Taro!　Go!

Yes!

Hey!　Looks like you're at least minimally combat-ready.



　It's been three weeks since I started leveling with Major Thunder's guidance.
　Now, I'm able to take down at least a sand-sized lizard.
　'Just thrust in with all your might! I followed Major Thunder's instructions to thrust my spear with all my strength into the Sand Giant Lizard directly in front of me, and the Sand Giant Lizard disappeared.

　As usual, it would disappear when I and my party members defeated the sand beast.
　With no divine coins, no materials, and no rewards for defeating the sand beast, I had come to realize that I couldn't do the hunter's job.
　As for the efficiency of defeating them, the time it takes to pull out the sword and spear tips stuck in the dead sand beasts, divine coins, and materials is very good as it saves me the time of pulling out the sword and spear tips stuck in the dead sand beasts, and the hassle of collecting divine coins and materials.

　Leveling up was also going well, my level had already gone up to eighty-seven.
　It seems like quite a bit of growth, but maybe it's actually not that big of a deal.
　Honestly, it's hard to judge.

''Is there such a thing as a level standard?　At this level, like one person or something?

　During the break, I asked Major Sander what level of skill was required to be one of the best, or a great skill, or some other standard.
　I had heard that it was quite individual, but I wanted to know if there were any guidelines.

The average person would raise his or her level to about three to five to prevent heatstroke while working. Most people can't even beat a sand giant lizard. Those who can become a soldier or hunter and somehow manage to defeat the sand lizard are only level 10 to 30.　It's also very individual.

　If you had the talent, you could defeat the Sand Giant Lizard in as little as five levels.
　However, I've heard that there are people who are unable to graduate from the Lizard of the Sand for life, even if they keep on killing them and reach level fifty.

　Even so, it is said that if you become a hunter and kill a number of sand beasts, you can still lead a better life than the average person.

''In the end, it depends on your talent?

''In many cases, even if an average person leveled up to level thirty, they still wouldn't be able to stand up to the Sand Great Lizard. However, an ordinary person with no talents can't level up that high, though. I don't care if you're a nobleman or a rich person.

'So there are nobles and rich people who level with money.

　He would have to defeat the sand beast to get his level up, and even then, it would be very difficult to defeat the sand beast.
　If they fought poorly, they would be dead in no time.
　So the nobles would hire hunters who could defeat the Sand Beast and have them level up.
　In short, they buy levels with money.

''Because their physical abilities will increase and they'll be stronger than the average person.

　After all, being a nobleman doesn't make them all qualified as soldiers and hunters, so they become military officers through connections.
　And then they are leveled by veteran soldiers who are their subordinates.

　The country is heavily exploited by the aristocracy and the commoners are highly dissatisfied, but most of them can't compete with the high level aristocracy?
　Give the strong soldiers and hunters a little candy to keep them from rebelling.
　Somehow, I felt like I was beginning to see the reality of this world.

''The higher the level, the less likely you are to get sick and the faster you heal. Big nobles have babies leveling up, you know. It's partly because kids are more likely to die.

　There may be a difference in medical technology and sanitation, but many children die because of the hot weather?
　In order to prevent this, the nobles and the rich pay high rewards to excellent hunters to level them, so that the babies do not die.

The only thing I can think of is that Taro is indeed a 'change agent'. He was able to defeat the sand giant lizard with ease in such a short period of time.

You won't get any gods or materials from beating him, though.

　It was probably due to the effect of my increased level.
　Even if I continued to defeat them all day long in the scorching desert, I didn't sweat so much anymore, and I didn't suffer from heatstroke anymore.
　However, no matter how many sand beasts he defeated, he couldn't get the divine coins and materials.
　For some reason, the sand beasts that I defeated would disappear.

　Thanks to this, the king and the other nobles' reputation for me was atrocious.
　Because I was calling myself a nobleman even if I was bluffing, and because the king had promised in front of his subjects, I was able to continue to support them for a month as promised, but when that was over, the useless ones were told to leave the royal capital.

'One more week?'

I'm leaving King's Landing, and Major Thunder is retired, too?

　He retired a successive Major Sander to make a young man who got in on a nobleman's quota a major.
　I thought this country was out of control.
　It might be safer to be kicked out, though.

'One week to go. Be strong.

Yes, sir.

　For the next week I hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted and hunted.
　My level went up to ninety-eight, but as expected, it's hard to level up when you get this high.

''Have you reached level twenty or so?　Yeah, you don't want to tell anyone else what level you're on.

Last time I heard, you could take out the sand lizard in no time.

''It's a shame. I would have invited you to my party if I could have caught the divine coins and materials...

　It was painful to lie to Major Sander, who had been a great help to me, but I didn't want to get into unexpected trouble because of his knowledge of my level, so I told him, ''The Sand Large Lizard is about the standard of a level that can be beaten with ease.

　He should continue to hunt sand large lizards as a hunter around the King's Capital in the future.
　It's because he feels indebted to me that he shouldn't have much to do with a foreigner like me.

''Lastly, what did Your Majesty say you wanted?''

'I don't know. Are they being sarcastic?

That's a problem, because it's likely.

Yeah.

　After training and leveling, I thanked Major Sander, who was also retiring, and said goodbye to him, before leaving the barracks and heading to the audience room where the king was.
　There, the king with a blatantly unhappy face was sitting on his throne, waiting for me while holding his cheekbones.

''You could have at least contributed divine coins and materials........I understood that you're an oddball since you're a 'changer', but you're negative and useless. You can thank me for my generosity in giving you a free meal for a month and then head to Water City. I'll at least pay for your boat.

Water City?　What kind of town is that?

Hey.

　The king didn't seem to want to explain, and ordered Baron Stein, who was waiting on the lower seat, to 'explain it to him' with his chin.
　I understand that he wants to show off his greatness, but he doesn't have that attitude towards the baron.
　I guess he's trying to make himself look great by daring to treat his subjects carelessly, but it's like he's antagonizing them instead.......

'Water City is an island nation in the middle of the ocean in the heart of this Great Desert. It is an independent city-state, and is characterized by the fact that it is governed by a council of great merchants.

'Hmph!　It's a crappy, money-worshipping country.

　Apparently, the king doesn't like Water City.
　It seems to be a rich country, and that's probably why the king is sarcastic about it being a worshipper.
　Could it be that there seems to be no king or nobleman, and the merchants are ruling it, so they look down on it?

I'm sure there's enough work there for an incompetent like you to eat. I'm busy as a ruler, and I want you to disappear immediately. I want you to disappear immediately.

All right. Thanks for your help.

Hmph.

　It's not a good idea to stay in this country as long as people don't like you this much.
　I'll get my boatload of money and leave the capital.

I'm sorry, Master Taro.

　When I left the audience room, I was apologized for by Baron Stein, who also came out of there.
　He's a really nice guy.
　That's why he's not likely to get ahead in this country, poor guy.

''Well, he's been effectively exiled, you know.

As it turns out, I don't mind, because it's for the best.

　It's better than being used by that king for his half-baked talents and specialties.　
　Besides, the Water City I'm heading to now seems to have a lot of work to do, so it's probably the best place for me to go, as I can't earn money from defeating sand beasts.

I'm going to take the sand boat from the royal capital to Lilith, the port of the Central Sea, which is the territory of the Bart Kingdom. After that, we'll travel by watercraft to Water City.

　So you're going to start out here, or you're going to take a sand drift boat.
　From the name, there's a ship that runs on sand?

'A ship that runs on sand is very rare. It's something that doesn't exist in my world.

'I see. Since there are more sand drifters in the Great Desert.

　No wonder it's 80% desert.

''I've already arranged for your tickets, so make sure you don't miss it. Now, here's your ticket for the watercraft leaving Lilith.

　Other tickets for the regular ship were also given to me, and I was to leave the royal capital of the Kingdom of Burt, where I had spent a month or so.