I strolled along the roadside, occasionally checking my map.

It had been about half a day since the Pixies had cooked the boars for me and brought me to the edge of Tigrynaresh. Given that it had taken me about half a day to get to the Pixie encampment, that made it a full day since I had arrived in this world.

Incidentally, the boars tasted just like the pork back home in Japan, except slightly tougher. I’m not sure whether to be relieved or disappointed about the fact that it wasn’t anything more exotic.

During the course of my journey so far, I had managed to ascertain that the [Halftime] passive from [Sibylline] did, in fact, apply to my [Login Bonus] passive skill – I had 2 GP in my bag that stood testament to that discovery. At this rate, I would be able to roll another weapon in a day and a half – hopefully something that fit my class better.

I mean, in all fairness, [Sibylline] was a great weapon, but something about going around a fantasy world hitting monsters with a book didn’t sit well with me. It lacked an element of romance.

Yes, I’m a nerd.

Anyway, the fight with the boars had let me level up thrice, so I was currently Level 4. Incidentally, it seems that my base stats don’t increase with level, but the stat corrections offered by the class increased with every level. My current status looked something like this:

Status

Name

Brynhildr Weber

Class

Valkyrie (☆☆☆☆) / Gachamancer (☆☆☆☆)

Level

4 / 40 | (2/40)

Stats

HP

100 + 430

MP

50 + 180

Strength

2 + 36

Endurance

2 + 56

Magic

2 + 36

Resistance

2 + 56

Agility

2 + 21

Luck

0 + 31

Skills

Basic Magic (Supportive)

- Healing Lv.1

Divine Magic

- Shieldmaiden Lv.1

Gachamancy Lv.1

Login Bonus Lv.1

Item Box Lv.1

Class Change

Lance Proficiency

Healing Proficiency

Armour of Valhalla Lv.1

Divine Eye Lv.1

Divine Favour

Auto HPMP Regeneration

Lance Arts Lv.1

It seemed that apart from HP and MP, which rose by 10 per level, all other stat corrections provided by the [Valkyrie] class increased by 2 per level. Meanwhile, my [Gachamancer] subclass that had risen to Level 2 had also improved, giving me 31 Luck instead of 30.

The fact that the [Gachamancer] only improved by 1 point upon reaching level 2 made it clear that different classes had different growth rates. [Valkyrie] was a generalised class, so it had well-rounded stat distributions, but it was possible that a Strength-focused class would give 5 Strength per level or something equally ridiculous.

…That said, isn’t the growth potential of the [Gachamancer] a little too pitiful? 1 point per level is kind of sad, isn’t it?

Well, the ability of the [Gachamancer] is powerful – if unreliable – so I suppose the bad stats balanced out. I’ve already accepted it as a non-combat class, anyway.

I took out my [World Map] and made sure I was headed in the right direction. The moment I had left the Forest, two new locations had immediately appeared on the map: the Town of Kronshire to the East, and the Snowvelt Mountains to the South. Focusing my attention on the Snowvelt Mountains had generated a prompt that informed me that the average level of monsters residing there was 38, so obviously I chose to head to the town instead.

Incidentally, the average level for Tigrynaresh was only listed as [????]. Furthermore, on its outskirts, a thick fog descended that made it impossible to navigate – if not for the guidance of the Pixies, I would never have made it out. That particular forest was a strange place.

Thankfully, there was a road just a short distance from where I had emerged from the forest, a road which, according to the [World Map], led right to Kronshire. Of course, a road from a town had to lead to somewhere. In the case of this road, the map indicated that it led to a military garrison named [Kron Fort]. I had no business going near a military installation, so I figured that it was a good decision to go the other way.

The journey was generally uneventful, and I got to Kronshire without any issues… is what I’d like to say, but unfortunately, I quickly ran into a group of soldiers, patrolling the road. When I came into sight, the soldier leading the group held out his hand, signalling for his group to stop. He stepped forward and walked toward me.

“Ma’am. May I ask where you’re headed?”

Huh. Interesting. He was clearly speaking in a foreign language, but I heard it as Japanese. It was like listening to a badly dubbed audio track, where the original language was still audible beneath the dub.

“Um, I-!”

I tentatively tried to respond in Japanese, but the words that came out of my mouth were the words of that foreign language. I started a little in shock, but quickly collected myself.

It’s probably part of the whole different-world package. Yeah. Thinking about it’s only going to give me a headache, so let’s just ignore it for now, yep.

I resumed my explanation.

“A-Ahem. I’m heading toward Kronshire.”

“On what business?”

“Uh… I’m intending to try and find work as a mercenary, or at least as a guard for hire. I’m a bit strapped for money.”

I breathed an internal sigh of relief. I almost said I wanted to be an adventurer. That was the usual template, but I didn’t even know if adventurers existed in this world. Mercenary was a safer bet.

…Wait, but what if mercenaries are illegal? Wouldn’t I be in huge trouble?

I fidgeted as the soldier who was questioning me stared at me, suspicion painted clearly on his face.

“...Your armour certainly doesn’t seem to suggest that you’re low on funds.”

Ah. Right. My divine armour. It was really pretty and ornate, and at a glance, it looked expensive.

Officer, this armour was free. A gift. It’s true. I’m actually poor. Ignore the fact that I have a legendary book and 30 gold in my magic bag, I’m poor, I promise.

As expected, I can’t possibly give an excuse like that.

Then again, the way the soldier put it seemed to be that kind of template where they demand my armour as compensation for letting me go free. Was this guy a corrupt soldier? Well, it’s not like I could do anything even if he was. I was outnumbered ten to one, and they were all at least level 15. I wouldn’t stand a chance.

Besides, even if they took my armour, it would just reappear on my body when I wished for it – I’d already tested that when I bathed in the lake at the Pixie village.

The leader stepped forward, closer to me, still glancing at me suspiciously. I mentally prepared myself for the vicious request and sinister laugh that I knew was coming.

“…Do you have any form of identification?”

Eh? He wasn’t going to ask for my armour, or say “repay our generosity for letting you go with your body” or anything clichéd like that? He was actually doing his job? Eh?

Could it be? Was it possible that he was a proper, normal soldier and not corrupted? Was I just jumping to conclusions?

“Ma’am, your papers, if you would?”

Ah, right. I should respond.

“Um, I, uh, don’t have any.”

Fuck. I was so shocked by him doing his job normally that I accidentally blurted out the truth. He immediately narrowed his eyes, like a hawk that had secured its prey. He motioned to one of the soldiers standing behind him – that soldier handed him a clear jewel and what looked like a clipboard. Meanwhile, the other soldiers took up their arms and stood alert, watching me.

Is it just me, or is my situation getting worse by the second?

Cold sweat started to collect on the back of my neck. What was the punishment for moving around without identification? Prison? Slavery? Was my adventure in a different world going to end just like that?

The soldier who had been questioning me raised the clear jewel to his eye and stared at me intently through it.

“…!”

A textbox appeared in front of him, like the kind that relayed system prompts to me. He set down the crystal and perused the screen. Was he checking my status? As his eyes moved down the screen, they widened in surprise. He looked up from the screen to me, then back to the screen. Then he touched the screen, closing it, and placed his right fist over his heart while bowing his head slightly. It looked like a gesture of respect. I tilted my head slightly, immensely confused. Thankfully, before I could ask him what was going on, he spoke up.

“Lady Valkyrie, I apologise for my disrespect. It’s just that bandit attacks along this highway have been increasing in frequency recently, so we’ve been on the lookout for armed individuals. You have our deepest apologies for suspecting you.”

The moment he said “Valkyrie”, the soldiers behind him started. Then they followed his example and bowed their heads with their hands over their hearts.

…Eh? Don’t tell me, these soldiers respect the gods as well? Actually, could it be that my class was actually super important in this world? It’s just an SR though. For the time being, I decided to pretend I knew why they were so respectful. In other words, a bluff.

“…Please, raise your heads. You’re not at fault. I’m certain that it has been a long time since you last encountered one of my kind. We don’t often descend upon this realm, after all.”

Please let Valkyries be rare please let Valkyries be rare please let Valkyries be rare.

“I thank you for your mercy, though it is wasted on the likes of me. Even though it has been 300 years since a Valkyrie last descended on this world, that is no excuse for showing such disrespect to a shieldmaiden of the heavens.”

My eyes widened. 300 years?! So it was a rare class! Nice bluff, me! I quickly forced myself to drop the surprised look and instead adopt a smile. The soldier bowed his head once more, then straightened up and continued speaking.

“Lady Valkyrie, it is likely that you will be stopped at the gates of Kronshire due to your lack of identification. To spare you this inconvenience, and as an apology for my actions, I will write you a letter to show the guards at the gate. In truth, I would prefer to escort you to the town myself, but we have to complete this patrol. In my stead, Alan and Reese will accompany you.”

He signalled to his soldiers, and two of them near the front stepped away from the file. The leader turned back to me as he removed ink and paper from his bag.

“Now, if you would wait for several minutes, I will begin drafting the letter.”

“O-okay.”

I was a little disoriented by how nice he was suddenly being to me. As he began to write, I mused on what had just happened. First the Pixies, and now these soldiers. Were Valkyries really that important in this world? It seemed a little too important to be just an SR rarity class.

Well, it’s convenient, so I guess that’s all that matters – until I get a new class, anyway.