Erald Forest, Grayrock Town.
The morning wind sweeping through the trees awakened this gray frontier town.
"Ding-ling-ling—"
The small wind chi hanging on the window fra swayed and collided, producing crisp sounds.
Gauss sat on his plank bed, pressing down on the linen beneath him, feeling the thick layer of hay padding underneath the rough fabric. He remained silent for a long ti.
Fragnts of past mories flooded his mind—the mories of a young hunter who left ho to make his way in the world and a freshly graduated college student starting his first job intertwined, plunging him into confusion.
Who am I? Where am I? Is this a dream?
As if to confirm, he stood up and walked to the window, gazing outside.
The morning mist hadn't fully dissipated yet. rchant wagons creaked over the sandstone roads, won carried clay pots under their arms as they arranged goods on display racks outside their shops, and a blacksmith's apprentice pushed open the door and hung up the "Open" sign.
The scene before him was a street view brimming with an otherworldly atmosphere, utterly different from his previous life.
Everything told him unmistakably—he had crossed over into a brand-new world.
Gauss stared blankly.
If his mories were correct, this world seed to be filled with all sorts of fantastical, magical forces.
From goblins, kobolds, and mud monsters that even commoners might encounter, to dragons and devils capable of threatening entire kingdoms—they were all real, not just fictional tales passed around by bards.
Beyond the myriad monsters, there were also professionals who wielded magic and combat techniques—mages, sorcerers, warriors, druids, rangers, and more.
Thinking of this, Gauss's sowhat gloomy heart couldn't help but beat faster.
Although becoming a professional in this world wasn't easy for ordinary people, he hadn't arrived empty-handed.
Accompanying him to this world was his golden finger—a magical book that existed only in his mind: the "Adventurer's Manual."
[Status Panel] [Monster Encyclopedia] [Map]
The appearance of this book in his mind greatly reassured Gauss, who had suddenly found himself in another world.
Na: Gauss
Strength: 5 (physical power, carrying capacity, explosive force, etc.)
Agility: 5 (body flexibility, dynamic coordination)
Constitution: 5 (endurance, physical fitness, wound recovery, cardiopulmonary tabolism)
Intelligence: 6 (mory, thinking, ntal power)
Perception: 5 (senses, intuition, judgnt)
Charisma: 5 (deanor, affinity, appearance)
Skills: None
The Status Panel page recorded his various attributes. Aside from Intelligence being 6, everything else was 5.
His physical condition was utterly average—5 points likely represented the standard for ordinary people.
Perhaps the 6 in Intelligence was related to his transmigration?
Shaking his head, Gauss turned his attention to the Monster Encyclopedia.
The Monster Encyclopedia categorized creatures by threat level: Common, Elite, Supernatural, Lord, Legendary, and ??.
Currently, he could only view the Common section. The following pages were firmly stuck together, impossible to open.
Even the Common section remained grayed out.
Clicking randomly on a darkened icon would prompt a ssage: "Target not yet slain. Corresponding entry cannot be unlocked."
"Note: Encyclopedia progress is tracked both per species and overall. Upon reaching specified kill counts, corresponding stage rewards can be claid."
It seed he needed to kill monsters first to fully unlock the Monster Encyclopedia and receive various stage rewards.
Gauss nodded thoughtfully.
Next, he examined the final tab—"Map."
Focusing on it, a map soon appeared in his mind.
The center likely represented his own location—a simple icon of a stone house.
"Na this building."
"Sophia's Inn," he silently recited. The building was promptly nad.
The illuminated area on the map was minimal, limited to his imdiate surroundings.
The rest was shrouded in fog. Intuitively, he felt this related to exploration progress.
Having not even left his room yet, he naturally couldn't gather information to fill out the map.
As he explored more of his surroundings, the map would presumably reveal more areas.
Having reviewed his golden finger's functions, Gauss felt much more settled.
Packing his belongings, he headed downstairs.
"Sophia, breakfast, please."
The first floor served as both dining area and front desk, with several round wooden tables standing empty.
This building, which he'd nad Sophia's Inn on his map, more closely resembled the youth hostels from his previous life—residential houses converted to accommodate rootless freelancers like himself.
Rental options included short-term and monthly.
A single room cost 2 copper coins per day, with a discounted monthly rate of 30 copper coins—far cheaper than taverns.
Additionally, for extra paynt, the proprietor Sophia provided als.
Breakfast cost 1 copper coin, while proper als like lunch and dinner were 2 copper coins each.
The food was cheap and filling, but one shouldn't expect anything beyond basic sustenance.
at was naturally absent. Black bread, homade pickles, wild vegetable soup, stewed beans, and oatal porridge comprised the regular nu.
"Coming," answered a buxom blonde woman erging from behind the front desk. She appeared around thirty, yet her looks weren't aged—instead exuding mature charm. "Sleep in today, little Gauss?"
"Yeah, couldn't sleep last night. Prey's getting noticeably scarcer," Gauss replied, taking a seat at an empty table.
"You still need your rest."
Soon, Sophia brought out reheated premade dishes.
Today's breakfast was black bread with vegetable stew.
The black bread on the plate had been sliced, appearing rock-hard.
Seeing Sophia return to the kitchen, Gauss picked up a slice and tapped it against the wooden plate—producing a crisp knocking sound.
Was this even edible?
He eyed the stone-like object suspiciously, spotting what seed like tiny wood splinters embedded within.
Whatever!
Following rembered thods, he dunked the black bread into the steaming vegetable stew.
After a while, the bread softened, soaking up broth until it looked marginally edible.
Scooping a piece with a wooden spoon, he ate it with so broth.
Chewing a few tis, he swallowed.
The food left a slimy, disgusting sensation in his throat, with slight scratchy discomfort.
Huh? This taste... this texture... truly awful.
Even ntally prepared, the reality was worse than expected.
Back in his previous life—even as an ordinary office worker—his daily als far surpassed this otherworldly subsistence fare.
Gauss numbly finished his first al in this new world.
Waving off Sophia's "Be careful out there," he stepped out, properly embarking on his otherworldly journey.
The rising sun had climbed to the mountain peaks in the distance.
Morning light spilled over Grayrock Town's slate roofs as this forest-edge settlent ca alive.
The streets bustled with people—rchants buying and selling, groups of adventurer-looking types, and most nurous of all, freelancers like his original self.
The original Gauss had been a half-baked hunter, surviving by setting traps in Erald Forest's outermost reaches.
Catching rabbits or pheasants earned 20 copper coins each, as at was relatively expensive for commoners here.
But hunting success depended on luck. With many hunters working the forest's fringes, resources were scarcer than one might think.
On good days, Gauss might bag three rabbits, earning 50-60 copper coins.
On bad streaks, he might go four or five days—or longer—without a catch.
Fortunately, after setting traps, he could forage for wild vegetables, fruits, and herbs on the return trip, ensuring he never went ho completely empty-handed.
Occasional odd jobs—buying village produce to resell in town—helped scrape together a living.
Having left ho a year ago, the original Gauss had saved a small sum through inherited trap-making skills and frugality.
3 silver coins and 65 copper coins.
His goal was buying a house in town—the cheapest costing over 90 silver coins, plus ongoing property taxes.
At this rate, without windfalls, he'd need thirty more years to afford one.
Though a frontier town, Grayrock's proximity to Erald Forest ant steady streams of adventurers and rchants, making property ownership difficult for commoners.
Precisely for this reason, the original Gauss—forced from ho—had dread of buying property here to prove his success to family.
"Pity. The money you saved over a year for a house—I'll be spending it today," Gauss murmured, shaking his head.
Today, he wasn't going hunting. Instead, he planned to slay a monster—to unlock the Monster Encyclopedia and see what rewards awaited.
Escaping his freelancer existence now hinged on this "Adventurer's Manual."
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