RPG Veteran Possesses Their Main Character

For some reason, the explosion only damaged the slime.

Neither the novice adventurer nor Lumiel suffered any injuries.

It was natural.

One couldn't be harmed by their own magic.

The slime, directly hit by the sphere of light, seemed to have disappeared instantly.

In the huge crater, only 'Someone's Lost Bag' and 'Greedy Slime's Core' had fallen.

"..."

The novice adventurer stood blankly, just blankly. Only his occasional gaping mouth indicated that he was still conscious.

"Wha... what..."

His gaze, which had been unfocused for a while, slowly, creakily turned to the side.

At the end of his gaze was Lumiel.

Lumiel's white hair swayed gently in the wind. And in her small, slender hand was a shabby twig.

And—

A quiet, slight, soft smile on her face.

Thump.

The novice adventurer heard his heart beat for a moment.

'Wha... what?'

It was an unexpected sensation.

The novice adventurer scratched his head with a dazed expression and slightly turned his face.

His cheeks were already red.

'Ah, no, wait, ...what!?'

He put his hand on his chest with a flustered expression.

Thump thump, his heartbeat intensified.

That small smile wouldn't leave his mind.

And at that moment.

"Well then, I'll be going."

Lumiel casually turned around and started walking somewhere.

"Uh... huh?"

The novice adventurer unconsciously reached out his hand.

But Lumiel was already slowly moving away.

Her white hair swayed gently behind her back.

The novice adventurer's mind was confused by this feeling he had never experienced before.

'...What's this, am I now...'

○

Lumiel walked slowly, lost in thought.

Come to think of it, that greedy slime from earlier.

She had intended to check out that creature known for its delicious taste, but by destroying it like this, she couldn't even taste it.

She looked up at the sky.

It was a very familiar pattern.

This kind of thing happened often while playing the game too.

Small mistakes like accidentally killing a monster that needed to be captured while doing a quest, or forgetting to pick up an item that needed to be obtained.

Lumiel had just intended to give it a light hit, but the result was a complete destruction without a trace.

"I should have hit it more lightly..."

Lumiel muttered regretfully.

Perhaps because the anticipated gourmet experience had turned into a bubble, her ahoge drooped as well. (tl/n: ahoge hair - a single large lock of hair naturally sticking out from the head)

Still, there would be other opportunities.

There were still many monsters rumored to be delicious like the greedy slime. She could do better next time.

Lumiel comforted herself like this as she moved her steps.

Not long after, the place where Fiolo was came into view.

The red-haired man was still sitting in the same place, carefully looking around.

"...Fiolo."

"Yes?! Ah, Adventurer! You're here!"

As soon as he saw Lumiel, Fiolo raised his face happily.

His appearance was somehow like a dog welcoming its long-lost owner, which made Lumiel flinch for a moment.

"Did you... find it?"

Instead of answering, Lumiel opened her inventory.

[Village Return Scroll × 99,999]

She took out one of the tens of thousands of return scrolls piled up and handed it to Fiolo.

"Uh...?"

Fiolo blinked with a confused expression.

"This... is...?"

"It's a village return scroll."

"Ye, yes...?!"

Fiolo seemed flustered but politely received the scroll with both hands.

"Then, did you defeat the slime and retrieve the bag for me?"

Lumiel thought for a moment and then slowly shook her head.

"No. I just came to give you this."

"...What?!"

Fiolo looked at Lumiel with a startled face and continued.

"Then, the reward..."

Lumiel thought briefly, then turned her head slightly and said.

"Someone will come soon. Give it to that person."

"What?! Wha, what do you mean...?"

"A novice adventurer."

"...?"

Fiolo made a blank expression as if he didn't understand.

But Lumiel didn't say anything more.

She just waved lightly at Fiolo and started heading towards the next area.

"Ah, Adventurer! Wait a moment! Um, excuse me...!"

Fiolo's voice was heard from behind, but she didn't look back.

Lumiel's mind was already focused on her next destination.

Lumiel quietly moved her steps and looked around.

As time passed, trees became more numerous and the forest became denser.

And what came into her view was—

A giant tree.

"Wow..."

Lumiel unconsciously let out an exclamation.

That tree was like a landmark symbolizing 'Ojak Bridge', the center of this continent.

Ojak Bridge was named so because it was at the crossroads leading from the beginner's village to each job advancement village for warriors, archers, magicians, thieves, and pirates.

Even when she first saw it in the game, she couldn't help but be amazed by its grandeur, so how much more majestic would it be in reality.

Lumiel hurried her steps with expectant eyes.

As she got a little closer, the size of the tree started to feel more real.

It was big even from afar, but as she got closer, its overwhelming presence became even more apparent.

The tree stood as if piercing the sky, and even when Lumiel stretched her neck back, she couldn't even begin to gauge where its top was.

Huge branches stretched high into the sky, and dense tree roots covered the ground as if forming a city.

Lumiel slowly turned her gaze downward.

"...There are so many people."

At the root part of Ojak Bridge, that is, at the bottom of the tree, there were numerous people.

From afar, they looked as small as a swarm of ants, but looking closely, she could see that each was moving with their own purpose.

Moreover, it wasn't just people.

Level 7, Tree Toto.

Cute monsters with small bodies sprouting leaves were running around the roots.

Tree Toto is a variant monster of Toto, characterized by a hard shell and strong jumping power.

The Tree Totos were running around the tree roots, being hunted or chased by adventurers.

In the safe zone above, various people were promoting their jobs and enticing new adventurers.

'This is exactly the same as in the game.'

It was the same.

When you reached level 10, you could go to each job's village from here, Ojak Bridge.

The sight of representative NPCs from each job coming out to compete against each other, saying "Our job is the best!" to new adventurers was also a familiar scene.

Warrior-type NPCs were showing off their muscles with swords and shields, magician-type NPCs were demonstrating flashy magic, thief NPCs were appearing stealthily from the shadows to show their skillful hand movements, and pirate NPCs were waving guns and creating a lively atmosphere.

Archer NPCs were emphasizing accuracy and agility by calmly shooting arrows from a distance, slightly apart from the tree.

It was truly a place where a job promotion war was taking place.

Lumiel watched this scene with great interest.

And in one corner.

A group of seemingly naive people were huddled together, each with a serious expression.

Their eyes held expectation, excitement, and a bit of fear.

They seemed to be level 10 novice adventurers.

Lumiel smiled gently as she looked at them.

Were they nervous? Well, it's natural to be cautious when choosing a job that will last a lifetime.

Lumiel looked down with sparkling eyes.

It's high.

Quite high.

Nevertheless—

Lumiel smiled her characteristic smile and jumped up vigorously.

She jumped straight down.

Boom—!!!!

A moment later, an intense impact sound rang out.

A huge crater was created, and dust scattered.

"...Ouch."

Lumiel sat on the ground and lightly rubbed her face with her palm.

It was inevitable to feel a sting after falling from such a height.

She immediately checked her HP.

[ HP : 399,700 / 400,000 ]

'Only 300 damage.'

In the game, it would have been at least 500 damage, so she was lucky.

Lumiel lightly marveled, dusted off her pants, and stood up.

And as she slowly raised her head.

"Uh...?"

"What...!"

"...What's this?"

She saw the people around her just staring blankly at Lumiel.

The novice adventurers were frozen with round eyes and open mouths, and even the job NPCs were watching Lumiel with very confused faces. Among them were people who were repeatedly rubbing their eyes, unable to distinguish if what they just saw was a dream or reality.

After scanning those peculiar expressions, Lumiel tilted her head.

'Why is everyone reacting like this?'

After thinking for a moment with her index finger on her lips, Lumiel soon came to one conclusion.

'...I guess people rarely come from the beginner's village.'

Seeing how surprised they are, it seems that novice adventurers are produced less frequently than expected.

It was a sad thing.