Volume 2 - Prologue

Prologue – I Received An Invitation To the Award Ceremony

One day, I, Kou Kousaka, was suddenly transported to a different world. With the help of cheat skills such as [Creation] and [Dexterity], I was able to get my life as an adventurer into shape when a major incident occurred.

──The Black Dragon of Extreme Annihilation.

The Black Dragon that drove the ancient civilization of this world to extinction four thousand years ago had returned to life.

Thanks to the help of Iris, a female adventurer of the Dragon-folk race, and the Spirit Ring that was entrusted to me by Milia. I managed to defeat the Black Dragon in a battle of life and death.

The damage to the town was kept to zero, and it was a happy ending without any complaints.

I’m really glad.

Ten days have passed since the victory party, but the city of Aunen is completely at peace, and the people have completely returned to their previous way of life.

As for me, these days, I’ve been exploring the mountains to the west of the city, gathering materials for [Creation].

A life of leisurely gathering, the life of a carefree adventurer.

In the city, I’m sometimes called the “Dragon Slayer,” but to be honest, I don’t like violent stuff.

Peace is the best, after all.

“Kou, I saw a cluster of Naose Grass over there. What should we do?”

“Of course, I’ll collect it. It’s a good material for Heal Potion.”

In addition to me, there is another person accompanying me on this collecting expedition.

Irisnote Fafnir.

A Dragon-folk woman. She is very beautiful in appearance. Her hair is long and red, held together with yellow ribbons. Together it looks like the color of a sunset.

Her eyes are a beautiful crimson, shining as if they are filled with melted jewels.

Despite her clumsy personality, she is very serious at heart, and her knowledge and experience as an A-rank adventurer are very reliable.

When it comes to combat, we are strangely in tune with each other, and personally I feel as if we had been fighting together for many years.

In reality, though, it’s only been a little over a month since we met.

The two of us walked through the mountains and eventually arrived at a cluster of Naose Grass.

“Let’s go and collect some.”

“I’m going to take a look around.”

“Okay. I’ll leave you to it.”

I knelt down on the ground and reached for the grass.

When I thought to myself to put it in the [Item Box], a small magic circle appeared on the ground.

The Naose Grass was enveloped in a golden light and was sucked into the magic circle.

I repeated the process over and over again, and in about five minutes, I had three hundred bundles of Naose Grasses in my possession.

“Phew.”

“Good work, Kou.”

Iris came back from her exploration just as I was finishing my collection.

“It looks like there’s a lot of Wet Mushroom growing near the water over there.”

“Okay, let’s go there. …Thanks for helping me out.”

“No problem. It’s what I like to do.”

Iris has been working with me for a while now. It’s almost like we’re in a party.

I think we should file an official report with the Adventurer’s Guild.

When you form a party, you are assigned a party rank separate from your adventurer rank, and you are introduced to requests that match your rank. In addition, you can receive benefits such as compensation for injuries and housing contracts.

…So, as we walked along the mountain path, I suggested that we form a party, to which Iris replied regretfully, “I’m not sure I can work with Kou.”

“I’d be happy to be in a party with Kou too. But, according to the guild’s system, you can’t form a party if the members are more than three adventurer ranks apart. Apparently, the reason is that the difference in ability would be too great.”

My adventurer rank is D, and Iris’s is A.

The order of the ranks is D, C, B, and A, so they are exactly three ranks apart. And to move up from D to C rank, you need to take an exam in the royal capital.

“There is no need to be in a hurry, an invitation will probably come from the Adventurer’s Guild in the capital soon, and I think you should take the exam while you’re there.”

“Invitations? …Oh, you mean that one?”

Speaking of which, Milia mentioned it a while ago.

When she reported the defeat of the Black Dragon to the Adventurer’s Guild headquarters, they decided to hold a large award ceremony in the royal capital.

I think it’s possible that Kou will be exempted from the exam, considering your achievements. After all, you are a hero who saved a whole city. Anyway, at that time, let’s formally form a party. …Will you team up with me?”

“Of course. We’re companions who fought the Black Dragon together, after all.”

“Thank goodness. I was wondering what I would do if you abandoned me here.”

Iris said jokingly, brushing her long red hair with her right hand.

I could catch a glimpse of the nape of her thin, white neck.

I felt somewhat embarrassed, so I turned my gaze to the other side.

…Hmm?

There was something that caught my attention, so I paused.

“Kou, what’s wrong?”

“It’s a monster, isn’t it?”

There were several small shadows floating behind the trees, slightly off the mountain path. They were gradually approaching us.

Shouldn’t we be wary of them?

“It’s okay. They’re just Flying Mushrooms, as the name suggests. They don’t do any real harm.”

What the heck. The name sounds like a joke, but I activate the [Appraisal].

Flying Mushroom: A mushroom with the blessing of wind. It flies through the air by spinning its umbrella at high speed and runs away when approached. Be careful when you bite into it, as your body will float.

The body floats when you bite into it?

That’s kind of a strange mushroom.

Anyway, it might be material for [Creation], so let’s collect it.

As I took my first step, the Flying Mushroom, perhaps sensing my presence, began to move deeper into the forest.

“What should I do, Kou? Should I go around to the other side and block their escape route?”

“Don’t worry, it’s not that hard. I’ll be back in a bit.”

I’m wearing the Fenrir coat now.

One of the effects that this coat has is the activation of the《God Speed Blessing EX》.

The magic power consumption is 10,000 MP per second. This is equivalent to using the magic power of 100 average magicians in a second.

Although the magic power consumption is out of the ordinary, the effect is enormous.

I ran through the trees at super high speed and was able to catch up with the Flying Mushroom in an instant.

I reached out to the jumping mushrooms and stored them in the [Item Box] one by one.

A total of fifty-six of them.

It took me about two seconds to get to this point.

I deactivated the《God Speed Blessing EX》and returned to Iris.

“I’m done collecting.”

“As always, it’s amazing how fast you can go… I couldn’t see a thing.”

“Thanks to the Fenrir coat.”

I replied and headed back to the water’s edge, where the Wet Mushroom was growing.

The brown mushrooms grew here and there across the calm mountain stream. The number of mushrooms was quite large.

The sun was beginning to set when the two of us collected and stored all the Wet Mushrooms in the [Item Box].

“Should we go back to Aunen now?”

“I agree. We don’t want to stay out in the open. What do you want for dinner tonight?”

“Meat, I think. Can we stop by the Adventurer’s Guild first?”

“Sure, I don’t mind. Do you have something to do?”

“I want to ask Milia about the award ceremony in the royal capital. I’m kind of curious about when it’s being held.”

“Yeah, right. It’s quite a long way to the royal capital, so we need to make some preparations.”

As Iris and I chatted, we descended the mountain and took the city road to reach Aunen.

We entered the city through the north gate and headed for the Adventurer’s Guild, where we were approached several times by townspeople.

“You’re Kou-san, right? I’m your big fan! Please shake my hand!”

“I want to be an adventurer like you. Will you take me as your apprentice?”

“Dragon Slayer-san, please come to my store for a drink sometime! I’ll serve you!”

After defeating the Black Dragon, I was treated as a bit of a hero.

I guess it’s only natural that I saved the city from danger, but there’s even a rumor going around that if you have the Dragon Slayer patting you on the head, you’ll grow up to be a strong child. I’m on the verge of being worshiped as a god.

Of course, I’m just a human, so worshiping me won’t bring any blessings.

When I arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild and entered the main lobby, I found Milia standing at one of the reception desks.

From her appearance alone, she looks like just another cute receptionist.

But in fact, she is an elite member dispatched from the royal capital and serves as the assistant branch manager of the Adventurer’s Guild Aunen Branch. She has been looking out for me since I first came to this city.

“Good evening. Kou-san, Iris-san.”

Milia greeted us with a bright smile, as usual.

“Nice timing, both of you. In fact, I have something to give you… Please wait a moment.”

“Is that an invitation from the Adventurer’s Guild Headquarters?”

“Yes, that’s right. As expected of Kou-san, you are very perceptive.”

Milia took out two white envelopes from under the reception desk and presented them to us.

They were addressed to Iris and me, respectively.

“It seems that a lot of things happened at the guild headquarters, so it took a while to contact you. I’m sorry.”

“I don’t mind that much.”

I opened the envelope and checked the contents. The invitation included the date of the award ceremony, which was about a month away.

Well, I guess they have a lot of preparations to make.

“The Adventurers’ Guild has entrusted Scarlet Trading Company with the arrangements for transportation to the capital and lodging. Please visit them at their office tomorrow afternoon at your convenience.”

When I think of the Scarlet Trading Company, I think of Chrome-san, the chairman of the trading company.

He was the first person I met when I came to this other world, and since I saved his life, I’ve been able to get to know him in some way.

We might bump into each other when I go to the office of the trading company.

As I was thinking about this, Iris muttered to me from the left side, “By the way.”

“What are you going to do, Milia? You’re going to attend the award ceremony as well, right?”

“Me? It’s a great opportunity for Kou-san and Iris-san to shine, and of course, I’ll be there! However, I have business with various branches here and there, so I think we will meet at the venue on the day of the event…”

“If I had more time, I would have liked to show you around the capital.” Miria said regretfully.

“In any case, the two of you should enjoy your trip to the fullest. There are plenty of places to visit along the way, and it’s sure to be fun!”

* * *

Thus I received an invitation from the guild headquarters, but there was one big problem.

…Where is the royal capital?

Fortunately, Iris is an A-rank adventurer, so she knows a lot about the geography.

After we left the Adventurer’s Guild, we had dinner at the Silver Stag Pavilion, and while we waited for the food to arrive, I asked her to briefly tell me about the location of the capital.

“To put it very simply, the royal capital is far northeast of Aunen. But there’s a sea on the way, so you’ll need a boat if you want to go the shortest distance.”

“Isn’t there a land connection?”

“You have to go around the coast in a counterclockwise direction, so it’s quite a detour. …In this kind of situation, it’s easier to explain if I had a map of the wider area, but I left it at home. Do you want to come and look at it later?”

What should I do now?

Iris and I are on good terms, but as expected, I’m not sure I want to barge into a young woman’s house.

As I was pondering this, [Auto Mapping] was automatically activated as if to make things easier.

A semi-transparent window appears in my palm.

A thick, crescent-shaped continent was drawn on it.

The direction is north up.

“Ara, Kou’s skills are really useful. It’s a map of this continent.”

“Where’s Aunen?”

“It’s the inland part of the southern point. If you go northeast towards the sea, you will find a port town named Fort Port.”

Iris pointed to the map and named the town.

“Inside the crescent is the Foss Sea. There’s a direct boat to the royal capital from Fort Port, and it’s the most common route to take.”

I see.

It’s obvious from the map, but if you want to go to the capital only by land, you have to go counterclockwise along the coast. It’s a huge detour, and the sensible decision would be to use a boat.

“If we took the shortest way, it would take us ten days to get from Aunen to Fort Port and five days to cross the Foss Sea. That’s a total of fifteen days of travel.”

The award ceremony will take place in the middle of next month.

If I count from today, I have about thirty days until the award ceremony, so if I use a ship, I can reach the royal capital with some time to spare.

…When I was thinking about it, the food was just brought in.

This time, I ordered the Aunen Chicken Teriyaki, which was even better than I expected.

The skin was crispy, and the meat was juicy. Every time I bit into it, it overflowed with juices filled with flavor.

After eating, I refreshed my mouth with lemon sorbet and left the restaurant satisfied.

“What are you going to do tomorrow, Kou?”

“I think I’m going to go to Scarlet Trading Company in the afternoon, just like Milia suggested.”

“Right. Are you free in the morning?”

“Yeah. I don’t have any plans at the moment.”

“How about going to the underground city? We’d better tell the Helper Slimes that we’re going to the royal capital, right?”

To the southeast of Aunen… deep in the Cello Forest, there is an ancient underground city hidden away where magical creatures called Helper Slimes live. They were very friendly and called me “Master-san” and adored me from the bottom of their hearts.

During the battle against the Black Dragon, I received a lot of help from the Helper Slimes. It would indeed be ungrateful of me to leave for the royal capital without telling them anything.

“I guess so.”

I nodded.

“I guess we’re going to be busy preparing for the trip, so I guess we should go say hello to the Slimes before we leave.”

So, tomorrow morning, Iris and I will visit the underground city.

We’ll meet up at 9:00 a.m. in the main lobby of the guild.

After dropping Iris off at home, as usual, I went back to my inn, …”Quiet Moon Pavilion.”

I took a shower, put on my pajamas, and lay down on the bed.

I looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was about ten o’clock in the evening. It was still too early to go to bed.

“…Speaking of which.”

Today I got new material.

I wondered if I could use the Flying Mushroom to make some kind of item. And then, as if in conjunction with my thoughts, a new recipe popped up in my head.

Flying Mushroom x 1 + Wet Mushroom x 1 = Flying Potion x 5

Flying Potion…?

Would the potion fly, or would it be a potion that makes you fly when you drink it?

For now, let’s try to make it with [Creation].

Flying Potion has been added to the list of [Item Box].

Flying Potion: A top-quality flying potion prepared by a skilled herbalist. Drink it, and you’ll be blessed with the power of the wind, allowing you to fly freely for 30 minutes.

Effect:《Wind Blessing S+》.

Apparently, if you drink the Flying Potion, you will be able to fly.

This sounds very interesting.

I’ll do some experiments later.

Also, it seems that my skill experience has crossed a certain line after executing this recipe, and my [Creation] level has increased from 14 to 15.

As a result, a new recipe pops into my mind.

The Black Dragon’s corpse x 1 → Ring of the Flame Emperor Dragon x 1

I have a skill called [Automatic Collection], and when I kill a monster, the corpse is automatically stored in my [Item Box]. It was the same for the Black Dragon.

However, normal monsters are displayed in the form of “xx’s corpse” and are separated into claws and fur by [Dismantling] before being used for [Creation].

The Black Dragon is an exception in many ways.

It’s not just a part of the corpse, but a full corpse, and it can be used for [Creation] without [Dismantling].

I wonder if it’s because the calamity is an existence beyond the boundaries of monsters that its treatment is also special.

Also, I wonder why it’s called “Ring of the Flame Emperor Dragon” instead of “Ring of the Black Dragon”?

Maybe there is another name for the Black Dragon, the Flame Emperor Dragon.

Anyway, let’s try to make it with [Creation].

Ring of the Flame Emperor Dragon: A ring that contains the power of the Flame Emperor Dragon. The wearer is given the highest level of aptitude for flame magic. It can only be equipped by Kou Kousaka.

Effect:《Flame Emperor’s Successor EX》《Exclusive Equipment A+》.

I immediately took out the Ring of the Flame Emperor Dragon from the [Item Box].

The ring has a large red gem attached to it, and strangely enough, flames are blazing inside the gem.

When I put the ring on the middle finger of my left hand, [Full Assist] was automatically activated.

It’s a skill that fully supports my life in another world. It has a great variety of effects, one of which is that it explains various things to my mind in the form of a system message.

《Flame Emperor’s Successor EX》has been activated.

[Flame Emperor] will be added to Kou Kousaka’s skills.

Apparently, the number of my skills has increased.

One of the effects of [Full Assist] ─ the high-speed installation of knowledge ─ begins, and information related to [Flame Emperor] flows in like a flood.

Perhaps because of the sheer volume of information, my vision went blank for a moment.

“…I see.”

I muttered, taking a deep breath.

“I got the gist of it.”

Let’s get some knowledge out of the way.

Magic exists in this world, but it can’t be used by everyone; it requires skills such as fire magic and light magic.

And [Flame Emperor] is the highest level of fire magic skills, and it is only effective when you are wearing the Ring of the Flame Emperor Dragon.

As for how to use magic, it seems that ordinary magicians need to recite various spells and perform complicated rituals.

But in my case, the [Full Assist] assists me, so all I have to do is say the name of the magic to activate it. The detailed control is done automatically, but I can also specify the target and adjust the power by voice input.

“I guess that’s the general gist of it.”

The only magic I can use at the moment is Fire Arrow, which is attack magic that sends flaming arrows. It is classified as one of the most rudimentary forms of fire magic, but depending on the amount of magic power of the magician, it is said to be able to wipe out an entire city.

“Well…”

It’s a shame that I’m going to sleep like this now that I’m able to use magic.

I’ve been thinking about the effects of the Flying Potion I just created, so let’s go for a walk.

The curiosity that bubbled up in me had completely blown away my sleepiness. I’ve been feeling younger and younger since I came to this other world.