Surviving as a Trash Bard in a Game

With my words, the air in the Adventurer’s Guild froze solid.

People stared at me with wide eyes, and I stared back at the enraged adventurer with equally wide eyes.

The grim-faced adventurer glared at me with an even grimmer face, thick veins bulging from his forehead and neck. His skin was even turning red!

Realizing that the situation was turning against me, I quickly racked my brain.

‘Speech, I have a speech bonus. If I apologize now…!’

But, unfortunately… contrary to my wishes, the status window did not show the options again.

If the status window doesn’t show the options, I can’t receive the status bonus. In other words, I am now in a desperate crisis.

“What did you just say to me?”

“Oh, no… that’s not it…”

“If that’s not it, what exactly do you mean? Is there another meaning besides the one I know?”

Veins bulged from his forearms, which seemed thicker than my waist. Is this person really human? Do normal humans have veins popping out of their forearms like that?!

B-but, first, I needed to think of a plausible excuse.

What kind of excuse could I possibly make to satisfy this person?

This is a compliment to the other person’s mother in my hometown? No, would he believe that kind of excuse?

Then, I have a disease where I can’t resist making immoral jokes? No, I’d get beaten up even more.

‘Life in another world… ends today…!’

In the end, I gave up on my life.

There was simply no way to overcome this situation. Just die. It would be faster to be reborn. That fist would hurt a lot.

No, if I’m lucky, I might die before I feel any pain.

Health status of -5?

Instant death! A comfortable euthanasia!

I closed my eyes and waited for the punishment that would come to me.

And then, I heard a voice.

“…Are you hitting on a newly joined female adventurer again?”

“It’s none of your business, is it?”

A slightly young boy’s voice.

I slowly opened my closed eyes and looked through a slit at the boy who seemed to have just entered the Adventurer’s Guild.

‘…A mage.’

Crude, but definitely the shape of a staff.

And a black robe.

In a fight between a mage and a warrior of equal skill, victory is usually determined by the difference in ‘distance’.

Right now, at this moment, the warrior glaring at me as if he was about to hit me was far away from the mage.

If… that mage had a personality that couldn’t stand injustice, he might save an innocent citizen in danger. I think I see a way out.

Then, the best course of action for me right now was.

“H-help me!”

It was a cry for help.

My eyes darted around. I could feel people’s gazes turning to me.

The meaning behind their gazes was probably something like, ‘Weren’t you being rude just a moment ago? No, sure, the man was a bit rude, but it wasn’t enough to say something like that, right?’

No, I didn’t mean to, okay? It’s not my fault.

The grim adventurer looked at the mage boy and slowly opened his mouth.

The atmosphere was noticeably calmer than before.

“…What are you going to do? You’ve been asked for help.”

“Well, it looks like you just rushed in because you saw a pretty girl.”

“Yeah, that’s true. But, did I come off that threatening?”

“Your face is threatening, you know?”

“Ugh… I have nothing to say.”

Ding.

[Provoke] duration has ended.

…It’s over.

Without realizing it, my legs gave out, and I slumped to the floor.

The grim adventurer held out his hand to me. As if he was going to help me up.

…Why is he being nice?

“If you don’t want to take it, that’s fine.”

“Oh, I’ll take it.”

I took his hand and stood up.

I felt a skin as hard as stone, which gave me a slightly eerie feeling. If the effect of provoke hadn’t ended at just the right time, I might have really died.

“I know it’s a bit late, but let me introduce myself. I’m Haroon, a silver tag adventurer.”

“I’m Selina, a copper tag…”

“Hmm, now that I look at you… you don’t look like the type to say something like that.”

“I-I’m sorry about that. My parents taught me that you should never look weak, and that you should always come on strong at first!”

He scratched his short beard and stared into space with a complicated look.

“I understand that. But… just now, it felt like you were being controlled by something. It’s not something you would normally do.”

“What?”

“As soon as I saw your eyes, I felt a certain… pull. Anyway, I apologize. It was a mistake on my part to be rude at our first meeting.”

“I-I’m sorry.”

…Is he a good person?

Really? With that face?

So, judging people by their appearance was pseudoscience after all. There are people who live kindly with faces like that!

“If you have any problems, just tell me. I can’t say I’ll do it for free, but I’ll help you out.”

“…Yes!”

I shook hands with him and was about to leave the Adventurer’s Guild.

The mage boy was still at the entrance of the Adventurer’s Guild. Feeling a bit embarrassed, I walked out quickly.

And, not long after, as soon as I came out, the mage boy followed me. I didn’t turn my head to check, but I could hear the sound.

W-was the boy actually the dangerous one?

No, calm down.

Take a deep breath.

I’m not being rational right now. I’m too emotional, too sentimental. This isn’t me.

I’m not this ‘timid’ and I don’t have a ‘clumsy habit’.

I can’t say I’m a genius, but I personally believe my intelligence is in the top 5% of humanity. I graduated from a decent university and consistently performed at the top of my class.

There’s no way I can’t think rationally and logically just because of this. This isn’t me.

It’s the influence of the status window. The personality, traits, and status of the character I created are directly affecting my personality. I need to go back as soon as possible.

Ah, if I had expected this kind of influence, I wouldn’t have set my intelligence to 2.

It’s just a little below average.

I’m already starting to forget the status I saw when I woke up this morning. I’m not stupid enough to forget what I saw recently.

I don’t stutter like this, and I don’t act this foolishly.

Let’s calmly look back.

The mage boy, wearing a black robe and holding a staff, was looking at me indifferently.

Yellow? No, yellowish eyes. And shaggy black hair.

No matter how I look at him, he’s a teenager much younger than me… if I were to look at him even younger, he could be considered a child because of his small stature.

The boy approached me with a blank expression.

Looking intently into my eyes.

“…Follow me. It’s important. I have something to tell you.”

“Hic!”

“…”

I hiccuped.

Startled by the actions and words of a boy much smaller than me.

Scared.

The boy was looking at me with a look of pity.

‘Oh, please.’

Feeling a sense of self-loathing, I clutched my throbbing head and followed the boy.

We were beside the Adventurer’s Guild building, or to be more precise… in a very narrow alley. A dark, damp place where the buildings on both sides blocked out the sun.

It was the perfect place for a private conversation.

But is there really anything to talk about in a place like this?

We just met for the first time.

What exactly does he want to say?

In a state of extreme tension, I clasped my hands together in front of my chest and waited for the boy to speak.

“Your eyes, how much do you know about them?”

“I know they have the power to mesmerize people.”

“…You seem quite different from when you were trembling and asking for help earlier.”

“That wasn’t me. Is that a good enough explanation?”

My words were true.

The me who acted clumsy, trembling, and with low intelligence due to the interference of the status window was not my true self.

Rather, this calm demeanor is my true personality.

The boy observed me with a complicated expression, then sighed.

“It seems to be true, for now.”

“…”

“It’s better not to reveal your eyes. I don’t know what you were thinking, walking around with them exposed. How remote of a village are you from? Even this village is quite rural.”

“What do you mean?”

“Have you never heard of the Divine Body Hunters?”

“…?”

“People who collect body parts that resemble those of gods. Your eyes are pink… so they’re quite valuable.”

…A lot of information came in, but I remained calm.

My negative traits haven’t shown any signs of manifesting yet.

I need to process my thoughts as much as possible right now.

Before I become stupid.

First, the word ‘gods’.

I didn’t play the game. I came to this world as soon as I created my game character.

In other words, the story I know… is the previous installment of this game. I have no knowledge of the sequel’s story.

But, at least I know the setting.

In the ending of the previous game, there was only one god.

That should never change.

‘…Is the setting, the knowledge I have, garbage?’

It’s not common for settings to be changed or discarded in sequels, but it does happen. It happens frequently in the gaming industry.

My head throbs.

It hurts.

Even though the sun is still overhead, I feel sleepy…

No, no.

I’m actually falling asleep!

Narcolepsy.

The trait I chose was directly causing me trouble.

Considering that the penalty is random, I was incredibly unlucky.

“…I’m sorry, but I need to sleep for a bit.”

“What? What did you just say…”

Thump.

I closed my eyes and fell asleep.

Oh, really.