My adventurer level rose to 6.

In other words, | went up two levels after the cabbage hunt.

| hadn’t even defeated them—just captured them. So why did my level go up? For that matter, why in the world were cabbages worth so much XP?

There were so many questions. But thinking about them made my head hurt, so | decided to just let them go.

You couldn’t let the ifs and ands of this world overwhelm you.

Cabbages were worth ten thousand eris a head. This was apparently because you could gain XP by eating them fresh. Meaning, adventurers with enough cash could grow stronger by just having a meal.

With my new levels came more skill points.

Trying to figure out why you got skill points when you leveled—something ripped straight out of a role-playing game—would probably have me losing sleep over it, so | didn’t bother.

Like | said, you just couldn’t let it get to you. When I'd leveled up, I’d received two skill points.

A magic-user and a warrior from another party | met during the cabbage hunt had taught me One-Handed Sword and Basic Magic. Each cost me one point.

The One-Handed Sword skill, obviously, allowed you to ably wield a onehanded sword. With that, | gained an average ability to use a weapon.

| was now out of skill points again, but | wanted to learn magic even more than how to use a sword. Who could possibly come to a world that had magic and not want to try it out?

Basic Magic allowed you to use simple spells related to the four elements— fire, water, earth, and air. Incidentally, these basics weren’t powerful enough to kill or even hurt anything; most casters skipped Basic Magic entirely, saved up their points, and jumped right to mid-level magic.

Intermediate Magic cost ten skill points. My Magic stat wasn’t very high, so at that price maybe | should just give up on learning offensive spells.

I'd heard some people began with a certain number of skill points based on natural talent. These prodigies weren’t as rare as you’d think, and they could start out with ten or even twenty points, taking an advanced class immediately.

Megumin and Darkness, for example, must have been pretty well received when they started out. (Aqua didn’t count.)

While I, at level 1, had zero skill points.

...Not gonna think about it too hard. I'll just get depressed.

The more skills | learned, the more like a real adventurer | became. All that was left was the outfit.

Sometimes | changed into clothes that I’d bought in this world, but for the most part it was just me, my tracksuit, and a short sword. | really needed some armor. Even just a bit of leather.

And so...

“Why do | have to come along on your dumb shopping trip?”

Aqua complained loudly as we walked into the armor shop.

“Because you need some equipment, too. | may be wearing a tracksuit, but what have you got? A flimsy little Feather Dress?” Aqua, like me, was still wearing the same thing she’d had on when we got to this world.

Every night after changing into her pajamas, she washed it in a bucket from the inn—splash, splash, splash—then put it out to dry in the same place where they dried the horses’ hay.

“Dummy,” Aqua said, looking put out. “You seem to be forgetting that I’m a goddess. This Feather Dress is holy. It’s a unique item imbued with all kinds of magical properties—status conditions don’t affect it, and it’s got exceptional durability. Lots of good stuff. There’s no equipment better!”

| considered suggesting she not hang her holy, divine super-item out with the horse feed.

“Hey, sounds good. If we’re ever strapped for cash, we can sell that thing... Ooh, this chest plate is made of leather, but it looks like a good start.”

“H-hey, you were just joking, right? This cloak is pretty much the only proof that I’m a goddess. You’d never really sell it, right? Right...?”