Chapter 3: The Newbie Tutorial Phase

To make Kazuma Sato understand the cruelty of the other world—or perhaps more so to let him experience the same pain as himself—Kobayashi took the two of them to participate in the "First Encounter with Otherworldly Monster Extermination" event.

On the plains outside Axel.

Aqua, covered in slime, knelt on the ground, sobbing pitifully. If any outsider saw her, they would surely think she was being bullied.

But in reality, Aqua had recklessly charged out and was swallowed whole by a giant frog.

“I am a goddess! A goddess, you know!” she repeated twice, as if trying to convince herself, clearly unwilling to accept her predicament.

Wiping the slime from her face, Aqua glared fiercely at another giant frog in the distance.

“Damn it! I’ll show you the power of a goddess! You’ll regret and repent for opposing me, a goddess, in hell!”

With that, she gathered a powerful orb of magic in her hand and charged swiftly toward the giant frog.

“Die! Divine Light Fist!”

The Divine Light Fist was a finishing move carrying the wrath and power of a goddess; no one could withstand the power of a god!

*Duang—!*

A muffled thud echoed as a ripple spread across the thick, fatty belly of the giant frog like water waves.

Our attack failed to pierce the enemy’s armor!

“Ah, haha, looking closely, these frogs are kind of cute... Ugh!”

Aqua was swallowed again.

At this moment, Kobayashi turned to Kazuma Sato and said, “The giant frogs are immune to physical impact attacks, so to hunt them, you need weapons with sharpness, like swords, spears, or bows. Also, they hate iron products intensely—that’s very important information, so remember it.”

“I see, got it.”

Kazuma nodded, watching the goddess who was gradually being swallowed.

“Um… Senior Kobayashi, aren’t we going to rescue her?”

“Wait a bit longer, let her stew a little.”

Kobayashi twisted his lips into a cruel smile, seemingly taking pleasure in others’ suffering.

Kazuma’s mouth twitched as he silently warned himself never to offend Senior Kobayashi; otherwise, he couldn’t imagine what might happen.

Why torment Aqua?

Because Kobayashi’s anger hadn’t cooled yet!

Three months of hardship and turmoil—if he forgave that easily, he’d be a total sucker.

It’s fine; they could save her later. She’d thank them afterward anyway.

After enjoying a wild performance of the goddess flailing and gnashing her teeth, Kobayashi finally rescued her from the frog’s mouth.

“Thank you… waaah, thank you, Kobayashi! Really, thank you!”

Aqua cried loudly, clinging to his legs and refusing to let go.

See? She’s even grateful to us.

Then Kobayashi said to Kazuma, “As you can see, even hunting the lowest-level monsters is quite difficult, so you need to recruit companions and form a team.”

“Oh, a team! That’s common in otherworld fantasy stories!”

Kazuma was clearly excited but also worried.

“But will anyone join our team? We’re just novice adventurers who have just started.”

“No problem, there will be.”

Kobayashi smiled confidently.

He first took the goddess to bathe, then returned to the guild, made some arrangements on the notice board, and finally sat back calmly in his chair, waiting for people to show up.

Kazuma, curious, asked, “Senior Kobayashi, what did you do?”

“Nothing special, just posted our team information and recruitment requirements.”

“That’s all?”

“That’s all.”

Seeing his lack of confidence, Kobayashi explained, “High-level professions are in high demand in Axel, especially the High Priestess profession. And since she has learned all the skills, many adventurers will definitely want to join our team.”

“Really? Something feels off, though.”

Kazuma, somewhat clever, thought it over and realized the problem lay with the foolish goddess.

Though Aqua is the High Priestess and Water Goddess, her unreliability was frankly embarrassing.

Kobayashi showed only the good side while hiding Aqua’s incompetence…

“That’s outright fraud!”

“Where? Being a High Priestess is a fact, and learning all skills is also true. We’re not lying.”

“You lost me the moment you said the latter!”

Kazuma was speechless.

Still, he pondered—is it really that bad that they have to hide information to gather companions?

He looked disdainfully at the goddess beside him.

“What’s that look? That’s rude!”

Aqua hates being looked down on and pounded her chest, trying to prove herself.

“I’m a goddess! A goddess! If I just wave my hand, tons of believers will come—believe it or not!”

“Heh.”

“Ah! How dare you mock me!”

Eager to prove herself, Aqua slammed the table.

“Fine, I’ll show you the goddess’s charisma! Anyone here…”

“I saw the recruitment notice.”

“Huh?” ×3

All three looked in the same direction to see a little girl in a robe and conical hat, holding a wand—a typical mage’s appearance—standing behind them.

She arrived so fast? That’s unbelievable!

Aqua widened her eyes and murmured, looking at her hands, “Someone came before I even finished… Could my divine power be this strong?”

“Idiot! That’s obviously a coincidence!”

Kazuma whispered harshly.

Meanwhile, the girl continued her self-introduction.

“This meeting is a fate chosen by the world. I have been awaiting people like you.”

She flicked her robe behind her.

“I am Megumin! A Great Mage who wields the strongest offensive magic—Explosion Magic—the one who will ultimately master Explosion Magic...!”

Her crimson eyes suddenly shone brightly, radiating an overwhelming aura that immediately stunned Kazuma Sato.

Though they had just met, he was already sure the little girl was the ultimate chūnibyō.

Aqua seemed to notice something.

“Those eyes… could you be from the Crimson Demon Clan?”

“Crimson Demon Clan?”

Kazuma was puzzled.

Kobayashi explained, “The Crimson Demon Clan is naturally gifted in intelligence and magic power; most are professional mages with strange names. And, as you might guess, all of them are hopeless chūnibyō.”

“No wonder…”

Kazuma nodded and quietly asked, “What do you think, Senior Kobayashi? Is she trustworthy as a companion?”

“Who knows? That’s up to your judgment. After all, that’s part of becoming a qualified adventurer.”

Kobayashi was teaching him not to rely entirely on others and to cultivate necessary vigilance to survive in the other world.

Kazuma understood this well and, after some thought, invited the little girl to sit with them.

“Megumin… right? Please sit down first; we’ll discuss the details later. Also, may I see your adventurer card?”

“No problem!”

Megumin agreed immediately but then requested, “Before that, could you please get me something to eat? I haven’t eaten for three days.”

At that moment, her stomach let out a pitiful groan.

Kazuma rubbed his throbbing forehead, feeling that life in this fantasy world was not quite as he imagined. He also realized how hard it had been for Senior Kobayashi.

An adventurer card lay flat on the table.

Aqua exclaimed, “Her magic power is so high!”

Kazuma nodded in agreement, astonished by the terrifyingly high stats—it was unlike anything a level 6 ordinary mage would have. In fact, even most Great Mages didn't have stats this high.

Aqua added, “Adventurer cards can’t be forged. There’s no doubt she’s a High-Level Great Mage, an advanced profession capable of using offensive magic. And if she truly can use Explosion Magic, that’s impressive—it’s the highest level of explosion magic humans can learn!”

“Whoa—”

Kazuma gasped, suddenly uncertain.

He instinctively looked at Kobayashi.

Kobayashi gently nodded, confirming Aqua’s words, and Kazuma immediately gained confidence.

“All right, accepted!”

Kazuma gave Megumin a thumbs-up, pushing both her adventurer card and the menu toward her, signaling her successful recruitment.

Megumin’s face lit up, flipping through the menu to find her favorite set meal.

Kobayashi then spoke, “Well, we have a team’s damage dealer now. What we need next is a knight-type frontliner.”

Kazuma agreed.

He prodded the goddess beside him, “Hey, Aqua, since you said Megumin was recruited through your power, show me your abilities again.”

“Fine, I’ll show you the goddess’s power.”

Provoked, Aqua prepared to strike again. She stood up and waved her right hand.

“Anyone…”

“I saw the recruitment notice.”

“Huh?” ×4

No way…

Aqua became even more proud.

“See, Kazuma? The power of my divine influence!”

“It’s just a coincidence…right?”

Even Kazuma had to doubt whether it was really Aqua’s power.

The most critical thing was the newcomer filled the most needed frontline role.

A knight!

And a stunningly beautiful female knight at that!

Blonde hair, blue eyes, tall figure, exuding the aura of a cold and proud noble knight.

Unfortunately, her heavy armor concealed her figure, but it must be shapely underneath.

Kazuma felt a bit excited.

But the female knight was even more excited.

She introduced herself shyly, cheeks flushed, breathing softly, twisting nervously.

“My name is Darkness… I’m a knight. Please, please, please let me join your… ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-ti-teeny team!”

…Huh?

Kazuma sensed something off.

He noticed the knight’s gaze kept falling on Senior Kobayashi beside him.

Could it be that…

Oh, I see now.

Kazuma’s smile turned sly.

No wonder Kobayashi, despite having only been in the other world for three months, had already won the heart of a perfect knight beauty. Truly admirable!

“Not sure what you’re thinking, but you must be mistaken.”

“Oh dear, it’s too late to play dumb now.”

Kazuma teased Kobayashi and patted his chest reassuringly.

“Don’t worry, Senior Kobayashi, I’ll handle this.”

Then he looked at the blushing knight.

“Ahem, Darkness… right? May I ask why you want to join our team? We’re many in number, but all novice adventurers, quite different from you, fully armored and well-equipped.”

“Slime…”

“What?”

Darkness’s voice was very soft; Kazuma thought he misheard.

He expected her to either change the subject or go straight to Kobayashi, but whatever her intent, it was supposed to be with Kobayashi… that would be normal.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing… I didn’t mind the slime. Nope, not at all! Rip… ha… rip… ha!”

Uh-oh!

That look was bad!

But her target seemed to be Kobayashi, so rejecting her might be awkward.

Kazuma felt his internal danger detector warning him.

He sensed something was off about Darkness, sharing a bad vibe similar to Aqua and Megumin—surely there was some commonality!

What to do? Reject her?

No, absolutely not!

Think carefully, Kazuma!

Senior Kobayashi has helped so much; rejecting her would be ungrateful, right?

Now’s not the time to care about profession or capabilities—those are trivial!

“Okay, welcome to the team.”

Kazuma squeezed out the words.

God knows how hard it was to say, but to repay Senior Kobayashi, he forced himself to agree.

He just hoped he wouldn’t regret this decision later.

Feeling slighted, Darkness immediately pulled out her adventurer card to prove herself.

“I’m a Crusader Knight. Although my attack isn’t great, I’m confident in my defense. Feel free to treat me as your meat shield.”

“Huh? High-level profession? A pleasant surprise?”

Kazuma was visibly stunned.

He thought a knight would suffice, but a high-level profession too?

He muttered, “Wait, why are all the recruits high-level?”

Kobayashi explained, “That’s because I posted recruitment requirements for high-level professions. With a popular High Priestess on the team, it’d be a waste if members weren’t high-level.”

“But I feel so much pressure.”

Kazuma was the lowest-level adventurer; floating among elites was daunting.

Fortunately, Senior Kobayashi was there with him.

However—

Seeing the four members assembled, Kobayashi stood and said to Kazuma, “Well, the novice guidance ends here. Your future adventures depend on your own efforts.”

“...Huh?”

“Before you go, one last thing: May you start small and end great. That’s all. Farewell.”

“W-wait, wait, wait… hold on!”

Kazuma grabbed Kobayashi’s arm, preventing him from leaving. Their closeness was easily misinterpreted by some troublesome women.

Kobayashi looked puzzled. “Anything else?”

“Why wouldn’t you join our team?”

“Hm? Why?”

“Well… aren’t we companions? Didn’t you recruit all these people?”

“No, Kazuma, you’re the one who recruited them.”

He recalled he had said recruiting companions requires personal judgment, not just following others.

“Oh, right.”

“Wait… what about Darkness? She came to you, right? Isn’t it okay to leave her behind just like that?!”

“Nope, she mentioned slime earlier—you heard that too, right?”

“...So that wasn’t a hallucination!”

Kazuma was dumbfounded.

He didn’t regret his decision then, but now he did—deeply!

Kobayashi didn’t want to form a team; he feared the hassle.

Besides, why not team up with Yunyun, Chris, or Wiz? Why bother with a bunch of problem children?

“Besides, a four-person team is the perfect setup. Damage, healer, tank, and control—you’re a perfect team, just like that one city that keeps disconnecting.”

“But the hottest MOBA game has five players per team!”

Kazuma protested loudly.

Hmm, he hadn’t thought of that, underestimated him there.

Seeing Kobayashi hesitate, Kazuma pressed his advantage.

“Think carefully, Senior Kobayashi. Our team has a goddess! Although she seems unreliable, as a High Priestess and goddess, she’s much stronger than ordinary priests.”

Though Aqua was a fool, she was undeniably a goddess.

Unlike ordinary High Priests, goddesses can use resurrection magic without limit, and with two goddesses working together, even dust can be revived—a truly broken ability.

This alone was enough to tempt Kobayashi.

The reason they hadn’t left the novice village was because the outside was too dangerous.

Succubi? He didn’t know about those.

Meanwhile, Kazuma also fought hard to keep Kobayashi, since leading three problem children himself would be unbearable.

Plus, unlike Kazuma who descended with the foolish goddess in a fit of anger, Kobayashi was a genuine otherworlder with cheats, sure to be a strong asset in the Demon King’s extermination quest.

So, no matter how humbly he had to beg, Kazuma had to keep Kobayashi.

He continued, “Also, Senior Kobayashi’s cheat probably needs Aqua to recharge, right? Isn’t that so, Aqua?”

Kazuma shot frantic glances at the foolish goddess. Perhaps she also wanted to keep Kobayashi, because for once her brain worked.

“…Yes, it needs recharging.”

Kobayashi instinctively judged this was false.

Kazuma pressed on.

“From now on, the team answers to Senior Kobayashi!”

That way, the problem children wouldn’t need him to manage, and he’d have an easier time.

Kobayashi guessed his intent.

“Kazuma, your scheming is so loud I can hear it.”

“So, Senior Kobayashi, your answer?”

“Hmm… Fine, I agree.”

“Yes~~~~~~~~~~!”

Under Kazuma’s anxious gaze, Kobayashi finally nodded slowly, and Kazuma cheered excitedly.