Surviving as a Useless Bard in a Game

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I opened my eyes.

I couldn’t feel the warm morning sunlight indicating that it was morning. That was because I made my room dark to avoid waking up in the middle of my sleep.

Rubbing my eyes slowly, I removed the morning crust. Wasn’t the beautiful girl supposed to have no waste accumulating…?

In any case, I lifted my heavy, exhausted body.

As I opened the curtains, sunlight streamed in through the window cracks. It stung my eyes.

I immediately closed the curtains again as if I were some kind of vampire. Squinting hard, I tried to regain my vision lost to the bright light.

After blinking a few times, I could finally see clearly ahead.

“…This is tough.”

I wasn’t the type to talk to myself. To be honest, I was closer to disliking people who talked to themselves.

What, are they crazy, talking to the empty air when there’s no one around?

But, right now, I had no choice. My body felt like it was about to break, and if I didn’t complain to someone, I felt like I would really lose my mind.

Every joint and muscle ached terribly. Were my bones crushed? Had my muscles melted away? No, of course not. It couldn’t be that severe.

But! It hurts that much!

The impact of my stamina and health status was something I couldn’t ignore.

It had only been a day. To feel this sore just from walking that much in the mountains; if I set out on a dungeon raid or something… I might end up dying from some issue with my bones or muscles.

Right now, my physical condition was at a flounder fish level.

What, if I caught a cold, would I really start coughing up blood?

…No matter how tough it is, I have to go out. I have to survive today. If I do nothing, I’ll just remain stuck as I am. I have to move steadily, even if it’s just one step at a time.

Living expenses are limited, you know. I need to earn somehow… to survive.

If I can have a tomorrow even slightly better than today, that would be enough.

I packed my gear, slung my instrument on my back, attached my leather wallet to my belt, and opened the door to head outside.

As I started to go down the stairs, with every step down, my waist, knees, thighs, and calves ached.

In the end, I had to grip my waist with one hand and hold the railing with the other to carefully move my feet.

Adventurers were secretly watching me.

…It was embarrassing.

I didn’t want to show a weak side to others.

If I showed weakness, they’d look down on me. I had to come on strong to anyone I met for the first time. If I approached someone in a submissive way, they’d only see me as inferior.

However, I didn’t have the confidence to confront others when I was this weak. Wouldn’t a proper punch put my life in danger?

So, with my self-esteem and pride in limbo, I chose to ignore them.

I simply acted as if I didn’t sense others’ stares and just spoke to the receptionist.

I could feel sharp gazes piercing into the back of my head.

It felt like I was being sliced apart by jagged blades.

I felt suffocated.

“…Are you okay?”

“Yes.”

The receptionist looked at me with a concerned expression.

It seemed my emotions were showing on the surface. That a simple village guild receptionist could see through my insides; how far have I fallen?

“…”

“Please give me a quest.”

“Understood.”

She handed me low-ranked quest forms that I could tackle with a party.

Thinking about the rule that usually places easier quests at the back, I slowly flipped through the quest forms, hoping to find an easy one at the very end.

Finally, the last form I found… didn’t look too easy.

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[ Rank: Copper ]

[ Recommended: 2 or more people ]

[ Song Forest, Observe Monster Movements ]

[ Reports have come in of goblins, a lower-class monster seen in the Song Forest. ]

[ Details: Please report their movements, scale, and location of their village in detail. ]

[ *Rewards differ depending on partial success and complete success of the quest. ]

[ 5 Coppers ~ 1 Denarius ]

–

“…Is there no easier quest?”

“Low-ranked quests don’t come in that often. Besides, the labor costs for errand centers are cheaper than for adventurers.”

To be honest, I’m not suited for scouting.

I never really fit the role of being an adventurer in the first place.

If I asked, “Can’t I just plagiarize other people’s inventions with my modern knowledge to get by?” then honestly, I wanted to do that.

But there’s a problem.

First off, I don’t have any specialized knowledge. The major I studied in college was Computer Science. If computers vanish, that means my major has no value whatsoever.

If I had known it would be this way, I would have gone into medicine. Giving up med school for engineering just meant I was insane.

What about writing, music, or drawing, things you can do with no fundamental skills?

First off, I have no talent for drawing. I learned properly yet couldn’t even get the human proportions right and received a ton of criticism. Just thinking about drawing still makes my stomach ache.

Music? Right. My job was also to be a bard. Wouldn’t I be guaranteed money if I could just play the songs existing in modern times? I have an amazing voice, after all.

…The problem is, I can’t even read sheet music.

Writing… Writing, I can’t recall. The only books I read were textbooks and my major’s books. Should I compile the non-fiction from the SATs into a book? Ugh, it’s a guaranteed disaster.

How can I recall something when I don’t even have the text or notes in my head?

No matter how smart I was in my past life, this is just impossible.

‘…And, magic has developed so much.’

Why don’t modern devices like electronics and internal combustion engines and the results of various scientific achievements exist in this medieval fantasy world?

The reason is incredibly simple.

Hygiene? Clean snap with magic. Transportation? Airships, ships, wagons, teleportation snap with magic. Communication? Magic orbs snap. Warfare? Massive magic spells from wizards snap.

Yeah. That’s why magic has developed more than science. There’s no need for science to progress in the first place.

So, the path left for me.

Something an ordinary girl with no foundation can do.

…The red-light district?

Ugh, that’s nauseating.

Among the other decent jobs, what can I do without using my body? At the same time, a job that could resolve the curse hanging over my status.

There’s only one answer: adventuring.

It pays better than other jobs, so I can afford to take the risks.

“Excuse me…”

“I’ll take it.”

“It’s recommended for two or more people. Are you thinking of forming a party?”

“Yes?”

“There’s already another adventurer waiting who has accepted this request.”

…I glanced around subtly.

The stares that had been piercing the back of my head moments ago vanished in an instant. They were avoiding making eye contact with me.

Why?

Honestly, I didn’t really understand.

Just yesterday, weren’t they trying to hit on me? I wasn’t expecting these people to suddenly change their attitude.

‘In any case, let’s think about the party.’

It’s definitely better than going alone.

At least, it means I won’t die alone and, for someone like me who has almost no combat ability and can’t use proper bard skills, it would be extremely helpful.

My choice is… acceptance.

“I’ll do it.”

“Yes. The other adventurer currently out on the quest, so please wait a bit.”

“Okay.”

Then, I sat down.

It seemed I would have to solve all my meals at the guild today. All the rations included in my basic equipment were gone, so I’d have to spend money.

I sighed deeply.

I sensed people around me jump in surprise.

…What’s up with these people?

*

The air in the Adventurer’s Guild was incredibly heavy.

Originally, they would have been chattering away from morning, but their silence stemmed from having at least a sense of duty and decency as humans.

Whispers so faint they couldn’t be heard by the involved parties spread through the air.

“…Is that the newbie who got into trouble with goblins or thieves during a herb-gathering request?”

“Yeah. I thought it was a safe forest.”

“Who’d think there would be monsters or thieves in such a small mountain? That’s absurd after the Mad King’s rebellion.”

In reality, the person involved didn’t think much of it. She had simply lost her way in the forest.

Rumors had begun to gain traction, and before long, Selina had a story resembling that of an unfortunate heroine.

It could be considered a somewhat positive influence, but if she found out, she’d probably get angry and yell, “What nonsense is this!”

It was obvious, but it seemed there were no fools in the guild who would question the veracity of the rumors in front of the person involved. As a result, Selina still remained unaware of her own rumors.

And how much time had passed?

A boy with black hair, a Wizard Boy, opened the door and entered the guild.

A heavy sack was soaked in red. Inside, there appeared to be several round and hard objects that clinked as they collided with wooden boards at random.

“…Do I have to put this on the table?”

“You can just put it aside over there. The other receptionists will check and collect it.”

“Ah, okay.”

“Rank: Silver. Confirmed completion of the extermination request. Here’s your reward.”

The Wizard Boy tossed two shiny silver coins into his pocket.

Maybe due to his neat personality, he even burned a cleaning scroll to carefully wipe the blood stains from his hands.

“What about the observation request in the Song Forest? Has another person joined?”

“Ah… yes!”

“Where are they?”

“They’re over there.”

The receptionist pointed to a girl stuffing her cheeks with food until her cheeks puffed up.

The eyes of the girl and the young Wizard met.

“…We meet again?”

“Ah, please no.”

The Wizard Boy pressed down on his throbbing headache today with his fingers.

Somehow, this observation request seemed like it was going to be a bit difficult.