I. Landing in the Kingdom of Novatez
The dimensional jump was even more chaotic than the previous one. Kaguya's ship disintegrated into a flash of sapphire light, leaving the team in the middle of a field of tall grass and brush.
Goku, Erza, and Akiha landed smoothly, using their Ki and Magic to cushion the fall. Tatsumaki, however, floated on the ground, his face contorted with disgust.
—¡What a primitive place! The psychic density is comparable to that of a dry rock. My aura does not even feel comfortable here. I And the smell of wet grass is irritating! - complained Tatsumaki, crossing his arms over his chest.
Kaguya, materializing in a new travel suit, hit the ground with a detector.
—Analysis: The environmental energy is neither Ki nor pure dimensional energy. It is Manna, but it is of very low quality, unstable and mixed with what my sensors call... 'Defective Goddess Energy,' Kaguya reported, ignoring Tatsumaki's complaint. - The Heart of Gaia stabilized the entry phase, but the jump was so violent because the dimensional coordinates here are erratic. This world is a point of convergence, but chaotic.
-So where do we go now, genia? - Tatsumaki asked, smirking.
—The only visible civilization. We need an anchor and, for the first time, we need money and a place to sleep. The fragment of the Dimensional Anchor must be in the main stronghold of evil, according to legends.
Soon they came to a small town surrounded by a palisade. On the wooden sign it read: Axel, Village of Adventurers.
II. The Adventurers' Guild and Bewilderment
They entered a rustic and noisy building: the Adventurers' Guild. The place was full of colorful, low-level and mostly pathetic looking people. Erza, dressed in her travel clothes (a white shirt and blue skirt), felt relief from the absence of S-Class monsters. Tatsumaki, floating slightly above the ground, looked like she was going to vomit out of frustration.
They approached the counter, where a young receptionist, Luna, greeted them.
-Welcome, new adventurers! Are you coming to register?
—We are a team of five. We need information about the main fortress and a temporary shelter. I pay with whatever they use here, Kaguya said in her usual engineer tone.
-Great! Registration costs 1,000 Eris per person. What are your classes? - asked Luna, smiling.
Goku stepped forward enthusiastically. -Yes, I'm a martial artist! But I can call myself 'Warrior' if you like. I'd like to level up!
Erza nodded. - I am a Retrofit mage and swordswoman. Akiha: High-speed duelist. Kaguya: -Specialist in demolition and dimensional technology. Tatsumaki: -S-class professional heroine.
Moon blinked at the last title. - Ah... very well. We will register the lady as... Advanced Attack Mage since we don't have 'Psychic Heroin' -Luna gave a registration card to Tatsumaki, who accepted it with a grunt.
-I want to be an adventurer! I want to try these things! - Goku said.
—Your class will be Warrior. I wish you luck. If you want a shelter, there are inns. And if you want money, take a mission. The simplest ones are those of the Giant Frogs. It's season.
III. The Encounter with Incompetence
As they sat down, Erza noticed a group at a nearby table. A boy in a tracksuit, a magician with an eye patch and brown hair, a blonde woman in shiny armor and a blue-haired girl crying loudly.
Tatsumaki frowned. - That boy's manna level is nil. And the woman in blue... her energy is pure, but completely useless! She was a very good friend of mine. What a waste of divine power!
Erza nodded cautiously. - This world seems to be... different.
Goku, however, approached the group. -Excuse me! Are you adventurers? I'm curious! How does it feel to level up?
Kazuma, the guy in the tracksuit, freaked out. -Hey! Yeah, we're adventurers. I'm Kazuma. And leveling up is... boring. It is better not to attract attention.
-But he's the one who keeps calling attention! - cried Aqua, the blue-haired girl.
Darkness, the woman in armor, looked at Erza with admiration. -That discipline! - That posture! You are strong, aren't you? Can you give me a blow that will make me feel... the pain of justice?
Erza, puzzled by the strange request, kept her composure. - For now, I am focused on my mission.
Megumin, the wizard of the patch, looked at Goku with curiosity. - Is your class 'Warrior'? Can you use Explosion?
-Explosion? I don't know. I can throw a Kamehameha, but they asked me not to destroy the place, said Goku with a smile.
Kazuma's group looked at each other. Kamehameha was not in his skill cards.
IV. The Frogs' Mission
The team decided to take the mission of the Giant Frogs to get the necessary Eris.
—Analyzing documentation, the Giant Frogs are Level F creatures, but they have an incredibly viscous skin that deflects attacks of brute force and blunt magic. His only weak point is the inside of his mouth and eyes, Kaguya explained, activating a scanning visor. Our mission is not to destroy the city and get Eris.
—¡I can't believe I'm wasting my time with giant amphibians! ¡I disintegrate the monsters of the Heroes' Association just thinking about it! - grunted Tatsumaki.
They arrived at the field. There were hundreds of giant frogs, the size of small cars, jumping loudly.
-Goku, containment! Tatsumaki, use it as precision training! - Ezra ordered.
Tatsumaki was the first to attack. With a cry of pure frustration, he raised a giant frog in the air with his psychic power and squeezed it with all his strength, trying to crush it into pulp.
SQUELCH!
The frog screamed in pain, but its elastic and viscous skin absorbed the compressive force without breaking, it just deformed! Tatsumaki threw her to the ground in anger.
-This thing is soft and disgusting! My strength is useless! - Tatsumaki shrieked, furious.
-Your skin deflects the psychic compression, Miss Tatsumaki. You need a penetrating attack, Kaguya instructed.
Goku watched. He remembered Bang's lesson: surgical precision. I couldn't use a punch.
Goku concentrated his Ki not on his fist, but on his index finger. He formed a needle of pure Ki, incredibly dense and sharp. He waited for a frog to open his mouth to devour.
ZAP!
Goku released the needle of Ki. It was invisible, silent and so sharp that it pierced the top of the frog's mouth, killing it instantly without splashing. The frog fell dead.
-Great! An invisible blow! That's efficient! - exclaimed Goku, excited.
Erza retooled with his Heaven's Wheel Armor. He threw a shower of swords, but instead of directing them to the body, he used the new learned Water Fist techniques to make the swords "float" and focus on the frogs' eyes, using them as anchor points. Three frogs fell immediately.
Akiha, with his speed, was the most effective. He ran around a jumping frog and, in a burst of movement, cut the tendon behind his throat. The frog choked and became immobilized.
-Precision in movement, not power! - said Akiha.
Tatsumaki, annoyed at being the least effective, decided to use her telekinesis to lift and throw the frogs into the sky, out of the mission area, purging her disgust.
V. Collecting Eris and the Next Anchor
The team returned to the Guild with their collected frogs, earning a small fortune in Eris.
-Unbelievable. One hundred thousand Eris for a few frogs, said Erza, counting the money.
—We have enough for the inn, said Kaguya. - But the anchor. Our dimensional anchor is the Demon King. His castle emits the most stable and dangerous Ki on the planet, far to the north. But the Heroes' Association... or rather, the adventurers of this world, are too weak for guides.
-Don't tell me we're going to have to find the guy in the sweatshirt to drive us, Tatsumaki said with repulsion.
—No. Our target is the castle. But we can't just blow it up. The Heart of Gaia we stole was stabilized by recording the coordinates here. We need another crystal for the next jump, and only the Demon King will have one with enough energy, Kaguya explained. - And we need to enter discreetly.
-Discretion? I am discreet, said Goku.
—No, Goku. Discretion means not using a Kamehameha that wipes out half of the continent. We need a plan. And for such an absurd world, we need an absurd plan, said Kaguya with an enigmatic smile.