The next day, I awoke to find myself in a room at a cheap inn with only two coppers and no meals.

　The cramped interior of the building was roughly divided into rooms with thin wooden panels, but there was no door at the entrance and the room was easily accessible from the corridor.

　It's a structure that can only be seen as pitting the concept of crime prevention against itself.

　It's not surprising or anything, but the noises in the rooms on the left and right are almost entirely uneventful.

　I couldn't sleep well last night because I heard the snoring of the customers in the room on the right and the charming voice of the prostitute in the room on the left.

　The only saving grace was that the season was spring.

　If it had been winter now, he would have frozen to death. That's how bad the room was.



　I woke up so uncomfortable that my brow naturally wrinkled.

　Needless to say, I didn't move to this kind of inn by choice.

　Until last night, I had been staying at the guild's regular inn. It's a small but clean and comfortable inn run by a stubborn master and his vivacious daughter.

　When I was fired from my guild, I asked the father and daughter if they could wait until next month to pay this month's rent.

　I've been patronizing this inn for several years now, and in the past, they've accepted the bill for lodging and meals without a single bad face.

　So I thought it would be fine this time, too....





　I slammed my fist on the floor of the room where the dirt was bare.

　The masters knew that we had been expelled. The guild must have sent word around.

　The inn's daughter, who had treated us so amiably until yesterday, said with a face that said she was refreshed.


''Thank you so much for everything!　Next time you come back, you should at least be able to tip!'


　Apparently we were the only ones who felt comfortable, and the other side hated us as habitual bill payers and cheapskate customers who couldn't afford to tip.

　I liked the personality of my husband and daughter and kept using this place for a long time, but they were such clowns.

　It might be our fault. No, it is us. I understand that.

　But still, why should we be looked at as if we were stinking things?

　The eyes of the receptionist and the daughter of the innkeeper reminded me of the gaze I got yesterday.

　In a fit of rage, I punched the wall this time - and hurriedly ducked my hand. It occurred to him that his fist could break through the thin wall.

　If the wall was destroyed, it was obvious that he would have to pay for repairs that would cost him tens of times more than the cost of lodging.

　This is a foolish thing to do to reduce even the smallest of possessions.


''.......the problem is yet to come.


　I checked the money I had.

　If you put silver and copper coins together, there was enough money to somehow make ends meet for about a month.

　But that was after calculating the minimum amount of money for accommodation and food. Even though we wouldn't have to worry about starving today or tomorrow, it was still imperative that we improve our situation.

　There was plenty of work to do if he didn't choose to do dobbing, sewage cleaning, construction outside the walls of the city that involved danger, but he wasn't going to do that kind of work.

　He would never be able to become strong if he was bored with working for his daily earnings. You won't be recognized.

　That's right. There's no rule that says you can't defeat demons or help people unless you belong to a guild.

　Even if you are collecting herbs for your daily routine, you can just bring them directly to a tool shop or apothecary without going through the guild.

　If you don't go through a guild, you can't avoid being watched in the purchase process, but it's still better than stealing dope or cleaning sewage.

　That behavior is commonly referred to as 'stray (nora) adventurer', an entity that is equated with the unscrupulous and vagabonds.

　I knew that, but I didn't mind. It's also interesting that they're named after wild adventurers. The guild's receptionist or the inn's daughter will play an active role in making me regret "cutting" me.



　When I thought about it that way, being expelled from the guild was just like having the collar removed from my collar.

　The guild has never gotten along with me in the first place.

　I know that other adventurers and receptionists call me a 'parasite' behind my back.

　This was a good opportunity for me to distance myself from those guilds and adventurers.



　I shake my throat with a chuckle.

　I shake - and then let out a sigh.

　I had to be aware that my thoughts were an escape from reality.

　And as for calling me a parasite, we weren't without responsibility.


''Rank (level) display (open).''


　The magic brings up your level.

　The number on it is the same as usual, '1'.

　No matter how much training or how many actual battles I have done, I cannot level up.

　Looking at the cursed, motionless number, my face naturally twisted.


◆ ◆ ◆


　The level is the size of a person's talent. A tenth vessel can only have ten power.

　If a level one vessel is ten, a level two vessel can satisfy twenty, and a level three vessel can satisfy thirty.

　Naturally, an adventurer who couldn't go up from level one would only be a drag.

　The level gap between us and our former adventurers was so wide that we were embittered.

　To put it more bluntly, I was kicked out of the party.

　Just as I was separated from my brother (Laguna) and my ex-wife (Ayaka) on my home island, I was left behind by my friends here as well.



　Generally speaking, there are many ways for people to raise their levels, but when it comes to those who make their living fighting, the key to raising your level is to fight a stronger opponent.

　It doesn't matter how many times you defeat monsters that you can beat, your level will not improve, no matter how many times you defeat them.

　On the contrary, weaker people have that much more opportunity to improve their level.

　It is easier for the first level human to level up than other humans.

　However, they had never been able to level up, not even once on the island or in the city.


　This was ludicrous for anyone to hear, but as a matter of fact, there was a theory that could explain this phenomenon.

　Talent Limits.

　Humans had limits. Three hundred years ago, it was said that the Sword Sage who had sealed off the Demon God had raised his level to ninety-nine, but he couldn't inevitably raise anything above that.

　Since even the Sword Sage had a limit, there was no reason for any other person to not have a limit. And just as there are ten different ways for people to rise in level, there are ten different talent limits.


　-- in other words, it's no wonder that there are people for whom level one is the limit.


◆ ◆ ◆


　For those of us who can't raise our level, talent limits are synonymous with despair.

　But it wasn't without hope.

　The talent limit is not a definite theory.

　Even if you use magic, the only thing that can be confirmed is your current level. I've heard that a higher-ranked magician can see more detailed information, but even that magic doesn't confirm the existence of talent limits.

　No one knows if the cause of the lack of level improvement is talent limits or lack of experience.

　On the island, those who have not completed the Trial Rite cannot participate in a real battle.

　So, if you become an adventurer and experience a real battle, your level will go up. I believed that at the time.



　However, the reality was ruthless.

　It didn't matter how many demons and thieves I killed, my level never went up.

　The same enemies, the same quests, the same food, and the same friends are fighting the same enemies and doing the same quests and eating the same food, but their levels are increasing.

　The gap in power is opening up.

　Level figures are important personal information, and even among my friends, I don't talk about it casually. However, the other members of the team are not afraid to reveal their levels to each other.

　So, it's natural that those who are tight-lipped about their levels will stand out.

　Thinking it was only a matter of time before they got suspicious of me, I chose a day to confide in my party members.

　I had a reasonably good relationship with the members, and I could say that I was friends with the leader.

　So I had the hope that maybe they would show understanding.



　--But the response was a scathing rebuke. I was called a fraud to my face and expelled from the party.

　They were called "parasites," and the other adventurers began to look at them with contempt. Undoubtedly, it was spread by the original members.

　The act of a low-level adventurer sneaking into a high-level party by hiding it is called 'parasitism' and is frowned upon. Malicious cases would be punished by the guild.

　Although I was not punished at that time, the people around me were looking at me the same way they would look at a criminal.

　With the spread of the parasite's notoriety, it was widely known that he was level one and probably reached his talent limit.

　That was four and a half years ago.



　Since then, I've been working exclusively as a solo (solo) adventurer. There is no way that any curious person would want to form a party with a level-one parasitic adventurer.

　There are only so many quests you can take on as a solo player.

　And even those few quests are paid in copper coins.

　Funds are scarce, and without them, there is no way to buy all the armor and tools. And so, the number of requests I can receive is decreasing.

　Three years ago, I was demoted from the 9th level because the amount of money paid to the guild is lower for the 10th level.

　The reason I stayed at the ninth level for a year and a half, even if it was only for a while, was because I thought it would be easier to form a party at the ninth level than at the tenth. There was also a kind of stubbornness to the surroundings.

　It was three years ago that I could no longer afford to be so stubborn.

　If you are relegated to 10th grade, the range of requests you can receive will be reduced, but in any case, the only ones you can receive solo are 10th grade ones. So there was no problem.

　After that, I didn't have the energy or the financial wherewithal to move up to 9th kyu again, so I was expelled from the guild yesterday.

　That was the end result of this time.