Chapter 1
ㄴ[Which Earth number did this bastard come from again..]
After reading the last comment, I looked down at the monster collapsed before me.
Orc.
It was a type of monster that didn't exist in the Tower back home.
So I had to make absolutely sure.
If it only looked different but was actually human, killing it would leave me no way to undo it.
Fortunately, the Gallery's answer was clear.
Monster.
‘Then there’s no need to send it back alive.’
If I left it there, it would get back up perfectly fine and attack someone again.
If that was the case, there was no reason to hesitate.
Before the buff I'd cast wore off, I picked up the orc's weapon from the ground.
I didn't know whether it had been looted, but unlike its crude leather clothes, the mace looked quite decent.
I gripped the mace with both hands and swung it at the orc's temple.
Thwack!
The heavy sensation of striking thick flesh and bone traveled up my wrist.
It had been quite a while since I'd felt that satisfying impact.
But one blow wasn't enough.
Thwack!
The orc's body jerked violently at the second strike.
I set down the mace and placed a hand on its neck.
There was no pulse.
This time, I put my fingers beneath its nose.
It wasn't breathing, either.
Finally, I opened its eyelids and checked its eyes.
There was no pupillary reflex, either.
“It's definitely dead.”
Once I realized I'd killed it, a slight unease came over me.
This wasn't my first time killing something, but it was the first time I'd killed something that resembled a human.
The monsters that appeared in the Tower took monstrous forms in the literal sense, so killing them was nothing unusual.
‘More importantly.’
I shifted my gaze to the Gallery window floating before me.
What opened again wasn't the question post I'd written, but the Gallery's notice.
[Isekai Gallery General Notice]
1. No cases of anyone returning have currently been confirmed.
Anyone caught scamming or lying about returning will receive a 1-year ban for the first offense and a permanent ban for the second.
I checked the notice again just in case, but there was nothing I'd misread or overlooked.
It seemed safe to assume that, at least for now, there was no way for me to return.
“This is troublesome.”
As recently as last night, I'd fallen asleep at my private clinic.
There was an expedition party scheduled early that morning, and I still had paperwork to deal with.
With me—the owner and only healer—having vanished in the middle of all that, the place must have descended into chaos.
It would be a lie to say I wasn't frustrated.
But sitting down in the middle of a forest and worrying wouldn't solve anything.
‘Set aside what I can't do and start with the problems I can solve right now.’
Returning wasn't something I could solve immediately.
On the other hand, ensuring my immediate survival was up to me.
“I need to settle down first.”
The three things essential to human survival and maintaining a basic lifestyle were commonly referred to together as food, clothing, and shelter.
Right now, I needed food, clothing, and shelter.
I could look for a way home after that.
And even if I didn't, the people on the Gallery would keep looking for a way.
I opened the common-knowledge section of the Newbie Must-Reads on the Gallery's notice board.
[Basic Doctrines of Each Religion for Avoiding Witch Hunts]
[A Compilation of the Continent's Map (Continuously Updated)]
[How to Check Your Location on the Map]
[A Compilation of Commonly Found Herbs Nearby.]
A quick scan revealed plenty of useful tips.
After quickly reading the information I needed, I moved on to the map-related post that had been mentioned.
Title : How to Check Your Location on the Map
1. Click your username
2. Check the coordinates showing your current location
3. Open the map compilation post
4. Find your location on the map using the coordinates
5. Done.
See the link below for information on map reading.
※주의)It's also mentioned in the map post, but don't ever copy the map by hand.
If you get caught, you'll be executed.
I'm not lying; this is for real;;
Fortunately, I knew how to read a map.
“The nearest city from here is a place called Millers.”
I got a general sense of the direction, but I didn't move right away.
Even if I reached it, I had no currency, so aside from begging, there wouldn't be anything I could do.
So first, I had to find something here that could earn me money.
‘I don't know what might be worth money, but the Gallery will know.’
Title : Does Anyone Know of Anything in the Forest That Can Make Money?
Author :ㅇㅇ(123.123)
I used the map post in the notice board to determine my approximate location and the nearest city, but since I have no money, I plan to find something valuable to sell first.
I'd appreciate any help.
[What the hell, this guy's already adapting]
ㄴ[For real, normally they spend a few days sleeping rough after their mental state breaks down]
[Didn't you say you took down an orc? Pull out its tusks, and if it has a weapon, take that and sell it too. The hide is worth money if you skin it, but don't bother if you can't. The tusks are petty cash, but iron weapons are pretty expensive, so selling one should help.]
ㄴ[Thank you.]
The money had been right there all along.
Though it was a monster, I had experience processing monster by-products, so handling the orc wasn't difficult.
I twisted out its protruding tusks, wiped the orc blood from the mace with its hide, and tied the mace around my waist.
I would have liked to take the hide too, but I had no useful blade, so I couldn't.
Still, this was enough for the moment.
The problem was getting to the city.
‘It's far.’
The city was a very long distance away.
And since I was in the middle of a forest, even reaching a place with a road would be a chore.
‘Even if I have to take a slight detour, it would be better to find a road first.’
Walking through a forest consumed more than twice the stamina and time of walking across open ground.
Even if it meant taking a slight detour, following a road was better than walking through the forest for too long.
I walked southeast for about twenty minutes.
At last, I left the forest and spotted a road where people and horses passed by.
[Continent Common Knowledge]
[Doctrines of the 12 Religions]
[A viscount is not above a baron. A guide to the noble hierarchy.]
After that, I simply followed the road while reading through the Gallery's common-knowledge posts.
Around the time the sun began to sink westward, gray walls appeared in the distance.
Beneath them, I could see a soldier yawning broadly, perhaps bored with his duty.
“Stop.”
The person who stopped me as I approached the city gate was the soldier who had been yawning moments earlier.
The soldier seemed suspicious of the mace hanging from my waist and my modern clothes, and stared at me distrustfully.
“You're suspicious as hell at a glance! Show me your identification tag or permit. If you don't have one, I can't let you in.”
Fortunately, I'd thoroughly read the Gallery whenever I had a spare moment on the way here, so I'd already thought of a convenient excuse.
“I'm a priest. I encountered an orc in the forest and lost my belongings, so I don't currently have my identification tag, but..”
As it happened, I noticed an unhealed wound on the soldier's hand, so I naturally used my skill.
Fwoosh-!
The ‘Heal,’ which somehow felt brighter than usual, settled over the soldier's hand.
“..Could this serve as proof instead?”
The wound healed in an instant, as though it had never existed, and the soldier jumped in surprise before bowing his head.
“Th-thank you.”
“I apologize for my rudeness. I didn't realize you were a priest. Please, go on in.”
With that, I safely passed through the city gate.
The healed soldier glanced at my departing back and muttered quietly.
“I thought the flower-patterned clothes were unusual, but who would've guessed you were a priest..”
…
Title : I've Safely Entered the City.
Author :ㅇㅇ(123.123)
I think I'll have to sell the orc tusks and mace to pay for lodging, so I'd like to ask where I should sell them and what a reasonable price would be.
[Orc tusks are used as aphrodisiacs, so they go for five copper coins each. Iron weapons vary depending on their condition, but blunt weapons like maces can usually fetch their proper value. At least three silver coins.]
[As for where to sell them, just go to a general store and dump them there. To get the proper price, you should take the tusks to an apothecary or alchemy shop, and the mace to a blacksmith or weapons shop, but who has time to sell everything separately?]
The replies came quickly.
Other comments appeared as well, apart from the answers.
[Not a village but a city? You don't have an identification tag, so how'd you get in?]
ㄴ[I impersonated a priest. They let me through when I showed them Heal.]
ㄴ[?? That actually worked]
ㄴ[Impersonating a noble or priest is punishable by death, you idiot..]
ㄴ[I looked into it, and priests here apparently don't have a registry like Catholic priests do. And since I can actually use Heal, there's little chance of getting caught.]
ㄴ[This guy's insane..]
More comments seemed to be getting added afterward, but I'd already gotten all the answers I needed, so I closed it without reading them.
‘For an otherworldly city, the cleanliness is decent enough.’
The city I'd entered was fairly pleasant.
I'd imagined a medieval city where the streets were filled with feces in the worst case, but it didn't seem to be that bad.
‘At least I won't catch the Black Death.’
The rest of my impressions could wait until later.
What I needed right now was money and a place to stay.
Keeping a close eye on the currency people were using, I searched for the shop the Gallery had mentioned.
‘Somewhere out of the way would be better than the entrance or the center.’
The entrance and center were where people got overcharged the most.
At the entrance, it was easy to fleece tourists and other gullible customers, while prices in the center were often high because of land values and rent.
Of course, that was how things worked back home, so I didn't know whether it was the same here.
But I could judge that as I gained experience.
‘Is this a general store?’
The sign had nothing but a picture on it, without a single word, but I went inside after seeing the shelves packed with all sorts of goods.
Inside, an old man who looked like the owner was playing chess by himself.
“Looking to sell?”
“That's right.”
I set two tusks and the mace down on the table.
“I don't like maces. They're heavy..”
“Then I'll just sell the tusks.”
“It's not that I'm refusing to buy them.”
His sly personality made me think haggling might be difficult.
“Five silver coins for everything.”
“I see.”
However, the old man quoted a price slightly higher than the going rate I'd learned.
It was enough to make my hesitation over haggling feel pointless.
“The mace is in pretty good condition. It'll be a pain on my joints to process, though.”
‘So when they said a minimum of three silver coins, they really meant minimum.’
I bowed politely to the sly but honest old man and left.
“If you're looking for somewhere to stay, try the inn with the sign showing a moon and bread over there.”
“..Thank you.”
The old man was as generous with his recommendations as he was honest.
I wandered a little, but it didn't take long to find the inn the old man had mentioned.
When I stepped through the open door, I saw a young boy who looked to be in the upper grades of elementary school mopping the floor.
“Oh, are you here for a meal?”
The boy mopping the floor set down the rag and asked.
Even so, his eyes moved discreetly as he stole glances at me.
He seemed to be sizing me up, much like he was trying to figure out what sort of person the customer was.
I didn't mind.
I was left with no more than the impression that this was the sort of thing that could happen in a place where a child worked.
“The old man at the general store recommended this place.”
But I was tired and hated having to worry about how I was being perceived, so I invoked the owner of the general store who had recommended it.
“You came on Grandpa Gilmore's recommendation!”
Only then did the suspicion in his eyes recede somewhat.
It had been only a few minutes since the boy had met Gilmore, but I set that fact aside for the moment.
“I'd like to stay for a week. Is that possible?”
“Just three silver coins. Breakfast is included, and if you want lunch and dinner too, just give me five more copper coins!”
“Here you are.”
“Hehe, I'll show you to your room!”
The room was on the second floor.
“It's our best room. Don't lose the key, and be sure to lock the window whenever you go out. The window is small, but a child could fit through it.”
“I will.”
Fortunately, the room I'd received was indeed fairly clean, so the claim that it was their best room wasn't false.
‘This is good enough that I won't need a refund.’
It was more than enough to let me rest easy, at least.
I had just sat down on the bed when
sleepiness came rushing over me as my tension finally loosened.
It was only natural that I was exhausted after subduing an orc immediately after waking in the forest and walking a long way to find the city.
‘..At least I've successfully ensured my immediate survival.’
Still, I could say that I'd avoided the worst-case scenario.
But I was still far from being able to maintain my survival over the long term.
I fought off my drowsiness and wrote a new post on the Gallery.
Title : I've Found a Place to Stay.
Author : ㅇㅇ(123.123)
Thank you to everyone who helped me.
However, if I'm going to remain here, I think I'll need to find work in the city. Are there any jobs or occupations you would recommend?
[This guy adapts ridiculously fast lololol]
[If you don't have any other options, study the herb information on the Gallery and become an herb gatherer. The alchemy shops pay well.]
[If you can take down an orc, you've got a decent amount of combat ability too, so go be a mercenary.]
Normally, people got fed up when someone new to a group asked question after question.
But the people on the Gallery answered without showing any sign of annoyance.
It was an ideal group for a newcomer.
However, regardless of how thoughtful they were, none of the answers appealed to me.
‘It's not like I'm in a position to be picky, but I really don't want a job that involves moving around.’
I hadn't saved up a lump sum and opened a clinic after climbing the Tower for no reason.
Just then, a rather appealing answer was posted.
[Go to a clinic. Priests who can heal are so rare that you'll be welcomed with open arms.]
ㄴ[You crazy bastard, impersonating a priest is punishable by death]
ㄴ[If you impersonate a priest and don't get caught, doesn't that make you a priest?]
ㄴ[If you get caught, you're executed. If you don't, you're a priest!]
‘Not bad.’
It seemed like I could get by as a priest for the time being.
But to do that, I'd have to memorize the doctrines and scriptures posted on the Gallery by heart.
I was lying down on the bed, organizing my plans for the future in my head, when
a comment on the Gallery suddenly came to mind.
‘Come to think of it, they told me to look at the night sky if I couldn't believe it.’
I was sleepy, but I was still lucid enough to look at the sky.
I got up briefly and looked outside through the small window.
“…Huh.”
Only then did I finally understand why they'd told me to look at the sky.
‘There are letters etched into the moon here.’
Unintelligible letters were etched into the blue moon.
I only learned that they meant May after I couldn't resist opening the Gallery out of curiosity.
…
I woke up early in the morning despite not having a clock.
It was thanks to the habit ingrained in me from always waking up at the same time.
‘So it wasn't a dream after all.’
As I woke up, I wondered whether what had happened yesterday might have been a dream or hallucination.
After all, hallucinations were fairly common when climbing the upper floors of the Tower.
But I was still in an inn room, in an unfamiliar city.
Everything that had happened yesterday had been neither a dream nor a hallucination.
I put weight on my sore legs and went down to the first floor.
“..Are you the young man Sean mentioned? Wait just a little, and I'll get you breakfast.”
A middle-aged woman with a warm, kindly appearance was tidying up the common room on the first floor.
She seemed to be the owner of the inn.
I left the strangely dispirited innkeeper behind and sat at a table.
Breakfast came out quickly.
It consisted entirely of coarse bread and a thin soup with potatoes, but since I hadn't eaten anything the day before, it suited my palate quite well.
Hunger really was the best seasoning.
‘Should I eat and look for a clinic first?’
To survive properly, I needed to earn money.
And the job most suited to me right now was working at a clinic.
‘In a place without health insurance, I should make good money.’
It was while I was having that cheeky thought that
I noticed a little girl sitting at a table near the kitchen.
‘She's hurt.’
There were stitches visible on her forehead, as though the wound had been sewn up.
That seemed to explain why the boy had been minding the inn alone yesterday.
“Is the child hurt?”
“She was badly injured at lunchtime yesterday. Her mother rushed her to a priest, but there were so many urgent patients that they said she couldn't receive a healing miracle.”
The one who answered was her older brother, Sean.
His voice drooped as he spoke, as though he was quite upset about it.
After all, the wound was on her face, of all places.
The family couldn't help but be distraught at the possibility of a scar remaining on the little girl's face.
Only then did I understand why the innkeeper's voice had sounded so dispirited.
‘I'll be found out eventually once I start working at a clinic anyway, so there's no point hiding it. It would also be a good way to earn the innkeeper's goodwill.’
In my original world, I would have hidden it away to avoid the hassle, but this wasn't a situation where I could keep my trump card hidden.
“Could you show me your face for a moment?”
When I approached the child, the innkeeper in the kitchen watched me with suspicion.
Although she'd heard that I was a guest recommended by an acquaintance, she didn't trust a stranger she'd just met.
But her suspicion quickly faded.
A bright light shone from my hand and settled over the child's forehead, making the wound disappear without a trace.
“It won't hurt anymore.”
When the healing was finished, the innkeeper's eyes widened.
The child, who had been unable to sit still, froze in place as well.
“Good heavens..”
At that moment, the child, rubbing her now-perfectly-healed forehead, tugged on the hem of my clothes.
When I looked down again, the child was gazing up at me with sparkling eyes.
“Mister.”
The child asked cautiously,
“Are you a priest?”
I was a priest impostor.