A Nobody's Way Up to an Exploration Hero


A Nobody's Way Up to an Exploration Hero is a Japanese light novel series written by Kaitō and illustrated by Almic. It began serialization online in April 2019 on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō. It was later acquired by Hobby Japan, who have published thirteen volumes since July 2021 under their HJ Bunko imprint. A manga adaptation with art by Terio Teri has been serialized in Akita Shoten's seinen manga web magazine Dokodemo Young Champion since August 2021 and has been collected in five tankōbon volumes. An anime television series adaptation produced by Gekkou aired from July to September 2024.

Premise

In an alternate version of the modern world featuring fantasy dungeons and other role-playing video game mechanics, Kaito Takagi is a high school student who hunts weak slime monsters on the first floor of a dungeon as a part-time job. One day, he defeats a golden slime that drops an extremely rare Servant Card, allowing him to summon Sylphy, a Valkyrie with powerful magic.

Characters

;Kaito Takagi
;Sylphy
;Haruka Katsuragi
;Luceria
;Airi Jingūji
;Miku Moriyama
;Hikari Tanabe

Media

Light novel

Written by Kaitō, A Nobody's Way Up to an Exploration Hero began serialization on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō on April 9, 2019. It was later acquired by Hobby Japan which began releasing it in July 2021 under its HJ Bunko imprint with illustrations by Almic. Thirteen volumes have been released as of January 30, 2026.

Manga

A manga adaptation illustrated by Terio Teri began serialization in Akita Shoten's seinen manga web magazine Dokodemo Young Champion on August 24, 2021. Its chapters have been collected into five tankōbon volumes as of March 2025.

Anime

An anime television series adaptation was announced in December 2023. It is produced by Gekkou and directed by Tomoki Kobayashi, with Kazuyuki Fudeyasu handling series composition, Shoko Yasuda designing the characters, and Keiji Inai composing the music. The series aired from July 6 to September 21, 2024, on Tokyo MX and other networks. The opening theme song is "Up Start" performed by Amatsuki, while the ending theme song is "Strobe Fantasy" performed by May'n. Crunchyroll streamed the series. Muse Communication licensed the series in Southeast Asia.