I looked like I had when I was around the age of fifteen. I’d been skinnier and had visible stubble after going a day without shaving—but why had this happened? I pulled my cheeks in disbelief, but the pain convinced me that I was wide awake.
Another change that I noticed was what I was wearing. For a brief moment, I worried that I had lost all my gear that could only be worn by Thieves, but then I found an itemcube lying nearby. This was an eight-faced, palm-sized item that contained a storage space much greater than its appearance suggested. However, it had to be operated with mana, so I’d always asked my companions whenever I needed to put things inside or take things out of one.
If my vocation had indeed changed into one that allowed me to use mana, I should be able to use it.
“Please let this work!”
Just as my companions used to, I held the itemcube up in my left hand, held my right hand over it, and silently ordered it to open. Information about the contents of the cube immediately flowed into my head. All my Thief gear and tools were inside. As a test, I tried taking something out and found myself holding my Legendary Thief Amber’s Dagger +99.
The number referred to how many times a piece of equipment had been strengthened at a forge, so there was no doubt that this was the same dagger I’d always used. Only it felt extremely difficult to hold now. This, as well as the fact that I could now use itemcubes, was proof that my vocation was indeed no longer Thief.
“So this is mana… This is how it feels…!”
It felt safe to assume that the goddess had kept her word and changed my vocation. If I went to a guild, they could check what my vocation was and confirm whether I had actually become a Sage. I still had connections with the Thieves Guild, but I hadn’t left on the best of terms, which made it hard for me to just waltz in there. I should be level 1 at the moment, which meant that the Novices Guild was where I should head first.
“But before that… How’d it go again? O flames, burn my enemies! Fireball!”
This was an extremely basic black magic attack spell that all Sages should be able to use, even at level 1. I was pretty sure I got the chant right, but nothing was happening.
“…Fireball! Fireball!”
Nope, nothing. Zilch. Nada.
I had thrust my right hand forward, assuming the spell-firing pose, but doing so just made me want to melt with embarrassment, and I promptly pulled my hand back. I wondered if I wasn’t actually a Sage, or if I’d made some sort of elementary mistake, but then something occurred to me.
“Oh right, I need a staff or some other sort of activation tool. I’ll have to buy one.”
Sheska had had a crosier, and activation tools had been embedded into Enju’s body in several places. However, right now, I only had the clothes on my back.
My first order of business was to head into town. There were weak monsters nearby that even level-1 adventurers could defeat, but I wanted to use magic to do it, so I decided to avoid them for now.
✦ ✦ ✦
Even though I was back at level 1, it felt like my senses as a Thief hadn’t dulled much. Thanks to that, I managed to reach the city’s gate without encountering a single monster.
There was no guarantee I’d find a job right away, so I wanted to register as an adventurer. There were lots of perks that you could receive through a guild.
I headed straight for the Novices Guild near the central square and walked in. As I made my way to a counter, I overheard some female adventurers having a disagreement with the receptionist.
“What do you mean you can’t open it? We put a lot of effort into bringing back something this heavy.”
“That may be so, but I’m afraid unlocking treasure chests isn’t a service our guild offers.”
“I thought that might be the case. It appears we have no other choice but to go to the guild that nobody wants to mention out loud.”
“The Thieves Guild… It’s not much of a secret that they’re just outside the city walls, but I don’t know how I feel about being indebted to them…”
A party of three… Treasure chests found around these parts don’t contain anything of much value, though.
One of the girls happened to turn around at that moment, and I accidentally met her eyes. It was the one with long blue hair. She looked strong-willed and had a tomboyishness about her. The jewels in the thin-bladed sword at her waist and well-tailored clothes she was wearing indicated that she came from a good family.
“We normally do have lockpicks that we can provide, but unfortunately, we’ve just run out of stock.”
“You’re telling us to open it ourselves? That sort of finicky work really isn’t my strong suit.”
“Should I make an explosive concoction and try blowing up the lock?”
“You might accidentally destroy the contents as well. Allow me to give it a try.”
I-is she serious? That knight doesn’t look like she’s all that dexterous, either.
The knight with red hair done up in braids grabbed the treasure chest and tried forcing it open, but the receptionist stopped her in a fluster.
“M-ma’am, not here, please. Kindly do that in a more open space.”
“Hm? Right, it might be booby-trapped. But don’t worry—I’m a Paladin with a goddess’s blessing. I will not fall for a trap set by the likes of mere goblins!”
“The goblins left this behind when they ran off. We tried making them give us the key, but I kind of messed up the medicine I was making.”
“We told you not to talk about those sorts of medicines in public, Nanase!”
“Oh, right. But it was just a hypnotizing agent. Even the apothecary in town stocks it sometimes.”
The girl called Nanase had a slight build, sported light purple hair, and wore a hat. Her vocation was most likely Apothecary.
“In any case, we’ll try to open this outside. Sorry for raising a fuss.”
The blue-haired girl and red-haired knight worked together to carry their treasure chest. Watching them, I was surprised by the sudden realization that parties without a Thief ran into these kinds of problems. Being on the other side of things gave a rather different perspective.
If I was still a Thief, I could open it just with my fingers. I wouldn’t even need a lockpick. It’d only take a flick of the wrist, like thi—
“Huh?” Just as the two adventurers carrying the treasure chest were passing by me, the blue-haired girl’s eyes widened, and she stopped.
“…Huh?” Equally surprised, I reacted exactly the same way as the girl had.
How could I not? The lock on the box was glowing, and in my hand was a small key that hadn’t been there a moment ago.