Hearing what Yecheng said, Yousuke's eyes lit up instantly. He looked at Yecheng like he had found a kindred spirit and said excitedly, "Exactly! Just like Guardian Hero, the protagonist slowly grows stronger and eventually becomes a hero."
"You know it too, right? That super famous game from SEGA. You must've played it!"
"Ah… I think I've heard of it…" Yecheng replied awkwardly, watching as Yousuke suddenly got all fired up. Once they arrived in the city, Yecheng already planned to go his own way.
He didn't know how many otherworlders existed in this world, but judging by typical tropes, Yousuke might be this world's "chosen one."
But as far as he could tell, Yousuke's combat power was… pretty miserable.
If he had to wait until the guy got strong enough to shake the world, it might take an eternity.
At this point, Yecheng had no clue whether this world was connected to the one he came from, or if it was even possible to return. And if he did return—would there still be a version of himself in the Soul Society? He didn't know anything for sure.
When Yecheng suggested they part ways, Yousuke didn't argue. As a game enthusiast, he understood that when the power gap between teammates was too wide, teaming up would be more of a burden than a help.
Apparently, Yousuke still saw this world as some sort of game and hadn't realized the importance of latching onto a "strong ally."
To prevent the "protagonist" from dying early due to how weak he was, Yecheng did give Yousuke a couple of pieces of advice:
First, he told him to find something to cover his appearance. While Yousuke's looks weren't exactly ugly, they were extremely plain. And in a world where everyone was basically a model, his average face made him look like a beastman.
The second piece of advice was about his cheat skill, "Universal Persuader."
Since this power let him communicate with all living beings in this world, perhaps it wasn't limited to just visible creatures? Maybe, if he explored it properly, some unexpected abilities would emerge.
With that, Yecheng left. It wasn't just that he didn't want to babysit Yousuke—he himself was still totally lost in this world.
Fortunately, Yecheng could understand the local language, sparing him the embarrassment Yousuke had faced earlier with the adventurers.
As for how to gather information, Yecheng headed straight for the local Adventurers' Guild.
In a fantasy world of swords and magic, adventurers were a staple. Naturally, where there are adventurers, there are adventurer guilds.
Thanks to his good looks and smooth talking, Yecheng quickly found the guild and, as a "newbie adventurer," easily charmed the receptionist with just a few words.
This world was called Gran Bahamar, and while it mostly resembled Earth with human inhabitants, it also had elves and other races. People here were generally good-looking—even the common villagers were attractive—which explained why Yousuke was mistaken for a beastman.
The currency consisted of three types: copper, silver, and gold. One copper coin equaled 10 sen (or 0.1 yen), and the exchange rate between each tier was 1 to 10,000.
Yecheng also learned that this world currently had no Demon King. So the final boss wouldn't be some cliché demon lord, but something—or someone—else entirely.
As for gods and such, the receptionist girl didn't know much—she was just a clerk, after all.
One thing did please Yecheng, though: in this world, anyone could use magic as long as they had the knowledge and skills.
Magic power wasn't something you had to be born with—it could be trained and developed. There were also "spell tags" used to seal magic for single-use casting and to shorten incantation time.
"Yecheng, here's your Adventurer ID. Be sure to keep it safe. You can get a replacement if you lose it, but the paperwork is a real pain."
"Since you just registered, you're currently an E-rank adventurer. Want me to find you some low-risk E-rank jobs?"
Turns out, good looks really can be a meal ticket. Yecheng never believed it before, but now he had to admit—living off charm wasn't just real, it was kind of nice.
"Miss Soya, it's true that I'm newly registered, but please don't underestimate me. I do have real combat skills—I just never signed up as an adventurer before."
"So could I trouble you to use your authority to assign me some higher-level tasks?"
According to guild rules, adventurers can only accept quests that match their rank. That was partly for the employer's safety, but also to protect the adventurers themselves.
After all, taking on missions beyond your capability usually meant death.
"It's not that I don't want to help you—it's just too dangerous.
Over the years, I've seen many newbies like you. They all said things like they were excellent hunters before, or had natural talent. Then they insisted on taking harder missions.
But sadly, things never ended well. Some were killed by monsters. Others survived, but were left with lifelong injuries.
Yecheng, the world out there is more dangerous than you think. The monsters are far stronger than they look. So please, let's take things one step at a time, okay?"
Yecheng sighed heavily. It wasn't that he was desperate to level up quickly—he was just running out of money fast. If he didn't find some income soon, he might be sleeping on the streets.
Both he and Yousuke were tossed into this world empty-handed. Neither had any local currency. The adventurers they ran into earlier were broke too. That so-called "compensation" they offered? Just a sack of copper coins.
At the time, Yecheng thought he'd struck gold.
In the end, he split that sack with Yousuke. After registering at the Adventurers' Guild and paying the registration fee, he was left with only a few coins.
With each copper coin worth only 0.1 yen, Yecheng figured the change left in his hand wasn't even enough to buy the cheapest loaf of bread...