Kazue POV  

   

  

-Clang Clang Clang-  

I hear the sound of bells from far away.  

I took notice of this sound on the second day when we were training with the soldiers since they were using this sound to keep track of time.  

I knew it without even asking since the soldier used it as a basis for having breaks.  

I might be wrong but it sounded at the same time it did yesterday.  

If the bells continue to sound at the same time of the day in the next few days, then I might be right after all.  

It would be easier if I ask someone about it, but I did not feel the need for it since there is always the possibility to expose myself as someone who is not from this world.  

   

  

At the moment I am on the third floor of the guild.  

This is where the guild collects all books and other articles that can be useful for adventurers.  

"hmnn~ so this is the world map... North... The Fuyutochi Kingdom and the country of Glasies..." <Kazue>  

I read aloud the book I was reading to help me understand it better.  

Why am I reading a book you ask?  

Why am I in the Library of the Adventurers Guild you say?  

Well... It was because I stumbled upon a huge problem in this world.  

That problem was...  

I lack common sense about the things in this world.  

And to solve that I ended up reading books in the library and learning about things for myself.  

   

  

Right now, I am regretting not asking for this back in the castle.  

No, this kind of problem is something that you won’t think of right on the fly.  

Yes, this is something that you'll realize when you see things on your own.  

Thankfully, the writing system of this world is similar to ours and so reading a book was not a problem.  

Thus, to increase my knowledge about the world I am now reading books in the Adventurers Guild library.   

   

  

Earlier today...  

   

  

"Miss Kazue, I assume you’re not born in Artesia Empire, am I right?" <Daniella>  

I was surprised at the sudden question Daniella asked.  

   

  

What's up with that sudden question?  

Don't tell me she has already realized that I am one of the 28 heroes?!  

No, let’s not get to conclusions here, let's try to play this as cool as possible.  

   

  

"Hmmn? You can tell?" <Kazue>  

I said as confidently as possible.   

"Yeah, your name is not common here in this country. Your name is unique for the people who lived in the Northern Continent." <Daniella>  

"I see, well you are not wrong." <Kazue>  

"I knew it!" <Daniella>  

I saw Daniella make a fist pump with her left hand, or was it my imagination?  

   

  

"I'm surprised you were able to tell by just that!" <Kazue>  

I casually said while acting as calmly as I can.  

I was trying to reenact the scene that transpired with the receptionist next door earlier this day to start the conversation.  

   

  

"It is something that comes with experience after all"  <Daniella> 

Daniella said in a very confident voice.  

Although in my mind I was saying "NOPE YOU'RE WRONG", I'll keep that to myself.  

I can't shake off the feeling that she was trying to act like a capable receptionist by imitating the one next door.  

   

  

Well, since she's giving me so much information by doing that, I won’t interrupt her in doing it.  

According to Daniella, there is a place in the north that uses Japanese-sounding names.  

Ok, ok I will keep that in mind and use it as an excuse for my unique name later on.  

   

  

"Do you have any questions about being an adventurer?" <Daniella>  

Daniella said.  

She looks so confident...  

"Hmmm... then... can you explain to me how to increase my adventurer rank?... I just want to confirm if my knowledge about it is accurate."  <Kazue> 

"Well... about ranks huh ... you can increase it by completing a quest or by leveling up." <Daniella>  

Daniella paused momentarily; she took a moment to gather the necessary info that she needed to explain in her mind during that time.  

  

   

"Yeah, that I know ... what I wanted to know is the exact number of quests I needed to complete before Ranking up"  <Kazue> 

I was trying to lead Daniella to explain the information that I wanted to know.  

"Ah right… you need to finish 100 quests for your ranks or by completing 10 quests that are 1 or 2 levels above your rank." <Daniella>  

I nodded my head as Daniella was explaining, I am trying to act as if I already know about this thing.  

   

 

Eh? Wait did she just say that I need to finish... 100 quests? What the huh!? 100?  

Just how much time do I need to finish 100 quests?  

"Can you give me an example???"  <Kazue> 

I tried to guide the flow of the conversation again by asking for an example.  

In turn, Daniella answered to fulfill my expectation of her.  

   

  

"For example, as you are now you need to finish 100 F rank quest or finish 10 E or D-rank quest." <Daniella>  

"I see... what if I finish a C Rank quest?" <Kazue> 

I said while nodding at Daniella but this time I was able to understand it clearly.  

"The guild will not acknowledge it." <Daniella>  

"Eh? how come?" <Kazue> 

"The guild discourages adventurers from doing a quest that is above their ranks. We are trying to avoid casualties above all things." <Daniella>  

"I see... that makes sense... But somehow, I feel that it is also unfair, but I can see why they have done it like that." <Kazue> 

"I know... but it is for the safety of all the adventurers after all." <Daniella>  

"Correct me if I'm wrong but I've heard from my friend that if you get to level 25, you can rank up is that correct?" <Kazue> 

I randomly gave Daniella a random level that I guessed that I have to reach before I rank up.  

I've said this to get the information I wanted to know.  

By trying to guide the conversation I was able to extract the information I needed from Daniella without exposing my lack of knowledge.  

It does not matter if the info I give is correct or not since I know she'll be correcting and giving the right information in the end.  

   

  

"Huh? who said that to you, it's surely "off"." <Daniella>  

Alright, she took the bait!  

"Eh but... he said..." <Kazue>  

I pretended to be in doubt.  

I was acting as if someone I know has said such information when there was none.  

I was just inventing things, after all, it was to extract the correct info from Daniella herself.  

   

  

"You can rank up to E-rank once you reach level 10, D-rank for level 20, and so on up to A-rank which is level 50" <Daniella>  

"I see..." <Kazue> 

"but the limit for ranking up through level is only until A-Ranks." <Daniella>  

"Eh? why is that?" <Kazue>  

"Once an adventurer reaches S rank and above, they are given special privileges and special authority in all countries. The only adventurer with notable achievement will be eligible to become S-rank and above." <Daniella>  

"Achievement? Why?" <Kazue> 

"The reason is simple... In the guild, Adventurer who has achieved S-Ranks will be given authority and power equal to a Middle ranking Nobility, the higher your rank the more influence. To have someone with that kind of power should not be given to anyone not even if they are strong enough to reach beyond level 50. S-ranks are the symbol of pride for adventurers, they look at S-ranks with respect. And to get other adventurers’ respect you have to have numerous notable achievements that only a few adventurers can pull off." <Daniella>  

"I see, then How much authority does SS and SSS rank has? If S ranks already have that kind of authority, I wonder what SS and even SSS-rank have..." <Kazue> 

"For an SS rank adventurer only the kings and emperors have authority over them and they can even refuse them if they wanted." <Daniella>  

"Whoa~ so how about SSS rank?" <Kazue> 

"Ah, that It is even higher than a king but there’s no SSS rank adventurer at the current time. The only SSS rank adventurer had died a long time ago. Well, the requirement for the SSS rank is to defeat the demon lord. An achievement that can only be done by heroes." <Daniella>  

"Heroes huh..." <Kazue> 

"You are interested in S-ranks adventurers huh... do you aspire to be an S-rank someday?" <Daniella>  

"Well, it's kinda like that." <Kazue> 

"It's a good thing to aim for S-rank! I support anyone who wants to be one." <Daniella>  

"Thanks." <Kazue> 

I gave Daniella a Vague answer.  

To be honest I have no idea what she was talking about, especially in the last parts.  

I think I must give up on that matter right now.  

If it's heroic stuff I'll leave that to Hano and the girls.  

If I try to force and get more info it might expose my identity as one of the Heroes from another world.  

   

  

"I see, well thanks for the info, Miss Daniella." <Kazue>  

"No problem... So, what are you planning to do now?" <Daniella>  

"Hmmm. I'll go work on some quest... I guess" <Kazue> 

I got out of the guild since I remember that there was some kind of bulletin board outside the guild.  

I assume that is where they post the quest request.  

I went out of the guild and checked it and I was correct, there was a request posted there.  

   

  

There an unexpected problem appeared.  

   

  

Posted there was quest like.  

Rank F. Collect 10 pieces of Macra fruit. Reward 2000 Dal  

Rank F. Collect 10 Carus Herbs. Reward 6000 Dal   

Rank E. Subjugate small blue-eyed wolves. Reward 5000 per head.  

And many other requests were posted.  

The problem was that I have no idea what the hell are they requesting at all.  

  

  

I went back to the guild.  

"Oh, miss Kazue, your back... huh? did you not see the request board outside?" <Daniella>  

"I did…" <Kazue> 

"So, you have seen the request board…" <Daniella>  

"Yeah..." <Kazue> 

"So ... I see that you have not brought any request..." <Daniella>  

"..." <Kazue> 

"Miss... Kazue??" <Daniella>  

"..." <Kazue> 

"??" <Daniella>  

   

  

Daniella tried to ask me this question but I have no idea how to reply.  

"Is there any problem?" <Daniella>   

Daniella asked.  

"No... None" <Kazue> 

"Hmnn... then... Why do you look troubled?" <Daniella>  

"..." <Kazue> 

I was thinking of a thing to say but to ask about information that a common herb looks like would wake suspicions on me.  

A few moments later, I heard a sound coming from the outside.  

I looked in the direction of the sound.  

It came from far away.  

   

  

-Clang Clang Clang-  

"Oh, it’s the second bell of the afternoon." <Daniella>  

Daniella said while also looking at the direction of the sound.  

   

  

"Oh, I see !!!" <Daniella>  

The receptionist said.  

Daniella puts her hands together as if realizing something.  

"??" <Kazue> 

I looked at her after saying those words.  

"You are not going to do quest today since it's already this late" <Daniella>  

"... Yes????" <Kazue> 

I knew that Daniella was just trying to guest for a reason for my silence.  

“You won’t be able to finish a quest before dusk even if you tried to go for a request now after all.” <Daniella>  

And since she again has thought of the reason for me, I just ride into what she was saying and pretended as if she has gotten it correctly.  

“Amazing, it’s like Daniella is reading my mind” <Kazue> 

“Hehe, it comes with experience after all.” <Daniella> 

[Ah... I knew it she is trying to imitate the receptionist in the Scale Atelier.] 

 

   

I walked to the stairs that lead towards the floors above.  

I was planning to go to the library to find more information about common things about this world.  

"Daniella" <Kazue> 

I call out for the receptionist  

"What is it Miss Kazue?" <Daniella>  

"You... You're new in this job ... Am I right?" <Kazue> 

"Eh?! how did you know... I was careful to act as an experienced receptionist… so … how…" <Daniella>  

"hmnn... a hunch?" <Kazue> 

"hunch? huh... as expected of an adventurer you have great instinct. Honestly, this is just my 9th day serving as a receptionist in this guild... did I do something bad?” <Daniella>  

"Nope, actually you have done a good job. Thanks for today... really, you helped me a lot."  <Kazue> 

I smiled at Daniella and walked toward the stairs.  

I had the feeling that she was trying too hard to look dependable.  

She might have ended up saying too much and she was easy to manipulate because of that.  

"Where are you going?" <Daniella>  

Daniella asked as she saw me heading toward the stairs.  

  

   

I lifted my right hand and pointed upward with my index finger.  

"Oh... library..." <Daniella>  

As expected of my Daniella, she's explaining things on her own without me talking.  

Thanks, Daniella, for a lot of things... really.  

   

  

*************************  

I took a lot of books from the bookshelf of the library on the guild's third floor.  

Books like, "ADVENTURER FOR DUMMIES", "COMMON PLANTS WITHIN ARTESIA EMPIRE", "MONSTERS ENCYCLOPEDIA", "NOVICE ADVENTURER GUIDE" and books of the same purpose.  

I read a lot of books in the library until it got dark outside.  

   

  

After some time   

The bell had rung several times in about an hour of intervals, now it was the sixth and last bell for this afternoon.  

Orbs of light appeared from the ceiling and all over the place and lit up the inside of the guild.  

Those orbs that appeared out of nowhere are acting like light bulbs that illuminated the entirety of the guild’s interior.  

I saw similar orbs back in the castle during the party and on our sleeping counter.  

   

  

"I wonder how they make such magical orbs."  <Kazue> 

During my time here in the library, the only people who went by here were mages or scholar-looking people.  

They only stayed here for a short time after reading reports and some guides.  

I looked out and it was dark.  

On the first floor, people started coming in groups and started eating food and drinking liquor.  

Since I was sitting near the railing on the third floor, I could see the bar on the 1st floor.  

  

  

"How lively."  <Kazue> 

I said into the air as I saw people downstairs who are enjoying the night and was interacting with each other noisily.  

The sound from the 1st floor did not bother me and just continued reading.  

I continued reading books.  

I feel like I was cramming for an examination for the next day and pulled off an all-nighter.  

I have been here for quite a long time now and my concentration was starting to fall.  

   

  

I have finished reading a lot of books.  

I did not thoroughly read the book from cover to cover.  

I sometimes skimmed it and only read the things that piqued my interest.  

As a result, I was able to finish piles of books.  

  

  

I felt that my eyes are tired from all the reading.  

I pulled out my bag and used it as a pillow and rest my head on it while sitting.  

I was just planning to rest my eyes but I have fallen asleep as it is.  

The noisy people from the first floor did not prevent me from sleeping.  

  

  

I felt something move.  

I opened my eyes and saw that it was already morning.  

"Oh, miss Kazue... did I wake you up?" <Daniella>  

"Ah no, I fell asleep how careless of me." <Kazue> 

   

  

I saw that there was a blanket over my back.  

I fixed the blanket as I stood up and prepared myself.  

"Thank you for letting me sleep here." <Kazue> 

I bowed at Daniella. 

"Fufu there's no problem with that, it’s a normal thing here in the library. Do you want to have breakfast? we are already serving breakfast on the first floor." <Daniella>  

She said while shaking her hands. 

"I would love to." <Kazue> 

   

  

I had my breakfast in the guild.  

It was a simple breakfast of bread and egg soup.  

It was tasty nonetheless.  

I went out of the guild and took 2 papers from the bulletin board.  

It was the request for gathering a certain herb and slime subjugation.  

Both of them are F-rank quests.  

   

  

I took it inside and said to Daniella that I would be taking up these quests.  

She took the two papers and wrote my name on them with a quill pen and place it with other papers near the reception table.  

"Good luck with your quest." <Daniella>  

"Ah, thanks... Ah before I go... do you have any idea where can I find this herb?" <Kazue> 

"hmnn, there is a lot of them in the forest up north. Since you'll be doing slime subjugation quest too it's a perfect place to go." <Daniella>  

"I see, Thanks... I'll be going now." <Kazue> 

   

  

It took me around10 minutes to reach the gate up north and saw a guard over there.  

"oh miss, you're a new face... where are you going?" <Guard>  

"I'll be gathering some herbs and killing some slime in the forest." <Kazue> 

"oh, you’re an adventurer! OK just be careful and run away if you sense that you are in danger OK?" <Guard>  

"Gacha~ thanks ..." <Kazue> 

   

  

I bowed toward the guard and went out of the gate.  

I could immediately see a lot of trees not so far away.  

It just took me another 10 minutes to reach the forest.  

Right away I found a monster.  

It was a clear-looking blob like a ball of shiny liquid.  

   

  

"Oh, Oh! a Slime! It's a Slime"  <Kazue> 

I observed for a while. It was moving slowly by bouncing on the grassy floor.  

It bounced toward a plant and enveloped it within its body and stopped moving.  

The plant inside its body is slowly dissolving.  

   

  

I got close to it but it did not even move for an inch.  

I watch its semi-transparent body dissolve the plant.  

"I wonder if it is eating the plant? So, is it vegetarian? No, it might eat small animals too" <Kazue> 

I stared at it and found watching it amusing.  

"Slime... it looks disgusting...? No... on the second look it looks cute... Aa~ I have no time for this..." <Kazue>  

I tookatanasone of my katana, I took out the Katana that I Have bought at Shaina's Store.  

I have decided that I will avoid using Shaina's Heirloom Katana as much as possible so I just use the sword that I paid for.  

   

  

"Haaaa!" <Kazue> 

I pierced my sword into the slime's body and followed through with an upward slash motion.  

The slime's body melted into the soil like a punctured bag of water.  

The place where the slime body has melted became damped and the plant that it was dissolving is mostly indistinguishable.  

"Oh~ it did melt~ just like what the book described. I assume it's dead." <Kazue> 

I took out my status card and checked for my status.  

   

  

"status" <Kazue> 

   

  

Letter and numbers appeared on my status card.  

 

  

  

"Hmm? nothing changed, maybe killing just one slime is not enough to level up?" <Kazue> 

Nothing has changed from before.  

The other information was from my equipment.  

I placed my status card inside the pocket of my shorts and continued looking for slimes and the herb I was looking for.  

   

  

I saw more slimes in the forest and started killing them with my Katana.  

I pierce once and one slime dies.   

After hours of walking and killing slimes in the forest, I only managed to pick up 2 herbs.  

I am certain that I have killed more than 50 slimes already.  

I am also certain that I have completed the quest for slime subjugation since I only need to kill 20.  

As for the herb collection I needed 10 to complete it, I still need 8 pieces of them.  

   

  

"Whew~ I’ve' been walking for a while but I can’t find that herb here" <Kazue> 

I decided to look deeper into the forest.  

I spotted an herb right beside a tree not so far away.  

I walked straight toward the herb while traversing the forest cautiously.  

I shoved the plants away and I was able to arrive at its location.  

A slime was there and the herb was inside its body.  

   

  

"AAHHHHHH!!! DO NOT EAT THAT!!!"  <Kazue> 

I quickly launched my body toward the slime that had started devouring the herb that I needed.  

Not so far away I saw another slime pouncing on another herb that I was looking for.  

"AH!!! NO WONDER I WAS HAVING TROUBLE LOOKING FOR HERBS YOU'RE EATING ALL OF THEM!" <Kazue> 

A sudden urge to kill slime had boiled up inside of me.  

In turn, I spent my entire morning killing slimes.  

   

  

"HAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa~" <Kazue> 

I let a lot of air out of my body from exhaustion.  

I have been hunting and killing slime for about 5 hours now.  

The sun was already up in the sky.  

I have killed a lot of them already that when I reach a hundred, I have given up counting how many slimes I have killed.  

  

  

I looked haggard just from hunting them down.  

I was so focused on killing slimes that I almost forgot about my other quest.  

I started looking for herbs once I have thinned down the slime population in the area.  

As a result, I have found 6 of them and placed all of them inside my shabby sling bag.  

   

  

"I'm getting sick from seeing these slimes."  <Kazue> 

I saw another slime and quickly deal with it with a swift sweeping swing from my Katana.  

I have noticed that I have traveled quite deep inside the forest.  

As I wanted to avoid trouble, I started traveling back into the shallow parts of the forest.  

When I was about to reach the edge of the forest, I saw a furry-looking creature not so far away.  

  

  

"What is that?" <Kazue> 

I went closer to observe the furry thing that was moving from within the bushes.  

I was able to go as close as 10 meters away from the furry creature.   

I saw that the creature has gray and whitish fur and was the size of a house dog.  

It was biting into a white rabbit with a horn on its forehead.  

blood was dripping from the rabbit that was hanging from its mouth.  

The white fur of the rabbit was almost dyed red with its blood.  

   

  

"What... Wait..." <Kazue> 

The creature stopped since it sensed me closing into it.  

The creature who was walking on its four limbs dropped the rabbit from its mouth and howled.  

The creature looks like a small wolf.  

"Wolf? no no no no... That’s a" <Kazue> 

At first, I thought it was a wolf  

It looks like one and acts like one as well  

   

  

But when it dropped the rabbit in its mouth, I was able to see the whole figure of the creature.   

"A dog?" <Kazue> 

Yes, it was a dog, to be exact it was a husky-looking dog  

It barked.  

3 more dogs appeared from the forest.  

   

  

"Eh?! Why are dogs here...?"  <Kazue> 

I remembered the time when I was reading books at the library last night.  

It was a book that was about the monsters living near Artesia  

In it was the description with a simple drawing of a small wolf on it.  

It was categorized as one of the stronger F-rank monsters.  

Bide away the slime was also F-rank.  

  

   

The description written in the book matches this exact creature.  

I did not think of it too much when I was reading it.  

"Small Blue-eyed Wolf" <Kazue> 

Now that I am in front of the creature, I could not help but erase all of my prior imagination about the small blue-eyed wolf since it looked exactly like a Siberian Husky.  

One of the dogs attacked me while the other 3 circled me around while barking.  

They are trying to intimidate me by moving into a group.  

   

  

I quickly readied my sword to protect myself.  

It was moving as fast as a typical dog back in my old world.  

But as the way I am right now, I found it easy to react at the speed they approached me.  

I dodged to the right and countered with a vertical slice toward the dog.  

  

   

But before my attack hits the target a sudden urge of hesitation screamed from within me.  

As a result, I only managed to give the dog a small wound on one of its hind legs.  

the dog whimpered and made a short cry.  

A cry that dogs make when you accidentally stepped on their tail or foot, that kind of cry.  

  

  

We have dogs in my parents’ house.  

When I was young, I am the one who took care of our pets.  

My heart is weak against animals who are in pain.  

The cry that the dog made my heart hurt.  

Although the dog was the one who attacked me, I felt sorry for injuring it.  

  

  

Since I could not see myself killing these dogs.  

I ran as fast as I could toward the city gate.  

The dogs chased after me on the plains that lead towards the city.  

But with my boosted speed it was not able to catch up to me.  

I ran towards the city while screaming the words "SORRY" repeatedly while tears were coming out of my eyes.  

I decided to settle my adventures for today and continue the next day.  

-  

  

  

Quest: Slime subjugation: Complete  

Quest: Carus Herb Collection: 8/10  

   

 

******************************

 

"sigh~" <Kazue> 

I let out a breath.  

I felt that it was deeper than usual.  

"haha you look so tired for your first day" <Shaina>  

"Sigh~ yeah... it was a tiring morning." <Kazue> 

"So, what happened?" <Shaina>  

Shaina gave me a glass of water.  

I drank the water that she offered me  

   

  

"Shai~ can you listen to my complaints a bit?" <Kazue> 

"haha if it will help you calm down then fine, I'll lend you, my ear. It's the time of the day that only a few customers go to my shop anyway." <Shaina>  

"Thanks, so here… listen..." <Kazue> 

And so, I voiced to Shaina what happened today.  

  

  

"Aha!" <Shaina>  

Shaina started laughing at me as I was complaining to her  

Since Shaina knows that I am a person from another world I came to her shop to let out my complaints.  

But instead of making myself feel better, Shaina started laughing at me for how stupid I was.  

"Of course, you'll have a hard time looking for herbs! Slimes like eating Carus herbs. It's common knowledge to kill the slime first and come back the next day for the Carus herbs to grow." <Shaina>  

"Like I said I did not know..." <Kazue> 

"Well, you'll have no problem gathering it tomorrow since Carus herb grows fast and by tomorrow there will be a lot of them in the forest." <Shaina>  

"I see..." <Kazue> 

   

  

"... pft..." <Shaina>  

Shaina was holding her laughter while she looks at me with a tearing eye.  

"WHAT! if you have something to say just say it." <Kazue> 

I was annoyed by the way she looks at me while holding back her laughter.  

In turn, I voice my complaints  

"To be chased away by small wolfs, crying to the gates, and letting the guard see you in tears" <Shaina>  

She said while trying her best not to let out her laughter.  

"Don't remind me... I feel so ashamed just thinking about it. I don’t want to see that guard tomorrow. I can imagine how he would tease me for what has happened today" <Kazue> 

"I BET HE WOULD. AHAHAHA!!" <Shaina>  

Shaina could not help herself and let out a laugh while pounding over the counter's table.  

"STOP..." <Kazue> 

While sitting on the chair, I tried to hide my face which was starting to turn red hot.  

I placed my hand over my face and bent down to hide my face over my knees.  

   

  

"I can't believe someone would see those fearsome wolves be cute." <Shaina>  

While maintaining my current position I replied to Shaina   

"It can't be helped... back in my world that wolf is treated as pets after all." <Kazue> 

"Hee~ is that so? so there are tamers in your world too?" <Shaina>  

Shaina replied with a curious tone.  

  

   

I lifted my face and wiped the tears from my eyes.  

"Well, not exactly..." <Kazue> 

"Wolf as pets... huh..." <Shaina>  

"It's a normal thing in our world. Dogs are man’s best friends after all"  

"DOGS?" <Shaina>  

"...??" <Kazue> 

"What’s a dog?" <Shaina>  

"Eh? dog... is a dog" <Kazue> 

"Yeah, just like what I said... what is a dog?" <Shaina>  

"eh?" <Kazue> 

"Eh?" <Shaina>  

   

  

Both I and Shaina became confused about the term dog.  

The word dog in this world does not exist.  

It seems that all Canine creature here is considered as a wolf.  

They have never domesticated them and the same is true with other kinds of pet animals.  

Only people who have the Tamers' job was able to keep them as pets.  

   

  

I relaxed inside Shaina's store while sharing stories and exchanging information with each other.  

As a result, I was able to learn a lot just by just exchanging stories with each other.  

And as we were talking about games, I remembered something.  

"Oh, right speaking of leveling up..." <Kazue> 

I took out my status card inside my pocket.  

  

  

"Status" <Kazue> 

I checked what level am I right now after I have killed a lot of slime during my journey this morning.  

   

  

"What... the..." <Kazue> 

"what's wrong?" <Shaina>  

Shaina asked me as my face turned pale after I saw my status card.  

Shaina went towards me and looked at my status card as well.  

She looked at it and looked at me again.  

On her face the expression of "what's up?" was painted all over it.  

  

  

"My level..." <Kazue> 

"Ahuh..." <Shaina>  

Shaina looked at my level printed on my status card.  

She gave me a more confused look now.  

"what's your problem with your level? It looks normal to me..." <Shaina>  

Shaina said after she looked at it herself.  

  

  

The following was presented in my status card.  

 

  

"My level! it did not change!" <Kazue> 

"What do you mean?" <Shaina>  

Shaina replied.  

   

  

"I mean I have killed more than 200 slimes today how come I did not level up?" <Kazue> 

"Yeah...? and?" <Shaina>  

"And?! – I should have leveled-up several levels with that…." <Kazue> 

"Bahahaha, what stupid assumption are you making again right now? If I can level up by 1 level by just killing 200 no, make it 500 slimes then I would have worked as an adventurer too!" <Shaina>  

"Huh?" <Kazue> 

My face turned paler and slowly turned my head toward the lively Shaina.  

"... just how many slimes should I kill before I get to level 2 then?"  <Kazue> 

"I did hear someone leveling up to level 2 before by just killing slime. They said you need to kill over 2000 of them … if I remember it correctly?" <Shaina>  

"2000?!!" <Kazue> 

I hold into Shaina's shoulders and shook her hard.  

"Kazue, stop, stop you're hurting me!" <Shaina>  

"Shaina isn't 2000 too many?!" <Kazue> 

"Eh, I think it's just normal... I heard you even need to kill about 200 small wolves just to level up." <Shaina> 

 "But killing about 10 or 20 slimes should have been enough to level up right??" <Kazue> 

"Huh?! what are you talking about? just where did you hear such a thing... Listen here, if leveling up is that easy then everyone would have leveled up a long time ago." <Shaina>  

 

  

"No way..." <Kazue> 

"If this would help you feel better, I heard the difficulty of leveling increases by twice for every level you gain. so, after you get to level 2 to increase your level to 3 you need twice more and that goes on as you level up." <Shaina>  

"2000 x 2, 4000 x 2, 8000 x 2. ARGGG!!!!!" <Kazue> 

   

  

I screamed just by thinking just how much slime I must kill just to get to level 10.  

It is much easier to finish 100 F-rank quests to get to E rank than going for level 10.  

   

   

"After all, if it's easy to just level by killing a few slimes then no one in the country would even bother training their body to increase their stats." <Shaina>  

Shaina said to me.  

"Come on~ you've got to be kidding right?" <Kazue> 

I said in a disappointed tone.  

   

   

Earlier I claimed the reward from the quest I completed today at the guild  

I voiced out all of my complaints about the things that I’ve learned today to Shaina the whole afternoon.   

I came to the guild by dusk and got to the library once again.   

And just like yesterday when the sun has gone down.  

Adventurers started coming to the guild to have a good time in the bar on the first floor with their fellow adventurers.  

I again have been reading books about the world on the 3rd floor.  

And before I even realized it, the noises from below became calming music to my ear despite them being noisy.  

Their ability to enjoy life in this world despite being around dangerous monsters is something to admire.  

Their fun conversations are keeping my hopes up.  

   

  

And again, it was late at night.  

I decided that it was about time to stop since I've been reading for hours now.  

"Ah!" <Kazue> 

I came to a realization.  

"Now that I think about it. I never looked for a place to stay!" <Kazue> 

   

  

"What should I do..." <Kazue> 

I said to myself.  

In the end, I ended up sleeping at the library once again.  

  

  

And so, a week.  

  

  

had passed and somehow, I am starting to get accustomed to this world already.  

It has become my routine that every time I finish my exploration for the day, I would come to Shaina's Store.  

I have accepted the fact that I have underestimated this world.  

If this world was a game world, the difficulty setting of this world was the highest possible difficulty.  

The EXP rate is so much below the norm that you need to spend days just to level up.  

"Yep, this world is broken." <Kazue> 

   

  

I worked hard during the past several days.  

I can find a place to stay thanks to Shaina.  

She recommended me a good inn.  

I was able to increase my level to 2 as well.  

   

  

And then one day.  

I came rushing back to the town and went to Shaina's shop  

The receptionist did not mind me going into the general adventurer’s tool shop building since she already knows that I was just going to visit Shaina's store as I have always been ever since I first went here.  

But then after I rushed toward the Store the receptionist's face turned pale after she saw me go into the shop.  

She could not say a thing after seeing the thing that was with me as I got into the store.  

  

  

"Shaina!!!" <Kazue> 

"Kazu---- EEH!!!" <Shaina>  

"LOOK I TAMED THE SMALL BLUE-EYED WOLF ISN'T SHE CUTE?!" <Kazue> 

I held the small blue-eyed wolf in my arms and presented my new friend to Shaina  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

  

   

  

  

   

   

Author's Note:  

Hi low~  

We have arrived at the point where we will be shifting our point of view towards the other heroes.  

   

I purposely left this in a bit of a cliffhanger vibe.  

My plans for Kazue are already set so I have no problem with her.  

   

I will miss Kazue's side of the story.  

I enjoyed writing her side of the story.  

   

BTW  

The "feel" of the story changes with the heroes we are following.  

I am yet to decide on whose story I am going for but the one I am interested in writing for the moment is the Otaku group.  

I also find Kirari's side interesting.  

   

truth to be told the least interesting part for me is Hano and the 3 girls   

 

I can always insert Kazue's side of the story again whenever I want.  

It's not as if Kazue will be gone in the story, she will appear from time to time but in other people's perspectives/ third-person Narration.  

   

Well then!  

   

I had time to finish chapter 4 right away.  

I can't believe I am saying this but all thanks to CORONA-Chan  

   

See you again  

my weekly scheduling plan for releasing per chapter is on hold for now.  

-iNanashi