The first thing I felt was the warm rays of the sun above my head. A cool breeze was blowing, gently swaying my clothes and hair.

Upon observing my surroundings, it seemed like I was in the middle of a grassy field. A mountain range was in view right on the horizon, and to the east of it was what seems to be a town.

Where am I?

At first glance, it looked like any place on earth, but the goddess said that this world is entirely different.

I wonder if this place has a name?

I guess I'll look around for now.

As I took a step forward, strands of silver hair flowed in my direction.

Huh? Silver hair?

I grabbed one of the strands and immediately felt a sensation in my scalp.

Is this... My hair?

Back in Japan, I was born with brown hair, so seeing it being another color surprised me. It was longer now, too, compared to the shoulder-length hair I used to fashion back then.

If my hair color is different, then my body must be different right now.

Looking at myself, the first thing that I noticed was the increase in my bust size. I used to be small to the point where it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was flat, but the current me now has a decent size. I couldn't help but grin.

I was wearing a robe over my vest, and over the vest was a white dress. The robe had an interesting pattern to it that I liked, while the vest had mini pockets on both sides of my waist. I was wearing leather boots, with black socks.

There was a nearby pond, so I approached it. It was big, about the size of a standard swimming pool.

"Wow... This is me?"

I squatted at the edge of the pond, looked into the reflection, and saw my face. Aside from the silver hair, I now had silver eyes. My face wasn't Japanese anymore, bearing some similarity to the facial features of Europeans.

The weird part though was the three black dots on my right cheek. It was placed in the shape of an upside-down triangle, with the two base dots on top of the third one. I tried wiping them off but to no avail. They didn't look like moles, either.

They look cute on me anyway, so I don't think there is any need for me to remove them.

At least I have a pretty face if I do say so myself. I was a bit worried that my face was going to be ugly, but now those fears were erased.

With my self-confidence boosted, I stood up and started walking.

Walking.

My legs weren't weak anymore, enabling me to walk.

It was a weird feeling, to not be sitting in a chair and using your hands to navigate. It took me a while to get used to walking with my two legs, but I quickly the hang of it. It felt as natural as breathing.

Now, with my new body, there weren't any restrictions anymore.

I was finally free of my curse.

"Haha... Hahahahaha!"

For no reason at all, I started running across the field. I felt the cold air brushed across my face.

"Yes! Finally! Finally, I'm free! I'm free!"

I ran, jumped, skipped, and rolled across the vast grassy field, oblivious to the world.

It didn't matter whether or not people saw me. I couldn't contain my happiness.

For the next few hours, I fooled around in the field with glee.

----------------------------------------

"Haah... Haah..."

I lay down on the ground, exhausted.

Due to my previous laid-back life, I seldom felt any form of weariness. If I ever tried to do something similar to this to my wheelchair, I'd probably be dead by the time I reach my destination.

Yet, right now, my breathing is fast, my legs are tired, and my lungs are trying to suck in much air as possible. Sweat was dripping down my forehead. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. It was a weird sensation.

But I loved it.

I love being healthy.

When I see Hygieia again, I should thank her properly for giving me another life to live. No, not only that. I'm going to bow face down to the ground in gratitude. I'd even kiss her feet if I have to.

But that's for the future.

It was time to explore this new world.

Wiping the sweat off my forehead, I got up from my spot and started walking towards the dirt road. I found this road earlier, while I was running around. Luckily, nobody was passing by during that time, so not a single soul in this world managed to see my tomfoolery.

For now, I headed towards the direction of the town. Since the road goes east, I assume it would bring me straight towards the town.

The sun was high right now, but it wasn't hot. The air felt cold like I was in a mall or something. I was lucky to be wearing layered clothing, or else I would've caught a cold with this temperature.

In the distance, a shape emerged at the far side of the road. At first, I didn't know what it was, but when it got closer, it was clearer for me to describe.

The first thing I saw was a creature similar to a dark red dragon. It looked more like a small dinosaur, only with wings on its back. It was pulling a large wagon filled to the brim with items, with a green-haired girl controlling the dragon with the stuff that was similar to horses. The girl had short hair, and her physique looked young. Anyone could mistake her for a 12-year old.

Ah, she noticed me.

"Hey!" The girl called to me as she got closer. "Are you going anywhere?" She went beside me and stopped the dragon.

"I'm headed to that town over there..." I pointed towards the direction of the town.

"Oh, you mean Sirvaelin? I've been there just now, but I can bring you there."

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"Thanks for the offer, but it's okay. I can walk there myself."

It was very generous of her to offer, but I have to decline. With the load she's carrying back there, she probably has somewhere to go. It would be rude of me to interrupt whatever she was doing.

"Hey, wait!"

I bowed and slowly walked away, but the girl called me out.

"No, seriously, I could take you there. I actually forgot to do something in Sirvaelin, so I'm just about to go back there myself right now."

She was being awfully persistent. But, even though I wanted to walk all the way there, I simply accepted her offer.

"Okay, fine. I'll go with you."

"All right!" The green-haired girl pumped her fists in the air. "Here, you can sit beside me." She moved over and patted her hand at the empty seat, inviting me to sit with her.

"Thank you, miss...?"

"Ah, you can call me Quine. My full name's Quine Florbach. Nice to meet you!"

"Likewise. My name is Hisami Enatsu."

"Hisami, huh? That's a cute name!"

"Thanks."

I shook hands with the girl named Quine.

Wait, does this mean I made a new friend?

No, probably not. I don't think I'm close enough to her for me to call her a friend. I'm jumping the gun right here.

"This right here is my pet, Gach! He's pretty cute if I have to say so myself!" Quine said as she petted the dark red dragon on its head.

"Gawr!"

It roared softly as she patted his head. The dragon's face lightened up as she did so.

I'll admit. It is pretty cute.

"Okay, Gach! Turn around advance!"

The dragon did as she said, turning around and headed towards the city.

"So, what brings you to Sirvaelin, Hisami?" Quine asked.

"No reason at all. I just wanted to explore the place a bit."

"Exploring the place is a good enough reason, you know." She turned towards me and grinned. "Is it your first time in the town?"

"Yes."

"Well! Please allow me to offer you a tour of the city, Hisami!"

"I think that's a bit too much to ask for..."

"No no no, it's nothing! Sirvaelin's not big, but you'll get lost if you wander around there."

"I see. Sure, I'll let you lead the way."

"Yaaaaaaaaaay!" Quine shouted with her hands in the air. I couldn't help but give a light chuckle.

For some reason, the girl in front of me reminds me of Chisa. Maybe it's because of her cheerful personality or the way that she speaks.

This time, it was my turn to ask her. "What exactly is your job, Quine? Is it related to the boxes you are bringing with you right now?"

"I'm a wandering merchant. I go around the world traveling and trading with various folks. Those things at the back are the loot that I've acquired for the past fifteen years."

"F-Fifteen years?!" I couldn't hide my surprise.

I genuinely thought she was about my age (which was seventeen), but if she's been doing this for fifteen years, that would make me younger than her.

"Umm... N-Not to be rude or anything, but how old are you exactly?"

"I just turned twenty-five last month!"

"Belated happy birthday..."

"Thank you, Hisami!"

So she was older than me...

This new world offers a lot of surprises.

Soon enough, we entered the town. The dirt road ended as it transitioned to cobblestone. The buildings had a medieval vibe to them, similar to those that you see in RPG games. The people here looked like they were from an RPG game too, mostly because of the clothing that they wore.

"Whoa. That big guy right there is carrying a huge ax."

Some of them were carrying weapons like that guy. They were also wearing armor that protected their arms, chest, stomach, thighs, and other body parts.

"Not a lot of adventurers go to Sirvaelin since it is one of the furthest cities from the capital, so the adventurers here are either natives of this town or are just wandering around the place, like me."

"Adventurers?"

"You don't know what an adventurer is, Hisami? They're the ones who exterminate troublesome monsters. They go to the inn, pick a job offer, complete the task, and they earn money out of it. The higher the level of a certain individual, the harder the job, but the higher the pay. Since top-tier jobs are almost impossible to complete, it's not a very profitable occupation, so people treat adventuring as a part-time job. It's a common occupation for poor people too since you don't need a lot of requirements to be one."

Wow. Did Hygieia really transport me to an RPG-like world?

How this world worked was definitely similar to one. Does this mean I could become an adventurer, too?

Curious, I asked Quine.

"How does one become an adventurer, exactly?"

"Are you planning to become one, Hisami?"

"Well, yeah." I figured that if I was going to spend my new life in a fantasy world, I should at least check it out and learn how this world works.

"That's great! The adventurer's inn isn't far from here. I'll take you there."

With the command from Quine, Gach changed directions.

We turned in a few corners before we arrived at the place.

The two-story building in front of me wasn't that big. It could have been easily confused with the other buildings here in the town, with the only distinction being that it had a huge sign with the words "Adventurer's Inn" on top of the entrance.

There were a few people inside, chatting with their comrades as they drink on top of circular wooden tables. A long counter was at the end of the room with a girl behind it. We walked towards her.

"Welcome to Sirvaelin's adventurer's inn! My name is Hale Flits. May I help you two ladies with something?" the girl said, greeting us.

"Miss Hisami here wants to register as an adventurer," Quine explained. "Can she register here?"

"Sure. Here, let me grab your hand, Miss Hisami."

I did what she told me to do. Then, a fancy-looking rectangle appeared out of thin air.

Hisami Enatsu

Race: Human

Occupation: Witch

Level: 1

HP: 20/20

Mana: 200/200

Wait, is this a status screen?!

"This is what we call a status screen," Quine said as she looked over my shoulder as if she read my mind. "It seems that your occupation is a witch."

"What does that mean?"

"People with the witch class have low stats in physical combat and defense, but they highly excel in attacks related to magic. Since witches tend to have a lot of stored mana in their bodies compared to an average adventurer, they can perform numerous attack, defense and healing spells according to the amount of mana they currently have in store. Lower spells use low amounts of mana, while higher and more advanced spells use more mana. Depleted mana could be restored either automatically or using potions."

Hale gave a long explanation of the witch occupation while writing on a bunch of papers.

Yeah, it's the same as those RPG games. There's no room for doubt now.

So my occupation is "witch", huh? I was never good at physical stuff to begin with, so it was very advantageous for me.

Did Hygieia give me this status? If so, then she was clever. I really need to thank her properly next time.

Thank goodness I don't get to swing around a sword while recklessly charge into monsters.

Actually, do monsters exist in this world?

It is a common trope in RPG games to have monsters, right? Then maybe this world has some too?

"Registration complete. Congratulations on becoming an adventurer, miss Hisami Enatsu." Hale said and bowed. "Please refer to our community board for the current job offers available. They are ranged from easy to hard, with E jobs being the easiest and A jobs being the hardest. If a job on the board interests you, you may simply take it from the board. After you completed the job, please come back here to this counter to obtain your rewards."

Also, don't lose the paper. The completion of the job wouldn't count if the paper isn't brought back safely, she added.

"The inn's hours are only open for a limited amount of time, so please come back before the moon reaches its peak."

"T-Thank you for the detailed explanation."

I thanked her for the ton of information that she gave me and headed towards the direction of the board. I need to reflect on what she said later.

The board was full of papers pinned to it. As Hale said, some jobs had a difficulty range to them, so for now I should choose something fairly easy.

"Help! Clear all slimes in this place. Reward: 200 cols", "Kill ten monsters and earn 100 cols", "Need help in deactivating a photosynthetic spell. Reward: 500 cols"... What even was the last one? Photosynthetic? What does that mean?

Also, it seems to be that col was the currency of this world. I don't know how much it translates to yen yet, but picking a job that was good and has a good amount of pay is a good way to start.

"Hmm... This one."

I picked out a paper from the board. It was the slime request I saw earlier.

Slimes, if I remember correctly, are one of the weakest mobs in RPG games. If my hunch is right, then this task seems good for a start.

"Are you going to take on a Job, Hisami?" Quine asked.

"Yeah, I will. I don't have money on me currently, so I need a way to earn somehow."

Moreover, I needed a place to stay the night. If I don't have money to rent some sort of temporary lodging, then I might have to risk sleeping in that field. Even if it's big and almost deserted, I didn't want to take any risks of people sneaking up on me while I'm unconscious.

"Can I come with you?"

"Huh? Is that fine?"

"Yeah! You're still starting after all, so I don't want you to be dying on me even though I showed you around!" Quine said with a smile on her face.

She really does remind me of Chisa.

Again, it's not like I have a choice here, since if I declined it would potentially be a disaster for me. I still didn't fully know how combat works in this world, so I guess it's best if I had some sort of tour guide to teach me along the way.

"Really? Thank you. I appreciate the effort. Let's go then," I said, leaving the place, with Quine following behind.

And thus, my adventure in this new world begins!