Author here.
READ THIS, IT'S IMPORTANT!!!
I have changed a few things in the first chapter like adding stuff I forgot about, or fixing a few errors here and there. If you want to know what I changed - it has do with the descriptions of Kazuma's blessing.
Also, I know that the prologue was a bit too wordy, but I did that instead of writting the ability over course of the fic because I just wanted you all to know that I came up with it and its aspects from the beginning, not randomly out of the blue.
Any criticism can be writtem in the replies.
Also, a warning for some people...this fic will contain stuff that you might consider vulgar, or potentially offensive. So please...if you get triggered by them, you can ignore this and move on to another fic instead.
Again, this is all fictional and I don't condone everything the characters do
Other than that, for the remaining ones still willing to read this fic - I hope you enjoy.
[When Kazuma and Aqua opened their eyes, they were met with the sight of an old European-esque town...]
[The town of novice adventurers - Axel]
"Holy shit...I can't still be what I am seeing..." Everywhere you look, there were stuff that you would not find back in my world, no matter how much you could try.
"Ahh...haahh..."
"That's a cat-eared girl, isn't it?! That's an elf, right?! There are even dwarves!"
"Ahhh...ahh...haahhh..."
"Hehehe~! Good BYE, My old boring life! HELLO, My new adventurous life!"
"Ahh...hahh...ahh!..."
"Hey, stop with moaning; you are sounding like creep."
"AHHHH!!", "What the fuck?!"
[The goddess started shaking him like a mad woman(well...she probably is, right now).]
"Stop it! Everyone's looking this way!"
"I CAN'T GET BACK! WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?! I AM NOT EVEN SUITED FOR FIGHTING! THE BEST I AM IS AT HEALING! THERE IS NO WAY IN HELL THAT I WOULD BE ABLE TO DEFEAT THE DEMON KING!!" She let go of me violently and as she started shrieking in despair in a craze.
Can't believe this is the same goddess I was just talking to awhile ago...
"H-Hey, listen! You are still a goddess, aren't you? You should have at least some offensive capabilities, right?
And even if you don't, I'll...help you out...
Well, at least I'll try to..."
When I finished my sentence, she started to gain a more hopeful expression...
Which then turned into one of smugness. God, I can already feel like it's going to be a fucking headache in the future...
"Oh yes! You are right. I can still fight to some extent!
And since you are so adamant on helping me out-" Wha-? Adamant? "-I don't mind letting you come alongside myself. I will make sure to guide you like the great leader that I am!"
"When the hell did we decide that you will be the leader?"
"Huh?"
"I don't trust you enough to make you the leader."
"Wha-?! What do you mean?! I am a goddess! What else do you need to be qualified for this?!"
"Okay, could you say where we would need to go to register as adventurers, then?"
"A-" Her eyes shrunk to a comical degree while her mouth remanined agape, "Ahh...um..."
All I could do was sigh at her display, "I'll take the rein..."
"Ok..."
Combining all of the stuff about her that heaven made clear to me from the letter, alongside all of the interactions I had with this girl are what caused me to be doubtful about her capability to lead us. It's as simple as that.
"If this world is like those rpg fantasy games, there must be a guild somewhere around here..."
"You sure know a lot for someone who was a shut-in NEET..."
"You sure know less for someone who is supposed to be a goddess."
I stopped an old woman who was passing by to ask about the guild, if there is one.
"Ho? You don't know where the guild is? My, my...you must not be from here..."
"Hm, yes. You are right. Me and that girl over there are from a far away country. We just arrived here."
"I see...then, welcome to Axel, the town of beginners!"
[Skipping forward.]
"Well...here it."
In front of was the adventurers guild in all its glory.
"Let's not waste amymore time and get going", "Ah? Yeah."
We made our way towards the entrance. I put a hand on the door knob; opening it to revealing the rowdy place inside.
"Welcome~! If you are here to register or check for quest - go over to the reception or quest board. If you want to eat - wait at the dining area~"
"A- Ah..." I nodded in a rather embarrassing manner.
This place was filled with people that wore costumes that you can only see in conventions back in my world. Except all- most- a significant portion of them are wearing them for important reasons.
I think.
Probably.
"Huh? Why are they looking at us?
Oh wait a second! Of course, seeing a goddess upclose must be jawdropping for them" The conclusion she came to is vastly different the reality. I am pretty sure it is because of your looks.
If this girl wasn't speaking, she would look to most people like a beautiful and nice girl...
"Hey! Never seen yer face around here...are ya new?" "EEK!!" Aqua shrieked before covering herself behind me. Oh, come on...you are a fucking goddess.
"*Clears throat* Yes, you are right. We are indeed not from here. We have come from a far away land to become adventurers and defeat the demon king himself~" I responded to the man - who was buff and had a mohawk; looking like a thug.
"The demon king?" He seemed surprised, which isn't unexpected, "Wahah...HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!" "Wah!" Aqua covered up even more as the man suddenly started laughing, "Kid! You are funny!"
"I am not joking, though..."
"I know, I know...hah...brat...welcome to the gates of hell! If you wanna register yourselves, go over there to the reception area."
[Skipping a bit ahead.]
"Hm." That's the place-" "Mr.Kazuma?", "Huh?"
"You seem to be pretty charismatic...how did you become a shut-in NEET without a single friend or a girlfriend?" This girl!
"First off - stop combining shut-in and NEET together like that! And secondly, I am not a shut-in! I died outside, okay?!"
"You were still holed up in your room for the most part. That pretty much qualifies as a shut-in...
And even if we leave that aside - you are a NEET, you know?"
"Tch. I am still too young for that. I am 16, you know?"
"Do you not know what NEET is supposed to be? It does Education in their" I did not want to hear from anymore so I started moving again.
[Skip.]
"Okay, let's wait over here."
"Huh? There are other lines that are shorter, why did you-? Oh! I get it! You lined up here because this one has the prettiest receptionist, right?" Fuck, she caught on... "And here I thought you were getting better...", "Aqua!", "Eh?"
"You don't get it. That lady could secretly be an experienced adventurer; she could lead us to some kind of special quest, or give us hints or advice that could help us along the way. Kind of like in an RPG, basically" I spoke to her upclose while holding onto her shoulders tightly, all in an overdramatic manner.
"I see! I take back what I said. You really are smart. Sorry, I don't know much about RPGs and stuff so I'll let you take lead here" Should I be worried that she is this gullible? Well...something to think about later...
Right now, we have to register ourselves.
[Skip.]
"Hello. We have come from a far away country and just arrived here to become adventurers."
"I see, then that would be 1000 Eris each." She smiled as she said that. Damn, she is cu- what?
"Aqua? Do you have any cash on you?"
"No, I don't. I didn't bring any because I was kicked out so suddenly."
Oohhh Nooo...this is a headache...
[Scene change]
"What are we supposed to do now? I don't know where to go..."
"Hmpf! I was starting to think you were becoming cooler but you are a shut-in NEET. So, watch me! I'll bring in the money" She stood up before turning towards a man in priest garment and heading to his position.
"Listen, follower of mine! It is I, Aqua, your goddess herself. I have come here to defeat the demon king once and for all alongside that guy over there, but right now I do not have enough money to even be registered. So, I ask of you - please, give us a little of bit it!" Aqua shamelessly begged the man in a grand manner, who looked at her with an unreadable expression...
"I apologize, but I am a follower of Lady Eris. Young lady, you shouldn't be pretending to be a goddess. That is really disrespectful."
"Ah...I am sorry, I will remember that" She bowed at him as she apologized. And when she was about to turn back towards me, the man stopped her, "Hold on there, even if I am not a follower of Lady Aqua - in old stories, Aqua and Eris are considered to be senior and junior. So for that reason, I am happy to help a follower of hers too".
"I see. Thank you", "Just remember to not do it again. Understood, young lady?", "U-Understood...", "Hm, good".
The goddess came back with a sack of coins and an empty expression.
"A-Aqua?..." "He thinks I am lying...he doesn't believe that I am a goddess...", "E-? Eh..."
"By the way, Eris is my junior like that man mentioned - and I was just pitied by my own junior's follower..." Tears streamed waterfalls on her cheeks as she looked at me with a tilted head and the same empty look that she has been wearing.
"O-Ok. Let's just...go register ourselves..." I grabbed her hand to make her follow.
[Skip]
"So, we got the fees...", "Ok, just do...what I say..." The receptionist lady was watching the whole event that took place just now, causing her to look at the self-proclaimed goddess behind me with pity, "Yeah...".
[Skip.]
The receptionist lady(named Luna) gave us each something simply called an adventurer's card. It has the stats, level, skills, and some other details regarding the owner of the card, such as their name, race, sex, etc.
"I filled out the details; here", "Ok, let me see..." She took my card to see what my stats would be, which will be the thing that decides my class.
Which is useless to me considering I have already decided what it would be.
"Let's see...Mr.Kazuma...your stats pretty average across board except for intelligence - which is above average - and luck, which is extremely high.
The only two options I have for you are the merchant class and the adventurer class" Not gonna lie, I expected to get a better set of stats than this but I guess it shouldn't bother me too much since I have my blessing instead.
And on top of that, I was thinking of choosing the adventurer class anyway, considering it lets the user be able to learn any skill of any kind and my abillity isn't going to be affected regardless of the job class. The only downsides being that A)I have to learn them through someone who can already use the skills, B)the skills may not be exactly as good as they would be on the hands of someone with an appropriate class, and C)the skills are also more pricey in terms of skill points - which you get through leveling up(or drinking a skill point potion), which itself needs experience points - which are portions of a soul that you get via killing or eating from any being that have them.
"Hm? You already have an ability? Are you sure this is first time you are becoming an adventurer?"
"Yes. That ability is a blessing I was given. Both figuratively and literally."
"Hm? How did you-?" "It's complicated. Leaving that aside, I fine with choosing adventurer job class."
"Are you really sure? If you are, you could still change it later on when you have higher stats..."
"I more than likely won't since I have my blessing to make up for it.
Hell, I'd dare say that choosing another class might be a downgrade for me."
"O-Oh really? W-Well, if you are fine with it..." And so I chose the adventurer.
Next Aqua, who - unlike me - had a rowdy crowd cheering for her as she had better stats than I did.
Well...except for intelligence and luck.
The former being below average, while latter pit-bottom(there is only a single digit, it being the equivalent of the number 1 in this language).
The more I know her, the more I feel anxious about the future...
"Mnh, Mnh! I know, I know!" Her ego is going to become more inflated than the characters in those weird-ass art I used to see and gag at, here and there on the internet. I should stop her before it could get worse.
"Hey Aqua, we should go find a quest."
"Oh yes, of course!" She responded after being satisfied from the praise.
[The duo moved over to the quest board to look for a decent quest for first.]
"Hmm..." What should I choose?... "Kazuma, Kazuma!" "Yes, I am Satou Kazuma" "Look at this!" She presented to me a poster with an image of what seems to be just frogs.
But, the thing that caught my attention even more was the name given to them.
Giant Toads.
"Should we?"
"Hm? Yeah, sure. The pay for each kill doesn't seem bad for a start."
"If that is the case, then..." She took us over to the reception again
[Skip.]
During these times are their mating season. They come out of hiding to catch lifestock off of farms, and even potentially people.
In terms of size, they are around the size of a bull or larger.
But they are also rather slow.
So long as both of us careful, this should be piece of cake.
"We are here." Out in the fields, barely any trees for a long distance. The skies were clear with the sun shining brightly.
Should be able to see anything coming, pretty clearly.
"RIBBIT" There it is... "Mr.Kazuma, it's here!" " I know, I am not deaf".
When I saw it jumping towards us - despite all that happened until now - I felt flabbergasted at seeing its size in reality compared to a regular old frog or toad.
"Well, um...that is huge." [No jokes allowed].
"Okay! I'll go first!" "What? Wait! Aqua!" She was already on her towards the frog...toad...whatever.
"Aqua! Comeback! Don't go without a proper plan!"
"Huuuh?! I don't need that! I can fight this by myself!", "Just be careful!" "Yeah, yeah!" She turned back towards the approaching frog.
"Hm. Wonder what she is going to do..." *Munch* "I see..."
...
"AQUA, NO!!!"
For fuck's sake, this is why I said her to be careful!
[Kazuma ran through the wet grassland as fast as he could. Close to him, a red glow started growing bigger.]
What should I make?! What should I make?! Perhaps I should just use the katana?
[The red glow dissipates before appearing again - this time forming into the aforementioned katana.]
I ran as fast as I can, it was still rather something like 10 meters away and she was about to get swallowed whole.
"Ah! I'll just do this!"
I jumped up with blood forming under my floating body; landing on it with a sqeulch sound.
My god, both that and the smell are disgusting...
[Kazuma hugged the blob tightly as it to hugged back just as much; moving forwards at an incredible speed, while dragging the boy along.]
"Heeere! I! Come!" I made the blob spread out and disappear, which caused gravity to act on me again and started falling.
So, I gripped and steadied my sword while pointing downwards. At one of the legs, since I needed to be careful with Aqua inside.
[Stab[CRACK[Splash!] "RIIIIIIIIIIIII-!!!" I then stabbed its other leg as fast as i can(not that fast, but since the thing is stuck in this position, it is not a problem), which made its shrieking even worse.
Oh god, she might die from the noise itself!
[Kazuma climbed over the giant toad with somewhat of a difficulty due to how much it's shaking around.]
"TAKE THIS!" He stabbed the sword right into its brain - and this time, he activated the tinder ability within it; frying up the things brain.
"Woa-!" I rolled down as the toad fell forward, with Aqua's legs still jutting out of its mouth.
[Skip.]
"WAAA-!" "Argh...get away from me..." She was drenched in the saliva and other bodily fluids of the toad, making her smell like awful.
"Thank you, Mr.Kazuma...thank you..." " Yeah, yeah. But, could you not come closer?" "My clothes..."
"Let's just get back so that you can get yourself washed first, then we'll think about all this" "Wha-? How am I, a goddess, supposed to go in front of everyone - including my followers - like this?!"
I really doubt anyone would recognize you as a goddess at all...
"*CROAK*..." From a short distance away, another frog appeared out of the ground, "Oh, I will use you for revenge as my punching bag!" "Hey! Listen already! You-!" She ran before I could even finish...
[Aqua pov].
I get back at them! For all humiliation I suffered, tale this!
"GOD BLOW!!
This move is a powerful fist fueled by the rage and sorrow of a goddess!"
It won't even be-
[Munch.]
[Kazuma pov.]
"What did I say...?" Did she not just get eaten? Is she stupid? Oh wait, she is...
"Haaahh...is this what my life is going to be like from now on...?"
[Globs of blood appeared, and this time spiraled towards both of his palms as he thought about his next set of items.]
I need something ranged so...
[It shined for a few seconds on his palm, before dissipating to reveal...]
"Oof! I heard guns were heavy, but holding them for real is giving me a clear idea of how much..."
That's right. On each of my hands were a desert eagle.
《Would you like to learn how to use this?》
A translucent glowing red screen appeared out of nothing. It's a prompt.
It even had the 'Yes or No' options.
Yes
[No, he did not speak just now.]
《Would you like do so manually or do you want it to be directly downloaded into your mind?》
The second one.
This knowledge can be forgotten through both natural and unnatural means unlike the basics regarding my cheat.
"Okay...now that I use this..." I opened magazine chamber to make sure there is ammo, which it does.
"Okay now that, that's over...
AQUA! I AM COMING!!"
[The young adventurer sprinted through the field once again.]
"So long as I am careful, I should be able to shoot its head without harming her..."
And even then -in the worst case - she would only get her legs hurt.
Also, both of us can heal, so I don't have to worry too much...
[Kazuma was about take aim, but suddenly he realized...]
"Oh for god's sake! I forgot about the noise and recoil!"
I stopped in the middle of my track to create a pair of ear muffs; put it on, and then continuing to run for a few more meters before stopping again.
I have to make sure that the gun stays as steady as possible, 'cause if it doesn't...shit's gonna hurt...
[He took a few deep breaths to calm himself. His hands shook ever so slightly as he held the firearm as tightly as possible.
He looked at his target's head in conjunction with the front sight for better aim, but the shaking of his hands were giving him a hard time.]
Arghh...this is hard...this is way harder than I imagined...
I should have just used the sword from the very beginning...
No point getting frustrated about it now, I guess...
"TAKE THIS!!"
(Bang!)(Splash!)(BOOM!)
The instant the bullet hit its head, it exploded; spewing its innards out.
I imbued the ammo with a weaker version of the blast spell - another of the magic Aqua explained to me - and made it activate upon contact with a solid or semi-solid object.
The magic in question is part of a series with two other increasingly stronger spells beyond it.
"Riiii...bii..." The monster fell forward with a thud.
[Skip.]
I was able to get Aqua out of its mouth. She fought back enough to keep herself from even going into its throat.
She was mad at me for taking my time, which don't blame me here buddy, you were the one who did not listen to me and ran at them even after failing once.
Anyways, we made our way back to the guild to exchange the dead frogs(which I stored in my dimensional storage. Handy stuff) for cash.
"Here is your payment!" We received 5,000 Eris for killing two giant toads/frogs/whatever...
We should do better...
Even if the both of us have incredible powers and skills, we still lack experience - which like, yeah...we are newbies, and technically Aqua did screw up somehwhat, so not a surprise there...but...that still doesn't mean we should ignore how badly we handled this mission...
So, next thing to do is...
Planning.
"*Gag*..."
At least, after sending this girl to bathe...
[Skip.]
After having her shooed away, I sat on one of the chairs in the dinning area to both eat and start planning.
"Hmm...I should create something that can make me strong and durable enough..."
[Skip.]
"So, Kazuma-" "Hm?" "-should we go back to finish the quest?"
"Wait here and eat your meal, I will be making preparations", "Preparations?"
"Exactly. Don't want to be in the same situation, you know?"
"Uh-huh."
And so, I left her to eat by herself while I go do my business.
[Skip.]
"Hey, I am back!", " Ah, Kazuma- Eh? A suit?"
I was indeed wearing a suit - a black one to be exact.
"Yeah. I made some clothes for you either."
"What? Why?"
"Do you want to have those clothes of yours be damaged or dirty again?"
"No...but, wouldn't those be unnecessarily hot in this weather?"
"Oh yeah, I mixed in a few other effects that control the temperature to some extent around and inside the clothes, which should probably help out."
"Probably?"
"Hey, I am new to this. So, cut me some slack."
"Mnhh, whatever. Give it to me."
After eating her meal, Aqua went on into one of the changing rooms.
Hope, it's fine...
[Skip.]
Well, guess it fits.
"This isn't bad...although, it's a bit on the plainer side..."
"Sorry, but I'm not an artist, you know?"
"Guess, nothing can be done about that...maybe I'll give you some lessons on it, later on."
"Mh? Sure, sure..."
The attire she wore were a knee-length robe, a hooded mantle, and knee-high boots. All light blue with trimmings of a darker shade.
She would have looked pretty cute in that outfit...
"Mr.Kazuma-?" "Nothing. Let's go now." "O-Okay..."
I only took a few steps on my to the door before I realized that Aqua was not following.
"Hm? Aren't ya coming?", "Ummhh...well...I don't to fight those things again..."
"Wha-? Why?"
"I just don't like them...they are gross...I don't want to be eaten again...it's scary..." She looks genuinely afraid...
"You do realize if you had listened to me before, that wouldn't have happened, right?" She looked down in response.
Hey, stop that. You are making me feel bad...
"I just want to say...we only have the leftover cash from that priest's, and the price money from those dead frogs.
We could only at best go on for a few days with this before we would be penniless again. So, can't exactly be picky about it, you know?"
"Sorry..."
"Hahh...
This isn't probably even going to be the worst we would be facing."
"Mmmnnhhh..." All she let out was a groan. I wish you understand that I am doing this for the sake of us both.
"Urgh...we'll put off hunting those frogs for now-" Her face brightened up, "-but, we would come back to it again." She went back to looking uneasy for a few moments before showing half-hearted smile while sweating.
"Ok..."
"Great. Then, let's check the quest board", "Yeah".
We walked over to said board without much of a conversation. It wasn't exactly silent since there are people all around chattering about loudly, but it sure feels like it from how awkward the atmosphere is between us.
I chose to ignore it, and instead started looking through the various posters.
"What should I pick...?
So long as it is not something too dangerous...
Hmm...
Ho...?
"A request for guards of at least two for a cart carrying delivery.
The journey would take around two days.
Food and water will be provided."
The pay is good too...
Yeah, I am taking this.
"Hey, how about this?"
"Ah?" She skimmed through paper before responding with, "Yeah, sure.
Although, the location is pretty cold from what I know..."
"I don't think that's a problem."
"Hm..."
And so...an interesting journey begins...