Chapter 3: Makoto Takatsuki Reunites with Fujiyan
Fujiyan was a friend I had met in class during my first year of high school. Our seats had happened to be close to each other, so we frequently had lively discussions about games together. I liked RPGs, and Fujiyan liked waifu games. We may have preferred different genres, but we’d maintained a friendly relationship by lending each other our favorite titles.
I’d been separated from Fujiyan at the Water Temple nine months ago, and now he had his own store. That guy had made it big in no time.
Even though we’re both high school students, I couldn’t help but think.
Then again, I had another classmate who had the Hero of Light skill and was nominated to be captain of the Highland Knights, but he was a special case. I needed to avoid comparing myself to him. Nonetheless, maybe all my other classmates were out finding huge success while I slacked off and got left behind...
Thinking that way soured my mood, but I reached my destination despite my depression. I spotted a large sign with “Fujiwara Trading” written on it. This was the place.
I hope Fujiyan’s still the same guy I always knew, I thought. I’d spent the past year in this world training in magic and adventuring. As an otherworlder, the Water Temple had exempted me from all clothing, food, and education fees. Which is to say, the government took care of me and gave me a cozy, unchallenging life. I was a state-recognized NEET.
Fujiyan was the opposite. Sure, he had some useful skills, but he was still young enough to be considered a minor back in Japan. Even so, he’d been scouted by a trading company and had obtained a store of his own in under nine months. I couldn’t imagine where his life had taken him since our last meeting. Would we still be on the same wavelength after I’d spent a whole year cooped up in the Water Temple? I had to admit, I was nervous.
“Pardon me...” I murmured as I slowly entered the store.
“Welcome’h!” A lady employee shouted a greeting at me. When I looked her way, I saw...
A woman with bunny ears?!
Yes, behind the counter was a bunny-eared beastwoman with a small frame and ruffled brown hair. Her wide-open eyes were rather adorable.
“Are you an adventurer, sir? We’ve got plenty of items and armor for ya’h!”
The employee helped me with a smile. She had a bit of an accent at the end of her sentences, so I wondered if she had come to Roses from a different country. But still, a store with bunny-eared staff? Fujiyan’s tastes were on full display.
“Umm, is Mr. Fujiwara here? The store owner.”
“Ah, so you’re a merchant.” Her tone suddenly changed. “Preliminary business discussions go through me’h.”
“Oh, no, it’s not like that. I’m, uh, a friend of Fujiwara’s, so...”
“A friend of the boss’s?” questioned the employee. She sized me up with a piercing gaze. “Could I have your name’h?”
“Um, it’s Makoto Takatsuki.”
“Wait! Could you have perhaps come from another world?”
“Ah, yes, I did.”
“Please wait just one minute! I’ll be back in a moment’h!” She hurriedly disappeared into a back room and returned with a small device about the size of a cigarette box. The woman held one of the numerous buttons arranged on its surface and brought the device to her mouth. “Boss! Mr. Takatsuki is here’h!”
“What did you say?” came a familiar voice. “Has he truly arrived?!”
The woman handed me the device that was apparently a receiver. “Mr. Takatsuki, here you go’h.”
“Fujiyan, are you there?”
“Oooooh! That nickname! That voice could belong to none other than my esteemed Tackie!”
“It’s been a while,” I said. “I figured I’d come to visit since I made it to Macallan.”
“Oh, how I’ve waited! I’d like to return to the store right this moment, but I’m afraid I have negotiations to attend to. Could I ask you to meet your humble compatriot at my shop by nightfall?”
“Yeah, got it. See ya then.” I handed the receiver to the employee and told her that I’d be back.
Fujiyan hasn’t changed a bit, I thought. If he was still talking that way, then I figured we’d be able to chill like old times. I was kinda relieved.
I had some time to spare until I’d meet Fujiyan, so I decided to explore outside the city. The employee told me about a forest to the south where weak monsters like giant rats spawned.
I want to take the dagger the goddess gave me for a test cut!
“Wow, this is pretty nice.”
I had stopped a giant rat in its tracks with Water Magic: Ice Arrow and used my dagger to strike the final blow. There was almost no resistance; the blade cut through the monster like butter.
“I got one heck of a weapon,” I remarked. Yep, this called for some thanks to the goddess.
“O Goddess, thank you for this blessing.” I brought my hands together the way people prayed back home and offered my appreciation to the goddess.
Told ya, came the goddess’s voice ever so faintly. Be grateful.
A vision came across my mind of the goddess puffing her chest out with a smug look on her face. Was she so invested because I was her believer now? Either way, the goddess was cute, so I couldn’t complain.
I skinned the rat and went to an item shop to sell it. The adventurer’s guild would have bought it too, but I wanted to see as much of the city as I could!
“That’ll be three thousand gald.”
They bought three rat pelts off of me. Using the money I received for them, I then bought a sheath for the sword the goddess had given me.
I left the item shop and strolled through the city. The heart of Macallan was bustling and lined with shops selling food, clothing, weapons, items, and more. There was even a pet shop for familiars. This was a fantasy world, all right.
Once I left the shopping district’s road, I found myself in a culinary district lined with restaurants and bars. Behind that was a street filled with inns, and behind even that was a brothel district filled with questionable establishments. Not that I’d have the money for anything of the sort, of course.
I looked at a number of weapon shops that piqued my interest. The goddess’s dagger would suffice for now, but I wanted to set my sights on becoming a spellsword.
Despite my affinity for the mage class, I didn’t have the Strength to wield normal swords, so I couldn’t become a swordfighter. However, I’d heard rumors about the existence of sacred and demonic swords which allowed their users to master any job. I’d like to find one of those magic swords for myself.
While I was perusing blades, I had my goddess’s dagger appraised.
“Sir, can I ask where you found this dagger?”
“Uhh, an acquaintance let me borrow it,” I answered vaguely. “All I know is that it should be valuable.”
“Well, it certainly has some magical properties. Can’t say just what without inspecting in detail, though. So, any plans to sell it?”
I wouldn’t dream of selling it! But it looked like the shopkeeper had his eyes on it, so I took my dagger back in a hurry.
I looked around the store to see if there were any magic swords. I noticed that a lot of customers seemed to be adventurers, all of them properly equipped for their jobs.
“Please, Jean, you don’t need a sword that expensive yet.”
“Maybe, but hey, I’ll need it for the stronger monsters, won’t I?”
I peeked over to see a man who looked like a warrior talking to a cleric-ish woman. Were they a couple?
“C’mon,” the woman protested, “buy me some equipment for once!”
“All right, Emily. How about I give up on the weapon and order you some new clothes?”
“Hooray! You’re the best, Jean!” The woman started clinging to the man’s arm.
Die in a fire, normies.
As I continued to wander, the time for our meetup came closer. I made it back to Fujiyan’s shop right on time and saw a familiar stoutly figure pacing around the showroom. It was a face I hadn’t seen in nine months.
“Fujiyan!” I called out.
“My esteemed Tackie!” Fujiyan shouted back as he lumbered over. “It’s been quite the while indeed! How reassuring it is to see you in good health!”
“Glad you’re doing all right too.”
“Now then, I’ve made reservations, so let us be off!”
The reservation was at a restaurant in a back alley behind the large district of eateries. It was quiet, almost like a hideaway. Fujiyan knew all the best places, huh?
As soon as we entered the store he’d picked out, Fujiyan and I were taken to a private booth in the back.
“Cheers!” we both shouted as we clinked our glasses together. Fujiyan was drinking a pint of ale while I had a fruit cocktail. This was my first time drinking alcohol in an actual restaurant.
Also, you only had to be thirteen to drink in this country, so this wasn’t illegal.
“How does your drink find you?” asked Fujiyan.
“Tastes kinda like juice.”
“Would you prefer an ale?”
“Hmm, I’ll pass on that,” I said. “I tried it at the temple, but it’s just too bitter for me.”
“You’ll find it to be delicious in time.”
“Really? If you say so.”
Our food was delivered plate by plate as we talked: thick steaks, fried shrimp, freshwater sashimi, cheese-drenched pasta, and hearty soup. What a feast! I dug into the fried shrimp.
“That’s good!” I exclaimed.
“It suits your tastes, I take it?”
“It’s super good. Especially after all the bland food they served at the temple.”
“Indeed, I don’t recall if it even had flavor.”
We spent a while complaining about the Water Temple’s simple cooking as we feasted upon everything the restaurant had to offer.
“But I must say, I was quite worried. I hadn’t heard a word of correspondence from you for the entire year.”
“That’s because I stayed until the very end of the otherworlder lodging period,” I explained. “I was the last one left. Nobody besides Sakurai invited me to join their party.”
“How unfortunate...” Fujiyan looked like he was sorry for me, but I just gave him a cheerful grin.
“But hey, I did a solo run yesterday where I saved some people from a band of goblins.”
“Great Scott!” Fujiyan exclaimed. “They say that one would need to be a mid rank mage or swordfighter to defeat a band of goblins alone. Was it not dangerous?”
“Maybe, but I didn’t sweat it. Turns out the skills I’ve got actually have their uses.” I tried repeating the reasoning the goddess had given me about my skills. Fujiyan seemed to listen intently and was impressed enough to give me an “indeed.”
“Well, I finished registering with the adventurer’s guild, so I’m gonna take it easy and grind up from stone rank.”
“An adventurer, you say? I’m afraid it’s not the path for your humble compatriot, but as a gamer, I’ve much respect for the profession.”
“C’mon, Fujiyan, you’re already making it big as a trader,” I assured him.
“Oh, far from it. I had to take on debt to create my store.”
Ah, I didn’t know that. But still...
“I saw that you’ve got a bunny-eared employee. You’re living your best life out here.”
“Pfffft!” spouted Fujiyan as ale sprayed from his mouth. “Ah, of course, you’ve met my employee, right.”
“Sure is a cute one, that employee.”
“W-Well, perhaps,” he stammered, “but I’ll have you know that by no means did I hire by appearance.”
I doubted this.
“Fujiyan, this was your dream. You hired a cute bunny girl to work for you, so you practically won at life.”
“That girl is someone I met in Great Keith and hired as a bodyguard. She’s a silver rank adventurer, I’ll have you know.”
“Huh, she didn’t look that strong,” I remarked in awe. “So, she’s a first-rate adventurer on top of being cute?”
“Do ho ho, she was a pricey purchase, mind you... Oh.”
“Oh?” Purchase? Fujiyan, what word did you just use?
“F-Forget I said anything.”
“No way, I can’t let that go. What do you mean by ‘purchase’?”
It couldn’t be. He’d never. But what else could a “purchase” be?
“Sh-She was a slave. The employee I hired.”
“Yikes...” Fujiyan actually hired a sex slave?!
“She’s not a sex slave, I’ll have you know!” Fujiyan retorted as though he’d read my mind. “Our relationship is strictly business. I even pay her wages.”
“Ah, I see. So you’re an employer to her?”
“Indeed, an employer.”
But she was one cute employee, so...
“Made any moves?”
“How dare you! Animal-eared girls are not to be defiled!”
Yep, I still don’t get what he’s into. That said, it was impressive that he had a silver rank adventurer under his employment. He’d clearly been braving the hardships of adult life out here; he seemed like he’d experienced a lot in his time.
Speaking of experience, I wanted to ask one other thing. We’d both gotten a bit inebriated by now, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to get a little unsafe for work.
“By the way, Fujiyan—you’re still a virgin, right?”
“Pffffft!” Fujiyan spat out his ale yet again. “Wh-What would possess you to ask something like that?!”
There’s an urban legend in Japan that says if you keep your virginity until you turn thirty, you’ll become a wizard. Fujiyan and I had often called ourselves the “Virgin Alliance” as we motivated each other to obtain wizardhood. I also remembered how Sasaki had called us idiots as she’d shot us frigid glares. The good ol’ days. I hoped that Fujiyan hadn’t forgotten...
“Fujiyan?”
He looked uncomfortable as he avoided eye contact. No, don’t do this to me...
“My trading has brought me in contact with many people... And, well, there are establishments offering those services...”
E-Establishments? I recalled those questionable stores I’d seen while exploring the city.
“I-I’m afraid that your humble compatriot has lost all claim to the title of wizard...”
“Y-You traitor!” I ordered the most alcoholic drink on the menu, a flaming cocktail, and gulped it down. Or, I tried to, before immediately spitting it out. My throat was burning! What the heck was in this? Did they serve poison here?
“C-Calm yourself, my esteemed Tackie!”
“I am calm. My Calm Mind skill keeps me cool as a cucumber.”
“You don’t appear that way...”
“Well, now that I think about it, I’m a virgin and became a mage, while you lost your virginity and didn’t get any magic powers to show for it. Therefore, I win.”
“I can’t help but feel there are some leaps of logic in there...” said Fujiyan.
Yeah, I was aware. It didn’t erase my sense of defeat though, so I figured it’d be best to drop the subject there. But still, I’d left my buddy for just a moment and he’d already climbed a step toward adulthood...
“Anyway, Fujiyan, what’ve you been up to since leaving the temple?” There was no doubt he’d been successful, but I still wanted to hear the details.
“Ah yes, listen well. Your humble compatriot began as a member of the Franz Trading Company.” The Franz Trading Company was the largest trade organization on the continent. I remembered that they were the ones who’d scouted him back when we were at the Water Temple together.
“Indeed, at first, I was made to transport cargo day in and day out using my Storage (Ultra Rank) skill.” Fujiyan sounded nostalgic for his earlier days, but it sounded pretty stressful to me. “Some days, I’d stock up on weaponry and depart for Great Keith. Other days, I’d take ores and metals and travel to sell them in Cameron. And yet other days, I was tasked with loading up a massive amount of clothes from Springrogue and delivering them to Highland. I scarcely had any breaks, with very little time wasted on sleep.”
“That must have been rough,” I sympathized, but Fujiyan just smirked.
“Fortunately, I was also blessed with the Appraisal (Ultra Rank) skill.” He meant that in his travels to numerous countries, he’d explored the markets and bazaars in search of bargains. Selling items in other nations was how he’d built his capital.
“After that,” he continued, “I found someone within the company whom I could trust and requested their assistance in becoming independent. Truly a debt I’ve yet to repay.”
Wow. Where’d he get all the motivation and communication skills from? That stuff was way beyond me.
“I’m impressed that you found someone trustworthy...and that you knew you could trust them so soon after meeting them,” I said.
I had nothing but garbage skills, so nobody even gave me the time of day. But Fujiyan had a ton of useful skills, so I could imagine a lot of people would want to get close to him and use him for their own ambitions.
“There’s a reason for that,” began Fujiyan as he lowered his voice. “My esteemed Tackie, you remember my skills, do you not?”
“Uh, you’ve got Storage, Appraisal, and then...” I took a moment to think. “Waifu Game Player?”
“Indeed. It was that last one that presented a problem.”
I remembered that the skill allowed him to read logs of conversations, but Fujiyan explained that there was more to it.
“As that skill’s mastery rose, it allowed me to read the minds of others.”
“What?” For real? That sounded wild. “Guess you’re just like the goddess.”
“Hm? Pardon?”
“I’ll explain later,” I said. “But do you mean to tell me you’ve been reading my mind this whole time?”
“As curious as I am about that statement of yours, I shall oblige and explain my skill.”
Waifu Game Player was a bizarre skill that, put simply, allowed the user to record the conversations of people they spoke to as text. Every time they talked with others, a message window would appear to them that displayed the text of what the other person said. It was a mechanic you’d find in tons of Japanese adventure games or visual novels. You could say it suited someone who loved waifu games as much as Fujiyan. Incidentally, the text it displayed was in Japanese.
It hadn’t seemed too valuable at first, but it’d proved convenient in his work as a merchant, since he didn’t need to take notes while talking to the many different business partners his travels had taken him to. As a bonus, people were impressed by what they perceived to be his incredibly good memory.
“I was merely searching through my conversational log, of course,” chuckled Fujiyan. “But around half a year ago, I noticed something peculiar.”
The skill that previously just displayed the text of spoken words had now begun to display the text of peoples’ thoughts (within a pair of parentheses).
As an example: “Top of the mornin’ to ya, Mr. Fujiwara. Workin’ hard, or hardly workin’, eh?” (This moneygrubbing otherworlder oughta stay in his lane.)
“Wow,” I said, “that sounds kinda overpowered for a merchant, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, well. I can’t argue the contrary,” began Fujiyan. The skill allowed him to see when people spoke poorly of him behind his back or if they held a grudge. It also proved invaluable for finding allies. Made sense.
“However, I find it hard to stop worrying,” he continued. It didn’t seem like he’d ever told anyone that his skill had gained this power.
“Are you sure you should’ve told me?”
“Well, I’ve nobody else I could imagine sharing this with. Besides, it’s the sort of thing I’d have to reveal either immediately or never at all.” He snickered, but I understood where he was coming from. It’d be pretty uncomfortable to tell someone that you’d been reading their mind the whole time.
“My esteemed Tackie,” Fujiyan asked cautiously, “are you, perhaps, perturbed by my ability?”
“You’re not the only person I know who can read minds, so no big deal.”
“Yes, that! Right there!” exclaimed Fujiyan. “What was that ‘goddess’ you spoke of?”
Well hey, I figured it wasn’t worth hiding. He was a mind reader anyway.
“So last night...” I began, explaining how I had become a goddess’s acolyte in my dream. Once I finished, I showed Fujiyan my Soul Book.
“Hmmm,” Fujiyan pondered. “It does indeed say ‘The Goddess’s First Believer’ on this page, but I find it curious that no name is given.”
“Yeah, it sure is. Hard to recruit more followers without a name.”
“Might I ask how legitimate this goddess is?” Fujiyan looked concerned. It must’ve been like meeting a friend for the first time in a while and finding out they’d joined a cult. Yeah, I’d be concerned too.
“Come to think of it,” I said, “the goddess gave me a dagger when I became her believer. Think you could appraise it?”
“Well now! The Dagger of the Goddess! It appears rather impressive. Please, allow me to do the honors.”
Oh, wait, crap, came a voice to my head. What was she on about?
“This is it, Fujiyan.”
“Whoooooa! Its simplicity belies its beautiful engravings. It appears to be mithril at a glance, but further inspection reveals it to be a metal I’ve never encountered before. It’s clearly a rare material imbued with mana! An impressive piece of work, I must say!”
“I was told it had some kind of anti-appraisal magic cast on it.”
“Resistance is futile! It shall kneel before the might of my highly trained Appraisal skill!”
Glad to see him having fun.
Fujiyan excitedly looked over the dagger. He breathed heavily as he inspected every nook and cranny until, all of a sudden, he froze. He stopped speaking and just stared at the weapon with suspicion. The friend I’d known for being all smiles now had his eyes open wide. I was kinda scared.
“Fujiyan? What’s up?”
“H-Hrmm. Tackie. My esteemed friend. You said you received this dagger from the goddess, correct?”
“Yeah, I did.” Weird question. I had to wonder what could have possibly turned up in his appraisal. “So, uh, Fujiyan? Mind telling me what you found?”
Fujiyan looked hesitant to say it, but he opened his mouth and told me the truth.
“Tackie, I’ve finished appraising this dagger of yours. It’s the Dagger of the Wicked God Noah...”
I stared in silence.
I guess I’d wound up worshipping evil incarnate.
...Damn, that’s crazy.
For a moment, my brain locked up.
“T-Tackie?” asked Fujiyan.
“Well,” I said after a pause, “this might be a problem.”
My excitement at being reunited with a friend was quelled in an instant. Sure, that goddess was a little suspicious, but a wicked god of all things?
I got got.
“Come to think of it,” I wondered, “what is a wicked god, anyway?”
“Hmm,” said Fujiyan. “According to the myths, they’re the old gods who were defeated in the Divine War.”
The Divine Plane rested atop the highest point of this world. According to mythology, its ruling body had changed three times.
The first ruler was the one who built the world, the Creator. That deity eventually left this world behind.
The next rulers were the Creator’s sons and daughters. They went by a few different names: the Old Deities, the prior rulers, or the Titans. Their reign lasted for a long time.
However, the Old Deities became arrogant. They scorned and neglected all creatures that they perceived as being beneath them. It was our current rulers, the Sacred Deities, who eventually revolted against the Titans.
Soon after, war broke out between the two factions; this was the Divine War, Titanomachy. After a long, arduous battle, the Sacred Deities came out victorious. As such, they became the current rulers of the Divine Plane, while the Old Deities became branded as wicked gods.
Or at least, that was the mythology I’d learned at the Water Temple.
“So, I guess that means the goddess I believe in is one of those Old Deities. If memory serves, the Old Deities are locked away somewhere while they plot their recapture of the Divine Plane or something, right?”
“And it would seem that the goddess you entered a contract with is one of them.”
“Well, that’s probably bad.” I didn’t realize that my goddess was such a menace.
“Tackie,” asked Fujiyan with concern, “do you intend to continue being her believer?”
“Hmm...”
To be honest, I was still taking it all in. I couldn’t come up with any words, but thankfully, Fujiyan changed the subject.
“But I must say, this dagger is exquisite! I’ve finished appraising its abilities beyond its mere name!”
Oh, good to know. It felt pretty nice to cut with. Since the weapon shops I visited couldn’t appraise it, I was curious.
“So,” I said, “what are its abilities?”
“It’s forged from the legendary metal, adamantite. The endurance is god-tier. It’s imbued with a divine power that grants it a number of effects, such as Smite, Indestructible, Demon Slayer, Mana Resonance, Elemental Transfer... I must say, I’m unfamiliar with many of these. And what’s more...”
“Wow,” I remarked as Fujiyan continued to explain the dagger’s many abilities to me. What was this, a cheat weapon?
“Fujiyan, you’re making this dagger sound pretty strong.”
“Strong? Oh no, this dagger warrants far more than a word so banal! It is undoubtedly the most powerful dagger I’ve ever laid eyes on. It deserves to be treated as a national treasure!”
“Wow...” Guess that goddess wasn’t kidding about the “divine treasure” bit. Either way, I finally had my first cheat since coming to this world. And all it took was a deal with the devil.
“O Goddess,” I said as I brought my hands together in prayer, “I humbly thank you for this gift.”
“Are you not concerned about her identity as a wicked god?” inquired Fujiyan.
“Yeah, guess I gotta ask her about that.”
“But it must be difficult for you to meet her, is it not?”
“I’m not so sure,” I replied. “She might have been watching this whole conversation.”
“Goodness! Is that true?” Fujiyan looked to his sides in a panic. Probably because I’d said she was always watching.
You are watching, aren’t you, Goddess? I thought.
I waited, but she stayed quiet. Guess I’d figure that mystery out later.
“Anyway,” I continued, “I’ll think about whether I want to keep being her believer.”
“I see. I’d like to be of some assistance if I can. There may be little I can do against a god, but I’d be more than happy to listen.”
“Thanks.”
Fujiyan bottomed out his pint of ale which, incidentally, was his third glass. Then he ordered a flaming cocktail on the rocks.
“Wow, Fujiyan, you can really put that stuff away.” I was only halfway through my first glass.
“A merchant is always being wined and dined,” chuckled Fujiyan. The look in his eyes made it clear that he was talking from experience.
“Guess a merchant’s life isn’t for me,” I said, taking the tiniest sip of my drink. There was no way I could keep up with that. “I’m fine with being a laid-back adventurer.”
But then, Fujiyan seemed like he remembered something.
“Incidentally, while this may not be the time or place for a subject so grave, they say the Great Demon Lord will be resurrected within the next ten years.”
He’ll what?
“I had no idea,” I said. “Is that true?”
“Rumors have been spreading, at least. The priestesses of the six goddesses besides the moon goddess have all received revelations to that effect.”
“That’s news to me. Guess those people recruited as heroes have their work cut out for them.” People like Sakurai.
But still, the Great Demon Lord, huh? Kinda wished I were stronger so I could challenge him.
“And just between the two of us,” whispered Fujiyan, “the rumors also speculate that we otherworlders may have been called here to combat this threat.”
“Well, that is how the cliché goes. Makes me wish I had some stronger skills, though.”
“Oh no, I’m certainly no fighter either. I’m perfectly content with my chosen profession.”
“Ah. Well, good thing you got the right skills for that, Fujiyan.” I still wished that I had some stronger combat skills, though.
“For now, all nations appear to be gathering forces to prepare for a battle with this Great Demon Lord.”
“Ah, that’d explain why the Water Temple had so many scouts coming by.” Fujiyan sure was well-informed. I definitely wasn’t, so I appreciated the help.
“Now, my esteemed Tackie, what are your plans for the future?”
“Just keep adventuring and leveling up for a while,” I answered.
“Would you perhaps be interested in forming a party with your humble compatriot?”
“With you?” I didn’t know merchants could battle. Didn’t he just say he was no fighter?
But I heard him out, and apparently merchants sometimes hired adventurers to explore dungeons that they couldn’t fight through themselves. That employee of his was a silver rank adventurer too. Fujiyan could hire me out of his own pocket, and I’d get to adventure with a little more peace of mind.
But still, you know? That’d just make it too easy. I’d be relying on Fujiyan too much.
“Thanks for the offer,” I said, “but I’m gonna see what I can do solo. That’s what I spent all my time training at the temple for.”
“Ah, I see. Well, don’t hesitate to call me if you face any trouble.” I appreciated that offer too. Making classroom friends can pay off.
We spent the rest of the night chatting about anything we could think of, from memories of our old world to fun activities in this one.
Of course, the thing we remembered most fondly from our old world was video games. It’d been a whole year since we’d left Japan behind, so there were probably tons of new releases that we were missing.
In his travels, Fujiyan had tasted local cuisines from all across the continent. He said that a lot of it was surprisingly delicious. His one complaint seemed to be that they didn’t have ramen, so he talked with passion about his plans to open a ramen chain someday.
Personally, I could’ve gone for a burger. All I needed in life were games, cheeseburgers, fries, and soda. Ah, just the thought takes me back.
“My esteemed Tackie, you pay far too little mind to your health. Going three sleepless nights fueled by nothing but burgers and fries sounds like a death sentence.”
“Says the guy who eats ramen or curry for breakfast,” I retorted.
“Well, not lately, mind you.”
“Anyway, I got healthier when I came to this world. All I ate at the temple was bland vegetable soup and porridge.”
“Indeed. I’d prefer if I never recalled that temple’s cooking again. It would do you some good to visit the Nation of Commerce, Cameron. It’s a wealthy nation, so the cuisine is exquisite.”
“Huh, you don’t say. I bet it’s expensive, though.”
We talked late into the evening. By the time we agreed to head back, it was well past midnight. Fujiyan invited me to stay the night at his place countless times, but I figured it was asking too much and so I turned him down. He’d already paid for both of our tabs, so I’d have to treat him next time.
I returned to the adventurer’s guild, curled up with a blanket in a corner of the large rest area, and made it through my first night as an adventurer. The snores and mumblings of the other sleepers distracted me a bit, but I was so tired that I quickly nodded off.
◇
That night, I had another dream. I found myself in an empty, wide-open space. It’d been a whole day since I’d last seen this sight.
“Uh, Goddess? What are you doing?”
The goddess was pleading on her hands and knees. Her back was outstretched and her forearms were crossed in front of her. The casually exposed nape of her neck was pretty hot.
Wait, no, focus.
“O Goddess Noah,” I gently called out. The goddess’s shoulders jerked up and shuddered. “That’s your name, isn’t it?”
There was a long pause.
Until finally, in the faintest of whimpers...
“Yes,” responded the goddess, Noah.
“So, you’re actually a wicked deity?”
This time, there was no response.
“That’s enough,” I said to break the silence. “Just lift your head. It’s kind of uncomfortable to talk while you’re begging.”
“Are you going to quit being my believer?” asked the goddess. Her face stayed firmly planted on the ground.
I paused to think, but...
“C’mon, say something!” the goddess suddenly shouted. She shot up and gripped my shoulders. “Look, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to trick you. I just left out one teensy detail.”
I think that’s what people call a scam.
“It’s not a scam!” she said, responding to my thoughts. “Besides, I’m still a goddess either way!”
“But you are an Old Deity, aren’t you?”
“Hey, listen. That ‘old’ stuff’s a little uncalled for, don’t ya think? Gotta say, I’m not a fan. Also, I’m one of the younger Titans, so, just an FYI.” The goddess pouted and kicked the air a bit.
Still as cute as ever.
Wait, she just started grinning. She must have read my mind.
“Well, my cute goddess,” I said, “good luck finding your next believer. I’m out.”
“No way, no way, no way!” the goddess pleaded. “I waited a thousand years to get my first acolyte! And a deity without believers is stuck being powerless. I almost never get any followers in this world since everyone treats me like the root of all evil, so asking otherworlders is the only chance I’ve got!”
Well, that made sense. And the rest of the otherworlders had already pledged belief to one of the six main goddesses. Maybe as a minor goddess, Noah had to recruit last or something.
“C-C’mon, Makoto, that dagger was pretty nice, right?”
“You mean this thing?” I looked down at the weapon on my hip. According to Fujiyan, it was indeed pretty nice. Definitely not something I’d come across as an honest adventurer. “It is, but the whole wicked god thing came out when I got it appraised, so you kinda slipped up with that.”
“I didn’t! A normal appraisal isn’t supposed to catch that part!”
Meaning that Fujiyan’s skills were far from normal. Guess he didn’t have an ultra rank in appraisal for nothing.
Wait, didn’t that mean she was planning to deceive me the whole time?
“Uh, well, about that,” the goddess stammered. “The thing is, er...”
The goddess was fidgeting. It looked like she couldn’t come up with a good excuse.
Though to be fair, even if she’d faked her identity, the stats on the dagger were the real deal. The Water Temple hadn’t given me a weapon, so the adventure I’d be having with this blade would be very different from the one I’d have without it.
If nothing else, she deserved to hear as much.
“O Goddess Noah, I thank you for the gift of this dagger. Rest assured, I’ll treat it well.”
“Good, I’m happy you like it.” The goddess grinned. She didn’t look remotely wicked with a smile like that. “No, you see, the whole ‘wicked’ thing was just something the believers of the Sacred Deities came up with. I’m a goddess, for real.”
She pursed her lips and pouted as she griped. That reasoning made a bit more sense to me; she certainly wasn’t lying about her divinity. With that in mind, our first conversation seemed a little less like a scam.
“Okay, I’ll continue to be your believer.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.” Since I’d come to this world, this goddess here was the only person to ever say that they had hopes for me. Everyone else laughed at me, pitied me, or feared for my life. I had to admit, those supportive words of hers warmed my heart.
Oh yeah, I remembered, that’s right, she’s a mind reader. Maybe it’s pity after all?
But as I lost myself in thought, the goddess suddenly came up to me.
“Makoto.”
And then, she hugged me.
“I treasure my acolytes, and that means you. I have high hopes for you, so please, grow strong at whatever pace you choose.”
“Now you’re being so obvious that it makes me even more suspicious.”
“H-How rude! I worked hard on that one!” The goddess battered her fists against my head. Sorry, I couldn’t help that Calm Mind and RPG Player turned out to be such first-rate skills.
It felt a little embarrassing to watch myself get hugged by the goddess from a third person perspective. Either way, the contract was still on. Guess I’d just keep on trucking as a believer in the goddess Noah.
“Since we’re here, do you still have no orders for me?” I asked.
“Why do you desire divine revelation so much?”
“I mean, getting to the goddess cutscene and just receiving a dagger seems a bit lacking. Usually the player would be given some impossible quest, like defeating the Great Demon Lord. It’s just how the genre goes.”
“You’re one strange acolyte,” Noah remarked with a befuddled look. “Okay, how about this? I’m locked up as punishment for defying the Sacred Deities—why not come and rescue me?”
Ooh! Now that’s a classic. Save the captured goddess? I couldn’t have asked for a better plot. Yep, that’d do nicely.
“So, are you trapped where all the other Old Deities are?”
“Oh, right. No, that’s somewhere else. The Old Deities are locked away in a place called Tartarus, far beyond any destination a human could hope to reach. But since I’m a younger deity, I’m being held somewhere else. Somewhere that a human should just barely be able to find.”
Ah, it figured that there were some details I wouldn’t learn from the myths alone.
“I’m being held in the Abyssal Seafloor Temple,” revealed the goddess.
“Pardon? Could you repeat that?”
“The Seafloor Temple.”
So, a dungeon at the furthest depths of the sea.
There was a labyrinth said to exist at the lowest point in the ocean. The final destination at the exit of this labyrinth was known as the Seafloor Temple. The goddess Noah had just brought up one of the top three hardest dungeons in the world.
A dungeon that humanity had yet to reach.
“Ah, figures,” the goddess said with a smile. “Wanna quit yet?”
Quit? Me? The man who gets pumped when he’s told that a game is brutally difficult?
“I’ll go,” I said. “That’s gonna be my goal. I promise I’ll save you as thanks for this dagger.”
I was being serious, but the goddess just gave me a perplexed chuckle.
“The dagger was to thank you for becoming my acolyte, so you don’t have to worry about being even. And since you might get my blessing or additional skills if you pray every day, being my believer is a bargain!”
Yes, my goddess comes on as strong as a used car salesman.
“Hey, that was uncalled for,” the goddess chastised. “Anyway, time for you to wake up.”
My vision started to blur.
“If you feel up to it, come and rescue me. I’ll be waiting patiently.” Noah waved goodbye with a smile.
Patiently? I hope she realized that I had nine years left to live. For now, my focus would be on leveling up and increasing my lifespan.
“If you free me, I’ll do anything you want!”
Bold offer, Goddess. Unless you’re just being careless.
◇
When I awoke, I looked at my Soul Book. I saw that it’d been updated to say “The Goddess Noah’s First Believer.” I was relieved that it didn’t call her “wicked.”
Just you wait, Noah, I thought. I held the dagger in both hands and offered a prayer.
“All right, let’s get going.”
Today would be my first day working as an adventurer in Macallan. I left the adventurer’s guild’s rest area and headed for the front desk. It was early in the morning, so the reception area was barren.
“Hmmm... I think these would suit your level and adventurer rank, Mr. Takatsuki.”
• Capture Horned Rabbits in the Great Forest (3 Units)
• Transport Cargo to Great Keith by Carriage (Pay includes two meals + board)
• Transport Cargo to Highland by Carriage (Pay includes three meals + board)
Yep, these quests all looked pretty dull.
“Are there any, like, monster hunting quests?” I inquired.
“You’re solo, aren’t you? The hunting quests we’ve been getting lately have all asked for parties.”
“I see... Well, I’ll take the horned rabbit one, then.”
“All right, I’ve got you assigned to it,” confirmed the receptionist. “By the way, if you come across any goblins or ogres, be sure to either eliminate them or report their presence. That’s an open quest, so you’ll be rewarded.”
“Huh.” I had no idea.
“I think elimination might be beyond your level, though. I suggest you run if you see any.”
“Oh, right...”
Of course. Then again, I’d never seen an ogre before, so maybe I’d decide whether or not to fight it once I came across one.
“Do you have any questions?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Oh, well then, good luck. Next in line, please!”
I left the adventurer’s guild and headed for the eastern gate. When I showed the guard my guild license card, he let me through without a hitch.
He even told me “good luck.”
I lowered my head a bit and walked toward the forest. My destination would be within its depths.
And so, the Great Forest. Much of the area between Roses and the neighboring nation of Springrogue was covered by this massive woodland. Within the great forest were many dangerous regions, such as the naturally formed dungeon known as the Wayward Woods, or the breeding ground of powerful monsters known as the Forest of Fiends.
Incidentally, the part of this forest that was behind the Water Temple was called the Forest of Elementals. It was a sanctuary that monsters almost never approached.
Today’s quest centered on a creature that lived all throughout the Great Forest: a horned rabbit. Like a normal rabbit, except with a single horn sprouting from its fluffy head. Though they might’ve looked like cute critters, make no mistake, these were monsters.
For reference, a monster’s threat level was divided into classes:
• Class 0 (Harmless): Anyone could defeat them.
• Class 1 (Danger: Low): Recommended for stone rank adventurers.
• Class 2 (Danger: Medium): Recommended for bronze rank adventurers.
• Class 3 (Danger: High): Recommended for iron rank adventurers.
• Class 4 (Catastrophe: Village): Recommended for silver or gold rank adventurers.
• Class 5 (Catastrophe: City): Recommended for platinum rank adventurers.
• Class 6 (Catastrophe: Nation): Recommended for mithril rank adventurers.
• Class 7 (Catastrophe: Continent): Recommended for orichalcum or hero rank adventurers.
• Class 8 (Catastrophe: World): If you’re not the Savior, give up.
Or something like that. The horned rabbits I was after today were Class 0, so anyone—by which I mean me—could handle them. They didn’t attack humans, but they were pests who ruined farmland, hence why this turned out to be a hunting quest. Their meat was even considered a popular protein.
“Found one.”
The brown rabbit I saw had small horns growing out of its head. I heard they’d grow bigger as the horned rabbit matured.
“Water Magic: Ice Arrow.”
I approached using my Stealth skill and cast Ice Arrow before I was noticed. My magic was too lacking in power to take it out alone, so I struck the final blow with my dagger.
I finished hunting the requisite three horned rabbits in no time. As I was about to head home, my Sense Danger skill gave me a reading.
Was this feeling a goblin? There was probably a goblin settlement nearby. I didn’t know my way around the Great Forest very well, but according to the research I’d done beforehand, the spot where I was hunting should’ve been near the Forest of Fiends, inside which lived many strong monsters. It made sense that weaker monsters would hang around the entrance to this dungeon.
I decided to use my Scout skill.
About forty of them, I thought. Four times greater than what I’d fought last time. The calm, rational idea would be to run away.
But some of them are acting alone, I realized. If I could use my Stealth skill to isolate and eliminate the stragglers, I could cut their numbers down.
Fight the goblins?
▶Yes
No
My RPG Player skill took the hint and presented me with an option. I could report them to the guild, but hey, why not take a few of them down while I’m here?
Don’t start jinxing it!
I felt like I’d just heard a voice. Guess the goddess was watching.
I used my Stealth skill to silence my footsteps as I carefully snuck toward a goblin that was walking all alone.
◇ A Particular Guild Receptionist’s Perspective ◇
A strange newbie adventurer came by today. His name was Makoto Takatsuki. He was one of those otherworlders who’d taken the world by storm not long ago. But his stats were the real surprise.
At the time, all I could think was, Damn, this guy’s weak. Forget the average adventurer, his stats were low enough that he’d lose to children. Was he cut out for...
No, stop, I thought. I’m a guild employee. I mustn’t say that out loud.
I noticed one other thing as I continued to skim his Soul Book: this boy had nine years left of his lifespan. He needed to adventure and build up a catalog of good deeds if he wanted to live...
You poor thing... Good luck, I thought, cheering him on in my heart.
And then came the next day.
It’s that kid again...
He accepted the horned rabbit hunting quest and set off.
I know I warned him to run if he saw any goblins or ogres, but...
The most fatal mistake that newbies tended to make was having overconfidence in their strength. Even low-danger monsters like goblins could prove fearsome if they were present in great enough numbers.
But when he returned, the newbie told me how he’d been unfazed.
“What? You defeated a goblin?!”
“Sure did,” said Makoto with a bit of pride as he whipped out his adventurer card. I looked the card over and sure enough, the goblins he’d defeated were recorded on it. Yes, plural; he’d somehow managed to take down five of them.
“Well, I see that you have. But still, you shouldn’t push yourself. You’re in stone rank and this is your first day adventuring.”
“Hey, it’s nothing to me,” said the boy named Makoto Takatsuki as he bashfully scratched his cheek. He was seriously trying to act like a big shot. I’d seen this every now and then with young, newbie adventurers. They’d defeat a monster by the skin of their teeth and then brag about how easy it had been to the ladies at the reception booths.
“Fine, but listen,” I said. “You’re a newbie, so the standard is that you run if you see any monster besides the ones you’re hunting. Got it?”
“Yeah, I get it...” The black-haired and black-eyed boy didn’t inspire confidence, but he nodded with an absolutely heartrending look on his face.
I breathed a sigh of relief, positive that at least some of that had gotten through to him.
And the next day...
“You defeated ten goblins?!” How did it increase?!
“A-Are you okay?” I asked. “Ah, did another adventurer help you defeat them?”
“No, I beat them alone.”
You’ve gotta be kidding me! Even a whole party of bronze rank adventurers wouldn’t make it through a fight against ten goblins unscathed!
But there it was on his adventurer card: “Hunt Goblins (10 Units): Complete” The records of an adventurer card were absolute. There was no way to fake this.
“Well, that concludes my report, so...” Makoto attempted to leave. This was bad. I’d seen plenty of adventurers come and go, so I could tell this one was rushing it. One day, he’d be given an injury that people can’t recover from. And that day could come very soon.
“Lucas!” I called out to a guild veteran.
Lucas was a gold rank adventurer. His remarkable skills had earned him the nickname of “Lucas the Dragonslayer.” He’d cleared dungeons across the continent in his younger days; by the time he’d conquered the massive maze Labyrinthos, his name had been known throughout the land.
He’d taken a step away from the front lines since then, however. He was now living out his days leisurely here in Macallan while he showed newer adventurers the ropes. I was certain that Lucas would be able to keep Makoto from putting himself in harm’s way.
Phew. Nothing to worry about now, right?
And so, the next day arrived. Lucas and Makoto returned from completing an adventure together.
“Hey, Mary, this fella’s somethin’ else!”
Mary was, incidentally, my name.
“So, Lucas, did you give Makoto some guidance?” I asked the two what’d happened on the day’s quest.
“This Makoto kid defeated fifteen goblins all on his own.”
“Whaaaaaaaa?!” I exclaimed. “Lucas! Makoto’s a newbie! What are you making him fight for?”
Fifteen! That’s like a whole goblin platoon!
“Where were these goblins?” I asked. We could have a problem if there was a goblin’s nest so close to the city. I didn’t want to think about what could happen if we let them be!
“Oh, don’t worry. All the goblins that this kid hunted were by the Forest of Fiends,” said Lucas, as though that was something I didn’t need to worry about.
“Th-The Forest of Fiends?! Makoto, is that the place you’ve been going to this whole time?!”
The Forest of Fiends was one of the most dangerous dungeons near Macallan. The cursed trees that grew inside emitted mana, making it home to a massive amount of monsters who fed on that mana...as well as carnivorous beasts who fed on the monsters. It was a dungeon only recommended for adventurers silver rank and higher.
“Absolutely not! Makoto, you mustn’t go there!”
“No, I didn’t,” explained Makoto with an awkward expression. “I’ve never entered the Forest of Fiends. Just like you told me.”
“Yep, this fella only hunted the goblins who hung around the outskirts of it. Lone goblins, at that.”
“Ah, that explains it.” Lone goblins. Ones that had left their pack to create a new nest. Most lone goblins wound up hunted by adventurers, but some became strong enough to create their own massive pack. In that case, Makoto was doing the right thing.
“All right, let’s get to drinkin’! Listen here, Makoto. You’re only a real adventurer when you can handle your liquor.”
“Uhh... I’m not great at drinking.”
“Aw, don’t sweat it!” boomed Lucas. “Tonight’ll be on me.”
“Um... Lucas?” I interjected. “I wasn’t finished talking...”
“I know a place with skewers that are to die for! I hear they call it ‘yakitori’ where you’re from.”
“Huh? You mean, chicken?” Makoto asked, before making an immediate decision. “I’m going.”
“Good to hear! The chef’s an ol’ buddy of mine, and nothin’ beats their ale and chicken together!”
Lucas was taking yet another newbie out for drinks.
Gulp.
I, uh, might be feeling a bit parched myself. Maybe I’ll join them later...
After that, Makoto spent every day hunting goblins. His daily count of slain goblins peaked at around twenty. Apparently, he felt that was a good number.
“Like they say, Mary—everything in moderation, including moderation.”
“Like who says?”
“It’s a saying from my old world,” Makoto explained calmly. “It means that you shouldn’t overdo stuff.”
I wanted to tell him that there was no world in which a solo apprentice mage killing twenty goblins a day wouldn’t be considered overdoing it, but I gave up.
He never formed parties, just hunted goblins every single day. Before I knew it, he’d set a guild record for the quickest rise to bronze rank. More and more adventurers were taking notice of him, and I’d grown curious myself.
He really was a strange boy...
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