CH 2

The Story Begins Suddenly

I was abducted by a mysterious acorn-head, now leaning against a rocky shore, and I was left to my own devices.

Trying to calm down for now, I take out an electronic cigarette from my breast pocket and start to suck on it.

“Ugh! Goho! Goho…!”

Oh right, I forgot that I requested to rejuvenate myself.

I’m sure there was a mirror in my bag…

Ahhhh.

I look so young.

I’m definitely the same as I remember myself at about 13 years old.

I really am young again.

Haah…

I wonder why all these things have happened.

There are too many things that could have gone wrong, but first, it was a slight mistake to turn myself into a 13-year-old.

I stretched out my arms and found the cuffs of my excessively long shirt.

Obviously, I am smaller now.

When I was in the first or second year of junior high school, I believe there is a period where I grew about 25 cm taller rapidly….

So, I guess my growth spurt was after I was 13 years old.

That means I am only around 140 cm tall now? 

During the negotiations, my mind immediately focused on character growth and development.

I forgot to think about the clothes I was wearing.

Of course, people have a life span, a peak period of growth, and a time when they can move their bodies to their full potential.

By the time I was already 32 years old, my body was less mobile compared to when I was younger.

I always felt that my physical strength was declining.

So, in a fit of anger, I decided to be greedy and try to be at least a few years younger…

And this is the result.

I still have many clothes, but they’re still too big. I can manage by folding the hems of my trousers.

But these leather shoes… not good.

When I carefully examined them, I realized that there was a gap between the shoes that could make it easily easily slip off my foot.

Even if I secured it enough to by filling the gap, it would definitely slow me down if I used it for running.

And looking at where I am, there is a high risk of running away in case something happens.

And the situation I am in now.

This is also not good.

Immediately after the transfer, I check my surroundings and feel despair.

Clearly, the place where I am now is in a thickly overgrown forest.

If that “Boy” was kind, he could have taken me to a place near the town, or even along the road, or…

Why am I in so much trouble right from the start when he could have been more flexible with my transfer destination?

I don’t even know which direction to head in, and there is no sign of water nearby, so it has suddenly become a survival game.

That acorn-head…! 

I’m an RPG guy, I’ve never played a survival game before, damn it! 

And finally, there are the skills.

Weapons and armor that will directly affect my strength in the end, blessings that will make me less likely to die, offensive skills with great destructive power, defensive and recovery magic that will help me avert danger, and special skills that can be applied with wisdom and resourcefulness.

Why, he could have given me at least one of them. 

There is only a small round mark, translucent, but asserting its presence at the right edge of my field of vision from a few moments ago.

Perhaps this is the button to activate the status screen, as Acorn-head had mentioned.

I sobbed, but still thought it is a waste of time.

I don’t want to start complaining, so I will open it up for now.

I touched it with my finger, but there was no response, so I concentrated on the round mark without moving my head.

And then

“Whoa!”

I unintentionally yelled out.

Why am I surprised? 

It definitely wasn’t because it was spectacular.

It was because my field of vision was suddenly filled with the status screen.

As if blocking my entire field of vision, I saw a status screen with a black background and white text, just like game screens I used to see when I was a student.

No matter whether I shook my head or stood up, the screen remains in my field of vision without any blurring.

Even when I close both eyes, the screen is still there.

And the big problem is…

It is not translucent.

This means that while it is open, the view outside is completely blocked.

In a place like this, where anything can happen, it is a dangerous object to look at.

Maybe that Acorn-Head is really stupid. I am sure of it.

But still, the important thing at this stage is information.

I checked my surroundings.

There are no animals or other living things in sight that might attack me.

I took a deep breath.

First, I focus my attention on the round button to take a brief look.

I see…

My name in the upper-left corner.

Below that is a level and experience bar.

Further down, the current value and maximum value of the amount of magic power, and the numerical values of each ability, such as strength and intelligence, are displayed.

There doesn’t seem to be any HP, but I guess I have to accept that this is the real world, not a game.

If I don’t die, I’m safe; if I do die, I’m out.

And what is this? Occupation? 

Next to my name, it says “salesman,” but why in the world would I be a salesman?

I have no idea.

Normally, I assume it would be the name of a combat job or something similar, right? 

Well, it’s no use thinking too deeply about it, and I’ll just chalk it up to “Acorn-head is an idiot”.

And the “blessings” and “titles” at the bottom left of the screen are, well, as expected.

Currently, Empty.

It is only natural, since he did not give me anything.

And the right half, or rather two-thirds of the screen, is taken up by skill trees.

I can’t take too much time, so I’ll just skim through it.

It is a little amazing that there are so many available skills and needed me to scroll down to see more.

Hmmm… combat skills such as [Sword mastery] and [Spear mastery], and the usual magic skills such as [Fire Magic] and [Water Magic] are as expected. And passive skills? There is also [Increase automatic recovery of magic power]… [Provocation] and [Hold back] are combat aids, and [Logging] and [Mining] are probably production skills for earning money.

[Singing] is for FUN element, [Appraisal] is something I really want, and [Wind Resistance] is very detailed! Ah! This definitely is among the best, [Chantless]! 

…I’m getting excited, so I’ll stop and return my vision.

First, I noticed that there are numerous skills in the list.

I checked around one more time, and here is a summary of what I found until the end of the skills list.

There are physical combat skills, magic skills, combat support skills, passive skills that are always active, job and creation skills, and other non-combat skills, and finally, other skills that are not labeled.

In addition, some of the skills seem to have restrictions on acquisition, and some of them are hidden with “?” The removal of the restrictions is still unknown.

The removal of restrictions is a guess, but it may be necessary to acquire backward-compatible skills or basic skills.

The position of the display is in line with [abbreviated chanting] -> [???]. And from the the position of the display is aligned with [???].

[Chantless], is next to  [???].

Also, it may be that one’s own level, each skill level, is also involved in unlocking that condition.

At least the skills that are displayed now have a set of experience bars along with the notation [0/10], so I should assume that the level of each skill is up to 10, although it may not be all of them.

And one part that seems significant is the number [0] at the top of the skill entry.

This is probably the Skill Points.

If the acquisition condition is a common phenomenon, it is usually by raising the level of the character, which would mean I have to raise my level.

Other possibilities might include rewards from quests, use of special items, offering a large amount of money somewhere, and so on…

I can think of many possibilities, but for now, it’s zero.

It’s a magnificent zero.

It’s terrible news, I know, Acorn Head didn’t even give me initial points, so I could at least learn some skills to protect myself from the sad reality that I won’t be getting them anytime soon.

Usually, there should have been at least 5 or 10 points at the beginning! 

It will be great if there is a map display in the status screen so that I can know my current location, or if it can search for enemies and display it, but there is no use in asking for something that is missing.

It’s just that I was stupid enough to have high expectations.

Overall, it is simply a standard status screen and a skill tree-like screen, and that’s about it.

Haah…

I should write down the initial status values in my notebook, just in case.

Name: Yuto Mamiya <Salesman>.

Level: 1

Magical Power: 10/10

Strength: 8

Intelligence: 9

Defense: 7

Magic Defense: 7

Agility: 7

Skill: 6

Luck: 12

Blessings: None

Title: None

All right, let’s go! 

No need to stay standing still.

First things first.

Let’s head for higher grounds, check my surroundings and the direction I should head in, and then proceed with my feet, keeping in mind to secure water, fire, and a place to sleep, which will be my lifelines.

And so, for some reason, the adventures of a salesman by profession started.