*System initiating.*
*Optimising build.*
*Adjusting age to 12 years.*
*Initiation complete. Welcome to the fantasy world of Terra.*
I blinked my eyes open, adjusting to the early morning light filtering through the narrow opening above. I noticed that I was in a remote alleyway.
Picking myself up, I walked out of the alley and observed my surroundings.
The rough cobblestone beneath me and the medieval buildings surrounding me were a stark contrast to the modern streets of London I was used to.
The whole place was like something out of a storybook. Wooden carts ran along the roads; there were no electric or motor instruments, and civilians bustled about wearing a diverse range of medieval dresses.
The air was fresh, with no hint of pollution, and carried the sounds of children laughing, merchants haggling, and the occasional neighing of horses.
"This is incredible!" I screamed out, raising my hand in the air in excitement, a wide grin spreading across my face.
It felt surreal, like stepping into a dream. My body felt fresh and energetic, as if I had grown a few years younger. My cheerful mood was broken by a sharp, irritated voice.
"This is not incredible. Send me back, please send me back," Systie, the black cat, pleaded as snot and tears dripped down its face.
The sight made me feel like a jerk; after all, I was the reason the cat got separated from its goddess.
"Alright, calm down, I am sorry. Let me talk with Terra. I will try to convince her to take you back," I proposed, and the cat immediately perked up. "You will do that for me!?" it asked while hugging my pants.
"Whoa there, those pants are costly. Don't ruin them," I said, hurriedly pushing it away from my pants. Just then, I saw its blue eyes light up and project an image of Terra eating popcorn while looking at us.
"That was fast. Did you get some information already?"
"No, I just opened my eyes recently." It felt weird saying that; I hesitated a little but then continued. "Um…Terra-sama, will you please take Systie back to your room? I will just do your mission on my own."
Terra listened to my request but then shook her head.
"That's not possible. You need Systie's help to communicate with me, just like you are doing right now."
"Is there no other way to contact you?"
"There is," she informed with an awkward smile. "Ahem…I wouldn't recommend that method. You see, my followers built a church under my name in every human city, but I stopped listening to their prayers because they are…eccentric, to say the least."
Oh, my interest was piqued. "What kind of things were they praying about?" I asked her and immediately found her skin turning red in shame.
"They were pretty normal in the beginning, but over time, as I listened to their requests and gave them advice, they became more and more…weird. Some even started asking me to free them of their virginity, while others came to apologize for fantasizing about sleeping with their friend's wife…eventually, the church turned into a place used to impart sexual education to the citizens. I couldn't bear such shame and stopped listening to their prayers."
That…was something.
"Anyway, tell Systie not to worry and focus on completing the mission," she informed and vanished, bringing Systie back to its senses.
"What did Terra-sama say?"
Now how do I break this news? I sighed and set the cat down on the ground.
"Well, Systie, it looks like you are stuck with me. Terra said that you can return only after clearing our mission."
"I…I," it stuttered and dejectedly looked down towards the ground.
I felt bad for the poor thing and reached out to scratch it behind its ears. The cat tried to resist but soon leaned into the gesture, purring softly.
"It's going to be fine. Don't worry, I will do my best and clear this mission so that you can go back to your goddess, and I can return to living a relaxing life," I said to reassure it and watched the cat reluctantly nod its head. With that dealt with, we both moved out of the alley.
'I need to gather information; there has to be some kind of tavern somewhere. Wait, the cat lives with a goddess, right? Let's just ask it.'
"Hey, Systie, do you know the direction to a bar or tavern nearby?" I asked the cat, which gave me the meanest look it has given me so far.
"What!?" I asked, bewildered.
"How can you think of drinking now? We have a mission to do, you moronic human," it screamed at me, attracting others' attention.
"Hey! Did that cat just speak?"
"Huh, what are you talking about? Stop daydreaming and go to work."
"No, I heard it talk."
"I think I heard it too."
In no time, a crowd gathered near us, eyeing us like hawks. I didn't know whether talking cats were a normal thing in this world, but right now, staying in that place didn't seem like a good idea.
I grabbed the cat, placed it on my shoulders, and bolted away.
When I finally stopped running, I found myself in front of a modest-sized stone building with a sign that read "Guild Hall and Tavern." Lucky!
"What was all that running for?" the cat snarled, but I quickly shut its mouth.
"Look, I don't think talking cats are the norm in this world. If you continue screaming at me, they will find out you are special and might kidnap you. If you don't want that to happen, then pipe down."
"Am I that special? Hehe, grovel at my greatness, you puny human."
"Ugh, you're a narcissist too! Just great," I groaned exasperatedly, but the cat just ignored my comment and looked at me with an expression that just screamed praise me more.
Wasn't the damn thing depressed just a while ago?
'Sigh, what have I gotten myself into?'
I repressed an incoming headache and entered the stone building.
—Guildhall—
I played a fair share of games and read quite a few novels, so I knew what a guild was, but the existence of the guildhall still surprised me.
The interior of the guild looked pretty messy, with many adventurers of all shapes and sizes laughing boisterously while enjoying one drink after another.
"Wahaha, I won the bet."
"No, you cheated. Let's try once more."
"Did you hear the news? Apparently, there is a mutated monster in the forest outside the city."
"That's just bullshit. I went on a mission today and didn't find any."
The whole building was buzzing with noise as the adventurers competed with one another and talked about all kinds of information.
I tried going nearer to them to listen to their gossip but ended up bumping into a moderately built black-haired guy.
"Watch it, kid. Are you new here? Came to get registered?" I nodded at his question and observed him from top to bottom. He looked to be around 30 years old, wore light brown clothing, and had two daggers around his waist.
"Well, good luck, and don't take any crazy hunting missions. The registration counter is over there," he pointed towards a counter at the corner of the building and shooed me away.
I thought he would cause me some trouble, but he was pretty chill. I thanked him for the advice and moved towards the counter.