Chapter 9: Went to the Guild
"Alright. Time to give it my best."
It was, after all, a chance at a brand-new life. Jin steeled himself—he was going to live it to the fullest, without regrets.
First things first, he decided to get a grip on his current situation.
Calling up the menu, he started checking through the sections he hadn’t looked at yet.
The one that concerned him most was Skills. He opened it.
Skills
〔Menu〕……Calls up the menu, allowing access to various functions. (Unique Skill) 【Display: ON】
〔Martial Talent〕……Aptitude related to martial arts and physical activities. Increases growth rate, success rate, acquisition rate, etc. (Rank: MAX)
〔HP Boost〕……Adds a bonus to initial HP and growth rate. The effect increases with level. (Rank: 3)
〔STR Boost〕……Adds a bonus to initial STR and growth rate. The effect increases with level. (Rank: 3)
〔VIT Boost〕……Adds a bonus to initial VIT and growth rate. The effect increases with level. (Rank: 2)
〔DEX Boost〕……Adds a bonus to initial DEX and growth rate. The effect increases with level. (Rank: 2)
〔AGI Boost〕……Adds a bonus to initial AGI and growth rate. The effect increases with level. (Rank: 2)
〔Body Control Bonus〕……Smooth, efficient body movement. Stronger concrete imagery enables more effective use. (Rank: MAX)
〔Mana Control Bonus〕……Smooth, efficient mana manipulation. Stronger concrete imagery enables more effective use. (Rank: MAX)
〔Health〕……Resistant to illness, heals quickly from injury. Status ailments fully recover after a set time. (Rank: MAX)
〔Appraisal〕……Reveals information about a target. The effect depends on rank. (Rank: 1)
〔Non-Elemental Magic〕……Manipulates magic without an attribute. (Rank: MAX)
・Mana Bullet……A lump of neutral mana fired as an attack. (MP Cost: 8 / Power: 5)
"It looks like the descriptions have changed a little."
Jin noted. All skills now had a Rank attached. "R: MAX" probably meant the skill couldn’t improve any further. Otherwise, the content hadn’t changed much.
The unique skill, Menu, had an extra 【Display ON】 tag, which he figured was just a toggle for whether it showed up in his basic info. Sure enough, when he touched it and imagined it set to OFF, it switched to 【Display OFF】. Checking his basic info in another window, he saw it listed as 【Hidden】.
Not knowing what 【Hidden】 actually affected, Jin played it safe and also set Title and Money to hidden. If skills that allowed others to peek at one’s status existed, he didn’t want to risk exposing those.
There were still plenty of unknowns, but at least the skills seemed to work fine in this world. That much was a relief.
The problem was, the only skills he could actually use right now were Appraisal and Non-Elemental Magic. Whether the game’s skill acquisition system still functioned here was a mystery. He didn’t even know if a skill system existed in this world at all.
"…Oh, well."
Just being able to bring his game skills over was already a blessing. If worse came to worst, he’d manage somehow.
Switching gears, Jin checked the next menu items.
No changes to Tools or Equipment.
Tools could still be stored and retrieved freely through the gate, and he could change the gate’s appearance point at will. Equipment worked fine too. With his wooden sword stored in the gate, imagining "Change" instantly put it back in his hand. Remembering Chris had told him he could register up to four preset equipment sets, Jin added one for when he was in nothing but underwear. After testing a few changes back and forth, he confirmed it all worked exactly like in the tutorial.
The sheer convenience impressed him all over again. He decided he should buy clothes and gear as soon as possible to register more sets. Honestly, it felt kind of fun—like transforming in a tokusatsu hero show.
That just left Settings.
But when Jin glanced at the time, he realized he’d been in the inn for quite a while. Judging by feel, over an hour had passed. If he dawdled any longer, the guild might get crowded. He decided to postpone checking settings and head there first.
Pocketing the coins he’d left out into his gate, Jin left the inn. With his few belongings stored in the gate, he didn’t have to worry about theft.
On the way, he felt the urge to peek into some of the shops he passed, but he held himself back and made it straight to the guild.
The inside was tidy, nothing chaotic about it. A big bulletin board for quests, several reception counters divided by department, a staircase leading up to the second floor, and even a small rest area. Potted plants and flowers here and there softened the atmosphere.
Adventurers had a rough-and-tumble reputation, but this place didn’t feel like that at all. It was closer to the lobby of a town hall.
Jin was pleasantly surprised, but quickly remembered his purpose and went to the reception.
It wasn’t crowded—probably the busy hours were morning and evening—so he didn’t have to wait.
"Excuse me. I’d like to register as an adventurer. Is this the right place?"
"Yes, that’s fine. Please have a seat."
The receptionist he spoke to was a bespectacled beauty with an intelligent air, her long hair pinned up.
"A new adventurer registration requires a fee of five silver coins. Is that acceptable?"
"Yes."
"Then please place your hand on this."
She indicated a crystal orb on the table, about the size of a halved softball, faintly glowing blue. From its base, a thin line extended to a black panel at her desk.
Curious, Jin placed his right hand on it, but nothing happened. With nothing to do, he glanced at the receptionist—she was looking intently at the panel.
Jin was never good at guessing a woman’s age. Maybe about twenty? The glasses made her look a little dowdy, though some people would surely find that attractive. With her well-shaped features, her expressionless face seemed a bit stern—but if she smiled, she’d probably be very cute. Jin found himself staring before he realized it.
He wasn’t sure how long he had been waiting when, all of a sudden, the receptionist lifted her face. Their eyes met.
Jin realized he’d been staring too intently and felt guilty for being rude, but the receptionist didn’t seem to care in the slightest. Her expression didn’t change as she held out the black panel she’d been examining.
"Please confirm that there are no errors in this information."
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
Name: Jin
Age: 18
Occupation: Freeman
Level: 3
HP: 49/49
MP: 20/20
STR: 23
VIT: 20
INT: 14
DEX: 20
AGI: 20
Crimes/Punishments: None
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
It was the exact same information as the Basic Info tab of his menu. He had no idea how the system worked, but it was clearly some kind of magic.
There were no mistakes. The unique skill didn’t appear, and there were no titles listed. A new field, Crimes/Punishments, had been added, but of course, it said None. Jin had never committed a crime—not in this world, and not in his previous one either. Well, unless you counted the mischief he’d gotten into as a kid… The memory made him reflect a little, even though it had nothing to do with the situation.
"Yes. Everything is correct," Jin replied.
The receptionist, still expressionless, gave him the verdict.
"I’m sorry, but we cannot complete your adventurer registration, Jin."
"Eh?"
Time froze for him.
Jin just stared, stunned at the words adventurer registration impossible. The receptionist calmly watched him flounder, then, after a short pause, explained further.
"To clarify, I mean that under the current conditions, it is not possible."
"…Eh?"
Jin’s brain finally rebooted, scrambling to process her words.
"There are several requirements to become an adventurer. What you are missing, Jin, is a skill."
"A skill? But I—"
He almost blurted out that he did have skills, but caught himself just in time. Sure, he possessed plenty, but they were all ones he’d acquired in the game. There was no guarantee they existed in this world. And there was no way he could mention his unique skill. In the end, he clamped his mouth shut.
"Yes. Of course, if you were to acquire a new skill, you would then qualify for adventurer registration."
It seemed she had interpreted his silence differently, and the conversation continued smoothly. Jin felt relieved.
"If you wish, you can receive skill training from one of our guild instructors."
It was exactly what he had hoped to hear. Jin jumped on the offer without hesitation.
"Thank you. Could I begin training right away?"
By his guess, it was already around three or four in the afternoon. Not much time left in the day—but if possible, he wanted to start immediately.
"Yes. Would you like to learn the skill Swordsmanship?"
Despite the sudden request, the receptionist responded instantly. She had probably anticipated this outcome from the moment she saw Jin lacked skills, and had already made preparations. From the wooden sword at his waist, she had likely guessed which skill he’d want, checked which instructors were available, and made the arrangements. Not an easy thing to do—especially with the chance it might all go to waste. Jin felt genuinely grateful for her efficiency.
"Yes. Thank you very much."
At that, the receptionist twitched her brows ever so slightly at his polite gratitude, but quickly returned to her unreadable mask.
"The instructor’s name is Greg. You can reach the training grounds through the back. Please head there."
"Yes, thank you for your help. I’ll be on my way, then."
With that, Jin set off toward the training grounds.
The receptionist gave no reply to his farewell.
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