Ch.1Chapter 1. The Hero and the Outcast

“Hey, porter! Why aren’t you keeping up!?”

“Ah, yes. I’m sorry.”

For some inexplicable reason, I’ve been living in this other world for almost two years now.

As the party’s porter who serves as their inventory, I apologized to the damned woman shouting ahead of me while tightening the straps of my luggage bag.

“Don’t just say sorry, hurry up! Can’t you see we’re falling behind on the dungeon raid because of you!?”

“Ah, yes. I’m sorry for being slow on my feet.”

It’s irritating to deal with her tantrums when she’s not carrying anything herself, but I have to endure it since I’d struggle to make a living otherwise.

After all, dealing with difficult customers is part of any service job, so this treatment is within the realm of what I can accept as a mere porter.

If there’s one thing I wish for though, it would be for her to at least call me by my name.

“By the way, Party Leader? I have a name, Hyoseong Woo.”

My surname Woo comes from my father, and my given name uses the characters for “sound” (嚆) and “voice” (聲), making me Hyoseong Woo.

The meaning is to maintain your principles and speak up at any time.

Since coming to this world, I’ve become more passive due to decreased confidence, but I still hope to live honorably and have my voice heard by others.

“Ha, so what?”

But the mage woman who employs me just snaps back as if even that displeases her.

“Do you think I have any obligation to remember the name of an insignificant bug like you?”

“No, there’s no obligation, but since we’re traveling together, at least my name…”

“Shut your mouth and just follow. If you don’t do your job properly, I’ll report you to the labor union and lower your score, got it?”

The mage woman grumbles and heads deeper into the dungeon.

Generally, mages should stay in the back line rather than taking the lead, but unlike a porter like me, she’s a recognized figure in this world.

To make a comparison, it’s like the difference between an ant and an elephant.

With just her status alone, she’s in a position to act arrogantly among ants, so to speak.

“Tsk, tsk, this party’s Hero has quite the prickly personality.”

“Unlike us, you seem to be from the same world as her, Porter.”

The fortunate thing is that unlike that woman who’s a Hero, the residents of this world don’t treat me with such sharp contempt.

Rather, since they’re also disrespected by that woman, what they feel toward me as a porter is closer to a sense of camaraderie.

“Haha, well, it can’t be helped. As a Foreign Laborer, I’m grateful just to be able to serve the Hero.”

“Hoho, to put up with someone who can’t even remember your name! You’ll probably treat your future wife quite well too.”

“I don’t know about that. From my perspective, I think I’d be the one under her thumb.”

The middle-aged vanguard and archer exchange jokes while following the mage woman.

I followed them with a forced smile, mulling over what they had said.

A woman who can’t even remember my name? Well…

I don’t think that’s actually the case.

***

“Status Open!”

During our break time later,

I sat down after putting down my luggage bag and took time to check my status.

I wanted to confirm my ability that awakened when I came to this world, commonly known as a “special ability.”

“Oh, what are you doing there?”

And like ghosts smelling something interesting, my companions showed curiosity.

But I’m not comfortable with these guys all being men.

“Ah, please go away. Why do you keep trying to look at my personal information?”

“Hoho, why so sensitive? We can’t read it anyway.”

“What’s that called, Spicy or Sexstate? What’s written there? I heard people from other worlds like you are all born with special abilities.”

“It’s personal information, so please don’t be too curious.”

*Glare*

After my pathetic attempt at intimidation, the two men snickered and went back to maintaining their equipment.

I stopped glaring at them and examined the status window that appeared before me.

====

[Reincarnated Hyoseong Woo]

Class: Scout

Unique Ability: Existence Imprint

Aptitude Values

Physical: C+++ Skill: C++

Intelligence: C- Perception: C+

Mental: A Mystical: F

====

“Wow, this is really…”

At a glance, it’s a status with nothing special except for Mental.

The class isn’t anything special since anyone can get one by joining a guild, so let’s skip that…

What’s worth noting are the unique ability and aptitude values.

Among these, aptitude values exist even for residents of this world. In game terms, they’re like stats but quite different from structures that increase with level.

Simply put, they’re rankings of individual parameters… if you’re physically strong, your Physical rank increases; if you have good technique or skill, your Skill rank increases; if you’re smart, your Intelligence increases.

Using Physical as a reference, an adult male with manual labor experience—like me when I first arrived in this world—would be around C rank.

From meeting various people, though it’s not exact, I estimate that trained athletes or soldiers would be B rank, and those with innate practical experience like special forces would be A rank. S rank is presumed to be for the strongest in the human realm or beyond.

And my Physical, which was only C, now has three plus marks after two years of odd jobs.

This means aptitude values can increase if you push your body hard enough, but… damn, the more I look at these values, the more hopeless they seem.

The only notable thing is that my Mental is A rank, but that just means I can maintain composure even when something happens right in front of me.

The Physical, Skill, and Intelligence values that actually help in combat are all C rank, which isn’t very satisfying.

No, what I don’t understand is why my Intelligence is C rank?

With college entrance exam scores in the top 20%, shouldn’t I at least be B rank? Is it the same in this world where you’re disrespected unless you’re in the top tier?

“Sigh, how is that damn college entrance exam haunting me even in another world?”

Of course, reincarnation to another world can be your lucky break, but ironically, I don’t even have that luck.

That’s because of this unique ability.

This special skill given to only reincarnated people, the reason why people in this world go crazy over reincarnated individuals.

======

[Unique Ability – Existence Imprint]

[People you meet will not forget your existence. No matter who they are or what happens.]

======

…Yeah. All it does is make people remember my name.

No matter who they are or what happens, they won’t forget my name.

What is this?

What am I supposed to do with this?

“Hey, porter. Carry all this and follow me.”

While I was grimacing at my status window, something was dumped in front of me.

Looking down to see what it was, I found spoils that the mage had collected while hunting inside the dungeon during our break time.

Fist-sized fangs, hides, and large magic stones… Wow, did she wipe out a monster cluster by herself?

This is why people in this world are so impressed by the capable.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and pack these things!”

“Yes~ Yes~ I’ll do as you say~”

“Your attitude is irritating. Do you have a complaint?”

“Oh my, a complaint? Who am I to complain? I’m just grateful to have a way to make a living.”

“…I’ll be watching you, remember that.”

Tsk, the mage woman clicks her tongue and turns away.

The companions who had just finished their preparations awkwardly followed behind her, trying to appease her by pleading.

“Um, miss? You seem to have pushed yourself even during our break. Wouldn’t it be better to rest a bit? Your mana must be depleted.”

“I have plenty of mana, so shut up and just follow me. You just need to follow the orders of me, the Hero.”

Oh sure, sure. That’s right. Useless people like us just need to follow the Hero’s orders.

Even if I mock her internally, I only end up feeling self-loathing.

“Sigh, how did I end up being treated as a Foreign Laborer?”

Yes, she awakened tremendous power through reincarnation and became a Hero, while I, who awakened insignificant power, became a foreign world laborer, or Foreign Laborer for short.

I went through reincarnation to another world, but just because I lack luck, I have to be treated like a slave… life’s ups and downs should have their limits.

“Kyaaak!”

Suddenly, a scream came from ahead.

Startled, I looked forward and saw the mage woman caught by tentacles that had sprung from the floor.

Damn woman. Did she rely too much on her strength and move ahead without properly checking for ambushes?

“Wh-what is this! Let me go right now!?”

“This is bad! The party leader is caught! The tentacles are thicker than expected, making it difficult to approach!”

Thick, massive tentacles spread in all directions. Before anyone could respond, I saw the mage woman’s limbs gradually being constricted by the tentacles.

Thinking she would surely meet a terrible fate if left alone, the vanguard turned to me urgently and shouted.

“Damn, I might get swept up if I go in. Hey, porter friend! Is there any way to save that girl?”

“What? She’s a damned woman even if she is a Hero, can’t we just leave her?”

“You’re right that this Hero constantly curses, lives on her own pride, and spends money recklessly like a morally bankrupt thug, but she’s pretty and has big breasts, doesn’t she? Who knows! If we save her, she might let us touch them once!”

This old man and the things he says.

Is touching breasts once worth risking your precious life?

If a man is handsome like Ch*ngwoo and has a big dick, is that all it takes?

Come to think of it, that makes sense.

“Eek, you monster!”

But while I was thinking, the mage woman’s body was completely bound by the tentacles.

“N-no way…”

After witnessing the grotesquely writhing tentacles before my eyes, her face began to turn pale.

As if she sensed her future from those movements.

“Y-you monster! Are you trying to violate me!?”

-Riiip!

Her limbs were torn apart by the force of the tentacles before any countermeasures could be taken.

“Guhk…”

The damned woman’s eyes rolled back and her head dropped.

Unmistakably instant death.

“Ahhh! It’s a limb-severing tentacle monster!”

With a reflexive scream, my body quickly moved in the opposite direction.