The Mysterious Child: An Adventure Tale Beginning with Numerology

------------------------

Author Notes:

  [This is today's update 1/2.

  The second story will be updated at 12 noon.]

------------------------

Hello, I'm Ruruk.

Today, to commemorate becoming an adventurer, Roze gave me permission to take on my first quest.

Since I don't have any party members yet, I chose a quest that I could accomplish alone.

It's to collect 10 poison-cleansing herbs.

"Also, boy, for adventurers ranked C or below to rank up, they need to complete 20 higher-rank quests or 50 same-rank quests. But if you fail a quest, you'll have to pay a penalty, so don't push yourself too hard. And for E rank and above, a certain number of 'subjugation' quests are required for promotion. Make sure to level up properly too."

Since it's a rank system, there's naturally promotion as well, it seems.

I was optimistically thinking that if I work hard, I might reach F rank within the year, when my master said this:

"We're going on a journey after the quest is done, okay?"

...Huh, we're leaving this town?

I didn't hear about this.

When I complained like that, I got an unreasonable response:

"Why do I have to tell you the entire schedule? I got permission from Digray, so it's fine."

...Maybe I made a mistake in choosing my master.

Well, to be fair, they never specifically said "in this town" as a condition, so that's my oversight.

But I'm a bit anxious about leaving the town I grew up in—or more accurately, the town I've lived in for 4 years—and above all, I haven't made any preparations for travel at all.

Setting out on an adventure with just the clothes on your back? I've never heard of that even in games. What about minimal funds? Equipment?

Isn't there at least an event where we talk to a nearby professor to choose a partner?

If that's not possible, couldn't we wait just one day?

Actually, I have a slightly naughty book hidden under my bed...

"I left your senior disciple in another town, but I just remembered I forgot to give them food and money. It's been three days already because of some detours, so I should probably go check on them. That child probably won't die from three days without food or water, but just in case."

That's some demonic behavior.

I had no doubt that I'd chosen the wrong master to follow, but I had to agree because I felt so sorry for this senior disciple.

Sigh, it can't be helped. I haven't even made minimal preparations, but I have the strongest guardian with me. I'll give up on retrieving that naughty book; the maid girl who comes to clean will probably find it and go "hawawa" with a red face.

The only regret is that I won't get to see the flustered maid girl.

Anyway, with my mind more focused on the crisis of my senior disciple than the excitement of my first quest, I ended up going outside the town to search for poison-cleansing herbs.

Of course, it's my first time outside the town.

When I took my first step beyond the outer wall, a feeling of exhilaration coursed through my body, like a prisoner who had finished a long prison sentence. Not that I've ever been to prison.

Look, look, it's amazing!

Wheat fields as far as the eye can see!

The maiden in my heart cheers.

To be honest, I was expecting a bit more of a fantasy-like vast plain, but come to think of it, most of the area outside this town is farmland.

With four seasons and fertile soil, crops grow easily, which is why bread is cheap. Thanks to the dungeon on the east side of town, meat is also plentiful, so the food self-sufficiency rate of our Muuteru domain is said to be the highest in the kingdom.

"Hurry up and collect them. They're growing all over the place," Roze urges me.

My master, who has traveled the world, probably doesn't understand, but I'm a sheltered son who has spent most of the past four years inside a mansion since coming to this other world.

I want her to understand how much I've been longing to feel nature under the open sky like this.

I take a deep breath to inhale the air outside the town.

In, out. In, out.

"Look, there's some over there. And over there. And there too."

Wait a minute! This is my quest!

Sure, G or F rank quests are probably like new employee training quests.

To be honest, the guild probably doesn't even need poison-cleansing herbs because herb farmers grow them in gardens and supply them to apothecaries.

The reward is small, and collecting just 10 is like saying "You wouldn't know how to collect them if we didn't tell you, but it's not enough for medicine-making."

Yes, I understand. I really do.

That's exactly why this quest has an important reason. It's a quest for newcomers to see if they can properly identify poison-cleansing herbs among the overgrown weeds!

And you're using your appraisal skill to find them first! Don't do that!

Really, this master of mine.

"What's wrong with that? You already know how to identify them, right?"

Well, yes, I've been an indoor bookworm for four years. The duke's study was stocked with all kinds of encyclopedias on plants, animals, monsters, minerals, and more. I know how to identify everything from common herbs like poison-cleansing grass to niche magical plants (monsters?) like the man-eating wolf grass.

But that's beside the point.

"What a troublesome disciple~"

Am I the one at fault here?

Hey, am I really the one at fault??

I felt quite unsatisfied, but I switched gears and started collecting poison-cleansing herbs as I walked along the path.

By the time we passed one wheat field, I had collected exactly 10 poison-cleansing herbs.

As the peaceful and gentle afternoon breeze blows, I feel a small sense of accomplishment.

"Alright, let's report back and leave town," Roze says, extending her hand.

What's this about? It's not a situation for a handshake, so I'm wary.

Then Roze sighs and starts rubbing my head. Hey, hey, I'm in my growth phase, don't press down like that. I won't grow taller.

Just as I was about to protest—what are you doing?—the scenery in front of me changed as if it had exploded.

We had instantly moved from beyond the wheat field to near the town's outer wall.

I immediately understood it was the mystic art of "Teleportation," but I'd like her to stop doing it so suddenly because it's bad for my heart.

To express my dissatisfaction, I puffed out my cheeks like a child would.

Really, I was genuinely surprised, you know? Couldn't you at least apologize? You won't, right? I know. Then instead, how about teleporting one more time... No? One more teleport, please? No?

Ah, it seems that's not happening. She's already walking briskly to the Adventurers' Guild.

After reporting the quest completion at the guild, we really did leave town without taking anything with us. The gatekeeper asked, "Another quest?" but Roze casually replied, "We have a small errand in the neighboring town."

"I see. Take good care of your little brother," the meddlesome gatekeeper said, apparently thinking we were siblings.

And so, our journey began so easily.

"Master, which way are we going?"

"We left through the west gate, so west of course."

It seems I didn't need to ask.

Saying that, Roze extended her hand again.

Thinking we'd be moving quickly by teleportation, I took her hand. For a 9-year-old, even a teenage girl's hand would feel reliable, right?

Now we really look like an 18-year-old sister and her 9-year-old brother.

In reality, it's a beautiful girl of unknown actual age and a shota of mental age over 20, but whatever.

Roze then—instead of teleporting as I expected—simply started walking.

"Huh, teleport... what about teleporting? Hey, Master! Aren't we going to teleport!?"

"My, you're quite insistent. We just did, didn't we?"

"Surprise attacks don't count! Come on, teleport!"

"It doesn't make much difference if we arrive by the end of the day, so take it easy at the start."

"Then why are you holding my hand?"

"Because I'm your big sister, of course."

She's giggling.

It seems she was happy about being treated as siblings earlier.

As a gentleman, I won't say anything tasteless like "Even great-great-great-grandmother wouldn't be enough." It's a bit embarrassing, but I quietly keep holding her hand as we walk along the road.

For a while, we walk slowly and leisurely like real siblings.

We occasionally pass by traveling merchants and patrolling soldiers, but other than that, we don't encounter anyone. It's a road so safe it's hard to believe it's another world, with no danger from monsters.

"It's thanks to the dungeon," Roze says.

"Is that so?"

"Dungeons are living labyrinths that lure monsters. So basically, there aren't many significant monsters near dungeons. Instead, they're overflowing inside."

So the dungeons in this world are alive.

If you think about how the farmlands are also protected because of this, even dungeons that attract rogue adventurers are unexpectedly useful.

"They serve as monster repellents for the surface and contribute to the town's development. For lords like Digray, dungeons are a blessing from the earth."

"Ah, so that's why they've been living in this town on the western edge of the domain for generations."

I had been wondering why they lived in a place with poor access to both the royal capital and commercial cities, but this explains it.

If it's to protect the dungeon, which is crucial for managing the domain, it makes sense.

"I don't know that much... Hey Ruruk, speaking of which, there's something I want to ask you."

Roze asked with a serious tone.

Her eyes slightly show the pattern of zero as she looks down at me.

What could it be?

"What's that 'Word Soul' skill you have? It's the only skill I don't know about."

"...Come to think of it, you can see other people's status, right Master? Can you still see it properly even though I'm using recognition interference?"

"My 'Eyes of Illusion' aren't affected by 'Threshold Compilation'."

"Heh~ Even though they're both appraisal skills, the performance is on a completely different level from holy magic."

"Well, of course, the ranks of the skills are literally different."

"Skills have ranks?"

"Oh, you haven't been taught that? Then let me explain briefly."

Saying that, Roze started explaining something master-like for the first time.

To put it simply, it seems skills have types and ranks.

There are 5 types of skills:

• Common Skills

• Racial Skills

• Magic Skills

• Mystic Art Skills

• Unique Skills

The two I didn't know about were Racial Skills and Unique Skills.

According to Roze, among the diverse races that exist in this world, many possess special groups of skills called Racial Skills.

For example, dog-kin might have body enhancement skills, cat-kin might have visual correction skills, and dwarves might have blacksmithing skills. In many cases, these are more powerful than similar skills of other races.

By the way, humans, the race with the largest population in the world, apparently don't have any racial skills. That's disappointing.

As for Unique Skills, they're truly rare skills.

In manga or games, when you hear "Unique Skill," you might imagine something incredibly powerful... but in this world, whether a unique skill is useful or not is a completely separate issue from its rarity. For example, a unique skill Roze saw recently was "Always Have a Perfect Bowel Movement Every Day," a skill that's kind to the stomach and bottom.

Maybe it's in the joke skill category?

And regarding the ranks of skills, magic, and mystic arts, there are these 7 types:

• Creation God Class

• Divine Realm Class

• Extreme Class

• Royal Class

• Advanced Class

• Intermediate Class

• Beginner Class

It's common sense that higher-ranked skills take priority in all effects over lower-ranked skills.

In this case, the appraisal technique of holy magic is intermediate magic, "Threshold Compilation" is advanced mystic art, and "Eyes of Illusion" is a royal class skill. Because of this power relationship, "Threshold Compilation" can only interfere up to advanced level, and it's meaningless against appraisal skills above that.

This power relationship apparently applies to battles between magic as well, so for warriors and knights, how high-ranked magic formulas they can learn is their lifeline.

However, advanced fire-attribute magic can still lose to intermediate water-attribute magic, so the compatibility between them is also important.

"By the way, what about my numerology... 'Auto-Adjustment'?"

"It's still royal class."

A skill that can heal even fatal wounds in tens of seconds is royal class...

The word "still" bothered me, but before I could point that out, Roze continued:

"Among the skills Ruruk has, I believe 'Phantasm' was a thought method skill that recalls image memories from the World Tree, right? It's similar to the light magic 'Phantom,' I think."

"I've never seen 'Phantom,' but I guess so. Verugana said the same thing."

"Then what about 'Word Soul'?"

Roze's face lights up with excitement as she leans in closer.

She's already a beautiful girl with Japanese-like features, so having her this close makes my heart race. I'm glad my body is only 9 years old.

"That one is—"

Just as I was about to answer obediently like a good disciple, we heard what sounded like a scream from far away.

We could see a carriage stopped quite a distance ahead, with many people gathered around it.

It seems there's some kind of trouble.

Finally, things are starting to feel like another world.