The next morning, I woke up on the creaky bed.
Because of last night’s commotion, I’d practically spent the night with my eyes open, but for some reason my body felt light.
It was probably because of the Falna.
When I looked to the side, Lady Istarot was sleeping soundly with an angelic face.
Her breathing tickled my cheek in a steady rhythm.
I hadn’t noticed yesterday because everything had been such a blur, but this goddess really had no sense of caution at all.
I quietly slipped out of bed and headed for the desk.
There, half a hard loaf of bread and a small coin pouch she had handed me yesterday were waiting.
When I opened the pouch, I found only 20,000 valis inside.
It wasn’t a small amount, but it wasn’t much either.
Apparently, it was the minimum settling fund the Guild gave to a new Familia.
I had to make everything work with this money.
The situation wasn’t exactly great.
I nibbled on the bread while starting to plan my future.
First, I needed to go to the Dungeon.
If I wanted to make money, there was no other way.
And to do that, I needed equipment.
With these 20,000 valis, I had to buy both armor and a weapon.
There was no way I could expect anything high quality at that price.
But I had a trump card.
Enchant.
The name of my magic was exactly the same as the system from the game I used to play.
Then, maybe? A hypothesis flashed through my mind and made my heart race.
What if I could freely bestow the effects I remembered from that game?
What if I could stack every enchantment that existed onto a single weapon?
Sharpness, Protection, Smite... a flood of effects rose in my mind.
It probably wouldn’t be as simple as pressing a button like in a game, but I had to try.
“Are you awake, Nia?”
Lady Istarot, who had woken up at some point, smiled softly at me.
“Yes, Goddess. I’m heading out.”
“Already? You should eat breakfast first...”
“It’s fine. I’d rather come back and share a warm meal with you, Goddess.”
At my words, she blinked her eyes wide for a moment, then soon gave me a benevolent smile.
“Very well. I’ll be waiting, my child.”
I picked up the coin pouch and left the clock tower.
The misery from yesterday was gone.
I’d decided that the moment I met the goddess was the moment I was born again.
Orario’s morning was full of energy.
The place I headed to was not a smithy.
It was a shabby secondhand weapon shop in a back alley.
It was the perfect place to get materials for testing my magic.
Inside the shop, thick with dust and the smell of rusted iron, a rough-looking one-eyed dwarf greeted me.
“Kid, this isn’t the place for you.”
“I’m here to buy weapons. I want the cheapest, oldest dagger and leather armor you have. For a Pallum.”
At my bold request, the dwarf gave me a once-over, then pulled dusty items out from the corner of the storeroom.
A dagger with a missing tooth and rust all over it, and a leather vest with scratches in several places.
“Two thousand valis for both. That’s as low as I’ll go.”
It was far cheaper than I’d expected.
Come to think of it, that made sense.
These were nothing but scrap metal that other adventurers had already thrown away.
“Wait. Do you have any more useless daggers like this? I’ll buy them all.”
My words made the dwarf look puzzled, but the thought of getting rid of junk must have appealed to him, because he cheerfully rummaged through the storeroom and brought out four more similar daggers.
All together, it came to 4,000 valis, and I paid without hesitation.
After gathering my equipment, I left the shop and headed into another deserted alley.
Now the real work began.
I laid the five old daggers out on the ground.
The most basic and iconic enchantment.
Sharpness.
In the game, it increased a weapon’s attack power.
I activated my magic, imagining the image of a blade becoming sharper as its dull edge was honed to perfection.
“Let fate be bestowed.”
With the short incantation, I felt the [Mind] inside me drain away.
A faint light burst from my hand and wrapped around one of the daggers.
When the light faded, the dagger looked exactly the same as before.
It was still rusted, and the blade still looked dull.
For a moment, disappointment washed over me.
Had I failed?
But the instant I picked up the dagger and swung it, I realized something.
Its appearance hadn’t changed, but it was definitely sharper than before.
Just to be sure, I compared it by picking up the other daggers and swinging them as well, and I could tell the dagger with Sharpness was much keener.
I’d succeeded.
“Hahaha...!”
It was probably Sharpness 1, right?
Just a single level of Sharpness had made it vastly better.
Then what if it were Sharpness 5?
What if I could apply every other weapon enchantment too?
I was still too weak to do that yet, but someday I would be able to.
Looking forward to that future, I bestowed Sharpness on the remaining daggers as well.
Then I tried applying Protection to the leather vest.
It was wrapped in the same light, but its appearance remained old and worn.
Did it change anything too...?
Hmm... I couldn’t really tell.
I’d probably have to get hit to know for sure.
Anyway, all the preparations were finished now.
With the remaining 16,000 valis in hand, I headed to the Guild.
The massive Guild building was bustling with adventurers.
At the reception counters, employees of various races were busily moving about.
I approached the female employee who looked the least busy, a girl with rabbit ears.
“I’d like to register as an adventurer.”
At my voice, she looked up from her paperwork. When she saw me, her eyes widened.
“Oh my, a Pallum! You’re so small and cute. Which Familia are you with?”
“The Istarot Familia.”
“The Istarot... Familia?”
She tilted her head and flipped through the documents.
It seemed the newly formed Familia wasn’t in the records yet.
After searching for a while, she must have found it, because she said, “Ah, here it is! A Familia that was just registered yesterday! And you’re the only member?”
“Yes. I’m the only member.”
She asked for various details like my name and quickly began processing the paperwork.
A moment later, she smiled and said, “Yes, Nia. Your registration is complete. From now on, you’re a正式 adventurer, and you may enter the Dungeon and use the exchange counter. Please be careful!”
I was finally an adventurer.
It felt strangely moving.
After putting on my enchanted equipment, I finally stood before the Dungeon entrance.
As I descended into the Dungeon, I took a deep breath and held out one enchanted dagger.
Then I thought of my second skill.
Master of Arms.
As I activated the skill in my mind, the dagger slipped free of my hand and began moving through the air like a living creature.
Following my thoughts, it shot forward like lightning, then circled smoothly around me.
Telekinesis swordplay.
This was ridiculously cool.
For a physically small Pallum like me, there probably wasn’t a better skill than this.
It perfectly compensated for my lack of size and made unpredictable attacks possible.
And since it was a skill, it didn’t even consume [Mind].
The only downside was that controlling multiple weapons would probably take some getting used to.
With the dagger leading the way, I took my first step into the dark Dungeon.
The inside of the Dungeon was filled with cool, damp air.
Blue-glowing moss grew on the walls and ceiling, serving as a strange sort of lighting.
Keeping my guard up, I moved forward, and soon I saw something moving in the distance.
A goblin.
With its ugly green skin and blunt club, it was one of the weakest monsters in the Dungeon, along with the kobold.
“Kreeeck!”
The goblin spotted me and charged.
I calmly gave the floating dagger its command.
“Pierce it.”
Responding to my thought, the dagger shot out like a streak of light.
It looked like a rusted dagger, but its blade held an invisible sharpness.
The goblin collapsed without even realizing that the dagger had been driven into its neck, still carrying the momentum of its charge.
Its body crumbled into black ash, and in its place rolled a small purple stone.
“Oh... that’s stronger than I expected...”
Magic Stone.
This was money.
The first battle ended so anticlimactically it was almost laughable.
That only proved how powerful my skill was.
After that, the hunt went smoothly.
The Master of Arms skill perfectly made up for my small frame.
Since I barely moved at all, I even started wondering whether my stats might not rise because of it.
Before the monsters could even register my presence, the dagger flying through the air pierced their vital points.
Goblins, kobolds.
The monsters that appeared on the first floor weren’t a match for me.
After about five hours of hunting, I’d wiped out every monster I saw, and the small pouch at my waist had become pleasantly heavy.
Since I’d be coming to the Dungeon so often in the future that I’d get sick of it, today was enough.
I left the Dungeon without any lingering attachment.
Back at the Guild, I headed to the exchange counter this time.
I took out all the Magic Stones from my pouch.
It was my first harvest of the day. The Guild employee looked surprised for a moment, then began counting the stones with practiced ease.
“All together, that comes to 6,000 valis. That’s quite a haul for a rookie.”
For only having hunted on the first floor, it was a pretty good income.
My hand trembled slightly as I accepted the money.
It was the first money I’d ever earned myself since coming to this other world, so of course I was shaking...
My steps back to the clock tower felt lighter than ever.
When I opened the door, Lady Istarot greeted me with a worried expression.
“Nia! You’re safe! You aren’t hurt, are you?”
“Yes, Goddess. I’m not hurt anywhere.”
“Thank goodness... But you mustn’t overdo it, all right?”
After checking my body and confirming that I wasn’t hurt anywhere, the goddess smiled and patted my head.
Ah... her smile really felt healing.
“More importantly, Goddess! Let’s go eat out!”
“Huh? W-wait just a—?!”
I showed her the money I’d earned today, then took her hand and led her out of the clock tower.
There’s a rule that the first money you earn is supposed to be spent on eating out, after all.
You're Absolutely Right, Nia. Your first paycheck must be first use for a good food