sip of his beverage, a self-satisfied look on his face.

"In fact, I think I bumped into the guy after you ran off. I showed him where the adventurer's guild was and even lent him some money like any good senpai would."

"Eh~? Really~? Who would have thought Stingyzuma would part with his money so easily?"

Aqua retorted while trying to sneak a hand towards Kazuma's plate while he wasn't looking, only to have it skillfully smacked by the other party.

"How rude! Don't call me 'Stingyzuma' just because I refused to lend you money! I was going to buy you that drink you wanted to try because I was in a good mood, but now I change my mind!"

"Why!? Besides, what if that guy wasn't even from Japan? Then that would mean you just gave your money to some random stranger for no reason! You could have bought me something with that money!"

Kazuma stopped drinking and calmly placed his cup on the table. He then looked at Aqua with a serious, yet competitive expression.+

"Wanna bet on it?"

Aqua returned the look in full.

"Next week's rent."

The two then shook hands, both thinking that they had already won.