The carriage drove over the pavement and made a loud creaking sound.
"Isekai…" if the situation were any different, I would be trembling in excitement right now.
Before my eyes were houses built from red bricks, the streets right out of Europe in the Middle Ages.
There were no cars, bikes, power lines, or telecommunication cables. Thus, the air smelled so lovely and refreshing. There's literally zero air pollution in this new world.
Then I looked around the street, watching the people passing by. I notice some people with cat-like ears, animal tails, and even pointy ears. Even without the threat of hell, I would definitely stop being a shut in, this is a fantasy world!
"AAAAAAHH!"
I looked up and saw a blue-haired beauty holding a bottle of booze falling down from the sky. She dropped on the ground beside me with a resounding 'smack' before I could react. "AAH IT HURTS!!" she yelled. Then she looked at the shattered bottle in her hand. "AH! My vintage wine!"
Ah, she's fine. So I'm guessing this is the useless goddess who has to be my companion, huh?
The girl looked up at the sky and waved her fist. "Oi! What's the big deal you DAMN LOLI!!! Come down here and-" a mysterious sack with my name on it hits her face, cutting her off.
Yep, she's definitely the one.
I picked up the sack and took a look inside. There's a bunch of silver coins, about ten of them, I think. So I'm guessing that this will be my only starting kit. Damn it, this curse is a pain…
"Ano, excuse me," I said after pocketing the sack. "Are you a goddess?"
The so-called goddess turned towards me. She then smiled confidently. "Of course, I am the Great Goddess of Water, Aqua! Please, speak your purpose," she said.
"My name is Kazuma, I was sent here by Paradox to…"
"SO IT'S YOU!!!" the girl's expression turned into that of outrage. She grabbed my shoulder and started shaking it furiously. "It's because of you I'm stuck down here until someone defeat the demon lord. Waaa!!!"
The girl started crying, and I felt terrible. I mean, she was here because of me. "Listen, Aqua, I'm sorry but…" I took a deep breath and steeled myself.
I'm not a shut-in neet anymore, dammit! A goddess already gave me a second chance! I have to work hard and stop being shut in neet!
"My mission is to defeat the demon lord," I told her. "And I'm so so sorry for bringing you here, but I promise, I promise you that one day," I took her hand and looked at her in the eye. "I will defeat the demon king and return you to heaven."
"You promise?"
"It's a promise."
Aqua sobbed a little, but she slowly stopped crying. "Th-then, what do we do, Kazuma san?" she asked.
"For now, we need to find the Guild, that's where all adventurer starts." I said. "Do you know where it is?"
"I know the common knowledge of this world, but not the situation in town. This is just one of the many existing planets, and just a small town at that. How would I know?"
Well, Paradox did warn me…
I wanted to ask the direction to a girl my age who looked like an adventurer. Then I remember my curse of being hated by beautiful girls. So I decided to ask a passing middle-aged woman. "Excuse me– may I ask something? We are looking for a place similar to an Adventurers guild…"
"Guild! Ara, to not know where the Guild is, could you be from out of town?"
That was a relief, so guild does exist in this place…
"That's right, I am a traveler who came from a far away land, I just reached this town."
"Ara ara… Since you came to this town, you must be aiming to become an adventurer. Welcome to the town of novice adventurers, Axel. Follow the main road and turn right, you will see the signboard for the Guild."
"Take a right down the road, got it, thank you very much! … Hey, let's go."
A town for novice adventurers. I see. This was a good starting point for the dead who gets transported here. Especially with my curses, this is an excellent spot to start. Don't want everyone around me dying because I'm too weak.
"Ne, Kazuma," I looked at Aqua and found her looking at me with a hopeful look. "You seem to know a lot about this world, are you experienced in it or something?"
I decided that I should take Paradox's advice and formulated a way to keep her on leash. Let's see… make her think I'm a big shot right?
I nodded confidently at her. "I was a strategist once, I lead armies to wars and battle, I train warriors into becoming legends, and I've saved lots of worlds and lives, time and time again,"
(Translation: I play DOTA II and lots of RPG)
"So you're actually pretty strong? Ah… Thank goodness…" Aqua said to herself. "I thought I'm stuck down here with a shut in neet with no social life…"
Yeah, that's totally not what's going on right now…
"But still, I'm not strong physically nor am I powerful at magic, I've never actually took an active part in battle. So I'm counting on you, Goddess Aqua…"
Aqua smiled confidently. "Yosh, you can count on me!"
— Adventurers Guild–
A place for adventurers to take up jobs, which was a staple in games, an organization that supported the adventurers. It's basically a freelance job agency in this world.
It was a rather large establishment, and the fragrance of food drifted from within. I half expected some tough-looking guy to get thrown out from a bar fight or something, but so far, it doesn't look that bad.
Still, some rough characters would definitely be inside. They might find trouble with me if they saw unfamiliar faces and…
I turned towards Aqua. "Aqua san, do you think they'll recognize you?" I don't know much about this world, but I don't think a goddess showing up in a guild is normal.
Aqua looked down in deep thought. "I do have followers who worship me, but I don't think they'll recognize me on the spot," she explained.
'I'm counting on you, luck of Eris,' I thought to myself before pushing the door open.
"Ah, welcome~ Please approach the counter if you looking for jobs. If you are here to dine, please take any empty seat~!" A waitress with short red hair received us warmly.
The slightly dim interior seemed to double as a bar. Four lockets beside it seem to be the Guild's administration system.
Groups of men in armor could be seen congregating inside, but they didn't seem to bear ill will. They sat around the large tables scattered all over the Guild, so I'm assuming this place also doubles as a restaurant.
But unfamiliar faces seemed to be rare. Everyone was focusing on us. Though, more specifically, they are looking at Aqua. With her bright blue hair and bright blue eyes, she does stand out from the crowds.
Especially since she's a high-class beauty…
"Nah nah, they are looking this way too blatantly. It must be the holy aura coming from me, they must have discovered that I am a goddess."
As long as she kept her mouth shut, that is.
"… Listen carefully Aqua, they might give us a tutorial if we register, enabling us to earn a living. That's the kind of place adventurers guilds are. So for today, let's register with the Guild, get some equipment and money, and find a place to sleep."
Aqua nodded a little, paying attention to my every word. Guess she really believes it when I told her that I'm a master strategist and the trainer of heroes.
"I see, so what do I do now Kazuma san?"
"Just call me Kazuma and for now," I looked around for a bit and realized that people have stopped paying attention. "If anyone were to recognize you as a goddess, just tell them you're cosplaying as the goddess Aqua, okay?"
Taking Aqua with me, I made a beeline for the counter. There is four counter staff. Two of them were female. I queued up at the counter with the prettier lady and opened my sack of money.
"… Nah, the other 3 counters are empty, why are you queuing here? We won't have to wait if we go to another counter…"
"I'm buying time to count the money if there's a registration fee, you know how awkward it is to rummage through your wallet and holding up a line?"
I opened my money sack and started counting the coins. There are around ten silver coins in there. So I have around ten thousand Eris now.
"Second, that girl looks like she has a higher position than the other clerks. So I'm hoping we can make a better relation with her," I added.
"… Now that you mentioned it, I saw something similar in a manga. Sorry, I will wait in line obediently."
Because we did not approach the other empty counter and intentionally queue here, the other staff looked at us curiously. But I decided to pretend not to notice.
It was finally our turn.
"Good morning, how may I help you?"
The counter staff was a gentle beauty. Her wavy hair and large breasts made her look mature.
"Eh, I want to be an adventurer. I came from the countryside and didn't know anything…"
If I tell the counter staff I came from the countryside or a faraway nation, they will explain more thoroughly.
"I see. There will be a registration fee, will that be okay?"
"Of course, how much?"
"One thousand Eris each,"
I looked at Aqua for a moment. Should I register her into the Guild? I'm not sure, but… Ah, forget it, she'll help me anyway.
I grabbed two silver coins and put them in front of her. "Here, is this correct?"
The beauty grabbed the coins and smiled a little. "Of course. Since you said you want to be an adventurer, you should have some level of understanding, but I will explain it from the start…"
Alright, standard RPG stuff. This is the norm for adventurers. Be it jobs, class, or whatever they are called, you have to choose how you fight in this world.
Should I be a warrior? Mage? Wait, right now, I am extremely weak, aren't I? But I have the luck of Eris to help me win against all the odds. That means… I just have to increase my odds, don't I? And that means I just have to pick the job with the most versatile power to increase my chances against all situations. Yeah, that'll be it.
The counter lady handed Aqua and me one card each. It was about the size of a driving license and seemed to be a kind of identification card.
"First of all, please fill in your height, weight, age and other details in the blanks."
I filled in my particulars in the form given to me by the counter lady.
Height is 165cm, weight 55kg. 16 years old, brown hair, green eyes…
"That will be fine. Please touch this card. This will display the strength of each of your abilities as reference to choose your job. After accumulating skill points, you can learn skills that are available to your jobs. This is one of the key points in choosing jobs."
Okay, let's see just how weak is 'Extremely Weak.' I should at least be able to kill a slime, can't I?
"… Alright, thank you. Satou Kazuma san right. Let's see… Strength, vitality, magic, agility and speed… All of them are average," average, oh my god, I expected much worse than that, thank goodness.
"Whoa, your intelligence is really really high and… Huh? Your luck is one of the highest I've ever seen!" yeah, that's gotta be the Luck of Eris. And the wisdom? Was that Paradox's blessing? She is the Goddess of Wisdom, right?
"But it is not very relevant for adventurers… This is troubling, from the numbers, you can choose the most basic 'adventurer' job and… Ah, you're one magic point away in being a mage! Though since your luck is so high, I suggest you give up being an adventurer and be a merchant… What would you like to do?"
The most basic job, huh?
"So what's adventurer's like?"
"The adventurer job is similar to its definition, it is a combination of all jobs… That's right, it might be a basic level job, but it doesn't mean it is worse than others! Adventurers could learn and use the skills of all jobs after all!"
Huh? Isn't that precisely what I need right now?
"On the other hand, you need more skill points to learn skills. Without the bonus attribute of the actual job, your skills would be weaker when compared to them. It's a jack of all trade, master of none."
That's actually pretty awesome! I can learn any skills I want! Weakest job, my ass, that's like the best job ever! I won't be bounded by any way of fighting. I can switch to melee, magic, sneaky, and whatever I want. Heck, with me having useless teammates, I will NEED to be a jack of all trades.
I give the clerk a confident grin. "An adventurer job please!"
I received my card with my name and the job 'adventurer' written on it. Wait, what's this details thing? Is this a touch screen? I pressed the details option, and the card shifted. In there is a list of my traits and curses.
Curses:
'Puny Genes' - 'Fifty percent exp penalty'.
'Poor to the Bone' - 'Money cap limit at 100.000 Eris'.
'Trouble Magnet' - '300% Random Encounter Chance'.
'Useless Teammate' - 'Party Management Locked at Hard Mode'
'Homeless Life' - 'Proper Housing Unavailable'
'Hated by Beautiful Girls' - 'Minus 70% charm'.
Traits:
'Blessing of Eris' - '200% increase in total luck'.
'Blessing of Paradox' - '100% bonus SP growth and Perfect Photographic Memory'.
Holy shit! I got photographic memory!? Seriously!!?! Talk about cheating! If this is Japan and not an RPG world, this skill is broken OP.
As for the curses…
Not bad, not bad at all… I thought it was a permanent attack and defense debuff, but it's actually just a slower EXP growth. Still, that money cap limit looks extremely dangerous, so I'm guessing I should immediately spend what I have and don't think about saving up.
And Party Management locked at hard mode? Does that mean my teammate will be too wilful or stupid to do what I want?
Hmm… Okay, you can do this, Kazuma… This is your second chance… Your second chance…
I looked at the clerk lady and saw her looking at Aqua's card in shock. She was about to say something, but I beat her to it.
"Wait!" I exclaimed, and the clerk lady looked at me in confusion and disbelief. "We, we don't want to attract too attention, can you, whisper instead?"
"Eh? Huh~!" she took a deep breath and nodded a little. "Sorry, it's just that… What is with these numbers? Besides the lower than average intelligence, and luck which is pit bottom, the rest of your stats drastically exceeds the average. Especially your magic, it is abnormally high, you're like an opposite of him."
Okay, she's an idiot and has the worst luck. Noted.
Beside me, Aqua just smiled smugly after hearing that.
"Ah, is that right? So it means I am amazing? Ara~ it is normal by my standard."
Well, she is a goddess…
"This, this is way past amazing. Mage type jobs which requires high intelligence is not available… But you can choose any other jobs! The holy knight with its strongest defense 'Crusader', the swordsman with the strongest attack 'Swordmaster', the top tier cleric 'Archpriest'… You can choose most of the top tier jobs right now…"
Aqua looked at me with a smug grin on her face. "Well, it's a pity that 'goddess' isn't available as a job… It should be grand cleric for me."
"Archpriest!" she accidentally yelled before quickly covering her mouth. "Archpriest can use all kinds of recovery and support spells, they could even take the role of vanguards, a strong all rounder job! I will register you now… It's done. Welcome to the adventurers guild, Aqua-sama, all our staff look forward to your grand exploits!"
Okay, she's taking the role of support. That means until we have more teammates, I will be carrying the attacker and defender role, not the best outcome, but certainly not the worst.
And thus, my first day at this new world has begun!