Chapter 4

A knock echoed through the room. I had a bad feeling about this, and—

“Who is it?”

When I asked, the response was… exactly what I expected.

“Um, sorry, I’m someone who was in the audience chamber earlier. My name’s Kaho.”

Trying to cozy up to me already, huh? It’s irritating—but it might be entertaining, so I decided to open the door and let her in.

“What do you want?”

I made sure to sound suspicious right off the bat. As expected, she fumbled with her words.

“Uh, um… I just wanted to talk a bit… since we’re in the same situation and all… oh, um, I was hoping to hear about the world you came from…”

“I’ve got nothing to say. Go away.”

“Eh? Umm…”

“With my power, I can see a person’s true nature. And from you, I see the same thing I see in scammers and con artists. Heh… get lost.”

Total bluff. But it must’ve hit a nerve—her face turned bright red and she bolted.

So she did pick me as her next “target to get close to,” huh?

Come to think of it, didn’t she seem like she was flirting with Isaka back in the forest?

“Hmmm… for my mental health, it’s probably best if I don’t get involved with those people anymore…”

Looks like I’d better seriously start planning my escape.

As expected, the so-called “modest welcome banquet” turned out to be anything but modest—more like a lavish celebration.

The crowd of nobles and extravagantly dressed young ladies nearly distracted me, but I didn’t trust a single one of them. I just said, “I’ll take some food and head back to my room,” and left the grand hall quickly.

Of course, they tried desperately to stop me—clearly more interested in exploiting my abilities than celebrating. But when I muttered under my breath, “This country is seriously uncomfortable,” they hastily let me go.

“Hmm… I should at least memorize the geography of this area, then make my escape…”

I pulled up the menu screen and started looking through my inventory for anything useful.

What might help with getting out of here…

[Summoning Bell: Places a marker where it’s rung. Ringing the paired bell instantly transports you to that location.]

Found it. A single-use item, but perfect for a getaway. So I took one of the bells…

…and tossed it out the window, aiming beyond the castle walls.

It flew beautifully into a distant forest. Man, I’ve got a hell of an arm.

“Alright, escape plan set.”

Back in the room, I locked the door securely and turned to something I hadn’t finished earlier—checking out the appearance of my sub-characters.

“Hmm… seeing it again, I really did make way too many characters…”

I’d created all sorts of characters just to make use of gender- or race-exclusive equipment I didn’t want to waste. I didn’t sell anything. Some I got bored with mid-leveling and left unfinished. Some were just mules for storage.

Others were experimental, scrapped creations, or characters for classes that got nerfed.

There were even some I shelved because they were too strong and made the game boring.

“How about this guy—‘Same’—who I was training seriously until recently?”

Out of all my characters, I chose Same. I didn’t want to use someone maxed out—it’d be boring. Same was the next one I planned to level and play more seriously.

What’s with the name? Well, my real name is Shizuma—so I just used the on’yomi reading and gave it an English-sounding twist.

Couldn’t bring myself to use trendy anime or game character names. I had pride, okay?

Not that I didn’t see others using names like “†Kiri〇〇†” or “Cl〇〇d” every now and then.

“Yeah… maybe it’s because he’s close to my original height, but this feels natural.”

Same was different from Shilent—no flashy looks, just a bit taller than average, a normal face, blond hair… nothing too noticeable. I did make a super handsome character too, but just as a storage mule.

Even so, in the real world, this “normal” guy looks pretty good. Still, he’s only about a third as strong as Silent—since I haven’t put in nearly as much play time.

“Alright, decision made. Once I get out of here, I’ll live as this guy. He’s more than strong enough—way stronger than any of those other people anyway.”

With my course of action decided, it was finally time to… check out the female characters too. I mean, come on—I’m a healthy guy, you know?

P.S. “Yeah, this is definitely gonna keep me up all night.”

The next morning, our education began right away.

The subjects were: combat training, studying magic, and learning about nearby dungeons.

The guys were assigned to combat training, the girls to magic study—and I was put on dungeon geography.

Ah, so they want me to start clearing dungeons immediately. Makes sense, since I’m already combat-ready.

First thing I asked about was the forest and mansion we were summoned to.

“The place you and the others were summoned to is called the Great Forest of Dream Hill, the largest dungeon on this continent. And most likely, the mansion you encountered there is a dungeon known as the House of Greed. Despite being inside a dungeon itself, it’s said that this manor can generate its own dungeons. A powerful dungeon master resides there. Allegedly, a few have escaped alive through sheer luck… but it’s considered a demon’s domain, unbeatable by humans.”

“I see. So, do dungeons disappear if you defeat the dungeon master?”

“If the dungeon was created from nothing by the master’s power, then yes—it vanishes. But if it was formed by altering natural terrain, it might remain. Also, within each dungeon master’s body lies a Dungeon Core, an object of immense magic and life-giving energy. Some dungeon masters hide it somewhere in the dungeon instead of carrying it. Our king seeks to use Dungeon Cores to enrich our lands, protect against hostile nations, and act as a deterrent to prevent them from acting recklessly.”

“I see… Then can you tell me about the other countries?”

Alright, then. Let’s ask about what I’m most curious about—conflicts with other countries and the current political situation.

However, as soon as I brought it up, the man acting as our instructor grew flustered and mumbled, “Well, um… I don’t really know much about other countries…” Interesting. Either there’s strict information control, or the people of this country genuinely don’t know much about the outside world…

“I see. I’ve gotten a good grasp of the geography around here. So our current goal isn’t this Great Forest, but rather the ‘Scorched Earth Valley’ located near the border?”

“Y-Yes! That’s correct. There have been reports that the hated invaders from the ‘Divine Theocracy of Lendia’ are attempting to explore it without permission. Therefore… we would like you, Silent-sama, to hurry and take control of that location…”

“I see. Understood. I’ll go have an audience with the king for a moment.”

“Understood, I will arrange it immediately!”

Judging by the name, the other side is likely a religious nation. In any case, I have no intel on them… I’ll need to gather information outside the castle.

“Oh! Are you heading out to begin your mission already?”

“Before that, I want to gather some intel in the castle town.”

“Haha, the commoners in the castle town won’t know anything important. If you need supplies, we’ll take care of everything here, so please wait. We’ll have a carriage prepared to take you straight to the ravine.”

“No, I’ll go on foot. I want to see this country and this world with my own eyes and ears.”

“…No, no, the citizens know nothing. They simply live their lives day by day. Many may even try to fill your ears with nonsense. Please, relax here—”

An audience with the king. Ever since learning about my abilities, the king has started acting overly deferential and is now desperately trying to stop me from leaving the castle to gather information. This must mean there’s something seriously inconvenient for them.

And at that moment, the rest of the former classmates appeared in the audience chamber.

“Your Majesty! Is it true that Silent-sama is heading out to conquer the dungeon!?”

“So you’re cooperating, huh.”

“That would be a big help though.”

…Perfect timing.

“That’s incorrect. Seems I’ve grown to dislike this country. You restrict access to information and try desperately to stop me from gathering intel outside the castle. It’s like you’re terrified of me learning anything about the outside world. Kukuku… Looks like I’ve been summoned to a real piece-of-crap country, huh? Sorry, but I’m leaving. We won’t be seeing each other again.”

“Wh-What!? Do you think we’ll allow such insolence, Silent-sama!?”

The king rose to his feet, face red with rage. But I pulled out an item I had stored in my menu and showed it to him.

“Do you know what this is?”

“Wha!? That glow—it’s a Dungeon Core…!?”

“I killed the master of that mansion in the forest you summoned me into and took it. And now I’m thinking… maybe I’ll take it over to the neighboring country, Lendia, and make a deal.”

“Y-You dare!? You were summoned by our kingdom! Why hand it over to that vixen from another country!?”

“Not my problem. See ya, Your Majesty. Good luck raising those useless weaklings so they can try to stand against me. Assuming your country lasts that long, anyway.”

Saying that, I stored the Dungeon Core and took out the teleportation bell instead.

The moment I rang it with a chime, a bright light surrounded my feet. And then—

“Farewell, you self-righteous fools. One of the others who was in the mansion told me this: ‘They tricked me and left me behind.’ Maybe you should start doubting your so-called comrades, hmm?”

Leaving them with those words, I vanished into the light.

Yes, yes!

“I said it. I finally said it. The way they control information here—this place is like some North Korean knock-off… Is this world really that low-level in terms of culture and civilization?”

Anticipating they’d send pursuers right away, I immediately switched my character to “Same.”

Looking around again, I confirmed I was in the middle of an untouched, wild mountain area.

Better make it back to town before it gets dark…

“Eeek… a person just popped out… and transformed!”

Just as I was deciding what to do next, a girl’s voice called out from behind a nearby tree.

Looking closely, there was a broken bell lying nearby… Oh crap… someone picked up the bell I threw?

…What now? Wait, is this irreparable?

“Eek! A human! Run awaaay! Aaaah!”

And with a scream, the girl bolted deeper into the mountains.

…What? Did she say “A human! Run away!”? Am I a wanted criminal or something?

As she ran off, I noticed something like a tail sticking out. Beast-person, maybe?

“Ugh… I should’ve thrown that bell somewhere less populated. Stupid me.”

As I left the forest and tried to return to town, I was blocked by a massive gate.

Oh right, I came in by carriage last time… So they regulate foot traffic here?

It looked like some sort of process was required, as a long line of people and wagons were waiting.

So I quietly snuck around the back of the gate, tossed a bell inside the city wall… and teleported.

Not ideal—those bells are consumables, and I can’t afford to waste them.

“Whoa… walking through this place, it really feels like I’m on a movie set…”

Shops lining the streets with their goods on display—it’s not something you see much anymore. There were massive cuts of meat and bundles of dried meat hanging from stalls.

Crowds of people bustled through the city, full of life.

But then, all of a sudden, the crowds hurriedly cleared the roads, and a parade of wagons and soldiers came barreling through. That must mean…

“They’re heading toward the border… chasing after Silent.”

Thank goodness I said something random before disappearing. I want to gather information in this town for a while longer. As for the dungeon conquest… well, I’ll get to it if I feel like it.

“Now then… when it comes to gathering information, the tavern is the go-to place. I should look like an adult—barely. Let’s see if I can find a suitable-looking spot…”

I headed toward a building that many people—especially those carrying weapons—were entering, but unfortunately, it wasn’t a tavern. It looked more like a bank or something.

Huh. Are all the fighters strapped for cash?

“Oh, I don’t recognize you. Is this your first time at the guild?”

As I glanced around curiously, a woman wearing warm-colored clothing spoke to me.

Looking closer, I saw several other people wearing similar clothes—must be a uniform.

“What’s a guild?”

“Huh? A guild is… well, a guild. In older terms, it’s like a job placement center.”

“Ah, I see.”

So it’s like those adventurer guilds you see in games.

I wonder if it’s easier to operate if I register here?

“Sorry, I think I’m a bit out of it. I’ve never been somewhere with so many people before.”

“Fufu, is that so? If you’d like to register as a new member, I can help you with that. Shall we?”

“Ah, then yes please.”

Things are going surprisingly smoothly… Is this okay? There’s no downside to registering, right?

I went to fill out the necessary forms. But… sadly, I couldn’t read or write the language.

Embarrassed, I explained the situation. She just said, “It happens often,” and didn’t make a big deal of it.

So the literacy rate here isn’t that high… or at least, in this country.

I told her I was originally a traveler, dragged from place to place, and that I don’t even know where I come from. She seemed very sympathetic… Are there many people in this country with backgrounds like orphans or slaves?

“Registration is complete. However, since you can’t read or write, I can only offer you physical labor jobs. …Just between you and me, this country’s situation is getting worse, so there’s been a surge in requests for guards on overseas assignments. Same-san, it might be better for you to take one of those and start working abroad.”

“I-Is that so…”

“There’s a merchant preparing for a large transport operation. He’s hiring a lot of escorts. Can you fight, Same-san?”

“Oh, yes. I’m actually experienced in that line of work.”

“Oh really? I assumed you’d been stuck doing menial labor… Are you sure you’ll be alright? The guild only guarantees your safety before and after a job. We can’t cover injuries sustained during a mission.”

Hmm. My character just looks like a gentle pretty boy. I should’ve designed him to look more muscular—like a seasoned warrior, like Silent…

“I’ll be fine. I may not look it, but I’m tougher than I seem.”

“Is that so…? In that case, there’s a basic test for those who want to take combat jobs. Depending on how you do, I’ll see if I can get you on the escort mission.”

“Thank you so much. I really appreciate your kindness…”

“Fufu, I had a hard time before getting a job at the guild myself. So I know how it feels.”

Ah… so healing. After all the crap I’ve dealt with since coming here, I was starting to lose my trust in people.

…If this mission turns out to be shady, or if I get caught up in some weird scheme, I might just go full villain next time.

And with that, I followed the receptionist lady to the back of the guild to take the test, while feeling like I was being sent off with oddly warm gazes.

Still… why did all the other people in the guild turn to look at me at the same time?

…Why… why are they all looking at me like I’m some kind of pitiful creature!?

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