Guided by Penpen, I set off for human civilization.
"Alright, time to pack up the Home for a bit," Penpen said.
"Wait, what?"
Once we were both outside, Penpen performed some sort of menu operation, and the fenced-in base vanished in an instant. There wasn't a single trace left behind. In fact, trees that hadn't been there moments ago were now growing in its place.
Only one thing remained: a red pin-like marker, the kind used to show a current location on a map, bobbing up and down in the air.
"Whoa, how does that even work?" I asked.
"Hm? I just stored the Home," she replied.
Apparently, this was perfectly normal to her. I had no idea how the mechanics behind it functioned, and I was certain that even if she explained it, I still wouldn't get it. It was likely just a feature of the Home skill provided by her SP, so I figured that was just the way it was.
"Oh, it's fine. I'll know how to get back here. See? There’s a pin on the map."
"Ah, I see... So it leaves a marker on the interface too."
"Anyway, let’s get to town! Moving out!"
"Yeah!" Penpen cheered, thrusting her hand into the air. I won't go into detail about what exactly was jiggling, but it was quite a sight. To her, it probably just looked like moving voxels... Hmm. Should I switch my display to voxels too? No, I think I'm fine like this.
"..."
"Hm?"
"Ah... h-hello. Hehe."
Penpen bowed her head shyly. It looked like her character had switched back to Penpen-chan's auto-mode.
"U-Um... well then. I will lead the way, okay? I’m going to run, so p-please f-f-follow me... ow."
"Oh, sure."
Having tripped over her own tongue, Penpen-chan took off running toward the town. On the way, a few Slimes crossed our path, but she simply kicked them aside and scooped up whatever they dropped without slowing down.
After a solid hour of running, we finally reached a settlement—a proper town.
"And here we are! We've arrived in town!" Penpen announced energetically the moment we reached the gates. "Oh, hey, I got some Slime Jelly. Nice!"
"So you really do just leave the travel to Penpen-chan," I noted.
"Of course! That’s how these games work. Man, if there wasn't a time limit on this, I’d be running back and forth between my house and town all day to farm materials."
She really was playing a completely different game than I was. She had clearly made this trip several times before, considering how perfectly she timed her return from being AFK.
"By the way, what’s this town called? It’s my first time seeing a settlement."
"It’s called Tsudon. That’s what it says on the map."
As soon as she said the name, "Tsudon" was added to my own map. I also noticed that the area where Penpen had set up her Home was labeled "Demon Forest - Shallow Layer."
"So, Penpen. Where’s the Adventurer’s Guild in this place?"
"Hmm, I wonder if Penpen-chan knows. Which way? That way? Yeah, it’s that way!"
Penpen led the way again, seemingly consulting her auto-mode persona for directions.
The Adventurer’s Guild was a wooden structure that looked like something straight out of an old Western. I pushed through the creaking double doors—the kind that seemed to serve no practical purpose—and found the interior bustling. Even though it was still broad daylight, people were already drinking and making merry in the attached tavern. A few patrons glanced our way before turning back to their mugs.
What gives? I thought an Adventurer’s Guild was supposed to trigger an event where some thug says, "Hey, this ain't no place for little girls!" Maybe they just hadn't noticed us yet, or maybe they figured we were just here to post a request?
"Alright Penpen, let’s get registered! Where do we go?"
"Hahaha, I’ve never been here either, so I have no clue, Tria-shi! But I guess we should just ask at the counter? What do you think?"
"Oh, hello. You’re in the right place. Come on over."
The woman behind the counter gave us a friendly smile. Her ears were long and pointed—an Elf! So they really did exist in this world. It truly was a fantasy setting.
"Well now, I see you’re both Spirit-possessed."
"We’re here to register as adventurers!" I said.
"Me too!" Penpen added.
"Then please take these. There... and done. Your registration is complete. These are your adventurer cards. Be sure not to lose them."
"Awesome!" I took the card, only for it to vanish with a soft pop. "Wait, what? I lost it already?!"
"Oh, don’t worry. It will reappear whenever you intend to take it out. You can also check your status through the display menu."
"Oh, really?"
I checked the menu on my handheld device and saw that a "Guild Card" section had been added. When I tapped it, an F-Rank card appeared, complete with a photo of Tria.
"Sweet, I'm an F-Rank adventurer. Now I can actually take on quests."
"I’m an F too! Now, let’s see if there’s a good tutorial-style quest available."
"In that case," the receptionist suggested, "how about these requests for exterminating Goblins or Kobolds?"
The absolute basics. But honestly, that was exactly what I wanted.
"Alright, let's do it!"
"Hmm, the materials you get from those aren't very good..." Penpen muttered.
Uh-oh. We were already running into a difference in playstyles.
"I’d rather do this Medicinal Herb Gathering quest! I can pick extra and keep some for myself."
"Penpen, don't you need to hunt monsters if you want to level up?"
"Eh? Tria-shi, your Base Level goes up even if you're just grinding production skills, you know?"
"Wait, seriously? What level are you now?"
"Level 15. For combat, I've only really fought Slimes, and I haven't even hit a hundred of those. What about you, Tria?"
"I’m 21. I spent all my time beating the crap out of turtles."
Level 15... That was a milestone I’d passed ages ago while grinding those Young Turtles.
"Maybe it depends on the character," Penpen mused. "Tria seems like a Combat Class, while I'm more of a Production Class."
"I wonder if there are hidden job parameters or something."
"The Wiki doesn't say anything about that..."
The community Wiki was still a disorganized mess. I was starting to suspect the reason it was failing so hard was that players like Penpen and I were essentially playing two different games.
"Well, I guess we should split up here for now. I want to try an extermination quest."
"Sounds like a plan! We have friend chat, so just hit me up if you need anything. Oh, Miss Receptionist, I'll take the herb gathering quest. Can you process that?"
"Oh! Yes, of course. Right away."
And so, after officially becoming adventurers at the guild, we decided to tackle our own separate paths.
...Though I have to say, I'm a little disappointed nobody tried to pick a fight with us. Oh well.