"Ugh…"
Klaus blinked as he struggled to open his eyes. They were blurry, but he could see the silhouette of someone looking at him from above.
The figure's face was similar to that of a woman, and they had blond bangs.
"Am I in heaven?" Klaus wondered aloud.
The figure was shaking him and shouting something. However, he couldn't hear it… they were only muffled words that he couldn't understand, like he was underwater. The figure backed off suddenly, and the next instant, ice-cold water drenched his entire body.
Klaus blinked and sat up while massaging his head.
"What happened…?" He looked forward and saw a girl probably his age giving him a concerned look. She had blonde hair in a messy ponytail, bright green eyes, and wore adventuring gear with an apron.
"Ah, Mister Customer!" She dropped the bucket and immediately bowed at him. Actually, she literally spread herself over the floor and kowtowed to him.
'Did I reincarnate somewhere else?' Klaus blinked.
Last time he remembered, he was a commoner in Galen Town, not a young master of some cultivation clan.
"It was my fault!" She continued desperately. "I was trying to brew some new potions, however I ran into an issue and the brew turned bad. The fumes were toxic and you passed out… I hope you're doing okay, Esteemed Customer!"
"I'm fine." Klaus looked around the herb shop. Wasn't this store owned by an old woman in the game? Then who was she? "Are you the owner of this store?"
"No, it belongs to my grandma. I usually act as an Adventurer, however she's not feeling fine today and I came to fill in for her." The girl said and then muttered the last part. "Though we barely get any kind of customers anyway…"
She had fallen asleep on the counter and woken up hours later, yet nobody had come. It was so depressing she'd started experimenting with brewing.
"I see." Klaus sat up properly, realizing his clothes were soaking wet. "Well then, I want to buy some herbs."
He placed a hand on his chest and uttered.
"Cleanse."
Immediately, warm energy flooded through him as a golden glow erupted. As the magic died down, Klaus's clothes were completely clean and dry, and even the ground had been cleaned and then he stood up.
"Esteemed Customer, what herbs do you want?" She asked while walking to the fallen shelf, lifting the heavy wooden structure effortlessly with one hand.
Klaus's eye twitched. How strong was she? That was very thick… he would be able to lift it with his magic but still.
"I want to get the Azure Lotus Root, Crimson Starflower and Silverleaf Moss. If possible I would like 15 units of each." Klaus said, and the woman blinked as she avoided his eyes. "You don't know what I'm talking about, do you?"
"W-well, it's my first day here so let me check the counter!" She perked up with forced confidence. "Grandma has everything documented!"
She ran to the counter and Klaus followed at a walk.
'They shouldn't have any reason to run out of this.' He thought. This was months before the main plot started. 'Wait, should I monopolize the areas where these herbs are grown?'
Although not a good investment now, it could earn him a fortune later when demand exploded so he would think about it.
They reached the counter and she pulled out a massive leather-back book, flipping through pages so quickly Klaus was surprised.
'Is she even reading it?'
"Oh, so those are the herbs!" She gave him a nervous look. "Grandma said these ones weren't selling so I was free to use any of them for experiments... They're the ones that created that toxic gas, so now we're completely out of them."
Klaus fell onto his knees.
'My herbs…' The same things that would help him reach Second-Class early had been used to create that toxic gas. 'They're gone…'
"Ah, Esteemed Customer! I-I… I can get them for you!" She let out quickly, panicking at his visible distress.
She couldn't lose the chance to get her grandma a dedicated customer, especially one willing to buy in bulk. "The place where we can harvest them isn't too far out from Galen Town!"
"I see." Klaus stood up and dusted off his knees with renewed hope. "Then let's go no—"
"Ah, we'll have to go tomorrow morning at 9am, Esteemed Customer." She interrupted, looking genuinely apologetic. "It's already late afternoon and I have to close up shop soon to take care of Grandma. She needs her medicine and dinner."
Klaus visibly twitched as his frustration built up however he let out a resigned sigh of his own. This was fine… He could wait one more day.
It wasn't like the entrance exam was tomorrow.
"Okay, so we should meet in front of the shop tomorrow morning?" Klaus asked for confirmation, and she nodded enthusiastically. "Well then, I hope you're early."
"I'll be here, Esteemed Customer! I live exactly next to the shop, so I can't be late even if I tried." The girl said brightly. "I'm Taula, and I'm a commoner adventurer by trade."
'You don't look so common.' Klaus thought skeptically, giving her a once-over. What kind of commoner had natural blonde hair and bright green eyes? Those were typically noble traits… Make that make sense.
"I'm Klaus, and I'll be back in the morning." Klaus sighed and then walked toward the door. "Don't oversleep."
"I won't!" Taula called after him.
Klaus stepped outside, and finally that horrible chemical smell was out of his nose.
He grew a bit deflated as he walked down the street. 'My first day as a D-Rank adventurer and already I can't get my hands on these herbs…'
He was a side-character, not a Main Character. Things weren't meant to be spiraling out of control already. Where was his protagonist luck? Oh right, he didn't have any because he wasn't the protagonist.
"Anyway, let me just get some new clothes with my earnings and move out of that damned Room 500." Klaus thought as he walked off down the cobblestone street, heading toward the market district.
…
Several hours later, as the sun descended and stars appeared, Klaus opened the window of an inn room with a satisfied sigh.
"Whoa, it doesn't get any better than this." He muttered.
Sure, he didn't get stronger today, but that could wait. He'd moved out of Room 500 and gotten himself a moderately sized private inn. "Even though these are called Inns, they're just small houses."
He'd paid thirty silvers for two months, which was his plan since he'd attend the Divine Academy entrance exam after that.
"I still think thirty silver is expensive." He sat on his big bed.
The Inn had a downstairs with living room, kitchen, and bath, then an upstairs with one bedroom and one storeroom.
This would be his house for two months and the closet was stocked with several commoner outfits and shoes.
"Even though I can look stylish, that'll attract thieves." He muttered. Even though these inns had automated protection circles preventing entry, it was better staying low-profile.
The enchantment also released defensive spells if attacked, but it wasn't foolproof. There were Magic Breakers who broke through enchantments easily, and he preferred not making enemies.
The cupboard also had three full sets of light armor as well. They were cost, but they'd serve him properly and then his stomach rumbled.
"Where the hell is this delivery gu… Speak of the devil." He looked out the window and someone was walking to his door with a large box so he rushed downstairs.
Apparently delivery boys still existed in this world.
You just had to personally order from the restaurant by going there yourself and tell them your address for evening delivery.
He opened the door right as the delivery man was about to knock.
"Sir." The older man flinched in surprise. The owner of this inn was clearly younger than him by at least fifteen years… "This is your package."
"Well thank you." Klaus said and extended his hand. The man reluctantly placed the heavy package in his hands, and Klaus kept it on the ground just inside the house.
"Sir, I also need you to sign this receipt." He brought out a receipt form and a feather quill that already had ink on the tip, and Klaus immediately signed with a quick scrawl.
But as he did, the man started talking in a somewhat curious tone.
"Sir, can you teach me? How did you make this kind of money that you're able to afford living in a private inn by yourself at such a young age?" The delivery man asked earnestly.
This was the equivalent of "Put me on" back on Earth, and Klaus really didn't want to deal with it.
"What if I told you I was an Adventurer?" He handed back the receipt.
"Ah sir, that joke won't work." The delivery man pointed out bluntly, looking Klaus up and down. "Your hands lack muscles, so you can't be an adventurer. Even the weakest of combat mages have some muscle definition, however you look like spaghetti, sir."
Klaus didn't really know if the man was aware that he was actively insulting him.
He most definitely did not look like spaghetti. Sure, his arms were thin and he could barely hold a sword properly for extended periods without his hands cramping, but his hands did have a bit of meat on them.
He wasn't starving.
"Well then, there you have it." Klaus said flatly. "Thank you for this late delivery, I want to go and—"
The delivery man wasn't finished yet. He brought out a small glass jar that already had a few bronze coins rattling inside it from previous deliveries.
"Well sir, a tip?"
Klaus blinked as his stomach grumbled again audibly, and then he reached for the coin pouch in his pocket.
Upon opening it, he fumbled through the contents looking for bronze coins among the silver and gold pieces.
He failed to notice that the older delivery man had caught a glimpse of the silver and gold coins inside the pouch, and his eyes already gleamed with barely concealed greed.
"Phew." Klaus finally fished out three bronze coins and dropped them into the jar with soft clinks, then looked up at the man who had started backing away from the door. "Once again, thanks for the food."
After that, he closed the door firmly.
"So much trouble just to eat one meal." Klaus muttered as he carried the package up the stairs. However, instead of going into his bedroom, he went to the storeroom instead. "And it's not like I'm going to be heavily focused on eating it anyway."
He opened the door to the storeroom and it looked like a classic storage space with wooden shelves lining the walls, some storage crates, and a sturdy worktable in the center.
Except there was also a large burlap bag of iron scraps on the ground next to the table that he'd purchased earlier.
"I should get to experimenting with my abilities." Klaus said as he dropped the food package on the table and opened it carefully.
Inside was a spread of food: a main dish of roasted Dire Wolf steak with vegetables and gravy, a basket of fresh bread rolls, a small salad, some kind of fruit tart for dessert, and what looked like a Dire Meat Sandwich wrapped in paper.
"So this is the Dire Meat Sandwich." He picked up the sandwich in his hand, examining it.
It was known in the game for restoring 5 HP to one's character, but it wasn't like he needed to restore HP now in real life.
Instead, he lifted it to his mouth and began devouring hungrily. "Mmm~ Good foo… Gluk!"
He nearly choked on his own food violently, there was something hard in it that definitely wasn't meat.
He fished his hand into his mouth somewhat disgustingly and pulled out what looked like a small ball of crumpled paper that was wet with saliva.
With his cheeks still full of half-chewed sandwich, he opened the paper carefully.
[Congratulations, you won an extra salad custom-]
He didn't even finish reading it and crushed the paper in his fist angrily.
"Putting your filthy hands in my food is…" He spat out the chewed sandwich in his mouth back into the packaging and closed it firmly, his appetite had been completely killed.
Was this normal behavior in this world? The hell?
"I'll eat the rest later I guess. After I check it for foreign objects."
Now he focused on the more important stuff which was the bag of iron scraps and testing his Metal Magic abilities.
"Alright. Magnetic Field." Klaus activated the spell, focusing his mana, and instantly he could feel just like earlier in the dungeon… the iron within the vicinity was completely within his mental control, responding to his will.
"I'm just wondering if I can actually forge weapons from scraps using the skill." He concentrated and lifted the scraps up from the bag using magnetic force.
There were a damn lot of them… maybe a hundred pieces of various sizes. He had bought them from the nearby blacksmith for a heavily reduced price since they were considered waste material.
"Alright." He looked at two specific scraps and mentally tried to push them together forcefully.
Immediately as they collided, they began pushing against each other and generating intense heat from the friction and pressure.
The metal started glowing red-hot at the contact point and he maintained the pressure, after several seconds he let go of the magnetic control and his eyes widened in genuine surprise. "Oh, they joined?"
The two pieces of iron had fused together neatly along the seam, and they were still glowing red-hot but cooling gradually… That meant his experimental plan would actually work.
Klaus grinned and got to work in earnest.
For the next thirty minutes, he joined scrap after scrap, heating them through friction and magnetic compression, then fusing them together.
The process was mentally exhausting but exhilarating as well since he was literally forging metal with his mind.
"I want to form it in the shape of a dagger." Klaus muttered, focusing intensely as he began shaping the combined mass of iron.
He visualized the shape clearly in his mind… a simple dagger with a straight blade about eight inches long, a basic cross-guard, and a handle grip.
The metal responded to his mental commands, flowing and reshaping like clay under invisible hands. The blade took form first with the edge becoming sharper as he compressed and aligned the metal grain structure then the cross-guard extended outward and finally, the handle shaped itself into a comfortable grip.
It was working… It was actually working!
"Just a bit more…" Klaus whispered, with sweat beading on his forehead from the intense concentration. The dagger was almost complete… Now he just needed to refine the edge a bit more and…
The instant he finished the final shaping, the completed dagger suddenly clattered to the ground with a metallic clang.
All the remaining scraps scattered around the room also fell simultaneously and his magnetic control vanished as well.
Klaus's vision started dimming rapidly from overusing his mana reserves.
"Not again…" he managed to gasp out.
Before he knew it, his knees buckled and he collapsed forward onto the worktable, his consciousness fading into darkness.
…
"Ugh, my head hurts… again." Klaus muttered under his breath and slowly looked up from where his face had been pressed against the wooden table.
He was still in the storeroom for some reason.
How long had he been out?
The analog clock mounted on the wall was reading 9am.
"Fuck." He shifted backward abruptly in shock and fell out of the chair, landing hard on his back. "I'm late! What even happened?"
The packaging of his food was still there on the table. While the other items were sealed properly and untouched, the sandwich wrapper was still open and ruined.
He looked to the right and saw the remnants of the dagger on the ground. It had cooled down completely, though it looked very irregular now with a warped uneven surface. It was clearly not combat-ready.
There were also metal scraps scattered all over the room like shrapnel.
"I exhausted my mental energy again." He shook his head, rubbing his temples. "I really need to stop doing that."
A familiar notification screen appeared in front of him, making him a bit excited.
「Would you like to roll the gacha wheel?」
「Y / N」
「Current Tickets: 1」
'I see… the daily spin.' He thought while tapping on Y without hesitation.
The gacha wheel materialized in front of his face once more… that colorful spinning wheel divided into sections of different rarities.
He inserted the ticket into the slot and the wheel began spinning with that familiar musical whirrrrr.
He put his hands together and closed his eyes in a prayer like he was at a shrine.
"Please give me a good item… Please give me a good item… Please give me something useful like yesterday…"
The wheel came to a gradual stop and dinged loudly but Klaus still kept praying with his eyes squeezed shut, not wanting to look then he cracked one eye open to see what cursed item he had received this time.
「Congratulations! You have pulled: Tier 0 Item - Basic Sword Sheath」
A plain leather sword sheath materialized in the air and dropped into his lap, making him blink.
…
The owner of the Inn who had rented it out was walking past outside on his morning rounds. He'd planned to knock and ask the new guest how his first night was in the place however he flinched badly as he heard a curse uttered with all of Klaus's desperate might from inside.
"FUCK!!!!!"