Volume 1 - Chapter 3: The old man who picked up a girl

Chapter 3: The old man who picked up a girl (1/3)

Level reset.

The Phenomenon that allows a person to reset their level back to one, with additional benefits. Their status will be reset to the values it had when the person was level one, with a boost of 10 points to all stats. An average person gains about 2 points to all stats per level, equating to a total of 98 points when they hit the level cap at 50. In comparison to the values lost to gained these 10 points, it may be insignificant. However, what made these points significant was the fact that they were bonuses, and whenever that person who manages to hit level 50, they will have an additional 10 points above everyone else.

In addition, the person will be granted an additional 20 skill points. One skill point is granted every level, leading to an additional 20 levels in terms of skill points above everyone else. Both these factors give an overwhelming advantage for someone who is aiming for the top.

[Although, it isn’t a laughing matter for a 36 years old man to be level 1. Normally, an adventurer who is level 1 enters a dungeon for the first time at an age of 11. If that is the case, they would achieve level 50 by the age of 27. Following this rate, I would already be 52 years old by the time I achieve level 50..] (Yuuya)

Although I know that won’t happen. When I started adventuring, I was just a mere adventurer who was trying to earn a living. I was desperate to stay alive back then. I couldn’t just throw my life away seeking adventures, there were many things I had to do besides becoming stronger. However, more than anything, I was completely clueless back then and had to learn everything from scratch.

The adventuring life is not a kind one. Adventurers are competing for resources, hunting the same monsters in the same dungeons for the same items. Even completing quests that are the same just to earn a living. So newcomers are often left in the dark as veterans wouldn’t teach the art of adventuring to beginners in order to secure as much resources for themselves as possible.

Back when I was an exclusive adventurer, I was one of the minority who were willing to show the ropes to beginners. I wasn’t too concerned about sharing the limited resources and took on the responsibility of mentoring new adventurers. Another reason why veterans avoided teaching beginners was the fact that it was just outright annoying. Newcomers had to be helped with everything and because even simple mistakes could had dire consequences. Strict supervision and multiple checks were required.

However, that is not the case for me right now.

I am not new to the adventuring lifestyle nor will I make simple mistakes. I have a large amount of savings as well as the equipment necessary to keep myself safe. In other words, I have the experience accumulated in this world from my first round, as well as the memories of my past life. With these, it wouldn’t even take me three years to achieve level 50. After that, I will challenge the Tower of Trials.

However.. Before any of that..

[What am I supposed to do with this girl..?] (Yuuya)

Whether it was my experience living in this world or my past life’s memories, I have never seen nor heard about a girl who was trapped in a giant crystal. She looks just like an event character, but I don’t recall an event where a girl was trapped in a gigantic crystal back in the game. Such an event didn’t exist in the game. Now that I have the memories of my past life, I can tell that the girl has the tail and ears of a fox as foxes didn’t exist in this world.

There were many demihumans that existed in this world. Dog-kin , Cat-kin, Elves, Dwarves and dragonoids. However, fox-kins were not one of them.

Well regardless, I should take her away from this room. If I were to leave a defenseless girl in the middle of a dungeon like this, I would feel guilty for the rest of my life. She probably didn’t need to eat any meals when she was trapped in the crystal, but now that she isn’t, what’s there to say that she didn’t need nutrition to survive? If she were to leave the room in search for food, and got attacked by a demon, there would be no one to help her.

I took the mantle that was used to cover her body and wrapped her instead, and started carrying her.

Heavy.

The weight wasn’t from her body, evidently by her small stature but rather the level reset has reduced my strength significantly. It has become much more difficult to perform intensive activities just due to my decrease in stats.

I smiled to myself.

I am glad to have this heavy body.

It is proof that I will be able to become stronger from now on.

Chapter 3: The old man who picked up a girl (2/3)

Turning my head around the room, I saw a blue vortex hidden behind the statue.

The magical vortex was a teleportation device which only appeared in the deepest area of the dungeon and anything that enters it will be teleported back to the entrance of the dungeon. This was convenient as adventurers who enter dungeons for hunting items can escape the cave with lesser baggage than they had when entering the dungeon. It is especially dangerous to retrace one’s steps after travelling this deep into a dungeon considering the fact that all consumables would likely be depleted at this point.

In my case.

The situation was worse, as my level was reset to one.

If I came back the way I entered, I would die one hundred percent of the time.

I jumped into the vortex while carrying the girl, and felt the sensation of being teleported to another location.

Leaving the dungeon is easy, but the hard part has yet to come. The path to the village is filled with demons about level 20. I have to remember to avoid them at all cost.

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Well I made it home safely.

I placed Raptor in a stable and pampered him for awhile. I pet him and fed him a lot of water as thanks for his hard work. Thanks to his hard work, we barely managed to make it back to the village.

We encountered multiple demons on the way back as expected. I thought that Raptor would be able to outrun the demons easily. However, I forgot to account for the girl as his movements became much slower and we were nearly caught multiple times. I had even considered throwing the girl as bait for us to escape, but luckily it never came to that.

[Well now what do I do with this sleeping beauty.] (Yuuya)

It would be simple for me if i could just pushed her into an orphanage in the village, but judging by her looks, she seems to be about 13 or 14 years old. It would be impossible as the orphanage only takes children up to the age of 12. I myself was raised in the orphanage and kicked out when I was 12. As long as her age is unknown, it is impossible to give her to the orphanage.

Sigh, if only the girl was capable of surviving on her own. It is likely that she wouldn’t survive on her own since she had been encased in the crystal until I found her.

Well no point thinking too hard about it, I’ll just ask her about it afterwards. While waiting for her to wake up, I left the house in search of dinner.

You know what they say. Days where you don’t have time to drink, are days you enjoy a special meat pie.

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Night came and the girl was still sleeping soundly.

I was planning on waiting until the girl woke up, but my hunger started to take over as I lit a fire in the furnace and began heating up the meat pie in the oven. A delicious smell resonated throughout the house as the meat pie started to heat up.

*grrgrrgrr*

Suddenly I heard the sound of a stomach rumble. However it wasn’t mine, but the girl’s stomach.

[You finally woke up?] (Yuuya)

The girl finally woke up. She had one hand grabbing the towel I used to cover her body and her ears twitched back and forth. It was a gesture just like a pet, and it was extremely cute.

[Uncle.. Who?] (Girl)

[Uncle is an adventurer. My name is Yuuya. I picked you up in a dungeon that I visited. What about you? Whats your name?] (Yuuya)

[Me..? I’m….uhhh…who?] (Girl)

The girl started to scratch her head and wobbled back and forth. It looked as if she was a bubblehead. I expected this could happen as she appears to have amnesia. It was the worst case possible for her as she would not be able to survive alone in this harsh world.

[Well this uncle doesn’t know either. For the time being, let’s have dinner. You are hungry aren’t you?] (Yuuya)

I took out the hot meat pie from the oven and cut it. Afterwards I took out two wooden mugs and prepared cheap ale for myself to drink while preparing milk for the girl.

I placed the mugs and the meat pie on the table.

The girl noticed the food and walked over to the table sloppily, although she seems to be wary of me. Her eyes seem to be inspecting me as well as the food on the table

[Uncle, can this be eaten?] (Girl)

[Yes it is. It was too big for me to finish by myself so I cut it for us to share.] (Yuuya)

The girl inspected the meat pie carefully before sniffing it. After seemingly confirming it was safe to eat, the girl picked up the meat pie and bit into its contents. Her eyes started to quiver and shone brightly. Her whole body was shaking and her tail moved back and forth furiously.

It was extremely cute.

[Is it delicious?] (Yuuya)

[Yes! It is extremely delicious!!] (Girl)

[Hahaha that’s good. Eat up then. There is plenty more for us to eat in the kitchen.] (Yuuya)

Watching the girl eat the meat pie so wholeheartedly made me hungry as I picked up a slice.

This scene made me realize, how soft-hearted I have become.

Back in the days, I was only trying to survive. I was so desperate that I had never looked out for others. Most likely, I would had abandoned even this cute little girl for my own life.

However, I became an exclusive adventurer and learnt to nurture the new generation. When I realize that I could use my own power to save the lives of others, I felt a new sense of joy that I had never felt before.

Ah wait a minute

At this rate she’s going to finish the meat pie

Hey the meat pie is for me too.

Don’t finish everything by yourself!!

Sigh do all girls her age eat like this??

Chapter 3: The old man who picked up a girl (3/3)

In the end, the girl ate about 70% of the meat pie and was drinking her milk deliciously.

[So did you remember anything about yourself?] (Yuuya)

The girl shook her head.

[Sorry, none at all.] (Girl)

[Sigh I figured as much.] (Yuuya)

I expected this to happen. If it was this easy to remember lost memories, amnesia would not be a serious condition.

That’s why I am going to give the girl three options.

[From now on, you have three options. First, you can leave this house and survive on your own] (Yuuya)

The girl started to cry as I gave her the first option. She was a cute girl who had no memories and nobody to rely on. If she were to be left alone in the world, she will be in danger. The world is not so gentle that a little girl like her would be able to survive by herself. In addition, there will be many men who will be looking to chase after her, especially slave traders who would earn quite a price showcasing a new species of demihuman.

[Could you please tell me the other 2 options?] (Girl)

The girl is surprising perceptive, instead of crying about the first option she was able to positively ask about the other two options.

[Second, with my recommendation, I can get you a job at a local bar.] (Yuuya)

The owner of the bar was always complaining about the lack of personnel. If I introduced her to him, I am sure he would be pleased so long as she was a competent worker. This could also increase the sales of the bar by having two showgirls instead of one.

[Bar..?] (Girl)

[Do you know what’s a bar?] (Yuuya)

[Yes. It is a place where people go to drink and eat.] (Girl)

It appears that even though she lost her memory, she still retains the basic knowledge and common sense of this world.

Come to think of it, the reason why I managed to remember my memories was because she kissed me back in that room. It is pretty unfortunate that the person who helped me remembered ended up forgetting.

[Don’t worry. The father who owns the bar is a good person. He has a daughter about your age called Nikita. They will definitely welcome you with open arms so long as you try your best and don’t cause any trouble there.] (Yuuya)

Although I was introducing her to the bar, the introduction would be useless if she wasn’t a competent worker and caused more harm than good.

[I see.. It is definitely much better than the first option. May I know the last option?] (Girl)

[The last option is to be an adventurer together with me. Earn a living by getting items from dungeons or searching for treasure chests. Well since we are both level one, it would be as if we were a novice party starting from scratch.] (Yuuya)

It sounded less ridiculous in my head. Normally I would never invite a person to my party without accessing their abilities first. I also know firsthand how dangerous it is to allow incompetent members into my party. However, I felt that I needed to be in a party with this girl for some reason. In addition, there is a chance that she is an event character outside of my previous life’s knowledge. If that was the case I would definitely like to keep her close to me. However.

[Obviously this option is much more dangerous than the second. It is also a fact that it would be difficult for a young girl like you to be in the same starting party as an old man. So I do not plan to force you onto any decision. You have to make the choice yourself. Choose any of the options you deem fit.] (Yuuya)

The girl started to consider her options. With the lack of knowledge about the outside world, this decision could be considered harsh to force onto her. Irregardless, 9 out of 10 people would choose the bar. It is the safest route without any risks to the person’s life.

[I choose to be an adventurer. I will try my best to be a good adventurer!] (Girl)

[May I ask the reason why?] (Youya)

[Uhh.. I am afraid of being alone.. I don’t know anything about the man at the bar but I know that you are a good person!] (Girl)

Because I am a good person… huh. Her trust in me is feels overwhelming to be honest.

[It also looks like the most fun option!] (Girl)

[Hahaha so that’s it.] (Yuuya)

Her response was so unexpected that I couldn’t help but laugh. An adventurer actively seeking adventure for the sake of enjoyment. That is the number one quality that all adventurers should have. Or rather, it is the best quality an adventurer can have. An adventurer who seeks enjoyment in adventuring the unknown is an adventurer who can truly call themselves as one.

[Then it is decided. We will leave the village at dawn tomorrow and travel to a dungeon that is better suited for our levels.] (Yuuya)

The dungeon in this village was too difficult for a level one party to attempt. Even though my level was reset, it doesn’t qualify me as the strongest yet. I still require time to train and increase my levels before I can truly become the strongest.

[Our destination will be Rumberg. It is a town for adventurers who are just starting out and there is also a facility that allows us to choose our class.] (Yuuya)

Rumberg is a town considered sacred by all adventurers as that is everyone’s starting point. The town contains a facility that allows a person to choose a class such as Warrior and Magician. Such a facility would never be present in a small village like this. In addition, there is a secret room in one of the dungeons there that fixes a person’s stat increments to three points every levels. It is a room that I definitely want to go before I grind out my levels.

[Okay I understand. Sounds fun.] (Girl)

[Let’s rest until our departure tomorrow. I am tired now. You sleep on the bed and I sleep on the sofa] (Yuuya)

[Hmm? Not together on the bed?] (girl)

[Only lovers sleep together on the same bed, we should not sleep on the same bed.] (Youya)

[Really? I don’t mind if it is you though!] (Girl)

[I am an old man you know. I will not and never plan to lay a hand on a girl as young as you. Do I look like a paedophile to you?] (Yuuya)

[Nope! I just thought that all men were like that] (Girl)

[You… are you sure you don’t remember anything?] (Yuuya)

For a cute girl to say such outrageous things, I am starting to doubt she hasn’t recalled anything at this point. Sigh. Whatever, I am tired. I couldn’t even think of laying a hand on a child.

I lie on the sofa and turn my back towards her.

[Hey Yuuya~] (Girl)

[What. I am tired] (Yuuya)

[I want a name. I don’t want you to call me You You You everyday from now on. It would be more convenient to give me a name.] (Girl)

[A name huh. I didn’t think of that… What about Luna?] (Yuuya)

I could not think of any names to give her. The only thing of was the meat pie that she ate earlier. It was a specialty of a bar and it had the same name as the shop.

[It’s a cute name! I like it! From now on, my name is Luna!] (Luna)

Well looks like shes satisfied with the name. I am glad she likes it

[Well then, now that you got your name, its time to sleep] (Yuuya)

We have to wake up early tomorrow, and as adventurers we should rest up as much as we can.