“My name is Kazese Kajou and I’m 17 years old. I was once a normal boy who just wanted to live an ordinary life with friends and go to school. But one day due to my complaints Kami-sama gave me a life in another world as a hero. My job is to protect this world from the Evil Demon King and get the previous heroes back. The cute and stubborn girl walking beside me in this green land is Aoi, the caretaker and my companion for the adventure blessed by Kami-sama who is the ruler of both the world. I arrived to this land three days ago and have been walking a lot.
Every time I ask her the distance left to travel to the so called village of Oshiro, she keeps answering...”
“We’re almost there, Kazese-kun. So please stop with the meaningless introduction and I’m not stubborn!”
Aoi looked innocent and cute when I first met her but I was wrong. She is a beast! She has been making me walk for almost the day and only rest at night. She was acting cute and all but now she is totally bossy. Isn’t she supposed to be my caretaker and help me with my needs? I want to eat food besides the food she has been giving me. I have been eating fruits for the whole and she denied the idea to kill some animal and eat them. Why doesn’t she understand that I want to have some meet in order to survive.
We have been walking for a long time and this place was a bit out of my understanding. The air that we breathe was thick but fresh because real magic existed here. I have never found a single wasteland here and no enemies so far.
“There’s been no enemy encounters so far, why does this place need a hero at all?”
“You are wrong, we are walking through the safest land of the Kingdom of Oshiro”
“Safest huh? Why haven’t we seen any wastelands here?”
“That’s because Oshiro doesn’t have any”
What kind of fantasy land doesn’t have a single wasteland? Is she kidding me?
“I’m bored!”
“You’re acting really brave, just don’t run away with your tail between your legs when you meet one beast”
“I already met one!” (Referring to Aoi who is a beast in the eyes of Kazese)
“What do you mean?”
“Nothing..”
The whole way was boring but we did stop once to rest and I learned that my hidden interest can’t be hidden here as Aoi said. If I have interest in something, I probably will be showing it without me knowing it.
“We have arrived”
I looked at the place where Aoi was looking and I could see a large object, a bit far from the place we were standing. As we got closer, I could see it clearly and was shocked at what I could see. It was a huge wooden gate, it was large enough to stop a tsunami! It kind of reminded of a manga that I used to read.
“Woah! So this is the village gate?”
“No, actually it’s the entrance to the main lands of Oshiro. The place that we just traveled through was nothing but an empty land”
“Empty? But it was full of plants and trees, like someone was taking care of them”
“They were all naturally raised”
“Naturally? Wow!! That’s so much more different from my world”
We enter the gate with high hopes, especially me. I was really excited to know what lies behind those large walls. The gate opened inward and a bright light blinded me for a moment. When the light faded, I could see around ten to fifteen of shops and a lot of people was going from here to there. I was happy to see people after walking for three days but also disappointed a bit because they weren’t all humans.
I could see humans, elves, fairies and a lot of small beasts who were probably pets. It was really amazing to see all of them living together.
“Man, I would like to pet one of those little beasts too”
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“They aren’t originally that little, you know”
“What do you mean?”
“They are originally around your size but when they decide to be yours, they take these forms”
“So, I need some kind of contract?”
“Yes, contract would be the best to describe it. But it has to be of their free will”
“Oh... so I need to make them like me to make a contract?”
“Not make them like but defeating them and them offering them a contract would be easier”
“Defeating them? How strong can they be?”
“It depends on what type of beasts they are”
Well, it wouldn’t be so bad to have a strong beast as a pet but dealing with it would be a lot of pain.
“Let’s head to the guild and make an identity for ourselves”
“You are right. We came here not long ago but we do need an identity to interact with other people”
“Yes, but the easiest way to earn money is to complete request that are sent to the guild”
“Oh, so mean it’s the same as joining a guild in the Rpg's?”
“I don’t know what you are talking about but if you understand than it’s okay”
We walked past some stores and restaurants for a while and then we reached a tall and well built building with some type of emblem at the top. The emblem had a bird in gold as an art, it looks like a phoenix logo.
“This is Guild Nero. The third branch of the main guild of Oshiro.”
“And it is unexpectedly large..”
“Yes, it is. Let’s go in and register ourselves as adventurers for our professional identity”
I couldn’t keep my eyes off of the emblem for it looked beautiful and I was very excited too. We entered the door of the guild and the inside was pretty empty like there were no others. Except, I could see a man wearing glasses at the small booth which was probably the reception or registering counter.
We walk towards the man and press the bell on the table. He looks at us with his eyes and they were really scary, not to mention the eye had black marks around them that made him look like a skeleton.
“Um.. We would like to register as adventurers here”
Aoi looked pretty serious when she said that and I could tell that she was acting like she really wanted to do it.
“Hello there! The registration is free but you can’t join unless you pass the test” (He said while pulling up his glasses from his nose)
“Very well, we accept to take the test”
She looked damn serious and so did the man, their eyes were battling and creating a pretty dangerous atmosphere.
“Um.. Hello. What do we need to do to pass the test?sir?”
He ignored the staring battle and looked at me. He looked at me from the top to the bottom while holding his glasses and smiled at me.
“You seem to be perfect for the test. I’m sure you will pass it”
“Yes, thank you. So, what really is the test?”
“Well, it’s not that hard but if you are a starter, it could take a lot of guts to do it”
I look at him angrily. This was the third time he had ignored my question and not answered them properly. That probably made him feel uneasy and then he grabbed a paper from below his desk and handed over to us.
“Guild Nero registration test
Welcome new adventurers. As you know, the admission to the guild is free but you have to pass a certain test to make sure you are fit to go on adventures. This test will determine if you will be joining the guild or not.
At the beginning of this test, you will be given a weapon of your choice. After receiving the weapon, you need to go to a certain place as directed by informer of the guild.
The test is actually a quest to defeat a beast called ‘Bonnacon’ and bring their horns as a victory trophy to the guild. Bonnacons are strong though they are a low level beast, so please make sure you get back safe. If anything happens to you during this quest or any other after joining the guild, we are not to be responsible. You are to take responsibility for yourself.
If you complete the test quest then you will be permitted to join the guild and will be paid too for the horns. If you aren’t able to complete it, you will fail and not be allowed to join.
Thank you”
“Wow, the test is simple”
“It sure looks simple but we never fought against a beast before” (Aoi looked worried)
“It’s gonna be fine. We will defeat it together”
We sign at the bottom of the paper and hand it out to the man.
“Well, please follow me to receive your desired weapon”
He stood up and started walking towards a door behind him, we followed him and entered the room behind it.
As we entered the room, I could see a lot of weapons here. They were probably not the best but would work out for us. I could see weapons like bows and arrows, swords of different shapes, staffs used for magic and also could see gloves like those MMA fighters use except they were made with leather and metal.
“Aoi, what is it that you’re holding?”
“This? It’s a magic staff. Somehow I feel that this is the kind of weapon I want to use”
“Weapons you want to use, huh. I can’t make up my mind on this one”
“Don’t worry, Kazese-kun. Just pick the weapon that suits your instinct”
I could see a lot of weapons here but after what Aoi told me, I had a feeling that I wanted to use something that would be easier to understand. So I picked one up.
“Kazese-kun, that weapon.... Is it what you want to use? A sword?”
“Yes, for some reason I felt comfortable holding it in my hands”
What I was holding was actually something that looked like a broadsword and long sword at the same time. It was long as the Katanas that were on my world and it was broad enough to look like a weapon frm some RPG.
“A very good choice, Kazese-san. This is the new kind of sword that were crafted just some months ago. Just to make it simple, it’s a new weapon and different from the other sword” (He said pointing at the sword)
[By ‘He’ I meant the guild instructor]
“It does look a bit different from the ones I know”
“So then, shall we head towards the test field?”
“Where is the test field?”
“Don’t worry, it’s close to the guild and it’s not dangerous at all”
After saying that, we exit the room and follow the instructor. He walks ahead of us leaving us behind him to follow where he goes.