My life changed after meeting Rimi and Evans. Even this other world that was nothing better than a hellhole for me; the place that had only brought pain and pain and more pain—it had something for me too.

“Alright, bring it in.”

Evans casually held the sword in his hands as he beckoned me over with his hands. I gripped my ax tight and lowered my stance.

On a park chair at our side sat Rimi, watching us with a bright smile.

Some other people from the town had also gathered. The Scarlet Brough Park had been a famous spot for adventurer brawls and training, I had seen quite a few myself.

“Last time, Evans.”

“It’s just the start,” he said with a laugh. While he was distracted, I kicked off the ground and shot ahead.

My ax swung from the bottom to the top, aiming for his neck. Evans swiftly leaned back to dodge the blow, and I had anticipated it.

I launched a kick to his torso, no longer a clumsy kick but a sharp one.

My foot hit his hand and he slightly staggered backward. Without wasting a moment, Evans stabbed his sword ahead.

”Woah!” I moved to the left. The stab turned into a weak swing as the sword approached my neck. I knew it lacked power and met it with my ax.

Using the momentum, Evans lowered his sword and brought a kick to my face, which I blocked.

Like a salsa between two long-time partners, Evans and I exchanged blow after blow. Sparks flew out as our weapons met one after the other and our attacks swung past the other. He was going easy on me and I was not very desperate, but the very fact that we could still fight with ease proved how much I had grown.

It was the result of weeks of training.

Right as I was about to swing my ax down again, Evans sheathed his sword at his back and stepped away.

“Phew, that’s enough.” Evans wiped the sweat off his forehead. “It’s crazy how you don’t even flinch. Do you not feel pain?”

I caught my breath and lowered my ax. There were some marks on my face where his attacks had landed.

“I do, I just don’t pay attention to it.”

“Crazy guy… Rimi, how was it?” asked Evans and Rimi raised both her thumbs with a bright smile.

“Approved!”

“Have you covered all the books too, Ian?”

I raised both my thumbs too. “I’ll be scoring the best any adventurer has.”

The two of them nodded approvingly.

“With this, you’ll definitely get a license.”

That was the day I had to get my adventurer license. Even without an identity, it was possible to be registered in a guild with a guarantor. After all, many people ran away from home and many many more came from places that were too distant and small for identities to be issued en masse.

Becoming an adventurer for Liones was fairly easy. I heard there were other guilds in other parts of the city and in some other countries too, but one could take quests from all of them thanks to the Adventurer Guild Alliance.

I had learned all this through the books that were part of the curriculum to become an adventurer. The last thing anyone wanted was too many dead people, so you had to know how to survive to be able to get registered.

“Let’s go?” I asked.

“Let’s go!”

“Woohoo! After this, we are going to Shawn’s!”

***

As I said, meeting Evans and Rimi changed my life. The life that had become one of pain and fear slowly started to be filled with the colors of joy.

The situation had not changed. I was still in a different world, I was still stuck with the undying skill, and there were still people who would kill me on sight—very powerful people.

If anything, I should be despairing.

Yet, I did not. A drop of happiness weighed more than a river of sorrow, and I had found more than a drop.

“Alright, three cheers for Ian!”

“The latest Rookie of Scarlet!”

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“Cheers~!!”

Rimi and Evans were always around, we had become a party. Being with them had also given me some courage.

The place started to feel like home, and so did the people there. Through them, I made more connections too.

“Mr. Shawn! Can you put all this on my tab today?”

“You giving them a treat, Ian? Alright. Pay me back when you finally start making money.”

“He still has to pay rent and whatnot, you’ll be waiting a long time Shawn.”

“Evans, shush! I’ll be quick with it Mr. Shawn, I promise!”

***

It had become fun. Full of laughter.

From my time registering at the Adventurer Guild, to our first quest.

“Hey, Evans team. You have three members now, right? Take this quest.”

“Kobolds? We can do that. Rimi?”

“The pay isn’t bad. Ian?”

“I think we can manage. Don’t moonlight mugworts grow near this place? We can pick those too.”

Sometimes we even handled two different missions at the same time. It is quite fun to be working with them. Slowly and surely, we managed to take down monsters and carry our missions to great success.

Every time we finished one, we would go to Shawn’s and celebrate.

“Hey, brat. You are missing money from the last time you three threw a riot here.”

Somehow my tab never grew smaller, but that was fun too. We started meeting more and more people. I managed to get promoted from an F to E ranked adventurer while Rimi and Evans got to a D Rank. We were steadily making some progress through the weeks.

Other adventurers also got to know of us, and we of them. It was natural to take on more difficult missions in a collaboration too, so we did that as well.

“We have a tanker, a mage, a priest, and a warrior. Evans?”

“Right, I am a warrior. Rimi here is a scout, and Ian an all-rounder.”

“All-rounder? That’s perfect for support.”

I had studied with them for months. I usually spent my free time reading books that were free for the adventurers as well. Humans who used Black Magic were not exactly outlawed, but there was a strong stigma against them as worshippers of evil gods.

That was why I kept my necromancy skill a secret. I still had my mana and my body, with Evans, Rimi, and the books’ help I had managed to learn a good deal about fighting.

Even spells, as long as they were basic, were fine. I was a little apprehensive about going to a battle with a priest, though my worries were unfounded.

The gods only ever communicated with each of the seven oracles across the seven great powers, it was impossible for every priest to know about the word of god.

That’s right. Working with others that I met through Rimi and Evans only helped me more. Of course, after completing any job our ending spot was the usual—

“Look at the constellations. You have to borrow the power of the stars for a great magic spell.”

“This skewer is fucking amazing?”

“Ian, slow down on the drink—”

“Alright! Mr. Shawn put this on my tab too! For our new friends!”

“You brat, you just cleared your tab today!”

***

That’s how our days went.

Sometimes Evans and I would train in the Scarlet Bough Park all day and challenge other adventurers.

Sometimes Rimi and I would go window shopping and strolling about in the central streets of Scarlet.

Sometimes we would fight with other adventurers at the guild, only to end up doing a mission with them the next hour.

When our party’s missions went well, we would drink the night away.

When our party’s missions did not go well, we would drink a little more.

Time passed sooner than I knew it, a time when I did not die anymore.

All my stats had increased too. Double of what I had initially seen with everything in the range of 50s. It was enough to get me in the D-Rank of adventurers too, after which it only grew progressively more difficult.

Soon enough, a new set of F and E-ranked adventurers joined the guild. The ‘rookies’ of Scarlet had become a little, just a little jaded.

Three more months passed when one day we found a piece of news that set the town abuzz.

“Guys, did you look at this?” With his fresh gear strapped on him, Evans approached us with a refreshing smile at the guild’s entrance. He waved a newspaper and handed it to me.

I flipped it open and Rimi peeked in.

“Heroes chosen by the goddess? They have been here for half a year?”

My words were stuck in my mouth at the news. It was a sketch of my classmates on the paper. No, it wasn’t a sketch but an almost moving image. Magic was used even here.

“Twenty-four heroes,” Evans said. “Maybe a war will happen? Papatou’s party told me about demons becoming tougher on the border.”

Rimi nodded. “I also heard it, that demons are using monsters now?”

“I hope nothing big happens…” I said. “Well, the seven powers are pretty strong. We have grandmasters, and the oracles too.”

“Right, add the Septet’s personally chosen heroes to it. Another world… do you think that bit is real?” Evans was a little skeptical, and Rimi laughed at it.

“That’s crazy. You already know these newspapers. That’s just a religious legend—”

I quickly covered Rimi’s words. It was preached by the churches that the Septet could call beings from another world and choose them as champions. Rimi saying anything bad would cause us trouble.

Evans sighed at Rimi’s usual antics and shrugged.

“Doesn’t concern us. As they say, the gods always have a plan. Today there’s something more important.”

Right. Today was a fairly important day for us.

We walked up to the counter with me at the lead. I greeted the guild’s familiar receptionist with a bow, Evans waved at her, and Rimi started jumping while saying hi.

“Evans trio. I guess you guys are going to become a true D-Ranked party now?” said the receptionist as she placed a scroll on the table. “This is the last one you need, Ian. Once we hear from the issuer that the quest is clear, you’ll officially be a D-Ranked adventurer.”

Evans took the scroll from her and read through it.

“A hamlet Eastward, named Magen. This is far.”

“It’s the best one we have. Their crops keep being destroyed by monsters overnight. Check if they have a nest, ok?” The receptionist crossed her arms. “I feel like someone has done this quest before.”

“There might be a nest,” Evans said. “We’ll take a good look.”

It was a great quest. Though the identity of the monster was a mystery, it didn’t seem to be troublesome.

Not at all.

The three of us rushed out of the adventurer guild. As we always did, Evans decided to go around and study a bit on our target, Rimi took to the streets to stock up on supplies, and I left to ensure we could travel.

When I reached the carriage station, I went to the coachman who usually helped us.

“Mister!” I said. “We have one at this hamlet eastward named Magen. It’s near the Great Forest.”

The coachman looked at the map and hummed.

“Ay, this place. It’s too far and the path there is horrible. Too narrow and too many ups and downs to take a carriage.”

“Really? Think you can help us here?”

“Ah,” the coachman said. He pointed at an old farmer driving around on an ox-pulled hand cart strutted with hay and some grass. “That man goes nearby every other day. He might help for some cash.”

I looked at the old farmer, he seemed to have noticed my gaze as he turned my way and tipped his straw hat.

“Alright! I’ll talk to him, thanks!”