Yuta struggled to wade through his blankets in his half asleep state. With a robust kick of one of his stubby legs he managed to break free of their hold. He lifted his arm and hit his face with a smack.

“Ow, damn it!”

He forced himself to open his eyes, and as the world came into view, he caught a glimpse of the silhouette of his mother and father in an intimate embrace by the fireplace.

“Wait! I don’t even have my own room, this is not cool… And how many rounds do these guys go every week, it isn’t normal”

*or at least it isn’t a normal I ever knew*

Yuta’s parents had always been cold to him, barely noticing his existence. He coped with it by isolating himself away in his room, and focusing on stories of magical worlds. He had always hoped to be sent to another world, and now that it was really happening to him. However, with that dream becoming a reality, the nightmare of listening to his parents moan and buck, made him want to be sick.

“How can they expect me to sleep with this going on? So inconsiderate”

As much as he squirmed and tried to sit himself he couldn’t, his head was massive and heavy.

“Ugh!!!” he said while wildly waving his hands, “This is so frustrating! Just let me sit up damn it!”

BLING

A blue screen popped up in his field of vision.

Yuta’s baby mouth dropped open.

“Is this what I think it is?”

A red light flickered on the top right side of the screen, scanning his features and uploading data to the system. And after a few short seconds of loading, the screen blinked to life, full of sigils and glyphs.

“Yes! It is a levelling system! I will easily become overpowered, win people’s respect and love, and maybe even be able to defeat the demon king of this world! Life of a hero, here I come! Yes, I am so damn ready! You have no idea!”

*Wait, why can’t I read this… Why is it all written in these hieroglyphics?*

“Bah, no big deal, I will have plenty of time to study the languages of this world and to figure it out. I mean I am a baby now, can’t they learn languages super fast? I’ll probably pick it up in no time”

… Three Months Later…

Yuta’s face was scrunched up like that of an old man as he contemplated his nemesis.

“These damn glyphs keep changing and morphing as soon as I feel I am getting closer to understanding what they mean”

He looked up at the screen with a blank expression, “This has to be a bug, right?”

He swung his arms around wildly and puffed his cheeks up until they were red, “Damn it! Why does my level up system have to be broken!!!”

… 5 Years Later…

His eyes were surrounded by dark ovals, as he stared at the screen muttering as if possessed by a demon. He had picked up a twitch in his left eye, and a habit of shaking his head rapidly as if to erase his thoughts when they overwhelmed him enough.

As Yuta continued to obsess on his status screen, his parents confided in each other their concerns about him…

“Honey, I’m really worried about our boy… I really think something is wrong with him” his father said scratching his head

“We have already had the clerics check him, he doesn’t have any illnesses, they said he is in perfect health”

“Well maybe it isn’t a physical thing…”

“Are you saying he might be slow, like your cousin Eddy”

“No, I mean, Eddy was dropped on his skull as a boy… So it isn’t that, I was more thinking, what if it is demons or something? Like a ghost or something… You’ve noticed how he is always staring at nothing, making those faces of his”

“Enough Jack, stop it, you are scaring me! He just needs more to eat is all, yes that is it! He is undernourished, and you just aren’t bringing home enough of the kinds of foods he likes to eat!”

“That is because the damn kid only eats sweets”

“Well, if that is what our baby needs, then that is what he gets!”

“But it costs five times more than a leg of meat, I can’t possibly afford that!”

“You will just have to find a way, otherwise… Otherwise, I will leave”

“No don’t say that honey, come on the only way I see that being possible is if I limit my own food or find extra work”

“Yes, that is it, I will search for extra work and you will be on half meals from now on!”

Yuta’s father clutched his head in anguish, “Oh gawd, how did it come to this”

… Yuta dropped his head on the table, steam pouring from his ears as he muttered in tongues.

“It’s no use…”

Yuta’s mother came into the house with a wide smile and a basket full of sweets.

“Dinner time sugar plum!”

Yuta looked up to see treats of all kinds plonked down in front of him, “Alright! At least I have my backup crew here to help me keep my energy up, I will just have to take it easy the rest of the day and attempt to crack it again tomorrow”

… Ten Years Later…

“Yuta, it is time you left home”

“What are you talking about father?”

“You are 15 now and old enough to fend for yourself, I-I can’t keep feeding and looking after you any more, it is too much. Please, just go, and do it without telling your mother. She is too kind hearted to ever tell you to leave. I’m sorry, but we are just poor farmers, we can’t go on like this”

His father was just skin and bones, and his hair was old and grey even though he was still in his thirties. His mother had been bed ridden for months, his father had said it was a disease of some kind, but honestly Yuta thought it was because she was stressed out all the time and was just exhausted.

“Look son, here is a satchel full of silvers, enough to keep you going for a few months, go to Elmvale, there is an adventuring guild there. Work hard and make us proud okay?” he said, forcing a smile.

Yuta “Okay father, I will try to make my own way, you have done enough for me as it is, take care of mother for me”

His father fell to his knees, “I’m sorry my boy, sorry I couldn’t do more for you”

Yuta “That is okay dad, I’m going to be fine really”

*I guess this is the classic call to adventure I heard about in literature class back on earth. The moment where the boy leaves the farm to become the hero. I can’t be certain, but I will probably find a teacher, and he will help me become strong. And then finally I might be able to figure out this damn status screen, learn to level up and become so strong this world will confuse me as one of its gods! Or if that is asking too much, maybe one of its great heroes. I mean it only makes sense. Why else would I be transported to another world like this after all*

Yuta had grown up in a small farming town called Lambert, just northeast of Elmvale. In order to get to Elmvale he would need to walk to the stables at the edge of town and get a carriage.

“Hi there sir! I need to book passage to Elmvale”

“You have good timing young lad, I was just about to head out that way ferrying supplies, I could squeeze you on board up front next to me for a couple of silver”

“Thank you sir!”

The man took a few more minutes to finish feeding his horses, and then readied the bridles for the trip. He stepped up into the carriage, and with a crack of the reins set off towards Elmvale.

“So young man, what business draws you to Elmvale” the coachmaster called out over the clopping of hooves

“I am going to become an adventurer!”

“Oh ho ho, my oh my, aren’t you a brave young lad. I did that myself in my youth, it is good honest work”

“Oh really? Why did you stop?”

“Adventuring is a young man’s game, my bones are too old”

“That is too bad”

“Too bad indeed, you can beat all your enemies but you can’t beat time I’m afraid”

*I wonder if I just stop talking, if this conversation ends, or if this is scripted and he will go on anyway*

After a few awkward minutes the coachmaster turned to Yuta, “Won’t be far off now”

*I see, he goes into an idling pattern, well that suits me just fine, I will take more notes on my status screen until we reach Elmvale*

Yuta pulled out his homemade notebook and pencil and began scribbling symbols in its pages. The coachmaster at first smiled warmly to encourage the boy to feel at ease doing as he wished, but he couldn’t help but catch a glimpse of the strange symbols the child was scribbling. He tried to brush off the behaviour with a shrug, but soon found himself staring at the child again.

*Why is he staring into the air like that, this is one creepy kid*

…

As the carriage entered Elmvale Yuta put away his notebook and prepared himself for excitement.

*This is it! The real start of my new life as an adventurer!*

The carriage steered in through the eastern road and headed down the main trade road used to receive goods from Lambert, Dar, and the Cold Woods.

“The adventure guild is at the end of the merchants lane further ahead, I have to make a turn to the trade area so you are best getting off here. Good luck to you”

Yuta hopped off the carriage without so much as a thank you and stormed off towards the markets up ahead. The market was made of ten market lanes. Yuta scrunched up his face and opened a new page in his notepad.

*If I count each store by its average size and placement. An average store is about ten paces long and a lane is ten paces wide. If I take into account that these lanes look about two hundred paces long, that implies twenty stores on each side of a lane, making that forty stores per lane, and since forty times ten is four hundred it looks like there are that many stalls here*

“Lambert only has a couple dozen stalls, I wonder just what can be bought here?”

Yuta was eager to visit all of the shops, detail all of their goods and prices and to find out what was to offer but before he could start on that he had a questline to start. The adventuring hall stood tall at the end of the market square, three stories tall and made of stone it was a veritable castle.

*I wonder if the adventuring guild purchased the remains of an old fort and then renovated it. If true they must have a lot of pull in the city*

Yuta briefly marked down the kinds of stalls he passed in the first lane, most of them dealing in goods from the outlying farm villages in the east like Lambert. At the end of the market there were several stores that sold more expensive goods and services.

Yuta pushed onwards and up the steps into the Adventuring Hall.

“Whoa, are all of those quests” he said as looking at the right wall, “And look there are adventurers handing in trophies and getting paid for it!”

“Yes I am so ready for this!”

He rushed towards what looked to be the main reception desk and slapped his hand down onto the desk, “Sign me up to be an adventurer!”

The woman clerk smiled politely, “Certainly, let me get your details and I will register you”

After settling the details the Clerk began to point out the value of purchasing certain goods and services directly from the guild, and that as a member of the guild he was now capable of staying in their housing district and would receive a daily ration so long as he was active.

Yuta “And so what exactly counts as active?”

Clerk “Oh it isn’t all that difficult, most people meet the requirement by just handing in their quests”

Yuta raised an eyebrow, “But what is the minimum requirement for lodging and rations?”

“I suppose the minimum is five G grade quests every day or one F grade quest a day. If you are capable of more than the lower level tasks, grade E quests only need to be done once every three days, grade D quests every week, and grade C quests once a month” .

Yuta smiled *this is great, I can start out with a simple grade F task, then as I grow I can laze about accomplishing a simple grade C quest now and then and all my living costs will be paid for*

“Just out of curiosity, how many grade C quests are handed in each month?”

The clerk smiled, “Oh there is usually one or two”

Yuta “But there has to be at least thirty people in the hall right now, isn’t that number a little low?”

She frowned, “Well, I suppose most people don’t want to risk their lives facing dangerous monsters every month, even experienced adventurers find them challenging, but we are fortunate that some of our most capable members understand the importance of completing these quests for us. Though I think they do it more out of service to the community than for the rewards. Oh and sometimes the guards help when adventurers don’t take the job. Like last month a trainee by the name of Mirio helped clear out the mines of an infestation of wererats!”

Yuta “Wererats? What are they?”

“They stand as tall as a man, but with a head like a rat, they are magical beasts that can’t be harmed by normal weapons and have considerable fighting skill. They are incredibly dangerous”

Yuta “I guess that sounds a little bit above me at the moment. You said it was a trainee in the guards that did it?”

“Hrmm, I’m not sure if he is still a trainee I think I heard of him being admitted to the guard, many people around town have been talking about it, but I haven’t had the chance to confirm it with him myself as he is based out in Gimly”

Yuta “That is the village to the north with lumber mills that support the demands of the port, correct?”

“Yes that is right!”

*So some trainee guard from the sticks did it, it probably isn’t all that hard to do. With some proper gear I should be at least capable of doing a grade D mission within the week*

Yuta nodded at his appraisal of the situation, content in his read of things.

“Okay, thank you miss”

The lovely lady smiled “Good luck, do your best okay!”

Yuta waved *this is going to be too easy*

… Later that day…

Okay, I have some simple leather armor, and a trusty club for a weapon. He took a few swings with it like it was a baseball bat.

“Hmph, this should be enough to complete this F grade quest”

Yuta looked down at the parchment that outlined the request

Kill at least five medium sized bullfrogs

They are breeding near the sewage drains just outside of town

Help keep us keep their numbers in check

Reminder: We need everyone who can to pitch in

They might not be a threat on their own but in enough numbers

They will start to threaten the residents on the outskirts of town

Due to the urgency of this request we are paying an extra silver for each five killed and a fifty gold pieces for any brood mothers slain

“Now that I have the perfect weapon, which I got for cheap! I should be able to bag myself at least a dozen of these frogs, maybe a brood mother or two, and it will be easy money”

The stench of sewage carried itself upon the breeze as Yuta neared the location detailed on the quest map.

“All right, so I need to find some medium ones”, as Yuta looked into the distance he saw a frog about the size of a large boulder, and behind it a frog half the size of a man. “That has to be a brood mother. I will first have to kill off some of these mediums before I get to the broodmother though”

Yuta picked up some stones and began tossing them at the giant toad, “Yah, yah! Come over here you beast!”

The stones bounced off its thick skin like it was nothing, but it served to get its attention. The creature lumbered slowly towards Yuta, leaving behind the smaller frogs that were around it earlier, “Once I finish off this brood mother I will pick off those other bullfrogs, and it will make for a massive haul!” his smile couldn’t hide his swell of pride and compulsion for greed.

“Yah!” Yuta screamed as he took his first swing at the creature

PWONG!

The club bounced off of its head. The recoil threw Yuta off balance and forced him to scramble to remain on his feet. “I guess I didn’t brace myself for the strike well enough, oh well, if at first you don’t succeed…”

PWONG PWONG PWONG

“Try and try again!”

PWONG

The creature looked at him with its vacant eyes, and shook its head to show its blue skin under its gullet as a warning signal of its attack.

*That must be its signal for its attack pattern, I need to run to the side right?*

Yuta abandoned his next swing and ran to the side as the bullfrog charged at him head on. He had moved just in time and the frog butted its head into the space in which he had been previously standing.

Yuta ran around the back of the frog *If I attack it from the back it will do more damage right? I can’t miss this chance*

Yuta leapt over a puddle of sewage and found his footing behind the bullfrog.

THWACK

Yuta connected with a solid hit that didn’t bounce off this time. He seemed to hit some kind of bone or cartilage that ran along its spine.

YERP!

The bullfrog screamed out in pain and then hopped off to run away

Yuta “I won’t let you!”

He chased after it beating it on its back with his club

THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK THWACK

“Damn, just how many hits will this take?”

*Well it is a brood mother after all, it is meant to be tough otherwise people would be bringing them back all the time*

As Yuta chased it around some rocks, he stopped and his jaw fell open at what he saw.

Hundreds of the same sized bullfrog were gathered in groups of four or five, and about a dozen adventurers were attacking each of them in groups.

A man with a large shield deflected the attack of several of the beasts, while his support archers aimed for their gullets and open mouths. Another man with a long pike, stabbed them from behind the shield bearer and helped fend off other groups from approaching so they could focus fire on one at a time.

Several other groups worked this way, but it seemed as though they were doing an impossible task.

“No way, how many brood mothers are there?”

A girl shooting arrows from the back turned towards Yuta after overhearing his comment “A brood mother? Where?”

Yuta pointed “There, what you are shooting at”

“What the hell are you talking about, these are medium sized bullfrogs”

Yuta “Wait, what the hell?”

He gazed over the battlefield, and amidst the stench and the impending feeling of an impossible task, Yuta began to gag.

*How am I supposed to… Take down FIVE of these?!*

The girl turned towards him “Come on, don’t just stand there! Help us out!”

Yuta turned to her with renewed resolve “Yes! Of course!”. He grit his teeth and ran to the front line near the man with the pike and the man with the shield.

He raised his club and twacked at each of the bullfrogs as they bashed into the shield, “What the hell are you doing?” the shield carrier called out, “You can’t hurt them that way, and why do you have a club, they are resistant to blunt damage”

Yuta “Oh, sorry I didn’t know!”

One of the bullfrogs charged at Yuta, “Grah!” the man yelled as he jumped in between to stop its attack, “Get out of here you fool, you are making it harder!”

The girl from before started yelling too “Get out of the way! You aren’t doing it right! Take grade G quests if you aren’t up for the task newbie”

Yuta jumped back and moved to the back lines

*Calm down guys… I can’t be THAT bad, don’t over react, I’ll just get myself a pike from town and return*

Yuta ran back to town, it wasn’t an easy trek, but after a few minutes he finally made it to a store selling Pikes.

“One… Hah hah… Pike… Hah hah… Please… Hah hah”

“You are out of breath lad, why don’t you sit down a moment”

“Hah hah… No thanks… Hah hah… I’ll be… Hah hah… Fine!”

Yuta snatched up the pike after paying for it and started jogging back to the fields of bullfrogs. However, stars began to hover around his field of view, and the pulse of his heartbeat in his neck thudded loud enough for his ears to hear it.

CHINK CHINK

The pike sprawled out onto the street below, as Yuta dropped face first into the pavement, unconscious from having overexerted himself.

After a few minutes, Yuta opened his eyes and rolled up onto his side, “I-I have to keep going”, he gripped onto the pike and stood back up.

*I can’t run, I just don’t feel well enough, but if I walk I should be okay*

He took several swigs of water from his canteen and wiped sweat from his brow, and after a few more minutes of walking he weaved his way through the rocks to the battlefield.

The group looked tired, and two of the bullfrog’s bodies were dragged back behind the back line.

The girl from before looked at him and noticed the pike in his hands, she then turned back to the fight and let loose another arrow.

Yuta ran up to where the other pikeman was and watched him carefully and tried to copy his attacks.

FWIP

As Yuta’s blow struck one of the bullfrogs the pike twisted and flicked out of his hands

Pikeman “Watch out! They have tough skin, you have to hold it tight!”

Yuta nodded and picked the pike back up, this time gripping it tightly he jabbed at the gullet of the frog pounding against the tanker’s shield.

WUP WUP WUP

Yuta tried his best to pierce its skin but his blows were deflecting off.

“Put your body weight into it” the pikemen yelled

“I am trying to” Yuta screamed back

CRACK!

Yuta screamed out in pain as one of the bullfrogs smashed into his side and threw him face first into a pool of sewage. Yuta spat and shook his head, quickly grabbing his canteen to wash out his mouth and clear his face of globs of fecal matter.

He scurried back to his feet and looked around as everyone continued to battle on

*Screw this!*

Yuta snatched up his pike and stormed off back towards town

Girl “Where are you going?! I thought you were going to help out!”

Yuta “I think I sprained my wrist, I can’t fight these things yet, maybe I’ll help another time, but for now I have to go”

Girl “Hmph, fine, go then!” she said before shooting him a dirty look

*What is that look about? Look I tried my best okay, what do you want from me*

… Yuta arrived back at the guild covered in mud and excrement. He made his way through the small crowd at the quest boards and looked for some grade G quests, “Ah here is one”

In need of a waterboy to take extra lunch supplies to the mine

A couple of the men were attacked by goblins and threw their lunches to distract them

Help us get them some lunch so mining operations aren’t interrupted!

This counts as 5 grade G points, enough for your day’s rations!

Yuta eyed the quest paper and stroked his chin in deep thought.

“If this is anything like the last request there has to be some kind of catch, I bet if those guys lost their lunch to goblins, in worst case I will end up in the same boat”

Yuta went up to reception and gathered the supply pack and swung it onto his back “Don’t worry you can count on me!”

On his way out the front of the guild a thought occurred to him *Wait, most quests in games have two ways of beating them, the straight forward approach which involves fighting, and the story based approach that allows you to get around it without a battle… Maybe if I ask around I can find someone with a hint on how to handle the goblins?*

Yuta spent five minutes walking up to different people in the hall asking them for assistance before finally someone responded

“If you are asking for help with avoiding goblins I think the hunters have maps of their patrol routes, that might be what you are looking for?”

Yuta pumped his fist in victory and headed towards the hunting lodges on the outskirts of town and bought the map.

*Haha! Now I just need to navigate properly. If I remember my time in scouts properly I should be able to find my way*

…

The forests were colder than the surrounding lands, the canopy above was blocking out most of the light making it appear like the twilight hours. Yuta snuck from tree to tree, keeping his head on a swivel and listening out for any sound that might indicate goblins. Birds chirped and flew from branch to branch in the treetops.

Yuta sighed with relief as he spotted the entrance to the mine “Phew, I made it!”. He continued to be cautious as he made his way into the mine.

“Ah you brought our lunch, thanks kid, here is a token for you to take back to the guild”

The man flicked a token in the air, forcing yuta to scramble to catch it.

“Thanks, oh by the way, can I ask about the trainee Mirio that cleared the mine of wererats, what happened there?”

The miner rubbed the back of his neck, “Alright, I will tell you the story since you made your way all the way out here with our lunch. Wererats don’t usually this far west, as their main population is near the mountains in the east. But something must have scared them away from there and they were just looking for a new burrow. Problem is they don’t see us miners as much of a threat so… To cut a long story short, one morning we came in for a day's work only to find they’d taken up residence inside. We ran our asses off back to Elmvale and asked if they had anyone to help us. They at first said it would take a while and well… It was tough to hear because if we are out of work for long enough… Well we have families to feed you know? So the week dragged on and we were asking every adventurer we could to help us out, but they told us it was too tough of a job, until we met Mirio. He laughed and told us not to sweat it, that he would go and clear out the mine. I was shocked at the time, I didn’t really believe we’d find anyone and I didn’t really believe a trainee could do the job. Later that day we came back to the guild hall and they told me the quest was done, there must’ve been at least a dozen of their heads piled behind the trophy stall. And that was that. I hear around town that the boy became one of the guard recently actually, and I’m glad for it, we need more folk like that around here”

Yuta *they talk about this guy a lot, is this a questline or something?*

… 1 Month Later…

Yuta had scratches all over his face, and was wrestling a bag in his arms, tied up at the top with a bit of rope.

He went up to the guild reception desk “Here is the damn cat that was missing, oh and a bunch of rat tails from the barn”

Clerk “Thanks for your help” she said as sliding him some coin over the counter, “Oh by the way, Mirio has started teaching some classes here in the guild, he is doing one today if I’m not mistaken”

Yuta *It is this Mirio guy again, he is always being mentioned… This HAS to be a quest*

“When will it be?”

“On his lunch break, so in an hour or so, it will be held in the courtyard, feel free to participate and ask him any questions you desire!”

Yuta popped the coins into his satchel and headed to the quest board, “Let’s see if there is another grade G quest that I can do in time”

*No, wait, I should just wait for this Mirio guy to show up and then do his class*

*But I need to do more quests to afford housing and rations for tonight… I am running out of money as it is, I need to at least do that much so I can save money*

“Ah here we go, a quest for doing some shopping for some of the elderly, that is simple enough”, “Oh and another for handing out some flyers, I can do that one too”, “Ah and for my last task for the day, helping to clean out the public baths”

*Okay, even if I wait for Mirio’s class I’m sure I can get those done before nightfall, so I’ll head to the courtyard and get ready!*