Isekai Exorcist

The 7-Eleven chime played and the automatic doors closed behind me. Inmy plastic bag were a bottle of lemon tea, a salmon onigiri, and a lukewarmnikuman. The flimsy handles of the bag were already digging into my skin.It was late spring, and the air had started warming significantly over thelast few days. It was sure to be another sweltering summer this year.The clap of my sandals against the heels of my feet followed me as Iwalked up the slope to the street where my house lies. In hindsight, it wasstill a bit too cold for sandals and bare feet, but I'd been too lazy to put onproper shoes when I left the house. After all, I was only going to be out fora few minutes before I went back to studying.Although I'd failed this year's entrance exam, I was determined to studyenough so that I would ace it next January. Still, that was such a long wayaway.I sighed as I pulled open the door to my house. I'd promised Mom I'dget into a good university, but look where that'd gotten me. Now I was aRōnin, left to wander the streets of Kyōto until next year, while all my highschool friends were having fun with their new classmates.How long before they forget me?I pushed the thought from my mind and hung my windbreaker by thedoor, then placed the plastic bag on top of the console table next to the coatrack. It was ugly, and its colour didn't match the walls whatsoever, butMom loved that thing and refused to throw it out.Before I could take my sandals off, there came a knock on the door.That's odd, I thought. I hadn't seen anyone else out on the street, andnormally none of my neighbours were home this time of day.I opened the door and looked outside, but there was no one there.As I stepped through the doorway to check, my stomach shot up intomy throat as I suddenly fell through the ground, and my vision flickeredblack several times.Summer-warm wind ruffled my hair, while the heat of the sun licked myface. I opened my eyes and saw that the street outside my house was gone,its asphalt road and houses replaced with trampled dirt and a bustlingmarketplace.Next to me, a woman yelped in surprise, and I turned to look, realisingquickly that I'd been the cause of her fright.I suppose that makes sense. I did after all just suddenly appear next toher.As I looked around, walking a bit aimlessly back and forth between themany market stalls, I felt as though I'd stepped through a wormhole to adifferent time and place. The people nearby, all of whom were staringcuriously at me, looked distinctly European in their features and wore whatcould only be described as medieval peasant clothes.I had to grab my head to stop my mind from reeling.Am I having a really strange dream right now? Or maybe I'mhallucinating?It was not yet warm enough for heatstroke to be a worry, but maybe thiswas the side effect of not hydrating properly?I pinched my cheek as hard as I could."Ow."Okay… not a dream.I crouched and scooped a handful of dirt from the ground, moving itaround with my fingers. It felt very real, so hallucination was probably outof the picture too.Not knowing what else to do, I walked up to one of the stalls. A blondeand tan trinket vendor with sausage fingers covered in rings stared up at mefrom where he sat."Excuse me? Where am I? What is this place? Do you know how I gothere?"He looked at me like I was stupid, then sighed and, in perfect Japanesewith the same Kansai dialect as me, said, "This is the city of Lundia. It sitseighty leagues inland from the port of Ochre.""Thank you," I replied dumbfounded before walking away from hisspread of jewels, rings, and timepieces. I had no idea what a league was norwhy he was perfectly comprehensible to me, despite clearly being of adifferent nationality.After walking around the marketplace for fifteen minutes or more, I found aguardsman who was clad in polished platemail and hugged a tall lance. Hewas standing guard outside a building that was either a bank or a luxurystore."Excuse me," I started, but before I had a chance to ask my question, hetook one look at my clothes and replied."The Adventurers' Guild is down that street and to the left; you can'tmiss it."I looked in the direction he pointed with his left hand and nodded mythanks before going that way.I have no idea what I'm doing here, but maybe this Guild can help me?The Adventurers' Guild was indeed quite easy to spot, as it towered over thenearby one-storey buildings. It was constructed out of stone, not wood, andhad green shingles on its roof. Its crimson wooden doors were flung wideopen, and there seemed to be quite a throng of people within.After entering, I saw that half the place was like a tavern, with peopledrinking and eating around circular tables. Many of the people within,adventurers, I guessed, were dressed in elaborate flowing robes or brutallooking armour, with their weapons of choice leaning against their chairs orstrapped to their waists. Some of them turned and snickered when they sawme enter, but most seemed to purposefully ignore my arrival.What struck me the most, however, was not their clothes nor theirweapons, but rather that many of them looked just as out of place as I did,with their features showing more than just the European ancestry I'd seen inmost of the people on the way here.Maybe they're like me? I thought, hopefully.I walked up to the nearest person: a tall, musclebound black mandressed in spike-covered leather armour. He was leaning against one of thewooden pillars that supported the tall ceiling to the first floor. His palmswere both placed on the pommels of two shortswords that hung from eachhip.Before I could utter a single word, he pointed to a queue of about eightpeople on the other side of the floor. "Newcomers have to register," he saidin a deep voice that was also fluently Japanese.Puzzled, but assuming this was the way to get answers, I got into theline of people. At the front, a kind-looking woman with blonde twin-tailsdressed in a green blouse and skirt stood behind a desk, greeting people andhaving them place their hands on a strange glyph-covered black-grey slate.The glyphs glowed a strange frost-blue as a tall, pale man held his handagainst it before the woman announced, "Vanguard."In response, the tavern-like part of the place lit up with muttering aboutthe newcomer, with the word Vanguard repeated between them as though itwas more than just a title.This pattern repeated seven more times over the next twenty minutes,with two more Vanguards, a Brawler, three Rangers, and a Paladin beingannounced. The last one drew the most attention, though I couldn't tell why.With my legs sore from standing, I was finally called to the front of theline."Name, please.""My name is Temaru Ryūta. I was hoping you could—""How do you spell that?" she interrupted."Oh, erm, my family name is the sign for 'Hand' and 'Circle,' with mygiven name being the sign for 'Willow' and the one for 'Fat.'"She looked at me, confused, then showed me what she'd written on herscroll. She was writing in Romaji."Hmm, I think it's T-E-M-A-R-U R-Y-U-U-T-A in Roman lettering.""Thank you. My name is Caroline, and I will be performing yourAdventurer Role Assignment today.""My what? I don't understand what's going on or why I'm here. Orwhere 'here' is for that matter…"She nodded, as if this wasn't news to her. As if my situation werecommonplace…If everyone else in this place is just like me, then I guess it is."I am unfamiliar with the world you are from, but you are currently inMondus, specifically the western continent of Hallem. This city is calledLundia and is part of the Principality of Arley.""Is it common for people like me to be here?"Caroline nodded solemnly. "No one knows why, but Otherworlders likeyourself appear in Lundia quite frequently. It has actually become thebackbone of the adventurer industry, as most commonfolk would never takeon such jobs as what we offer.""How do I get back home? I don't want to be here… My family will beworried!""I understand this is hard to digest, Temaru, but there is no way for youto return to your world. My best advice would be to take the RoleAssignment and try to make a living in Lundia while doing quests for theGuild. Hallem is a fantastic place for explorers and travellers, and manywho were in your situation have found a new life here and even seem tothrive."I was trying my best not to panic, while parts of my brain were stilllocked firmly to the belief that I was dreaming. In the end, as the nextperson in line voiced their frustrations at the delay, I caved in and told her,"I'll take the Role Assignment.""Excellent."Caroline brought out the slate I'd seen earlier and bade me to place myhand on it. Its black stone was frigid to the touch, and the glowing sigilsseemed to throb gently as I put my clammy hand on its surface.I held my hand on it for what might have been a moment, but which feltlike hours, especially considering how I got the sense that everyone wasstaring at me and awaiting the result. As the slate's glyphs started blinking,she had me lift my hand before somehow interpreting the response of thetablet. The glyphs seemed to make as much sense as reading the stains leftby tea in a cup, but she apparently understood how to read them becauseshe announced, louder than I felt necessary."Exorcist."I had half a second to think, Oh man, that sounds super cool! but then Inoticed the responses of the crowded tavern and nearby observers. Somelaughed, a few sighed disappointedly, but most seemed to just instantlyignore my existence.Before I could ask what my adventurer role was good for, she handedme a credit-card-sized stone of the same nature as the tablet. Rather thanesoteric symbols I had no way of deciphering, the card was covered inlegible symbols. I once again had to wonder why everyone spoke Japaneseand why the card was covered in Japanese text when they clearly did notuse the language.Caroline cleared her throat and told me, "This is your Adventurers'Guild Card. Your first one is free, but if you lose it, a replacement will costthree gold crowns. You can use this card to see your Status, skills, and guildrank. Make sure to always keep this on you, because it's required whenaccepting and turning in quests.""Thank you," I said, because I didn't know how else to respond. Thingswere already completely beyond my control. "Erm, how am I supposed tolearn about my role, this world, and, you know… everything?""I understand that you must have a lot of questions, Temaru. You canlearn the answers to many of them by speaking to the Genius in the libraryon the second floor or from your fellow adventurers. I would alsorecommend looking at what kind of groups have openings for newmembers, although…""Although?""I'm sorry to say this, but your assigned role is very specialised anddoes not have a lot of synergy in groups. It's generally a solo role that takeson very difficult quests which no other roles are capable of dealing with.""Are you kidding me?" I almost blurted out, but instead I managed tokeep my calm and simply asked, "Can I change my role then?""Unfortunately, that is not a possibility. Although, if you make it to ahigher rank, you will be able to specialise in an advanced role with moregroup utility.""If?"Caroline suddenly blushed, realising she had let that one slip in.Great… Not only am I in a completely foreign land with apparently noway of getting home, but I had the misfortune of being assigned a role thatsounds like a death sentence…"Thank you for your help," I told her. She was not to blame for mycircumstances, so it wasn't fair to get mad at her.I finally took the Guild Card from her hands before leaving the line.There weren't a lot of people waiting in the queue for registration, but it haddefinitely grown while I was at the front of it, which made me feel ratherguilty and embarrassed.As I moved closer to the tavern section of the Guild Hall, where largeboards were plastered with quest scrolls of varying types, as well as groupposters, I looked down at the card in my hand and saw how I had beenreduced to a bunch of very clinical estimates.TEMARU RYUUTAROLE: ExorcistRANK: NovitiateGENDER: MaleAGE: 18ACUMEN: BDEXTERITY: EINTELLIGENCE: BLUCK: FPACT: ASOUL: SSTRENGTH: EVITALITY: FSOUL COLOUR:VioletSKILLS:OmniglotExorcist ITwo Es and Fs…What the hell is Soul Colour? What does it mean that mine is "Violet"?I didn't really know what each of the eight attributes represented, but Iguessed that my role was determined from all of these combined.Considering the brief description of the sort of jobs I could expect, maybean F-rating in Luck was mandatory to become an Exorcist?The E in Strength and Dexterity seemed pretty accurate to my real-lifephysical condition, as I had been one of the slowest and weakest boys in myhigh school class. As for Vitality, I had no idea what that represented,though it could possibly be my physical endurance, given that I tired easilyfrom just a brisk jog.Soul, Pact, and Acumen were not immediately clear to me. I had neverbeen much of a gamer, so while I could recognise some game elementsfrom this place and setting, my understanding was so shallow that I had noidea if it applied here nor how it could be applied…Renji would've known what to do if he was here… I complainedinternally. He had always been the smartest of my friends, somehowmanaging to attain the highest grades in every field while also maintainingan all-consuming Gaming Otaku lifestyle. I'd watched him play hundredsof games and listened to his long exposés of how to do this and how to dothat, though now I wished I'd been paying more attention, as it was clearthat his wisdom had been wasted on me.I bit my lower lip in consternation. My string of misfortunes had onlycontinued, even though I had done my best to improve. Failing to get intouniversity had been a wake-up call for me to take life more seriously and dosomething about my many shortcomings. I had even managed to build upthe courage to confess to my high school classmate Inoue Kumi, whoinstead of flat-out rejecting me, had said she would think about it and let meknow her answer during the summer. But now I would never hear whatanswer she had for me.While I seared the text of the Guild Card, which was supposed torepresent me as a person, into my retinas, I felt an overwhelming wave ofdespondency settle on me like a weighted blanket.What will Mom say when she gets home and sees I'm no longer there?Will she be relieved that her failure of a son is gone? Or will she be sad andreport me missing?Given how our last argument had gone, I couldn't say for sure. I stillremembered her accusations that I had wasted all the money she had spenton getting me into a private high school and prestigious cram schools. I hadnever wanted to be a doctor like she desired of me, and, perhaps, as a kindof rebellion against her will, I had failed the entrance exam intentionally. Ihadn't been a bad student in high school, so perhaps my failure was adeliberate self-sabotage that I could never admit to myself?The last time I had seen Renji before the summer, he had clapped me onthe back and told me things were going to be all right. I had honestlybelieved him.…but look at me now.After shouldering my way to the Quest Boards and perusing the options fora while, I found a quest for an Exorcist of Novitiate rank like me. Fromlooking at the many other quests, I knew that those that asked for a specificadventurer role were extremely rare, and, besides Exorcist, the only otherones I saw on display were Priest and Hunter, the former for its apparentability to perform miracles and the latter for its tracking and animalhandling. I had also gathered that, besides the rank requirement, each questhad a difficulty or complexity scale, which ranged from Simple to Perilous.Unsurprisingly, the only Exorcism Quest on offer was ranked the highestdifficulty…If I were to actually take a quest from the board, I knew I'd go with theSimple-rated Gathering or Delivery types, which, although not having muchof a reward, at least offered a steady income, although I didn't yetunderstand the currency here nor its value. Granted, if I were to actuallytake the Exorcism Quest and complete it, the reward was one gold and fortysilver crowns, while the Simple everyone-can-do-it types only offered a fewdozen copper crowns.I seriously doubted I'd commit to the dangerous Adventurers' Guildwork, though, and, besides, no one had said I couldn't just find a job in thetown of Lundia. After all, I was okay with my hands when it came torepairing electronics and making things, plus I had some experience frommy part-time job at a Yakitori restaurant, so I could make some simplemeals and wait on customers.Before really deciding on what I'd do, I wanted to speak to the"Genius" on the second floor. I had yet to talk to any of the establishedadventurers that lounged in the tavern and near the Quest Boards, but I washardly the only Novitiate that found them intimidating.Although, when a person was announced as having the Priest role a fewminutes after my announcement, many of the lounging adventurersswarmed the guy, eager to acquire him for their group. Even roles likeVanguard, Paladin, Ranger, and Spellhand had all found modest interestfrom groups. Unsurprisingly, female Novitiates were all given a lot ofattention, which made me wonder how the mass of adventurers would reactto a female Exorcist.As I began climbing the staircase to the next floor, I realised howridiculous I looked, given how I was still wearing my sandals, as well ascomfortable pyjama-esque pants and a threadbare T-shirt with a panda printon the front that said "I hate morning people" in English text. I doubted mybedhead hair and sullen eyes were much to write home about either. Not forthe first time in my life, I felt envious of Renji, who had somehow gottenthe S-tier package deal: he was handsome, smart, funny, and charming. Thefact that he had been my friend since middle school was one of my proudestaccomplishments, although it had been tough constantly being the gobetween for the girls who wanted to ask him out, but I had treasured myfriendship with him nonetheless.I let out a sigh as I reached the first-floor landing but didn't pay muchattention to it before ascending to the second. With every step came theawful slap of the squishy plastic sandals against the soles of my feet. If notfor the fact that there was dust, dirt, and errant stones everywhere in thebuilding, I would've taken them off.If someone came to this world and brought the invention of the vacuumcleaner with them, I was sure they would become an instant billionaire. Nosooner had the thought hit me than I remembered that I'd left my housewith my phone and wallet in my pockets.Stopping halfway up to the second floor, I began patting down my deeptrouser pockets but found nothing within except my new card and someballs of lint…So much for wowing the general populace with my hyper-advancedtechnology…Then again, if they have magic here, maybe they already have someequivalent to the smartphone? I considered, thinking back to the stonetablet. And I could hardly be the only person here who had the thought ofbringing technology with me. Perhaps the people of this world were reticentto change, or maybe they just didn't trust people like me who randomlyshowed up in front of their market stalls?As I reached the second-floor landing, I was greeted by tall bookcasesthat created a maze of sorts. Each shelf was half a metre deep, as there wereas many scrolls packed in as books. Just looking at it, I highly doubted Iwas meant to rifle through stuff and find the answers myself. The Guildrepresentative had mentioned a "Genius," which I was mostly certain wasthe role of a person, though, as I began my foray into the bookcase-maze, Istarted to doubt myself.After a couple minutes, I started to double back when I suddenlynoticed a path that led deeper into the centre of the floor. As I rounded acorner, I entered an office of sorts.Three large desks surrounded a figure sitting cross-legged atop awooden swivel stool, each of which was piled high with wobbling stacks ofbooks and pyramids of scrolls. The figure was holding one end of a scrollhigh above his head while using his free hand to scratch his chin as hestudied the contents."Erm, pardon the intrusion, but…"The man moved the hand holding the scroll slightly so that he could seeme. Round, thick-lensed spectacles sat atop his nose, and his long,unkempt, dark-grey hair fell down across his face and back. He wentbarefooted and only wore a lab-coat-esque garment with wide, overlongsleeves and deep pockets on the side."You're the new Exorcist.""Erm, yes, that's me. Wait… how'd you know?" I definitely hadn't seenthis guy in the hall, and it seemed like he might have been in this place fordays, given that there was something like a sleeping bag on the floor, aswell as the leftover dirty trays from at least a dozen meals."I expect you're looking for answers to your many questions?" heasked, not answering my question."Well, yes."The Genius, or at least I assumed that was who this guy was, noddedsagely, then said, "You can't go home. Yes, you're stuck with your assignedrole. You could try to find work outside the Guild, but the native populationof Lundia despises Otherworlders and actively prevents them from findinghonest work, meaning you'd no doubt end up in something shady andillegal if you were to find employment.""What about my friends and family?"The Genius tilted his head slightly, as though not following."Aren't people going to question my disappearance from the realworld?"He replied with a shrug before adding, "No one knows, because, yousee, none of us can go home to check.""Are you an adventurer yourself?""Of a sort, I suppose. I was assigned the role of Librarian, then lateradvanced into a Genius. It's a comfy job if you like reading and organisinginformation, but I don't do a lot of Adventuring.""Can I see your Guild Card?"He squinted suspiciously behind his glasses."If you're willing to trade," he replied.That made me pause. After all, if he destroyed it or decided to not returnit, getting a new one issued would cost a lot of money. Money that Idefinitely did not have. But did it really matter either way? I was fairly sureI wouldn't do any Guild quests."You're thinking that replacing a Guild Card will cost a fortune, but thatyou don't mind losing the card regardless.""Does your Genius role include mind-reading?"The man shrugged.I ended up handing him my card, and he gave me his in exchange.Before I could even take a look at his Status and skills, I heard him chuckleand say, "Two F-tiers…"I couldn't help but feel embarrassed. Showing someone else my statuswas a surprisingly vulnerable thing. After all, it was like giving them areport card of all my grades from my exams. I looked down at the card inmy hand and frowned at what I saw.ÆMOSROLE: GeniusRANK: SavantGENDER: MaleAGE: 39ACUMEN: CDEXTERITY: CINTELLIGENCE: SLUCK: CPACT: CSOUL: CSTRENGTH: CVITALITY: CSOUL COLOUR:Orange GoldSKILLS:OmniglotLibrarian VGenius VOmniscientC in everything except Intelligence, which is S-tier…"How come you don't have a lot of skills?" I asked. I couldn't tell if thiswas the norm or not, but I'd assumed that someone at his rank would'vehad more."As I say, I stay mostly cooped up with my books, but my Librarianskill set allows me to create scrolls that mimic other roles' skills, so long asI have the attributes to match. And before you ask, no, I cannot use anyExorcist skills. They all require S tier in Soul."We swapped back cards, and I took a moment to look at my own skills.Omniglot was self-explanatory, as it simply meant that I could understandall languages, hence why everything sounded and looked like Japanese tome, except for times like when the Guild representative had written out myname or when I looked at the Genius's unique name."What does Exorcist I mean?""Each role has something like it, but it's your basic skill set thatincludes the skills of your role. To view them, you just have to tap it withyour finger, and it expands into a list of your eighteen starting skills."I did as he said and tapped the skill name, which caused it to unfurl andbecome a continuously scrolling list, as it was too long to encompass all theelements within the frame of the card. Before I could really get a good lookat all the skills available to me, Æmos continued, "Skills come in fivelevels, and with things like your role skill set, the entire thing will reachLevel Two after you train at least half the skills within to that level. Thinkof it as different levels of math, with the first level being simple things likesubtraction and addition and the final being like quantum physics. Someskills are easier to level than others, but I've heard it compared to trainingcertain muscle groups, where some are quick to bulk up and grow strongerwith hardly any effort, and others take more concentrated and specifictraining to accomplish the same results."I nodded slowly. It seemed quite an extreme comparison, but perhapsthere was such an extreme difference in the skills and their power? After afew cycles of the scrolling text, I had a grasp on the skills included inExorcist I. They were as follows:SKILLS:OmniglotExorcist I:- Banish I- Contain Spirit I- Focus Wielder I- Hymnal I- Investigation I- Invoke Ritual I- Meditation I- Offering I- Pact of the Familiar I- Possessed Weapon Wielder I- Repel I- Sanctify I- Soul Barrier I- Spirit Sight I- Staff Wielder I- Summon I- Ward Crafter I- Worship I"Could you explain some of the attributes to me as well? Like, what doSoul, Acumen, and Pact mean?"The Genius nodded curtly. "Of course. Soul is the counterpart to Vitalityand represents your spiritual endurance and defences, governing how manyspells you might use before exhausting yourself and how much resistanceyou have against spells that affect your spirit and mind directly, such asPossession, Sleep, Madness, and so forth. Some people equate Soul to theterm Mana, but that excludes the defensive element, which is veryimportant against many of the challenges and monsters adventurers face.Particularly Exorcists who have to deal with wraiths, demons, and the like."Acumen is something like innate wisdom but seems to affect accuracyand tinkering as well. A low Acumen is generally seen as impulsive andlacking forethought, as well as being clumsy with spells and rangedweapons. It's probably the hardest of the attributes to define, but you don'thave to think too much about it. Pact is one that is however quite easy todefine, as it governs your ability to deal with anything like a ritual orsummoning, but it also affects how easily you might form bonds withfamiliars and pets, hence why it is a B-tier requirement for Hunters, whohave the ability to tame wild animals.""So, the roles we're assigned are based on meeting requirements, then?""As far as we understand it, yes. Amusingly, Exorcist is the only role Iam aware of which requires F tier in an attribute."I frowned. It wasn't really that amusing to me."Listen, Ryūta, this situation that you're in is definitely bad luck. It'svery few people who would actively wish to be taken away from theirworld and be faced with perilous quests by an uncaring world that honestlydespises them for their very nature. No one knows why all of us are here,nor why only we 'Otherworlders' have access to all these powers, butyou're going to have to accept your new role. There is no room for mistakesand half-heartedness when it comes to being an adventurer, especially notwith a role as difficult and complex as yours."A grim thought entered my mind, and I blurted out, "What's themortality rate for Exorcists?"Æmos didn't say anything for a moment, surprised by the question."I don't think you'd gain anything by me telling you that," he thenreplied."I'd still like to know."He unfolded his legs and rolled up the scroll in his hand before adding itto a pyramid stack on one of the desks. As he swivelled back to face me, hesaid, "For the first Exorcism Quest, the mortality rate is 40 percent. Thecompletion percentage is 20. Most new Exorcists run away from whatevermonster they find and are often never seen again."My frown deepened. Now I understood the pitying glances I'd gottenand the unsaid warning in Caroline's voice. "And what's the generalmortality rate?""Exorcist is the only role that faces Perilous Quests right off the bat, butif you were to say within the first month of work, which might includeSimple Gathering and Delivery as well as Bounty and ExterminationQuests, then it's about 14 percent on average. Those who make it past thefirst month of being an adventurer generally only face an 8 percentmortality rate. There's a sudden spike when adventurers reach the'Eminent' guild rank, though, since all available quests end up Dangerousor higher in difficulty rating.""I see," was all I could reply. Having my expected lifespan and that ofmy cohort reduced to simple statistics was a demoralising thing."In case you were wondering, the guild ranks are as follows: Novitiate;Initiate; Seeker; Eminent; Savant; and Master. The deciding factors forgoing up in rank are whether or not you are deemed capable of handling theresponsibility that each rank bears within the Guild, as well as how you dealwith the kind of quests you'll face. Given that Exorcists usually alwayshandle quests of Dangerous or Perilous difficulty, they go up in rank quitequickly. In fact, I think it's almost tradition to receive a promotion to Seekerupon completing your first Exorcism Quest, as it shows overwhelmingtalent."I nodded lamely. It was already too much information to bear and toomuch responsibility to deal with. An eighteen-year-old like me wouldn'thave been expected to face such overwhelming adversity in the real world,but here it sounded like all those who were stolen away from their worldswere just cast directly into the meat-grinder. Those few who came out theother end perhaps found some purpose in life, though who could say forsure."That look on your face is one I've seen a lot before, but I will give youthe same advice that I've given all the Exorcists who sought me out: takeyour time to learn your skills and rely on easy quests to make a living for afew weeks or more before attempting to take on an Exorcism Quest. Andalso, try to find an established Exorcist to become your mentor."Like Librarians and Summoners, Exorcists are rare. Due to this rarity,it is often impossible to find publicly available knowledge, so you mustinstead rely on the knowledge of those who came before you; otherwise, thelearning curve will be significantly steeper."I nodded again, with slightly more energy this time, though it wasmostly pretend. Suddenly a coin was shoved into my right hand. It was coldagainst my skin.I looked up, realising I'd been staring at my sandalled feet for a while.Then I lifted the coin and saw that it was made of a silvery metal and hadthe engraved letters for 'ten' on its face, alongside a stylised crown above ahalf-moon crescent."I'm giving you this money out of my own pocket, Ryūta, because Ibelieve that you'll be able to beat the stats that promise only failure. Usethis to find a place to stay for the next week as you settle in. Don't forget tocheck out our For-Rent Armoury on the first floor that you no doubt sawcoming up here, but keep in mind that your equipment won't magicallymake you better than you are. I recommend starting off with just some basicclothes to replace what you're wearing, as well as a good pair of boots anda backpack of some kind. You'll end up walking a lot for the DeliveryQuests, and you'll need a way to carry stuff for Gathering Quests."I quickly put the coin in my pocket, then looked intently at Æmosbefore bowing deeply. "Thank you so much! I will aspire to live up to yourexpectations of me!""It's not like this is goodbye or anything. I'm here more often than not,so come back anytime you have questions or… you know… if you just feellike talking." He said the latter with an awkward kind of hesitation, whichmade me think that he probably rarely got to just talk to people without theexpectation of giving answers and advice."I will," I told him and bowed deeply again before leaving the maze ofbookcases.I went down the stairs, not bothering to check the first floor yet, andthen left the Guild Hall out the open front door.I was greeted by a dark early-evening sky, though I was fairly sure itwas no more than five in the evening, which made me wonder what kind ofnight-and-day cycle this continent of Hallem had. Without any reference tothe rest of the world of Mondus, it was hard to tell exactly how close I wasto either of the two poles of this world, but if it followed the same pattern asEarth, then I assumed I was somewhere semi-tropical, given that it was stillquite warm, though not as much as summertime in Kyōto.Letting out a sigh, I pushed the pointless speculations from my mindand began looking for a place I could stay for the night and get a meal formy growling stomach. It had yet to fully sink in that my precarious situationwas permanent.