CHAPTER 1 - PART 1

A carriage made a loud creaking sound as it drove over the pavement.

"…Another world… Hey, it really is another world. Eh, it's for real. Am I going to use magic and go on adventures in this world?"

Trembling with excitement because of the scene before me, I started talking to myself.

Before my eyes were houses built from red bricks, the streets right out of Europe from the middle ages.

There were no cars, bikes, power lines, or telecommunication cables.

"AHHH! …AHHH…!"

I looked around the street, watching people pass by.

"Animal ears! There's someone with animal ears! Elf ears! Is that an elf? With such striking facial features, she definitely has to be one! Goodbye hikikomori life! Hello different world! If it's this world, then I'm willing to go out and work obediently!"

"AHHH! …AHHH! …AHHH…!"

I turned around and looked at Aqua, who was hugging her head and screaming.

"Hey, you're noisy. What would you do if people think I'm friends with a crazy woman like you? Stop screaming. You should be giving something to me at a time like this. Look at what I'm wearing. A tracksuit? I've finally arrived in a fantasy world and I'm wearing a tracksuit. According to the norm in games, you should be giving me the minimum equipment…"

"AHHH–!"

The goddess screamed as she pounced over to grab me.

"Whoa! What…? What are you doing, don't act this way! I get it! I'll do something about the basic equipment. I should say that I was wrong. If you hate it that much, you can go back. I'll work out the rest on my own."

Aqua tried to strangle me with teary eyes, so I shook off her hands and tried to shoo her away with an annoyed expression.

In the end, Aqua said with trembling hands:

"What are you saying? I'm troubled because I can't go back! What now? Hey, what should I do? What am I going to do from now on?"

Aqua fell into a panic in tears, pacing about while hugging her head.

Her waist-length hair was a mess. She looked crazy right now, although she was a beauty if she didn't speak.

"Hey, calm down, goddess, the first place to visit should be the tavern. Everything starts from collecting information at a tavern, that's the standard in RPGs."

"Huh…? You're supposed to be just a hikikomori-gaming NEET,  so why are you so reliable? Ah, Kazuma, my name's Aqua. I don't mind you addressing me as goddess, but do call me by my name whenever possible or else citizens will surround us and we won't be able to go on adventures and take down the Demon King. This might be a different world, but I'm still one of the revered gods in it."

<TL note: NEET, A young person who's 'Not in Education, Employment or Training'. The acronym NEET was first used in the United Kingdom but its use has spread to other countries and regions including Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the United States.>

Aqua confidently said as she followed behind me.

All right, there should be a group formed to take on the Demon King or an adventurer's guild made to defeat monsters.

Speaking of which, Aqua was a goddess. Therefore, I could ask her if I had any questions.

"Aqua, please tell me where the adventurer's guild is. Which way should we go?"

I asked Aqua, but she just looked at me blankly.

"…? I wouldn't know even if you ask me. I know the common knowledge of this world, but not the specifics of this town. This is just one of the many existing planets, and just a small town at that! How should I know?"

This girl's useless.

There was no other way, so I asked a middle-aged lady passing by.

I didn't ask any guys for fear of meeting delinquents, and the difficulty of talking to young girls is too high for me.

"Excuse me–may I ask you something? I'm looking for a place like an adventurer's guild…"

"Guild? Oh my, to not know where the guild is, might you be from out of town?"

From what the lady said there really was a guild here, making me relieved.

"That's right; I'm a traveller who came from a faraway land. I just reached this town."

"Oh my… Since you came to this town, you must be aiming to become an adventurer. Welcome to the town of novice adventurers, Axel. Follow the main road and turn right, you'll then see the signboard for the guild."

"Take a right down the road. Got it, thank you very much! … Hey, let's go."

A town for novice adventurers.

I see. This was a good starting point for the dead transported here.

After thanking the lady, I followed her directions while Aqua followed me with respect in her eyes and sighed.

"Hey, you came up with an excuse right on the spot. Why are you able to handle this so perfectly? You seem to be a capable guy, so why were you a hikiNEET without any friends or a girlfriend? Why would you want to stay at home all day and be a hikiNEET?"

"Not having friends or a girlfriend isn't a bad thing. One can't measure the value of a person by the number of friends or by having a significant other. Moreover, don't call me a hikiNEET you damn bitch! Don't combine hikikomori and NEET together…! I'm just sixteen; I'm too young to be a NEET by society's standards…! There it is."

Aqua pounced over to strangle me for calling her a bitch, but I ignored her and entered the adventurer's guild.

– Adventurer's Guild –

A place for adventurers to take up quests which was a staple in games; an organization that supports the adventurers.

The job agency of this world.

There was a rather large establishment before us, and the fragrance of food drifted from within.

Some rough characters would certainly be inside.

They might find trouble with me if they see unfamiliar faces.

After preparing myself mentally and entering…

"Ah, welcome. Please approach the counter if you're looking for quests. If you're here to dine, then please take any empty seat…!"

A waitress with short red hair received us warmly.

The slightly dim interior seemed to double as a bar.

Seen congregating inside were groups of men in armor, but they didn't seem to bear ill will.

However, unfamiliar faces seems to be rare, as everyone was focusing on us.

… I realized why they were looking this way.

"Hey, they're looking this way too blatantly. It must be the holy aura coming from me; they must've discovered that I'm a goddess."

The reason was the appearance of the goddess speaking dumb words.

She was a beauty as long as she didn't speak, after all, so everyone's eyes were attracted to her.

For now, I ignored their gazes and went about my original objective.

"… Listen carefully, Aqua… They'll give us a tutorial if we register, enabling us to earn a living; that's the kind of place adventurer guilds are. We should be able to take out a loan to prepare ourselves, complete simple jobs to get by and introduce ourselves to a good tavern. Most games start out this way. Normally, preparing the minimum essentials to live in this world should be your job, but never mind that. For today, let's register with the guild, get some equipment and money, and find a place to sleep."

"I don't care about that. My job's sending the dead to this world, but I get it. I'm not familiar with games, but what you said seems to be common sense for this world. So I just need to register to be an adventurer too, right?"

"That's right. All right then, let's go."

Taking Aqua with me, I made a beeline for the counter.

There were four counter staff members.

Two of them were female.

I queued up at the counter with the prettier lady.

"… Hey, the other three counters are empty. Why are you queuing here? We won't have to wait if we go to another counter… Ah, because this counter worker's the prettiest, huh? Really, I was a bit impressed and thought that you were reliable just now, but you're really doing this?"

Aqua, who was following me, didn't seem to know anything, so I whispered to her quietly:

"Building a good rapport with the guild's counter staff are the basics, and the pretty counter lady definitely has plenty of flags to raise. This means that there'll be more shocking hidden side quests waiting for us. For example, the counter lady might be a powerful adventurer or something."

"… Now that you mention it, I saw something similar in a manga. Sorry, I'll wait in line obediently."

Because we didn't approach the other empty counters and intentionally queued here, the other staff people were looking at us curiously. Nevertheless, I decided to pretend not to notice.

It was finally our turn.

"Good morning, how may I help you?"

The counter worker was a gentle beauty.

Her wavy hair and large breasts made her look mature.

"Eh, I want to become an adventurer. I come from the countryside and don't know anything…"

If I tell the counter worker that I come from the countryside or a faraway nation, they'll give a more thorough explanation.

"I see. There'll be a registration fee, will that be okay?"

That's right this was the basic tutorial.

I would just need to follow the instructions of the counter worker…

… Registration fee?

"… Hey Aqua, got any cash on you?"

"I was transported here suddenly, so how would it be possible for me to have any money?"

… How can this be, shouldn't they loan some money to us or put it on a tab for now?

I moved away from the counter and discussed strategy with Aqua.

"… Hey, what now? We're in a pinch right from the beginning. In games, you'll normally get starting equipment, as well as some money for living expenses."

"You suddenly become unreliable. However, there's no helping it, since you're a hikikomori after all. All right, it's time for me to shine. Just watch, I'll show you the capability of a goddess."

Seated at a table wearing the loose and cumbersome clothing of a priest was a man.

Aqua approached the man confidently…

"Man of the cloth, please state thy religion! I'm Aqua. That's right, the goddess Aqua worshipped by the religious order of Axis! If thou art a believer…! … May you give me some aid by lending me some money?"

With an attitude that seemed lofty yet humble, she asked him for money.

"… I'm from the Eris Sect."

"Ah… I see, sorry…"

I didn't get it, but they seem to be from different religious orders.

As the dejected Aqua was preparing to come back, the priest stopped her.

"Ah… Madam, you must be a follower of Axis. There were stories about Goddess Aqua and Goddess Eris being close, so this must be fate. I've been observing you. Might you be having trouble paying the registration fee? It's just a small fee, so please take it as a blessing from Goddess Eris. But no matter how devout you are, you shouldn't use the title of goddess in vain."

"Ah… Okay, sorry… Thank you very much…"

The eyes of Aqua looked dead as she returned with the money.

"Ha, he didn't believe that I'm a goddess… By the way, Goddess Eris's my junior. I was pitied by the believer of my junior goddess and received his money…"

"What matters is that you completed the task. Think about it. If he really believed that you were a goddess, there'd be a different kind of trouble!"

Aqua had an expression that seemed to say she lost something important, so I half-heartedly encouraged her.

"Eh, we're back with the registration fees."

"I… I see… The registration fee is 1,000 eris…"

Aqua received 3,000 eris from the priest.

According to Aqua, one eris was about one yen. Therefore, she received about 3,000 yen.

The counter lady didn't interfere with the commotion we stirred up, but was unwilling to look both of us in the eye.

It seemed that I'd broken the flag between this lady and me.

"All right. Since you said you want to become an adventurer, you should have some level of understanding, but I'll explain it from the start… First, adventurers are responsible for the extermination of monsters wandering outside the town, people who get rid of dangerous creatures that might harm the citizens. They're also jacks-of-all-trades, taking on odd jobs that require their talents. Collectively known as adventurers are people who earn a living this way. And among adventurers, there are different jobs."

Finally, it was coming.

This was a norm for adventurers. Be it jobs, class, or whatever it's called, you had to choose the way you fought in this world.

Compared to the blunt warrior profession, flashy jobs like mages should be better.

The counter lady handed Aqua and I one card each.

It was about the size of a driver's license and seemed to be a kind of identification card.

"Please look over here; do you see the word 'Level'? As both of you know, all things in the world have souls no matter what form it takes. If you eat or kill a being, you can absorb a part of the memory of the soul, known as 'Experience Points.'

"Experience Points are normally intangible things, but…"

The counter lady pointed to one part of the card and continued.

"With this card, the Experience Points the adventurer absorbs will be shown here. At the same time, the level corresponding to your experience points will be displayed here. This shows how strong an adventurer is. How many enemies you defeat will be recorded here. With the accumulation of experience points, all creatures will grow stronger rapidly at some point, known as leveling up. Simply put, leveling up will grant you all sorts of benefits, such as skill points to learn new skills. So please work hard to increase your level."

After listening to the explanation, I recalled something Aqua said.

She asked me, "Do you like games?"

I got it. After listening to all that, this world was just like a game.

"First, please fill in your height, weight, age and other details in the blanks."

I filled in my measurements on the form given to me by the counter lady.

Height was 165 cm (5 ft., 5 in), weight 55 kg (121 lbs.). Sixteen years old, black hair and eyes…

"That'll be fine, please touch this card. This will display the strength of each of your abilities for reference when choosing your job. After accumulating skill points, you can learn skills that are available for your job. This is one of the key points in choosing occupations."

Oh, it was time for this.

The time to show my amazing potential and create a big commotion in the guild.

With tense emotions and a heart full of expectation, I touched the card.

"… All right, thank you. Satou Kazuma-san, right? Let's see… Strength, vitality, magic, agility and speed… All of them are average. Intelligence is slightly better than average… Huh? Luck's very high, but it's not very relevant for adventurers… This is troubling. From the numbers, you can only choose the most basic Adventurer job! Since your luck's so high, I suggest you give up being an adventurer and be a merchant instead… What'll you like to do?"

Hey, denying my life of adventuring right from the very start!? What was this?

The corners of Aqua's lips were high in a smile, tempting me to punch her.

My being weak doesn't help your cause, you know.

"Um… I'd like to become an Adventurer…"

The counter lady said with a face of worry:

"I-It's fine. After levelling up and raising your stats, you can change your job! In addition, the Adventurer job is just what it sounds like; it's a combination of all jobs. That's right, it might be a basic level job, but it doesn't mean it's worse than the others! Adventurers can learn and use the skills of all jobs after all!"

"On the other hand, you'll need more skill points to learn skills. Without the bonus attribute of the actual job, your skills will be weaker when compared to them. It's a jack of all trades, master of none."

After the counter lady pointed out the good points, Aqua immediately shot them down.

I should find a place to throw her away.

It seemed that I would be taking a basic job, a beginner job.

Anyway, it was the weakest job.

However, I was still an adventurer that appeared in this world.

As I received my card with my name and the job 'Adventurer' written on it with a heavy heart…

"Eh? Huh? What's with these numbers? Leaving the lower than average intelligence and rock bottom luck aside, the rest of your stats drastically exceed the average! Especially your magic, it's abnormally high! Who in the world are you…?"

The counter lady screamed after looking at the card Aqua touched.

The place was in an uproar.

… Weird, shouldn't that be happening to me instead?

"Ah, is that right? Therefore, it means I'm amazing. Oh my, it's normal by my standard."

No matter how useless, she was still a goddess.

However, Aqua being so happy that she became embarrassed pissed me off.

"This… This is way beyond amazing! Mage-type jobs that require high intelligence aren't available… However, you may choose any other job! The holy knight with its strongest defense, Crusader; the swordsman with the strongest attack, Sword Master; and the top-tier cleric, Archpriest. You may choose from most of the top-tier jobs right now!"

Slightly troubled by the counter lady's exclamation, Aqua said:

"Well, it's a pity that goddess isn't available as a job. It'll be Archpriest for me then."

"Archpriest! Archpriests can use all kinds of recovery and support spells. They can even take the role of vanguards, a strong all-rounder job! I'll register you now… Done. Welcome to the adventurer's guild, Aqua-sama! All of our staff look forward to your grand exploits!"

The counter lady said with a pleasant smile.

… Strange, what was this?

As I said, this should've happened to me…

Ah, forget it–

With that, my life as an adventurer began in this world.