NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2
Rian immediately saw through the pufferfish spirit.
The spirit, Pontol (or “Pon”), was full of bluster.
And clearly, a novice.
“Another world, huh? I’m just from Freshwind Village.”
Floating in mid-air, Pon stared at Rian for an unusually long time.
“What? Want me to pet you again?”
Pon almost nodded but resisted the sweet temptation with surprising willpower. Regaining his composure, he raised his voice in an attempt to sound authoritative.
“Listen well, summoner! You have been chosen to set foot in this world as a summoner!”
Though his words were peppered with stammers and mispronunciations, Rian waited patiently.
“Take your time. No need to rush.”
“Silence! How dare a Level 1 summoner speak so brazenly!”
“Ah, you must be new at this.”
That comment startled Pon, instantly putting him on high alert.
It was explicitly stated in the Guide’s Manual: Become a Perfect Guide in Just a Few Steps!:
Rookie guides must never reveal their inexperience. Adventurers are unlikely to trust a guide perceived as weak!
Pon let out a haughty snort, trying to project confidence.
“Hmph! I’ve been a guide for ten years!”
Rian, used to hearing exaggerated claims from the villagers, simply nodded. It felt more like Pon had been a guide for an hour, but pointing it out might hurt the little spirit’s pride.
“Anyway, you’re a Level 1 adventurer!”
Hearing Pon repeat the same statement for the third time, Rian could tell the little pufferfish was nervous. Still, he nodded calmly in response.
“You’ve been summoned to counter the Immortals!”
“Immortals?”
Pon explained that this once-peaceful world had been invaded by Immortals.
“They use a strange power called [Login] to access this world. Some call them ‘Users.’”
This story was just as fascinating as the village elders’ tall tales.
“So they can appear whenever they want ([Login]) and leave just as easily ([Logout])?”
“Exactly. Those fools call this world a ‘game.’ Laughable, isn’t it?”
As the Users appeared, the world’s inhabitants became increasingly alarmed.
“Their growth rate is beyond comprehension. They’re blessed by the world itself, able to read the world’s will effortlessly…”
“The world’s will?”
“They call it notifications. Stop interrupting me! Now, where was I… Oh, yes. They master all kinds of magic and powers at an unbelievable pace. To counter them, we began summoning adventurers. Thanks to the great dark wizard Pontol Pontol and his young apprentice, Sir Nordragon, the Adventurer Summoning Circle was created.”
Summoned adventurers were said to possess abilities similar to those of the Immortals.
“They level up and grow stronger, just like the Users.”
Wait… was I summoned?
Something felt off. Rian hadn’t been summoned; he’d simply left his village as part of its coming-of-age tradition.
Still, he decided to roll with it. Years of hearing exaggerated stories from the villagers had made him indifferent to most oddities.
Pon, however, found Rian’s demeanor unsettling.
“Most summoners scream and panic at first!”
It was all in the Guide’s Manual: Become a Perfect Guide in Just a Few Steps!:
Most summoners struggle to accept their situation. Don’t panic. Examples:
“Is this a prank? A movie shoot?”
“This can’t be real! I must be dreaming!”
“What the hell is this?! Stop messing with me!”
On rare occasions, you may encounter outliers. Example:
“Heh heh heh. So, I’ve finally been possessed.”
Even in such cases, they usually revert to the reactions above within three hours. Stay calm!
Senior guides had warned Pon about how difficult it was to handle summoners, but Rian’s calm demeanor made Pon rethink that.
“Maybe I’m a natural at this!”
Filled with newfound confidence, Pon puffed himself up with pride.
Rian, amused, smiled warmly and asked, “Oh great 10-year veteran guide Pon, could you enlighten me on how to level up?”
Pon’s eyes sparkled with joy.
“Of course!!!”
Glowing pink with excitement, Pon explained, “First, try to read the blurry letters!”
“Blurry letters?”
“Yes! If you focus your mind, you should be able to see previously hidden letters. That’s the world’s will!”
“I don’t see anything.”
Pon visibly deflated, looking crestfallen.
“Is this summoner completely talentless?”
Mana-sensitive summoners could immediately see messages like [You Have Entered Tutorial Mode], which were written in mana. The ability to see such messages signified strong compatibility with mana and was considered a measure of innate talent.
“Wait… Are you saying you can’t see the [Tutorial Mode] message at all?”
“Oh, I saw that. A couple of years ago, actually.”
Does that count? Rian wondered.
“Thank goodness! Then the next step is to check your unique ability! What’s your unique ability?”
“Unique ability?”
“Yes! Every summoned adventurer gains one unique ability, good or bad. Focus like you did with the letters, and you’ll eventually see it. It might take some time, but with effort, you’ll succeed!”
Highly talented summoners typically activated their unique ability window within 24 hours.
“Let’s see… My unique ability is…”
Rian opened his unique ability window.
Having seen it long ago, he wasn’t particularly excited.
────
[Instant Kill]
Can instantly kill any being at or below the caster’s level.
─────
“W-what? You can already see it?”
“Yeah. Want me to tell you what it says?”
“You’ve already activated your unique ability window?”
Pon was visibly flustered but quickly raised his voice to mask his shock.
“Foolish child! Revealing your unique ability is one of the dumbest things you could do!”
“Really?”
“Yes! It could be your lifeline. Never disclose it to anyone under any circumstances.”
Lifeline? That’s an exaggeration, Rian thought with a chuckle.
It’s just a basic skill…
Still, Pon’s over-the-top reaction was endearing, especially compared to the villagers’ extravagant tall tales.
Unbeknownst to Rian, senior guides would have screamed in frustration: “Are you insane? That’s not supposed to happen! Even I’ve never seen it!” But unfortunately for Pon, no seniors were present to confirm this was, in fact, unprecedented.
Pon handed Rian a compass.
The compass was divided into five sections: Magic, Physical, Crafting, Healing, and Psionics, with a red needle spinning rapidly inside.
“This is a talent-reading compass. It will identify your aptitude.”
Rian immediately frowned.
“Why is the magic section the largest?”
Is this compass rude, too?
“Hmph! Don’t get cocky. Magical aptitude is exceedingly rare. No matter how much you want to be a magician, only the chosen can become one.”
“I don’t really want to be a magician…”
“They all say that. Just take it.”
As soon as Rian held the compass, the red needle began spinning furiously.
“Wait a second… Is it smoking?”
A sharp hissing sound escaped the device.
“Is this supposed to happen?”
“G-give it a moment,” Pon stammered, clearly unnerved.
He hastily flipped through the Guide’s Manual: Become a Perfect Guide in Just a Few Steps!, but found no mention of smoking compasses.
“Uh… there’s a crack forming on the glass.”
“W-why is this happening?”
The compass groaned ominously before exploding with a loud pop! The bent needle came to a stop, pointing at Magic.
Rian calmly nudged the broken needle toward Physical.
“My aptitude seems to be more in the Physical category.”
With a flash of light, the compass exploded again, leaving nothing but scattered debris.
Rian, keeping his tone calm and reassuring, said, “I’m confident my aptitude lies in swordsmanship. The villagers and my mentor always said I had a knack for it.”
How could this happen? Pon panicked internally. The compass breaking meant Rian’s aptitude couldn’t be determined, but admitting this would shatter the facade of competence Pon had worked so hard to maintain.
“There’s still a way to test if you truly have talent with the sword.”
Pon led Rian to the eastern gate of the village.
[Erhi East, Slime Zone]
“Wow. So that’s a slime? I’ve only ever seen pictures in storybooks.”
The sight of gelatinous creatures wobbling around was oddly fascinating.
Several Immortals were hunting slimes, which disintegrated into glowing dust upon defeat. Occasionally, they dropped shiny coins or artifacts.
“See that particularly large, slow one over there?”
“Yeah, I see it.”
A sluggish slime oozed across the ground.
“That’s a Wobbling Slime. It’s Level 1. It has no aggression and is very slow, but it has decent physical resistance. Go ahead and take it down.”
Rian drew the wooden sword from his waist.
Pon immediately realized his mistake.
Oh no!
He’d forgotten to guide Rian to the beginner training grounds for a proper weapon. But admitting this now would undermine his credibility.
“If I defeat it, does that mean I have swordsmanship talent?”
“Y-yes, exactly.”
The “test” was something Pon’s seniors had mentioned casually, but it wasn’t meant to be taken seriously. If they were here, they’d laugh nervously and say, “We were just joking! That’s not how it works!”
Both Pon and Rian, however, were oblivious to how absurd this task actually was.
Having grown up hearing tales of villagers slicing through mountains with wooden swords, Rian found the task of defeating a slime entirely reasonable.
Time to showcase my skills.
Recalling the basic techniques he had practiced tirelessly, Rian placed his hand on the wooden sword’s hilt and focused on the Wobbling Slime.
He envisioned the battojutsu demonstration he’d seen from Heiser long ago, unsheathing the sword swiftly before returning it to its scabbard in one fluid motion.
Click!
With that sound, the basic skill [Instant Kill] activated in Rian’s hands.
“Of course, failing doesn’t necessarily mean you lack swordsmanship talent—” Pon began, but stopped mid-sentence.
[You have defeated Wobbling Slime.]
“Huh?”