Chapter 6

“Um, I think this town is called Aiphoné.” Lorna had finally escaped the Ipple Woods and was now walking through a stretch of grassland toward a town. She pulled out the internet to look up some info on the place she was headed. Map: Town of Aiphoné A town for beginners in the western region of the Kingdom of Ohline. Depending on the lineage you’ve chosen, this could be your starting town. A perfect place for people at the outset. The nearby levels and dungeons (such as the Ipple Woods, the Aios Plains, and the Twilight Temple) are particularly beginner-friendly. The Guugelheit family has a lot of influence in the town, so many of the side quests found here relate to them in some way. Its regional delicacies are Ipple pie and Ipple juice. “…Lineage I’ve picked? Starting town? Side quests?” Lorna, as always, didn’t understand half of what she was reading. “Urgh… So the Guugelheit family has a lot of influence here, huh…?” Lorna’s eyes came to rest on that sentence. There wasn’t much for it; she was still within the Guugelheit domain, after all. She wanted to fill her coffers with enough money to fund her travels and get out of her ex-family’s domain as soon as possible. “First things first. The entrance to the town should be…over that way,” she said, following the map as she made her way toward the town gates. “…Ah! You there! Did you perhaps come from the Ipple Woods?” a guard asked her with concern. He was youthful, with blond hair, and wore his helmet low so it hid his eyes. He held a spear with a blade that zigzagged like a bolt of lightning. “I’m surprised you were able to make it out! Are you all right? You’ve not sustained any injuries, have you?” “…Huh? Did something happen?” “I would certainly say so! All manner of natural disasters have been ravaging that forest since yesterday. It’s caused quite a stir among the townspeople!” “……” Lorna turned around silently. The “natural disasters” that had occurred in the Ipple Woods could be seen from town as clear as day. There was the mountain of ice poking out through the treetops, the jagged fangs of rock, and the massive tornado that continued to rage. All of them were Lorna’s doing, of course. “I—I…uh, I didn’t do anything! I’m innocent, I swear!” “Pardon?” “U-um, well… Eh-heh-heh… What I meant to say was, wow! That really is something! I hadn’t even noticed. How scary!” Lorna broke out in a cold sweat as she tried to play it cool; her words were stiff and wooden. Of course, despite how suspicious she was acting, the guard would never suspect that the disaster affecting the woods could possibly be the work of the meek young girl before him. “In any event, I’m glad you’ve made it to town safely. Now then,” he continued, “do you have some form of identification on you?” “Um… Identification? Am I not allowed to enter town without it?” “No, no. Nothing quite so severe. Though a lack of identification will mean dealing with a rather vexing amount of paperwork.” Having said that, the guard held a stone tablet out to her. “How about we start by having you place your hand on this tablet? I need to make sure you don’t have a criminal record or anything. For the paperwork, you understand.” “Ah. Right.” Lorna did as she was told and gently placed her hand on the stone. A pattern of pale light glowed on the tablet’s surface as it displayed her information. Lorna Hermit, Lv. 22 HP: 94/94 MP: 91,710/138 ATK: 384 DEF: 130 M-ATK: 3,693 MIND: 93 SPD: 346 LUCK: 50 Oh… Oh dear… As it turned out, the stone tablet showed a person’s stats. What’s more, the numbers displayed factored in the modifiers from one’s equipment. By the time Lorna noticed, it was already too late. There was no way for her to hide it now. “Hmm, Lorna Hermit, is it? And you’re…Level twenty-two?! A-at such a young age! Usually people of that level are veteran adventur— Er, what?! Ninety thousand MP?! Three thousand six hundred and ninety-three M-ATK?!” The guard’s face dropped in slack-jawed disbelief. Uh-oh… Here was a girl with absurd stats, wandering in from the direction of a series of bona fide natural disasters. To them, she’d surely look like another Demon Lord! “O-oh gosh! That stone must be broken! I’m just your average, everyday adventurer, you see…” “Um, y-yes. That must be it. Goodness, what a shock… Anyone with stats like these could hardly be considered human.” “Hah! Ah-ha-ha! Not human, huh? I guess you’re right…” “…?” Luckily for Lorna, the numbers had been so absurdly high that the guard hadn’t suspected her. Even though her incomprehensibly high stats had been responsible for the natural disasters. “Well, in any case, I can see that you have no criminal record… You’re welcome to pass, once you’ve paid the town tax—two hundred shil.” “No problem.” Lorna felt the tension leave her body as she realized she’d talked her way out of the situation. Next time she ran into an inspection like this, she’d have to unequip everything beforehand. Just as she was pondering that… “Tell me—do you intend to embark on a journey?” asked the guard. “…Oh? Um, yes. That was the plan anyway.” “In that case, you would do well to join the Adventurers Guild.” “You mean I should become an adventurer? But don’t you have to be a big muscly muscleman for that?” “Ha-ha… I think you may have confused rumors with reality. The truth is: There are many adventurers in this day and age. And a number of them are young ladies such as yourself. In any event, if you join the guild, you’ll be given an Adventurer Card that can act as your identification. I suggest you think it over. They also offer work if you’re low on money.” “Oh, huh. I had no idea.” “Indeed. And best of all, it makes it far easier to pay your taxes. One of the trickiest things about being a traveler is how to handle all your tax payments. But if you join the guild, they take a portion of your earnings and allocate it toward taxes for you. That way, you don’t have to worry about the individual tax systems for every town you visit. And there’s no risk of being arrested for tax evasion. I would say it’s well worth the effort of joining.” “T-taxes, huh…? I hadn’t even thought of those.” Only two days prior, Lorna had been a noble. She had hardly ever left her estate. Naturally, she’d been ignorant of such things. She assumed the best course of action was to take the guard’s advice and join the guild. “Well, in that case…I suppose I’ll go and pay this Adventurers Guild a visit.” “A splendid idea,” said the guard with a contented smile. The kindly young man continued talking, filling Lorna in on more details about the guild. There was something in the way he spoke about adventurers that made it sound like he really admired them. “You certainly know a lot about adventurers, huh?” Lorna said. “Hmm? Ah, I suppose so… In truth, I used to be one. But then I took an arrow in the knee…” The youthful guard grimaced as he rubbed his leg. Lorna had noticed that he was leaning heavily on his spear. But more than that… “An arrow in the knee, you say…?” Something about those words rang a bell. In fact, Lorna was looking at them right now on the internet. Side quest: Soldier Who Took an Arrow in the Knee Recommended Level: 20 Activation Conditions: Adventurer rank is bronze or higher Location: Entrance to Aiphoné Reward: Bolt Spear Details: “The First Guard,” Reinharte the guardsman’s side quest Reinharte is looking for the phantom hot spring in order to treat his knee. Accompany him through the Ipple Woods and keep him safe. While the recommended level is a bit high, doing this side quest is well worth the effort, as the spear you’re rewarded with comes in very handy at the port town of Aquas. “Oh dear… I can’t believe it even knows private information about people.” “…Hmm? Is something the matter? What are you looking at…?” “Oh! Uh, nothing!” said Lorna, playing dumb. It was hard for her to pretend she knew nothing when she was in possession of such intimate details about the guard’s personal woes. Actually…didn’t I just learn a new healing spell? I don’t know if it’ll work, but…he’s helped me out a lot, so… After thinking it over for a moment, Lorna pointed her staff at the guard. “Petit Heal!” The instant she called out the name of her spell, the heavens parted and a brilliant light shone down on the area. It was as though the gods themselves were blessing the land. Uh… What’s this crazy atmosphere? She’d only used the weakest beginner heal spell. She figured this was, once again, the doing of her SSS-Rank staff. Maybe it had fully healed the guard. She hoped that if it hadn’t, it had at least granted him some relief. “Wh-what is—?” “Oh, well, you know… You just helped me out so much. So I cast a little healing spell. I hope your knee gets better, Mr. Reinharte.” “…Um, thank…you?” he responded, cocking his head in confusion. “Anyway! I’ll be heading into town now, if that’s all right.” “Ah yes. In that case…” The guard smiled and opened his arms wide. “…allow me to officially welcome you to the town of Aiphoné.” Lorna walked through the entrance, and Reinharte watched as she disappeared into the distance. “Hold on…,” he said, suddenly confused. “That girl… How did she know my name?” A little while after their meeting, Reinharte found himself thinking idly about the girl he’d just met. What a strange young lady she was. Something about her had felt almost otherworldly. Because the stone tablet had malfunctioned, he didn’t know what her real stats looked like, but he knew she must have an impressive amount of natural talent to be able to reach Level 22 at her age. I’m rather envious. A girl like that, why, she can go anywhere she likes. Reinharte leaned his body weight on his spear and stared absentmindedly out at the expanse of grassy meadows before him. It had already been five years since he quit adventuring and became a guard. Up to that point, he’d spent his life believing he was a natural-born adventurer. Reinharte Highwind, the Swift. User of the B-Rank skill, Lightning Spear. Despite his young age, he rose through the ranks to become a gold-ranked adventurer, and his feats earned him some renown in the region. But perhaps it was the same youthful recklessness that had served him so well that ultimately led to his downfall. After taking an arrow from a dungeon trap in the knee, he was forced to retire from adventuring. His comrades abandoned him, and he forever lost the swiftness of foot that had gained him such fame. Despite his struggles, he hoped to one day find a way to mend his knee and resume his adventures. In the meantime, he settled on serving as a guard at the town gate in the hopes that, if nothing else, he could keep gazing at the outside world he loved so dearly. But slowly, without him even noticing it, something inside him changed. His eyes no longer took in the scenery of the outside world. His ears no longer pricked up at travelers’ tales of adventure. The breeze that blew in from across the boundless plains no longer stirred his spirit. Somewhere along the way, their charms had faded for him. Now all they did was make his injured knee ache. So he once more pulled his helmet down low over his eyes, hoping to shut out the outside world. And just as he did… “Heeey, Reiny. ’Bout time for your lunch break, eh?” …a middle-aged, senior guard called out to him. “I’m not a kid, you know. It’s about time you stopped calling me Reiny, Wol.” “How ’bout you get yourself a lady friend before you start pretendin’ to be an adult.” “Ha-ha… Very funny. I suppose when you put it that way, there’s not much room for retort.” Reinharte tried to play off Wol’s teasing with a wry smile. The fact that he still yearned for adventure made starting a family difficult. “Oh, right… The stats tablet seems to be acting up. It might be broken.” “Yeah? Prob’ly just its time. ’Course, I bet you could fix the thing if you gave it a few good whacks.” “Ha-ha… Maybe so. In any case, I’ll take my lunch now.” With that, Reinharte began to walk away. But as he did, he noticed something strange… “………What?” His knee. It no longer hurt. Usually, every step he took would make his knee creak in pain. “It…can’t be.” The spear he used as a walking stick fell from his hand. And somehow, he could still stand. The wind blew, yet his knee didn’t hurt. Even the former physician to the imperial court had been unable to do anything to mend his knee. And yet here it was, completely healed. “Wh-why…?” And just as Reinharte was coming to terms with his bewildering good fortune… “Huh? Hey, Reiny! Ain’t nothin’ wrong with this stats tablet.” “………Pardon?” …his fellow guardsman’s words struck the finishing blow to his psyche. The stats tablet…isn’t broken? But that would mean the girl’s stats were accurate… If that was true, then… “I hope your knee gets better, Mr. Reinharte.” That strange girl—she had cast a healing spell on him, hadn’t she? Could she have fixed his knee? That was the only possibility. “J-just who was that girl…? Who—or what—did I just let into town?” There was so much he didn’t understand. Asking for neither payment nor praise, she had performed a miracle healing on him and then disappeared. It was like he had met some angelic being from a fairy tale. But regardless of how it had happened, one thing was clear—his knee was healed. And that meant only one thing. “…!” In a single movement that released years of pent-up frustrations, Reinharte pulled his helmet off and threw it to the ground. Then he raised his face and looked out at the expanse before him. Oh… I had almost forgotten. He finally recalled just how wide and vast the world truly was. He remembered how pleasant the gentle breeze felt as it blew across the plains. He felt it in his bones—the world sprawling out before him was his to explore. But that wasn’t all. There was more, so much more. He could go farther still, across the boundless horizon. “……” All it would take would be one step, and then another. Reinharte began to walk on uneasy legs toward the horizon… Then he fell to his knees. Tears were streaming down his face. “Wh-whoa! You all right, Reiny? Your knee actin’ up again?” “No, I’m just… I’m just so happy…” But was it too late? His leg muscles had atrophied from years of disuse. No doubt, he would need rehabilitation. His combat instincts had likely dulled with time as well. And yet… “Can I…can I really become an adventurer again?” he muttered, eyes ever on the horizon. Meanwhile, Lorna was making her way through town without the slightest inkling of the human drama she had left in her wake. “Heh…heh-heh-heh… So this town is known for Ipple pie, huh…? Mmmmm…”