Chapter 1: Reincarnated in Another World
Side: Shinaguru
I was suddenly reincarnated into another world, in a poor village.
Apparently, my name is Shinaguru.
Being a baby was rough.
I couldn’t control when I peed, and I couldn’t move my arms and legs properly.
I couldn’t even pronounce words correctly.
Most of those problems disappeared by the time I turned two.
Well, the bedwetting couldn’t really be helped.
I just couldn’t hold it.
Thankfully, time eventually solved that too.
Then, at the age of six, I was taught how to view my status.
“γStatusγ”
ββββββββββββββββββββββββ
Name: Shinaguru
Level: 1 / 65,536
Mana: 13 / 13
Skill Slots: 1 / 1
Listening
ββββββββββββββββββββββββ
Yeah, my level cap was absurdly high.
At first, I thought I’d hit the jackpot.
Then I learned that defeating weak monsters eventually stopped giving experience.
The truly important thing was skills.
People with more skill slots were the ones who became truly successful.
I only had one.
And the skill I possessed was Listening.
It was a skill that allowed me to hear sounds from farther away.
Apparently, no one else had ever heard of it.
It wasn’t even listed in the Great Skill Encyclopedia.
Still, its effect was obvious.
When your hearing suddenly becomes much sharper, it’s impossible not to notice.
By the way, some skills have levels.
Those are skills like [Fireball 25 / 99].
Naturally, as a skill’s level increases, so does its power.
Skills without levels are so-called life skills.
Most life skills are pretty underwhelming.
My Listening skill was one of those life skills.
It would never grow any stronger.
Yeah, fighting monsters without combat skills to support me would be incredibly difficult.
Leveling up through battle probably wasn’t an option.
Even slimes, considered the weakest monsters, could melt your skin if they touched you.
Goblins possessed the strength of an adult human.
And they came in groups.
Still, there was one saving grace.
Even support classes like healers could level up.
As long as they contributed to a battle somehow, they gained experience without directly damaging monsters.
The only thing my Listening skill could really do was detect enemies.
It all depended on whether the gods considered that enough of a contribution.
I’d be happy if I could gain plenty of levels.
I started looking for strengths other than my skill.
Reading, writing, and arithmetic.
I’d learned math in my previous life’s school.
As for reading and writing, I figured I could master them after a few years.
In the village, I was known as the disappointing child prodigy.
If someone worked hard enough, by the time they became an adult at fifteen, they could reach the same level as me.
After all, the only math anyone needed was addition and subtraction.
That’s just how life in the village was.
Reading and writing were much the same.
By around fifteen years old, everyone could read and write.
I was now ten years old.
My family were tenant farmers.
It was about time I started thinking about my future.
I had too many siblings, so I couldn’t inherit farmland.
There simply wasn’t enough land.
That said, becoming a civil servant wasn’t realistic either.
Being a merchant was impossible too.
I had neither capital nor connections.
“Shinaguru, let’s go hunt some monsters.”
My childhood friend, Manii Mine, was inviting me.
Manii Mine was the most beautiful girl in the village, and everyone believed she’d marry into wealth someday.
Though in a poor village like ours, that basically meant marrying into the village chief’s family.
ββββββββββββββββββββββββ
Name: Manii Mine
Level: 9 / 237
Mana: 80 / 80
Skill Slots: 1 / 5
Swift Feet 8 / 65
ββββββββββββββββββββββββ
That was Manii Mine’s status.
I was a little jealous of her leveled skill.
And especially of her five skill slots.
Still, there was no point complaining.
Nothing would change by dwelling on differences in talent.
“Alright, let’s go.”
The forest was eerily silent.
Forests inhabited by monsters were always like this.
Animals could probably sense the presence of monsters.
The difference between monsters and ordinary animals was whether they possessed a magic stone.
“γListeningγ. I hear a slime over there, and there are four goblins coming from that direction.”
“Then let’s go after the slime.”
“Okay.”
The slime was in the middle of digesting a chunk of flesh.
As we approached, I could hear the sizzling sound it made.
My Listening skill could detect that sound from a great distance.
“γSwift Feetγ. Hah!”
Manii Mine activated her skill and struck before quickly retreating.
The slime was hit by her club, splattering corrosive fluid everywhere.
She repeated the process until she destroyed the Slime Core, the organ that served as the slime’s brain.
Carefully avoiding the corrosive fluid, we collected the magic stone.
After washing it with water from the canteen we had brought, the hunt was complete.
I was now fifteen years old.
ββββββββββββββββββββββββ
Name: Shinaguru
Level: 5 / 65,536
Mana: 68 / 68
Skill Slots: 1 / 1
Listening
ββββββββββββββββββββββββ
ββββββββββββββββββββββββ
Name: Manii Mine
Level: 15 / 237
Mana: 134 / 134
Skill Slots: 2 / 5
Swift Feet 12 / 65
Slash 7 / 58
ββββββββββββββββββββββββ
Those were our current statuses.
My level had risen to five.
I’d worked hard helping defeat goblins, but this was probably my limit.
“I’m going to become an adventurer.”
“Come with me.”
Manii Mine declared confidently.
I loved Manii Mine.
If you counted the age from my previous life, that feeling would probably be considered a crime.
Maybe it was because my mind had been influenced by my younger body.
Whatever the reason, I’d fallen for her.
“Being an adventurer is scary, but I’ll do my best to find enemies.”
“Then I’ll protect you.”
“Actually, there’s something I wanted to ask.”
“I need better equipment.”
“Please?”
“Sure.”
“I don’t need any equipment myself.”
“I’m not going to be fighting anyway.”
“Exactly.”
“I’ll make sure I protect you.”
I ended up paying for Manii Mine’s equipment.
Almost all the money I’d painstakingly earned through odd jobs over the years disappeared.
But that was okay.
It felt like the right thing to do.
Even so, I couldn’t shake off a lingering sense of unease.