Skill? Nee yo Sonnamon! ~ Fugusha tachi no Saino Kaika ~

Unfortunate Girl, Even More Unfortunate Old Man

 

Why hello there.
I've managed to get inside town of 【Dajiel】 and am currently on my way to the guild led by Alma.
The townscape feels more like a beautiful oversea town you see in TV than another world.
No, it's kinda more like that town where a girl riding a broom doing delivery service…
Let's not go there.

Wonder how would another world's townscape look like anyway.
Maybe there's lotsa things shining and the populace fly around everywhere? Naw, that doesn't sound right.

I had that thought in mind while strolling the town, then we arrived at a building with an Adventurer Guild signboard posted outside.
It's bigger than I thought.
Around as big as a school gym?
Oh, the entrance looks like a western tavern.
Western door? The thing flaps whenever people go in and out.

“This place is adventurer guild.
I took the quest to eliminate magic beasts in the forest here.”

“Hee, so this is a guild.”

My image of adventurer guild is from manga and light novel, a huge signboard with many quest tags plastered, a beautiful lady receptionist, and getting picked on by unsavory folks when you first get in.
…The former two aside, please spare me the latter.

We got through the flapping door and sure enough, the insides mostly fit my imagination.
There's paper tags plastered on the signboard, but they're not random, instead the tags are split by categories like magic beast exterminations, ruin investigations or herb gatherings.
Well, I guess that's only right to make it easy.
Seeing them neatly sorted out like that makes me think of job checklist though, reducing my excitement by half.

The guild has all kinds of people inside.
Men and women of all ages, jobs and weapons of all kinds, you don't get tired watching them.

Alma walked up to a receptionist counter and spoke to her.

“I'm back.
Please check my record.”

She handed over the accepted quest card.

“Be right there~…
Two kobolds and six goblins.
Well done~”

The receptionist oneesan is a blond blue eyed beauty with a gentle atmosphere around her.
She must have Appraisal if she could read extermination records.
She took some cash from the register after confirming.

“1400 en for 2 kobolds, 3000 en for 6 goblins, 4400 en in total~.
Please confirm it~.”

“Thank you.
Also, I'd like to refer someone to the guild.
Please handle his registration.”

“Come again? It's rare for Alma-san to refer someone, or more like this will be a first, right.
You're even flying solo for quests usually.”

“Un.
He's in trouble and got nowhere to go, please.”

She looked at me.

“E-err, I'm Kajikawa Hikari.
I'm having trouble finding an employment, the reason of which should be made clear if you check my status.”

“Eeh? Please excuse me then…
Eh? Job Appraisal not possible? Attributes are all at 2? Skill acquisition not possible…
Huh? But you've eliminated 1 kobold and 2 goblins!? W-what's going on?!”

The receptionist spoke in confusion.
Her flustered appearance looks a bit cute…
I mean no.

“Apparently I've got an unusual disposition since birth, and that status is the result.
I can't get employment anywhere thanks to it, so here I am, thinking maybe I could take on relatively safe quests at the guild.”

“I-Is that true.
It seems there's a lot of story behind it.
As you have records of eliminating magic beasts, somehow, may I assume that you are capable of self defense then?”

“Well, I should manage if it's one-on-one.”

“By the way, he stole a club from a goblin and proceeded to beat two of them to death before my eyes.”

Alma, I'm grateful for your cover, but the way you phrase that is a bit….

“Eeeh….
U-understood.
Please sign here for your registration…”

The receptionist seemed to have given up trying to make sense out of it and finished my registration.
Sorry for being a weirdo.

“You may have to pay a penalty fee if you fail depending on the quests, so please take care when you're accepting one~.”

“Much obliged.
By the way, I'd like to accept one right away, could you recommend the most safest quest possible?”

“Let's see~.
Herb gathering would be best for beginners~.”

She took a mugwort-like plant from under her counter.
Does she have one prepared all the time?
Confirming Menu.

【Grass of Hiruka (Rootless)】

<All parts of it including leaf, stalk and root carry recovery effects, thus it's preferable to dig it out thoroughly.>>

The sample has no root though.

“This was just brought in by another beginner earlier~.
This herb is high on demand, quests to gather them are always available~.
Each appropriate one is worth 100 en~.”

…The sample isn't appropriate though.
Well she did give a hint by saying it was brought by a beginner so there's no guarantee the state is perfect, but that's kinda nasty.
Well, I guess she's trying to teach me not to get lax on preparations and information gathering even for a simple job.

“Then I'll take a herb gathering quest.”

“Understood~.
Here is your quest card~.”

“Thanks.
Err, is there anything I should keep in mind for these quests?”

“Let's see~.
There are plants that look similar to this herb, so be careful you don't pick the wrong one~.”

“Is that so, any other?”

“Umm, the closest place from this town where this herb grows will be the plain to the south~.
Magic beasts don't usually prowl there, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't stay alert~.”

…Doesn't seem like she's gonna talk about the important points.
Guess I'll study how to harvest them myself.

“Very well, thank you very much.
It's my first quest and all, I'll do my best and gather lots.”

“Ah yes.
T-then please take care~.”

She saw me off while looking like she wanted to ask if I know how to gather them.
Guess I'm being a bit nasty too.

I left the guild and decided to head for my inn.
It costs 1000 en a night, without meals but there's a simple facility to wash up, so it's very cheap.
Alma tends to stay there herself, it's pretty comfortable for the price according to her.

“Seeing as you're staying at an inn, I guess you've gone independent right after coming of age? That's amazing.”

“Un.
It got a bit hard for me to stay around after getting my Job…”

“Eh? But why?”

“Well…”

“My, Alma.
I don't think I've seen you with a man before.
Have you started selling yourself because of money issue?”

A very sleazy way of talking to someone could be heard from behind us.

I turned around and saw three girls slightly taller than Alma looking at us.
Friends…
don't seem so.
They kinda look like the template for bullies.

“Are you so desperate you're selling yourself to that dull looking old man? Poor you.
Oh perhaps you would like to borrow money from me? I'm not against helping even a half-wit like you, see? Fufu.”

The red haired twin tailed swordswoman resumed talking.

“Ah, but naturally you'd pay it back in three days, okay? Otherwise we'd send you straight to jail.”

A blue haired ponytail archer behind her added while grinning.

“S-stop it you two.
Don't be mean.”

The long silver haired mage seemed against them.

Uwaa.
What's with these girls.
The silver haired girl aside, those two girls are clearly looking down on us.

Well shuck.
What's so fun messing with other like this.
Girl bullying is so scary.
And who the heck is old man.
I mean I'm halfway to my 30 yeah, but y'know.

“I have no money issue.
I'm just taking him to an inn.
I'm not selling myself.”

“By inn you mean that run down one? How could you say you have no money issue while staying there.”

“Well, it does suit a half-wit with a failed job like her though.”

“Y-you two…”

Alma's expression clouded a bit when she was told that.
I could strongly feel her frustration from her almost unchanging expression.

…Oh crap, I'm gonna snap.

I'm getting more angry from them making fun of Alma than myself.
I spoke without thinking.

“Ah, sorry.
For being a failed Job and a half wit.
Almatina-san is very kind she'd extend a helping hand to someone like me.”

“Ah? What's with you old man?”

“Well y'see, you can tell right away my status is crap.
I'm nothing like you full fledged girls.
Ah, by the way, here they are.”

I showed the girls my Appraisal Paper.
Look at it! What a real failed one looks like in me! I wanna cry.

“Eh, wait, even half-wit is too good for this…”
“O-old man, how are you still alive?”
“P-Poor you…
And this is made by Master Appraiser Filsdaim, so there's no mistake…?”

The three girls were taken aback.
Well their reaction is only right.

“And yet she saved my life, referred me a job when I was at my wit's end, and even offered to guide me to an inn, she's truly wonderful.
She's pretty much an angel! Don't you think so!? Right?”

I blurted out some weird stuff in the heat of the moment, might as well go with it.

“I-I get it.
I get it already, so stay away…
Alma, you should be more picky with who you acquaint yourself with.
Bye now.”

Thus they left quickly.
Think the silver haired girl said, 'Do your best, mister' as she left, but that just makes it hurt more, stop it.

Alma looked at me like she wanted to say something once the three girls left.

“Ah, sorry.
I said some weird stuff there.
Forgive me if it troubled you.
I don't mind if you leave because of–“

“I'm sorry.”

Alma spoke while looking down.

“You did all that to cover me, sorry.
I know you didn't want to show your status to other people.”

“Well those status are nothing to brag about for sure.
But I can at least manage against a group of goblins on my own.
Right?”

“…Sorry.”

“It's fine.
Let's just get to the inn.
I've been walking since dawn all day, I'm beat.”

“…Un.”

We started walking to the inn once again.
Ah, another embarrassing mark in my history.
But, I'd rather that than letting them keep disparaging Alma.
I'm used to getting mocked anyway.

Right, they said Alma's got a failed job, how come?

Job 【Apprentice Paladin】
<It has both traits of Apprentice Swordsman and Apprentice Mage, but due to its low attribute increase and slow skill growth from level up, the Job is known as a Jack of all trade, master of none.
Once Basic Level reaches 10, it is possible to Job Change to another Job among Swordsman, Mage, or ■■■■■.
The gap in growth rate vanishes after Job Change, but due to the slower growth of attributes and skills during Apprentice period, a slight gap will always remain.
Additionally, choosing Swordsman will make you lose Offensive Magic skill, while choosing Mage will make you lose Swordsmanship skill.>>

I-it's so long.
So in short, it's worse than the Job that specializes in swords or magic.
Moreover, Job Change? Once the Job Rank Up, she'll only be able to either use swords or magic.
So it's the reason people call it failed.
Umu.
And, what's up with the third option of Job Change, that ■■■■■ thing? You'd think that'd be Paladin.

<Nobody has achieved the conditions to Job Change to that.>>

Conditions? There are conditions for Job Change?

<>

So you must get the base skill for that Job and reach a certain level huh.

So then for Paladin, what's the skills supposed to be?