Ganersam Volume 1

We made our way back toward the guild.

Our teacher still had a smile on his face.

Well, I guess it’s not every day you see a beast like that wyvern go down.

I glanced back at Emma, she seemed to be in a far better mood now. It was probably because she had a role in this battle.

“Still, to think we would run into a wyvern. I’ll post a report to the guild. Also, Emma, I’m really surprised you have such a powerful shield. Most adventurers would fall to a direct wyvern attack like that, even with shields. Your shield is even stronger compared to the defense of some Amnesia Clansmen.”

It seems that our teacher still thought Emma was a normal girl. Well, that kinda depends on what Amnesia Clansmen actually means though. Do you decide whether someone is a member or not from their stats, or from the fact that they have ‘no memories’, or maybe both?

“Why do the Gods buff our powers so much?”

I whispered a question to Emma.

“Most people aren’t used to such dangers. Especially since those who come here are mostly unsatisfied with their previous life. If we send people like that here, they’ll just die on the first day, that’s why we buff your powers.”

If Gods are capable of doing that, then why didn’t they just come here?

I mean, leaving Earth for a while won’t be that bad, right?

It’s not like they never came here anyway.

“Are you saying that I’m unsatisfied with my life?”

“Yes, aren’t you regretting your life when you die? Don’t be a tsundere, just admit it.”

Well, I guess to some extent she was right.

We soon arrived back at the guild. After parting ways with our teacher, we went to the quest board. It’s still pretty early, so we decided to try a simple quest.

Confident with my abilities, I scanned the board for a low-difficulty quest that I could probably take. Thanks to Emma’s shield, accidentally running into a high-level enemy won’t mean instant death, although we still need to be careful, especially since that wyvern isn’t supposed to be here.

“Let’s try this gathering quest.”

Emma points towards a quest hidden in the top left of the board.

“A bouncing watermelon quest?”

That’s what the text says. The quest has a picture of what looks like a normal watermelon, although I really doubt it’s a normal watermelon. There’s the word ‘bouncing’ on its name.

I took the paper off and went to the guild lady.

“Oh, interested in your first quest, William? Gathering quests are great for new adventurers, as they don’t require great skill to complete.”

The name “bouncing watermelon” is really suspicious though.

“Are there any penalties if we fail?”

“That depends on the type of the quest. Gathering quests have none, as long as the item is delivered in good condition.”

“Then what if the item isn’t delivered in good condition?”

“You won’t get paid. Also, please note that quests have what is called a quest delay time, meaning that other parties won’t be able to accept the quest until a certain time has passed. In this case, the quest won’t be available up until 2 hours from your departure. The less time you have, the bigger the rewards.”

“What will happen after those 2 hours have passed?”

“Other adventurers would be able to pick up the same quest. Usually, gathering quests are the ones with the least time frame, that’s because the item is often needed for medical reasons. Subjugation quests often have a longer time frame, sometimes extending to more than 20 hours, but sometimes, they’re also the ones with the least amount of time, going as low as 5 minutes.”

“I see.”

I looked at Emma and she nodded.

Well, that means we have nothing to lose, right?

The Guild lady then gave us a brown basket.

“This is a magic basket. As long as it’s empty, it would shrink into pocket size, for better storage. It can’t shrink if you have something inside, though. Also, it had a magic lock to prevent stuff from spilling out.”

“Alright.”

Upon receiving the basket, the guild lady spelled some weird words. The basket then shrank.

“Just say those words again, and the basket will return to normal.”

“Thank you.”

I said as I put the basket into my pocket.

“Good luck.”

The guild lady waved to us. We then left the guild.

Our destination is the plains south of Alpha, near the road where we woke up.

There was a group of adventurers heading out with a carriage for a neighboring country. They offered us a free ride.

It’s a wooden carriage with an open back, being towed by two horses.

“Thank you for the ride, we appreciated it.”

“Ah, no problem. It’s unfortunate we couldn’t afford one of those faster ones, though.”

“Ah, it’s fine. We’re not in a rush.”

Faster ones? How fast are the horses here?

Do they mean the horseless magic ones?

After a while, we arrived at the location. It’s a wide empty plain, with some trees in the distance. I checked the map, that’s our destination.

We thanked the other adventurers and got off.

“How old are you?”

I tried to start a conversation as we walked toward the trees.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Just trying to start a conversation.”

“As expected from someone who shuts himself in all the time. Your social skills are terrible.”

It’s not that bad! I talk with some other people online too.

“But... in case you’re actually interested... Angels don’t age, we’re eternal, just like our Masters. However, since I’m here as a human, that means my age counts ever since I arrived, which means I’m two days old.”

“You are a tsundere, aren’t you?”

“How did it get to that!?”

Pretending to not want to answer a question just to answer said question anyway. Honestly, though, girls are so confusing.

I ignored the grumbling Emma and fixed my gaze on a group of green balls in the distance.

“Are those the watermelons?”

“I think so.”

We approached our targets. We were asked to collect five of them. There are more than enough around here.

The watermelon looked very similar to watermelon back on earth, with the only difference being these ones are a bit rounder and smaller.

“Alright, let’s just grab them and-”

The second I touched the watermelon, it immediately bounced away at great speed.

Bouncing watermelon...

“Ground Lock!”

I sent a spell towards the fleeing watermelon. The ground spike went up and hit the watermelon, turning it into watermelon juice.

“Maybe we should avoid using magic on them...”

Emma slowly said.

“After them!”

Emma and I ran through the field, trying to grab any watermelon we could. The second we touch them, the watermelon would bounce away, like a ball full of air. Their surface is also a bit slippery, making grabbing them a hard task.

“Got one!”

I managed to grab one. I opened the basket and put that one in.

Now I understand why we need to use the basket.

We continued running around, with desperate attempts to grab any watermelon that got remotely close to us.

Holding the basket slows me down, making it a lot harder to hold on to the watermelons.

“Willy, the basket!”

Emma yelled from the other side of the field, exhausted. Yeah, I should probably leave the basket to her. I approached her and threw her the basket, before going back to chasing the other watermelons.

At the end of the day, we only got three.

Feeling exhausted and defeated, we walked back to the city. Guess being buffed doesn’t mean everything’s going to be easy. I wonder if the Gods buff those watermelons out of spite for humans.

It was dark when we arrived. The city lights were on, and it gives a romantic feeling. The air was cold and refreshing. There were not many people on the streets.

“Three bouncing watermelons. Unfortunately, this isn’t enough to complete the quest. We will still reward you though.”

The guild lady gave us a wry smile. She probably realized just how exhausted we are.

We received some payment. Not the full reward, but that’s better than none, I guess. The payment goes directly into my adventurer card, and I could use my card to buy stuff. For non-adventurers, cash is also an option.

“Are all watermelons like that?”

I asked the guild lady as I checked my card.

“No. Bouncing watermelons have strong healing properties, notably for sore throats. Like what you experienced first hand, they’re a lot harder to catch, making them expensive. There are normal watermelons too.”

I didn’t expect someone to describe a fruit as ‘hard to catch’. This really is a different world, huh.

I let out a sigh of relief. Well... at the very least, not all fruits and vegetables are weird here.

After receiving the money, we then returned to our room.

“That’s one exhausting side quest.”

Side quests are supposed to be easy quests you do to increase your level and gain money, but chasing down watermelons is somehow more tiring than running from a wyvern.

We decided to turn in early that night.

The next day, as if we stumble onto a scripted story quest, we find ourselves in front of Alpha’s library.

We were asked to deliver a package to the library. The library looked like a large house. Its wall is colored gray, with two windows on each side of the entrance. Two large doors serve as the entrance, similar to the one back in the guild. We pushed the wooden doors.

“Wow...”

We let out a gasp after entering the building. It’s huge. The building isn’t wide, but it sure is long. We can’t see the other end from our point of standing, granted that a row of bookshelves covered the other end.

It had three floors, two floors above ground, with one basement, all filled with bookshelves.

I’ve never seen a library like this... well, I had never even been to a library.

I made my way to the front desk.

“Excuse me, I’m from the adventurers guild.”

“Ah, I see. Do you have the item on you?”

“Yes.”

I gave the librarian the package. The librarian closely inspects it, before nodding to herself.

“I will check the item more thoroughly later. Once I confirm the package is safe, I’ll inform the guild.”

“I’m curious, though. Why didn’t you just send someone to grab the package for you?”

“We thought it would be of help to new adventurers if they were the ones sent to deliver them since they’ll get experience doing quests and also get decent rewards.”

That’s pretty understanding of them.

“I see. Anyway, I’ll be leaving now. Emma...”

I looked around for her, but Emma was nowhere to be seen.

“Are you looking for your companion? She went deeper into the library a while ago.”

The librarian said while pointing toward the row of books. The first dungeon I went into is... this library?

I’m not exaggerating when I say this library is like a dungeon. The only straightforward part is its entrance. Going deeper I was met with rows and rows of bookshelves.

Getting lost here would be a nightmare.

I wouldn’t be surprised if there is a light novel discussing this theme.

‘I left my companion and got lost alone in a scary library’

That sounds like a title that would grab people’s attention. Although in that case, Emma would be the main character, not me.

I walked around while thinking about the plot of this light novel. After a while, I finally found Emma near one of the bookshelves located in the rear of the library, a colorful book in hand.

“Hey, let’s go back.”

“Just leave me.”

...

“Are you angry at me?”

Hearing my words, she looked at me, puzzled.

“What do you mean? I’m saying you should go back first, I’m reading.”

Oh, if that is what you meant, don’t say it like that.

“What are you reading?”

"I was on a mission with my future husband when we got stuck in this scary library.That’s the title.”

... This isn’t some kind of weird foreshadowing... right?