The world blurred into chaos. Elina drew her sword, body low, eyes focused on the wolf-like monster stalking from the shadows. Its fur was matted, its jaw stained red, teeth sharp and dripping with saliva. A ridge of bone protruded along its spine, making it look half-wolf, half-nightmare.
Saori gripped his wooden spoon like it was Excalibur.
The wolf growled, crouched, and pounced.
"MOVE!" Elina yelled.
Saori dove sideways—less because of instinct and more because terror had grabbed his spine and yeeted his brain into survival mode. The monster landed where he stood, claws raking the dirt.
Elina swung her sword, slashing the beast across its back.
The wolf snarled and leaped again.
Saori held up his spoon.
Elina blinked. "WHAT ARE YOU—"
The wolf chomped down.
The spoon snapped.
[Broke your only weapon. My condolences.]
"YOU THINK?!" Saori screamed.
Elina shoved him aside and slashed. The wolf dodged and circled, waiting for an opening.
"We need to finish it now," she hissed. "Can you fight?"
Saori considered the factors:
He had no weapon.
He had no strength.
He had a spoon handle.
He flailed the splintered stick.
"I CAN DISTRACT IT!"
[Yes. With your face.]
"System shut UP!"
The wolf lunged again. Elina parried, sparks flying from her blade. The creature was faster than her—faster than both of them.
Saori looked around wildly.
He spotted the unconscious fang rabbit from earlier behind the wagon.
"Wait… meat!"
He grabbed the rabbit by its fluffy tail and hurled it toward the wolf.
The wolf stopped mid-pounce.
Its predatory instincts kicked in.
It sniffed the rabbit.
Then—
It grabbed the rabbit and started running away with it.
Elina blinked. "Did… you just bribe the monster?"
Saori dropped to his knees. "I used my brain for once."
[For the first time in your life. Proud of you.]
Saori flipped off the air.
Elina sheathed her sword and straightened her vest. "You're weird."
"Thank you. I'm very aware."
By the time the shock wore off, dawn had touched the horizon with pale orange light. The fire dimmed to embers. Birds chirped in the trees. Elina glanced toward her wagon.
"We should reach Fenridge Town by noon."
Fenridge. Civilization. A town.
With food.
With beds.
With toilets.
Saori could cry.
They packed up camp and continued down the road. Elina rode the wagon while Saori walked beside it. The horse—named Pickles—snorted at him occasionally.
"You can… ride, if you want," she offered.
Saori climbed onto the wagon seat.
Pickles immediately tried to bite his elbow.
Elina laughed.
"He likes you."
"He just tried to eat me!"
"Affection comes in many forms."
The sun rose higher, the morning fog thinning into mist. Trees gave way to rolling hills, then fields of wheat and cottages in the distance.
Saori's heart raced.
Civilization.
He had never been so happy to see questionable medieval architecture.
After an hour of travel, the town finally came into full view.
Wooden walls, stone watchtowers, vibrant flags fluttering in the wind. People bustled in and out through the main gate—knights, merchants, adventurers with cloaks, armor, and exotic weapons.
Saori stared with bright, sparkling eyes.
"It's… real…"
Welcome to another world.
Elina pulled the reins. "Welcome to Fenridge."
Saori was too emotional to speak. His vision wavered.
Elina side-eyed him. "Are you crying?"
"No," Saori sniffed. "My eyes are sweating."
They entered through the gate after the guards inspected the wagon.
Inside the town was even livelier—market stalls lining the street, children running, blacksmiths hammering metal, bakery smells hitting Saori like a drug.
Fresh bread.
Real food.
Not dirt. Not mud. Not disappointment.
Saori's stomach growled like a demon.
Elina pointed at a large stone building farther down the road—tall as a small castle, with banners displaying crossed swords and a wolf insignia.
"That's the Adventurer's Guild. If you really want to survive out here, that's where you start."
Saori nodded confidently.
"I'm ready."
[No, you're not.]
"I said I'm ready!"
They approached the guild. As the doors swung open, noise burst into the air—voices arguing, laughter, clinking mugs, and the smell of alcohol mixed with roasted meat.
Saori's eyes widened.
Inside, the guild was massive.
Two floors connected by a grand central staircase. The bottom floor housed tables full of adventurers eating and drinking, while the far wall displayed a giant quest board, crowded with papers.
Contracts for monster hunting, material gathering, escort missions, lost cat recovery (though the cat looked suspiciously aggressive).
Saori inhaled deeply.
This was it.
His second chance at life.
He turned to Elina.
"Thank you… really."
She nodded, then went to speak to someone at the merchant desk.
Saori took a deep breath and walked toward the quest board.
Step one: Register as an adventurer.
Step two: Do quests.
Step three: Become strong.
Step four: Show System that he wasn't trash.
[Bold dream. Let's see how fast reality crushes it.]
Saori ignored that.
He walked to the reception counter. Behind the desk stood a woman with silver hair in a ponytail and dark, sharp eyes. She wore a tailored uniform and projected the aura of someone who had sent multiple adventurers to their deaths with a smile.
"Welcome to the Fenridge Adventurer's Guild. How can I help you?"
Saori opened his mouth.
"My name is Saori. I'd like to register as an adventurer."
She blinked.
Then she sighed.
"Another one."
She reached under the desk and slapped a stack of papers on the counter.
"Fill these out. Name, age, and proof you're not a criminal."
Saori froze.
"I… don't have any proof."
"Then do you have a witness who can confirm your identity?"
Elina waved from the merchant desk. "He's with me!"
The receptionist nodded. "Fine. But if he commits a crime, the Guild receives your assets."
Elina froze. "Wait—assets? You didn't tell me that!"
Saori smiled nervously.
"I don't commit crime."
[You committed financial suicide in your last life.]
"I SAID SHUT UP!"
The receptionist frowned. "…excuse me?"
Saori paled. "Not you. The voices."
She stared at him like she was already regretting allowing him in.
"Fill the forms."
Saori grabbed the quill.
His handwriting was chicken-scratch reincarnated.
Name: Saori
Age: 23 (I think.)
Race: Human (I hope.)
Criminal record: No (if Grandma sues me, it's not my fault)
When he finished, the receptionist inspected it.
"Welcome to the Guild, Saori."
She stamped the paper.
A metallic card slid across the counter.
Bronze rank.
Saori held it in his hands, glowing with pride.
"This is my beginning."
[Your beginning of suffering.]
Saori almost threw the card at the screen.
"Ahem."
A deep voice vibrated through the air.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Someone approached from behind.
Saori turned.
And there he was.
An enormous old man—massive muscles stretching his shirt sleeves, beard thicker than a bear's fur, scars everywhere. He looked like he had fought mountains bare-handed.
But the most striking thing…
He wore sunglasses indoors.
Why? Nobody knew.
The guild fell silent.
He pointed at Saori.
Yo.
"…Excuse me?" Saori said.
The old man snapped his fingers to a beat only he could hear.
He spoke. In rhythm.
Yo.
New kid. With a spoon that got split.
Crawled from a pit, dirt on ya lip.
World so harsh, ya gotta commit.
Life ain't free—ya gotta fight for it.
Saori blinked.
"…are you rapping?"
The old man leaned close.
"I speak in rhymes. Always."
The receptionist sighed. "That's Master Gunnar. A gold-ranked adventurer."
Gunnar struck a pose.
"Gold rank. Old tank. Ladies say, 'He built like a bank.'"
Saori mouthed silently, What is happening.
Gunnar grabbed Saori's shoulders—firm hands like granite.
"You. Fresh blood. Soft mud. Zero stud. Feather duster with no thud."
Saori stared.
"Did… you just roast me in rap form?"
[He is speaking your language. Violence.]
Gunnar smirked.
"Ya want power? Ya want strength? Ya wanna climb that meter length?"
Saori nodded.
"I want to survive."
Gunnar leaned in, sunglasses glinting.
"Then your first lesson… begins now."
He shoved Saori backward.
"Wait!" Saori yelped.
CRASH.
Straight out the guild doors.
Saori tumbled into the street.
Everyone inside cheered.
"WELCOME TO THE GUILD!"
Gunnar stepped out after him.
Saori lay flat on the ground. "What the hell was that for?!"
Gunnar crossed his arms.
"Step one of adventurin'…
You gotta stay on your feet."
Saori groaned.
"Are you going to train me or just rap at me?!"
Gunnar raised one finger.
"Yes."
Saori blinked. "Yes to which—"
"Yes."
Saori buried his face into the cobblestone.
[New Quest generated.]
[Quest: Survive Gunnar's Training]
Reward: Skill unlock
Penalty: Death (very possible)
Gunnar cracked his knuckles.
"Round one. Show me what ya got."
Saori scrambled up and charged with the only weapon he had:
Determination.
And the broken spoon handle.
Saori swung.
Gunnar sidestepped.
Saori tripped.
Gunnar nodded.
"Good effort. Terrible execution."
He offered a hand to help Saori up.
Saori took it.
Gunnar yanked him into a headlock.
Saori flailed. "THIS DOESN'T FEEL LIKE TRAINING!"
"It builds character."
"This feels like a lawsuit!"
After five minutes of suffering, Gunnar released him.
Saori collapsed, gasping.
Gunnar stood over him.
"Listen. You're weak. Pathetic. Squishy like day-old porridge. But ya got somethin' most rookies don't."
"What?" Saori wheezed hopefully.
"Comedy potential. People'll pay to watch ya fail."
Saori's soul left his body.
But the System chimed.
[Quest progress: Training (0/1)
Condition: Land one successful hit on Gunnar.]
Saori stood.
He clenched the broken spoon.
He sprinted—
—and tripped over his own foot.
Faceplant.
Gunnar nodded thoughtfully.
"Potential."
Saori groaned on the ground. "I hate this world."
[You asked for a second chance.]
"I take it back."
[Too late.]
Saori lay there, face in dirt, wooden spoon in hand, reality crushing every expectation—yet somehow, for the first time in his pathetic existence, he felt something.
Hope.
Burned with humiliation, but hope nonetheless.
The path ahead was dangerous, humiliating, and painful.
But it was a path.
And he would walk it.
Even if the System roasted him…
And the old man rapped at him…
He finally had a life worth fighting for.