Half a month has passed since we entered the city of Ladia. When Ars, Lisbeth, and I first arrived at the city gates, we saw ordinary people leading carriages and soldiers preparing to leave work. However, the mere sight of me caused a commotion, a chaotic scene filled with screams.
Most shockingly, one young lady was so frightened by me that she turned pale and lost control of her bladder on the spot.
If Ars and Lisbeth hadn't been there, the atmosphere would probably have turned into one of 'It's a monster! Kill it!'
However, Lisbeth's behavior has been rather strange since she got out of the carriage. After leaving my side, she suddenly let out a strange scream, 'Eeeee!?', behind Ars and me.
When we asked why, she just lowered her head and said nothing, then remained silent.
I noticed her face was flushed, as if she'd seen something strange. Later, Ars began explaining my situation to the crowd. Soldiers and civilians gradually gathered, and eventually we were surrounded by a group of seemingly high-ranking officials and well-equipped individuals, and taken to a place called the Guild Administration.
After hearing my urgent explanation and Ars's cover, people, with skeptical expressions, conducted various examinations for half a month. Besides various questions, they also brought strange equipment to do measurements and such… Ah, embarrassingly, I only now realize that I haven't been wearing anything the whole time, just lying there naked.
If it weren't for a young woman, whose gender was ambiguous—I couldn't tell if she was a nurse or a researcher—who blushed and pointed out the large bells hanging from my lower body, I probably would have remained naked for quite some time.
Later, someone made me a knee-length garment out of cloth or something similar, covering my waist and lower body. This continued... After about ten days, they probably determined I was harmless and took me to see
a certain VIP. We chatted about thanking the divine beast for coming, and he said he would help me live well in the city.
I also spoke with the director, who supposedly managed the guild's administrative office, about various things. He was surprised by my desire to become an adventurer but still agreed.
By the way, the director was a woman, and a very beautiful one at that.
She seemed quite elegant, tall, and although I couldn't check her status bar to confirm her age, she appeared to be of marriageable age. But what was most astonishing was her chest… While I'd admired Lisbeth's breasts before, these were so large it made me wonder if they had three heads, or rather, far exceeding that size, causing me considerable suffering in suppressing my erection.
Those ferocious, irresistible breasts.
So-chan seemed to notice my gaze halfway through… and lowered her head in embarrassment, making the atmosphere awkward.
Anyway, today, after finally completing all the procedures, the Kingdom of Reinhard officially recognized my status as a divine beast and announced that I would be granted citizenship to become an adventurer.
I had thought I would be worshipped as an auspicious creature like in some countries, but it seems that's not the case.
But since I'm in another world now, isn't it better to be able to move freely? With a heart pounding with excitement, I lay down in the neat, stable-like warehouse prepared by the kingdom and got up. "Once I get citizenship, I can move freely around the city... It's a bit difficult now, but once I gain anthropomorphism, I can go to places like the library to get information, and most importantly, I won't have to just chew on grass anymore! Kaka, my blissful life in this other world begins!"
Speaking of which, I should mention that my diet, from the forest era until now, has consisted entirely of grass.
Because I have no hands, only hooves, and more importantly, a horse's face is completely unsuitable for normal eating. On my first day here, the soldiers asked me how I planned to eat. I was going to just ask them to bring some food, but thinking about how this face and this body could possibly eat, I simply let them bring some grass.
Thanks to this, a corner of the warehouse is now piled high with grass that looks like animal feed.
After all, it's a bit embarrassing to make requests in this physical state, so I've decided to look forward to food as the joy of being able to transform back into human form. Chewing on hay that tasted only of grass was truly torture.
"Lord Divine Beast Semo! The citizenship certificate issuance procedures are complete! Please come with us to the Guild Administration Office!" Several seemingly young soldiers came to the warehouse to report the news.
I shrugged happily and walked out, heading towards the Guild Administration Office with the soldiers.
"Heh heh, citizenship rights, huh. Seeing that even divine beasts can obtain citizenship rights, it seems the Kingdom of Reinhardt is quite a nice place." "Haha, the Kingdom of Reinhard is indeed a vast and wonderful country. However, this situation has never actually happened before. Although I'm not entirely sure, generally speaking, divine beasts naturally gain the ability to speak after settling in a certain place for hundreds of years, and then people gather to form villages. Usually, they are not treated as citizens, but rather respected like village representatives. After all, divine beasts are rare, and a case like Lord Shimo's is probably the first of its kind in the world."
"Hehe, is that so? But I haven't lived to be several hundred years old, and suddenly I can speak." Chatting like this with a young soldier who looked only fifteen or sixteen years old, we arrived at the enormous guild administration office, which was particularly conspicuous in the city.
The soldiers explained that I only needed to receive guidance at the guild administration office afterward, and then left.
They seemed quite busy as I walked, and other soldiers in the distance also looked very busy.
After watching them leave for a moment, I walked into the guild administration office, thinking, "But why are citizen certificates issued at the guild administration office?"
"Ah, Mr. Shimo is here! My citizen certificate and adventurer's license are ready!"
"Hehe, hello there, Sera. I'm so excited I couldn't sleep, hehehe." Entering the guild administration office, a young clerk named Sera greeted me. She was quite frightened when she first saw me, but after chatting a few times, she seemed to feel safe and began to treat me with a smile and ease.
While other clerks still seemed slightly nervous around me, this young woman always handled things calmly and with a smile.
Moreover, for the past two weeks, Sera had assisted me almost like a personal clerk in handling guild affairs.
Therefore, I also quite liked her; she was a girl I looked forward to meeting.
Status Bar
......
Name: Ranette Sera
Race: Human
Level: 15 (160/3600)
Title: Idol Clerk of the Guild Management Office
Age: 22
...... As Sera turned to prepare her things, I quietly checked her status bar again.
Considering she's an office worker, this level is pretty good, right?
After all, I'm only level 12.
At least she seems capable of self-defense.
The most eye-catching thing is her title…
"Idol of the Guild Management Office." Indeed, the other female employees are all beauties, but Sera, the most dazzling among them, deserves this title.
Long, light green hair slightly tied up on one side, a charming face radiating a sweet smile, and a moderate height of slightly under 170cm when barefoot.
Slightly shorter than Lisbeth, but with large, fruit-like breasts.
Complementing her breasts is a slender, curvaceous figure.
With her impeccable figure and neat uniform, anyone would assume she was the face of the guild's management office.
And with her friendly demeanor, many adventurers must be completely captivated, right?
Checking the status bar, I wanted to observe the appearances of the adventurers around me, but surprisingly, there were only about ten people.
Compared to buildings on Earth, the guild's management office was shorter but quite large, making it seem rather empty.
Even though it was morning, wasn't it still adventurer activity time?
Because I'm a special divine beast, I thought many people would come to see me… Just as I was thinking this, Sera emerged from behind the counter carrying something. "Here, this is Mr. Shimo's citizen ID. Since it can't be copied, it shouldn't get stolen, but replacing it is quite expensive if it gets lost, so please be careful. Everyone was struggling with how to give it to Mr. Shimo, and then we found a bag that can be tied like this. I'll put it in here for you." With that, Sera hung the bag with two small pockets on my left foreleg. Her thoughtfulness almost brought me to tears.
"Initially, I considered hanging it around his neck with a rope… but seeing how Mr. Shimo is, that would be inconvenient. I thought this bag might be more suitable, so I prepared it. What do you think?"
"Oh… this is indeed very convenient for movement. Thank you, Sera." Moving my leg back and forth doesn't feel cumbersome at all; it's quite good. The rope is tied all the way to my torso, so even jumping around shouldn't be a problem.
"This is the adventurer card issuing machine that Mr. Shimo needs to become an adventurer! Although it's a card similar to a citizen card, for an adventurer, this card is essentially a resume."
"Oh, a resume? Why?"
"Because the adventurer card records the adventurer's level, attributes, and other information. It displays the guild the adventurer previously belonged to, and for adventurers with significant achievements, it also records their accomplishments, so it shows what the adventurer has done." I initially thought it was just a simple upgraded status bar, but it's said that the adventurer card is more like a resume than a status bar.
I wondered if the status bar could also become similar as skill levels increased?
Then I looked at the machine with a rather large crystal ball that Sera had brought. "Let's create Mr. Shimo's adventurer card first to check his attributes! Actually, many guilds are quite looking forward to Mr. Shimo becoming an adventurer despite being a divine beast... However, a rather large dungeon suddenly appeared nearby the day before yesterday, and most people went there to handle urgent missions... They'll probably be back tonight to investigate Mr. Shimo's information." A dungeon!
That irresistible word again.
Hearing the word "dungeon," along with the thought that this place was indeed another world, I started to get excited.
Come on, is that why there's no one in the guild management office?
"Come on, please put your hand... no, your foot on this crystal ball. After reading Mr. Shimo's Aether, an adventurer card will be generated!" Hearing this, I placed my right foot on the crystal ball.
Then the crystal ball rippled with a faint light, and the bead-like object hanging below it began to rotate and move. Just as she was engrossed in looking at this novel contraption, the light suddenly disappeared, and a pattern gradually appeared on the blank card below. "Okay, all done! Now let's check Mr. Shimo's information. Hmm, level 12...? You clearly said you traversed the Cursed Mountain Range and defeated the Mad Bull Monster in one hit, I thought you were at least level 30... Ah! These attribute values relative to your level are simply astonishing! Especially your stamina, it's ridiculously high! Although stamina isn't a crucial attribute, I've never seen such a high value before, and you're only level 12... It must be because you're a divine beast..." Sera focused intently, a look of surprise on her face. Although I was curious too, I should have the staff confirm it first. Despite my burning desire to see, I restrained myself and focused on listening to Sera. "The amount of Ethel you possess is astonishing! Even heroes would envy this level. I heard divine beasts possess amazing Ethels, and indeed… uh, the skill bar… is a bit strange. With this level of strength… it should theoretically have aura conversion, but there's no magic conversion…"
Sera's initially surprised expression gradually turned to confusion.
Don't be like that, you're making me uneasy… Sera then took out a square, thick, plate-like object, stacked the adventurer card on it, and then placed the card back on the table in front of me.
"Your management office confirmation and record are complete! Please confirm here!" After glancing at Sera, whose smile had returned, I looked at the adventurer card.
......
Name: Shimo
Guild: —
Level: 12
Ethel Possessions: 516000
Stamina: 723/Strength: 282/Magic: 48/Agility: 254
Skill: [Back Kick]
Special Notes and Achievements: —
****...Huh?
How should I put it? The content is more concise than expected.
It looks no different from the status bar.
Was the flying kick I used while shouting "Football kick" a skill?
No wonder I felt a subtle sensation when kicking the football; so that's the feeling of using a skill?
And it feels like… putting aside the numerical values, the attributes seem a bit lacking.
Is that all?
What about Magic or Stamina?
"Uh... Sera? Is something missing? Like attack power or defense power? Is it not displayed?"
"Hmm... Attack power or defense power are difficult to quantify, so they're not displayed. What's displayed over there is..."
After asking Sera, she explained while looking at the card.
The machine with the crystal ball analyzes "Aitherre" and records the quantifiable parts.
Names and achievements are directly input by the administration, while the rest is analyzed and quantified by the crystal ball machine's magic.
Attribute values vary each time they are updated; it's said that if you don't exercise and only play, your attribute values might plummet.
Even comparing people with the same values will show subtle differences.
It looks almost like health analysis data now. Furthermore, due to variations in daily physical condition, even with similar scores, the player with the lower score can sometimes win depending on their condition. Therefore, it is recommended to use these scores only as a general reference point. "Speaking of the aura and magic power you mentioned earlier... what are those?" "Aura conversion transforms Aether into energy to strengthen the body, while magic conversion transforms Aether into the energy needed to cast spells. Aura is used to enhance the body, while magic power is used to cast spells categorized as magic by mages. Non-magical skills can be used simply by learning them, but spell-categorized skills require mastering magic power conversion."
In other words, warriors use an aura-based buff, while mages use magic power, a special energy for magic.
But since I haven't even mastered aura or magic power, it means I can only rely on pure muscular strength to fight Aether.
"We'll talk about that later... So, if I learn aura, will I be unable to use magic?"
"Not entirely."
"It's useful, but if you study both martial arts and magic at the same time, you'll end up mediocre in both. Usually, people choose to specialize in one based on their innate stats."
"Hmm..." It seems my attributes are destined for opportunism.
I was hoping to use magic, but seeing that hybrid classes are trash, it seems there's no way around it.
After all, hybrid classes are usually useless in games.
The most regrettable thing is not being able to use magic.
"Not being able to use magic is indeed a bit of a shame... Is that all?"
"Ah, besides the card distribution, there's also an explanation about citizenship and guilds! Originally, the director should have explained it himself, but he just received an order to organize information about the dungeon and Mr. Shimo, and needs to report quickly, so he went to the capital. Therefore, I'm explaining it on his behalf."
"I see. No wonder I didn't see the director. Then I'll leave it to you."
"Okay!" "Then please come to the reception room inside, I'll explain there!" After seeing Sera put away the adventurer card dispenser, we went into the reception room together, found a spacious place to stand, and first listened to the explanation about the citizenship certificate. After reviewing various documents, the explanation about citizenship rights was summarized: the Kingdom of Reinhardt recognized my citizenship rights, and what would happen if I committed a crime.
It can be roughly understood as similar to modern Earth; as long as you don't do bad things and live a law-abiding life, you'll be safe.
As for special cases like mine, after arriving in Ladia, they plan to provide me with the stable-like warehouse to live in for six months free of charge, and give me 10 gold coins as a settling-in allowance.
"Gold coins? I don't really have a concept of that. How much is it roughly worth?" "Generally speaking, 40 silver coins is the average monthly expense for a family of three to four. Of course, adventurers' equipment costs are high, and living expenses will be much higher." The currency unit is 1 gold coin = 100 silver coins, and 1 silver coin = 100 copper coins. Below the copper coins are smaller copper coins for change; 10 smaller copper coins equal 1 copper coin. While listening, I mentally calculated that roughly 1 silver coin is equivalent to 100,000 Korean won, and 1 gold coin is equivalent to 10 million Korean won.
Wow, so the resettlement allowance is 100 million Korean won?
Is it because it's a divine beast that it receives special treatment?
My livelihood should be fine for the short term. "Next is the guild! Mr. Semo may receive various guild membership invitations, but it's best to carefully consider the first guild before choosing!" "Because quite a few adventurers have ruined their careers by joining guilds carelessly!"
"Speaking of guilds, they don't feel the same way I imagined. Aren't adventurers supposed to be free to act? Like, acting solo or in a group?"
"Such people do exist, but they usually form solo guilds. Adventurers are obligated to join guilds. Although there are also temporary contractors without guilds, the taxes levied in these cases are extremely high. Every time they accept a quest, they must sign a contract with a contracting guild. It feels like the guild is looking for errand runners when they're really short-staffed?" Furthermore, teaming up is usually only possible between members of the same guild. For different guilds to cooperate, permission from both guild leaders is required, and an application must be submitted to the management bureau. "Listening to these continuous explanations, I realized that adventurers are somewhat different from what I imagined.
Guilds are essentially companies that adventurers join, and those who don't participate in guild activities are called illegal adventurers.
This is supposedly to solve tax issues and facilitate the management of adventurers; therefore, party formation can only occur between members of the same guild.
The organization that manages these guilds is the Guild Administration. In other words, the Guild Administration is essentially an association composed of businesses.
The Administration undertakes work—quests—from the nation or other organizations. Guilds accept and complete these quests to receive payment, and also earn additional income through hunting for secondary materials.
Furthermore, it's said that among guild leaders with mid-level or higher strength, those with substantial wealth often run independent companies affiliated with their guilds.
Sera explained that the guild's income is distributed to members according to a salary agreement, becoming their salaries.
I don't adapt well to this model." People who join guilds often create solo guilds, taking on mundane tasks like daily quests alone, or are temporarily employed by other guilds, but this unstable approach is unsettling.
Creating a guild requires designing an emblem. After submitting the design, the guild management will use magical tools to brand it onto a designated area like a tattoo upon joining.
This brand serves as both a marker of guild membership and a magic circle.
When guild members of similar levels approach each other, they share experience points.
How exactly does this tattoo-like pattern achieve experience sharing?
It's mentioned that the biggest drawback of temporary contractors is the lack of this guild emblem, making it difficult to accumulate experience points.
Because of this, it's said that even when different guilds cooperate, they rarely hunt monsters together.
The emblems tattooed on the backs of Ars and Lisbeth's hands seem to be this very guild emblem.
"Hmm, it seems we can't move around freely and take on jobs at will. That's a bit of a shame." "Depending on the guild, some guilds do allow this kind of free movement." Guilds often accept small quests and then distribute them to these types of people. Of course, large guilds don't need to do this.
"Hmm, I see... Anyway, you can't do adventurer activities before joining a guild, so I need to think it over carefully."
"Hehe. Yes. You can ask me anytime if you have any questions. Is there anything else you want to ask?"
"Hmm... Oh right, Sera. Does a skill or method exist that allows monsters or divine beasts to transform into human form? I feel like this horse form is too inconvenient..."
"I heard there are skills. It's said that most divine beasts live in human form? I don't know the details... but Mr. Shimo should be able to master it soon, right?"
"Oh...! Thank you. I'll aim to acquire that skill soon. I'll consider the guild conditions first and come back tonight."
"Hehe. Okay." "I'm really looking forward to seeing Mr. Shimo in his human form. See you tonight!" After saying goodbye in the reception room, she hung the bundle of papers containing detailed instructions around her neck, said farewell, and went outside.
She expected a few adventurers to strike up a conversation, but they just stared at her curiously and didn't bother to talk to her.
"I thought something was going to happen..." she thought, returning to the warehouse with a slight sense of disappointment.