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I went back to the tent to learn the basics of being a human adventurer. From where the nearest human settlement was, to joining the Adventurer’s Guild, I stayed until midnight to absorb all this new knowledge.
"Ok Ian, I have to get going now."
"Are you sure you are ready for this?"
In nodded.
"I don"t know when the League members will return and I"m also on a clock because I have to be back here to meet with the Asmodians and Elves."
"Yes. I understand, I will keep thinking about how to help you."
"Ok, until next time!"
We parted ways and I met Alpeon as I was leaving the tent.
"Alpeon, I"ll be sending my Avatar to the human world. While I"m away, we can stay in contact through Ian, so keep me posted on the situation here."
"Yes Lord, but isn"t it possible for us to complete this mission in your stead?"
"It would be difficult, it requires a lot of socializing with the humans."
"You could take Jenna and Arin along with you, they have the Hide skill."
Taking both of them would definitely bring about trouble because they would still bicker.
"Yes but I"ll only be taking Arin this time around."
Although both Jenna and Arin were capable of using Hide, Jenna was even more capable having more unique skills. However, most importantly she had a very fickle personality and would sometimes get out of control. I would definitely feel better leaving her behind.
"Alpeon, I"ll be back!"
"I look forward to seeing you return, Lord."
Arin and I flew up to the top of the Pit precipice with the help of the Golden Antilliens .
"Wow, the view from here is spectacular.
Looking back I stared at the jungle below, with the river flowing into the lake as it reflected the bright moon hanging in the night sky.
"Let"s get going."
I took Arin along and headed to the closest human settlement. I was carrying a small bottle of nectar, Excalibur wrapped up in a cloth and slung on my back and a small pouch containing precious jewels which I kept hidden away.
"Lord, why don"t you just kill all your enemies?"
Arin who was walking beside me asked, breaking the silence.
"Well, in most cases creating a relationship with your foes can be more fruitful than simply killing them off."
"Hmm… more fruitful. I can’t seem to think of anything, the best use I can think of for an enemy is to use them as nutrient for the children."
I worried about her mindset. If she kept going through life as a violent savage, she would end up with too many enemies which could be the end of her.
"Arin, There are many people out there who are stronger than us, so we have to cooperate and find allies to fight them off together."
"The way I see it, Lord you are the strongest in this world."
"Well there is Soleste, and have you seen my main body"s pathetic state after the battle against the League?"
"Soleste is stuck in his Tomb, and the League are nothing but a bunch of cowards using tricks. The King is the strongest!"
In Arin"s mind I seemed to be the strongest in the universe and I didn"t wish to burst her bubble.
"Still, we have to foster friendships and form alliances in order to prepare for an uncertain future."
"It sounds like something the Lord would say, I"m too immature to understand, but I"ll try my best."
I definitely approved of Arin"s att.i.tude.
After walking for 4 days we had finally arrived the the village Ian had mentioned.
"Arin you wait for me here. I"ll visit you from time to time, so don"t go anywhere"
"Yes Lord."
"If you see humans approaching, just go and hide in those hills nearby."
If she were to encounter a veteran adventurer, her life could be at risk.
"I understand."
"At worst you can message me through Telepathy, and if you get hungry, just drink the nectar."
"What about you Lord?"
"I will just buy some human food in the village."
"Buy…eat?"
I didn"t have the time to teach Arin about the basics of human economics.
"I"ll explain later."
Leaving Arin behind I proceeded to enter the village.
[Welcome to the Adventurer"s Holy Land, Midgard]
A large sign hung at the top of the town"s entrance.
"Alright, time to activate Decoy."
I set my Status to represent that of a normal human. Ian had informed me that if I were to join the Adventurer’s Guild, they would check my status as part of the application process. I was a bit careful and I really wanted to hide the fact that this was my Avatar, so I used decoy early.
"Oh right, I still don’t have a name."
Despite trying to designate a name for myself, It wouldn"t appear no matter how much I willed it. Johra was acceptable, but Chompy would be far too embarra.s.sing. After some thought, I decided to connect telepathically with Ian, after all she had the more reasonable naming sense.
"Ian, is this not a good time?"
"Oh, Johra! No, it"s ok, just that Mallepi was peeing in the tent, so I in the middle of scolding him. Can I help you with something?"
It had been some time now that the little runt was getting fat and lazy, refusing to leave the comforts of the tent.
"Talk to Alpeon and get him to exercise. I"m doing well, but I have a favor to ask of you."
"Tell me, I"ll help you with anything!"
"I need a name! I"m worried because my avatar doesn’t have a name."
"Well, hm… how about Gaspard? I heard it was the name of a king in some country, I think it suits you!"
"Gaspard… I guess it"ll do."
[The name Gaspard has been selected.]
As I entered the town and walked along the main street, I could seems several shops trying to sell items to adventurers. I decided on the Jeweler’s and walked in.
Ding ding
A small bell hanging on the top of the door tinkled and an employee stepped out from behind the counter to receive me.
"Welcom….e?"
Perhaps he thought of me as a beggar because my clothes were in tatters. I took out my pouch, instantly flipping his preconception on its head as I spilled out several jewels on his counter.
"Whoa, is all that for sale?""
I nodded in response and the clerk began to examine the jewels excitedly, using a lense to look for impurities.
"Dear customer, I would like nothing more but to buy all these jewels, but unfortunately it exceeds the worth of my store! Could I buy just two of these?"
I looked at the rank of the jewels he held in his hand. They were both E rank jewels, which should go for about 10 purple gold coins.
"Good. How much are you willing to pay?"
"These are unique jewels, but their condition isn"t great… how about 1 purple gold coin a piece?"
"Hey, are you trying to scam me?"
"Twelve for the both of them, I won"t accept anything less than that."
I started to put the jewels back into my pouch.
His face was squirming and his eyes seemed to be tearing as he saw the jewels disappearing before his eyes.
"Four purple gold coin each.This is just for the sake of our good relationship, I"m even making a loss here."
It was definitely below their true worth, but these jewels held little value in my eyes and I needed the money to buy human items, so I decided to settle. I had learned from Ian that 1 purple gold coin was equal to 10 platinum, which in turn was worth 30 regular gold coins and each of those could be exchanged for 100 silvers. A single home in a remote village such as this one would at most be worth 10 gold.
"Wow, this was just some jewel containing low level magic which I picked up from the Catacombs…"
I was surprised how little value I attached to money right now. In my previous life, if I had gained this much money and become a tyc.o.o.n, I would have been ecstatic.
"Just break down one of the purple coins into smaller denominations, otherwise it will be to difficult to buy items in regular shops."
"Yes, as you wish customer."
I left the shop with a good amount of coins in my bag and headed to a blacksmith to gear up with proper weapons and armor. Hoping to present myself as a beginner adventurer.
"Is it about time to apply to the guild?"
Creak
Opening the door which was larger than that of the town hall, I walked into a room where dozen of adventurers were gathered and discussing their latest exploits. As I walked up to the receptionist"s desk, I felt their gazes turn to me.
"Good morning, it"s the first time I"ve see you around here. My name is Rina, what can I do for you?"
The lady behind the desk asked me amiably with a pretty smile.
"I"m here to register as an adventurer."
I heard people gossiping about me from behind.
"Great, just fill out this for over here and the application fee is one silver please."
I fetched a silver coin from my bag and proceeded to fill out the form.
Hearing the rattle coins from my pouch, the receptionist leaned over and spoke to me in a small voice.
"I know it"s your first time coming here but there many people behind you, and as wealthy beginner adventurer you might bring trouble upon yourself. You are the first adventurer I have registered, so I wanted to give you some advice and hope you can survive for a long time."
Listening to her tips changed my perception of the adventurers behind me.
"Thank you Rina, I also look forward to seeing you again, here is the completed form."
"Great, it"s all filled out. Now please place your hand on the Adventurer"s Stone."
I put my hand on the stone Rina had placed before me and my Status page appeared. Of course it was the one I had set with Decoy, but she seemed to accept it at face value. She reached into a drawer and handed me a medallion.
"Here you go, it"s a beginner adventurer"s bronze token, just hang it around your neck. It can be used as identification and is required to hand in quests, so be sure to carry it around at all times."
I nodded, Ian had already informed me about the Adventurer"s Guild rankings; Diamond> Platinum> Gold> Silver> Iron> Bronze.
"You also have the Quests Board here on the right, so you can go ahead and choose if anything catches your fancy. Please note, that there is a rating limit for each quest."
I walked to stand before the Quest Board, looking around.
"Hey friend, looks like you"re a rookie. My name is Tartan, why don"t you join us, we are two Iron grade adventurers."
He looked like a trickster, taking me for a naive fool.
"Not interested, unless it"s a proper party, I"ll just go at it alone."
"Oh~ don"t be like that. Don"t you know how lucky you are to partner up with us veterans? The quest we"re going on is the Orc"s Cave and we aren"t sure about their numbers. It"s the only reason why a rookie like you even gets to join us, so what do you say?"
He tried to place his hand on my shoulder, wanting to appear sincere, but I avoided his grasp by dodging slightly.
"Ooops? Why I am doing?"
That guy almost fell down, losing balance, and then he looked around in embarra.s.sment as others began to laugh. He didn"t have a small frame, but he seemed the cowardly type that would shrink from danger.
"I"m busy so I don"t have time to party with others."
I replied coldly and continued to examine the board. I found the Orc"s Cave quest he had just mentioned and noticed that it was available to bronze rank.
"Hm, it should be fun for a first quest."
My original stats that weren’t hidden with decoy were quite high by humanity’s standards. From what I had observed when I walked into the Guild, these adventurers" levels were similar to Ian"s
"I"ll take this one."
I showed Rina the quest sheet and asked her to register me.
"Are you sure, I know it"s listed as Bronze rating, but it"s designed for a party."
"It won"t be a problem, please register me."
"Ok, but if you get into any danger just run away all right? Also, you should consider other adventurer"s as enemies on this one…"
After listening to Rina"s long sermon I was able to finalize the quest acceptance, and I set out towards the Orc Cave. I found the location with little difficulty, but when I arrived there were already 3 parties camping out front.
"What, why are you here? What party did you end up joining?"
It was Tartan whom I had met earlier in the guild and pretend to be friendly with me.
"Don"t stick your nose in my business, I hate bothersome people the most"
"Well, If you experience any difficulties just let me know, I don"t have any ulterior motives."
After I spoke seriously, Tartan left with an awkward face, looking back at me several times as he went back to his party.
"Has he noticed that I am alone? Is he planning to rob me with his partners once we enter the cave?"
After heeding Rina"s warning, I was able to notice the glint in Tartan and his party members" eyes.
"We"ll be the first to go in!"
As the morning sun rose in the sky a party consisting of two men and three women declared their intentions, and headed in. After that, Tartan"s party of 6 followed in and a party of three women went in last, giving me a questioning look as they disappeared inside.
"Well, I"m not in much of a hurry."
It was my first quest, but I wasn"t exactly worried about it"s completion. I was a bit curious how the others would fight, so I took my time to enter. After about a dozen minutes, I packed up my baggages and nonchalantly went up to the cave entrance.
"Cave… isn’t it larger than the Catacombs I had woken up in?"The cave which the orcs used as a home was actually a maze of tunnels far more extensive than I had imagined. There were the occasional banging sounds, but I had yet to meet a live Orc.
"What"s this? Is it even a Orc subjugation quest?"
"Awww! Please… spare me!"
Kieek Kieek
I heard a girl’s desperate pleas for mercy, she was most likely from the group which had entered before me. I also heard what sounded like an animal making pig-like snorts chasing her.
"The first Orc!"
I ran towards the sound in excitement.
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