A Middle-Aged Man Becomes the Strongest in Another World: The Physical Specialized Awakener - Chapter 2

The first floor of the Adventurers’ Guild was a wide, open lobby. On the left was a bulletin board with two adventurer parties gathered in front of it. On the right, a reception counter where several staff members stood behind the desk. The whole place felt exactly like something straight out of a video game I’d played once.

I walked across the wooden floor toward the counter. As I got closer, one of the staff members, a young woman, probably in her late teens, stepped forward to help me.

“Welcome! What can I help you with today?”

“Nice to meet you. My name is Okuno Soushi. Uh… someone from town told me I should come here, so…”

“Oh! Are you someone who’s just awakened?”

“Sorry, I don’t really know what ‘awakening’ means.”

“I see. In that case, I’ll explain the adventurer system from the beginning. Right this way, please.”

Without missing a beat, she guided me to a seated counter further inside.

“Let’s see… you said your name was Okuno Soushi, right? Is ‘Soushi’ your last name?”

“Oh… actually, ‘Okuno’ is my surname.”

Apparently, in this country or maybe just this world? They say given name first, surname last.

“Alright then, Mr. Okuno, please hold this plate.”

As instructed, I took hold of the long, narrow metal plate the receptionist handed me. The center of the plate glowed faint red.

“Great, confirmation complete. Mr. Okuno, you are an ‘Awakened One.’ All Awakened individuals are required to work as adventurers in every nation on this continent.”

“I see…”

“Oh right, you said you weren’t familiar with ‘awakening,’ so let me explain from the start.”

And with that, she began a quick but thorough explanation.

Here’s the summary of what I’ve learned. Awakening is when an ordinary person gains the ability to use powerful abilities called Skills. No one knows exactly what causes it, it happens randomly, regardless of gender, usually between the ages of 15 to 25. 

Anyone who awakens is legally required to become an Adventurer. Adventurers make a living by fighting monsters, mainly by exploring dungeons. To put it bluntly, I’d been dropped into this world as if I were a character in an RPG.

Accepting that reality, I asked the receptionist a question. “I’ve got nothing on me, no money, no gear. What should I do?”

“That’s quite common. The guild offers loans to new adventurers. We deduct a small portion from your future rewards to repay it. Would you like to apply?”

“That’s a big help, thank you.” Seems like I’m already getting better treatment than some chosen hero descendants from old-school games.

After asking her a few more questions, I received something called an Adventurer Card and took out a loan from the guild before heading out.

That day, I followed the guild’s beginner guide and bought the basic gear I needed. There are two inns in this town called Tolson and I stayed in the cheaper one. Honestly, if the guild hadn’t given me a loan, I’d probably be sleeping in a stable tonight, so I was lucky.

The room was pretty bare, just a bed but it was far better than camping outside. I’d heard wild dogs and bandits sometimes show up beyond the town walls.

Sitting on the stiff bed, I looked over the gear and items I’d bought. A backpack, a short dagger, a water bottle, some rations, cloth towels, a one-handed club, a small round shield, and a half-helmet.

To me, they looked like antique junk but maybe this is just how things are in this world.

“Still… a weapon, huh…” Needless to say, I’ve never held a real weapon in my life.

That club, technically a mace, was recommended to me by the guy at the weapon shop. He said it was best for beginners. And sure, it did look like it could mess someone up if you really swung hard. But that also means I’ll soon be swinging it at real monsters. 

And now that I’m calmly thinking about it… I’m not okay with that. Then again, the fact that I’m even in another world is anxiety-inducing enough.

“For now, I should just eat and sleep.” I packed my gear back into the bag, grabbed it, and headed down to the inn’s dining hall.

The dining hall was about 60% full. I’d heard most of the guests here were either merchants or adventurers. Judging by the crowd, it was about half and half.

The adventurers, especially, looked to be mostly rookies like me. The main difference? They all had party members. I was the only one alone.

I sat down at an empty table and gave my order to the innkeeper, then waited for my food to arrive. 

“Hey old man, you an adventurer too?” 

The one who called out to me was a young man, probably around 20. His flushed cheeks said he’d been drinking.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Seriously? Kinda rare to see an old guy like you in this line of work, huh? Right, everyone?”

He glanced at the group at his table, guys and girls around his age who nodded halfheartedly, clearly not that interested. From his tone, I figured he was the type to get talkative or annoying when drunk.

“So, are you strong, old man? …Wait, nah, no way. If you were, you wouldn’t be staying in this cheap inn.”

“Is that so?”

“Of course! Strong adventurers make good money. And the rich stay in fancy inns.”

“I see. What about you? You look pretty strong from where I’m sitting.”

A little flattery works wonders on drunk people but he did look stronger than me. We were about the same height, but his arms were much thicker. His gear looked well-used too.

“Hah? Nah, I’m still a small fry. I just hit E-Rank. So I’m not a beginner anymore, that’s all.”

“If it took you a while to reach E-Rank, that must mean ranking up is pretty tough, huh?”

He seemed pleased at the implied compliment.

“Haha, yeah. Took me two months to get to E, and that’s considered fast. Keep at it, old man.”

With that, he returned to his table. One of the girls there, she looked the youngest, glanced at me apologetically and gave a small bow. Maybe they weren’t such a bad group after all.

Adventurer Ranks, huh. According to the receptionist, ranks go from F to A. You rank up based on your accomplishments. I am an F-Rank newbie now, but she said most people hit E after about three months if they worked hard.

So if that guy reached E in just two months, I guess he really was pretty capable.

“Here you go, thanks for waiting.” The innkeeper returned with my food. It looked like some kind of meat and vegetable stew. It smelled… both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. When I took a bite, the flavor was mild but decent.

Not bad at all. As a Japanese guy, food is a big deal to me, it’s directly tied to motivation. If meals in this world are like this, maybe I’ll survive just fine after all.