Chapter 3

In the preface, I would like to summarize the previous story in three lines or less.

Even forgetful people like me and busy people can rest assured?

Summary of the previous story ------------------------------------------------------

An evil god appeared. The whole class made character creations and transferred to another world.

The skills obtained were full of landmines.

When my vision returned, I was standing in a grassland.

Lowering my gaze, I could see my own hands, which had become somewhat slender.

Looking to the side, there was a beautiful elf, checking her body just like me.

She had long, blonde hair.

Her face was just a step away from being a beauty, undoubtedly a beautiful girl, and I felt a sense of familiarity.

"Um, are you, are you Yū-san?"

"Then you must be Shō, right?"

"Yes, that's right."

I nodded in response to her question.

Looking again, she indeed had a different appearance, but there was something about her that still had Yū's aura.

Her height... had it become a bit lower?

Yū was around 160 cm, relatively tall, with a good figure, but the elf in front of me was a bit shorter and her figure had become—rather, slender.

"What's with that look?"

Yū, who must have sensed my gaze, narrowed her eyes and looked at me.

Her voice was a bit lower.

"No, no, you've become so beautiful! Wow! You really are an elf!"

I quickly shook my head and changed the subject.

Yū was already pretty, so it wasn't that strange, but she seemed more otherworldly.

Ah, she's not human anymore.

"Hmph. Shō is an elf too, isn't he? —Just as I thought."

Yū said this and slightly averted her gaze.

Her cheeks were a bit red, so she might have been blushing.

Yeah, I never call my childhood friend 'beautiful' normally.

"Hey, I know you two are close, but can you pay a little attention to me too!"

A voice came from behind, and I turned around to see—was it a beastkin?

On top of his head were dog-like ears, and a fluffy tail on his behind.

His face... Ah, this is easy. It's Chizuya.

His eyes were a bit sharper, but he hadn't changed much.

"Hey, is that you, Chizuya? Is that a dog?"

"It's a wolf! As a furry, I had to choose a beastkin!"

Chizuya puffed out his chest and happily moved his ears and tail.

Ah, this guy is that type.

"Personally, I think male beastkin are a waste, but what do you think about that?"

"Indeed. I strongly agree. But! What if beastkin can't marry other races? Would you give up? No way!! I can't miss the chance to get a beastgirl wife!!!"

Chizuya asserted this with great force. It seems he had thought about his race choice.

I'm not sure about his direction, but I can understand his feelings a little.

A 'beastgirl wife' is somewhat appealing.

"Hmm, Chizuya came too, huh."

Yū looked Chizuya up and down and nodded.

"What, what's that supposed to mean? Am I in the way?"

"I didn't say that. —We need a shield, after all."

"Hey, did you just call me a shield? A shield!?"

"Ho ho ho, of course not. I'm counting on you, melee fighter!"

Chizuya protested at Yū's muttered words, but Yū smiled lightly and dodged.

I heard something suspicious, but it was probably a joke to lighten the mood, yeah.

"But, still, childhood friends, huh. We can understand each other even in this situation."

"Yeah, I felt a familiar vibe."

"Y-Yeah, we've spent a lot of time together!"

I hurriedly agreed with the two of them.

I can't say it!

I didn't recognize them until they got close!

"Um, yeah. There's... no one else around, so let's be glad we're together."

Yū, who seemed to have noticed something odd about me, but decided not to mind, looked around and said this.

I also looked around, but there was no one, not even a familiar face.

Thanks to the skill [Eagle Eye], I could see further than before, but all I saw was a grassland and a forest, and some wild birds.

"Still, this is quite a situation. Is this a misfortune or a stroke of luck?"

"Let's consider it a silver lining. The accident happened, so there's no point in being negative."

I sighed, and Yū shrugged with a wry smile.

"It might have been a bit lucky for me! I have the possibility of a beastgirl wife now!"

Chizuya laughed, but thinking about his parents, it's a bit tough.

Since coming to this world doesn't change the fact that we're as good as dead, we might as well think of it as a silver lining, as Yū said.

"Let's put Chizuya's fantasies aside and first confirm our action plan. If we don't agree, we can't act together."

"O-Oh, right?"

I had intended to act with my childhood friends unconditionally, but Yū seemed to be a realist.

It's a matter of life and death, after all.

"Then... 'Life first.' Repeat after me!"

Yū pointed at us sharply.

"Huh?"

Wasn't this supposed to be a discussion of our plans?

Ignoring our confusion, Yū repeated it.

"Life first!"

"U-Uh, life first?"

"We won't aim to be heroes!"

"We won't aim to be heroes!"

"Prudence is the best shortcut!"

"Prudence is the best shortcut!"

"Yū-sama's words are absolute!"

"Yū—wait a minute!"

"Damn."

I almost said something strange.

Yū, did you just click your tongue?

Chizuya, on the other hand, kept his mouth shut.

"Let's go with that plan. Any objections?"

My protest was brushed off.

Well, it's always like this, so it's business as usual.

"I don't mind. If I can find a beastgirl wife and live a modest life, I have no complaints!"

"Me too. Besides, I can't bear to be separated from you guys."

Being alone in an unknown world would be too lonely.

Yū nodded in satisfaction at our response and crossed her arms, puffing out her chest.

"Hmm. Then, let's check our statuses. We need to cooperate to ensure our safety here."

"Right. Should we use 'Status'?"

"Whoa! It's showing. This seems to be it."

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Name: Naofumi

Race: Elf (17 years old)

Status: Healthy

Skills: [Help] [Spear Talent] [Magic Aptitude - Time and Space]

[Spear Mastery Lv.2] [Evasion Lv.1] [Toughness Lv.2]

[Eagle Eye Lv.1] [Stealth Lv.1] [Scouting Lv.1]

[Insight Lv.2] [Trap Knowledge Lv.1]

[Time and Space Magic Lv.2] [Fire Magic Lv.1]

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My name is in katakana. It's Naofumi, but in kanji it's Shōji.

There are no numerical ability values.

"There are no HP, MP, STR, or DEX. And no levels."

"Right. I think it's better that we only see our status and skills."

The two of them also confirmed this, nodding as they looked into the void.

Our status is 'Healthy' for now. If it showed 'Poisoned' or 'Cursed,' it would be useful for early treatment.

By the way, Yū doesn't play many games, but she has some knowledge from hanging out with me and Chizuya, so she doesn't seem too out of place.

"The important thing is the skills. First, [Help]. You have it, right?"

"Of course."

Yū also took it.

If it cost 5 points, I might not have taken it, but 20 points is like saying 'important.' It was a tough decision, but it was worth it.

"Huh? You guys took that? You can make characters without it, right?"

---Huh?

"Y-You didn't take it!?"

We both confronted Chizuya, who was flustered.

This is bad, really bad!

"Chizuya! Tell us all your skills!"

"O-Okay..."

Overwhelmed by Yū's intensity, Chizuya hurriedly listed his skills.

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[Sword Talent] [Sword Mastery Lv.3] [Charge Lv.1]

[Roar Lv.1] [Evasion Lv.2] [Toughness Lv.4]

[Swift Feet Lv.2] [Appraisal Lv.2] [Smithing Lv.1]

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...Good! No landmine skills!

Yū and I looked at each other and sighed in relief.

"Actually, I wanted to take experience boosters, but I ran out of points when I made my 'cool beastkin.' I had to give up on them with tears in my eyes."

"No, that was a good decision!"

"Right! Your weird obsession was actually useful this time!"

Phew! It wouldn't have been a death sentence, but it would have been a lot of trouble!

"Really? But don't those skills make a big difference later? It's not like we're in a competition or anything."

"That's a trap! A huge trap!"

We took turns explaining the dangers of the additional skills, and Chizuya's face grew paler with each explanation...

"R-Really!?"

He shouted.

Like Munch.

"What? If you make a mistake in skill selection, it's almost like your life is over!!"

"Right. If someone took [Skill Steal] or something, they might already be dead."

"True. That one has an instant death risk. We don't know the skill composition or average level of the people in this world, but if they used it on me, they'd die instantly."

Moreover, the skill would be returned, so only my lifespan would be extended without any drawbacks.

The unconditional skill theft has a certain malevolence to it.

Well, it's the person's fault for trying to steal a skill someone else worked hard to learn, but the tempting bait is...

"Scary! Super scary! No wonder it's an evil god!"

Chizuya shouted, still in his Munch face.

Yeah, I get it. I also screamed in my head when I first saw [Help].

"But, I think that person (?) was quite kind? The advice from [Help] is accurate and useful, and they emphasized that there are no cheats before the selection. If you chose a cheat-like skill, it's kind of your own fault?"

"Maybe, but experience boosters are just mean, right? They have no benefits."

That's true.

Other skills have some benefits, but those seem to have only drawbacks... why?

Maybe they work in combination with other skills?

Like in games, where a skill is almost useless on its own but becomes incredibly useful when used with another skill.

"Hmm, I don't know, but they did say 'Effort will not betray you,' so maybe they don't like people who try to take shortcuts? And if you put in the effort, it's still better than skills that can't be improved by effort."

That's true.

The evil god said something uncharacteristic.

If you try to take shortcuts, you'll have to work many times harder than others, which is a kind of divine strictness.

You probably won't be able to get many skills.

"In contrast, the skills we had from the start were normal... or rather, quite useful. [Toughness] seemed essential."

"Right. In SF, it's common for people to die from diseases they have no resistance to."

"Really? [Toughness] is that important?"

Ah, Chizuya doesn't have [Help].

Still, he took it, which shows he has high real luck.

He avoided the landmines even without [Help].

"The description said 'There might be unknown diseases.' I took it because of that."

"You might gain resistance eventually, but it's better not to get sick in the first place."

There's no unemployment insurance, Yū muttered.

That's true. There's probably no national health insurance or life insurance either.

If we can't work for a certain period, we might die. We have no guardians to rely on.

"That's a relief! I'm glad I took it."

Chizuya sighed in relief.

He probably didn't think about diseases from the name [Toughness], but with Lv.4, he should be fine against most diseases.

"Alright, next is my skills. Here they are—"

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[Help] [Bow Talent] [Alchemy Aptitude]

[Magic Aptitude - Light] [Magic Aptitude - Wind] [Magic Aptitude - Water]

[Magic Power Enhancement] [Common Sense of Another World] [Bow Mastery Lv.2]

[Toughness Lv.2] [Throwing Lv.1] [Insight Lv.2]

[Disassembly Lv.1] [Light Magic Lv.3] [Wind Magic Lv.1]

[Water Magic Lv.1] [High-speed Incantation Lv.1] [Alchemy Lv.1]

[Sewing Lv.1] [Cooking Lv.1]

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