Chapter 001: Damn it, Aqua!

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Novice Village - Axel.

This is a remote town located furthest from the Demon King’s Castle, a place of tranquility and peace untouched by conflict.

For this very reason, there are no high-level monsters in the surrounding areas, making it a favored destination for fledgling adventurers seeking their first exploits.

It is, in every sense, a true novice village.

Two guards stood idly at the city gates, bored out of their minds.

Guard A stretched lazily, sighing, “Ahh, so dull, truly so dull.”

“Well, it is the novice village after all,” Guard B replied, covering a yawn with his hand. “At this rate, our bodies are going to rust. How about grabbing a drink tonight?”

“Excellent idea. My treat. Then perhaps we can work off some of this pent-up energy afterward.”

“It’s decided then.” The two exchanged knowing, mischievous grins.

As for where they would go?

Don’t ask—those who know, know.

“But really, is it necessary for us to stand guard here all day?” Guard A complained softly, trying to sway his companion. “Why not slip away now? No one ever comes here anyway.”

“Don’t abandon your post. It’s our duty. If Lord Ardap finds out, it won’t end well,” the older Guard B scolded in a low voice.

The lord of Axel, Aldap, was not known for his kindness.

If that rotund, piggish lowborn noble decided to make an issue of it, common soldiers like them wouldn’t stand a chance.

He was even known to punish by collective responsibility.

But before he could lecture his junior further, he spotted something approaching from the distance.

“What’s that…” Guard B shaded his eyes, peering into the distance.

—Eagle Eye.

Activating his skill, he saw a giant frog.

A typical low-level monster roaming the plains, easily dispatched by any fully-equipped novice adventurer.

But something seemed off.

Instead of hopping, the frog was crawling slowly along the ground, an odd movement for an amphibian.

“What’s so strange about that?” Guard A flicked his nails, speaking with lazy indifference. “It’s got to be Kobayashi. Only he would bother hauling his own kill rather than pay for transport.”

“Yeah, that’s probably him.” Guard B nodded. As guards, they knew most of the local adventurers and were familiar with their quirks.

As the giant frog drew closer, a tall young man appeared alongside it.

He was about eighteen, with dark hair and brown eyes, and a hint of handsomeness.

Clad in leather armor, a longbow slung across his back, and a dagger at his waist—he was the very image of a thief-archer.

Even at 180 centimeters, he seemed small next to the three-meter-tall frog.

He was struggling down the road, hauling a frog leg over his shoulder.

Guard A, seeing his effort, called out, “Kobayashi, doing quests alone again? You should find a party.”

“Mind your own business!” Kobayashi shot back irritably.

Guard A’s eyes widened. “Huh?! I’m just being concerned, and you call me annoying?!”

“If you’re so concerned, come help me carry this to the guild.”

“Well… uh… You see, I’m on duty right now. Not really convenient,” Guard A coughed. Helping would be no big deal, but he couldn’t stand the smell of giant frog slime.

Because, honestly, it stank!

There were plenty of low-level monsters around Axel, meaning many quest options, so most adventurers avoided the stinky, slimy frog hunts.

“Tch, if you won’t help, then stop talking,” Kobayashi replied, flashing a disdainful middle finger, then trudged on toward the guild.

He’d barely gone a few steps when Guard B called after him, “Seriously, Kobayashi, you really ought to find a proper party, if only for your own safety.”

“Yes, yes, I’ll think about it, I’ll think about it,” Kobayashi replied, waving a hand without looking back.

His perfunctory tone made it clear he wasn’t listening. The two guards could only shrug helplessly.

Entering the city, Kobayashi strode ahead, his body covered in slime. Even as passersby eyed him with a mix of curiosity and disgust, he felt not a trace of shame.

In fact, he seemed even more proud, as if flaunting his trophy—a lowly giant frog.

The stench of slime was overwhelming.

People made way for him, and soon he reached the guild.

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He pushed open the door.

“Hey, hey, hey! Giant frog delivery!” he shouted, drawing the attention of the guild staff.

He headed straight behind the counter, moving with the ease of a seasoned regular.

A golden-haired receptionist with a generous figure came out to greet him.

This was Luna, the most popular receptionist in the guild.

“Thank you for your hard work, Miss Luna,” Kobayashi greeted her.

“Leave it to me,” Luna replied with professional grace, quickly assessing the monster and directing staff to dismantle it.

Ten minutes later—

“After verification, the task [Slay 5 Giant Frogs] is complete. Including the monster brought back, your total reward is 15,000 Eris. Please confirm.”

The quest bounty was 10,000 Eris, plus 5,000 Eris for the monster’s parts. If the guild handled transport, it’d cost 1,000 Eris, but he preferred to save the fee and do it himself.

“Alright, I’ll take the reward.”

As he pocketed the coins, another thought struck him. “By the way, can I level up my adventurer class yet?”

“Well… slaying giant frogs is a basic quest for low-level adventurers and doesn’t contribute to achievement points,” Luna explained gently.

She didn’t spell it out, but the meaning was clear—not yet.

Kobayashi sighed. “I see. Got it.”

No matter.

Being a low-level adventurer was fine for now.

If the son of the Ninja Sealing Mother, or the Shinigami Substitute could rise to greatness, surely a novice adventurer like himself could one day defeat the Demon King of another world!

He could only comfort himself in this way for now.

At that moment, someone called out behind him, “Kobayashi, you’re back, dripping with slime again!”

The speaker was a blond young man with a tear mole by his eye—Dust.

His class was (Dragon) Knight, but more notorious in Axel as a deadbeat and scoundrel, always drinking on credit at the guild, regarded by townsfolk as nothing more than trash.

Kobayashi ignored him and spoke to the server, “A bubbly ale and a serving of fried frog leg, please.”

Dust called out again, “You really should find a party, or you’ll just be back covered in slime again tomorrow!”

Kobayashi shot back, “At least I’m not just mooching around the guild waiting to die, unlike some people.”

“Ugh…”

Kobayashi’s retort left Dust speechless. He could only gulp his ale and mutter about “not just mooching, just waiting for the right quest,” or “working with companions isn’t mooching,”—his excuses provoking laughter.

The other adventurers in the guild laughed good-naturedly at Dust’s expense, and the whole guild filled with cheerful energy.

Kobayashi chuckled as well.

But someone couldn’t help but ask, “Kobayashi, why don’t you look for a party? With your skills, you’d find one easily.”

He replied with a sneer, “The strong need not stoop to work with the weak. The strong only grow stronger—don’t you understand?”

“…Are you sure you haven’t lost your mind?”

The questioner realized Kobayashi’s affliction might be more serious than it appeared—his words baffling and strange.

Others chimed in as well.

“Strong? You’re just a beginner!”

“There are so many advanced classes—Swordmaster, Rune Knight, High Priest, Archmage—yet he picked the weakest one: [Adventurer (Beginner)]. What was he thinking?”

“Who knows? It’s beyond comprehension.”

“If he chose any other class, he’d be in high demand. But as an Adventurer? Might as well delete and reroll.”

“Delete and reroll? What’s that?”

“It’s something Yujian Xiangye said—basically, it means he’s a lost cause.”

“No way, that’s hilarious.”

Stop, just stop!

Please, no more!

Kobayashi clutched his head, not wanting to remember the moment he’d chosen his class. His eyes brimmed with regret, sorrow, and self-pity.

Regret—deep, profound regret!

The more he thought about it, the worse he felt, until he’d lost his appetite entirely, leaving his meal untouched.

He paid his bill and left the guild.

Walking down the street, people continued to give him a wide berth before he realized the lingering stench of slime on his body.

“…Forget it, I’ll go bathe first.”

——————

By now, you’ve probably guessed it—Kobayashi is a transmigrator.

Three months ago, he died from overindulgence in immortal cultivation novels. One moment his eyes closed, and his past life ended.

When he opened them again, he saw a goddess.

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Her name was Aqua, who called herself the Water Goddess of Wisdom, guiding departed young souls to begin anew in another world.

As a seasoned anime fan, Kobayashi instantly realized he’d reincarnated after death.

Bad news: dead.

Good news: rebirth!

Not only that, he could even choose a powerful cheat!

Knowing this was an opportunity not to be missed, Kobayashi pulled out all the stops, shamelessly flattering Aqua as the unparalleled goddess of all realms.

He called her “the greatest goddess in the divine realm, the most popular, the wisest of all,” and “your followers cover the world, everyone worships, respects, and adores you,” and so on.

His flattery was so over-the-top that any goddess with a shred of self-awareness would have blushed with embarrassment.

But Aqua thought nothing of it; in fact, she found it only natural.

She even believed it was all true, reveling in the praise, her nose in the air, delighted to be hailed as supreme.

In the end, with repeated promises to “join the Axis Faith after reincarnation and spread the glory of the church,” he successfully coaxed Aqua into granting him a powerful cheat.

—World Travel!

Heh, heh, heh—he knew.

Aqua and the other gods managed countless worlds, and with all the anime crossovers, and considering he’d transmigrated after death, there was a high chance he could adventure in other worlds.

How could he pass up such a golden opportunity?

He wanted to see all the sights the worlds had to offer!

So, to blend in quickly and master skills from different worlds, Kobayashi gave up all advanced classes and deliberately chose [Adventurer (Beginner)]—the lowest class, but one that could learn any skill just by seeing it once.

The result—

“Why can’t I use my cheat?!”

He raised his right hand.

On his index finger was a plain, pitch-black ring.

This was the artifact Aqua had bestowed upon him, the powerful cheat that could traverse worlds.

Kobayashi couldn’t help but shout in frustration, venting his grievances.

“Insufficient energy, insufficient energy—what more does it need?! I’ve fed it plenty of mana, even burned ten high-quality magic stones worth 100,000 Eris each. How much magic does it need?! And does pouring more mana into it really help?!”

His life could have been so much smoother, if not for this useless cheat holding him back.

Even he wanted a life summarized by “another world light novel toilet paper.”

If possible, he’d prefer the highest quality: 24K pure wood-carved, ultra-soft luxury toilet paper—a life of effortless power and ease.

…but these were nothing more than extravagant daydreams.

He tried to take it in stride.

At least he hadn’t ended up in the construction brigade, putting his “infrastructure maniac” talents to use on the city walls.

Whenever he felt downcast, he consoled himself with such thoughts—after all, life was not just about present indignities… but also those still to come.

After a thorough wash, he felt refreshed.

The sun shone high, his spirits were lifted.

Truth be told, whether life after rebirth grew difficult, or he’d impulsively chosen the worst class, or was constantly mocked and ridiculed for his sorry state—

He could endure all of it.

But there was one thing—just one—that he absolutely could not accept.

His cheat was unusable!

Because it wouldn’t work, all his preparations were in vain.

Because he chose [Adventurer (Beginner)], he’d fallen from a would-be rising star to a complete joke.

Given the chance, he’d make that idiot goddess pay!

He absolutely, absolutely had to teach her a lesson—otherwise, he’d never be able to vent his resentment.

Lost in thought, Kobayashi failed to notice the person approaching. They bumped shoulders by accident.

Startled, he quickly apologized.

“Ah, sorry, I bumped into you.”

“It’s alright, just be careful next time.”

The gentle, serene voice was clearly a young woman’s.

It should have been nothing more than an everyday mishap.

But when he looked up, Kobayashi froze.

Translucent, water-colored hair and eyes, a long aquamarine dress, and a sheer lavender mantle draped around her.

She was ethereal and inscrutable, her flawless features untouched by any imperfection, surrounded by an aura unlike any mortal.

But this extraordinary beauty and perfect figure also radiated a faint air of cluelessness.

The image of the goddess in his mind overlapped with the girl before him. Kobayashi’s eyes widened, his jaw dropped, and before he realized it, he blurted out—

“Damn, Aqua?!”

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