The moment my eyes opened, I felt the cold stone pavement against my back. Valentia Lucas slowly lifted his eyelids. Morning light painted the edge of the sky white. The town of Bernd was still quiet, and somewhere a bird was singing. (Ah... I slept here, didn't I.) He recalled last night. Seven copper coins—not enough for an inn. He'd sat in front of the guild, turned stone into sand... and then consciousness had slipped away. When he slowly opened his right hand, the grains of sand had almost completely vanished. [[Skill: <<Decompose>> / Last night's vital essence consumption... minimal, but confirmed]] The system notification seemed to flicker across his mind, and Valentia let out a wry smile. (Seriously, what is my life.) "Um..." A voice. He slowly lifted his face. Standing in front of a wooden two-story building was a single girl. She had long, bright aqua hair loosely tied back. Her silver eyes were wide and round, and she cradled a basket in her arms. She was about one hundred fifty-eight centimeters tall, wearing a navy jacket that looked like the Lynx uniform, fitted perfectly. She had the kind of face where her eyes would narrow when she smiled. "...Uh..." She crouched down. Bringing her eyes level with Valentia's, she pulled a piece of bread from the basket. It was round and fluffy, smelling freshly baked. "[gentle] Here, please have this." "...Huh?" "[gentle] Eat it. If you die here, it'll damage the guild's reputation." Her tone was businesslike, yet somehow it didn't feel unpleasant at all. Valentia took the bread. The moment he bit into it, his throat tightened. It was his first meal in three days. He barely managed to hold back the heat rising to his eyes as he chewed silently. "[surprised] You haven't been eating much, have you?" "...Yeah." "[gentle] Well then! Have some water too." She offered him a water flask. Valentia took it and drank. It was just ordinary water, but it tasted incredible. "What's your name? What were you doing here?" "Valentia Lucas. Came from the capital. Didn't have money for an inn, so I was thinking of borrowing a doorway... and then I collapsed." "[surprised] From the capital? On foot?" "Yeah." "[surprised] Why didn't you use a carriage?" "I only had seven copper coins." "[gentle] Ah... that's impossible then." She accepted it immediately. No gravity. No lectures. Valentia felt some of the tension leave his shoulders. She stood up and unlocked the door while speaking. "[gentle] I'm Fern Aria. I work the reception desk at this Lynx Bernd branch. If you want to register as an adventurer, let's do it today." Lynx—short for Fang of Lynx—was a semi-public, semi-private organization that managed adventurers throughout the nation, mediating requests and assessing ranks. There were forty-two branches nationwide, but the Bernd branch here was a small outpost with only three staff members. "[gentle] You came here planning to register anyway, right?" "...Yeah, I guess." "[gentle] Then it's decided!" She opened the door cheerfully and went inside. Valentia shoved the last piece of bread into his mouth and stood up. 　—— The first floor of the guild was a small room with a reception counter and a request board. Morning light streamed across the wooden floor, and faded maps and request forms were pinned to the walls. It was an old building with low ceilings. Aria went behind the counter and pulled out documents from a shelf as she spoke. "[gentle] First, we'll check your skills. Please place your hand over that engraved stone." On a stone pedestal sat a faintly glowing stone about the size of a fist. An engraved stone—it worked on the same principle as those used in the Divine Ritual, reading skills. Valentia held his right hand over it. A few seconds later, text appeared on the display field of the guild card. [[Skill: <<Decompose>>]] [[Effect: Disassemble target]] "..." As Aria began copying the information onto a form, two men sitting idly in chairs behind her reacted. Two adventurers wearing armor marked with D-rank insignia exchanged glances. "[sarcastic] Decomposer? That garbage skill?" "[sarcastic] A butcher registering. First time I've seen that." Light laughter. Valentia looked down. (Here we go again.) He'd heard that tone countless times—in the capital, in his party, everywhere. That way of laughing as if the person wasn't there, treating them as nonexistent. "So it's gonna be like this..." He hadn't meant to say it out loud. But it came out. In that instant, there was a sound from behind the counter—*thunk*. Aria had set down her pen holder on the table. "[serious] The guild evaluates skills." Her voice was calm. But there was no smile in it whatsoever. Her silver eyes looked directly at the two adventurers. "[serious] It's not something customers get to decide on their own." The two adventurers fell silent, looking embarrassed. They seemed like they wanted to say something, but Aria had already returned her gaze to the documents and continued with her work as if nothing had happened. Valentia found himself looking up at Aria. She handed him the card as if nothing had occurred. "[gentle] F-rank registration complete. Here's your guild card." It was a thin card. The F-rank insignia was engraved on one edge. F-rank was the lowest rank for adventurers, and the types of requests and rewards available were limited. But the moment he took it. (It's... heavy.) Heavier than the scholarship certificate he'd received at the adventurer academy in the capital. Heavier than the party certificate from Crimson Edge. This card felt the heaviest of all. He didn't know why. 　—— "[gentle] How about this request?" Aria came over to where Valentia was looking at the request board and pointed to a piece of paper. [[F-rank Request: Goblin Extermination - East Bernd (Approximately 8 targets)]] [[Reward: 1 Silver Coin]] Goblins were monsters about ninety centimeters tall with low intelligence, but they were troublesome in groups. Danger level: F to E. You cut off their ears as proof of extermination. "I'll do it." "[surprised] Are you sure? Eight is quite a lot, you know?" "[serious] I can handle a sword normally. No problem." He didn't mention the fact that the adventurer academy had rated his swordsmanship as "average at best." "[gentle] Well then! Be careful out there." Valentia took the request form and headed outside. 　—— When Valentia reached the hilly terrain east of Bernd, he immediately regretted it. Eight goblins. Surrounding him on all sides. (Wait... were there really this many?) One at a time wouldn't be a problem. But eight of them, armed with clubs and stone axes, circling around him—that was genuinely tough. He raised his sword, but if he focused on the one in front, he'd get hit from the side. If he watched the sides, the one in front would charge. (What do I do. What do I do...) As he retreated while thinking, his foot caught on a stone lying on the ground. —A stone. Last night, he'd turned stone into sand. Valentia instinctively grabbed the club a goblin was raising with both hands. His right hand's engraved mark glowed. [[Skill <<Decompose>>: Activated]] *Zzt*—a small sensation. The club turned to sand. The goblin looked at its own hands. Nothing in either of them. The goblin froze. "...Oh, the weapon disappears." For about three seconds, he was stunned by his own discovery. The goblin was also stunned. They both had the same "what is this?" expression on their faces. (No way! This actually works!) Valentia lunged at the next goblin. Grabbed the stone axe and activated the skill. Sand. Next. Club. Sand. One throwing stones at him—he touched it too. Sand. He could feel his vital essence—the energy needed to use skills, which a normal adult had about a hundred of, and adventurers typically had one hundred fifty to three hundred—decreasing bit by bit. But one club's worth wasn't much consumption. The problem was how the disarmed goblins reacted. First they got angry. Then they panicked. And then—they started picking up garbage from the ground and throwing it. Valentia reflexively grabbed the garbage. It turned to sand. (...So garbage becomes sand too.) Feeling somewhat surreal about it, he raised his sword against eight now-unarmed goblins. "Alright." He took down the unarmed goblins one by one. Against opponents who'd completely lost their weapons, even "average at best" swordsmanship worked fine. The goblins panicked and tried to scatter, but with nowhere to run, they were all eliminated. After it was over, Valentia stood in place for a while. (I won.) He'd defeated them almost in disbelief. Honestly, he still couldn't believe it. "[serious] ...This skill actually works, doesn't it, Decomposer." He muttered it alone in the empty hilly terrain. 　—— When he returned to the guild, Aria was organizing documents at the counter. When Valentia laid out the ears as proof of extermination and the processed materials, she immediately got to work. "Let's see, eight goblin ears... confirmed. And these materials are..." Aria looked at the appraisal form and tilted her head. "[surprised] ...The muscle fibers are cleanly separated. The fangs and bone fragments are still in a condition usable for medicine ingredients." The materials processed with the Decompose skill were completely different from what normal adventurers brought back. The toxic parts had been removed, leaving only usable materials. In a state that could be used directly as leather goods or medicine ingredients. Aria reviewed the appraisal form multiple times. "[surprised] ...Normally raw material buyback would be one silver coin, but with decomposition processing included, it comes to three silver coins." "[surprised] Isn't that a lot?" "[serious] It is. But it's a fair appraisal." Both of them stared at the card. Silence continued. Then—one of the adventurers who'd mocked Valentia's skill earlier craned his neck over from beside the counter. "[surprised] ...Why's a Decomposer getting that much?" His expression said he didn't understand. Valentia didn't understand either. Aria didn't seem to understand either. Aria looked at Valentia. "[gentle] Are you... perhaps a really amazing person?" She sounded genuinely confused. "[serious] ...I don't know either." He answered honestly. The two of them just stared at each other blankly. (Seriously, what are we doing?) Something about it was funny, and Valentia let out a small laugh. Aria's eyes narrowed and she let out a soft chuckle. Her eyes really did narrow when she smiled. 　—— On the way back from the guild, Valentia walked along the stone wall that ran around the perimeter of Bernd. The evening sky was dyed orange. The smell of dinner drifted from the buildings in town. Today's reward was three silver coins. Even after paying for lodging, he'd have money left over. He'd be able to sleep properly for the first time in a while. "It's here." Aria spoke from behind him. Perhaps she had some time before the guild closed, or maybe they were heading the same direction—either way, she'd naturally come along. She pointed at the stone wall ahead—there was a large section that was crumbling. Several stones about thirty centimeters across had fallen, leaving a hole in the wall. "[gentle] It's been crumbling for three years now. The town doesn't have the money to fix it." Bernd was suffering from deterioration. Thirty years ago, when the mines ran dry, the population and tax revenue had plummeted. Even repairing a single stone wall was a painful expense for the town's current finances. Valentia stopped in front of the wall. (Let me try something.) There wasn't much reason. Just a vague impulse. He held his hand over one of the crumbled stones. His right hand's engraved mark glowed. [[Skill <<Decompose>>: Activated]] The stone turned to sand. He touched the next sto