Lying in bed that morning, staring blankly at the ceiling, Renato's thoughts drifted back to the first adventure quest he had completed three months earlier. On impulse, a book unfolded in his field of vision.

  [Adventurer's Guide]

  [Quest]

  Hunt goblins in the southern forest. No limit on number. Bring back the right ear of each. Reward: 5 copper coins per ear.

  [Quest Description]

  Bloody sacrificial rituals, cruel worship of an evil god, family conspiracies, glory, wealth… all of that is behind you now. This is the end of your former identity and the beginning of a completely new life. Become an adventurer today. Start from scratch—by killing goblins.

  2 goblin right ears submitted. 10 experience points gained.

  His eyes lingered for a moment on that very first quest he had accepted, then moved to the next section.

  [Character]

  Renato·de·Fernando

  Race: Human

  Class: Warrior Lv.3 (15/500) | Dakur's Favored Lv.1 (30/?)

  HP: 45/45

  Strength: 14

  Constitution: 12

  Dexterity: 14

  Perception: 15

  Intelligence: 11

  Resolve: 15

  Specialties: Heavy Armor Proficiency, Military Weapon Proficiency, Swordsmanship Specialization, Darkvision

  Skills: Religion 6, History 4, Linguistics 4, Unit Tactics 3, Riding 2

  Renato closed his eyes and the Adventurer's Guide vanished.

  After nearly three months of trial and error, he believed he had figured out how the "book" worked.

  Complete commissioned tasks → earn experience points → raise class levels.

  Thanks to more than two months of steady effort, his Warrior class had reached level 3, granting him +2 Strength and +1 Dexterity. The improvement wasn't dramatic, but he could tell his raw power had increased slightly—though he personally suspected most of it came from the physical training he had been doing rather than the level-up itself.

  As for the second, clearly abnormal class, he had experimented by dumping all 30 accumulated experience points into it, yet nothing happened. For the time being he gave up. Adventure commissions were hard to come by; every single point of experience was precious.

  As to where this sudden Adventurer's Guide had come from, and what schemes might lie hidden behind it… having been thrown into another world completely penniless, Renato had long since stopped caring. He simply fell back on the survival strategy he had honed during his student days: enjoy the present and deal with the consequences later.

  Besides, this book was the only thing he had found so far that connected him in any way to Earth. No matter what, he had no intention of abandoning it.

  Remembering the pitiful handful of copper coins left in his pouch, Renato finally forced himself to stop daydreaming and crawled out from under the warm blanket.

  The tattered blue velvet coat he once wore had long been replaced with a leather cuirass made of cowhide. To save money he had deliberately purchased only a chest piece—lightweight and, for the same price, offering the largest area of protection.

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  Paired with a pair of iron pauldrons scavenged from an earlier adventure, a faded cotton gambeson, leather gloves, and leather vambraces, Renato felt he at least looked the part of an adventurer now.

  Once he had buckled on all his gear and hung his sword at his hip, he pushed open the door and drew a deep breath of the chilly morning air.

  Brecka Town—the southernmost settlement in the domain of Freed—might be called a town on maps, but Renato thought of it more as an adventurer camp.

  Crude wooden shacks stood shoulder to shoulder, surrounded by what could barely be called shelters: a few planks and scraps of cloth thrown together.

  The air carried the ever-present stench of excrement mixed with rotting animal entrails. After living here for over two months, Renato realized he had actually grown somewhat accustomed to the smell.

  The reason he had come was simple. Competition in Freed City proper was brutal, rewards were low, and living expenses were punishing. So he had moved to this well-known "adventurer's paradise" on the frontier.

  As usual, Renato made his way to the town square—the place where the Adventurer's Guild normally posted jobs.

  Unlike in the city, there was no neat bulletin board here. Instead there was only Baldy—better known as One-Eye Holly—standing on a wooden platform, bellowing at the top of his lungs while people below shouted back to sign up. Once enough names were collected, the group would set out.

  Though Holly's voice was impressively loud, the crowd of job-hungry adventurers was even louder. From a distance it was impossible to make out what he was saying, so Renato had to force his way through the cursing, jostling mass until he was close enough to hear clearly.

  "Success or failure, as long as you come back alive—1 silver crown per person! Did you hear me? One silver crown each, win or lose!"

  "I'm in!" Before Holly could even finish, someone was already raising a hand.

  "Hey, look at me! One-Eye, we drank together once!"

  "Bullshit! When the hell did One-Eye ever drink with you?"

  The argument quickly turned physical, but everyone treated it as background noise and waited for Holly to continue.

  "This time we're heading into the Phantom Forest. Everyone knows the place, right?"

  The moment the words "Phantom Forest" were spoken, the square grew noticeably quieter. Several people quietly slipped away toward the edges of the crowd.

  The Phantom Forest was the very reason Brecka Town existed. Legend said the ancient Nithel Kingdom once stood here before the entire realm sank beneath the earth. Explanations varied, but what remained was a land permanently warped by runaway magic—endless illusions, mazes, and deceptive spells.

  Renato, however, was not particularly worried. Countless adventurers had spent years "pioneering" the forest. Most of the truly dangerous magical traps had already been triggered and neutralized, and relatively safe routes had been mapped out. He himself had completed several commissions inside and had never encountered the nightmare versions of the stories.

  One-Eye Holly seemed pleased with the sudden hush. He cleared his throat and went on.

  "The giant spiders in the Phantom Forest are different from the ones elsewhere. I can't tell you exactly how, but a certain mage wants them."

  He gave an exaggerated wink—made comical by the milky blind eye—but no one laughed. The mention of hunting giant spiders had already caused half the crowd to reconsider.

  Giant spiders never traveled alone. Who would risk a spider swarm for pocket change?

  "That mage is a lot more generous than any noble lord. Not only is he paying full price, he even gave us the exact location: Dumb Valley. There's a big nest there…"

  No matter how loudly Holly shouted or how much he raised the offered pay, the crowd kept thinning. Just as Renato himself was about to turn and look for other work, the Adventurer's Guide popped up in front of him again.

  [Quest]

  Hunt the giant spiders located in Dumb Valley within the Phantom Forest. No limit on number. 5 silver coins per spider. If spider eggs are retrieved, 20 silver coins per egg.

  [Quest Description]

  Dark spider lairs, cocoons hiding not only corpses but countless treasures. With a mage's support, fight for silver. This is not merely about survival—it is about the honor of sapient beings.

  Quest Reward: 1,000 experience points

  Renato's first thought was that One-Eye Holly must be taking a very healthy cut this time.

  But the [Adventurer's Guide] had never been wrong. Whatever reward it listed was the actual amount paid.

  Twenty silver coins per egg. Even living frugally, that would cover an entire winter in the city.

  Two eggs and it would be forty silver coins. Renato couldn't help picturing it:

  "Meat on the table every day… and the occasional hot bath at the public house…"

  More importantly, there was the 1,000 experience points. In the past three months he had completed more than a dozen commissions, yet the highest single reward he had ever received was barely over 100 points. A thousand might let him jump two levels at once.

  And the description mentioned a mage providing magical support… After weighing everything, Renato decided to go big.

  "Adventurers exist to take risks and make money, don't they?"

  Nearly an hour passed. Including Renato, only three people had signed up. Just as One-Eye Holly was about to start yelling again, a man in a deep-blue robe embroidered with silver patterns stepped forward. Holly immediately shut his mouth and waited.

  The man's voice was slightly hoarse and not especially loud, yet it reached Renato's ears as clearly as if the speaker were standing right beside him:

  "Giant spiders of Dumb Valley—5 silver crowns each. Materials belong to you. Spider eggs—20 silver crowns each. Eggs belong to me."

  Those few curt sentences accomplished more than an hour of Holly's shouting. Within five minutes a ten-person team had been assembled.

  ————

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