Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Raising the Lowest-Ranked Adventurer, the Heroic Girl – Wasn’t I Just a Substitute Old Man?

Chapter 1 “Beginning”

“Another day survived, huh?”

The man in his thirties, walking a bit behind, exhaled and uttered those words as he emerged from the room we had been in until just now.

This is inside the Adventurers’ Guild building. We had rented a room there.

Apart from him, there are three of us in this place, including myself, and as soon as we confirmed his emergence, we started walking towards the outside of the guild building.

“Ugh, I’m tired. Why do we have to report on the day we conquered the dungeon? Couldn’t we do it tomorrow…?”

I am Koosuke Igami, a 35-year-old middle-aged man.

As for what we were doing, it was a report about the “Dungeon.”

The Dungeon—it used to be something I thought existed only in fantasies, but now it’s very much real.

About twenty years ago, a certain country conducted some kind of experiment that went wrong. If I recall correctly, it was an experiment involving the creation of an artificial black hole or white hole to generate energy, or something like that, I think.

Well, that experiment failed, but it resulted in an unexpected outcome.

Dimensions shifted.

Even if I say that, you probably have no idea what I’m talking about. But don’t worry, I don’t understand it either.

However, well, even if I don’t know what happened, I do know the outcome.

Simply put, it connected to another world. And not to a place with friendly races, but to the nests of creatures called monsters.

Initially, many people lost their lives because they had no idea what was happening.

The self-defense forces were deployed, but the enemies were genuine monsters that could deflect bullets and move around even amidst explosions.

Moreover, the enemies used supernatural abilities like magic. At that time, I truly believed it was the end of the world, and so did people all around the world.

But amidst all that, there were those who appeared who could use supernatural abilities—magic—just like the monsters.

And not only those who could use magic, but also those who could fight on equal terms with monsters, trading blows.

Commonly known as “Awakened Ones.”

Experts claim that these individuals awakened powers that should never have been awakened by coming into contact with the atmosphere of the monsters’ world. But the truth of the matter is unknown. Well, if we judge based on the results, it might be true, but in reality, it doesn’t matter and I don’t care.

So, here’s the thing. The Awakened Ones kill the monsters that attack them and launch a counter-invasion into the swirling black space—the “Gate” from which they emerged.

It was probably out of revenge. Parents, siblings, friends, lovers, acquaintances, benefactors—people like that were killed, and as a form of revenge, they ventured into the swirling space, the “Gate.”

After several days had passed and it was believed that those who entered the Gate had died, a man appeared from the Gate.

And thanks to that man’s return, it became known that beyond the Gate lies the monsters’ dwelling—the “Dungeon,” and that destroying the core at its deepest level would also destroy the Gate.

Upon receiving this information, the country gathered the Awakened Ones and sent them to conquer the Dungeon. And that marked the beginning of what we now call “Adventurers.”

Nearly twenty years have passed since then, and the existence of Adventurers has become somewhat familiar. And for some reason, I too awakened as an Adventurer.

Now I can use supernatural abilities too! …But there’s no reason to rejoice.

Sure, I had aspirations. To summon flames from my hands, to cut through rocks with a sword.

But if I were actually told to fight against those monsters, I’d decline.

However, as an awakened Adventurer, I had no choice but to fight.

Those who become Adventurers must fulfill the quota set by the country for at least five years.

One could argue that it’s unavoidable, considering the number of Gates that occur and the current number of Adventurers… sigh.

Of course, being tasked with “fighting monsters” comes with its own privileges or rewards, so to speak.

The pay is good, and you can receive medical treatment without any waiting time. There are also discounts when buying a house and the ability to borrow from banks without collateral. There are various benefits.

But is it truly worth risking your life for?

Indeed, the pay is good. Awakened individuals are classified based on the level of their powers, and even the lowest-ranking Awakened can earn more than an ordinary salaryman working a regular job. With effort, one can aim for an annual income of 10 million yen.

But I’ll say it again, is it truly worth risking your life for?

At least I didn’t want to awaken, and I wanted to live as an ordinary company employee. Adventurer? That’s a load of crap.

“It’s getting tough, isn’t it? Well, it has been tough for quite some time.”

“But this ordeal will be over in just three more months. That’s soon, right?”

“That ‘soon’ is quite challenging. You know, when you can see the finish line, fatigue suddenly hits you.”

The four of us here are all in our thirties, and there’s even someone over forty among us.

Awakened individuals can run faster and have greater strength than average athletes, even if they were originally weak.

But still, they can’t beat age.

If you had to choose between a twenty-year-old and a forty-year-old who have been active as adventurers for the same period of time, in most cases, you would choose the twenty-year-old.

Furthermore, there’s another problem.

Awakened individuals are divided into “Innate Awakened” and “Acquired Awakened” based on whether they were born with their abilities or awakened them later in life. Generally, Acquired Awakened individuals are weaker compared to Innate Awakened.

And even if you’re an Acquired Awakened, if you awakened as a child, you can become just as strong as an Innate Awakened. The younger you are, the easier it is to become powerful.

I understand that this can’t be helped. In any matter, children adapt more quickly.

So, us Acquired Awakened who awakened around thirty are hardly noticed by other adventurers.

“By the way, is it just Hiroshi left?”

“Hmm? Yeah, it’s just me. Once these remaining three months are over, I’ll finally be done with this ‘job.'”

The four of us have formed a team, the minimum number required when delving into the dungeon.

All of us are Acquired Awakened individuals, and we have been assigned the task of dungeon exploration for a period of five years, commonly referred to as the ‘job.’ For us Acquired Awakened, it’s akin to forced labor in a prison. However, the other three members have already completed their ‘job.’

The difference in the completion time of the ‘job’ is because our awakening occurred at different times, which is only natural. The one who awakened the earliest awakened three years before me. They finished their ‘job’ earlier, but they chose to stay as adventurers, considering our team.

As we continued our activities as adventurers, the other two also completed their ‘job.’

So now, it’s only me left, and my ‘job’ will also come to an end in just over three months.

“…Couldn’t you do it alone if it’s just that much? We could disband now, right?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Even if it were just a month, diving alone would be suicidal!”

“Well, honestly, I feel like you could go alone even for a year…”

While exchanging such banter, I headed to the reception to return the key to the room we had been using until now.