Let's Become Adventurers! (1)
Kim Chulsoo stood there in a stifling formal uniform, several maids hovering around him like decorations. “I’ll be going in now, Hero,” a voice called.
“Uh… yeah.”
Unlike the uniforms back home, this world’s fashion sense had dressed him up like some extravagant drama lead. Chulsoo loosened the button at his collar, clearly uncomfortable, as he greeted the Saintess.
“It suits you wonderfully, Hero.”
“You think? It’s itchy as hell…”
The fashion sense of this other world, so different from his own Neo Joseon, had turned Kim Chulsoo into something straight out of a historical TV show. The two were exchanging light, casual conversation when a servant entered and called for the Saintess.
“Saintess, it is time to prepare.”
“See you later, Hero.”
After that brief meeting with Ilusia, Chulsoo finished adjusting his ridiculous outfit. “Hmm… this’ll make a good memory. IA!”
Understood.
A hologram immediately popped up beside his shoulder, scanning him before snapping a photo.
Click.
“How’s it look?”
“It came out well.”
Right then the door opened and a knight who clearly held high rank stepped inside. “Hero, it is time to go.”
The knight, who had been listening to Chulsoo’s conversation with the strange spirit-like entity he’d never seen before, stood frozen in awe for a moment. He finally snapped out of it and led the way toward the audience chamber.
“Please enter.”
“Huh? Aren’t you coming in with me, Sir Knight?”
“No. Please go inside.”
Leaving the strangely cold knight behind, Chulsoo slowly passed through the grand doors of the audience chamber as they swung open.
The lavishly decorated hall had a pure white carpet laid out, embroidered with the imperial crest in glittering golden thread. At the far end sat the Emperor, distinguished by his white hair and magnificent beard, looking every bit the stern ruler. Beside him stood a princess with pink hair—the very image that screamed “this is another world.” On both sides, countless ministers stared at Kim Chulsoo as he entered.
Ugh… this is a little nerve-wracking.
Still, receiving this many stares was nothing new to Chulsoo. He walked across the chamber with confident, unhurried steps, refusing to be intimidated. Even so, he couldn’t completely ignore the princess—the Empire’s greatest treasure—whose gaze held a magnetic pull that drew the eyes of men and women alike, especially someone like him who had survived countless battles.
His eyes flicked toward her for a brief second before he quickly looked away, focusing on the Emperor.
“Your Majesty, the Sun of the Empire—”
“That’s quite enough. Please rise, Hero.”
Chulsoo had knelt on one knee while reciting the line they’d forced him to memorize, but the Emperor stopped him immediately.
“A Hero summoned from another world need not be bound by our customs.”
“…Thank you.”
The Emperor savored the moment. He would go down in the Empire’s long history as the first—and likely only—emperor to witness the summoning of two otherworldly Heroes. He continued speaking.
“Right now, great chaos is descending upon the Empire, the continent, and the entire world.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Chulsoo bowed slightly, listening attentively.
“The broken cycle of Hero summonings is an unprecedented event with no precedent in our Empire’s history.”
“Hmm… is it really that serious?”
Chulsoo still couldn’t wrap his head around how a sudden divine oracle calling for a Hero could cause such a huge stir.
“Of course. Heroes were only ever summoned during moments of extreme crisis. If they are being called this frequently, it means the safety of the Empire and the entire continent is at risk.”
“Ah… I think I get the general idea.”
“Hah…!”
“Such insolence…!”
“You wretch! You don’t even know what you should and shouldn’t say!”
The moment Chulsoo stroked his chin and gave a casual reply, the entire chamber erupted.
“Enough, enough. This Hero is overflowing with confidence. I quite like it.”
The Emperor calmed the noisy ministers and finally got to the main point.
“Hero, this is undoubtedly an emergency like none before.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
“Normally, you would embark on the Hero’s Journey and naturally meet your companions along the way… but given the unusual circumstances, we have gathered suitable companions for you from each continent.”
As soon as the Emperor finished speaking, the doors opened again and the sound of four sets of footsteps echoed through the hall. Chulsoo turned around immediately. There stood four women, Ilusia among them, walking toward him.
“Allow me to introduce them in order. First, the Saintess of this generation, Ilusia.”
“Isn’t the Saintess always the Hero’s first companion? I look forward to working with you.”
Ilusia gave him a playful smile that only he could see.
“Next, the forest keeper from the Southern Continent, Albe Machu.”
A blonde, blue-eyed figure wearing what looked like a vest woven from leaves reinforced with leather armor—the very picture of an elf—looked at Chulsoo and spoke.
“Elf. Forest keeper. Albe Machu.”
“Uh… yeah, nice to meet you…”
“From the Eastern Continent, Ah-chung of the Mount Hua Sect.”
The woman in red martial robes swept her long ponytail aside, took a formal fist-in-palm stance, and greeted him.
“First disciple of the Mount Hua Sect, Ah-chung. It is an honor.”
“Mount Hua Sect? No idea what that is, but looking forward to it.”
“And finally, Nera from the Magic Tower of the Northern Continent.”
“H-hello… n-nice to meet you…”
The young girl wearing a comically large pointed hat clutched the hem of her robe tightly as she barely managed to finish her greeting.
“Hey, nice to meet you too. Let’s get along from now on.”
“Th-thank you…”
Seeing that Chulsoo had finished greeting his new companions, the Emperor cleared his throat to regain attention.
“Ahem. It seems you’ve already formed good relationships with your companions. An auspicious start.”
“Your Majesty, what should we do now?”
“The Saintess will explain everything. With that, let us begin the Hero’s departure ceremony.”
As soon as the Emperor spoke, servants bustled about, guiding Chulsoo and his party outside.
“Hmm… I apologize. The wounds from the previous Hero’s Journey have not yet fully healed, so we cannot give you a grand send-off.”
“It’s fine. This is more than enough.”
Chulsoo and his companions walked through the imperial gardens toward the palace gates, surrounded by countless knights and ministers alongside the Emperor. When they reached the end of the path, the Emperor gave his final words of farewell.
“Given your status and the many eyes and ears within the imperial family, we cannot control everything perfectly… but we will do our utmost to keep the fact that a new Hero has been summoned as quiet as possible.”
“Thank you, Your Majesty.”
Even during all this, Chulsoo’s eyes kept darting toward the princess. She simply kept her gaze lowered, saying nothing.
“Hmm… Hero, what do you plan to do once this journey ends?”
“Not sure…? I haven’t really thought about it.”
“You must have heard that when a Hero’s journey ends, the Goddess grants one wish.”
“Yes. The previous Hero wished to return home…”
“Do you also wish to return to your homeland?”
The Emperor asked with a subtle expectation that he would choose to stay.
“Home… there’s no place for me there anymore…”
“Oh? Then you mean to remain here?”
“Probably… that’s what it’ll come down to.”
“Haha, excellent! The princess has been so picky that I’ve been worrying about an heir, but this solves everything!”
“…Pardon?”
The moment the words “princess” and “heir” left the Emperor’s mouth, the princess flinched visibly.
“If you return alive, how would you feel about marrying the princess?”
“Father, I—”
“Princess, is he not a fine husband? Historically, many of our ancestors were connected to Heroes! What do you say, Hero?”
“Uh… well…”
The princess, who had stayed silent the entire time, finally opened her mouth when the conversation turned to her, but the Emperor shut her down instantly. Chulsoo hesitated but didn’t outright refuse.
“Then it’s settled! When you return, I shall give you the princess!”
“Father—!”
“Enough! The decision is made.”
The Emperor had clearly read Chulsoo’s attitude and laughed heartily as he announced the engagement on the spot.
“How wonderful, isn’t it? Being engaged to Her Highness the Princess?”
“Marriage confirmed.”
“Looks like you’ve got yourself a partner now.”
“Y-you’re… very popular…”
“No, that’s not—His Majesty just decided on his own—”
The four women stared at him with icy eyes. Chulsoo had no choice but to shut his mouth.
And so, from the very beginning of his journey, Kim Chulsoo set off under the cold gazes of his four new companions.
“So… where exactly are we headed right now?”
Chulsoo barely managed to change the subject and asked about their future plans.
“The Hero’s Journey always begins at the Adventurers’ Guild. We’ll register there first and then take on quests.”
“Adventurers’ Guild? Quests? It really is just like the otherworld tropes.”
“Let’s hurry. We have a long way to go.”
“R-right!”
“I heard bandit groups have been running wild lately. Perfect for some practice.”
“Huuuaaaam… slept like a log…”
The day after the bandit stronghold collapsed, Lev and I woke up in the middle of the forest.
“If you’re awake, prepare quickly. We have a long road ahead today.”
Lev had woken up before me. She was already fully dressed, wrapping bandages around her exposed skin.
“Got it… but there’s nothing really to prepare…”
My only luggage was Momo and the hilt of Gildred’s sword. Traveling light like this was perfectly fine.
“Today we head to the city first and stop by the Adventurers’ Guild.”
“The city? Adventurers’ Guild?”
“Yes. It’s the city I was originally heading toward before those bandit bastards caught me.”
“Right. But why did they catch you? You know martial arts, don’t you?”
Lev was a candidate for the Demon King’s successor. Even if she was nearly at the bottom of the list, she shouldn’t have been weaker than some bandits… so why had she been locked up in their prison?
“…I lost.”
“You lost?”
“Yes. The bastards cowardly overwhelmed me with numbers.”
“…How many were there?”
“……Three.”
Lev hung her head in shame, and I decided not to ask any more questions. We silently packed up our campsite.
We walked. And walked. And kept walking.
“Uwaaaaaaaaah! When the hell is this city going to show up!”
Exhausted by the endless sea of trees, I clutched my head and shouted.
“It is only natural for a bandit stronghold to be located far from the city in a remote area. Stop complaining.”
“Even so! We’ve been walking for hours! Why does the scenery look exactly the same as when we started!”
Trees over there, trees here, trees in the distance, trees right in front of my face!
“I think I’m going to lose my mind…”
“Sigh. Then let’s rest for a bit.”
I sat down on a conveniently broken tree stump. My starving stomach immediately let out a monstrous growl.
“Ah… I’m so hungry…”
“It is about time for lunch.”
Lev rummaged through her bag and pulled out something wrapped in paper.
“A bag? You had one of those?”
“It was prepared by the female boss. It was hanging at one of the escape routes, so I grabbed it on the way out.”
Did she have something like that…? I must have missed it while focusing entirely on escaping.
What was wrapped in the paper turned out to be a fish that didn’t look like it had been caught very long ago.
“Fish? Isn’t that spoiled?”
If it was food prepared by the boss in advance, unless it was preserved rations it should have gone bad by now…?
“This is fish I stole from the stronghold’s storage. I couldn’t take much, but this will be enough for us.”
Lev naturally started a campfire, picked up a suitable branch, and began roasting the fish.
“Ooooooh! This is straight out of my fantasies!”
A fish skewered on a stick and roasted over a fire—just like in every fantasy story! I’d always wanted to try it!
“Don’t get your hopes up. We’re eating for survival, not taste.”
“Still! Right now anything would taste amazing!”
Of course the food of this world wouldn’t suit the palate of a modern person like me, but with my stomach rumbling like this, even rocks would probably taste good.
While we waited for the fish to cook, we heard rustling sounds coming from the surrounding bushes.
“Huh? What’s that noise?”
“Probably a wild animal… it must have smelled the fish. I’ll scare it off.”
Lev picked up a stone from nearby and threw it hard toward the source of the sound.
“Is that okay? What if it gets angry and attacks instead?”
“Wolves or wild dogs are easy enough to handle.”
“Whoa…! Weak against three bandits but strong against wolves!”
“Grrrr! Stop teasing me!”
But the owner of the sound was neither a wolf nor a wild dog.
“Grrrrr—”
A massive body, brown fur, and black eyes staring at us. The creature’s identity was a honey-loving, supposedly cute animal—a bear.
“A bear?”
“You’ve got to be kidding me…!”
Lev looked extremely flustered. On the other hand, I remained calm.
“Hah! I actually know how to survive a bear encounter! Leave this to me!”
Luckily, I still remembered the survival manga I’d read as a kid that taught you how to live anywhere.
Thank you, Mom!
“First, avoid provoking the bear. Stand up slowly while facing it—”
“ROOOOOOAAAAAR!!!!!”
But the bear ignored my expectations and charged straight at us.
“Run for it!!!!!”
At Lev’s desperate shout, we sprinted away without looking back.
“Uwaaaaah! What the hell? Why is it attacking all of a sudden!”
“Bears are naturally aggressive! Running away is the best option!”
Was this world’s bears just built different…?
“ROOOOOOAAAAAR!!!!!”
The bear charged right past the campfire where the fish was cooking and kept chasing us.
“The fish is right there! Why is it still chasing us!”
“Eeeeiii!”
Lev threw the bag containing our food. Only then did we feel the bear’s speed slow down slightly.
“Don’t stop running! We’re heading straight to the city like this!”
“If I run like this I’m going to die!!!!!”
We ran for a long time without even getting to eat.