Hello, I’m Pupil. It’s already been ten days since I transmigrated from the online game *Dungeon Warriors* to this world. I’d expected my legendary gear and max-level stats to grant me an easy, thrilling adventure in this new realm—complete with plenty of chances to show off. But to my utter shock, I’m now scraping the bottom of the barrel at the Adventurers’ Guild.

[“I told you not to get near a cow’s rear! Why won’t you listen?”]

Aerin scolded me.

[“Well, the dairy cow kept running away! How was I supposed to catch it?”]

Our latest quest had been to retrieve escaped dairy cows from a pasture. Simple in theory, but brutally hard in practice: we couldn’t harm the cows, yet they could trample us. We were basically punching bags.

[“You both did great~~ Aerin, no wonder you’re Silver-ranked. You handle these tasks like a pro.”]

Tia praised her.

[“How did you even *become* Silver?? Did you grind nothing but chores like this??”]

I was stunned her rank surpassed mine.

[“Yep~~ Complete enough tasks, pass the assessment, and boom—you’re Silver. I’ve done this daily since I turned eighteen.”]

Aerin puffed her chest proudly.

[“Is Silver *that* easy? I thought you needed combat missions to rank up.”]

Their ranking system disappointed me deeply.

[“Combat missions? Oh, sure~~ Sometimes friends and I hunt monsters together.”]

Aerin finally mentioned what I’d been hoping for.

[“Exactly!! *That’s* what I mean!! Monster hunting!! Let’s do that!”]

What had we even been doing these past days? Hauling manure, chasing cows, exterminating “Old Wang the cockroach”? This wasn’t what adventuring was supposed to be.

[“My husband’s so driven… but is jumping straight to high-difficulty quests wise?”]

[“Absolutely! My blade is *itching* for action!”]

I planted my hands on my hips, grinning confidently.

[“Blade? Weren’t you a mage?”]

[“Uh… I meant my *Magic Staff* is itching for action!”]

I quickly corrected myself.

[“There’s still time. Why not take a monster-hunting quest right now?”]

Tia suggested.

[“Agreed!! Wholeheartedly!!”]

I shoved Tia toward the guild hall before she could protest.

[“Yo~~~ Got the cows back??”]

Gibor greeted us with a smirk.

[“Yep!! Here’s the farmer’s proof.”]

I handed him the document.

[“Looks complete. Here’s your reward.”]

Gibor slid a coin pouch across the counter after checking the papers. I immediately passed it to Aerin to split.

[“By the way! Any monster-hunting quests available??”]

I leaned forward eagerly.

[“Monster hunting?? Got a death wish again??”]

Gibor eyed me skeptically.

[“You haven’t even *seen* me fight! And our team has a *Gold*-ranked adventurer!”]

I pointed at Tia, who was scanning the quest board.

[“True… Aerin’s here too. Should be fine. Actually—”] Gibor pulled out a crimson-titled sheet. [“There’s a man-eating snail extermination quest nearby in the forest. Doable today.”]

[“Perfect!! Let’s go, Tia! Aerin!”]

I spun toward the exit—and crashed straight into a twin-tailed girl in a tall wizard’s hat.

[“Ah! Sorry~~”]

I apologized hastily.

[“I-It’s fine…”]

She stammered, blushing. But the row of burly men behind her made “fine” feel like a lie.

[“Lulu~~ Off on a big quest?”]

Aerin waved cheerfully.

[“Yep! Our teams are joining forces to wipe out forest bandits.”]

The girl—Lulu—smiled warmly at Aerin.

[“Stay safe, okay?”]

Aerin’s concern seemed genuine.

[“I will!”]

Lulu hurried off with her squad toward the front desk.

[“Tia~~ Let’s move!”]

I tugged at Tia, still glued to the quest board.

[“Yo, Lulu~~ Taking on bandits today?”]

Gibor’s voice oozed charm from behind us. His tone with others was *nothing* like his tone with me.

---

Right now, Aerin, Tia, and I stood deep in the forest. Before us loomed the target from our quest: a man-eating snail.

[“Seriously… since when do snails grow *this* big!??”]

I gagged at the giant mollusk.

[“Totally normal. Deeper in the forest, there are worse. We just can’t let them reach the outskirts—too many travelers.”]

Tia explained calmly.

[“Don’t worry! They’re super slow. Unless they ambush you, they can’t catch humans.”]

Aerin strode forward, spear in hand.

[“See? Watch this!”]

She poked the snail’s shell with her spear tip.

[“I feel like you’re jinxing us…”]

As I spoke, the snail lunged—chomping down on Aerin’s back.

[“Ahhh~~~~ It’s eating her!!!!”]

I whirled to Tia in panic.

[“Relax. These snails have no teeth. They half-swallow prey, wait for suffocation, then digest slowly. And they can’t move while eating.”]

Tia’s tone was textbook-calm.

[“This isn’t a lecture! Save her!”]

[“Perfect timing, Aerin! You bought me casting time.”]

Tia raised her staff, chanting. Outside the snail’s maw, Aerin’s free hand gave me a thumbs-up.

[“Are you *serious* right now!???”]

What was with that proud thumb?!

[“O Flame God, lend me thy fire! Fireball!”]

A crimson orb erupted from Tia’s staff, slamming into the snail. The creature melted instantly into a puddle, freeing a slime-coated Aerin.

[“Thought I was done for!!!!”]

Aerin gasped, sitting up abruptly.

[“I *told* you not to mess with it!”]

[“How was I supposed to know it was fast!?”]

[“It’s over. Just bring the shell back to complete the quest.”]

Tia prodded the empty shell with her staff.

Then—a second snail oozed from the bushes behind us.

[“There’s *two*?”]

I gaped.

[“The quest listed one… but if it’s here, we eliminate it.”]

Tia raised her staff again.

[“Wait!! This one’s mine. I haven’t shown off yet!”]

I pulled out my own Magic Staff—opting for a lower-tier one to avoid suspicion. My 55th-level legendary artifact, *Dawn’s Breath*, had a 10% chance to boost casting speed.

[“Such a fine staff… No wonder I chose you as my husband.”]

Tia’s eyes crinkled with amusement.

[“Hold on!! This one’s *mine*! I need redemption!!!”]

Before I could react, Aerin charged, spear gleaming.

[“Take this!!!”]

In a flash, she vaulted skyward, spear aimed downward—then plunged like lightning. The tip pierced the snail’s body.

*Thwip… thwip…*

The spear vibrated uselessly. The snail didn’t flinch.

[“Uh……………”]

Tia and I froze.

[“Uh…………”]

Aerin froze too—just as the snail swallowed her whole again.

[“Forgot to mention: man-eating snails are immune to physical attacks.”]

Tia’s “fun fact” made me snap.

[“Stop lecturing! Save her!!!!”]

[“Thanks for the bait, Aerin~~ Leave it to me!”]

Tia began chanting. Aerin’s hand emerged from the snail’s maw—giving another thumbs-up.

[“What kind of thumbs-up is *that*!???”]

[“O Flame God, lend me thy fire! Fireball!”]

Another fireball reduced the snail to sludge. Aerin sat up, gasping.

Then—I spotted a *horde* of snails emerging behind her.

[“Why are there so many!??”]

Even Tia looked shaken.

[“What now? One Aerin isn’t enough!”]

We could only feed them one adventurer at a time.

[“What do you mean ‘not enough’!? You’re a mage too—do something!”]

[“Husband, cast fireballs with me! We can wipe them out!”]

Sweat beaded on Tia’s forehead despite her words.

[“Finally, my turn!!!”]

I gripped my staff, scrolling through mage skills in my mind. To stay low-key, I’d mimic Tia’s small fireballs. I settled on *Jack’s Descent*—a beginner Elemental spell summoning a flaming pumpkin.

[“Die!! *Jack’s Descent*!”]

I thrust my staff forward.

But instead of a small pumpkin, a *gigantic* one materialized—ten times larger than I remembered.

[“Down!! Now!”]

I yelled.

[“What *is* that spell!?”]

Tia dropped flat, eyes wide.

[“Are you trying to burn the whole forest!?”]

Aerin hit the dirt too.

[“I don’t know!! Cover your ears!”]

They obeyed. A deafening *BOOM* shook the earth. Scorching wind blasted our faces.

When I stood, only scorched earth remained where the snails had been—not even shells survived.

[“……………………”]

[“……………………”]

[“Husband… I know you wanted to impress us. But this was… excessive.”]

Tia broke the silence, kicking powdered shell dust.

[“Pupil… you’re amazing…”]

Aerin’s jaw hung open.

[“Wahaha! Feel my power~~~”]

I laughed nervously, sweat dripping.

[“……………………”]

[“……………………”]

[“Sorry… I can’t control my mana well. I meant to cast a tiny spell, but it… overfired.”]

I bowed my head. Truth was, I’d aimed for a small fireball—but my high-level stats turned it into a nuke.

[“I knew I picked well. But… we have no shells. The quest failed.”]

Tia sighed, poking the ash where the shells had been.

Aerin looked at me excitedly. "This isn't a problem at all!!! I never expected Pupil to be so amazing!!"

I gave an awkward chuckle. "Haha... haha... I'm really sorry." Then, I apologetically slumped my shoulders.