『Welcome to Axel』

How he got there was unknown, why he was sitting in the back of a smelly carriage, was also something that confused him. The wooden vehicle bounced as it hit pebbles and moved along an unevenly paved dirt road.

Blinking several times, Jack glanced out the back of the white tent as the wagon came to a slow stop. His gaze then shifted towards the front to the old man who was seated on the driver's perch.

"Welcome to Axel to young man, heh," the old man was clearly worn out by age. He gave him a nearly toothless smile and gave him a cheerful nod for him to depart. "Off you go."

A faint smiled appeared across his lips as he tilted his wide black jingasa, the talismans moving as he did so, but still covered his face from view. Jack proceeded to step out the back of the carriage before watching as the primitive vehicle started off.

"It's been a long time since I've seen one of those..." He uttered under his breath as he glanced around the area. It was clear this place was of a European Fantasy World considering the architecture and choice of clothing. He didn't see many people in Japanese Yukata or Kimonos. He mostly saw hemp clothes and... His eyes narrowed quite a few specimens who seemed to have a combination of modern attire and that which matched the apparent current time period.

This was a bit strange seeing the blend, but it didn't necessarily throw him off, as the world he originally came from was very similar in that regard. He was hoping that since the Goddesses had been speaking in Japanese, that the world would reflect Feudal Era Japan or something along those lines.

That just didn't seem to be the case, but it didn't let him down.

"Where to go..." He uttered under his breath as he glanced down one direction of the street and then towards the other. He had played some roleplaying games, even dungeons, and dragons since he was often invited due to his interests in magic and apparently the occult.

His eyes narrowed on a small party of individuals that appeared to be a collection of magic users and swordsmen. Shrugging to himself, he assumed they were adventurers, individuals who go out of their way to make a profit in some way or another.

Keeping his arms folded within his sleeves, he could feel the eyes of those around him. They were looking at him as he was not only covered from head to toe in attire but didn't seem to fit in.

Jack could only imagine what kind of faces they'd make if they saw his generic black School Uniform. Would he be confused with being a noble or something? He chuckled lightly to himself.

Following the adventurers through the city of Axel, he saw quite a few individuals both high born and low. Though it seemed many here were beginners just like himself, in the sense of Adventurers. There weren't all that many that hung around here if they were much higher in the food chain. At least that is what it appeared to be at first glance.

As he began to come closer to the Adventurer's Guild, a large building which towered over most of the one-story tall buildings along the way, he could smell the food of the food and drink from within its mass hall.

Personally, he was pretty sure he could have just followed his nose to find the place! "This place... Is decently sized," his head slowly lulled to the side as he looked over the double doors.

Then he glanced to the right of himself and then to the left. People everywhere, close and at a distance, stared at the man as he was dressed in all black. He most definitely had an enigmatic aura about him, he was sure.

"Hm..." Pondering to himself, he took out his grimoire and flicked it open to the first page. Briefly, his eyes glanced over to the silver ring which was on his finger, before returning his gaze to the book he had written.

Even without opening it or reading it, Jack knew everything that was in it, as he had written the entire thing. His magic knowledge hadn't left him, and this body was just like his previous oni one.

"Now, let's test this magic..." Raising one hand while using the other to keep the book open, his eyes traced over the words. Closing his eyes, he rolled his wrist with his fingers to the air.

The moment Jack opened his eyes once more, his entire self was invisible including his clothes. For less than a millisecond, he could feel the mana having been used but instantly refilled.

"That was useful," a snickering comment left his lips as he continued to walk towards the Adventurer's Guild, deactivating the spell right before making it to the door.

The onlookers had either become extremely confused after watching him vanish or immediately lost interest seeing that he had disappeared at will. As his eyes rested on the massive doors in front of him, he could hear everything that went on inside.

There were people cheering, drinking mead and cheap beer. Celebrations over menial things such as a victorious quest, or winning a small sum in the lottery. His eyes drifted aside in thought.

Clamping his hand shut around the binding of the book, effectively closing it with a clap, he turned his eyes forward as he pushed through the door.

"Greetings! If you are here for something to eat, come over and take any open seat!" A young blonde woman dressed as a barmaid shouted out as she whirled around to face the door., carrying several metal tankards in her hands filled with alcoholic beverages. "If you need Job Guidance, head to the front counter!"

Jack nodded to this, not speaking a word as he tipped the front of his wide flat coned saucer-shaped hat before looking towards the general direction of the counter. A job would be a good idea, especially before he gets hungry. He essentially had no money and no means to earn.

The interior of this place was rather strange. There was a skeleton of a dragon hanging up above from the wall and a central support beam. Street lamps were lining the pathway to the front counter, and there were statues of armored Knights.

There were even some monoliths that stood along the path that appeared to display shapes akin to a plus symbol. His eyes though moved forward, openly ignoring the scenery.

It didn't feel as if he was walking through a building, but more so a commercial street with an outdoor picnicking area. At the same time, he could see the appeal to this wide-open studio space. Jack began to wonder just how much history made up this place.

Walking towards the counter, he and a tall muscular man-made brief eye contact, but the man didn't move. Instead, they went back to drinking and talking to their pal across from them.

Just like outside, it seemed he became a curiosity to everyone around him. He was foreign to them, and that was the truth. There were a number of people armed with daggers, greatswords and even wearing full plate armor. He'd hate to have to put all that on by himself whenever he went out. Armor while it looked cool, could be troublesome. The most he'd put on is half-plate or chainmail. Even then, scale armor was also a better choice for light armor or leather vesting.

As he approached the front counter, he met with another blonde. Though this one had brown eyes instead of blue. Her clothing not covering her shoulders and showing off a large amount of cleavage in the process of leaving her collar bare. She was pretty well endowed and he was sure she was entirely natural, but showing it off here didn't seem to fit well with the setting.

Why was she wearing more revealing clothes than the barmaid, aside from sharing the same style and color palette? Rolling his Jaw, he raised a brow at his own mental notes and personal observations.

"Hello," the woman behind the counter said, as she was the only one behind the number of empty stalls ahead of him. Her eyes seemed to gain a copper glint to them as she looked him over, "What can I do for you today?"

"I'd like to find work as an Adventurer, but I have to join the Guild First. Would you enlighten me on how that is done?" Jack responded with a completely nonchalant and charismatic tone. His eyes seemed to shine out from behind those talismans which obscured his face from view.

"Hmmm, Of course," she said as if expecting his question, though she was taken back by his influential use of his tongue. "You just have to pay an entry fee, that is two gold Eris."

"I see..." Tucking the book into his kimono, he paused as she was looking at the leather-bound item. "I do not have any coinage, but is there any particular task I can do in order to bypass this fee?"

"Two Gold Coins... Huh..." The woman pushed a lock of her blonde hair behind her ear, thinking of an answer to give the boy. A single copper was equivalent to one Japanese Yen. "What is your profession?" Her eyes wandered over the talismans, his robe-like attire. He appeared to be a combination of a warrior and a priest, yet she saw no indication of weapons or tools except for the book and a ring.

"Magic Caster," He crossed his arms as he had done plenty of times before.

"Really?" She grinned slightly and tapped a finger on the table, "What kind of magic do you specialize in? Perhaps I can point you towards a temporary job."

Nodding lightly, it didn't seem as if he was going to get around this by doing a simple favor or a series of them. "Item Restoration, Thermal Magic, and Regeneration." While he had plenty of other spells he could list out, he wasn't going to tell this rando all of his powers. If he did, there would be a lot of questions and he wasn't feeling all that talkative. Especially since he couldn't stop looking below her chin, much to his own annoyance.

Confused she parted her lips, "Pardon... Uh, thermal?"

"Heat," Jack huffed lightly as he had to dumb down his own vocabulary, scratching at his wrist.

"There are a number of jobs you could do with those skills alone, you could go to the..." The Guide began to talk, but he swiftly moved his hand from his sleeve and waved it subtly, seeing as no one else was paying attention.

A smile seemed to appear across her face, a positive feeling sprung to life as if she was being absolutely charmed by his earlier request to bypass the fee. "I think I can make an exception actually," she said taking out her own coin purse and taking out two coins and placing them on the counter. "Of course in return I expect you to pay me back after your first job, do we have a deal?"

"Sure thing," Jack nodded as he pushed his hat backward, letting it fall from his head and hang along his upper back. His emerald eyes shining as he looked over the blonde as she then proceeded to pull out some sort of contraption consisting of a blue sphere and stained dark wood. His eyes narrowed on the object as she then took out an envelope.

He had used a yang-based charm spell to get what he wanted, but he was curious as to how much she would actually let him get away with. Though he did know the limits of the spell, she would only allow him to do or ask things of her that a close friend could.

"Allow me to explain..." She, the guild woman, removed a card from the envelope and revealed it for him to see. "Every adventurer has an occupation, this is your registration card. It keeps track of how many monsters you've vanquished."

The entire time her copper brown hues were staying on her, rather than looking at the card she was pointing to. While it was somewhat unsettling, he was used to being stared at.

Jack just let his arms dangle freely at his sides.

"As your level increases, you gain skill points that allow you to learn new or upgrade existing skills to a greater capacity. So please, work hard to raise your level." She smiled as she lowered the card before placing it beneath the blue orb that was suspended by the dark stained wood.

Jack was sure it was some sort of magical item. He watched as she then gestured for him to come over and with his curiosity peaked, he did as he was asked.

"Now, when you're ready, please put your hand over the crystal ball," she said as she stood beside the item, waiting for him to do as she instructed.

After a brief callous stare, he surrendered any doubt and placed his hand over the ball. That was when it hummed to life and his brows raised in surprise by the action, curious of what it was doing as he didn't feel any different from the experience. The gold ornaments which surrounded the blue orb seemed to rotate along with the hum, and its glow stole the light of the room, which was rather interesting to see. The device reminded him of an old gear clock due to the accompanying sounds it made.

The orb seemed to be collecting information, and magical energy and channeling that energy through a chain of three gold-hued funnels with a long tip at the end of it. After several seconds a beam of power hit the card that was placed beneath it, beginning to illustrate with purpose.

"With this, you will learn your current status and begin questing within the guild," she said as the fascinating machine continued to do its work, a machine he wanted to take apart and learn from. "So please choose your occupation based on your stats."

Jack wasn't in a rush, though he was rather interested in what he was going to see. From his standpoint, he believed his intelligence would be rather high, but that was also partly because of his pride in intellectual prowess.

At the same time though, he wanted to see how the mana would show up on the card whilst he wore the ring. Would it show his true mana capacity, or would it show what it was buffered by the item? There was only one real way to tell, wasn't there?

So he just stared at the beam as it wrote down his information.

"Alright then!" She excitedly reached over as the beam stopped writing, it was as if she was more excited than he was to see the results. Once she slipped it out from beneath the device and holding the card in front of her with both hands, she looked over the words written. "Jack Graham-san is it...?"

"Yes," he lightly waved his hand as if telling her to get reading, but she seemed rather overwhelmed by what she was seeing on the card. So, also rather curious, Jack waddled on over beside her to see what she was looking at with such wide eyes.

"Your stats are greatly above average! You could immediately take on a high-class occupation right off the bat!" The woman was just about loud enough for the entire place to hear.

As an Oni, he could hear everyone stop what they were doing to have a glance at what was going on, and who was being so highly praised by the counter manning blonde.

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| Jack Graham | Gender: Male | Age: 16 |

| Race: Oni | Class: ArchMage | Level: One |

- Paramters: Abilities & Skills -

Strength: <45>

Health: <120>

MagicPower: <999>

Dexterity: <50>

Agility: <67>

Luck: <150>

- Active Skills -

Yin & Yang Manipulation

Spell-Like Ability

Arcane Reach

Arcane Fire

Mana Bond

???

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Seeing the questions marks, the two of them were rather confused. Should they be hidden from the orb meant something unknown, or simply the skills were so irregular, they didn't show correctly. Perhaps they were a number of skills related to Yin and Yang Magic, or something else entirely? He wasn't sure, nor was she.

However, the main thing she was staring at now after looking at the skills was his magic power. While he believed it was likely due to the ring, there was also a chance that was only part of it. Intelligence held great influence over magic, he knew this not only from games but experience.

Slowly swiping the card from her hands, he would stuff the item into a hidden compartment within his attire where he could keep his registration card.

"ArchMage, seems to be the perfect fit," Jack uttered as he could feel the eyes of others boring into the back of his skull. People were immediately chattering, some of them wanted to recruit him, others wanted to challenge him or desired nothing from him at all.

An Archmage was a prestige class if he remembered correctly, mainly either a Wizard or a Sorcerer that rarely did multi-classing and focused solely on the magical studies. They were best known for generating and shaping their spells often in strange ways.

Briefly staring at him in silence, she then nodded with a smile yet again.

"In that case, there are jobs over there on the billboard," she gestured towards what appeared to be a board made out of cork. There were a number of various jobs posted on there, all in the native written language of KonoSuba. "Remember, two gold coins," she pursed her lips.

"Yes, I know," Jack shook his head lightly as he then walked over to the job board and started tracing his gaze over what was available.