"Rachel, do you happen to know of a way I could make money?"
Aria's two wolf ears twitched as she looked out the window.
She's been having these thoughts for a bit since she woke up…
She has got nowhere to go.
Although it might be a bit obvious to others, she still hasn't adapted to a life in the medieval time just yet.
Perhaps if she were transported to a world of the same level of technology, she wouldn't have been so helpless.
For example, in the modern world, she could've just rented a room somewhere, perhaps even a homestay if she were richer.
Aria did not, in fact, learn anything about the medieval period.
Due to that, the limitation of her knowledge had led her to a disadvantage in these old days where modern solutions are not viable.
Modern problems require modern solutions, which means medieval problems require medieval solutions?
What would be the best way to learn the ways of the medievals? Ask a person from the medieval!
Also… didn't she lose everything Rachel had given to her before she left?
The money, the clothes and even the foods, she had lost them all through her encounter with a certain shining-giant-lizard.
She still finds herself gritting her teeth anytime she remembers that moment, even if it was just a few hours back.
Unbeknownst to Aria, her tail had expressed all these feelings clearly in the form of her tail making random shapes at an irregular interval.
Meanwhile, a certain hiding-her-identity Saintess was watching everything on display.
At one moment, the fluffy blue tail would stiffen up, making it look possible to hold as a staff, while other times it would become flaccid, as if losing all its vigor.
If she were to mention any of these things, would Aria be mad?
"Would you like a job to make some quick money, or a full-time job you can work your whole life for?"
"Well, quick bucks, obviously. Do I look like someone who would work in the office?"
"Some office jobs give out around 120 gold coins annually. It only makes sense since they are the one shaping up this empire's economy."
"Even so, I'm not even the type of person to sit down all day, you know? If possible, I'd like to move my body around more!"
"A full job doesn't only cover office work. You can also be a knight, a professor or even an accountant. Since this empire hasn't been anchored for long, there are many occupations free of workers and are hiring even as we speak."
"Too long, didn't process. What you're trying to say is something along the lines of "New government, no labor", is it?"
"If what you meant by 'government' is feudalism, you are right."
"..."
"Anything else you'd like to know about?"
"...What about the quick side hustle? How much could that bring?"
"Ah, my apologies. I've forgotten to tell you about the newest occupation that has been popularized."
"Miss Nun, please answer my question."
"You could sign up to become an adventurer at the adventurer's guild. Or, you could become a saleswoman by signing up at the merchant's guild."
"..."
Aria's pupils meet closed eyelids.
Did this nun just seriously ignore her?
Eh, whatever. Not like she would hold it against her.
In any case, her words did catch her attention.
With whatever little information she knew about the medieval period, she had rarely heard of the occupation 'Adventurer'.
From the name alone, she could make out that it had something to do with, as you've guessed it, adventuring.
Perhaps exploring places none others had explored before? Filling up maps with landmarks for the others in the future?
A sudden buzzing sound entered her ears. Without a moment to react, a blue panel flickered into existence midair.
[⬛ ⬛]
…?
What?
[⬛ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛ ⬛]
Some mysterious board had appeared out of thin air. Moreover, it….
No wait, something's weird.
Aria watched through the translucent panel, as the nun that had 'excitedly' explained about real-life labor turns grey.
It's not just her, everything had turned gray.
The people walking through the back alley, the clouds surfing through the air and even the light covering all aforementioned.
It's as if everything has lost its color. Even though the main colors are gone, the contrast still exists.
After all, if grey was all that she could see, doesn't that mean she couldn't see anything?
The environment would blend into the objects, effectively making everything the same color.
Trying to make sense of everything, her eyes inevitably returned to the object that had been the catalyst.
It seemed to be spelling something but was censored in the form of black squares.
But after a while of this happening, finally a panel filled with comprehensible words popped up.
[Extraction Successful. Please report to the Administrator to receive the benefits.]
What.
Even after waiting for a couple more minutes, there was nothing else being shown, just the exact same panel with the exact same words written on it.
What could this mean?
After waiting for a little bit more time, she figured that nothing else was gonna happen unless she interacted with this… occurrence, let's just call it that for now.
In any case, this was the first time in both of her lives where something like this had happened.
If she were to compare, it looks similar to a certain old vampire's domain expansion.
Could she interact with the frozen objects?
She could, but they wouldn't budge from their original placement.
What about sentient beings?
There's only one person here other than her, and she is not compelled to try anything funny.
Besides, touching someone else without consent was already bad enough on its own, moreover while they were not conscious.
Meanwhile, the panel was still floating in front of her, as if begging her to give it some attention.
Treating it like a normal person would treat a mobile device, she tapped the surface of the blue panel.
Immediately after, the panel became glitchy for a millisecond before new sentences formed.
[The subject '⬛' has successfully survived the ordeal. Please report to the Administrator to collect the reward.]
[The subject '⬛' has successfully escaped death. Please report to the Administrator to collect the reward.]
[The subject '⬛' has successfully agitated [The Bringer of Destruction]. [The Bringer of Destruction] is keeping an eye on subject '⬛'.]
[The subject's progress towards the 'end' had risen by 0.4%, Please work harder!]
Aria was speechless.
The stacking panels had taken over her entire peripherals, causing her eyes to ache a little bit.
Although, just as she was about to process everything written down, they all disappeared, leaving a single announcement.
[Progress: 0.41%]
Aria pressed her temple in confusion.
This… is probably not a normal occurrence in this world, right?
Should she ask Rachel about this too?
Ugh, the longer she stays here the more questions formed in her head.
To prevent such a thing, she pressed the panel one more time.
Following her action, everything returned back to what it previously was before the panel appeared.
The 'occurrence' was now nowhere to be seen.
'That was so random…'
But 0.41%, was it?
Such a low number. Does it have something to do with her situation?
What would happen if she turned it into 100%?
Would she be granted one wish?
Would the world be destroyed?
Would she suddenly get an achievement named [Perfectionist]?
Ahhh, she suddenly has a feeling that those first few panels that immediately disappeared played an important role in telling her what to do…!
"Is there confusion?"
She was brought out of her stupor by a callout.
Aria realized that she had been staring at the nun for a while now.
She shyly averted her gaze, even though she knew the nun's 'sight' was a bit different than regular people.
"Nope, none at all. I think I'd like to become an adventurer. I might not look like it, but I am extremely durable and always energetic."
I mean, how hard could walking around in the forest be?
—
"Oh my goddddd!!"
"It appears you are not ready to walk the path of an adventurer."
"No shit, Sherlock! Also, can't you run by yourselves?! My hands are becoming numb here!"
"That won't do, I would immediately trip on a rock if I were to run on such unstable terrains."
A day had passed by since the first time 'occurrence' appeared.
Currently, Aria and Rachel had wandered into the forest to 'test the water', or so a certain nun had proposed.
Thankfully they did since Aria had apparently forgotten everything she had gone through since the moment she got dropped in this world.
Chased by goblins, thrown by a druid and meeting Tiamat themselves…
As she started running, she seemed to finally remember everything.
"This world is fucked up!!!"
And the world heard the lament of a transmigrator for the first time that day.