Chapter 1: My Name is Not NPC!

It was a day like any other, when I was patrolling and strolling around the village.

While walking down a familiar path, Ein heard an unfamiliar voice exchanging incomprehensible words.

"Status window! Skill window!"

"Wow, the graphics of this game are amazing."

"But since the starting location was randomly picked, it seems I ended up in a bad place. Should I reroll to choose a designated kingdom?"

"…?"

Status window, skill window, graphics, random pick, reroll—although the grammar and structure of the sentences were in the common language, Ein couldn't understand the meaning of the mixed-in words.

'Is this a dialect from another region?'

If they were from far away, it wouldn't be surprising that he couldn't understand. After all, it was rare for outsiders to visit such a rural area.

Curiosity arose as he heard the newcomers, and just as he perked up his ears, a loud voice echoed from the top of the mercenary guild.

"Ein! There's a new recruit in the first-floor waiting room. Go and receive them."

"Ah! Yes! I'll be right there!"

New recruit!

With that word, Ein's previous confusion washed away, replaced by anticipation.

Ein's expression was bright as he headed to the guild.

This place wasn't known for having powerful monsters or efficient dungeons.

Considering the terrain and accessibility, it wasn't an ideal location for adventurers or mercenaries.

Therefore, people who came to the local mercenary guild usually fell into one of two categories:

Either they were from the village, or they had wandered here or fled from some crime and were looking for a job!

But if they were from the village, Ein would have known. This was a remote rural area where even trivial matters like the weapon shop owner's son having a date with the general store owner's daughter in four days became gossip.

So, the newcomers were wanderers. If they were fugitives, that was one thing, but even among wanderers, many were known to be eccentric.

Usually, the deputy guild master would handle any issues, but he was on a business trip, and Ein couldn't just pass everything off to him.

"Hmm, ahem, cough."

Ein tried to calm his racing heart, clear his throat, and put on a dignified expression.

Receiving an E-rank new recruit was one of his tasks as a D-rank mercenary.

Finally, after straightening his clothes, Ein tightened his belt, adjusted his oiled leather armor, and opened the door to the guild waiting room. He wondered if putting his hand on his waist was a good idea, but it was too late.

"Are you the new recruit! Welcome to the Mercenary Guild, ex... What are you doing?"

Ein, who had opened the door boldly to continue speaking, almost bit his tongue at the unexpected scene before him.

The presumed new recruit was doing a handstand, then lying on the floor, and spinning around the waiting room.

Even more bizarrely, they were muttering to themselves, seemingly fascinated by their own actions.

"Ah... Changing the position also changes the perspective. People who dislike 3D games might get motion sickness. Or not? Maybe the realism makes it okay?"

Of course, doing a handstand, lying on the floor, and spinning around the waiting room weren't criminal or socially unacceptable behaviors. They were legally fine.

'...Is this the latest trend?'

It could be a trend that the rural mercenary hadn't caught up with, but no matter how he thought about it, greeting someone with a handstand seemed off.

Should he do it too? But Ein really didn't want to. It felt embarrassing.

In his experience, using a handstand for an interview had never been a trend, nor had spinning around the waiting room.

'I'm not flustered! I'm not flustered at all! It's just... a bit, somewhat, quite, maybe very different from what I expected! But they don't seem bad!'

While Ein was regaining his composure, the new recruit finally calmed down and stood up, waiting for Ein.

As they straightened up, their silver-blue hair, which reached their waist, gently fluttered. If it weren't for their recent behavior, they would have looked like a noble's child.

An atmosphere that didn't fit the rural area.

Ein even felt that this person was newly created. There was no sign of a carriage arriving, and their clothes were free of wrinkles or dust.

He blinked his cold, sunken eyes twice and slowly spoke to Ein. His slightly furrowed brows and sharp gaze were enough to make anyone flinch.

"Wow... When I stood up again, my head felt dizzy. The NPC graphics are really natural. Oh, did my voice change?"

Ein didn't understand what he was saying, but now wasn't the time to ask.

"Excuse me, are you the new mercenary recruit?"

"It's a bit inconvenient not seeing speech bubbles or scripts... Settings. Environment settings. Subtitles. Ah... They're not applied yet. They must have rushed the open beta."

NPC? Graphics? Speech bubbles? Scripts? Ein's brain started to give up on understanding. Some of these terms sounded familiar from earlier.

Ein began to suspect that this person might be a wizard. Wizards were known for memorizing complex incantations and sometimes being eccentric.

But if they were a wizard, that would be a problem. Wizards were highly sought after, and good relations needed to be maintained. So far, the only interaction between Ein and the new recruit had been a mutual glance.

At that moment, the new recruit, who had been muttering incomprehensible words, looked directly at Ein.

"Yes. I'm a new... recruit. Newcomer? Is this the right way to say it? Without options, I don't know the response keywords."

A successful first interaction.

Ein inwardly cheered as the normal conversation finally began.

The new recruit approached and extended a hand.

Although slightly shorter, Ein felt like he was looking down at them.

Ein also extended his hand, belatedly trying to maintain a dignified tone.

"I'm the mercenary Ein. I'll guide you during your stay here."

"Oh, so you're the tutorial NPC."

"Excuse me?"

"Huh?"

"NPC?"

"NPC."

"I'm not an NPC."

"Ah, a player then?"

What did he mean by player?

As the conversation started to spiral, Ein managed to regain his composure and introduced himself.

"...? No, I'm Ein."

"An NPC is an NPC, what... Does this game require you to roleplay a character? I really don't like that."

"Excuse me?"

Ein's tone involuntarily sharpened.

While the new recruit's laid-back attitude was one thing, such blatant disregard was hard to tolerate.

Ein's opinion of the new recruit plummeted. He even considered suggesting to the guild master not to accept them. Just as this thought crossed his mind, the hand he was holding was shaken up and down.

"Sorry. In the place I came from, NPC means a guide...? Someone who helps in the area...? I apologize."

The new recruit, who had been talking to themselves, now chose their words carefully and apologized, which softened Ein's heart. He was more forgiving than he thought.

Despite being told to be firm, his nature didn't change easily.

"Understood. But I have a proper name, Ein. Please call me by that instead of NPC."

The new recruit was surprised by Ein's response.

"By name? Without completing a friendship quest? Is this a tutorial? In this genre, isn't a last name important?"

"I don't understand what you're saying, and I'm not an NPC!! And... I'm a commoner, so I don't have a last name."

"Ah."

Usually, when someone revealed they were a commoner, the other person would either shrink back in embarrassment or show a fleeting sense of superiority.

But the new recruit just nodded, as if it was just another piece of information.

This unfamiliar and absurd reaction was actually better for Ein.

"Anyway, since I've introduced myself, please tell me your name."

The new recruit's eyes widened in surprise, and their usually calm face showed a rare expression of confusion.

If they were a noble from the kingdom playing at being an adventurer, the situation would be quite awkward.

Just as Ein's imagination started to run wild, the new recruit spoke cautiously.

"...Mohaji."

"Excuse me?"

"That's my name. Nick Mohaji."

Nick Mohaji. To Ein's knowledge, this name didn't sound like it came from the nearby kingdoms. Confident that they were from another region, Ein assumed "Mohaji" was their last name and nodded.

"Understood, Mr. Mohaji."

"Regretting it... I shouldn't have used this. Just call me Nick."

"Um... Mr. Nick Mohaji, can I call you by your first name?"

"Not the full name!!"

Ein's eyes widened as he looked at the new recruit, who blushed and waved his hands.

"No, it's my fault. Ah... Do I need to buy a nickname change right at the start? I don't even know if I need cash."

"Cash? The general store owner's daughter is named Cash..."

"Never mind, I don't need her. Please don't misunderstand."

Nickname change.

Hearing the word "change," Ein speculated that it might be an artifact to change something about oneself.

Thinking this, he realized he had been too hasty in asking about the new recruit's background.

'It might be a pseudonym. But using a pseudonym isn't a big issue for joining the mercenary guild.'

Ein explained the structure of the mercenary guild and the village, and decided to start official missions after Nick had some rest. He needed time to recover from his journey.

"Tutorials are really annoying... Alright, I'll go around and come back here. It won't take long."

Nick left the waiting room, and Ein, feeling drained, slumped into a chair.

He had a hunch that this new recruit was more unique than expected.

But the world was full of diverse beings, so he shouldn't treat someone as strange just for this.

Besides, he wasn't even sure if Nick was human. The world had hundreds of races, and many more unknown ones.

From common races like humans, elves, and merfolk to more exotic ones like dryads and golems, insect-like bug races, mysterious races that could change form but only knew their true form among themselves, naturally occurring undead, and many others.

'Still, they are quite unique.'

Ein entered his room in the guild, lay on his bed, and slowly blinked.

While listing things to tell Nick, a commotion started outside.

"It's a divine message! A divine message! The same message has been sent to all the temples on the continent! Regardless of religion! The open beta has started!!"

One downside of having good hearing was that the world wouldn't let him rest. The commotion didn't subside, so Ein covered his face with a pillow.

Open beta or divine messages weren't significant concerns in a rural area.

Such important matters would be handled by heroes or champions, and the most serious issue here was that Marcus at the tavern hadn't paid his tab.

'Now that I think about it, the new recruit mentioned something about an open beta... Ah, never mind. I need to rest a bit.'