After running for who knew how long, he ended up somewhere at the edge of the First Sirius Kingdom. At least, that was what the navigation window said.

Yuu twitched as he cast his eyes around the surroundings.

It was an open grassy field, the kind that came to mind when imagining unexplored territory in an RPG. Slight rolling hills, a few scattered boulders here and there, and a wornout path leading off into a town in the distance.

But that didn’t fool Yuu. Though it looked peaceful, he knew better than to lower his guard after what happened.

[Danger Sense MAX obtained.]

“@#$@ @#$@#!” Yuu cursed and then dismissed the message in front of him, swiping it away.

That Kami-sama was way too enthusiastic in giving out his cheats. Who in their right mind would grant a person maxed out skills whenever they tried it out?

Well… Yuu did when he played games that he beat in the past, but this wasn’t a game!

Unless that Kami-sama treated it like one? It would explain all the cheesy names at least.

Yuu shook his head and cautiously advanced, following the path to the town in the distance. At the same time, he went over his next steps.

That King Sire guy would be sending out people throughout the land to search for Kami-sama’s hero no doubt. Considering the situation, it would be dumb not to with the Demon Lord approaching.

Yuu really didn’t want to deal with that though, especially with the hellish training and joyful glee he saw in those other guys when it was mentioned. He had enough stress and training from hell when he was being hired for his old job, so that was a hard pass on his part.

The objective then had to be to lay low. Hide out and wait for everyone else to deal with it.

Just like in his job, when everything hit the fan, he just had to lower his head and bumble along letting someone else take the hit for him. Granted, that didn’t really work when he was the only one responsible for the project like the spreadsheets he left unfinished, but the principle was the same.

Of course, there was the issue of Kami-sama getting mad at him. That god had seemed relieved that Yuu accepted so quickly, so the guy might be more than just a bit upset that Yuu had run away the first chance he got.

Then again, it was the guy’s fault in the first place. Who decides to kidnap a random person to save the world by baiting him with a gacha?

A slight breeze blew through the air, causing the grass to shift.

Yuu sighed and shook his head. Whatever the case, it was his life now. Until he either figured out a way to head back home or that Kami-sama got fed up and sent him back, he’d have to find some way to make a living in the meanwhile.

[Planning MAX obtained.]

“Would you stop that!?”

[Scolding MAX activated.]
[Calculating outcome… It wasn’t very effective.]

“Argh!” Yuu felt like pulling out his hair.

It was almost as bad as that trainee he had to train one time. Senpai this, Senpai that… giving him all sorts of gifts to butter him up.

It was creepy. Why couldn’t Yuu just be left alone to do his job in quiet and make money to play his games?

[Inquiry MAX ob-]

“Shut up!”

That time, the messages immediately vanished. It seemed like the scolding skill worked for once… Though the fact that it was effective against even system messages was concerning.

Yuu shook his head and kept walking. “Seriously. Did that guy not check his system?”

It was like a bad indie game. Sure some things were fun when they were broken and completely imbalanced, but not life!

Furthermore, did half of the skills Yuu obtain even do anything? Knowing how everything else seemed, Yuu wondered if some of those were even implemented yet…

Whatever the case, it all came down to him having to find a means to survive until things blew over. And the best way to do that was as far from the castle as possible and with a non-descript job… meaning an adventurer under an alias.

Yuu nodded and made his decision. For now, he would just hop into the nearest town and look for the adventurer’s guild. Even in a place as distant as this, there was bound to be satellite branch.

Right?

“You? An adventurer? Hah!”

“Trying to become an adventurer in this town? A weakling like you? Psh.”

“Look elsewhere, kid! We’re not letting any old newbie into our party!”

Yuu sighed and sat down at the fountain in the middle of town.

From the name on the navigation window, he was in a place called Tier Village. The town he had seen in the distance when walking down the trodden path. Unfortunately, because it was so miniscule and out of the way, even the navigation window hadn’t listed much information.

“Damned Kami-sama… were you that lazy in designing things?”

Seeing the lack of information on the window only reaffirmed Yuu’s opinion that the god responsible for sending him to this world only did a half-assed job at it.

He let out a long sigh and leaned back to look at the sky. “Well… at least I’m not hungry or thirsty anymore.”

For some reason, after finishing the walk to the town, all fatigue, hunger, and thirst Yuu felt had vanished.

Whether that was because towns in this world worked like MMORPGs where it was a safe place and you couldn’t take damage or because his body had adapted yet again due to whatever cheat that Kami-sama had given him, Yuu didn’t know. He just knew that it was another step away from being a normal human.

It also meant that even if he did manage to make it back home, things would get awkward.

“…Hopefully this is just a temporary thing.”

It couldn’t be permanent, right? The power that Kami-sama gave him had to have been only in the guy’s domain. It wasn’t like bound to his soul or anything.

Yuu just had to keep on believing that.

A voice suddenly called out. Light and feminine. “You there. At the fountain.” Footsteps echoed and a person approached.

Yuu lowered his gaze to see who it was.

A young woman walked over. Long and silky blonde hair flowed from beneath a black hood that covered her beautiful face while smoky crimson eyes peered out. Like every other person in the town, she wore equipment suited for travel. A short sword was strapped to her right side and she wore a dark leather tunic with matching boots.

Yuu blinked and then looked around. Seeing no one else at the fountain, she seemed to be talking about him. Still, to make sure he pointed at himself and said, “Me?”

The young woman nodded and walked over. “Yes. You.” She came to a stop in front of Yuu and then carefully looked at him, scanning him from head to toe.

Yuu tensed. While he didn’t feel anything off about the young woman and she didn’t seem dangerous, his experiences told him that something was up.

The only times beautiful women had approached him in the past were to ask for money, a favor, help dating his friends… or because they were crazy enough to think he was someone worth obsessing over, like that one girl from high school who followed him around until he moved to Tokyo to join Company X.

Seeing as how the young woman approaching him was definitely a 10/10 in his books and looked super suspicious wearing that hood over her head, Yuu decided to be careful in his responses. Also, he made sure to have his handy Escape skill ready to use.

There were a lot of things he had to argue about with Kami-sama, but he could at least say that one of his skills worked.

The young woman shook her head and then fixed her crimson eyes on his face. “Have you been turned away from being an adventurer as well?”

“Eh?” Yuu blinked and said, “…Is that all you wanted to know?”

The young woman frowned and said, “What else would I be asking?”

Yuu stood up and gave the young woman a sidelong glance. “You’re not going to ask me for money, or my phone number, or help dating with someone? And you’re not here to hunt me down?”

It was the young woman’s turn to blink. “What?” She shook her head and said, “Why would I ask a stranger for any of those things? And what is a fone number? Is it a spell?” She narrowed her eyes and said, “Are you a heretic magician?”

Yuu coughed. “Nothing of the sort. I’ve just… had a run of bad luck recently.” All because of a gacha game too… he should have known better than to keep playing those after he burned a year’s paycheck in Destiny Magnificent Command trying to get Jeanne Alter…

The young woman shook her head and said, “Whatever. I just wanted to ask if you would join my party.” She scowled and said, “Those bastards won’t let anyone become an adventurer here without being in one.”

“Oh, is that why?” Yuu shook his head. “I just thought I looked too weak.”

“Weak? You?” The young woman stared at Yuu with an incredulous look. “Considering the sheer amount of mana rolling off of you, it’s more likely they don’t want you stealing their work.”

Yuu blinked and then groaned, placing a hand on his forehead. “No wonder I didn’t encounter any monsters…”

“In any case,” the young woman held out her hand and said, “Will you join? While I have no intention of adventuring together, will you not agree to a union of convenience for the moment and register as a party?”

Hearing that, Yuu let out a sigh of relief. “So it’s that, huh?”

“What?”

“Nothing.” Yuu shook his head and grabbed the young woman’s hand. “And I should be thanking you. This will save me a lot of trouble.” Mostly in shifting all the blame to her if something went wrong while he ran away.

The young woman nodded. “It is settled then.” After finishing the handshake, she placed her hand on her chest and said, “I am Eir. The reasons for adventuring… are complicated. Suffice to say, I am seeking someone.”

Seeing the expression in her eyes, the look of a scorned girlfriend hunting an ex, Yuu nodded. “I gotcha. I’m Yuu…suke. Yuusuke.”

“Yuusuke?” Eir frowned. “A strange name… but very well.” She rounded on the heel of her boot and said, “Let us be off.” Her expression darkened and she said, “I wish to see that receptionist try and send me away this time…”

Yuu followed after his newfound companion, mentally thanking Kami-sama that it wasn’t him she was looking for. He’d really hate to be the target of that fiery blonde’s fury.

HappyVainGlory

Got sick, recovered, and then got busy with sorting out other affairs. Side note, car crashes happen fast :sweat: Fine though, just had to figure out how to get around with a car for a while...

Anyway, cookies to whoever can figure out the pun in Yuu's newest party member before it's revealed next chapter. 

Thanks for reading, and sorry for the late chapter.