Tanya sighed hopelessly, looking at the bulletin board quests. The quests that would allow her to meet her deadline in a week were rated too high over her level for her to do alone, according to Luna. The ones that were at her level, however, wouldn't let her earn enough money.
She had leveled up in the past few days, the number six replacing the one that had sat in the level box of her card. With those levels came Skill Points, which she had been saving up in preparation of her lesson, ignoring the temptation to funnel them into one of her other abilities she'd kept from her past life.
She didn't think anything he could teach her would take up more than twenty, but she'd saved the ten points she'd started with and the ten she'd earned while leveling up regardless.
In order to get as much money as she could, she'd taken a number of high level quests that were technically outside her ability that Luna had barely let her try. She had fought an assortment of monsters – groups of Horned Rabbits and Giant Worms, for the most part.
Those had been fairly easy. Nothing here could even scratch her Active Barrier spell, which easily withstood the force of unenchanted bullets in her last life. That shield, unsurprisingly, ate up a massive amount of mana, which meant she'd had to use it sparingly and in bursts.
Being able to fly higher than any of the monsters could reach was quite helpful as well, allowing her to wait while they tired themselves trying to get her. Things were becoming harder, however.
She needed money to make that deadline, so she'd stopped eating full meals and had sold her stolen sword for a smaller dagger and money. She probably looked like crap too, since she had even stopped going to the bathhouses to save money. She got disgusted looks from people as she passed, but she wasn't concerned. She just needed to get that skill.
She still hadn't come close enough, though.
She was off by a few thousand Eris, and today was the day she was supposed to turn up. This meant…
She needed a loan. A terrifying prospect, if it was worded in a way that could take advantage of her, but she was from a future where capitalism and the free market had reigned near supreme. How hard would it be to outmaneuver possibly nasty businessmen in a sometimes-backward fantasy realm?
Of course, she would need to find somewhere to get the loan in the first place.
Making up her mind, Tanya walked up to the front counter. Luna was giving the speech she'd given her to someone else new.
Sighing, she waited her turn. Soon, the person, dressed much more appropriately than she had been a week ago, finished their business, and Tanya walked forward, greeting Luna with a small wave.
"Hello, Miss Degurechaff. How can I help you?" she said. Tanya smiled. Luna's presence was nice to have, considering what she'd done for her.
She'd waived the level requirement on the easier monster hunting quests Tanya had asked for, after ensuring Tanya knew what she was up against. That was the only reason she was as close as she was to getting that lesson.
Tanya smile faded as she remembered why she was there. "I was wondering if you knew where I could obtain a loan, actually," she admitted.
Luna smiled. "Well, the guild will loan you up to one hundred thousand Eris," she relayed.
Twitch.
Luna began to stare at the top of her head, but Tanya paid her no mind.
She should have just come here in the first place? Gotten to eat something worthwhile, smelled better than the backside of a pig, and kept her sword?
Tanya sighed. She really should have just asked Luna. She had been nothing but helpful after all, and-
"For more than that, you'll need to see some of the debt collectors," Luna said, pointing to a dangerous looking pair of muscle heads that were standing in one of the darker corners of the guild. Since it was daytime, it wasn't very dark, but they still gave of an aura that made the area seem… sinister.
"I'm guessing they give you loans at some sort of outrageous price?" she asked, seeking confirmation. Luna nodded an affirmative, and Tanya shook her head.
"Well, I'll just take the guild's loan," she said. Luna nodded, bent down beneath the counter, and brought up a piece of paper that she laid out before Tanya.
As Luna explained the details, Tanya began to read the document. "You'll just have to give us a portion of all the earnings you make over a period of time."
Yeah, that was true. But they would also be looking to make money, and would probably charge her more the longer she took and the more she asked for.
Ah, there it was. They…
They'd only take a tiny bit extra? She shook her head and began to read the paper closely.
For every quest she completed during a specified time frame, they would ask for only a small bit of her earnings. If she opted for a quest-a-day timetable, they'd only earn two hundred Eris from each of her quest. If she opted for the price to be attached to one quest a week, they'd earn eight hundred.
It wasn't that much. In fact, she was fairly sure that charging so little money would have gotten a bank from either of her last worlds accused of being a front for some crime ring.
Tanya looked at Luna quizzically. "Why aren't you charging more?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, if you wanted to make money, then why wouldn't you charge progressively more the longer it takes?" she asked.
Luna gave her that smile that told her that she thought Tanya was every bit the inexperienced girl she resembled. "The Guild is here to help adventurers and protect the Kingdom. They can't exactly do that if they're in debt, can they?" she asked rhetorically. Tanya nodded, unsure.
It wasn't the best way to run a business, but if they were more like an extension of the government, then that wasn't necessarily their goal.
Tanya shrugged. Regardless, this would be better for her.
Like many forms that she had filled out in her first world, it asked a slew of questions about her, her plans for the money, and how much she'd need. Filling it out quickly, she opted to ask for 8,000 Eris. It would meet the threshold for getting that skill, as well as a few thousand Eris for herself.
Sure, it was a bit more than what she needed, but she also wanted to eat. She didn't know how long this process would take, and not eating lunch afterwards might actually cause her to pass out, with how hungry she was.
Finally finished, she signed her name at the bottom and pushed the document back to Luna, who smiled. She took the piece of paper and placed it in a shelf, where many other such papers seemed to be kept.
Before she could examine them more, Luna turned around again, money in hand. "I hope you spend it well!"
Tanya smiled, before giving the woman a perfunctory wave goodbye as she walked out the doors of the Guild. Sure, it was early morning and she hadn't eaten breakfast yet, but that didn't mean she couldn't get this done fast and then eat a big lunch.
Walking through the twisting turns of the city, Tanya relaxed. She wasn't out in the various farms that surrounded the city, fighting off pests or minor threats, nor was she anywhere near the front lines of this war. She could take a bit of time to enjoy herself.
Soon enough, she arrived at the Blacksmith's shop. Taking a step in, she searched the room. It didn't look like he was here, but it hadn't looked like he was here last time, either.
A steady gaze surveyed the room, before landing on the counter. A note, much like the last time, sat on it.
Not that she'd trust it, of course. She cast a quick glance at the ceiling, before walking towards the back and around the corner of the counter.
He wasn't behind it, it seemed. She picked up the note, and read 'In the back.'
She shrugged. He was probably waiting for her, since he would have closed the shop if he was making something.
She walked into the dimly lit area behind the counter, surveying what she saw.
A variety of tools lined the walls of the room. A sort of desk sat in the middle, covered in other such implements. What she assumed was a forge sat in the back, based on how it extended up to the ceiling and likely beyond, forming the chimney she had seen the edge of on the roof. An anvil and a large tub of water sat closer to the door she'd just walked through.
The Blacksmith wasn't there, though.
Before she could decide on whether to explore further in, towards the other door she saw, she was tapped on the shoulder.
She fought the urge to swing around her blade, instead only spinning her body around quickly.
The man was smiling, but the creases on his forehead told her he was confused. "What are you doing back here?"
Calming at the sight of someone familiar instead of an enemy, she undid the bag at her side, lifting the bag with her money out of the bag with the circlet in it. "I have the money, and wanted to get started early."
His eyes squinted, he appraised her. Tanya stood strong, holding out the bag. She'd faced much worse appraisals in the Empire's army from dubious officers skeptical of her achievements.
A smile broke the weak facade of scrutiny, and the man walked passed her into the dark room. "Alright, then. We'll talk about payment afterwards," he called, pulling out a few baskets from underneath the table in the center.
Tanya looked at them curiously. There were baskets of rocks, ingots, what looked like leather, and skinned animal hides.
Tanya looked up at the man. Why did he have all of this? Shouldn't most of this have been processed already?
Gesturing to the woven baskets, he began to speak. "Now, since this is a one-time deal, I think I'll teach you the foundation of most Crafting Type jobs," he declared.
He began to lay out a number of tools on a table. A mallet, sandpaper, sewing needles, cloth, and more joined the baskets. He lifted one of the ingots out of the basket, and walked over to the forge.
"Just watch me, little girl."
Tanya bristled at his description of her, but she stayed quiet and watched as he said, "Smith," and began.
The next two hours were interesting. He moved in a flurry, heating, shaping, cooling, and finishing his work.
She was amazed that it only took two hours. It seemed ridiculous to make a sword in that amount of time, but she had seen it for herself.
That meant this power must have been able to speed up the rate at which swords, and perhaps other weapons and objects, could be made.
Somehow. Magic was an obvious answer, but even magic couldn't violate the basic laws of physics.
She blinked and looked down, thinking furiously. At least, her version couldn't. It was entirely possible that this world's magic didn't care what was possible according to physics.
He held the gleaming sword up to the light of the still-hot forge. "That is how you do it. You can learn the skill on your card," he said as he walked to the front.
Tanya quickly retrieved it from her bag, and stared at the newest addition. There, at the top of the exhaustive list of the numerous spells and techniques she'd learned in her last life, was a new one, glowing gold.
Just as the man had screamed, it was titled 'Smith.' Before she could work out how to get it, the man began to speak to her again.
"Now, this is the first skill that all Blacksmiths-in-training learn. It allows the user to shape materials into shapes they desire!" he said.
Tanya nodded, eyes fixed on her skill card. "Can I make any object?" she asked. That was the entire point of this exercise, after all, and he seemed to be in a much more talkative mood now.
He nodded his head. "Of course, as long as you have the materials and it isn't too big." Tanya looked up sharply. The ability to create whatever she wanted sounded nice, but she needed to know the limits. "Too big?"
He chuckled a bit. "You can't just make anything. Your Intelligence, mana, and the Skill Points you've invested in the Skill determine what you can make, and your Strength determines the durability of the object," he said.
"I don't have too much mana, which means I can't use the skill to make something as advanced as an entire set of armor. That's why I get more specific skills if I want to make anything very detailed or very strong."
Tanya nodded again, looking down at the card. "Just tap the skill you want, and then tap the picture of yourself," he said, watching her.
Looking at her card, she tapped the glowing word. It changed from green to red, and she lightly tapped the picture of herself.
Tanya's eyes widened. The card was glowing, and her hair was moving as if she were flying through the air on patrol.
That was, by far, what she was least concerned about.
There was something. She didn't know what it was, but all she knew was that this something was being changed. Somewhere inside her, her mana, or soul, or… something was being altered.
It ended soon enough, and Tanya shook her head. It hadn't been a bad feeling, per se, but she was wary of anything that made her feel good without a proper explanation.
The Type 95 felt good, but what she had to do to make it work and its additional effects were barely worth it. The Circlet had knocked her out for a few seconds from the abundance of mana in her system.
Looking back down at her card, she saw the gold skill had disappeared, likely buried underneath the list of her other skills. Along with its disappearance, a whole ten of her Skill Points had vanished, leaving her with the ten she'd started with.
She sighed happily. She'd be able to put points into other skills she had. She'd explore what she could improve upon later. She tucked away the card, and jolted as the Blacksmith spoke again.
"Well then? Give it a try!" he said, inches in front of her face.
Tanya backed up a bit, but shook her head. How he'd gotten so close to her, she didn't know, but she would be getting that discount and not paying 45,000 Eris.
Her penny-pinching was mostly because she wanted to eat, not because the skill wasn't worth it. It was completely worth the higher price, if she could use it to make a rifle.
She wouldn't have to buy clothing, weapons, or tools for a nice, long while, as long as she used enough Skill Points. She might just make about anything she wanted instead of buying it for herself.
That left the question of what she should make to avoid a higher price. She might have been familiar with a number of guns, but those would likely be above her current skill to make. Pistols would likely be out, as well.
Tanya grinned she knew something that might be simple enough for this.
Silently, she began to boost her Strength with Reinforcement spells. She did want this recreation to be as durable as the last one, after all.
Now one question remained. How did she activate the skill?
She thought about the feeling of learning the skill. Was that it?
Tanya stood there for a few more moments, waiting for something to happen. She assumed this was all she needed to do. What was she missing?
The Blacksmith coughed, and Tanya snarled, "Why isn't it working?"
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the man's eyebrows furrow in confusion. Tanya whirled towards him. "What else do I need to do?" she hounded.
"Er… you know. Say 'Smith?"
Huh?
"What do you mean? That wasn't just for effect?" she asked. He seemed to become more confused.
"Well… duh. You can't add the ability to silently use a skill until you've used it a lot. I could, but you haven't even used it yet," he supplied, eyeing her skeptically.
Oh.
Was that why everything had seemed to be taking so much mana? This world had a different and nonsensical rule where you had to say a few esoteric words out loud to make things happen?
Cheeks tinged red and eyebrows creased, Tanya turned back to the forge, muttering "Smith" as she did so.
Tanya blinked rapidly as information surged through her mind, and her earlier embarrassment was forgotten. She knew now how to shape metal, leather, and a variety of other materials and how to use the pieces and processes she now knew to make weapons and armor.
Most importantly, Tanya also realized just how inadequate the materials around her would be to make her gun. Instead, she settled on the idea she'd had earlier.
Back in her last life, no one was given swords anymore. Not for actual fighting, and only rarely for ceremonial purposes. The Empire had discarded the practice as a remnant of a bygone era and claimed that they didn't need blades in the modern age.
That they didn't have the resources to spare to make anything beyond bayonets was conveniently forgotten in the reports on why they weren't awarded, but Tanya could read between the lines well enough.
She had earned that medal above Norden, however, and she'd even been given a second name. They'd decided to treat her and have a nice propaganda tour to complement her promotion to Colonel and to hammer in to the population just how important the fabled 'Mith-'
She grimaced, and she bit the inside of her cheek once more. She wasn't thinking about that she wasn't wasn't wasn't wasn't-
She sighed and focused back on what she wanted to make as she began to gather materials. Instead of getting some parade saber that wouldn't see actual use, she'd put in a request for something much more… practical.
Tanya worked, ideas about how she'd ever make a gun rattling around the back half of her head.
She hadn't expected to be nearly as fast as him. He had much more experience, after all.
Despite her slower pace, It was still grueling. The forge was hot, and the room wasn't well ventilated, beside the small hole the smoke pushed through in the chimney. Constantly banging, banging, banging a hammer into burning steel was a lesson in monotony.
But Tanya had learned that lesson several times over, watching for the smallest movement on the front or cleaning every last piece of her guns, so she learned to ignore the ache in her muscles, dulling any pain with Reinforcement spells.
Soon, but not soon enough, the blade was mostly done. She still needed to finish it, but her mana was running low. Perhaps…
She shook her head. No, the Type 95 wasn't an option. She honestly had no idea what would happen if the Type 95 was turned to any other task than dismembering her opponents, and while the Circlet would reduce her strength, she only needed it for a few moments.
Gritting her teeth, she flicked a small bit of mana into the Circlet of Greatness, hanging at her side, and she felt her mana reserves replenish.
She blinked it wasn't nearly as much as it had been last night. Perhaps not wearing it on her head reduced both its benefits and costs.
She shrugged. She would finish this and worry about that later. Renewed, she laughed as she funneled over half of the magic into her Reinforcement spells to continue hammering the metal, winding and molding leather, and grinding the blade with the files the Blacksmith had.
In just over three hours, it was finished. She ripped the mana from the Circlet and almost collapsed. She managed to stay standing, however, and Tanya held it up to the dim light still present in the cooling forge.
A shallow saw blade on one side, a sleek, study edge on the other; the foot-and-a-half blade of her specially made Seitengewehr bayonet shone. The engravings on the side, wings and halos the last time she'd had it, had been skipped – she didn't have the skills, and she hated that addition to it anyway.
Along the hilt, a dark leather covering the metal underneath that matched the sheath, were the initials of her friends, meticulously recreated from memory.
Viktoriya's stood prominently on the base of the hilt, and Tanya smiled in remembrance.
Tanya might not have liked how close she had to get to her enemies, but that didn't mean that she wasn't good at it. So when it came time to pick what she wanted as her 'official' blade…
Well, this had been nice then, and it was nice now. It even had her name inscribed on the blade.
Of course, it wasn't perfect. Most of the little ornamentation, like the gold-leaf version of her signature, was no longer present. Now, that signature was gone, with just her initials in a different colored leather. It showed ownership, and she preferred that it wasn't as flashy.
The man behind her, forgotten as she remembered the ceremony where she'd received the thing, whistled in appreciation. "Very pretty. And maybe better than making a simple sword." He smiled, and Tanya smiled right back, happy to have this new power.
She wouldn't be able to get a gun for a nice long while, sure, but it was nice to have a piece of useful memorabilia from her last life.
-OxOxO-
Tanya snacked happily on nice, juicy Giant Toad leg. Not an entire one, of course. Those were too big, even for the voracious appetite of a former Aerial Mage.
She'd been able to negotiate a price of 35,000 Eris with the Blacksmith. Giving the man the knife she'd been given when she'd sold her stolen sword, she'd been able to haggle for that price.
He'd even given her a scrap of paper that she could use to name the thing, officially.
She hadn't seen the need for it – it was just a blade, after all – but she'd done as he suggested and named it.
'Seitengewehr' wasn't original in the slightest, but it was just a blade to her. He'd been pleased by the fanfare, for whatever reason.
After that, she had come back here and spent the rest of her money on a proper meal, instead of the rather bland fare she'd treated herself to over the last week.
As she wolfed down the food, she began to plan her next steps.
She needed some sort of scepter, until she could make a gun. Using her fingers was fine, but using some sort of equipment, regardless of how antique it might have seemed to her, was better on the off chance she lost control of a spell.
Besides, even if she could make something that looked and functioned like a gun, she would still need bullets.
One thing she had never taken too much time to dissect, bullets were going to be tricky. She knew the basics of a cartridge: put some sort of powder in a casing, a metal cone on the top, and a primer on the bottom.
Simple, sure, but she didn't know what materials she would need, besides lead and copper. There was something about sulfur in gunpowder, she was sure, but besides that, she was at a loss.
She needed to find some sort of suitable replacement for her gun, until she could replicate it and figure out how to make a bullet. Losing some gnarled stick would be better than losing a hand, after all.
Using her blade as a scepter was also an option, but channeling mana through something so irregularly shaped would be much more tricky, and if her blade exploded…
Well, she might not need to worry about finding a gun anymore.
She licked her fingers and continued to think. She'd need some sort of hat, as well, to cover up the circlet. Keeping two bags and having to open both to get to her money was just a bit tedious, and having something else that resembled something from her last life would be nice.
With this skill, she wouldn't even need to reveal that she was hiding anything in her hat to anyone. She'd just purchase the materials and make a hat herself.
Suddenly, commotion from the other side of the bar caught her attention. It appeared Dust was groveling again.
She swallowed her mouthful of food and chuckled as she remembered her last meeting with the man. He'd accosted her during the week, begging her for a bit of the money she was saving up. She'd shot him down, of course. But now that she had a bit of extra cash…
Well, she could take him up on his offer to observe his party for a day, and she would try to learn as many skills as she could.
He'd said something about her being desperate, and she hadn't contradicted him. She might get a better deal if he thought she was just as desperate as he was.
Not that she expected to need many of them, but that girl who she hadn't been able to guess the job of was a Mage. Tanya wanted to compare the magic of the two different worlds.
She quickly scarfed down the last of her food and walked over to him. He seemed to be begging Luna for money.
She arrived to hear the receptionist speaking down to Dust. "Dust, I would like to help you. You haven't paid back the guild, however, even when we gave you a loan above our usual amount," she said to the figure that had collapsed on the counter.
"Please Luna! I just need a bit more money, to pay back them!" he slurred, tossing a glance over his shoulder at the intimidating looking gentlemen in the corner. They seemed to be amused by his situation, if the subdued laughter was anything to go by.
Tanya shook her head. It seemed that the man was drunk, if the way he was unabashedly gripping the sides of the desk and not staring at her rack like he usually did was anything to go by.
She looked towards his usual table and saw the half full mug of beer Keith was carrying and sighed.
Drunks. She didn't like how wasteful they were, but they were so very easy to trick.
Tanya swooped in, prying Dust off of the counter. "Come on, Dust. I'll help you pay off your debts. For a price."
Dust whimpered, and looked at the two men in the corner like he would very much enjoy whatever they had to offer him than what she would want.
She had thrown him into a wall, after all, but he also deserved that and much worse for calling her a loli.
As she dragged him away, she saw Keith talking to a figure clad in blue armor and pointing at her.
She narrowed her eyes. He certainly looked impressive, if the cape and his self-assured look were anything to go by. It might be nice to be noticed by important people, but her promotion to head the 203rd showed her that being noticed wasn't always a good thing.
She filed away the man's oddly familiar features for later as she marched Dust towards the men.
-OxOxO-
As she stared at the three irate adventurers and the slightly apologetic drunk, she thought back to how her dealings with Dust had gone.
The amount of money Dust had owed the two men was disgusting – did the fool just drink away all of his earnings, and just how much of his blood was made of alcohol?
Nevertheless, she had helped them fix their relationship.
She'd given them some of the money he owed them, and they'd thanked her before grinning evilly at Dust. He'd stumbled behind her, trying to hide behind her petite form, and she had worked out a deal for them and him so he could pay up.
The two debt collectors had welcomed her help, and more importantly, Dust had promised that she could tag along with them on their next quest, observing their skills. He'd then promptly borrowed more money from the two and drowned himself in alcohol.
After helping him, she'd gone about her day. She'd taken a nice, easy quest being a physical laborer, enjoy a leisurely afternoon of strolling through Axel, looking for wherever magical equipment was sold. The day had seemed pretty good.
It had gotten better that afternoon.
When Tanya had returned to the Guild, the Blacksmith had been there. He'd treated her to a nice meal, and then offered to continue her training.
She'd turned his offer for apprenticeship down – she did need to get that wish, after all – but she had asked to have a part-time job.
He'd agreed, and Tanya, whenever she had free time, now had another way to earn a bit of cash. All she had to do was make equipment as he specified, and he would pay her for whatever she made.
She'd be able to get practice using the Smith skill, he'd get quality items, and Tanya would have easy access to whatever materials and tools he had.
After another night of restless scratching at old hay, she woke up ready to observe Dust's team at work.
Tanya had needed to remind him of their deal that morning, since he barely seemed to remember his debts being paid off, much less his grovelling in front Luna.
That brought her to right now, where Taylor, Lynn, and Keith were all glaring at Dust.
This would inform her of how she should interact with her own party. Was she a superior commander, a friend, or a partner desired only out of necessity?
Judging from how the group often got together and ate at the Guild, she was betting on the first of second option.
They, as well as most everyone else in the guild, respected Tanya for her Strength, as well as whatever else she had done that she couldn't remember due to the alcohol. That didn't mean they didn't speak of her in hushed tones, due to her choice of class and lack of team after over a week.
She didn't exactly have many options, if she wanted to keep her fighting style, so she ignored the naysayers. Plus, she hadn't met anyone who seemed to be willing to submit to the leadership of an Adventurer.
Their loss, really.
A belly full of food accompanied Tanya as she met the group at the front of the guild. All four of them seemed to be staring intently at her, while three were scowling at Dust. For his part, he looked only slightly sheepish.
Tanya smiled. It wasn't her fault if he hadn't told his fellow adventurers that she was tagging along.
"Hello, everyone! Thank you all for agreeing to have me!" she announced, bowing her head deferentially. They did have more experience adventuring, and she was there to learn from them, after all.
All of them greeted her in turn, glaring at Dust all the while.
Taylor strode forward. "We haven't been formally introduced, but I'm sure Dust has already told you about us, yes?"
Tanya nodded, but they introduced themselves all the same. Taylor was the leader, wore some armor and, strangely, a tie of all things. He seemed pretty level-headed, and she was interested in how similar their command styles would be.
Keith was the Ranger, and specialized in all things archery. He was, apparently, the closest to Dust in personality, and she had seen the two loitering around town often.
Lynn was apparently their Mage. A green jacket and a cape clothed her, while her hair was pulled pack into a ponytail. She was very good at Intermediate Magic, according to both her and her teammates.
How magic could be 'Intermediate,' she didn't know. She would probably find out, though.
"So, where are we headed today?" Tanya asked. Taylor held up one of the notices, taken from the quests.
"Since we're all going out, we agreed to take something a bit more dangerous. Apparently, someone out hunting spotted a Brutal Alligator. We're to confirm it exists, and either kill it and any others we can find, or simply report them to the guild," he relayed.
Tanya nodded. She didn't know much about Brutal Alligators, but the name alone implied that they would be something of a challenge.
"All right, then! What will I be doing?" she asked. All of them blinked, and then began to laugh at her.
She narrowed her eyes. What was so funny?
Keith, a small grin on his face, answered her unasked question. "You're just an Adventurer, right? The weakest class that doesn't learn any skills on its own? You can carry our supplies, I guess."
Tanya now raised an eyebrow. They were still underestimating her, it seemed. It might help in negotiating with Dust, but it seemed that their immediate reactions to her hadn't yet been dispelled by her feats.
She grit her teeth and pushed down the urge to lash out. She needed to pay off her debts to the guild and get experience.
She gave them a glowing smile. "Alright. I should be thankful for whatever work you give me."
-OxOxO-
Chances to prove herself had been less than forthcoming. They had spent most of a few hours walking in relative silence, passing plots of land where farmers were working hard tending their fields.
Trailing behind the group of four, Tanya had broken the silence after half an hour of discomfort with a question.
"What's with the tail?" she asked.
She wasn't a part of another race – not that Tanya had seen many of those or could tell the difference. It must have been some sort of accessory, but Tanya couldn't tell what it could possibly be for.
Lynn turned around, an eyebrow raised. Tanya didn't move to add to her question or back down from the skeptical look. She really did want to know.
Sighing, the woman put a hand behind her cape, and held up the tail. It seemed to be a generic, ringed tail, from what Tanya could see, besides the clip on the end.
"This is a tanuki tail. Whenever I'm wearing it, I get a slight increase in Agility and Magic-Power," she explained. Tanya just nodded.
She wouldn't know better, and it did make sense in this world. Magic had obviously been the focus of advancement, instead of science like in her last one. She'd seen several things run by magic, like the box that Luna put her card into to see if she'd killed those Horned Rabbits.
It was like a credit card reader or an internet history in function, verifying if she had done what she said she'd done.
"I'm not some beastman," she added hastily. The others chuckled, and Tanya just felt her eyebrows furrow at the questions that created.
"Where'd you get it?" Tanya asked, filing away the term 'beastman' for later.
She wanted a scepter, and if Lynn had gotten it somewhere cheap, she might be able to get something to channel her mana through, if it was some sort of magical general purpose store.
"It was a special purpose item I bought in the markets. Tanuki aren't all that common these days, and items like this usually get discarded if someone can get a better item," she said.
Tanya sighed again. She'd already searched the open markets, and no one had any scepters on sale. At least, none that were in her price range.
It seemed she was destined to go on more quests, forever trying to pay for the next trinket she needed.
Certainly different from life in the military, constantly doing what you were told and then some in search of advancement and just fighting an enemy. You didn't have to really worry about resources personally, not at the level she had been at. She just did the best she could with what resources had been allocated to her.
Lynn had presented her with a wonderful opening to ask her a bit about how what magic was available in this world. "So Lynn. What kind of magic do you like?"
The girl puffed up, and she slowed her pace to stride next to Tanya. "Oh, you're thinking about actually getting a proper job, then?" Tanya smiled indulgently.
Let her think what she would. Tanya wouldn't disabuse her of the notion, not when she was getting free information.
"Well, I skipped a lot of the Beginner Magic to move onto Intermediate Magic. I didn't have the money or support to get the Skill Points to learn Advanced Magic, but what I have is good."
"What's the difference between Beginner and Intermediate?" Tanya asked. It seemed like a bad idea to skip the basics. She hadn't been one of the best Aerial Mages to start with, after all.
The woman squinted her eyes, annoyed. Tanya just raised an eyebrow. She didn't know, and if she was going to act annoyed because she didn't know something, then she was going to be annoyed at a lot of people in her life.
"Well, it mostly has to do with cast time, how long you have to chant to invoke the spell, power, and mana requirements. Beginner Magic requires the least investment, consumes the least mana, and takes few Skill Points to learn," she explained.
"Appropriately, all of it has very little power unless you pour a lot of mana into them. And to get basically the same effect, Intermediate Magic costs less."
Tanya nodded, all the while remembering that these people didn't know everything. Just as the mages of her last world had thought Aerial Mages should function similarly to planes – she'd proven them wrong with the maneuvers she had done that no plane could have tried to do – who knew what Beginner Magic could do in the right hands.
"Advanced Magic packs a lot more power than Intermediate Magic, but it costs so much that most people just don't have the magical power to complete it."
Tanya nodded along. Already, this idea to pay off Dust's debts was bearing fruit.
Tanya soon asked what Lynn could do with magic. Names of spells had drifted through her head, most of which, like the rest of this place, seemed straight out of a video game.
But nothing even resembled her Flight spells, not even in name. As the girl talked, Tanya also looked at her adventure card, noting that none of the spells the girl had described had appeared.
Well, it was as the Blacksmith had said about his skill. She'd need to witness some of the spells in action before she could learn them, apparently.
Another half an hour of idle chit chat passed, and then they were there.
This forest didn't seem much different than any other one Tanya had been in. Trees moved with the wind, low plants and grasses covered the ground, and an animal or two could be spotted occasionally.
Nothing felt particularly intimidating.
And nothing should have. This forest had had most of the monsters in it exterminated. It was, however, the third farthest forest from Axel.
The first one had been cleared several decades ago, and the next farthest one had been cleared two decades prior to today.
This one had been mostly cleared too, but its distance from Axel meant that no one had reason to encounter the monsters in it, since few people lived this far out.
The peace was shattered after nearly another half an hour of waiting to find something when the five of them were nearly trampled to death.
Not by anything as logical as a Brutal Alligator, either. A wave of small woodland creatures had fled past them, fleeing from the general direction of the area the five of them were supposed to be heading to.
The others had decided that the best way to figure out how many Brutal Alligators there were and to take a few out.
They needed to get them out of the pond in order to figure any of that out, which required bait.
Cue her unexpected volunteering.
They had all looked at her, confusion painting their faces. Keith was their Ranger, and he was the fastest of them there. She had promised she could move faster.
Which was technically true. While he could probably beat her in a leg race, she could fly faster than any human would dare try and run.
Not openly, of course. Flight was starting to seem like a very rare ability, if anyone had thought of it at all. Instead, she would hover a centimeter of the ground and pretend she was moving her legs as if she were running.
She sighed as she strolled into the small clearing. She would have preferred to be out of danger, but she'd signed up for this job. She would prove that she wasn't useless, and they would spread knowledge of her ability at the same time.
Actually…
"Hey guys," she called back to the rest of the party, who had been conversing off to the side of the overgrown path. "Does anyone use this thing for fishing?"
None of them seemed to think so. Tanya grinned. This would be much easier, then.
She started up an Observation spell, but then, she whispered "Observation." Like the Blacksmith had claimed, she had to give up much less mana to use the spell if she vocalized her intent to use it.
She shook her head. How ridiculous.
Regardless of the bizarre rules of this world, she watched as a small screen bloomed to life in front of her.
The spell, in addition to testing if the Blacksmith was right, also tracked the active usage of magic in her last life, and if she was lucky…
Nope. Nothing in there. Tanya tutted, but nodded all the same. It seemed that these beasts weren't magical, at least.
Wondering, Tanya searched the ground for something to throw in the water. A small stone at her feet caught her eye, and she grinned.
Perfect.
"Enchant pebble: Artillery Shot."
A bit excessive, to use an artillery spell on a small pond? Sure. But this would certainly draw them out.
Tanya grimaced as the mana drained from within her, but watched as the pebble in her hand began to glow. This would be stronger than any Explosive Vaporization Tanya could muster, and it cost only twice as much as if she had used a Computation Jewel.
Considering an Artillery Shot should have been impossible without one, she was very content to be able to use it without one at twice the cost.
"Reinforcement spell: Strength," she chanted. With that done, she wound up her arm, and threw the pebble into the water.
Nothing happened, for a moment, and Tanya worried that giving names to her magic had broken it somehow.
The large plume of water that erupted told her how wrong that idea was. Turning to her comrades, Tanya grinned. "Are you guys ready?"
All four of them looked shocked, for a moment. Then terror overtook their features, and they turned to run.
With the sound of angry reptiles behind her, Tanya sped off. She wasn't going to do something stupid like turn around and get distracted. She knew exactly what was coming.
She was quickly gaining on her fellow adventurers and making doubly sure that it looked like she was running. It felt a bit odd to work her legs like this, but appearances had to be kept up until she confirmed if people were supposed to be able to fly here.
She soon gained on her fellow adventurers, and passed them. "What are you guys doing? Fight them!" she yelled, panicked.
She wasn't scared because of the alligators, or anything. She was flying, and she could get out of their range easily.
She was more scared that they would die, and since low-level adventurers amounted to pest control, she didn't really want to have any deaths associated with her.
That could be embarrassing.
As soon as the command left her mouth, they turned, as if a switch had been flipped. Lynn leveled her hand at the group of alligators, muttering under her breath, while Keith stood in front of her, unleashing arrow after arrow.
Taylor and Dust, meanwhile, were running around, now acting as bait for them. Tanya sighed in relief.
It seemed they wouldn't be dying after all.
Soon enough, Lynn shouted, "Lightning!"
As implied by the name, a jet of electricity flew from her glowing palm towards a group of the alligators. Two at the front fell, knocking down others in the back. Still, a few of them were upright.
"Should we retreat?" asked Keith, who grasped at the empty quiver by his side. Taylor, who had stopped acting as the bait, seemed indecisive.
Tanya shook her head. They needed orders, and it seemed Taylor was conflicted and unable to give orders. While caution was a good trait to have, when half a dozen Brutal Alligators were chasing you, not having orders could mean death.
"Let's retreat. We'll still get paid if we bring back information, right?"
The others turned to Tanya, looked back to Taylor, who nodded.
"Dust, let's go!" he called.
Dust, who had been running in front of the hole where a pond had been, ran over to them, looking rather winded. The others made to run, while Tanya lingered.
The alligators didn't look particularly fast, but she wouldn't risk it. She soon ran after the others, shouting "Explosive Vaporization!" over her shoulder.
Mana rushed passed her ears, and another explosion, smaller than the one before, sounded behind her.
The party ahead of her flinched, but continued running. Tanya glanced over her shoulder, and grinned. A large cloud of dust now obscured the path they were taking through the forest. Hopefully, the alligators would go back to what was left of their pond and let them go.
After another minute of sprinting, and another five of hurried jogging, they reached the exit, and soon stood in on an open plain.
They all collapsed. Tanya included.
She hadn't been running, but using those two spells and moving her legs like she running and pouring mana into her Flight spells meant she was almost completely dry.
The others didn't seem to be faring much better, either. Dust and Keith had collapsed, sitting against each other's backs. Lynn was lying down, while Taylor was leaning against a tree.
A minute passed, during which they panted and waited to hear the growling of the Brutal Alligators. The growling never resumed, and a collective sigh of relief was released.
Lynn looked to Tanya. "Why didn't you say you could use Detonation and Blast? Those are like… some of the most advanced magics possible!" Lynn asked, panting between every word.
Tanya, now recovered, tried to find an excuse. "Well… you all never asked. You assumed that I was weak because I chose the Adventurer job, even though I could arm wrestle everyone in the guild."
Slowly nodding, the rest of the party seemed to accept this. Tanya, for her part, was satisfied.
She'd shown that she was a valid teammate, and they'd probably tell everyone at the guild about her skills.
Or Dust would anyway. He was drunk nearly every time she saw him, and he wasn't likely to keep anything in his mind secret.
Digging in the bag at her side, she brought out her Adventurer's Card. She'd also learned –
One. One skill.
Right. In all the excitement, she hadn't actually seen anyone use their skills, besides Lynn's usage of Lightning.
She walked over to the recovering Dust, who had begun to rise from the ground. "So Dust. I wanted to learn some skills from you all. Lynn was the only one who demonstrated any," she said.
"You didn't pick a difficult quest where everyone would have to run and avoid fighting in order to ensure I didn't learn anything, right?"
Judging by the panicked look that flashed across his face, duping her had definitely been his intention.
He masked it quickly, though, putting his hands on his hips and staring down at her. "Why would I do that, Tanya? We made a deal, after all."
Tanya smiled. "I don't know. Maybe you want me to keep paying your debts? I don't actually care," she explained, tone light. The fearful look that had engulfed his face disappeared just as fast as it had appeared, replaced by a curious one.
"You don't?"
Tanya chuckled darkly. "Of course not. I'll just start fighting you, and when you show some skills to avoid death, you'll be free." She explained, cracking her knuckles.
His cheeks puckered, he began to walk back towards Axel facing Tanya, fear screaming in his eyes.
"Until then," she continued, grinning savagely, "I hope you like eating Detonations for lunch!"
With that, she began to chase him, waiting for him to give up.
He never did, running for a good fifteen. She decided, as her barely recovered mana screamed at her, that she'd given him enough time to imagine what she would do to him. She rushed forward, and grabbed him by the back of the collar. Sputtering, he was dragged back to his disapproving party.
-OxOxO-
Biting into a piece of lizard steak, Tanya contemplated her long day. The trip with Taylor's party might not have gone perfectly, but at least she had some supplementary skills.
Apparently, she'd killed a Brutal Alligator with her initial spell that had disturbed the water, so their reward had been larger.
Killing a total of four alligators – Lynn got two, while she and Keith had each gotten one – as well as confirming that they had infested the forest had netted their party a total of sixty thousand Eris, after deducting the cost of transporting the dead alligators. Not terrible, but not all that good, either.
She had profited the most, by far. She had earned a level from killing one of the alligators and had learned One-handed Swordsmanship from Dust, burning through two Skill Points to make sure the skill was better than just a basic understanding.
She could even learn Lightning, if she ever had the Skill Points for it. Lynn had also unknowingly informed her of what magic she could use in front of others without arousing suspicion, and she had told her where in the markets she could go to find scepters.
She thought she'd need it, since scepters helped reduce the amount of mana used in a skill, or could help boost their power, according to Lynn.
Lynn claimed not to need one, since she didn't have any advanced magic, but she had espoused their apparent helpfulness on the way back.
Upon receiving her cut, Tanya had looked through the ones at a few of the rinky-dink markets near the guild, and hadn't found any she liked. Mostly because they were expensive and she had very little money.
Long days shouting 'Smith' were undoubtedly ahead of her.
Dust had been the next best off. She'd paid his debts, and all he'd needed to do was suffer scathing glares from his friends. That wasn't too bad, in all honesty.
The others had only got their share of the sixty thousand total, which amounted to twelve thousand each. Not terrible, but not great, either.
Tanya adjusted her new hat as she ate. It was an outwardly faithful recreation of the officer's cap she'd worn whenever she wasn't in the air. For all intents and purposes, it looked like the standard issue caps that nearly every officer of rank wore in the Empire.
She'd gotten the red and green cloth from Lavandula easily. The woman wondered what she was doing with it, and Tanya had easily explained that she wanted to try and make something using 'Smith.'
Lavandula had laughed, and handed her ten times the amount of cloth she asked for. Tanya had been bewildered, but she had explained, "Smith works poorly on cloth. You'll need it, unless you want to learn something from me?"
Tanya had declined and made a hasty retreat at the enterprising look in her eyes.
The leather was also nearly free, since she'd gone to the Blacksmith to work for a few hours. She'd simply taken a number of strips of leather that he usually saved for the grips of his swords.
It was a bit different than her old one. Synthetic materials that she did not have access to were easily replaced by bits of leather or metal wire to hold its integrity, but no one could really knew the difference. The largest difference was what it would do.
Instead of declaring her rank – no one here would recognize military clothing from a world they'd never been to – it hid her circlet.
Hidden in the lining of the cap that was perched on her head, she could just press down on the top of the hat. The circlet would sink down with it, and it would be around her head instead of resting above it within the hat's lining.
Thankfully, unlike the first time she'd been given an officer's cap, this one wouldn't sink down her small head and over her eyes. She had grown up a bit.
It only slid past her eyebrows now.
She sighed happily, despite her hat still not fitting her completely. Having ready, easy access to the other relic was reassuring, even if there were drawbacks to using its full power. Finishing her meal, she stood up to leave.
Only to be stopped. A field of blue obscured her vision, so she tried to back up and glance upwards.
Soon, she found the face of the man who'd talked to Keith. He seemed to be looking at her, confusion marking his narrowed eyes.
"Can I help you?" she asked. Despite her neutral expression, she was jumping for joy inside. If she could integrate herself with someone so obviously wealthy, she could advance faster. Hopefully.
"Yes. Why are you adventuring, little one?"
The hair on the top of her head danced in annoyance under her hat, but Tanya quickly wiped the expression of anger from her face. He hadn't called her a loli, at least.
"I need to. Why does anyone?"
He nodded, the genial smile that had tried to mask the confusion in his eyes matching his furrowed eyebrows. "And I had thought…"
He bowed at the waist. "I apologize for interrupting your afternoon."
He turned to walk away. Well, she might as well. Getting to know strong, rich, and/or advanced people like him would be instrumental in her defeat of the Demon King.
She grasped at straws in an attempt to draw him back. "What's your name, anyway? It seems a bit rude to just ask me questions."
He paused, and turned back around, a somewhat amused smile marking his lips. "I am Kyouya Mitsurugi. And you?"
"Tanya von Degurechaff," she answered, her mind already racing beyond the conversation.
Was this a… Reincarnate? The other people here she met – Lynn and Keith and Taylor and Luna – had very western-sounding names. At the least, she'd never met a Japanese person named any of those things.
If he had this type of name…
He began to walk away, and Tanya's eyes narrowed.
"An odd name, Mitsurugi Kyouya. Wherever did you get it?" she said, testing the words of her first language for the first time in years.
He turned around in a moment, eyes wide. Speaking her first language had apparently gotten his attention.
"You're a Reincarnate as well?" he asked slowly, in Japanese as well. Tanya grinned.
A possible ally had been found. Both were getting odd looks from the adventurers around them, but Tanya paid them no mind.
"Yes," she replied. Both stood there, not knowing how to proceed. Then Mitsurugi spoke again, apparently decided on something.
"Nice. Would you care to continue our conversation?" he asked with a raised eyebrow. She nodded, and sat back down at the table she'd just vacated. A moment later, he also sat down.
They sat there again, waiting. Then Mitsurugi chuckled a bit. "This is pretty crazy, right? Being reincarnated by a Goddess into a fantasy world straight out of a video game to fight a Demon King, and everything else that comes with it."
Tanya winced at the mention of 'goddess', but nodded along. If he wanted to get duped, that was his problem. She wouldn't declare every being of power a god at the drop of a hat.
She'd fought too long to do that, to give up.
"Pretty crazy. You have any advice for a rookie like me?" she asked, strategically rubbing the back of her head to look unsure. Any advice would be good, and building an amicable relationship was her first goal.
Appearing to be wouldn't hurt either.
He chuckled a bit. "Well, I wouldn't suggest spending all of your money, but treating everyone in the guild to a drink is expected if you receive a windfall. Just get the cheapest stuff."
Tanya nodded. She would have never done something like that, since she needed every bit of money she could get. Being ostracized could be worse, though.
A ruined reputation would not do her wonders.
He seemed to think for a moment more, before snapping his fingers. "Right. You'll need a party, soon enough. They can really cover for any deficiencies in whatever job you've chosen."
Tanya nodded again. They talked for a bit longer, and then he stood, stretching. "You'll probably want to choose a class that takes advantage of your relic. I have the Cursed Sword Gram, so I became a Swordmaster."
Tanya chuckled nervously. "I chose the Adventurer job."
A silence stretched on, before he burst out laughing. "Right. Well, you'll want to change that as soon as you can. You need boosts that an actual class can provide," he lectured.
Tanya smiled, but discarded that advice. "Why do you assume my skill doesn't work best with the Adventurer job?"
He blinked, for a moment, before shrugging. "Your funeral."
He didn't know that she had tons of skills and magic from her last life. She wasn't giving any of it up. "Thank you very much, Mitsurugi."
He nodded as well and stood. "If you need any more advice, talk to Luna. She gives out information, and won't blink at any 'weird questions.' She'd met enough foreigners that nothing really fazes her," he said as he walked away.
He spun around again. "Unless… are you set on being an Adventurer? If you change to a Mage or Archmage or Priest, I'd have no problem accepting you into my party. I was passing through here looking for one, but none have really suited the party. I took a trip to a village supposedly full of them, but none of them really matched my team. If you would like…" he trailed off, leaving the promise of an easy way to become part of a party dangling in the air.
However, she knew what she needed to do, and no amount of temptation would get her to give up what she'd learned in her last life.
Tanya gave him a small smile. "No thanks. I need to be an Adventurer." He shook his head bemusedly, and shouted goodbye as he left. Tanya breathed a sigh of relief. Networking was always a chore, but she would benefit from the relationship.
He'd provided good advice, after all. Who knew what else she could get from him?
Suddenly, two girls sat down at the table he'd vacated, glaring daggers into Tanya's face. Tanya just raised an eyebrow. More people?
"What do you think you're doing, talking to Kyouya like that?" Tanya just tilted her head in confusion. Like what?
The other one slammed a hand onto the table like a hammer. "That's right. Are you trying to seduce my Kyouya?"
Tanya colored rapidly. "Wha- Why would-?"
The one on the left snarled savagely, like a cat, and leveled a glance at her compatriot. "You can't trick us! Anyone would love to be the lover of my Kyouya!"
…Perhaps, instead of calling either of the cat-like, a better description would be bitches in heat.
Both seemed to glare at each other for a moment, but neither let up in the unfriendly gazes sent Tanya's way. Tanya shook her head violently. "I would never try to do something like that, you crazy girls. Leave me be."
With that, Tanya left the Guild, heading for the exit and readjusting her hat. Really, the nerve of some people…
Both seemed to be bickering with each other, ignoring Tanya. She felt relieved. She'd profited greatly that day, and hopefully, nothing would ruin that while she tried to assemble a team and make her weapon.
-OxOxO-
A/N 1: And there we have it! Tanya's first quest has occurred, and she's begun to find a way to make her gun. Reinventing gunpowder might actually be the hard part, but if you've read the Konosuba light novels, you can probably guess what's going to happen.
Dust is an interesting character, and while his role in the story is going to fade over time, he'll be around for a nice, long time.
Anyway, my question, this time, is: what's your favorite ship? I ship Tanya x Viktoriya – VikTanya? Tasha? – and I will ship them until the burning desire I feel for them getting together fades enough that death can finally claim me, but what about you?
My second favorite is, of course, Loria and a wood chipper.
I would like nothing more than to personally facilitate their meeting.
Anyway, read on.