Chapter 3

As I approached the place where the scream was heard, I could see it from a distance.

After running a little, the forest thinned out, and the area turned into a grassy field. About 5 meters away from the forest, there was a path, and 15 meters from there, a cart was parked with a green dog nearby. The scream might have come from around there.

Indeed, it seemed the scream was from a person attacked by the green dogs.

There were three people, but one of them appeared to be injured. A man with red hair was holding his left arm, and a large sword lay on the ground nearby. The scream must have been his.

Another, smaller man (his hair was green; in this world, colors other than black or blonde might not be rare) was fighting the green dogs, but there were still three of them, and the situation didn't look good.

From what I could see, there were about four dead green dogs, but this included the ones killed when there were two people. Fighting three at once would be tough.

Behind them, a plump man who looked like a merchant was holding a sword but was trying to hide behind the cart. The horse seemed to be unharmed.

I wanted to help, but the only attack magic I could use now was a fireball. If I wasn't careful, I might hit the humans too.

I decided to try using ice magic, even though it was my first time. An ice spear wouldn't hurt the surroundings. I imagined an ice spear, but no ice formed, and my MP wasn't consumed. What was wrong?

Since ice didn't work, I tried imagining a rock spear. I felt a slight consumption of MP, and a rock spear formed. It was more like a misshapen pencil, about 20 cm long and 5 cm in diameter. When I imagined it flying towards the green dog, it hit the one about to attack the small man. The spear seemed to travel at the same speed as the fireball, flying in a straight line despite the 15-meter distance. It hit the green dog's front leg, embedding about 3 cm before shattering.

The spear shattered, but the damage was significant, and the green dog stumbled. The small man then decapitated it, killing it.

With two green dogs left, the remaining two were also quickly dispatched by the small man, who cut their bodies and legs before decapitating them.

After confirming there were no more enemies, the man who killed the green dogs waved at me. I couldn't tell if waving was a friendly gesture in this world, but his expression seemed friendly.

As I approached the cart, the small man spoke to me. The merchant also came out of the cart, and the injured man was treating his own wound. He seemed to be fine.

"Thanks for the help. You came from the forest, but you don't look like an adventurer. Why were you there?"

"I found myself in the forest. I don't remember much, so I don't know why I was there."

I decided to pretend I had amnesia.

If I claimed to have some memory, it would be less likely to be exposed.

"Did you get attacked by a monster? Your clothes are clean, and you don't seem injured... Anyway, you saved our lives. I want to repay you. Wait a moment. Hey, Karak!"

The merchant's name was Karak. After talking to the small man, he spoke to me.

"Did you help us? Thank you. My name is Karak, and I'm a merchant. You seem to have amnesia, but I might be able to help. Do you have any identification or money?"

My item box was empty (it contained three leaves and a charred green dog), and my pockets had no identification or money.

"No, I don't have anything. My name is Kaede."

Karak didn't seem to have a last name. Maybe only special people had last names. To avoid trouble, I only gave my first name.

"I see. I don't know why you're in this situation, but without money or identification, you can't even enter a town. As a thank you, I'll give you a deposit, lodging fees, and registration fees for the guild. I can't give more, but I'll help if you have any questions."

Karak handed me five silver coins.

"Excuse me, are these silver coins?"

"Hmm? You don't remember silver? Yes, these are silver coins. If you don't understand, I can explain, but let's do it after we start."

I put the silver coins in my pocket.

The small man, who had finished treating the injured man and collecting the green dog corpses, got on the cart, and we started moving. Sitting on the cargo box, the vibrations were intense, and my butt hurt.

"Let's start the explanation. First, about money. This is a silver coin..."

According to Karak, the currency values are as follows:

1000 iron coins = 100 copper coins = 1 silver coin

100 silver coins = 10 gold coins = 1 large gold coin

1 iron coin is 1 tel, which is roughly 10 yen. The highest denomination, 1 large gold coin, is worth about 1 million yen, but it's all in coins, so large amounts are needed.

Later, I learned that there are 100 large gold coins in a platinum coin, used mainly by merchants and for large transactions.

This didn't concern me.

The cart was loaded with a lot of cargo. If item boxes were common, there would be no need for a cart.

I decided to appraise Karak.

Name: Karak

Age/Race/Gender: 35/Human/Male

Level: 7

HP: 32/32

MP: 11/11

STR: 9

INT: 11

AGI: 10

DEX: 8

Skills: Life Magic

His stats were low. Were mine high? He only had Life Magic. I asked about it, and it seemed to be simple spells like creating a small flame or water for a toilet. Each spell consumed about 0.1 MP.

The average adult male's stats were around 10. This made my stats relatively high. However, I couldn't find a reason why I couldn't use an item box. I appraised the small man to compare.

Name: Mors

Age/Race/Gender: 22/Human/Male

Level: 14

HP: 114/114

MP: 21/21

STR: 22

INT: 18

AGI: 33

DEX: 19

Skills: Life Magic, Swordsmanship 1

His STR was similar to mine, but his AGI was higher. His other stats were also higher than Karak's. If strength and speed were proportional to stats, Mors was nearly twice as strong as Karak. This was the difference in levels.

Considering my last level-up, my stats would be much higher by level 14, so my stats and skills were probably high.

I was relieved that my stats weren't abnormal, and I could probably make it as an adventurer.

Having high stats and being able to dominate might be nice, but it could also draw unwanted attention.

I decided to ask why they didn't use item boxes.

"Why don't you use item boxes to transport goods?"

"Only those with magical aptitude can use them. Most people with magical aptitude become high-ranking adventurers or soldiers, so they're expensive to hire. They can't carry much, so they're only used for transporting high-end goods for nobles. Item boxes don't age their contents, so nobles and wealthy merchants use them to store food, but they're not practical for regular merchants."

It seemed item boxes required magical aptitude. This was probably a somewhat rare skill, but not so rare that it couldn't be found. Martial aptitude was probably similar. I decided to reveal my magical and martial aptitude.

As we continued talking, we reached the town. It had a 2-meter-high wall, a gate, and guards who didn't seem very diligent.

"Show your identification."

When I told them I didn't have any, I had to pay a silver coin as a deposit and touch a white board.

Touching the board displayed some of my stats.

Name: Suzumiya Kaede

Age/Race/Gender: 20/Human/Male

Level: 2

Rewards/Punishments: None

Skills: Magical Aptitude, Martial Aptitude, Fire Magic, Earth Magic, Water Magic

It seemed to be a simplified version of the appraisal. I quickly concealed my last name, which had appeared.

"Um... Well, welcome to Ein."

The guard gave me a temporary ID with the town's name and a forced smile. The town was called Ein, and my last name hadn't been seen.

Karak and the others showed their IDs and entered. The injured man seemed fine, probably due to a healing potion.

"See you. If you need anything, come to Karak's shop. The adventurer's guild is straight ahead. Register there, and you can get your silver coin back with your guild card and temporary ID."

Karak left.

"Shall we go to the adventurer's guild? Do you want to come with us?"

Mors invited me. I was grateful since I didn't know the customs.

"Yes, please."

We started walking to the guild. It was getting dark.

The town looked European, but there were no streetlights, and it felt like medieval Europe.

There weren't many people, but some were walking around. Some had animal ears or tails. I remembered there were beastmen in the MMO I played, so it made sense in a fantasy world.

The clothing was similar to what I'd seen in RPGs, but it wasn't too shabby. Occasionally, I saw adventurers in armor with swords.

The streets weren't covered in feces, which was reassuring.

Most shops were closed, and those open were preparing to close.

The taverns were open, but I wondered if the guild was too.

Mors, being an adventurer, wouldn't forget if the guild was closed.

Mors suddenly asked,

"Are you a mage? You don't seem to have a staff."

"Do mages need a staff? I have magical aptitude."

I could cast spells without a staff. Was this due to my aptitude?

"A staff isn't necessary, but it increases the speed of spells. Magical aptitude is a great skill, but it doesn't increase speed. You might naturally have fast spells."

The power of spells depends on INT, spell level, and MP consumption. There's also elemental affinity.

A staff increases speed, making spells harder to dodge. Without a staff, spells are slow and easy to avoid.

There's individual variation in spell speed, but it's unknown why. Most people can't cast spells at practical speeds without a staff.

Healers who don't need to cast spells at a distance might not use a staff, but combat mages usually do.

Longer staffs increase speed but are harder to handle. The ideal length varies, but 60 cm to 120 cm is common. Specialized staffs can be over 3 meters.

For spells like the rock spear, speed and power are unrelated. The spear might have shattered because of the impact.

We arrived at the guild.

It was a sturdy, two-story brick building with a triangular red-tiled roof.

The entrance had a wooden door with a metal handle, and above it, "Adventurer's Guild" was written with crossed swords on a shield.

The text was unfamiliar, but I understood it, probably due to language acquisition.

I might have been speaking the local language without realizing it.

"See you. We're going to the inn. Goodbye."

Mors and the others left. They didn't accompany me inside.

Shall I go in?