Takeru Kamishiro is an average, overworked, and not-so-handsome middle-aged man who absolutely hates his dull, joyless life. After another miserable day at his dead-end job, he flops onto his couch to binge some TV — his only form of therapy. But before he can even find a decent show, bam! he’s suddenly teleported into a strange cosmic-looking room.
Sitting across from him is what can only be described as Discount Hero X, a mysterious man who calmly announces that he’s “the one in charge of the solar system.”
Naturally, Takeru (still processing the cosmic kidnapping) blurts out, “Wait, are you… an alien?”
The guy smirks and replies, “Not exactly. Think of me as a god — at least, from your perspective.”
Apparently, this “god” manages the balance of life across countless planets. His strategy to prevent extinction? Simple — throw random humans into new worlds and hope for the best. And lucky for him (but not for Takeru), our grumpy office worker happens to be next on the list.
The god, let’s call him Kami, politely offers Takeru a choice: he can refuse the offer… but since he’s technically dead, his soul will just vanish. Poof. No pressure.
Of course, Takeru argues that this isn’t fair — and he’s right — but fairness isn’t exactly written into divine contracts. Seeing his panic, Kami tries to calm him down, saying he’ll give him some “special powers” to make survival easier in the new world. The catch? He hasn’t actually decided which powers yet.
So, Kami pulls out a glowing notepad like some kind of celestial game dev, and starts brainstorming. “Hmm… definitely magic. Oh! Let’s give you max mana. Sounds balanced, right?” he mutters, scribbling away. Then he asks if Takeru wants anything else.
Sensing his one chance to live the dream, Takeru requests something bold — “Can I have a big, goth girlfriend in the new world?”
Kami, clearly regretting all his life choices, sighs and says, “With that face? That’s… ambitious. But fine, I’ll see what I can do.”
To make up for it, Kami adds a few bonus perks: a super-powerful Search Skill, Global Language Understanding, and multiple Debuff Resistances. He’s not entirely sure if he’s even allowed to hand out that many OP abilities at once, but it’s too late — Takeru’s soul is already starting to fade. With a casual wave, Kami wishes him luck in his “new life adventure.”
Moments later, Takeru wakes up lying under a tree in an unfamiliar forest. He quickly pieces together that he’s been isekai’d, but now faces a bigger issue — what on earth is he supposed to do next?
After some deep (and slightly hungry) thinking, he decides to walk in a random direction, hoping to find civilization. Luckily, he spots a village in the distance! Unfortunately, he’s flat broke — zero coins, not even a rusty spoon.
Then he remembers his Search Skill. Perfect! Maybe he can gather materials and sell them. Holding a stick like a wizard-in-training, he shouts, “Search!”
…Nothing happens.
Panic sets in. If he can’t activate his ability, he’s doomed to starve in a fantasy world. He starts scribbling possible trigger words in the dirt like a desperate man solving a crossword puzzle. Eventually, he tries simply saying “Search” again — calmly this time — and voila! It works.
Purple icons appear over nearby plants, and when he says “Scan,” a detailed description pops up. One flower is marked B-Rank. He has no idea what that means, but hey — it sounds expensive! With new motivation, Takeru starts collecting everything in sight, ready to turn fantasy foliage into cold, hard cash.
After his Search and Scan experiments finally pay off, Takeru Kamishiro decides to go full harvest mode and collect every shiny plant in sight. For the next few minutes, he’s basically a one-man lawnmower, gathering anything that even looks remotely profitable.
By the end of his little foraging spree, Takeru has a full bag of stuff — herbs, flowers, leaves, and whatever else Mother Nature threw at him. Sadly, most of them turn out to be E-rank junk, which is basically fantasy-world slang for “worthless.”
Just when he’s about to call it quits, something shiny catches his eye. A rock — but not just any rock. A pretty rock. His broke instincts kick in immediately. “Hey, maybe this one’s valuable!” he mutters hopefully, picking it up.
Then he uses Scan… and nearly drops it.
Turns out, it’s not a rare gem. It’s just a big, shiny piece of monster poop. Gross, yes — but oddly, it’s still warm, which is both disgusting and impressive in its own way. Takeru figures if people in this world buy weird stuff, maybe he can sell it too.
With his “treasures” secured, he decides it’s time to head for the nearby village and cash in.
By nightfall, Takeru finally reaches the gates, where he’s greeted by a guard named Marlow — a short, stocky guy who looks like he’s been guarding this same gate since birth. For a moment, Takeru isn’t sure if he’s really tall or if Marlow is just fun-sized.
When Takeru explains he’s a material gatherer, Marlow is genuinely surprised — apparently, gatherers don’t pass through here often. Still, he opens the gate and points him toward the village’s general store, suggesting he sell his goods there.
Inside the shop, Takeru meets the store owner — an older man with the classic “merchant beard” and sharp eyes that scream I can smell profit from a mile away. Takeru politely asks if the man’s willing to buy materials, then casually pulls out… the poop rock.
The owner’s eyes go wide.
“W-wait, this is incredible! I’ll give you five gold coins for it!”
Takeru, confused but thrilled, accepts the offer — though he quickly asks how much that’s actually worth. The owner explains that staying a night at a decent inn costs about 500 raves, and five gold coins equal 5,000 raves.
Translation: Takeru just struck it rich selling literal poop.
Encouraged by this financial miracle, the owner asks if Takeru has anything else to sell. When he empties his bag, the man nearly faints. Exotic plants, rare herbs — it’s like a walking goldmine. He asks why Takeru came to such a tiny, remote village if he had so many valuable items. Takeru admits he just picked them up while walking here, which makes the man realize he’s dealing with a seriously talented gatherer.
Now intrigued, the shopkeeper leans forward and says he has a favor to ask. Takeru, expecting a side quest (because of course this is how these worlds work), agrees to listen.
The request? To collect mythril ore from the Eastern Mountains. Sounds easy — until the man mentions the area is crawling with monsters. Still, the reward is 360 gold coins, and money talks. So, after mentally adding “possible death” to his to-do list, Takeru accepts.
That night, Takeru checks into a local inn — probably the nicest bed he’s had in years — and finally gets a chance to relax. No boss yelling at him, no emails, no deadlines… just the peaceful thought that he got paid for selling poop. Life in another world might not be so bad after all.
After a long day, the only thing that would make life better for Takeru is a nice, relaxing bath. But of course, he has no clue where to find one in this medieval world. Just as he’s pondering that tragic fact, a housekeeper knocks and enters with a bowl of steaming hot water.
Curious, Takeru asks what it’s for, and the maid cheerfully explains that it’s part of their “premium” service — guests are given hot water to clean themselves. Then she adds, not-so-subtly, that his stench was so bad while checking in that her eyes almost started bleeding.
Feeling both embarrassed and touched, Takeru thanks her for the gesture but says he’d really prefer an actual bath. The maid blinks at him like he’s crazy — only nobles and rich folks can afford proper baths, and he definitely has “broke adventurer energy” written all over his face. Realizing the tragic truth, Takeru falls to his knees in despair. No baths? What kind of cruel world is this?!
Noticing his melodramatic reaction, the girl hesitantly mentions that some wizards can use magic to clean people. That lights a spark in Takeru’s brain — after all, Cammy did give him the ability to use magic! Overjoyed, he thanks the girl, hands her a generous tip (probably more than he can afford), and sends her on her way.
Once alone, he tries shouting “Clean!” just to see what happens — and to his delight, it works on the first try! The magic washes over him like an invisible car wash, leaving him spotless… but also making him moan in ways that would definitely get him weird looks if anyone overheard. So now the maid probably thinks he’s into “magical self-cleaning sessions.”
Still, the spell works perfectly, meaning Takeru doesn’t have to worry about smelling like a swamp anymore — though he still dreams of soaking in a real bath someday.
The next day, he heads out to collect more loot when he spots a new symbol on his Search Skill map. Excited, he checks it out… only to find a half-rotted skeleton lying on the ground. Turns out the poor soul’s name was Belria, and judging by the remains, he died fighting here long ago.
Inspecting further, Takeru finds a locket with a heartfelt note inside — it’s from Belria’s little sister, thanking him for working so hard to pay for their father’s medical bills, and begging him not to do anything too dangerous. Clearly, Belria didn’t get that memo.
Feeling sorry for the guy, Takeru spends an hour giving him a proper burial, then draws a magic circle and casts a barrier to camp safely for the night.
The next morning, Takeru journeys deeper into the forest — the Forest of White Trees, a place so creepy it looks like a haunted painting. It’s rumored to be full of monsters, and he’d rather not step foot in it, but unfortunately, it’s the only path leading to the eastern mountain.
He casts a Light Spell to illuminate his surroundings and starts scanning for valuable materials, but strangely finds nothing. Even more suspicious — not a single monster in sight, despite the forest’s terrifying reputation. But instead of questioning his luck, Takeru decides to seize the opportunity and stroll through the place like a tourist with death insurance.
While sprinting through the forest like he’s in an action movie, Takeru suddenly steps on thin air—yep, he runs straight off the edge of a cliff. There’s absolutely no way he’s surviving a drop like that, so he starts yelling random spell words like a panicked gamer mashing buttons.
By some miracle, shouting “Fly!” activates a floating spell, and he manages to land safely at the bottom of a cavern. (10/10 landing, would almost look cool if it wasn’t accidental.)
Now stuck underground, Takeru notices the cavern walls glittering with ores. Well, if he’s going to be trapped, he might as well get rich, right? So, he whips out his tools and starts mining like a man possessed. He finds tons of valuable stuff like silver and copper — but no Mithril in sight. Clearly, the universe doesn’t want to make things easy for him.
Determined, he ventures deeper into the caves. His Search Skill soon pings an ore hidden inside a rock wall. Just as he moves toward it, the entire cave begins shaking like a toddler with a rattle. He steadies himself and uses a small Fire Blast to break through. Lucky break — it’s Mythril Ore! …well, a tiny piece, but still worth celebrating.
Then the ground trembles again — louder this time. Takeru’s survival instincts scream, “Go home!” But since he clearly has negative self-preservation skills, he decides to keep exploring anyway.
Eventually, he stumbles into a massive open chamber with a glowing underground lake. It’s stunning — like nature’s own LED pool. Using his scan ability, Takeru discovers it’s actually S-Rank Ancient Dragon Magical Water, the rarest kind there is. Jackpot! Well… except for that “Ancient Dragon” part, which doesn’t sound super friendly.
And sure enough, as soon as he dips his hands into the water, the lake starts bubbling violently. Something enormous rises from the depths, and boom — Takeru finds himself staring at an actual Ancient Dragon.
The dragon roars at him for trespassing in its lair, its aura heavy enough to crush ordinary men — but Takeru just stands there like, “Uh, hi?” completely unfazed. Maybe he’s brave… or maybe he just doesn’t realize he’s supposed to be terrified.
Realizing he’s at fault, Takeru apologizes sincerely, which completely throws the dragon off guard. No one has ever been that chill in its presence before! Amused, the dragon softens up and introduces itself as Voldias.
It then sniffs the air (as dragons do) and remarks that Takeru’s mana is absurdly high — possibly even higher than its own! Takeru, being the humble, clueless guy he is, has no idea what that means.
Voldias then makes a strange request: it wants Takeru to help hatch its egg. Turns out, the dragon doesn’t have enough mana to do it itself. In return, it promises to give him a massive chunk of Mythril Ore. Sounds like a fair trade, so Takeru agrees and begins channeling mana into the egg.
Everything seems fine until the egg suddenly starts draining his energy like a magical leech. Within moments, Takeru collapses unconscious.
When he finally wakes up, a tiny baby dragon is sitting right in front of him, chirping adorably. He quickly realizes the hatching worked! Voldias is overjoyed to see its child alive and well — then immediately asks Takeru for one more favor:
“Could you, uh… take care of my kid for a while?”
Because of course. Nothing says “isekai vacation” like becoming a single dad to a newborn dragon.
Takeru looks at Voldias in disbelief. He asks if the dragon is really sure about this — after all, shouldn’t a parent want to raise their own child? But Voldias insists. He says Takeru possesses far greater strength and mana than he does, so his offspring would be much safer growing up under Takeru’s care.
Then, as casually as possible, Voldias mentions he has “some milk to buy at the bottom of the lake,” before slowly sinking back beneath the water — basically disappearing and leaving Takeru to figure out parenthood on his own.
And just like that, Takeru becomes a babysitter for a newborn dragon named Bee.
After eventually finding their way out of the cave, Takeru realizes the sun is already setting. Traveling through the forest at night would be a terrible idea, so he decides to set up camp until morning.
He tells Bee to get comfortable and begins pulling things out of his storage bag. Among his loot is the Ancient Dragon Magical Water, which he knows is essential for a young dragon’s growth. He pours some into a cup and offers it to Bee, who happily gulps it down.
But after finishing, she pushes the cup back toward Takeru, chirping for him to drink some too. Takeru hesitates — after all, this is water that’s probably been part of a dragon’s bath for a few centuries — but he doesn’t want to disappoint her. So, he takes a sip. To his surprise, it’s actually pretty refreshing.
Once they’re both hydrated, Takeru gets to work setting up camp. He places several Magic Stones around to form a protective barrier. In this world, those things are considered extremely valuable… but Takeru can casually make them just by focusing his mana into his palm. (Talk about being unintentionally overpowered.)
This time, he creates a Heating Magic Stone and uses it to prepare dinner — grilled steak with a side of hearty meat stew. The smell alone is enough to make anyone drool, and judging by Bee’s face, she’s more than ready to dig in.
Takeru isn’t sure if it’s a good idea to feed solid food to a dragon that was literally born two hours ago, but he decides to trust his instincts and serves her a small bowl anyway. Predictably, Bee takes a big bite and instantly yelps in pain — the stew’s way too hot!
Trying not to laugh, Takeru cools it down by blowing on it and offers it back to her. This time, she takes a careful sip… and her eyes light up. She absolutely loves it.
Seeing Bee wag her tail and happily munch away makes Takeru smile. Still, he can’t help but wonder how she feels about leaving Voldias behind.
When he asks, Bee tilts her head in confusion, then hops into his arms and hugs him tightly.
Why would she miss Voldias, her big scary dragon dad, when she’s got Takeru — her warm, squishy human dad — right here?
Takeru decides to use his Appraisal Skill on Bee, and what he finds absolutely blows his mind. Despite being tiny, round, and dangerously adorable, Bee is already B-rank! Not only that, but she’s got a list of terrifyingly strong-sounding abilities like “Limitless Evolution.”
In other words, she’s destined to become way stronger than Takeru someday.
Still, being the responsible “dad” that he is, Takeru tells her very seriously that she’s forbidden from doing anything reckless. Unfortunately, Bee is far too busy chasing her own tail to hear a single word of that lecture.
The next morning, Takeru begins the long climb back up the cliff. Once he reaches the top, he’s shocked — the once-creepy forest now looks completely normal, as if the horror-movie setting from last night never existed. He briefly wonders if he’s just hallucinating from lack of sleep, but then decides, “Eh, not my problem,” and moves on.
Since he’s already here, he figures he might as well do some gathering. Activating his Search Skill, he scans for nearby C-rank materials. Just as he’s about to start collecting them, Bee comes flying toward him in a total panic, squeaking that something scary is in the woods.
Takeru immediately switches his scan to detect hostile monsters, and sure enough — half a dozen red blips appear on his radar, heading straight for them.
He sighs. He really doesn’t enjoy fighting… but come on, a few low-level monsters? Child’s play.
Suddenly, a Rock Griffin swoops down behind him. Compared to Voldias, though, this thing might as well be a chicken with wings. And hey — grilled chicken sounds amazing right about now.
He quickly casts Shield, followed by Ice Needle, summoning three shimmering icicles that pierce the griffin in one clean strike. Boom. One-shot dinner.
Before he can celebrate, a pack of wolves comes charging out of the brush.
“Of course,” he mutters, “they smelled the free buffet.”
Takeru activates Enhancement Magic to boost his speed, leaps into the air to dodge their first strike, then casts Hardening on his hands and feet. He lands like a meteor, kicking one wolf’s skull in with an axe kick and finishing off the rest in a flurry of spells and punches.
When the dust settles, he’s surrounded by meat — enough to host an all-you-can-eat BBQ.
But as he looks around, his smile fades. There are still more monsters in every direction. If he tried fighting them all, he’d be here for the next fiscal quarter.
Sighing, he mutters, “If only there was a way to just fly out of here…”
And right on cue, Bee grabs the back of his jacket and starts flapping her wings furiously. At first, Takeru thinks she’s just being playful… until his feet actually start leaving the ground.
“Wait—wait, you can actually lift me?!”
Turns out, Bee may be small, but she’s freakishly strong. The only problem? Her flight speed is roughly equivalent to an old man climbing stairs. At this rate, they’ll escape the forest in four to five business days.
Not wanting to die of boredom midair, Takeru casts Weight Reduction Magic on himself to lighten the load.
Bad idea.
The instant the spell activates, Bee and Takeru shoot straight into the sky like a living rocket.
Unfortunately, Bee’s still a rookie pilot — and halfway through their chaotic flight, she loses her grip.
“BEEEEEEE—!!!”
And just like that, Takeru goes from “father of the year” to “meteor of the month,” plummeting toward the ground at terminal velocity.
Somehow, Takeru managed to survive that brutal fall — a miracle that definitely outweighed the mild hip fracture he picked up along the way. On the bright side, they shot straight out of the White Forest in mere minutes. Talk about efficiency!
They’re pretty close to the village now, but Takeru doesn’t exactly trust flying on Bee, so he decides it’s safer to just walk. Along the way, Bee starts nudging the stick in Takeru’s hand, obviously curious.
“It’s… um, a branch from the Idrristle Tree,” Takeru explains. “The god just gave it to me in a bag… so yeah, magic stick, I guess.”
Feeling inspired, he waves the stick around, pointing at random objects to see what happens. Bee seems to understand the stick’s potential because she breathes a cloud of magic onto it — and, just like that, the stick awakens into its true form. Takeru has no idea how or why that worked, but hey, magic.
Before he can even think about it, a loud growl echoes from the forest. Takeru braces himself for a fight… only for Bee to fly straight into the trees, dragging him along on an impromptu chase.
They eventually find an elf girl slumped against a tree. Takeru rushes over, worried she’s been attacked by a monster, but she shakes her head.
“I’m fine,” she croaks, her stomach clearly louder than her voice. “I’m just… hungry. Haven’t eaten or drunk anything in three days.”
She practically begs Takeru for some rations. He can’t leave her like that, so he digs into his bag and offers her some water, along with his packed lunch. The girl’s eyes light up like a kid in a candy shop, and she devours everything in mere seconds.
Once she’s finally satiated, Takeru has a few questions. Mainly, how does someone get lost in the middle of the woods for three days when the nearest town is just a day away?
The girl blushes and admits she got lost because she was in a hurry. Still, she should’ve brought some rations, even just a couple of days’ worth. But nope — she brought nothing.
Trying to think of an excuse, she edges way too close to Takeru — and he immediately realizes that, well… she smells.
“It’s not my fault!” she protests. “I had to survive in the wild for days!”
True, he thinks, but that doesn’t change the fact that she currently reeks like a manor basement.
Finally, the girl stands up, grateful yet offended. “Thanks for saving me,” she says, “but calling me smelly? Rude!”
With that, she dashes off without asking for directions or picking up any supplies. Takeru can already guess she won’t make it very far, but that’s her problem, not his.
So he turns back, shrugging, and continues the journey toward the city — Bee flying loyally by his side.
Eventually, Takeru and Bee make it out of the forest and onto the main road. Bee perks up, spotting a carriage approaching, so Takeru stops to talk to the driver.
The man notices Takeru’s staff and raises an eyebrow. “Are you… a sorcerer?” he asks.
“Well,” Takeru admits, “I could be if I wanted to, but I prefer peaceful jobs. I’m just a gatherer with a staff.”
The man then asks why Takeru is all the way out here. He explains that he’s heading toward Hormmy Village. The driver’s eyes widen. “On foot? That’s quite a trek!”
Not like Takeru had much of a choice.
Seeing his predicament, the driver offers a ride. Takeru appreciates the gesture but hesitates — he’s a pretty big guy, and Sophia, one of the family members already in the carriage, looks concerned that he might take up too much space. Both the man and his family assure him it’s fine, so Takeru clambers into the carriage.
Something he’s noticed since coming to this world: children seem to naturally like him. He’s not sure why, but it does make life easier — if the kids like him, most adults are automatically friendly.
He thanks the family for the ride, but they shrug it off. “Everyone in Tormy helps each other when they’re in trouble,” they say. Takeru smiles but can’t help thinking they’re maybe too trusting — he could have been a bandit for all they knew.
“That’s impossible,” the driver says with a wink. “If you were bad, this bell would have rung. We’d never offer a ride to a villain.”
Takeru is amazed. Bells enchanted with magic stones can detect bad people? Genius. He makes a mental note to craft one for himself later.
Just then, Yunan, the daughter, notices a strange rustling sound coming from Takeru’s jacket.
“What’s that?” she asks.
Reluctantly, Takeru explains that he’s brought a rare monster with him. He expects them to freak out, but instead, the family is completely unfazed. “Adventurers keeping monsters as pets is normal,” they say.
Relieved, Takeru decides it’s safe to let Bee out. “But no biting anyone!” he warns.
The children are immediately smitten. They squeal at Bee’s cuteness, while Eliza and Porun are even more impressed that Takeru managed to tame a dragon cub.
“Are you a dragon knight?” they ask.
“Nope,” Takeru replies casually. “I just found and hatched her while on a mission. Totally by accident.”
As night falls, Takeru sets up a protective barrier around the carriage. He assures the family that as long as the barrier remains up, no monsters will get near them. And if anything does manage to sneak close? Bee will sound the alarm — the family’s personal dragon security system.
Everyone was glad to know they were safe for the night, but dinner still needed to be sorted. Eliza got ready to start cooking, but Takeru quickly intervened.
“Mind if I handle the meal tonight?” he asked, reaching into his bag and pulling out a full set of pans. The kids were amazed — there was no way all that could fit into such a small sack.
“It’s like an item box,” Takeru explained. “There’s way more space inside than it looks. Super handy for gathering stuff.”
Once Takeru finished cooking, everyone dug in. They were delighted by how delicious his food was, especially Porun, who was tired of eating dried meat all the time.
As the night went on, they sang songs and danced to pass the time. The kids even invited Takeru to join. He had never experienced anything like this back on Earth — nights were usually spent alone, staring at a TV. But sharing a meal and fun with others was far more enjoyable than he ever imagined.
The next morning, Takeru woke up and started cleaning his scissors to pass the time until it was time to leave. Poland told him they could head out after breakfast, but Takeru had a small favor to ask.
“I’ve never driven a carriage before. Mind if I give it a try?”
Poland shrugged. “Sure, go ahead.”
Before long, they arrived back at the village. Takeru hopped down from the carriage, and Poland thanked him for sharing his food.
“No, I should be thanking you,” Takeru replied. “I didn’t have to walk all the way back on my own.”
The family drove off, and the short guard watching them leave muttered, “It must finally be spring.”
“Spring? What does that mean?” Takeru asked.
The guard explained that Poland was a weaver who frequently traveled to warmer regions for work. The journey was tough on him and his family. Unable to hunt, they had to survive on meager rations — which explained why he had been so happy to taste Takeru’s food. Learning about Poland’s struggles made Takeru realize just how lucky he was to have abilities that allowed him to gather materials easily.
A little later, Takeru returned to Jerome’s store to deliver the materials he had gathered — but he had a little test in mind. He slipped one piece of the magic mithril ore he had gotten from the dragon’s den in with the regular mithril, curious to see if Jerome would try to scam him.
Jerome spent a long time examining the rocks. Eventually, he concluded that one in particular was indeed magic mithril ore.
“A few of these contain enough magic to replace most of the magic stones in the kingdom,” Jerome said.
Takeru feigned surprise, even though he already knew the truth.
Jerome told him it was amazing that he had managed to find something so valuable. Takeru, of course, tried to downplay it. “I just happened to come across it on my trip,” he said, trying to sound casual.
Even when Takeru claimed he had found it lying at his feet, Jerome shook his head. “It still takes skill to find things like this,” he said. Then he added, “You’d be better off heading to the city of Belcim. It’s much larger than this village. You’ll find a wider variety of items to buy and sell than you would here.”
Though Jerome hated the idea of letting talent like Takeru leave, he requested one thing: when Takeru eventually made a name for himself, he should send a few extra customers Jerome’s way. Takeru didn’t plan on becoming famous, but the thought of exploring a big city did pique his interest.
Back at the inn, Takeru did a bit of research and discovered that Belcim had an adventurers’ guild that brokered requests all across the country. Adventurers were divided into combat, support, and various other roles. Since he was in another world now, he figured he might as well try adventuring and traveling for a while. Joining the guild seemed like the perfect plan.
But first, there were still a few tasks to finish in Tormy. He headed into town to find someone to process all the monsters he had caught. While waiting, he spent the night partying with the villagers and enjoying a hearty feast.
The next morning, Takeru returned to the butcher. With all the monster parts processed, he now had enough food and seasoning stock to last the duration of his journey. The woman working there sighed, saying it would be lonely without him around, and that many villagers wished he would stay a bit longer.
“I’ll miss this place too,” Takeru said, “but there are so many exciting places to visit and new people to meet. I can’t settle down here yet.”
The woman understood and didn’t push the matter further. But before he left, she handed him a bag. “Here, I packed you a travel lunch.”
Actually, it was more like a ton of travel lunches. Clearly, Takeru wasn’t going to worry about food for a while.
Afterwards, he returned to his room. The only thing left to figure out was what to do with the magic mithril. Jerome had told him he couldn’t afford to buy it, so Takeru had no idea what to do with such a valuable resource. Tossing it out was unthinkable, but since it contained so much magical energy, he wondered if he could use it to create something useful for the villagers — after all, they had been nothing but kind to him.
Just then, Takeru noticed his lamp sitting on the table, and an idea struck him. He grabbed the magic stone and tried combining it with the lantern. It didn’t take long for him to figure it out. After a bright flash, a brand-new magic item had been created.
The next morning, as Takeru was about to depart, the entire village came out to see him off. He thanked them for everything they had done and, as a gesture of gratitude, presented them with the magic item. He explained that it would create a protective barrier around the village, keeping out anyone with malicious intent.
The villagers were grateful but hesitant. “Is it really okay for us to take something so valuable?” they asked.
Takeru waved off their concerns. “It’s the least I can do to repay you. Besides, I want to make sure the village is safe in case I ever come back.”
Jerome, curious about the device, peeked inside and saw the magic stone powering it. The stone alone was worth a small fortune. He opened his mouth to protest, but Takeru had already dashed out of the gate. There was no turning back now.
As he walked toward Belcim, he took a moment to enjoy the peaceful scenery. His moment of calm, however, was short-lived—he soon came face-to-face with a giant crab in the middle of the road. After the initial shock wore off, he scanned the creature’s stats. Nothing extraordinary. But once he realized it was edible, he decided that he and Bee would be having seafood for dinner that night.
Takeru cast enhancement magic on himself to prepare for the fight. Before he could take action, Bee flew ahead and unleashed a sonic scream, knocking the crab unconscious. Takeru was impressed; he had no idea Bee could do that.
The battle, however, wasn’t over. Two more crabs appeared. Takeru thought he was safe in the middle of the road since crabs usually only move sideways—but he was dead wrong. These crabs charged forward with surprising speed, surrounding him.
Just as one was about to smush him, Bee swooped in and pulled Takeru into the air, causing the crabs to collide with each other instead. He thanked Bee for her quick thinking, but the first crab regained consciousness and charged again. Takeru summoned his staff and smacked it straight into the air, finally defeating it.
With all the crabs dealt with, it was time to prepare their meal. He cast hardening on his arm, turning it into a makeshift knife, and began carefully removing all the claws and legs.
A few minutes later, Takeru had prepared all the crab limbs for boiling. He pulled out a giant pot—don’t ask where he got it—added the crab, water, and a generous amount of salt. After a few hours of boiling, the crab meat was finally ready. Takeru and Bee dug in, and both were blown away by how delicious it tasted. From that day on, Takeru resolved to hunt monsters not just for survival, but also to try all sorts of new and exotic meals.
A few days later, Takeru and Bee arrived at the gates of Belcim. He was amazed by the sheer magnificence of the fortress walls. A long line of people queued for inspection, so he joined in. Before his turn, he decided to disguise his magic bag—it wouldn’t be good if the guards discovered his infinite storage.
When it was finally Takeru’s turn, he was called into a separate room. One guard began inspecting his belongings while the other asked about his business in Belcim. Takeru explained that he was here to join the adventurer’s guild. The guard nodded; after all, Belcim hosted the largest guild on the continent.
Though he didn’t find Takeru suspicious, the guard still needed to do his job. He told Takeru he would scan him with an Avaros. Confused, Takeru asked what that was. The guard explained that it was a device to check if someone was suspicious. Takeru didn’t mind; better this than a full cavity search.
After a few seconds, the guard confirmed that there was nothing unusual. Curious, Takeru scanned the device himself and saw a stat window pop up. It simply noted that he could use magic. Luckily, none of the god-given abilities—his ridiculously overpowered stats—showed up on normal scans.
The guards cleared him to enter, but one had one final question: why did Takeru have the “Blessing of the Dragons” on his stat screen? Takeru explained it was probably because of his pet. He called Bee out, and both guards were immediately in awe of how cute she was. There were no rules against owning pet dragons in the city, so Takeru was allowed to bring her.
The guard informed him that he would need a tag on Bee to prove ownership in case anything happened. Takeru realized he hadn’t brought a collar, but then remembered the lucky charm Poland’s kids had given him a few days ago. Smiling, he slid the charm onto Bee’s tail, solving the problem perfectly.
The guard nodded and said that the lucky charm was good enough. The only thing left was to file a report with the mayor that a dragon had entered the city—but Takeru didn’t need to worry about that. His bag was returned, and the guards pointed him toward the main road, which would lead straight to the adventurer’s guild.
As Takeru took his first steps into Belcim, the city proved to be even more magnificent than he had imagined. Bee suddenly pointed toward a large building at the end of the street—it had to be the guild. He headed inside and looked around.
A woman named Europa soon approached him, warmly welcoming him to the Adventurer’s Guild. They were always happy to register new adventurers. She led him to the reception desk, where he was introduced to the receptionist, Ariana. She asked him to fill out his name and current occupation on the form. That sounded simple enough, though Takeru briefly wondered why he could understand this world’s language at all.
After completing the form, Ariana asked if he had any combat experience. Takeru casually mentioned that he had taken out a griffin, several wolves, and a couple of crabs. While impressive on paper, Ariana wasn’t entirely convinced, so she asked if he had proof.
“I do,” Takeru replied, “but it’s pretty big. Is it okay if I bring it out here?”
Ariana thought it shouldn’t be a problem. To her shock, Takeru pulled out a giant crab and dropped it right on her desk. The desk collapsed under its weight, and Takeru winced, realizing he might have overdone it—but in his defense, he did warn her it was large.
Guild patrons crowded around to see the commotion. The guild master appeared, asking what was happening. Takeru explained he was just showing Ariana the crab. The guild master noticed Takeru’s item box and immediately asked where he had gotten it. Takeru said it was a gift. Using his scanning ability, the guild master verified the truth. His version of scanning revealed a person’s aura instead of a stat screen, showing whether they had good or bad intentions. Seeing that Takeru was fine, he decided there was no need to punish him for a harmless mistake.
The master said they could appraise the crab and issue payment by the end of the day. Takeru casually added that he planned to eat the crab later, shocking everyone present. The crowd only grew larger, so Ariana led him to the next room to finish his registration.
Sitting at a new desk, she told him the crab had definitely proven his combat ability. She completed his registration and slid a guild armband onto his arm. While she knew Takeru deserved a higher rank, guild rules required all new members to start at F rank. With his skills, though, ranking up would only be a matter of time.
